#RuinsOfRakhana – August 26, 2016

Ehanis tilts her head to the side as she stares at the only modern vehicle among the scrapyard. "What is Blood Pack doing out here?" she asks. "I thought they had enough to do on Omega to be running around looking for Prothean junk."

Renala is also looking at the vehicle, though not for the same reasons. "I can attempt to disable it," she offers. "Search it for intel while I'm at it, too."

Nathan sneers and hops out of the truck. "Why don't we make sure. Explosives wired to detonate as soon as it sets off and fuck with it internally?" He keeps his weapon shouldered, looking around.

Aron stands up as the truck starts to close the distance to the door, and slow down. He looks through the scope of his rifle while replying. "I would suggest your focus is misplaced."

Steve finally climbs to his feet as Ehanis mentions the Blood Pack. "Not. Good..." he mutters as he stares at the poorly painted vehicle. "I ain't sure how much the rest of you know about the Blood Pack, but if these assholes are here, then there's a reason for it. And they don't tend to play nice."

Jason watches the vehicle with a look of confusion on his face. "I somehow doubt it's a coincidence that we're running into them all the way out here near our objective." he says, "Aron. Who else knows about this artifact?"

Korio plants a hand against the back of the truck and hops out alongside Nathan, taking a quick knee and bringing his rifle up to scan their surroundings for any sign of the vehicle's owners.

Renala snorts. "I disagree," she says to Aron. "Our job is making sure you recover this device safely, and chasing a tank through this maze of rubble and ruin is anything but." She moves to jump out of the truck to follow Nathan. "Good thinking," she says. "I do my thing first, then you rig it up."

Namira looks around as the mercenaries stir, poking her head out for a moment to glimpse the vehicle before making sure to stay low just in case.

Ehanis looks over at Steve. "A couple krogan and a bunch of stupid vorcha," she says. "Krogan don't like being packed tightly, at least that goes for space travel." She shrugs. "I think we can handle them." Ehanis looks at the asari matron as she makes her way off. "Uh, wasn't she supposed to bubble up if we hit trouble?"

Aron responds to Jason without taking his eye off the scope. "I could not say." Renala's comment causes him to scoff. "Certainly, but I would be more concerned about the Blood Pack than their vehicle. I can only assume they are here for the relic."

Jessica studies the vehicle from her position in the truck. "I will join him." she says with a glance towards Nathan before she settles it back on Jason.

Jason gives Jessica a nod. "Rig it up." he says, "But don't blow it. Let Renala search it for intel. Setting off those explosives will just be a contingency plan and possible bargaining chip. The last thing we need to do is piss off a bunch of krogan."

Renala stops and looks over her shoulder. "And what do you think will happen if they leave with it?" she says. "Better to cut off their escape than take our chances with an unknown timer." She doesn't wat for a response before continuing on her way to catch up with Nathan.

Jessica nods and climbs to her feet. She hops out of the truck, Avenger in hand, and begins to jog to catch up to Renala and Nathan. "I am thinking maybe we are better off planting charges behind a couple of the wheels." she suggests as she falls into line beside Nathan. "No point in using all of our resources to destroy the vehicle completely if we can disable it with less, yes?" she muses, already sizing the vehicle up as she

Nathan escorts Renala to the truck, keeping his weapon sweeping around. "Do your tech stuff," he says. "Good call, Jessica. Do it." He drops to a knee and keeps an eye on his surroundings.

Korio follows behind the truck once his initial scan is complete, scope-to-eye, until it comes to a complete stop. He takes a position just beside the truck, watching the opening through his scope. "For now, we are alone." he reports.

Renala nods, and approaches the door of the Blood Pack APC. She starts by checking if they've locked it. "Just be careful with the explosives while I'm in there, okay?" she asks. "Not that I don't trust you, but you know how forgiving explosive charges are to mistakes."

Jessica gives a single nod as she attaches her Avenger to her back and hurries over to the vehicle. "It is shaped in a dumb way." she muses aloud as she takes a knee near the front of the M-080, "The beak is all the way out here. Maybe is possible to disable it with one charge right-..." she places a hand against the nose to stabilize herself as she crouches her head up under the front of the vehicle momentarily before simply

Jason climbs out of the truck but remains near it, Revenant in hand. "Let's do this quickly. The faster we can move on that relic, the quicker we can get this over with."

Renala draws her Locust and gets on the team comms. "Got a vorcha in here," she whispers. "It's asleep in driver's seat. Orders?"

Ehanis gets out of the truck after Jason, and starts to patrol around it. She casts a glance at the large opening every few seconds.

Aron remains on top of the truck, watching the entrance. The guard in the back stays near the truck, looking behind them.

Steve hops on comms as he exits the truck. "You kill that fucker before he gets a chance to wake up, Ren." he says, "Last thing we need is him tellin' all his buddies about us or comin' up on us while we're inside."

Jason glares at Steve as he instantly settles on murdering the vorcha. A short sigh escapes him as he hears Ehanis. She's not wrong. "The Blood Pack aren't known for their reasoning skills. They speak one language: Violence..." he says aloud over comms, "...If they're here, then there's little chance of avoiding a fight. Put him down and search the vehicle for intel. But do it quickly and quietly. The last thing we need is the

Nathan grunts, turning toward the truck and moving in with Renala. "You wanna do it or I?" He asks her. He looks at her via his expressionless visor.

Renala is about to step forth when Nathan interrupts and she gestures towards it. "All yours," she mutters with a shrug and moves to let him pass. Her tone is however making it clear she's relieved to not have to be one performing this cheap shot.

Jessica remains on her back beneath the vehicle for a moment, gauging the distance between the wheels. She reaches down and removes a small charge attached to the hip of her hardsuit and presses it against the underside of the M-080. She lets out a low whistle from between her teeth as she goes to work on adjusting the charge. Once it's positioned where she's satisfied, she pulls her hand up above her face and uses her omni-tool

Ehanis moves towards the front of their truck, still checking the entrance every now and then for movements.

Nathan nods to her and shoulders his weapon. He sends a command to his gauntlet and the blade slinks out. He detaches it from the slider and holds it in a reverse grip. He sneaks up on the vorcha, slow soft steps. As he closes, he would make to plunge the dagger through the side of the vorcha's head, whilst his other hand would grasp it's throat tightly.

Renala frowns and enables her omni-tool, walking up to the side of the dead vorcha. "I'll see what I can do," she says. "You can search the cabin and... him if you need anything to do. Datapads, omni-tools, any electronic devices will do." She attempts to gain elevated access to the vehicle's computer.

Korio continues to watch the main door, waiting for any sign of movement.

Jason remains beside the truck, Revenant shouldered but aimed towards the ground. "How's it going in there?" he asks. The lack of screams and shooting only the slightest bit reassuring.

Nathan wipes down his blade and slips it back into the mechanism. "All clear in here, boss," he announces over comms. He looks to Renala and nods, starting to search the vorcha.

Jessica scuttles out from under the truck, scooting across the ground on her back until the sky is visible once again. "Just tell me when and I will blow it up. Maybe is better if we wait until Nathan leaves, though." she says over comms. "....Maybe."

Renala sighs. "At least wait until I leave," she responds over comms. "I'm not easily replacable." She is watching her program do its thing, staring at any line of text it spits out and answering its prompts.

Jessica sits up, reaching a hand over and placing it against the vehicle to help her climb to her feet. "Mmm." she hums over comms, "I will grant you safe passage from the vehicle and we will replace Nathan with a pyjak. Is win-win for everybody, yes?"

Jason frowns through his visor. "Not the time, people..." he chimes in, "......Besides, it would take at least a varren to replace Ten."

Renala chuckles. "That also means I can keep you safe, you know," she whispers loudly, not over comms. "You leave first, and none of us get blown to pieces."

Nathan sighs and announces over comms. "I hate you both," he grunts. He then looks to Renala and nods, offering her a thumbs up. "Too kind," he whispers back.

Steve stands guard nearby, casting a glance back towards Aron. "Ya think it's a good idea leavin' the truck out here in the open?" he asks. "If it comes down to it and we gotta blow their vehicle to stop 'em from makin' off with this important relic of yours, is there any chance they'd be able to get this thing runnin' for 'em?"

Renala frowns. "I'm in, but it doesn't look good," she says, over comms. "The travel logger is acting up, but I'll see what I can do." She tries to access the data the travel log program has stored, and download any intact pieces of it to her omni-tool for analysis.

Aron looks down at Steve, raising an eyebrow. "I have no intention to hand over the vehicle to the Blood Pack. I assume your team is capable of dispatching them?"

Nathan takes the thermal clips and stores them on his persons. Free ammo, after all. He stands up and starts to search the cabin, squeezing around Renala. "Let's see...".

Jason sighs as Renala reports. "Just do what you can." he says, "But make it quick. We need to get moving."

Steve gives a brief shrug. "Depends on how many of 'em are in there." he says with a gesture towards the door. "We'll handle 'em. But lookin' over all the possible outcomes ain't ever a bad idea."

Jessica dusts her gauntlets off as she starts back towards the truck. "The feeling is mutual, 'Ten'." she says through a grin.

Ehanis looks up at the drell from the front of the truck. "Still, you can lock it, right?" she says. "I haven't heard about Blood Pack techs before, so that should do the trick."

Aron looks over to Ehanis, an exasperated sigh escaping him. "Yes. We can lock it. I will leave my people to safeguard it as well. It is of vital importance for our return journey." He glances towards the half-open blast doors. "Perhaps if the doors can be opened, we can store it within..."

Renala severs the connection. She considered putting a trakcer on it, but decided against it as this thing is going up in the air before that'll be helpful anyway. "I got the data, but the program has made quite the mess of it," she says over comms. "I'll analyse it on our way home."

Steve gestures towards the blast doors. "Ain't that where we're goin'...?" he asks, "Storin' the vehicle right in their path if they come back out prolly ain't the best way of keepin' it outta sight."

Jason nods to himself. "That will have to do for now. Let's get ready to move in." he says

Nathan hurms and his voice crackles over comms. "Got some rations here and a tank of water. We could snatch it off of them and take it for ourselves? Even if it's crap we can't eat, we can just dump it somewhere and then they'll be lacking in food if they somehow end up chasing us."

Aron seems confused. "Yes... I am not particularly concerned about an attack from inside the complex. It would be hard to make use of the vehicle if we are all dead."

Renala steps out of the truck. "I'm ready to move," she says over comms. Despite that, she keeps her promise and waits for Nathan to leave first with an exaggerated gesture at the door and a smirk.

Jason gives a shake of his head. "Not worth the time. We're less than a day from the LZ so a loss of their food probably wouldn't do much to hinder them in a chase. For now, let's just get inside."

Steve sighs and shakes his head. "I'm just sayin' if they come through those doors and we have to blow their damn vehicle to hell, we don't want them takin' ours. But it's your truck, do with it what you will. Was just a suggestion." He begins to pace away from the truck as he awaits the others.

Nathan nods at Jason's reply. "Alright, Jase," he replies before looking to Renala. He chuckles lightly and crosses a hand across his stomach, sticks the other out behind him and to the side and bows deeply in a theatrical display of appreciation. "My lady is too kind," he muses before slipping out the door with a gentle punch to her shoulder as he passes.

Ehanis draws her weapon and starts following on Steve's eight. A shimmer forms around her as she gathers up energy for a biotic attack should she need biotics on short notice.

Renala lets out a short laugh before she leaves the truck after him. She start making her way towards Steve.

Jason gives a glance up to Aron. "Ready?" he asks before issuing any orders.

Aron nods. "Clear a path for us. Dispatch the Blood Pack if they are present. I will escort Zelyner." he instructs before kneeling down to open the hatch on top of the truck.

Jason nods and starts moving towards the large doors. "Alright everyone, on me! Eyes open! These people aren't known for playing nice with others, so be prepared for a fight!" He shoulders his Revenant, keeping it pointed towards the ground in front of him.

Steve falls in line with Jason, meeting up with Renala before starting towards the door behind his boss.

Nathan falls into step with Jason, drawing his M-100 and cycling it to incendiary rounds. He chuckles and cracks his neck. "Redrock's coming anockin'," he says as he slips it back onto his back and draws his M-55, shouldering it and matching the stance Jason is displaying.

Jessica unholsters her Avenger from her back, gripping it in both hands as she starts towards the blast doors. "You see?" she asks with a glance towards Nathan, "I could have, but I did not blow you up. You are now in debt to me."

Nathan laughs, an honest one. "I'll pay you back with a shot of whiskey, how about that?" He replies back, casting a glance to her.

Renala catches up with Steve and follows on his right. "I'll stay at the back of the group until we hit any tech that needs my attention," she says, though not over comms.

Jessica gives a brief shrug of her shoulders. "I will consider it..." she says simply, her gaze beginning to scan around as they near the door.

Korio follows a good distance behind the group, watching the scene through the scope of his rifle. He briefly scans upwards, looking over the cliff-face above. "I will cover from afar." he reports over comms, bringing his attention back to the blast doors.

Aron jumps off the truck after opening the hatch, briefing Namira on the situation.

Nathan rolls his eyes and focuses ahead, checking the readout on his HUD as it gives him a quick once-over of his systems and ammo-count.

Zelyner ascends from the hatch, hovering down to the ground. The second drell guard exits soon after.

Ehanis ups her pace to catch up to Jason, following beside him once she has. "Let's kick some quads," she says.

Jason casts a glance Ehanis' way. "That's the plan..." he says quietly, "...And avoid getting kicked in the quad while we're at it..."

Jason activates his flashlight once he enters through the doors, quickly sweeping to the left once inside.

Ehanis looks into the tunnel as they're about to enter, raising her weapon. "They can try," she says. "I'll set off a warp field while they kick at something that's not there."

Nathan switches to his low-light setting and raises his weapon. He activates his flashlight too, moving off in the opposite direction of Jason.

Steve keeps his SMG down at his side as he struts through the door behind the others. A quick tap at his omni-tool causes his headlamp to kick on.

Jessica sighs loudly. "Of course it's dark in here..." she groans as she activates her light. "...Why wouldn't it be dark in here..."

Renala enables her armor's headlight, as well. "These is probably the fight we heard," she says.

Nathan slowly advances down the side, keeping his weapon trained on the sealed door. "Someone needs to check up," he says over comms, switching to internal now and disabling his external speaker.

Jason gives a nod to Renala. "Sounds likely. Looks like the Blood Pack made short work of the locals..." he says as he inspects the corpses as they reach them. "Tunnel is clear, get inside Korio. I'm moving up to check the door." he announces as he starts up the staircase, Revenant aimed towards the open doorway as he does. Once he reaches the top, assuming he doesn't come face-to-face with a bunch of mercenaries, he moves

Korio slinks into the tunnel once Jason announces its safety, still remaining a fair bit behind the others. He doesn't activate his light, however, choosing to hold onto the element of surprise. "Understood."

Ehanis enables her headlights and takes a few steps up the staircase, being ready to move in should Jason run into trouble up there.

Renala starts towards the blast door, looking around for any signs of its controls.

Nathan approaches the hatch and gives it a testing yank, seeing if he cannot just simply remove it by sheer force.

Jason steps through the door and into the small room, giving a quick sweep with his weapon. "Clear. Looks like this door was knocked in a long time ago, so still no sign of that explosion we heard. If the shooting did come from this-... 'exchange'... then that means we're not too far behind these people. So eyes peeled and weapons forward."

Steve winces and snaps towards Nathan, the eyes of his recon hood locking onto the man. "Careful." he warns. His gaze travels to Renala and he gestures back towards the previous blast door, "It sounded like Aron was hoping to bring the truck inside. Might be worth seeing if you can get those doors open, Ren."

Nathan hurms and discards the rusted metal to the side. "Renala, come take a look at this," he says, shining his light on the decaying wires." He kneels before it and peers inside. "Probably fucked even beyond your level...".

Jessica takes a position near the bottom of the stairs, her headlamp dancing to-and-frow in the darkness.

Nathan looks back and offers Steve an apologetic shrug. "Yeah, my bad. Don't even know my own strength," he replies as he looks back to the wires.

Renala frowns. "You have to be careful with this old crap," she says wih a sigh. She picks up the control box and looks it over, trying to determine if Nathan damaged the controls by tearing it off.

Ehanis steps back down from the staircase and starts crossing the room towards the blast door.

Jason approaches the opposite door, flashing his light through the doorway to get a glimpse of what's on the other side. "Let's get moving, people. The door is open up here."

Renala puts it back on the floor and turns towards the staircase. "Let's just go," she says. "I really doubt the others got in through here anyway."

Ehanis walks up the stairs at a brisk pace, and moves over to the doorway Jason went in.

Nathan nods and turns. He moves towards the steps, following behind Ehanis.

Steve gives a glance towards the blast door before following Renala. "No fixin' it?" he asks.

Jessica is the last to climb the stairs aside fro Korio. "Could always blow it open if we need to, yes?" she asks.

Renala sighs. "I'll take a look," she says, altering course towards its controls. She didn't get on the staircase in the first place, so there's no squeezing past people to get there.

Jason waves the others over as he spots them crest the top of the stairs. "We've got another staircase over here. Leads down." He steps into the grated staircase and shines his light downwards.

Nathan steps behind Jason, shining his light over the man's shoulder. "Down the rabbit-hole," he mutters as he peers down.

Jason sighs and nods. "Seems like it..." he says as he starts down the stairs. "You got any info on this place, Aron?" he asks over comms. "Right now we're just poking around in the dark."

Steve stops as he reaches the top of the stairs and leans against the railing as he waits for Renala to return.

Renala tries prying the hatch open, not using too much force as she doesn't want to tear any wires off.

Korio gives a nod to Renala as she approaches the hatch. "I would not put too much faith in anything still functioning as intended. The combination of time, a lack of maintenance and sand very well could have destroyed all of the systems in place."

Ehanis enters the stairs room after Nathan, figuring the creeking metal grating should hold their weight considering Blood Pack mercs has taken them before them.

Aron 's voice comes in over the radio: "Dr. D'Ralis has some suggestions, we are coming inside."

Nathan follows closely behind Jason, keeping his weapon trained and ready.

Jessica waits just outside of the staircase, giving the others some room to work.

Renala nods. "I know," she says. "It might still be worth trying, if we can find out where to put power into it. I doubt our suit's going to be enough, but the truck might do it if we have a long enough cord." She tries scanning the sides and bottom of the box for any symbols or color codes she could look up.

Ehanis is not far behind Nathan, keeping her weapon and biotics ready for what might await them downstairs.

Aron enters the tunnel alongside Namira. After noticing the majority of the mercenaries at the platform they head up the short stairs. Namira is looking around with fascination, recording everything on her omni-tool.

Jason continues down the staircase, just looking to venture far enough to get a grasp of what is down here while Aron and the doctor come inside. "Sounds like a plan. Seems like all the power is out, so all we've got is our lights. Currently checking out a staircase, but I'll be back up in a moment."

Nathan sticks behind Jason, weapon trained on the floor below. "Orders?" He asks, flicking his head at the doorless doorway.

Namira approaches the group by the doorway. "Looks like some kind of... bunker. Military, probably..." she says, looking for any remains of signage. She shoots a glance at the bodies near the entrance. "Did... they do that?"

Jason stops in place and glances to Nathan. "Hold this position. That very well might be where our friends went. Lights off until I'm back. I'm gonna head upstairs and see what Aron is suggesting." He gives one last glance towards the open door and turns back, heading the way they came.

Renala frowns. "I could try putting power into the wires one by one and see what happens," she says, "but I'm not sure if that's worth the risk. It could end up closing the door completely on us, after all."

Nathan nods and makes room for Jason. He switches off his light and dials up his low-light to maximum, now traversing into the borders of night-vision. He takes position at the top of the stairs leading down to the next level and simply keeps his gun trained on the stairwell.

Steve gives a brief glance to the corpses on the ground, then to Namira before shrugging his shoulders, forearms still perched against the railing as he watches Renala work- or attempt to work. "No idea. Seems likely, though. The Blood Pack are some mean sons of bitches. Ain't exactly out of character for 'em to merc a bunch of people if it'll get 'em what they want."

Ehanis is not far behind Nathan, and she also shuts her light off. She moves to stand flat against the wall, hoping it's enough for Jason to pass her.

Korio remains in place, rifle now held across his chest with both hands as there's no need for overwatch in such close quarters. "Would you be able to cut the power quick enough if the doors were to begin closing?" he asks, "It may be worth trying if you're confident you can shut it down in time. We don't need much space to squeeze through and, if we are supposed to be camping here, it would be nice to have our vehicle safely

Jason squeezes past Nathan and Ehanis, giving the asari a quick pat on the shoulder. "Careful." he instructs as he continues up. Once he reaches the top, he takes a position beside the stairwell door and waits to hear what Aron and the doctor have to say. "What's the plan of attack here?"

Renala nods and steps back. "Let me grab a few tools and I'll see if I can make that happen," she says. "I'll be using my suit as a source while we test, anyway, which should give me plenty of time to cut the power." She leaves the entrance area and jogs over towards the truck, where she jumps in and moves over to start rummaging through her backpack.

Ehanis scoffs. "I'm always careful," she says.

Namira looks to Jason. "If my suspicions are correct, we should be looking for some kind of lab. If the disk was in the possession of the people of this city once, they must have been interested in studying it. Keep your eyes open for any signage..."

Nathan sneers over a private channel to Ehanis, his external speaker still shut off. "Really? You? Careful?"

Aron looks to Jason as well. "I believe it is most likely the Blood Pack are here for the same reason as us. Perhaps they have found the way. In any case, we must stop them before they acquire the Disk. They cannot be allowed to reach it."

Korio simply nods in return and remains near the door.

Jason looks between the two. "Okay. Stop the Blood Pack from reaching the disk." he nods. "Now how about you tell me why the artifact is in what seems to be some sort of military bunker." he asks bluntly. Given his experience with artifacts, it wasn't the sort of question he was willing to just skirt around at this point, "Why would the drell military be interested in studying an artifact? Shouldn't this be in some sort of-..."

Ehanis nods. "Yeah, really," she replies back over the channel. "I have no idea what you're on about." She's grinning, though it's too dark to see that.

Nathan chuckles, still not taking his eyes from the stairwell. "Of course, sweetheart, of course." He rolls his shoulders. "You are the paragon of avoidance and being careful."

Jessica watches the discussion unfold, her head tracking each person as they speak.

Namira looks into the dark room beyond the doorway. "A museum? I thought you'd understand, being human. Were you not born yet? The disk is an alien artifact to these people. They had no contact with the rest of the galaxy. No knowledge of other species. I have visited the Mars archives. Most galactic species have similar sites... What we are looking for is a much smaller find for sure, but..."

Renala gave the hanar a quick salute as she passed, but she doesn't stop. She grabs her backpack and hurries back towards the entrance. Once inside, she puts the backpack against the wall near the control box and opens it, picking out a wire-cutter and a wire that plugs into her suit on one end that has a clip on the other.

Aron enters the small room, looking around as he speaks. "Perhaps they had some primitive understanding of the power of the Enkindlers. Perhaps they sought to understand their wisdom."

Ehanis nods. "I'm glad we're on the same page," she replies. She does look around, but there's not much to see due to Jason ordering them to keep the lights off.

Nathan immediately snaps his weapon upwards and moves back onto the team comms. "Gunshots. I hear a voice too. Krogan."

Jason sighs as Namira speaks. Artifacts gave him the willies, but what she was saying did make sense. As Aron chimes in, he gives a roll of his eyes. "Yeah, that must've been it, buddy." he agrees with a shake of his head. "Anyway doctor, what you're saying is our best bet is to follow the Blood Pack's lead and look for a lab-..." his words are cut short as the sound of gunfire erupts. "Get down!" he orders Aron and Namira,

Steve swivels towards the door, gripping his SMG tightly.

Ehanis frowns and aims her weapon towards where she heard the krogan voice. She implicitly defers to Nathan to report.

Jessica is clearly caught off guard by the gunshots and spins in place, raising her Avenger at the door despite there being no way for the Blood Pack to have come back upstairs without going through Nathan and Ehanis first. "Mother fucker..." she cusses at being startled.