This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#AsteroidMine – April 9, 2014
Jason glances down and nods to himself. "It looks like our options are between me taking a long and lonely walk..." he begins, glancing out towards the antenna, "Or we can take our chances downstairs and find that garage." he finishes, looking towards Renala.
Jason shakes his head. "There's a nice-sized hole down the hall. I should be able to exit the facility through there."
Renala frowns. "It doesn't seem to be that far away," she says, looking out at the antenna, "but I'm not sure if I can come with you, either way. If the garage's far from the hangar, I'll be on my own when you leave."
Jason nods a few times and rests a hand on his hip. "What kind of vehicles are we talkin'?" he asks, looking towards the Administrator.
Administrator thinks for a moment, looking out at the asteroid again. "A few cargo trucks and a rover."
Renala steps over to Alex, crouching down. "Hey, you alright?" she says, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Jason paces over towards the door and glances out down the hall. "What do you think, Renala?" he asks. He nods down at Alex, "You think she's in any condition for a trip to the garage? Could be dangerous..." he sighs.
Renala pats her on the shoulder before turning towards Jason. "No, I suppose it'll be safer if she helped guard the shuttle," she says. "They haven't reported anything happening there since we saw them."
Jason nods. "And what about you...?" he asks tentatively, "You-..." he shrugs, "You up for this? We could always just hunker down in the hangar and hope Jasper can put that thing back together." he suggests with a sigh. "But if he can't... You know it's only a matter of time before they find us..." he adds grimly.
Renala thinks for a moment. "I'm not sure how airtight these vehicles are," she says, "and if it breaks down or gets vented... well, you know."
Jason bites his lower lip for a few moments, ignoring the Administrator. "I can handle it on my own if I have to..." he says, sounding less-than-enthusiastic about it, "But if it's not just a simple matter of connecting to the network, then I won't have a clue what to do once I get to the antenna. Will you be able to walk me through it?"
Renala hums thoughtfully. "I'd think so," she says, "but it should be easy enough to use it once you're in range."
Jason nods to himself and takes a deep breath. "Alright." he says, "It's settled then. Get Alex and our new friend here back to the shuttle. I'll..." he nods a second time, "I'll handle the antenna."
Renala nods, and looks at the administrator. "What's the fastest way to the hangar?" she says. "And do you have a floor plan of this place?"
Administrator shakes his head. "No. No, that's... all in the computers. The hangar is close. I'll show you. You have it secured, right?"
Steve is still standing alert outside of the shuttle still. "Nothing has changed on our end." he responds, "How are we lookin' in regard to gettin' a message back to our people?"
(Comms) We're seeing the antenna, but one of us has to go outside to get to it. Jason's the only one equipped for that, though.
(Comms) Shit... That doesn't sound too good... How long are you thinkin' it'll take before we're able to get word out? I don't know about the rest of you, but I've seen about enough of this place for one lifetime.
Jason looks towards the Administrator. "Go with them. They'll get you back to the hangar. I'm gonna see what I can do about this antenna."
Renala nods at Alex before starting on her way down the hallway, aiming the weapon ahead of her. "Yeah, strangely enough," she answers over the comms. "The control room is a no-go, though, unless we cut power to some essential systems."
Administrator moves past Alex with an uncomfortable glance at her injuries, and then follows closely after Renala.
Jason gives one last look over his shoulder towards the antenna outside before falling into step behind the administrator. He grips his weapon with both hands, but aims it towards the ground.
Leah glances over to Steve and shakes her head. "Probably has more to do with Jasper." she says, mostly kidding.
Renala continues down the hallway until she reaches the intersection and stacks up by the corner. She leans around, trying to see if there is anything of note around it.
The southern hallway has 4 doors and another turn. A broken LOKI mech and a dead prot-adjutant lie on the floor.
Jason holds his position just behind Renala. "Clear?" he asks, keeping his attention focused on the hallway ahead of them.
Renala nods. "Just wanted to make sure it was clear," she says. "Yeah, it's clear." She leaves cover and starts making her way towards the door, her weapon aimed forward.
Jason quickly turns in place as the door shuts, his nerves getting the best of him, but returns to following Renala wordlessly once he realizes it was just the door closing.
Alex attempts to walk faster but is stopped by the pain, she sighs and continues walking slowly behind everyone.
Renala glances over her shoulder at the closing door before heading towards the one out to the big room. She hits the interface and takes a step back, raising her weapon as she waits for it to open.
The door slides open, revealing the room much like it was before. A couple of infected miners are wandering around below.
Administrator is getting increasingly nervous. He has a tight grip of his gun with a finger on the trigger even though they're not in combat. It is aimed up at the ceiling.
Jason remains behind Renala. "How's it look?" he asks, unable to see much of the room from his position.
Renala takes a step inside. "Not sure," she says. She wanders over towards the railing, though is about half a meter away from it when she looks at the floor below.
A proto-adjutant jumps Renala from the side the moment she exits into the room, trying to knock her over and stab tubings into her exposed head.
Renala loses her weapon and tries fighting back at the creature, doing her best to keep the tubes away from her face as she remember how it treated her helmet.
Jason stutters momentarily, but recovers and quickly rushes at the creature and attempts to shoulder it off of Renala, throwing all his weight into the adjutant.
Alex moves quickly to help Jason remove the proto-adjutant from Renala, holding her breath to prevent whining about pains.
The proto-adjutant, a fairly small one, is knocked away from Renala by Jason long before the injured Alex is able to reach them. It slams into the glass railing which breaks, causing it to fall down to the floor below.
Jason quickly hurries to the edge and fires the remainder of the clip down at the adjutant. "Keep fucking with us!" he shouts.
Renala grunts as she turns and stands on all fours. "Fuck," she says as she tries to calm her breathing.
Jason stomps away from the railing as he pops a new thermal clip into his weapon. "You alright?" he asks as he approaches Renala, scrutinizing her for any wounds, "Didn't manage to... To get you, did it?"
Renala shakes her head, rubbing her face with a gauntleted hand. "No, don't think so," she says. Her face is unchanged from before the encounter.
Jason looks her over for a moment longer before nodding. "Think you're good." he says, but his eyes continue to search her face. After a few moments, he glances towards the door leading to the large hole outside. "So... I guess this is where we go our separate ways." he sighs. He slowly begins to load a fresh thermal clip into his Revenant, "I'm getting a little low. Either of you have any you can spare?" he asks, looking between Renala and Alex, "Not too thrilled about the possibility of being caught on my own with no way to defend myself..."
Renala gets back to her feet and nods. She picks out four clips from pockets on one of her holsters. "Here," she hands them to Jason. "I think I'll still have a little left in case we're attacked."
Alex shrugs, and hands him one. "Good luck, Jason." She frowns, at the thought of him going on his own.
Jason nods a few times and begins storing them slowly. He gives Alex a nod, smirking sadly behind his helmet. "Look... If-..." he pauses for a moment, taking a deep breath before he continues. He looks towards Renala, "If I don't make it back. Get everyone out of here. Promise me you'll find a way."
Renala nods, glancing at the floor for a fewe seconds. "No, nobody else dies today," she says in a subdued murmur. "We're all getting out of here, okay?"
Jason 's smirk widens a bit, not that anyone can see it. "Yeah..." he agrees, his voice barely above a whisper, "But... But if I don't make it..." he continues, sounding as if he's already accepted his fate, "Get them home." he says. After a sigh, he adds, "And Linda... She's gonna blame herself. Just... Tell her it's not her fault." He doesn't bother to wait for a response. He simply turns on his heels and starts towards the hallway.
Renala watches him walk away. "No," she says, though it's not likely anyone would hear her. She turns back to the other two, managing somewhat to compose herself. "Let's move," she glances towards the railing, "and stay close to the wall." She picks up her weapon from the ground and aims at the railing as she waits for teh others to move.
Jason returns to the door he had previously opened and lifts his Revenant as he gazes down the corridor, searching for any new threats.
Jason quickly stalks down the hallways. As he approaches the forcefield, he hesitates for a moment as he looks out towards the asteroid beyond it.
Upon getting near the forcefield Jason would be able to see a door to the right just before it, that was previously obscured by a pipe.
Jason keeps his Revenant trained on the door as he approaches it, half expecting something to leap out at him.
The door slides open, revealing a clinical white room with cabinets and medical equipment, a bed and, beyond a glass barrier, a surgical table. A mutilated body lies on the table. Blood stains the floor and walls. As soon as the door opens Renala is struck by a neural shock.
Jason slowly lowers his Revenant and brings up his omni-tool. After a few pokes, he checks to make sure the integrity of his hardsuit hasn't been compromised. Half-hoping it would be, preventing him from exiting the facility on his own, he sighs as his omni-tool gives him the all-clear. As the orange interface dissipates, he raises his Revenant once more and steps through the forcefield.
Renala falls on her fours, gritting her teeth as she feels the paralyzing pain throughout her body. She tries to look into the room.
Jason sighs as his hand refuses to go through the forcefield. He cusses under his breath and activates his comms. "Forcefield is solid. Ask our friend whether or not there's a way for me to shut it down. Figure I should be able to close the hatch and create a makeshift airlock so long as I can get this forcefield down."
Renala looks into the room as the effect of the shock wears off. "We're sent by Londinium to get you people out of here," she says, trying to get back to her feet.
There is a brief pause before the female voice yells out. "If I come out there you better not be lying!" She sounds more desperate than threatening.
Renala nods. "I know it's hard to believe anyone right now," she says, "but we want to get off this rock as much as you probably do." She enables her comms. "Yeah, I copy," she says. "Just give me a moment."
It takes a while, but eventually a human woman wearing a galactic standard doctor's outfit in white and blue stands up from behind a cabinet. A red omni-tool is active around her left hand. She looks like she expects to be shot any moment.
Renala holds her weapon aimed down as she sees her. "We should get going," she says. "Most of us are in the hangar, trying to fix the shuttle."
Halisi nods and moves around the cabinet and over to Renala. "Thank you." She says, looking at the asari with a sincere expression.
Renala glances back at Alex and towards the doctor. "Is there anything in here that can help?" she says. "Some of our people are really hurt."
Halisi nods. "Of course! I'll fill a bag, and you show me the way to them." She turns around and disappears behind a cabinet for a while, returning with a gray satchel that she starts to fill with various medical supplies.
Renala steps outside, aiming around the room before looking at the administrator. "So, where's the way to the hangar?" she asks.
Halisi joins the others out on the walkway, but upon seeing the administrator anger fills her face and she throws a punch at him, which hits his jaw, causing him to wince and put a hand to his face.
Renala raises her brows. "Hey, let's... not fight each other," she says, "until we get off this rock, at least."
Halisi exclaims loudly. "This bastard locked himself in the control room when everything went wrong!"
Renala glances at the railing. "Let's get going," she says. "I think there's some of these things on the floor below."
(Comms) Yeah. We came across one more in the medical room. As for the force field, I'm almost sure you'd have to go back to the generator console to get that thing down.
Renala walks over to the door specified and slams her hand against the interface, raising her weapon on it as it opens.
The door opens to reveal the corridor where they encountered their first infected miner. It is clear.
Jason punches at the wall. "FUCK!" he shouts, to nobody in particular. Activating his comms once again, he addresses Renala. "Is it safe for me to lower the forcefield?"
Renala aims into the corridor and steps inside. "It's clear," she says. "And I'm pretty sure I know the way from here." She acitaves her comms. "I'm not certain, but I don't think we can take the facility being airtight for granted."
Renala starts walking, glancing towards the non-electronic door they opened previously; checking if it's still open. "The generator console mentioned an airlock," she speaks into the comms, "and it was still online if I recall correctly."
Something seems to have stirred on the other side of the door next to Jason when he yelled. There is scraping and banging on it.
Renala reaches the door and quitely shuts it before looking back at the doctor. "We're trying to get word back to our ship," she says. "We can't power the control room, so we have to reach the antenna outside."
Jason responds over comms, "As good of an option as any..." he says, "Try and get me some general directions." As the scraping and banging begins, Jason jumps back, pressing himself against the wall opposite of the door, and raises his Revenant at it. He slowly begins to sidestep back the way he came, keeping his attention on the door as he does.
Renala speaks into the comms, "It's downstairs, at the end of the main hallway. The... doctor says it's easy to find. One of the doors on your right when you go back leads to the corridor we saw the first mutated fucker in." She continues down the corridor, aiming around as she pokes her head out of the doorway.
Jason continues backing down the hallway until he reaches the room with the walkway. "Might have company." he announces over comms, "I'm gonna-... Try to make my way back... Shit..."
Renala sighs relieved. "It's clear." She approaches the door to the hangar and enables her comms. "Just giving you guys a heads up," she says, "we're just outside the door to the hangar." She waits three seconds, then taps on the door's green interface.
Halisi is looking at Alex with a worried gaze. "We'll sit you down once we stop moving and I'll look you over."
Alex starts, not expecting the doctor to say anything. She nods, and follows Renala out of the door.
Jason backs up out of the corridor and gives a quick glance to his left. "Door on my right...?" he mutters to himself, frantically looking around for the door Renala mentioned. Finally, he settles on the idea that she must've meant the right-most door across from him, given the lack of other viable doors. He shoots one last worried look towards the corridor before heading in the direction of the hangar, moving at a jogging pace.
The infected miners below stir a bit as Jason moves past them above, but none have any means of reaching him.
Steve turns his attention towards the door as he hears Renala and begins walking towards the group. "Man is it good to see you, Ren." he calls out, sounding relieved.
Renala glances to both sides apprehensively before starting to make her way towards Steve. "Yeah, you too, Steve," she says. "I really need a break right now," the asari adds with a sigh.
Steve shakes his head, "That makes two of us." he agrees. His arm continues to hang unnaturally at his side and he gives a pained groan as he tries to move it.
Administrator is clearly relieved to be in a more well-secured area. He starts moving towards the shuttle right away.
Jason continues towards the door indicated, paying no mind to the miners down below. He quickly taps the interface and raises his Revenant once more. The weight of the weapon is beginning to make his arms sore by this point.
Leah remains in place. She looks amongst the two new arrivals with a sigh, "At least this trip wasn't entirely in vain." she says.
Halisi walks up to the asari and human, looking at Steve's arm. "I'll take a look at that too, but the girl here is more urgent." She gestures at Alex.
Steve glances down at his arm and gives a pained grunt to further punctuate the situation. "Doesn't feel too good, either... I'll live, though."
Leah looks towards Alex with a concerned expression. "What happened?" she asks, "Is she going to be alright?"
Jason stalks down the corridor with renewed haste as he imagines whatever was banging on that door will probably be right behind him any second now. He glances over his shoulder once more as he nears the end of the corridor and taps at the green panel.
Alex shrugs, "I was stupid." Alex lays down, and sighs, oddly finding comfort in the ground below her.
Halisi kneels down next to Alex, putting her bag down and then starting to scan the human with her omni-tool.
Jason continues into the room connected to the hangar and approaches the hangar door. "Coming in, hold your fire." he says before pressing the panel beside the door.
Renala sighs. "I think I'm going to sit down," she says as she starts walking over to the shuttle. "The barrier took a lot out of me."
Jason enters into the hangar and throws his arms up. "That plan was a no-go." he sighs as he makes his way towards the shuttle. He looks towards the administrator through the open doorway, "How far is the main airlock from the garage?" he asks.
Administrator looks out at Jason. "Uh... not too far. You need to go through the storage area to reach the garage though."
Jason shakes his head, "I'm not clearing any more rooms than I have to." he states, "What about that room below the walkways? The one with the tree? Am I gonna have to cross it to reach the airlock?"
Administrator thinks for a moment. "No... no, I don't think so, but the corridor passes next to it."
Alex has six bullet holes crossing diagonally down her torso and to her abdomen in a diagonal, the first bullet hole had hit just underneath her left collar bone, two bullets had cut through her pectoralis minor, and another three lined perfectly just above her hip bone.
Jason nods to himself and looks over the ragtag group of injured and worn out people. "I know we're all tired, and hurt, and just want to get the fuck out of here..." he says, "And I'm not going to make anyone do anything they're not willing to do. But there's no telling how many of those ugly fuckers are still out there, or just how long it's going to take for them to find their way over to us. I'm not going to just sit around and hope we're able to get this thing working." he nods towards the shuttle, "I'm going to make a go for that antenna. If any of you still have the juice left to come with..." he trails off.
Halisi seems troubled as she looks over the readings. "How were you walking?" She mumbles as she first moves the human's arms to her side before starting to gently remove her chest armor.
Renala looks up at Jason. "I'm sorry, Jason," she says, "but you saw what those things did with my helmet."
Jasper runs his diagnostics program once more in an attempt at guesstimating how much more work will be required. He glares at his omni-tool as he travels back to the cargo compartment, giving the new arrivals nods.
Steve looks towards Jason. "I'd just slow you down..." he says, attempting to lift his arm somewhat, but quickly giving up and groaning in pain.
The repairs are starting to come along quite well. There looks to be only a few minutes of work left.
Renala slowly gets to her feet at the lack of other volunteers. "Fuck it," she says. "I'm not letting you go down there alone." She glances around. "By the way, anyone got a snack or something they're willing to part with?"
Halisi opens her bag and tosses an energy bar at Renala and then immediately returns her attention to Alex.
Leah nods silently and moves to Jason's side. "If I'm gonna die, I might as well die making a difference, right?" she jokes.
Jasper slowly paces back towards the cockpit. He continues to stare down at his omni-tool as he speaks calmly. "That's sweet. You all ready to charge out there like that, but we're just about ready to take off." He glances towards the others and flashes a bit of a toothy grin, "Just sit tight. We've lost enough people today." he adds before disappearing back into the hallway to the cockpit.
Renala catches the energy bar and smiles. "Thank you, doc," she says with a smile as she starts removing the wrapping and going through it rather quickly before hearing Jasper's news. "Oh? That's great!" she says, with renewed enthusiasm.
Steve gives a "Whoo!" in celebration. He leans against the shuttle and tilts his head back, "About damn time!"
Leah's stance loosens up, as if her tenseness just faded away upon hearing Jasper. "We're... Leaving?" she asks, the relief apparent in her voice.
Halisi finishes removing Alex' armor, and looks over her bullet wounds. "Looks like the armor saved your life. They're not very deep. I think the best we can do for now is leave the projectiles in you until we can get you to a proper scanner and determine if any of them are dangerous. Alright?" She looks down at Alex to try and reassure her."
Jason nods enthusiastically, "That's fucking amazing!" he says, punching at the air in celebration. "But-..." he continues, not wanting to ruin the mood, "...We still have one last trip to make." he says, "Should only take a few minutes. You still with me?" he asks, looking between Leah and Renala.
Jason shakes his head, "If we're getting out of here, there's no point in that. I'm sure we can hail them on the shuttle's comms when we're in range. But... We can't just leave the asari here." he says, "The receptionist..."
Steve shakes his head at the doctor. "You're sure? And just how are you 'sure'? You see 'em? You know where they are?" he asks, clearly against the idea of searching for any other employees.
Halisi scowls at Steve. "They might be holed up in the living quarters, or the cafeteria. We can't just leave without looking!"
Renala looks over at the doctor. "We've lost four people already," she says. "We can't risk any more of us on a chance."
Administrator moves into the shuttle doorway and looks out at the doctor. "Don't be a fool, Halisi. We have to go, now."
Jason shakes his head, "No... She's right." he says, "We came here with a job to do." He looks towards the doctor, "Where are the living quarters and cafeteria? We'll make a quick sweep and come back."
Steve grabs his helmet and turns around. He kicks the side of the shuttle out of frustration. "And if more of those things come, then what!? We all die? Who does that help?"
Halisi sighs, closing her eyes for a moment. "They can be reached from the main chamber - with the tree."
Renala frowns. "Oh...," she says. "I'm sorry, doc, but we saw a lot of those creatures in the main chamber. Noone down there... I don't think they survived. I'm sorry." Her tone was saddened, as she too lost someone down there.
Jason looks towards Steve, scowling behind his helmet, "It doesn't matter! This is the job! This is what we're here for! Do you think I want to go down there? Fuck no! It's dangerous, I know! If it wasn't, they wouldn't have hired us!"
Renala shakes her head and looks at Jason. "Are you sure you want to risk our lives, Jason? I'm behind you, but you saw the number of creatures down there. No door would hold against their combined forces."
Do I want to risk our lives? No! But this is what we're here for! You saw what happened to everyone these things got ahold of. Are you really okay with possibly leaving people here to die like that?
Renala frowns. "I'm not okay with it, but I've had enough of this place," she says. "If everyone huddled down there by protocol... what do you think would happen if one of them... turned?"
Jason nods once, "They would all be turned. I know. And if they've been huddled down there, terrified... Pissing and shitting themselves... For days... Staying silent, just hoping that Londinium would send help? Lucky them when help turns out to be a group too fucking cowardly to do their job, right?"
Steve nods, "Shit happens. We've went above and beyond. We lost our guides. We lost a good deal of our squad. There's only so much you can expect out of a person."
Halisi grabs Alex and prevents her from standing up. "Oh no you don't." She says in a kind tone before turning back to the people arguing.
Renala sighs. "Fine," she says. "You're the boss, Jason, but we're going into the thickest of them if they did... and for nothing. I have a kid back home, you have Vasquez. We don't mean nothing just because we're on a payroll."
Halisi looks down at Alex. "I guess we don't have a whole lot of options. I'll help you over there." She wraps an arm around the human's waist and starts to help her over to the shuttle.
Jason sighs loudly and hooks a hand around the back of his neck, "And I'm sure plenty of them have kids. Plenty have girlfriends, and wives. Husbands. Mothers. Fathers." he says. "I understand what you're saying, Renala. You're scared. I'm scared too. Fucking terrified. I spent the last year and a half of my life trying to put these-... These... Things! Out of my mind!" he says. His tone isn't aggressive, more concerned, "We can still save them, Renala. Nobody else has to die..."
Halisi glances at Jason with an approving expression as she helps Alex to the shuttle. She sets the human down on the shuttle floor. and starts to look over her wounds again while occasionally glancing out at the argument.
Renala relaxes her stance and sighs. "Yeah, let's get going then," she says. "But we're not sweeping every room... only the reception and living quarters. Okay?"
Leah pats Jason on the shoulder. "I'm... With you." she says, almost reluctantly. She slowly crosses the distance over to the shuttle and points out Maria amongst the mass of corpses strewn about. "I did the best I could to stop the bleeding." She holds her gaze on Maria for a minute before admitting with a sigh, "I'm not even sure if she's still alive. Her wounds were pretty extensive."
Alex looks at the doctor thoughtfully, "What would you do if they went out there and no one was there?"
Halisi looks out and as she notices Maria her eyes widen. "Why didn't you say anything sooner?!" She grabs her bag and hurries out of the shuttle.
Jason holds Renala's gaze, "The living quarters and the cafeteria." he says, "If they can both be accessed from the same room, there's no point in not giving them both a look." He shifts slightly, "And if you're right... We look into one of those rooms and a room full of those things is looking back? We close the door, and book it. Deal?"
Renala nods. "Alright, I'm with you," she says. "I have a grenade to give us a head start if we have to run." She starts making her way over to the door out from the hangar.
Jason goes to question the doctor further. Upon hearing her assessment of Maria, he lowers his head silently.
Steve retains his position beside the shuttle and leans against it. "No surprise there. She took a helluva beating."
Jason lifts his head. "I'm sorry, Maria..." he whispers, his voice beginning to crack. He looks towards the doctor, "We're going to do what we can to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone left." he says with resolve, "When we reach the main chamber, where is the cafeteria and living quarters?"
Halisi looks out of the shuttle. "Head left from the reception to get to the cafeteria. From there the living quarters are on the opposite side of the big chamber."
Administrator shakes his head at the team. "This is foolish. We should leave, damn it! The others are all dead by now!"
Jason looks towards the administrator. "Shut the fuck up and get ready to leave." he says. He gives the doctor a nod before joining Renala over at the door.
Renala reaches out and slams her hand flat on the interface before quickly returning to cover by the doorframe. Once/if the door opens, she leans out with her weapon aimed forward.
Halisi shakes her head at Steve. "Everything went wrong. I-..." she trails off and closes her eyes for a moment before shaking her head once more and focusing on taking care of Alex.
Administrator looks at Steve with a fearful expression. "We found something. In the mines. And then... our people started falling ill."
Jason follows Renala into the room, but quickly steps to her side once he enters to keep her out of his line of fire.
Renala shakes her head and continues, stoppoing on the furthest side of the door to the stairs-room.
Administrator clarifies. "A ship. An old ship. It was the source of the element zero here. The cargo... it did this. That's all I know." His gaze goes distant - he clearly doesn't like talking about this.
Steve raises an eyebrow. "So... Some kind of ship caused all this?" he asks, mostly reiterating what they've already said, "And where is it?"
Administrator seems frustrated. "Weren't you listening? It's inside the asteroid. It must have formed around it or something. I don't know. I'm not an astronomer."
Steve shakes his head, "I'm listenin'... But you're not makin' a whole lot of sense. Some kind of virus, or somethin'?"
Halisi nods. "Yes. I did my best to find something... anything... to help the first of the infected... but... I-... I-..." she trails off, staring at the floor of the shuttle with a distant expression.
Renala leans into the room and quickly glances it over, but does not see the adjutant before getting back behind cover.
Jason follows suit, giving a lean out. "We've got company..." he whispers as he spots the adjutant. He squeezes the trigger of his Revenant, unloading a volley of 15 rounds at the creature.
The creature falls easily without a barrier, collapsing and rolling down to the stair halfway point.
Jasper looks at his handy work for a few moments and begins replacing the console. "We should be ready to get out of here as soon as you're back, Jay." he announces over comms.
Jason follows Renala into the room and quickly approaches the stairs. He steadies his Revenant and trains his sights down the staircase.
Jason gives a "Clear." before beginning his descent. After a few steps, he responds to Jasper over comms, "Good to hear. Be ready to get out of here in a hurry. We might be coming in hot."
Jasper finishes putting the console back together and activates his omni-tool to attempt starting the shuttle.
Steve seems to show no reaction to her obvious sadness, "So how did you two manage to survive this shitstorm? I'd think the doctor would be the first to go in a situation like this."
Halisi doesn't seem to be listening to Steve anymore, just staring at the floor. Eventually she snaps out of it and turns to him. "I should take a look at your arm."
Jasper claps his hands loudly and begins rubbing his palms together, "Now we're gettin' somewhere!" he says, mostly to himself. First thing he does is check to see if he can possibly contact the ship through the shuttle's comms.
Steve takes a step towards the doctor and lifts his arm towards her as best as he can, which is only a few inches before he begins to grunt from the pain.
Jason reaches the bottom of the stairs and quickly sweeps the room, making sure to clear the staircase with enough room to allow Renala down.
Halisi scans Steve's arm and then looks over it before directing him to sit down. She feels and pokes it gently.
Renala quickly makes her way over to the door after the obligatory ceiling scan, and takes cover opposite Jason.
Jason gives Renala a nod before reaching out and pressing the green panel. Once the door opens, he leans out and aims his Revenant.
The door opens to reveal the reception(?). The asari receptionist is nowhere to be found, but there is a purple blood stain on the wall behind her desk.
Jason steps into the door. "Fuck..." he mutters, "Looks like we're too late. Keep an eye open. I'm sure whatever's left of her is still lurking around." he says as he walks towards the door indicated by the doctor.
Renala frowns as she steps inside as well. "Maybe... that's who we met in the stairs?" she says. "Goddess..."
Leah follows the pair towards the door. She takes cover at the receptionist's desk, on the side closes to Jason and Renala, and continues to keep an eye out behind them.
The door opens up into a larger area with windows to the right and ahead looking out at the stars. The room continues off for quite some distance to the left until it opens up into the main chamber with the tree. On the northern wall are windows that look in over the cafeteria. Some of the furniture forms a makeshift barricade by the counter. There is a door leading in to the cafeteria. The southern wall has a door nearby and beyond it a corridor heading south.
Steve takes a seat as instructed, and groans when the doctor pokes at his arm. He jerks it away swiftly, only causing himself even more pain.
Renala quikcly gets back to cover, pointing westward, and holding up three fingers to indicate number.
Halisi lets go of Steve's arm as he jerks away, looking up at him with an almost amused expression. "Come on now... we should make sure the bones stay in place until we can get you to a clinic."
Steve stares hard at the woman through his helmet before finally, reluctantly, extending his arm back towards her. "Make it quick..." he says.
Halisi nods, starting to remove Steve's armor plating as gently as she can. She then proceeds to grab a knife and carefully cut the undersuit away.
Jason silently counts down in his head from three, nodding slightly with each tick. On the third nod, he erupts from the door, strafing across the hall as he unleashes a hail of gunfire at the three adjutants, sending half his clip at them. He doesn't stop moving until he reaches the other side of the hall.
Two of the proto-adjutants fall to Jason's fire. The third, with a barrier, turns and fires a warp orb at him with a shriek and then proceeds to come running at him.
Steve winces a few times, although concealed by his helmet. "C'mon, doc. Can we speed this up?" he whines.
Renala quickly follows suit, strafing to the side to let Leah through. She opens fire, but it's cut short when the clip is depleted after five shots.
Halisi shakes her head. "I had you pegged as the tough guy. I'm not wrong very often." She removes the undersuit and looks over the wound. She then reaches for a medi-gel canister and starts to apply fresh medi-gel to the arm now that it is all exposed.
Jason lowers to one knee as he reaches the opposite side, hoping to clear the warp's line of fire without any luck. His shields fizzle and crackle as the warp makes short work of them and he squeezes the trigger of his Revenant once again, sending the remaining rounds at his attacker.
Leah quickly bounds from her cover at the receptionist's desk and makes for the doorway. She leans out and fires three quick shots at the adjutant, hoping their combined fire will put it down quickly.
Renala reloads her pistol. "Maybe someone's inside," she says as she approaches the door the creatures were interested in, glancing towards the tree once.
Jason gives Renala a nod and begins replacing his thermal clip. "Leah, see what they were trying to get to. We'll cover you." he orders, shouldering his LMG again once it's reloaded.
Leah silently approaches the door the adjutants were scratching at and stacks up against the wall. She taps the green panel and immediately begins speaking. "Rescue team." she announces, just in case anyone may be armed inside, "Hold your fire, we're here to help."
Renala walks past the door and aims her weapon as she's ready in case someone tries approaching them from the tree-room.
Vaden immediately falls out of the tiny broom closet along with some cleaning supples, landing hard against the floor. One of his hands is but a stump and is covered in medi-gel, but he's still bleeding.
Renala quickly turns around at the noise, eyes going wide as she sees the salarian. "Vaden?" she asks, her tone sounding a little hopeful.
Vaden gets on his feet with a pained grunt. He shows his stump to Jason. "Left my omni-tool in my other hand." He states, with a surprisingly humurous tone considering the circumstances. "Used a lot of medi-gel. All of it."
Leah stares at the stump for a moment. "Shit." she mutters. She removes her medi-gel cannister and takes him by the wrist (Or what's left of it) and immediately begins applying what little is left of it after using most of her medi-gel on Maria, "We've gotta stop that bleeding."
Renala picks out her own medi-gel container, which is nearly empty as well, and extends it towards Leah. She glnaces over her shoulder at the tree's surroundings.
Steve snorts loudly, "Tough guy?" he asks, "I'm not sure what you mean by that, or what your 'requirements' are for being a 'tough guy', lady. But you see all them ugly pieces of shit?" he glances out over the huskified corpses strewn about, "Well... I'm still here, ain't I?"
A pair of infected miners can be seen wandering around. One of them spots Renala and they start to shamble towards her. They are rather lightly mutated.
Jason chuckles slightly at the salarian. "You've got alot more fight in you than I thought." he says, not yet spotting the miners, "Good to have you back, Vaden."
Renala turns around and opens fire towards the creatures, using 12 shots (+1 armor piercing) on each
Leah tosses her empty cannister to the ground and accepts Renala's. "Jasper got the shuttle running. We're just doing one final sweep for survivors, and then we're getting the hell out of this hellhole." she says as she begins applying the rest of Renala's medi-gel to his wound.
Halisi seems to regret her words. It takes a while for her to respond as she tends to Steve's arm. "I didn't mean-... I'm sorry. This is no time for jokes." She proceeds to make a makeshift splint that she applies to his arm to hold it in place.
Vaden is about to respond to Jason when the gunfire starts. His gaze moves to the proto-adjutants, but they fall easily to Renala's fire.
Jason quickly swings his Revenant around to bear on the miners upon Renala opening fire. He loosens his grip on the heavy weapon as he sees them hit the ground. "Alright, we can't just stand around here. Cafeteria. Then the living quarters. Then we get the fuck out of here." he restates their objectives, "Stop that bleeding and let's move."
Steve groans loudly once more as a pain shoots through his arm. "It's fine." he states bluntly. After a moment of silence, he shakes his head, "Sorry... It's just not everyday that you get jumped by a room full of ravenous people turning into fucking robots." he grunts, "So... You know... You caught me on an off day."
Jason looks through the window of the cafeteria for any signs of life as he waits for Leah to patch up Vaden's injury.
Renala walks over to the door near the window to the cafeteria, casting another worried glance towards the tree.
There is no sign of movement inside the cafeteria. But the view of what's behind the barricade is largely obscured.
Jason moves over to the door and presses the green panel, as there's no point in being cautious with the large plate windows giving an open view. He steps inside with his Revenant raised. He repeats Leah's words, hoping for similar results, "Rescue team. Hold your fire, we're here to get you home!" he calls out as he scans the room.
Jason approaches the barricade, continuing to hold his weapon at the ready. "Hello?" he calls out, "Rescue team, sent by Londinium Galactic. Come out slowly, and we'll escort you to safety."
Jason reaches the barricade and lowers his weapon. He begins pulling the furniture aside with one hand to open a path. "This has to be a good sign, right?" he asks.
Renala nods. "I hope so," she says, as she turns around and watches the door they came from in case some of these things tries to sneak up on them.
Halisi nods at Steve as she finishes with the splint. She reaches into her back once more and produces some cloth, fashioning a sling for his arm. "Okay... that should do for now. You want some pain meds? Medi-gel might not be enough..."
The barricade shouldn't be too hard to move aside. Behind the counter can be seen several bodies - some infected and some not. There is a lot of blood.
Steve shakes his head. "I'll be fine." he says, possibly feeling slightly immasculated by her 'tough guy' comments and unwilling to accept the medication purely on principle. "Need to be able to focus."
Jason gives a dejected sigh and shakes his head. "Not good..." he says, staring at the bodies for a moment before proceeding over to the door, "Let's hope some managed to get away..."
Renala closes her eyes for a moment as she sees the bodies, shaking her head. She then follows after Jason towards the door.
Leah takes a position behind the counter. She unholsters her Mattock and uses her position to cover the door they entered from, occasionally glancing towards the bodies.
Halisi stands up. "Alright." She steps out of the shuttle and looks around the desolate hangar in silence for a moment.
Jason lowers his head for a moment and tightens his grip on his Revenant. After a moment he gives Renala a nod and taps the panel. "Rescue team!" he announces as the door slides open, but he remains in cover at the door frame.
The door opens to reveal a storage room full of food. As soon as it opens, without warning, a man in a stained and frayed chef's outfit jumps out from around the corner with a large kitchen knife raised at Jason. He has a crazed stare.
Jason was expecting a room full of creatures, so he's not too caught off-guard by the chef. Assuming he's being attacked by one of the monsters, he pulls his Revenant up, but the close-quarters space doesn't permit him to properly maneuver it. The kitchen knife hits his chest plate with an audible ding. Jason drops his weapon and attempts to grab ahold of the man's wrist. He quickly realizes that the man isn't mutated, "Whoa! Calm the fuck down!" he struggles.
Leah spins around and nearly shoots the chef until she hears Jason attempting to reason with him. Instead, she refocuses her attention on the storage room. She steps past the struggle, assuming Jason can handle a single (nearly) unarmed man, and makes a quick sweep of the room.
Jason uses both hands to control the chef's wrist and wrenches it to the side in an attempt at forcing him to drop the knife. "We're here to take you home! Drop the weapon!" he demands.
Chef drops the knife upon his wrist being wrenched, but continues to stare at Jason with the same crazed expression.
Jason pulls away from the man and takes a step back, putting a couple feet of distance between himself and the chef. He puts his hands up in a non-threatening manner. "Sir, we're gonna get you out of here. You understand?"
Jason lets out a deep breath, happy to not have to harm the man. "Stick close to us." he says as he collects his Revenant off the ground, "We need to do a quick sweep of the living quarters, and then we'll be getting out of here."
Jason smiles at the man from behind his helmet. "You're safe now." he says before marching back to the door with Renala.
Jason follows suit, raising his weapon and moving to Renala's side after sweeping to their left quickly.
Jasper runs his diagnostics program to make sure all the systems are functioning properly one last time.
Jason stalks down the hall beside Renala, keeping watch on the corner to their right as they approach the open expanse.
Sounds of metallic scratching and banging comes from the hangar door, echoing throughout the room. A moment later it opens and several proto-adjutants burst in, charging towards the shuttle with loud howls.
Administrator spouts a long string of profanity before finishing. "I fucking told you we should've just left!"
Jasper peers out from the cockpit. "Everybody got all your bits inside!?" he calls out loudly, craning his neck around.
Steve stands from his seat and approaches the door. "These fucking things just don't quit, do they!?" he shouts. As he's about to hop out of the shuttle, he hears Jasper. He raises his SMG and begins sweeping back and forth with it, unloading his entire clip at the approaching enemies. "We're all in, if that's what your asking! But we're just canned food for 'em in this thing!" he shouts
A few of the creatures fall, but the horde is fast approaching. There is over a dozen of them without a doubt.
Administrator moves up to Jasper and yells frantically. "Close the door! Close the damn door! We have to leave!"
Halisi raises her omni-tool and taps on it for a bit before neural shocking one of the nearest proto-adjutants. It doesn't help much considering that more are still coming in through the door.
Jasper pokes at the shuttle's interface, causing the doors to slide shut. "Uh huh. I'm workin' on it buddy. Calm your tits." he says.
Jason looks back and forth and slowly lowers his Revenant. "Gotta say... I expected a bit of a welcoming party." he says, sounding somewhat confused, although relieved.
Renala lowers her weapon, as well. "We did kill a lot of them," she says. "Maybe those guys in storage are all that's left?"
Leah catches up to Jason and Renala. "A little good luck is owed to us after everything we've been through."
Jason nods and moves towards the door described by the doctor, directly across from their location. He takes a position beside it, but waits for the others.
Jasper continues to work the shuttle's controls for a moment before it lifts straight up off the ground and begins hovering a few feet up.
Several of the creatures gathered around the shuttle are scorched by the thrusters, and some of the others move away. A warp can be heard impacting against the shuttle door.
Vaden kneels next to his lost hand. "Unpleasant experience." He remarks. "Painful. Well. Not anymore. Medi-gel helps. A lot."
Leah takes a knee beside the tree and waits patiently for the group to be ready to enter the room. "At least you're alive." she responds, "Could've ended a whole lot worse."
Renala nods slowly, glancing upward, before she catches up with Jason, taking cover by the other side of that door.
Jasper cusses as the shuttle is impacted by the warp. He continues to interact with the interface expertly and attempts to maneuver across the hangar and buzz the remaining adjutants with a burst from the thrusters.
Vaden nods and grabs his omni-tool. He looks at his hand for a bit. "Maybe not too late for reattatchment... no. Shouldn't risk infection." He stands up and starts heading to the door with the others.
Many proto-adjutants are incinerated, and the rest scatter away from the shuttle, leaving the hangar mostly clear for the time being.
Steve braces himself against the wall to keep from falling over. Once he regains his balance, he slams a new thermal clip into his weapon.
(Comms) We just had a run in with quite a crowd, Jay. Do what you've gotta do, but I suggest you make it quick!
Jasper sets the shuttle back down once he's satisfied that their attackers have been sufficiently pushed back.
Renala frowns. "Dying from an infection would be an i--" she stops talking as she hears Jaspers over the comms, but defers to Jason to respond.
(Comms) Copy. We're at our destination. Once we check it out, we'll be on our way back. Just hang in there!
Steve stands by the door and knocks against it with his good hand. "Open it, Jasper!" he calls, "Let me give the area a quick check."
Jason looks towards the others and waves them over with a renewed urgency. "Let's get this over with."
Vaden moves into position next to Jason, clearly not in much of a fighting shape but with his gun at the ready none the less.
Jason looks towards Renala. "Get that grenade ready... Just in case." he says. He glances towards Leah, "Be ready to book it if we don't like what we find."
A proto-adjutant jumps at Steve without warning, with enough force to knock him to the shuttle floor.
Jason gives a nod in return and slaps a gauntleted hand against the panel. "Rescue team! Hold your fire!" he calls out from his cover.
The door opens to reveal... a corridor. It is empty aside from a few blood stains and bullet holes. There is one door to the left, one straight ahead and two to the right. They are all on the western wall of the north-sith corridor.
Halisi gasps as the proto-adjutant jumps Steve. She grabs it by the shoulders and tries to keep it off him best she can.
Steve pulls his SMG up and wrestles to press it to the adjutant's head, groaning loudly as he struggles.
Jason instantly rounds the door upon Leah's report and enters the corridor. He raises his Revenant and faces north, covering that end of the hall. He gives another shout, "Rescue team! Hold your fire!"
The proto-adjutants head explodes in a mess of blue goo, brains and bones. The doctor jumps back, clearly shocked.
Steve is splattered with blue goo. He allows his good arm to slump to the ground as his ragged breathing fills the shuttle. After a moment, he pushes at the dead creature with his legs, attempting to push it out of the shuttle.
The corpse is pushed out and falls to the hangar floor below. The proto-adjutants are starting to come back into the hangar in greater numbers.
Renala stacks up on the other side of the same door, waiting for the others to get ready. She still holds the grenade, but the lid covering the priming button is still closed.
Leah leans out from the other doorframe and trains her weapon on the new door. "Ready!" she announces.
The door opens to reveal a room full of bunk beds and lockers, with a few chairs and tables as well. It is completely empty.
Steve ups the speed in which he climbs to his feet as he spots the approaching horde. "How many employees did you have here!?" he shouts as he raises his SMG and unleashes another volley of 20 rounds. The biotic shimmer returns.
One of the proto-adjutants fall to Steve's fire, but that's it. They keep coming. One of them raises a metallic arm and fires off a warp at the open door.
Steve gives another loud roar as he's struck with the warp, causing his shields to quickly die out. In a state of rage, he drags his arm back and thrusts it forwards, sending a biotic throw out towards the attackers. He quickly follows up by emptying the rest of his SMG into them.
Jason nods and hits the panel to close the door. He turns on his heels and jogs down the hall to the next door to the north, stacking up on it as previously.
Leah takes a position with her back against the eastern side of the hall directly in front of the door and raises her Mattock once again.