This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#RuinsOfRakhana – September 2, 2016
Renala keeps looking over the wires with a thoughtful frown. "Could someone up there bring me my backpack?" she asks into the comms
Nathan yanks out another round from his armour, inspecting it with a shiver. "Mother fuc-" he mutters as he flicks the bullet at Jason again.
Jason casts a glance Nathan's way as the discarded round pinks off his armor. "How's the armor holding up?" he asks, "Looked like a few of those shots got through your shields."
Nathan yanks another bullet, this time underhanding it to Jason for him to inspect. "This armour is meant to take an explosion near enough point blank," he says. "It'll hold fine. It's just gonna need some TLC when we get back." He walks back over to toe a turret with a snort. "Still... These fuckers chewed through my shields in, what, two, three seconds? How many
Steve stands from his seat atop the rubble with a grunt, waving Renala off dismissively. "It's fine. I'm just sittin' on my ass, anyway. I'll head up and grab it." he announces over comms so the people upstairs know as well. "What am I lookin' for, Ren?" he asks as he starts out of the corridor.
Jason catches the round in his synthetic hand, holding it up to inspect under his headlamp. He lets out a long whistle as he rotates it between his fingers. "Looks ancient." he says. "This is a relic all on its own right here."
Nathan nods, walking over to Jason. "Get a quick credit for it, you think? I mean, I have about thirty of those stuck in my back, so there's no shortage," he quips. "In all seriousness, if these are- were still active then there's the risk that others are too. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather not keep slinging grenades around in this ruin." He waves a
hand around him, referring to the bunker. "I think we should consider looking for a control-centre and trying to shut it down from there. Or the power room. Either or."
Steve nods to himself, "You got it." he says as he disappears around the corner. A few moments later he emerges into the stairwell, stepping past Korio and Ehanis. "Don't you two work too hard." he comments before starting up the stairs, the light clang of his boots on the grated material reverberating throughout the stairwell.
Jason tosses the round to the floor. "You're not wrong. But we don't even have a layout to go off of. It could be anywhere. And with all of these doors rusted shut?" he gives a shake of his head, "We could be here for hours searching for it. On the plus side, the power seems to be out in most of the place, so they obviously saw fit to put together some sort of backup power in this section of the bunker-..." he cocks a thumb back
over his shoulder towards the door Renala is working on, "...which means- if we're lucky- we might be heading the right way. So if we come across some sort of control room or something? Great. Otherwise we're just going to have to deal with fumbling around in the dark, so to speak."
Korio doesn't respond to Steve, merely keeping his sight trained over the side of the railing as he stares down into the darkness.
Ehanis looks over at Steve as he passes. "Likewise," she says before resuming staring down into the darkness. She is standing by the railing, as well.
Steve calls up as he nears the top of the staircase, "Comin' up, don't shoot." Korio and Ehanis would hear the sound of Jessica's voice calling back: "I will consider it."
Nathan nods, conceding to Jason's point. "Yeah, I can see it," he admits. He folds his arms across his chest and nods again. "Alright, but we are taking it really slowly, right? I mean, I'd rather not take a face full of rounds again. Ancient or no, they can rip apart my shields and, given a few seconds, they'll take down my armour no problem." He then addresses
the elephant in the room, pointing to Jason's hand. "And, no offence, but we should consider you as only semi-combat effective. Same with Ehanis and... Well, maybe not Renala, but still." He shrugs. "Sorry if it sounds like I'm crossing the line, just saying what I think, Jason."
Jason breaks eye contact from Nathan as he mentions the hand. "I'm fine." he snaps pointedly. A short sigh escapes him and his tone softens slightly, "Look, I understand the concern, but if push comes to shove I'm ready to throw down, alright? Upside of these things is it doesn't hurt to take a shotgun blast to them point blank..." he continues with a short, humorless snort as his gaze travels across the synthetic limbs, "So
yeah. I'm fine. And unless the Blood Pack split up and a few more of them are roaming around downstairs, then we've most likely seen the last of them. Which means we shouldn't have to worry about coming across anyone else. Just more-..." he gestures towards the area in the ceiling where the turrets were, "...death traps. Like you said. We take it really slow and pay attention."
Aron and Dr. D'Ralis are still in the tunnel room, standing by the half-open door, discussing the possiblity of taking the time to explore more of the structure once the disk has been found. Several crates of equipment and supplies have been carried inside the tunnel from the truck by one of the drell guards, while the other stands watch outside. The supplies found in the Blood Pack vehicle have been relocated as well.
Zelyner hovers inside the tunnel, no doubt having taken shelter from the winds outside, which are increasing in strength to the point where they are kicking up sand and dust from the rubble - not a pleasant environment for an aquatic species.
Steve stares at the dumb jellyfish as he makes his way back through the tunnel, though he doesn't speak to any of the non-Redrock personnel. As he reaches the door Aron and D'Ralis are near, he bends over and collects Renala's bag, slinging it over his shoulder before starting back the way he came.
Nathan nods, making to firmly grip Jason's shoulder. "Whatever you say. I ain't been around long, but I trust your judgement," he says with a short chuckle. "Besides, one robo-arm is still fucking scary. I've seen you carry your rifle like a freaking stick." He releases Jason's shoulder and steps back. "I'll take point," he says firmly as he raps his knuckles
Renala is still looking into the control box, but there's not much she can do while waiting for the tools. "I'm fine," she says. "It hurts a bit, yeah, but nothing is broken."
Jason gives a short, distant nod to Nathan, still examining his remaining 'robo-arm'. As Renala speaks up, he seems to snap out of it and turns his attention to her. "To be expected. You did get thwomped on the head by a krogan. Don't think it's supposed to feel good."
Steve takes the stairs two at a time, passing Korio and Ehanis once again. "Keep up the good work. That wall of darkness ain't gonna stare at itself." he says before disappearing back into the hallway.
Korio briefly glances in Steve's direction, but soon returns his attention back to the darkness. "Do not allow his words to irritate you." he suggests to Ehanis. "Guarding our team's flank is important work, if perhaps not the most exciting." he assures.
Steve finally returns, shrugging the bag off of his shoulder as he re-enters the corridor. "Don't say I never got ya anything, Ren." he jokes as he sets the bag down beside her. "Think you've got everything you're gonna need to get us through that door?"
Renala chuckles. "He delivered according to specification then," she says. When Steve arrives with her bag, she nods. "I hope so," she says. "To be honest with you, I'm not really sure what I'm doing." Renala starts digging into the bag to find her wire-cutter and cable for using the suit's power.
Jason blinks a couple of times. "Well, that's reassuring..." he sighs, giving a glance towards Nathan, "Might want to get that breaching charge ready..."
Nathan chuckles, waving a hand in the air. "I'm always ready to blow something up," he assures with a... rather overly-dramatic evil laugh. He then clears his throat and looks to Renala. "Just give it a go and... well, don't somehow trigger a self-destruct." He jabs a thumb to Jason. "Like he said."
Ehanis sighs. "I know, I know," she says. "It's been a long, uncomfortable journey, and then the grenade happened..."
Renala smirks. "Would save you a breaching charge, wouldn't it?" she says. "I don't think a biometrics scanner comes with that, though." She cuts two arbitrary wires to start with and wires her suit up to them. The asari leaves alone any wires that leads to another point on the controller device. She has a rather low power output set on her suit, and would only increase it if the effect seems promising.
The low power is all it takes, the door system taking the weak current to be verification. With a loud, groaning, ear-piercing noise the metal doors slowly start to slide open, stopping shortly after as the motors fail. A foot-wide opening is what was accomplished.
Nathan immediately snaps up, his rifle more or less materialising in his hand as he draws it and aims it at the doorway. "Wasn't expecting it to be that easy," he admits as he glances to Jason.
Jason snickers and gives a shake of his head. "I don't think we get paid if we destroy the whole damn place with the artifact inside. Besides, in that event, you'll be the one explaining things to Linda. And when she's dismembering you with her bare hands, that should buy me enough time to pack my suitcases, sneak out the window and start a new life under the name Russ or some shit on a planet faaar away where she can't find me
and behead me..." As the doors begin to slide open, his hand moves to his Phalanx, pulling it free from its holster as he waits to see what comes into view on the other side of the doorway as he shines his light through the gap.
On the other side of the door is a room, larger than the one behind them, of course the darkness makes it hard to tell just how large. From the door what appears to be the long-ruined husks of several large devices of unknown purpose, some of them looking like computer terminals while others seem more like some sort of scientific equipment. The plastic shells still stand even as the metal crumbles.
Renala 's smile fades once the door stops opening. "Neither did I," she says. She tries turning the power output off to see if the door still stays ajar.
Nathan advances on the door, stowing any comeback to Jason he had for another time. He tries to gauge whether he can squeeze through the door or not given his rather bulky armour and weaponry on his back.
Jason moves up beside Nathan. Though, rather than trying to figure out if they can fit through the narrow opening, he simply holsters his pistol and attempts to force the door open a bit more. He stands off to the side, gripping the edge of the door and pulling it towards him in an attempt at sliding it open a bit more.
The rusty metal of the door complains loudly, but it is forced aside further, wide enough for a person to pass without issue.
Renala carefully unplugs and packs the tools back into the backpack. She zips it shut and puts it on.
Jason gives a lopsided smirk from behind his helmet as he pulls his Phalanx from its holster once again. "After you." he says, gesturing to the door with his pistol as he gives a little bow, making as if holding the door open for Nathan.
Nathan snorts. "Such a gentleman," he comments as he sweeps into the room, his flashlight illuminating wherever the beam shines. First priority, scan for threats and that is exactly what he is doing.
Jason steps in behind Nathan, pistol in one hand as his flashlight scans towards the opposite corner of Nathan, checking his blind spots.
Several rows of research equipment is all that is in sight, chairs at some of the benches with padding that seems like it would disintegrate at the slightest touch. As Nathan steps into the room he'd feel a crunch under his foot. An inspection would reveal the skeletal remains of another drell, covered in cobwebs and wearing the tattered remains of white clothing.
Renala enters the room after the other two, shining a light onto the ceiling to look for turrets or hatches that could cover one.
Steve steps through the door after Renala, SMG at his side. "They said the drell were most likely researchin' this artifact, right?" he asks aloud, "Looks like we might be in the right place..." He continues to scan the room, looking about the room for anything of note or any doors.
There are no obvious signs of any ceiling hatches that may contain additional turrets, of course it's hard to get a view of the whole room from the doorway. Sweeping lights further into the room reveal that it goes on for some time, more old, depowered computer terminals and once-high end equipment lining walls and the rows of counters in the center of the room. At the opposite end of the room can be just barely seen a massive
computer of antique design, faint glowing lights indicating that at least some parts of it still have power. Slumped against the door is another long-dead drell. As the light shines over the corpse several arachnids scurry quickly out of the beam, taking refuge in whatever dark corner they can find.
Nathan looks down and sighs. "Sorry, mate," he mutters to the skeletal remains before moving further in. He keeps sweeping his beam around, occasionally raising it to the ceiling in search of hatches. He leaves the orders to Jason.
Renala frowns at the sight of another dead drell. "Looks like this place lost power in the middle of their work," she says. She pre-empts the next order and walks down along the room towards the large computer.
Jason settles his light on the drell corpse for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Just fan out and see what you can find. This looks like the sort of place they may have kept what we're looking for. At the very least, we're on the right track." he says as he begins moving further into the room, slowly sweeping his flashlight back and forth.
They remain unimpeded as they move further into the room. There is a door on each side of the big wall computer at the end of the room, both of them sealed.
Steve gives a nod as he splits up from the others and does the same. "Seems like only the important shit was put on whatever system they have in place keepin' power runnin'. Guessin' that terminal is our best bet at findin' that artifact since it looks like it's still got a bit of juice pumpin' through it." he suggests with a gesture towards the computer Renala is approaching.
Nathan nods with Steve. "Yeah, what he said," he confirms needlessly as he makes his way toward one of the doors. He investigates the one on the left, looking to see if there is any control panel and, if there is, whether it holds any power left in it.
Jason approaches the other door, giving it a similar once-over to see if it's still in working order.
Nathan hurms. "I suppose I'll... hinge my bets and say these are holding something valuable behind them," he says. "...or the drell were veeeeeeery serious about keeping their cleaning supplies under lock and key."
Renala stops in front of the large computer, looking it over for a place to start. "An ancient computer of uknown alien architecture," she begins, muttering, "subjected to centuries of wear and tear, made by people speaking a language we can't translate...."
Jason once again holsters his pistol, hindered by the state of his left hand, and reaches out to grip the handle of the door. He gives it a firm tug to see how well it has held up to years of wear. "Yep." he responds simply to Renala as he looks over the door before tugging at it again, "What are you thinking? Ten? Fifteen minutes to figure it out?"
There is no haptic interface for the computer of course, but nor is there a physical keyboard. There is a set of buttons on the computer wall itself, covered with a multitude of colors and arcane symbols. A few of them draw attention to themselves due to being lit up. Three yellow switches, a small green button and a large red button.
Steve continues to pace around the room, his flashlight dancing this way and that as he examines all of the random research equipment.
Several microscopes are set up along one of the walls, and in a corner sits a workbench covered in what's left of some dismantled electronic device.
Steve moves over to the workbench and sets his SMG down, casting a glance over his shoulder to give the room another once-over before examining the device.
It's hard to tell what the device might once have been. The metal casing is rusted and the wire coverings have gone brittle and cracked over the years.
Nathan continues to walk around the room, investigating every oddity he sees. He examines the closest corpse to see if there is anything on it that could perhaps assist them. A keycard in the scraps of clothes or even a form of identification just to provide some context to it all... even though he likely couldn't read it.
A lingering arachnid scrambles up Nathan's arm as he leans down to investigate the corpse, creeping into the neck lining of his armor where it hides in the comfortable crevice between armor plating and undersuit.
Renala chuckles. "Exactly," she says before stepping over to the set of buttons. "I'm guessing this is the mainframe, in which case I'll need a working terminal, or a support element." She looks the buttons over before shrugging and pressing the green one. "That's assuming it works anything like ours, though."
Jason's eyes go wide, clearly not expecting to rip the door open. "...Ooops." he whispers. Now committed to exploring the room, his hand reaches back for his pistol and he begins to shine his light around the new room. "Guess I don't know my own strength..."
Nathan yelps in surprise and terror, immediately dropping his rifle and reaches into the crevice in his armour. He makes to grab the creature and simply hurl it away from him. "Fucking no!" He barks, shivering and shuddering.
The green button causes a previously unseen screen to come to life beneath a thick layer of cobweb, the pale blue glow of the antique monitor shining dimly through.
Steve shakes the device a few times before sighing and tossing it to the ground. When Nathan shrieks, his hand instinctively darts back to his SMG and he swings around, aiming it in the man's general direction. When he spots him doing his little spider-dance, he furrows his eyebrow as confusion washes over him. "The fuck are you screamin' about?" he asks, his tone somewhere between a startled whisper and frustration.
Beyond the door Jason finds that the room is another lab of some kind, similar to the last room, but with one key difference - the roof is completely collapsed ahead, large chunks of concrete having crushed benches and equipment, a large gaping hole exposing the room on the level above. To the side can be seen the other door. It seems they lead to the same room.
Nathan does indeed a little spider dance, smacking his armour here and there as it scurries across his body. As it nestles itself beneath his grenades, he makes to grab it again, throw it onto the floor and stamp on it repeatedly until it is dead. He makes no attempt to respond to Steve, currently set on vanquishing his arachnid foe.
As Renala clears away the cobwebs from the monitor a swarm of the spiderlike creatures spill from broken nexuses of silky webs, running rapidly up the asari's arm.
The arachnid continues to evade Nathan's grasp expertly, going to his back now, and subsequently out of his view. It could be anywhere.
Jason's gaze scans upward towards the hole in the ceiling. "Got another lab over he-..." he begins when Nathan begins making noise. "Ten...?" he asks as he backs through the door to see what in the hell is going on. "...You, uhh.... You alright there, buddy...?"
Nathan snarls in frustration, glancing over both shoulders in flailing panic as it disappears from view. He spins in a circle, reaching over his shoulders and behind his back as he tries to smack the little shit off of him. He even accidentally triggers his M-100's unfolding sequence and it protrudes into the air.
Renala brushes at her arm to get these things off her, as well as shaking it violently. The asari even manages to hit the mainframe once in her flailing. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," she mutters. She is not paying any attention to the monitor for the time being.
Jason blinks a couple of times. "What in the fuck is going on!?" he asks, beginning to get frustrated.
Steve shrugs his shoulders, gesturing towards Nathan with his SMG. "I ain't got a clue. He just started screamin' again and spinnin' in circles." As Renala joins in on the panic train, he looks even more confused. "....Ren? You ain't gonna start dancin' too, are ya?"
The fate of Nathan's spidery friend remains unknown, but it does not come back into his view. Renala on the other hand is still covered in the creatures, as they skitter all over her in revenge for the destruction of their home. Some are tossed off by her flailing, but others remain, one crawling up over her visor, giving her a good view of its 12 tiny eyes. As she flails and hits the computer, the red button is depressed, and a
Nathan finally has had enough and scoops up his rifle. He takes a few, calming breaths and stands perfectly still, waiting for it to make a return. Unbeknownst to the others, he is perspiring buckets, clearly very shaken by the rather awful creature. Perhaps it is the one from earlier to which he ripped off his visor, simply coming back to revenge?
Renala continues her effort to quash the spider horde marching on her person. "Don't just stand there, help me get them off," she says, getting panicked. The last thing she wants is finding out the hard way if they're venomous.
Jason shines his flashlight over Renala and his eyes widen as he spots the swarm of creatures skittering over her. "Oh fuck that! Noooope! Time for a tactical retreat! Every man for himself!" he decides, a look of disgust on his face as he backpedals away.
Steve rolls his eyes. "They're just a few bugs. Calm your shit." he mutters as he approaches Renala and begins swatting the spiders off of her. Doing his best to just flat out kill them if possible rather than give them the chance to transfer onto him.
Jason sighs and looks very torn over it, but finally approaches Nathan. "Ugh.... Fine..." he mutters as he begins to circle Nathan, hand tightly wrapped around the grip of his pistol as if preparing to quick-draw on any spider that makes an appearance. "Where is it?" he asks as he looks the man over, "I don't see anything..."
Nathan's arachnid remains elusive, but the ones covering Renala are swatted away one by one, skittering away as they hit the floor, only one being slow enough to be squished by Steve, bioluminescent green goo covering his gauntleted hand.
With a click a compartment in the computer opens up as the whirring stops, a large, mostly plastic mechanism ejecting, and taking a section of luckily uninhabited cobwebs with it. Just after the monitor shuts down with a crackle as something inside it breaks.
Steve continues swiping at the creatures. "Eh. All good." he says. "Just a few bugs. Ain't nothin' to freak out about."
Jason continues to stalk around Nathan, searching for the spider. "Just stay cool..." he says, though whether he's talking to Nathan or himself is unclear. "We're gonna get this fucker.."
Renala stands completely still while Steve works, her breathing faster than normal. "I hate bugs," she mutters. She does reach out to take the ejected mechanism, though she's careful so to not damage it.
Nathan is visibly shaking, despite the layers of armour he is wearing. "I will buy you... a years worth of any alcohol you want... if you get this little bastard... off of me," he hisses, gripping his rifle as tightly as he can. Any tighter, it seems like, and he may snap the grip off of it.
The mechanism remains attached to the computer, but encased inside it is a large, onyx disk, covered in ancient markings that seem to pulse with a faint green glow. It looks simultaneously older and more well-preserved than anything else in the room.
Jason drops to a knee, the offer of free booze reinvigorating his search. He starts to get more invasive with his search, setting his pistol down as gauntleted hands begin pushing aside gear and attachments as he continues to search. "Come on you creepy fucker..." he mutters.
Renala raises her brows and walks closer, not bothering to wait for Steve to confirm the death of all involved in the siege on her person. "I think I might have located our objective," she says over comms. "Disk, dark in color, green glow."
Jason grunts in frustration. "Fuck it. Keep the booze. If I get any more thorough I'm gonna have to lift your balls and ask you to cough. Just accept that you've got a plus-one from now on and burn that fucking armor when we get out of here." he decides with a loud sigh. As Renala speaks up, he glances over to her. "Great. Lets get the eggheads down here to collect it so we can get the fuck out of this place." he says as he
Aron 's voice immediately comes in over comms. "Understood. We are on our way." Not long after he enters the stairwell alongside the asari archeologist, paying little attention to Jessica as he begins to descend. The asari nods at the human before turning her fascinated gaze on the construction of the underground complex.
Jessica remains where she is. Having long since grown distracted from her actual job, she's now simply looking around the room at all of the old furniture and trying to imagine what the place looked like at one point.
Nathan sighs and slowly turns. "Burn it? I'm putting a nuke under it," he mutters and turns to look at Renala. He takes a few, slow, worried steps, seeing if that would shake the little bastard out. If he's even still on him.
Renala chuckles. "I do read your reports," she says and steps back. She is still shining her lights on it, though.
Aron and Namira make their way down, passing Ehanis and Korio without much cermony. The asari looks uneasy upon spotting the charred remains of the krogan, but Aron seems largely unphased, however upon looking at the pitch-black corridor he turns back to the two mercenaries. "We require guidance to the Disk."
Korio gives a glance to Ehanis. "Would you like to escort them or shall I?" he asks. "I believe one of us should remain here, just to be safe."
Ehanis steps away from the railing and nods. "I'll do it," she says, eager to get away from the boring assignment. "Come with me." She walks into the corridor and turns left, her light shining ahead of her.
Ehanis nods. "Mhm," she says. "We handled it without casualties, though." She rounds the corner and moves over to the doorway, navigating by remembered comms chatter and directions of sounds she heard from her position.
Jason steers clear of the mega-computer as he waits for the others to join them. "Well done, Renala..." he offers as he looks around, trying to make sure no spiders creep up on him.
Aron and Namira follow Ehanis through the room and the corridor, all the way to the lab. The asari is quite clearly enthralled by the Rakhanan drell technology, looking around at every odd bit of tech. The drell on the other hand heads straight for Jason and the others by the computer. "The Disk. Where is it?" he asks as he approaches.
Nathan turns to Aron, unable to suppress a glare. However, he does have a helmet on, so, go him. It remains unseen. He watches the Drell cautiously.
Renala turns to face Jason. "I have to give credit where-," she looks over to see the drell entering and turns her light back to the disk. "It's over here," she says using her helmet's speakers.
Ehanis remains near the entrance to the room, looking it over curiously. She's not going back to the uneventful stairwell without an order.
Jason nods to the computer as well. "Inside of that-...' he gestures towards it with his Phalanx, "...old ass computer dealy. We haven't touched it, but the thing is crawling with bugs so be careful."
Namira catches up, and her eyes widen upon getting her first glimpse of the Prothean disk. She grins widely. "So there really was a disk here..."
Aron unclips a hard-plastic case from his back, opening it. Inside is shock-absorbant re-configuring foam. He ignores Nathan as he approaches the computer, a reverent look in his eyes. He whispers a prayer under his breath before lifting the artifact gingerly into the case, closing it.
Renala watches him work, dimming her lights. "Any idea what it does?" she asks. "Data storage would be my guess."
Jason watches the drell, looking a bit awkward as the drell handles the disc with so ceremoniously. "So.... We're good now, right...?" he asks hesitantly, not wanting to intrude on what's obviously an important moment for the two, "Time to head up and make camp for the night...? Because, I gotta be honest, I'm not too fond of sticking around down here any longer than we need to."
Aron looks to the asari. "Yes... is inscribed with the wisdom of the Enkindlers." he says before turning to Jason. "Yes. Let us ascend from this dark place." He extends his hand, looking as if he's about 60% sure that is in fact what humans do. "Thank you, Mr. Wolfe. This relic is of great importance to us."
Namira turns to the drell to remind him: "Don't forget about the law. I'm going to need to full access to study the disk before it can determined if private salvage rights apply." Aron doesn't seem too thrilled as he nods in response.
Jason holsters his pistol and reaches out, accepting the drell's handshake. "Not a problem. Glad you found what you were looking for." he offers, his gaze moving to Namira momentarily as she speaks, though their business beyond finding the artifact doesn't particularly concern him.
Steve moves towards the door they entered from, waiting to get the hell out of this place. "Not bad, not bad. Mostly clean aside from a few knocks on the noggin' and some spiders."
About an hour later everyone is long gone from the dark tunnels of the abandoned underground base, and a camp has been established inside the half-open vehicle tunnel at the entrance of the facility. Two tents have been pitched, and most of their supplies are stacked near the door, which has refused all attempts to make it open fully. Namira has set up her field equipment and is now trying to get a basic idea of the contents of
the disk, under Zelyner's close supervision. The two drell guards have remained reluctant to engage with the Redrock mercenaries, one of them standing watch outside and the other eating a tube of nutrient paste outside the tent occupied by non-Redrock personnel. Aron is watching over the tunnel, ever alert. Outside the winds have picked up further, the howling sound loud even in the tunnel, and sand regularly flying in, the wind
forming swirls as it comes through the door, which is as reluctant to close as it is to open. Visibility outside is obscured by the dark and the near-sandstorm conditions, but luckily the cliff offers decent protection, making sure they are not buried in their tunnel, and that the wind remains fairly minimal in the tunnel itself.
Korio remains near the tunnel opening, as he has for some time now, peering out through the scope of his rifle. Less out of interest in guarding their camp and more for the sake of simply taking in the sight of Rakhana.
Jason is seated just outside of their tent, doing his best to clean out his gear with only one working hand. He gives a long sigh. "Renala, is there anything you can do about this? Just some kind of field patch to get it working until we get home or something?" he asks, the frustration of being unable to use his left hand beginning to wear on him.
Jessica went right into picture-taking mode as soon as the mood calmed down. She's currently framing out the tents through the interface of her omni-tool. Her helmet has been replaced by her breather once again and her ragged cap is back atop her head.
Steve is standing guard near the door to the stairwell. He's seated on the floor, back against the wall opposite of the stairwell door in the small room.
Nathan is inside the tent, having stripped down his gear in a feverish hunt for the possible plus-one he was carrying with him. He has nicked a rebreather from amongst the supplies and is currently down to his undersuit and his boots. "If you've laid fucking eggs in here...". He mutters to himself as he flips over his chest-plate, looking over it with a critical
Renala is currently by the control box, still trying to get to the bottom of this. She is mostly doing so to pass time. Renala hasn't spent the whole hour doing that, however, as she has helped with setting up camp.
Ehanis snickers at Nathan's muttering from the other side of the tent. She is watching his spider-hunt while eating a tube of the nutrient paste. She has also removed her armor down to the form-fitting purple undersuit.
Nathan looks across to Ehanis, his eyes narrowed as he quickly looks her up and down. "What are you sniggering at?" He asks with a faint smirk. He sets the chest-plate down and moves onto his boots, foot up in the air as he starts trying to tug the armour from his foot. "For all you know, it could have crawled out of my armour and into yours."
Namira is engaged in increasingly heated conversation with Zelyner, and suddenly shouts: "No! I realize you're disappointed but it's Council law! The disk clearly contains data on Prothean weaponry! I can't let you have it. It's going to the Citadel. It doesn't matter how many credits you have!"
Renala stops what she's doing upon Jason's question and heads over to him. "It's flattering how much you think me capable of," she says with a smile as she crouches down beside him to look over the hand. "Are there any diagnostic readouts I could look at?"
Zelyner bobs in an indignant manner, bioluminescense flaring. "This one finds that unacceptable. It will not relinquish the holy relic."
Ehanis glances over at the pile of armor beside her. "Uh-huh," she says, grinning. "It's more likely that you lost him back in the lab."
Jason gives Renala a blank stare and a shrug. "I'm not even sure what that means." he says plainly. "Just-... You know." he says, reaching the damaged hand out to her, "...Do that thing you do. Make it work." His gaze moves towards the arguing pair, but doesn't allow his stare to linger too long. "Sounds like things aren't going too well for them..." he says, keeping his voice low as he eavesdrops.
Nathan opens his mouth to respond, but turns towards the source of shouting. He stops with his de-armouring and sets his foot down. He leans against his knee and furrows his brow. "Seems the jellyfish is being a grade-A asshole about this," he mutters. He shrugs. "Eh, so long as we get paid, suppose it doesn't matter too much." He then flicks his head at the asari,
Jessica takes a photo of Zelyner, Aron and Namira as the latter raises her voice, though seems to have little interest in what they're actually arguing about. She finally puts her omni-tool away and makes her way over to the Redrock tent. As she climbs inside, she lets out a deep sigh, catching Nathan's comment. "Is a big blob of pink. You would be annoyed it you were a big blob of pink, too, no?" she says before plopping down
Namira goes to reach for the disk in the analysis device she's been using, but Zelyner wraps it up in its tentacles before she can reach it. She seems shocked that the hanar would do this and drops back a bit as her biotics start to flare up. "You can't just take that! The data is dangerous! It belongs safely with the Council!"
Zelyner pays little attention to the asari archeologist, and speaks loudly. "This one requests that the mercenaries deal with the asari."
Renala looks off towards the argument, her attention drawn away from the broken hand. "We should do something," she says, lowering her voice. "The asari could get herself hurt, or worse, if the drell step in." She taps on her omni-tool to start recording any video and audio feed available, just in case. Her movements are quick, so it's hard to spot that she did before she covers it up with the 'home screen'.
Jason pulls his hand back from Renala, giving her a nod as the argument looks as if it may turn to blows and rises from his seat. "Hey! Everyone calm the fuck down, alright?" he chimes in, looking towards Zelyner in confusion. "I don't know what all of this is about, but how about you take a few steps back-..." he gestures with both of his hands, bringing them together and then separating them, one still stuck awkwardly in the
same half-grip, "...and talk this shit out? You're giving me a headache with all your shouting. Nobody is 'dealing' with anybody, alright?"
Ehanis nods, but her smile fades. "It worked flawlessly," she says. She looks up at Jessica as she enters. "Especially if I was a big blob of pink that lives underwater." She stands up as Jason shouts.
Jessica pulls the tent flap open to watch the drama. "Mmm. I am thinking the big pink blob is going to kill the asari." she decides non-chalantly.
Nathan stands up and grabs his pistol and shoulder holster. He checks the weapon once before emerging from the tent, bypassing Jessica. He walks over to Jason's side, holstering the weapon as he folds his arms across his chest, simply watching for the moment.
Zelyner 's body once again flares up with agitated bioluminescence, but its voice remains as calm and polite as ever. "This one orders you to deal with the asari. She is attempting to steal the holy artifact." After a brief pause the hanar adds: "This one urges the mercenaries to remember that it is the one responsible for paying them."
Namira stares at the hanar in disbelief, although a glance at the mercenaries puts a hint of fear in her eyes. "Wha-... it's not yours to keep! You never mentioned there would be weapon data on it! It has to go to the Council! You can't just keep it!"
Renala disables her omni-tool and steps closer to the argument, ready to intervene. "And I remind you that we're here to ensure the team's safety during the mission," she says. "You can fight over it when we get back." A subtle biotic shimmer sorrund her.
Ehanis shakes her head. "They can't do that out of water," she says, "and action vids." She steps closer to the flap, and looks past Jessica at the drama.
Nathan places a hand on his pistol, the warning clear. However, he does move himself to position himself closer to the asari and facing the hanar. "You start in-fighting, you are compromising that safety. And then we'll have an issue. So stow the shit and wait until this is all over before you fight over it."
Jason cocks an eyebrow at the hanar, looking unimpressed. A lopsided smirk crosses his lips and he looks to Nathan, giving a humorless chuckle and a shake of his head before resting his gaze back on Zelyner. "Alright, look buddy. Like my friends over here said-..." he responds, gesturing towards Renala and Nathan, "...what we were hired for, was to make sure you-... all of you..." he corrects, looking pointedly towards
Namira, "...get through this safely, and that the disc is in your hands-... Tentacles. Whatever the fuck that thing is." He slowly scans the hanar's team, then his eyes move towards the disc, "So as far as I can see? Job well done. We're not your hit squad. We're not a bunch of two-bit thugs. We're not just going to start knocking people off because you tell us to. We're licensed contractors. You knew the risks associated
with this sort of scavenging, I assume. So cut your losses, get back in your fish tank and we'll call it a day. It's been a long one for everyone and I don't think any of us want it to end with more fighting."
Jessica frowns. "Oh..." she says, sounding disappointed, though she continues to watch the arguing unfold.
Zelyner exclaims "Unacceptable! This one will not be robbed of the Disk of the Enkindler. It regrets to inform you that this will not be tolerated. Deal with the heretics!" With the last word the hanar floats away at a surprising pace as anti-grav boosters activate, going right for the door.
Aron has unfolded his scoped rifle in an instant, and a split-second later a shot rings throughout the tunnel, Namira collapsing to the floor, clutching her throat as only gurgles escape. The sitting guard scrambles to his feet, drawing his pistol but not firing on anyone.
Nathan immediately rounds on the fallen asari, eyes wide. "No!" He exclaims, the innocent woman's blood seeping onto the floor. He doesn't even think. In an instant, he's moving with his weapon drawn and the pistol barking as he dives for the nearest available cover.
Renala sends off a throw field towards the drell opening fire, and follows up with a hastily prepared warp field in hopes of getting him before he can get to his feet.
Ehanis rushes over to grab her weapon and reloads it. "I should have kept my armor on," she mutters.
Jason was surely not expecting it to go this far. "What in the fuck is wrong with you!?" he calls out, hurrying to the asari's side and dropping to his knees as he presses his good hand over her wound. Not much chance of fixing a throat wound, but he's not just going to stand there and let her bleed out. "Fuck!" he exclaims, looking the asari over, unsure of what he could possibly do to help.
Korio spins around as soon as the shot is fired. Given his position at the door, there's no way for Zelyner to get outside without going through him. He snaps his rifle over the floating hanar. "Stop." he requests. "Tell your men to stand down. This is ridiculous. You will not win this fight."
Jessica cusses under her breath and rushes out of the tent to get in on the action. Having already set her weapons down for her photo session, she simply charges straight at the drell guard, aiming to tackle him to the ground.
Steve leans over to peer through the doorway at the sound of gunfire. "The hell is goin' on out there...?" he calls as he slowly climbs to his feet.
Aron throws himself to the side, cartwheeling out of the path of the throw at the last second, but the warp strikes and starts eating away at his barrier. He raises an arm to send a wide biotic shockwave down the corridor while backing towards the exit. Zelyner is prepared for resistance from the drell, and wraps a tentacle around the rifle as it is raised, surprisingly strong grip keeping it aimed away from its own body as it
floats over Korio, speeding for the truck. The guard that just got to his feet is knocked back down almost immediately, grunting as he's tackled. He aims a punch at Jessica's stomach, unable to bring his pistol to bear for the moment.
Namira looks up at Jason with a confused look in her eyes, mouth opening and closing as she tries to speak. Purple blood is seeping through her hand and starting to pool in her mouth.
Renala is thrown aside by the shockwave, but she still draws her Punisher. From her prone position, she opens fire in bursts towards Aron.
Ehanis peeks out of the tent, a personal-range biotic barrier surrounding her. She opens fire towards Aron, as well, with her Locust.
Nathan throws himself to the side as the shockwave comes cascading down the corridor. As he rights himself, he looks and notices Namria, still alive and Jason's attempt to save her. He looks between the drell and the asari before running sprinting back for the Redrock tent, shouting at Ehanis. "Med-kit! We need a fucking med-kit!"
Jason seems less interested in getting involved in the fight at the moment. He trusts his team to handle them. He's far more focused on the fruitless task of trying to save this innocent asari. His eyes scan her face and he shakes his head in panic. "I don't know what you're trying to say! I'm not a doctor! What do I do!?" he asks, merely keeping pressure on the quite apparently fatal wound. "Medi-gel!?" he repeats as he hears
Renala. Having seen more than his fair share of combat, he's not oblivious to how pointless it is to keep trying, but that's not going to stop him. He's a stubborn sonovabitch after all. He briefly removes his hand from her throat and fishes through his suit compartment for his medi-gel.
Jessica grunts, causing her to double over momentarily as she's struck in the stomach. She doesn't allow it to keep her out-of-action for long, however, as she immediately responds with a flurry of punches. She's not exactly the most technical of fighters, but she's scrappy and willing to fight dirty. Evident by the headbutt she follows her strikes up with.
Korio quickly spins around, attempting to bring his rifle around to sight in on the hanar once again. "Stop!" he calls out again. This time not quite as politely.
Steve groans loudly. Yep. Of course this would happen. Makes perfect sense. Another day for Redrock Agency. "I'm comin', I'm comin'..." he announces as he finishes pulling himself to his feet with a hand against the wall. He glances down at his SMG, making certain the thermal clip is seated properly before strutting out of the room.
A volley of suppressive fire suddenly strikes Korio from somewhere beyond the truck. The increasing density of sand in the dark late-evening air is wreaking havoc on visiblity, and the hanar, although clearly struggling in the conditions, hurries on to the truck as its guard covers its escape. Aron's barriers fail as he takes several shots from both Renala and Ehanis, but he dodges out the door as soon as the suppressive fire dies
down, dashing for the truck as well. The guard still inside groans after the headbutt, clearly disoriented as his fighting ceases, but a chuckle escapes him as he spits a mouthfull of blood at Jessica, and a beep can be heard coming from one of the drell's hands. A beep no doubt recognizable to Jessica as not at all good. "Enkindlers embrace me." he mumbles groggily as he primes the grenade clutched tightly in his hand.
Namira coughs repeatedly, her whole body convulsing with each cough, but just as suddently all movement ceases, the hand clutching her throat going slack.
Ehanis hurries into the tent and emerges seconds later with a medkit. She hands it over to Nathan, not wanting to risk being out in the open too much without armor. The tent might not be good against bullets, but it does hinder visibility.
Renala gets to her feet and moves to the door, leaving her punisher behind. She draws her Locust and starts firing towards Aron in small bursts as he makes his escape. "You're not getting away with this!"
Nathan snatches the medkit and turns to run back... only to see the asari go slack, her life-force ebbing from her body. He freezes and stares at the murdered woman. He drops the medkit to the ground and turns back into the tent, barging past Ehanis if she stands in the way. He grabs his M-100 and primes the weapon before snatching two grenades from his collection.
He turns back and emerges from the tent, shouldering the launcher and starts sprinting towards the exit, taking a path around and away from the engagement between Jessica and the drell.
Korio's finger hovers over the trigger, the volley of fire striking him just as he was about to squeeze it, causing him to lose track of the fleeing hanar through the poor conditions. There's little for him to do other than retreat back into the tunnel. Though turning around does bring him face-to-face with Aron. Almost as if on reaction alone, he brings his rifle up in an attempt at slamming the butt of it into Aron's jaw.
Jessica blinks hard as her head makes contact with the drell's. She leans back, looking as if she's going for another headbutt when the beeping sounds out. "Fuck! Grenade!" she shouts, abandoning her position atop him and stumbling away. She begins crawling on all fours as she works to climb to her feet in a hurry and get as far away from the suicidal drell as she can before his grenade explodes.
Jason clenches his teeth tightly as the asari goes slack. Still unwilling to give up on her, he hastily applies medi-gel to her wound and tosses the cannister aside. As he hears Jessica, he leans over the asari, covering her body as best as he can with his own to protect her from any debris or shrapnel.
Steve raises his SMG from his perch on the walkway, but from this distance his SMG probably isn't going to do much good against Aron. He cusses under his breath and begins to take the stairs down.
Aron blocks the rifle-butt with his arm, but lets out a pained grunt from the impact. He follows up the block with a dodge past Korio and resumes dashing for the truck, but one of Renala's shots strike his side before he's out of view from the door. He continues to scramble to the truck as Zelyner descends into the cab compartment. The other guard outside resumes suppressive fire on the doorway after popping his thermal
In the tunnel, the drell's grenade explodes. The fairly weak explosive has little effect on anyone but Jessica, who is just on the edge of the blast zone - the drell himself however is killed instantly as the blast crushes his bones and his exposed face, and collapses his armor plating in on itself. He's not the only casualty, as the non-Redrock tent is shredded and the supply crates are blown to pieces.
Renala pulls back into cover upon the suppressive fire's return. "Fuck, they're getting away," she shouts to the others in the hangar.
Ehanis frowns at the explosion, but realizing that's the last hostile inside, she picks up the med-kit and rushes over to Jason's side. She puts it down and opens it. "I don't know this stuff," she begins, "but maybe there's something in here that could help?" She frantically looks through the contents of it.
Nathan emerges at the doorway, moving up. He immediately drops to one knee as a bullet tears past him, slicing open the suit and skin on his arm. "The fuck they are!" He pulls the trigger. WHUMP! The launcher fires, the grenade soaring toward the truck. His face is a contortion of rage and murder as the launcher cycles in a fresh round. WHUMP! Another. WHUMP!
Korio spins on his heels, ducking into a crouch as he brings his rifle back to his face and takes a single, reactive shot in Aron's direction, hoping to bring him down. Given the suppressive fire continuing to whittle down his shields, he has little time to follow it up with another shot and continues to back towards the doors once more, looking for any sign of whether or not his shot was successful through the sand.
Jason winces as the explosion sounds out and small pieces of rock and crate rain down over him. He sits back up and looks the asari over quickly, searching for any signs of life. "Deal with them!" he shouts, casting a brief glance towards the door, "Do not let them get away with that vehicle!"
Jessica is hurled through the air from the explosion, landing a good few feet away. Hard. Knocking the wind out of her. She gasps for air as she curls up, hugging herself as a sharp pain shoots through her side. Her trembling hand slowly moves down to the pained area and her fingertips glide across a sharp chunk of plastic lodged into her, flung at high speed by the grenade.
Steve takes the stairs two at a time, only pausing momentarily as the grenade goes off, but then he's quickly back at it. He breaks into a sprint straight towards the door.
Aron summons his strength to bring up a biotic barrier that absorbs the explosion of the first grenade, but it drains him enough to cause him to stagger back, and as Korio's shot hits his shoulder he cries out in pain. Aware he won't be able to bring up another barrier in time he hurls himself infront of the second grenade with incredible precision, the explosive round obliterating him utterly as it hits, but sparing the
truck. The third grenade hits the back of the vehicle, destroying much of the passenger section, but it doesn't stop it from starting to move immediately, rapidly accelerating off into the rubble, quickly becoming hard to spot through the sand that whips around in the wind outside. From a brief moment before it starts to disappear the last drell can be seen popping out from the roof hatch and throwing something at the Blood Pack truck.
Renala enables her omni-tool upon hearing the truck drive off, and tries to see if she can get access to the truck's systems in order to buy them time.
Namira is no longer breathing, the blood in her mouth having completely blocked her windpipes. Blood is still oozing from the wound in her throat. The medkit presumably contains the usual fare - medigel, emergency stimulants and miscellaneous emergency medical items.
Nathan roars in anger, starting to advance after the truck. He curses his lack of VI assistance with his launcher and simply fires another round in its direction. "Come back here you fucking jellyfish!" He throws his M-100 to the ground and rips his pistol from his holster, aiming and firing at the drell despite the strong winds and the dust scratching at his eyes.
Steve arrives at the doorway too little too late, though he raises his SMG and fires a volley in the general direction of the escaping truck regardless. "The fuck was all that about!?!?" he asks, glancing over at Nathan.
Jessica remains where she is, hand clutching the jagged plastic poking out from her side. A pained groan escapes her.
Jason continues to look her over. "Okay, blood... Blood is good..." he nods to himself as he spreads the medigel around to fully cover her wound, attempting to cover it up completely. Once finished, he brings his damaged hand behind her upper back and begins to prop her up and lean her forward, patting her gently on the back in hope of urging her to cough up some of the block preventing her from breathing. "Come on, Namira! Stay with me!"
Korio drops to a knee once again as he returns to the relative safety of the tunnel doors and peers through his scope in an attempt at getting a bead on the truck through the sand.
Ehanis pulls out the emergency stimulants and places it beside her. Maybe it might help. "Do they teach you anything medical in the military?" she asks. She looks for anything a layperson might recognize as a means of starting the heart.
Nathan's grenade detonates fruitlessly in a pile of sand, a brief flash inginting the darkness. It's unknown if any of their desperate shots hit the truck as it disappears into the forming sandstorm. Visibility is going down by the minute, and the wind is howling loudly, grains pelting anyone outside.
There is a sudden loud boom as the Blood Pack truck explodes into a ball of fire, a large piece of sharpnel narrowly missing Nathan.
Renala is finds no luck connecting to the truck - its short range wireless signal is far out of range, only hindered further by the weather.
Jason gives a shake of his head to Ehanis. "Not really. Simple shit. Field patching. Not fixing a fucking gunshot to the throat." he says as he continues to try and urge her to cough up the blood with repeated pats to the back. "She's still bleeding though. Which-... Which is good. It means her heart is beating. I think. But I covered the wound so-.. so that's taken care of. She's just not breathing. I think her pipes are
Renala disables her omni-tool and looks outside to see the other truck go up in flames. "Fuck!" she says. "That was the Blood Pack truck."
Nathan bellows and fires until his clip is empty and then continues to pull the trigger. Click, click, click, click. The shrapnel whips past his face and that seems to be the catalyst for him to regain his senses. He's panting heavily and the stinging pain from the bullet-scrapes hits him like a freight-train. The sand claws and bites at the bleeding wounds, like
hundreds of little gnats. He grabs his launcher and turns, storming past him. "Fucker killed Namira," he snaps as he walks back into the doorway. "A fucking innocent woman... gunned her down in cold blo-". He stops and sees Jessica, the jagged plastic protruding from her. He lets his launcher clatter to the floor and he runs over to her. Focus on those you
Jessica bites down hard as she looks over at Nathan. "Is fine-... Is fi-..." she trails off, wincing as another sharp pain shoots through her, "Fuuuuuck...." She begins to try and roll onto her back, both hands wrapped around the chunk of plastic to keep it in places. "Fuck, fuck, fuuuuuuuuuuuuck." she groans as blood begins to pool from the wound.
Steve stares in disbelief as the Blood Pack truck goes up. "Are you fuckin' kiddin' me!?" he exclaims. Continuing to stare at it for a few moments before backing into the tunnel once more. "How the fuck are we gettin' out of here!?" he asks, "They took the fuckin' truck and blew the other one to hell and back! What the hell happened!?" he continues to shout as he looks around the tunnel, completely oblivious to whatever went
The asari shows no sign of coughing from Jason's patting. The medkit does contain what's often known to soldiers as a 'revival-cocktail' of adrenaline and other stims meant to bring back someone on the brink. It is not, of course, designed specifically for asari, so it may be hard for someone that isn't a medical professional to say exactly what the large syringe would do.
Ehanis shakes her head. "No breathing means the heart's stopped, I think," she says. "The heart is there," she taps her hand where the asari's heart is beneath, and picks up the big syringe. "Adrenaline," she mutters after skimming the label. "I know vids don't handle things right, but what better option do we have?"
Nathan places his hands on her shoulders, keeping her still as he glares at her eyes. "Drop the act. Not the time," he growls at her. "Now stop fucking moving and keep pressure on your wound," he orders before standing up and rushing over to the pair over Namira. He stops just behind them. "Jess is hit, I need the med-kit. Whatever you can spare."
Jason gives a shake of his head. "I don't know the first thing about asari anatomy..." he reaffirms, "But with the way the blood was flowing, I don't think her heart stopped... Hold on to that needle for now. It's our fallback plan. For now just help me-..." he grunts as he repositions himself and begins to rotate her, "...get her on her side. We need to clear her airways, I think." As he hears Nathan, he cusses to himself and
looks across the tunnel towards Jessica briefly. "Take what you need. Leave the adrenaline shot." he barks. It's quite clear his nerves are shot right now.
Steve looks around the tunnel, a look of disbelief still on his face. "Is nobody going to tell me what the fuck just went on? Did they just strand us here? I mean, shit, I ain't exactly confident that they're comin' back for us givin' the fact we just tried shootin' 'em all. The fuck?" He's mostly talking to himself at this point.
Korio continues to watch out through the doorway. "They attacked Namira and then us." he explains simply to Steve. "The disk seems to have held information regarding Prothean weaponry. A violation of Council law. The hanar was unwilling to let it go. We had no choice but to fight back. For now, we attend to our wounded."
Nathan gathers what he can from the med-kit, anything to staunch the flow of blood and to combat the possibility of infection. He turns and immediately sprints back to Jessica, ignoring Steve and hoping that Jessica at least listened to a little bit of what he instructed her to do.
Jessica has listened. "Fuuuuuuck you..." she grunts at him through gritted teeth. In most cases, one would assume it was the pain talking. Buuuuut, considering who it is? She's probably just being an asshole. When Nathan returns, she seems to have listened to his advice at least. Her hands are pressed firmly around the piece of plastic and she's still laying on her back, eyes clenched tightly shut.
Ehanis puts it down and helps him to rotate her sideways. "I know where the major organs and arteries are," she says. "I'm as clueless as you about the rest."