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Markovich offered the younger woman a curious brow. His eyes scanned her silently while he rested one hand against his chin and unruly beard. He turned to his Quarian companion who stood next to him with her arms crossed. He learned firsthand about the group she claimed to be of during his time in Omega but this was the first time he was informed one of their people would be joining them. "Well met, Wright." Marko grinned as he turned back to the other human. "Er...did Mora say that I would be the one paying for you or?"


"Of course you are." Mora rose her own eyebrow at him, a tinge of amusement in her words following the sudden change in his expression. She turned back to Aerin and shook her hand out of courtesy. "You'll be briefed while we make our way to the next destination. Welcome to the Tempest. Go ahead and get yourself settled and find me after we take off. I'll be the one to get you up to speed."
 
There were never very many men in Omega. Aerin had met all types of men in Omega, but ultimately there were only three types: lackeys, murderous mercenaries, and sleaze balls. Here before her was a Commander, a Spectre, and a man. Only time would tell what kind of man he truly was underneath the devilishly handsome exterior.
“Well met Wright.” She mentally reprimanded herself for the delicate flutter in her stomach. Normally when Aerin went on solo jobs, she acted solo. Dead drops and payments at random terminals, that kinda stuff. There was complete anonymity and solitude. Now she was with an entire team led by a roguish human Spectre. She wasn’t used to this level of contact with anyone outside of her own outfit.
The Commander and Quarian had an exchange and then Mora shook Aerin’s hand. Feeling the hand of a Quarian was another first and so was seeing a Quarian’s face. Aerin wondered if there were any more Quarians aboard the vessel like Mora. The young woman in her that never had time to mature was already wondering whether she would fit in. She knew she wasn’t like them and she lacked any formal military rank or outfit. This might be difficult. A challenge and a job, however, were not things Aerin would back down from.


The raven haired girl nodded at her new Commander and Mora, silently dismissing herself back down towards the aft. An ensign hurriedly tried to cut her off en route, a younger man trying to diligently do his duty. He wanted to direct her towards the Cabin, but she opted for finding her own way around. Like any kid, she was curious and wanted to explore.
She found the armory and stored her equipment away, taking what was left in her case and making her way towards the cargo bay. She had no intention of staying with the rest of the crew. It was easier for her to sleep near machines. It was surprising how efficiently compact the cargo bay was. Even though the Tempest was relatively small, this part of the ship managed to appear expansive, taking advantage of all the space available. A Krogan had found his way into the underbelly of the ship like she had. Seeing a Krogan made her feel like she was back in Omega, and it was pleasantly unexpected to have such a diverse crew aboard.
Aerin ignored him for the moment and nestled up against the all terrain land vehicle, pulling a sleeping bag from her case and spreading out next to it’s rear. It had been a long day, one full of firsts and surprises. She wondered what else this journey had in store.
 
Stowing his gear in the armory bay, he looked over as the hum of the elevator got louder. Fidgeting, he relaxed his right hand, which he noticed had subconsciously found it's way just over the pistol on his hip. Blinking, he exhaled and kept an eye on the door as he clamped and locked his hard weapon case shut.

He noticed a human female step out. She made her way to an ATV that had been secured and tied down to the flooring, and began to unroll what looked to be bedding. His eyes squinted at that - how strange - he thought. He turned away from the gear lockers and made his way toward the center of the holds, to see that the human also appeared to be quite young. At least in the face. Her frame was built taller than most other he had seen. But what need of a juvenile did the crew have? Not that it mattered much, juvenile Krogans had a blood lust at an early age, maybe human young were similar in their need to impress and achieve.

Waddling her way, he kept it slow and casual. Making out like he was checking out the equipment- which he was- but his main goal was to get a closer look at the human female. Nearby was their Rapid Deployment AT vehicle, and he looked at the wheel wells, and the frame casually, and then glanced at the nearby human.

"Human." He looked to Aerin in greeting. His eyes narrowed, scouring the vehicle, and his hands casually went to his gunbelt to rest. "You certainly don't look military.... Young one, too."

Curiosity. Something most krogan didn't have. This was his way of trying to be more open.
 
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[BCOLOR=transparent]Listening to the Taurian Kalo felt a growing sense a sense of bewilderment. He’d alway just assumed a butt was the bit of the body that got sat on. Now with species like the Hanar and Elcor maybe the turian would of had a point but Batarians had almost the same basic physiology as most of the citadel races, Kalo had always just assumed that their butts were in pretty much the same place as his butt. Fortunately his enviro suit helmet hid his confusion and before he could open his mouth to give himself away the sergeant had moved onto safer territory.[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]“Truthfully as long as the meal pastes don’t taste of fish then I’ll be happy, but yes, good to meet you. Im Field Engineer Kalo’Sul vas Neema and he” Kalo said gesturing in the general direction of his brother “is Blinky vas Neema, he’s my...”[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kalo was halted mid sentence by the drell who cut across him while practically poking the Sergeants midriff, an action that the Turian seemed non to pleased about. Instead he took the opportunity to observe the rest of his new squad mates properly. Part of him couldn’t help but feel that the motley assembly was the start of some stupid joke rather than the crew of a covert combat mission, although when he thought about it maybe that worked in their favor. Kalo was sure that if he wouldn’t have believed that this collection of individuals was a crew if he wasn’t seeing it with his own eyes. Judging from the faces of some of the Councillors he guessed that quite a few of them were wishing they weren't seeing the assembly before them.[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]The Councillors briefing was short and too the point, as was the commanders, the handshake was a nice touch though. Most of the Admirals and Captains that the brothers had served under had never bothered with anything like that, maybe it was a human thing. Almost as soon as the commander had left Kalo felt the cold weight of Blinky’s hand on his shoulder signalling that he too wanted to leave. It always amused Kalo that despite the combat design of his brothers body Blinky was exceptionally uncomfortable around people who could be described as armed and dangerous, a statement that could apply to most of the remaining occupants of the room.[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]“Yeah Blinky go on, I’ll catch up in a moment” Kalo muttered before tapping the turian on the arm as his brother clanked away “My brother wants to go so I guess I’ll meet you on the ship then Sergeant...apologies, I didn’t catch your name.”[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]
[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]The brothers arrived at the tempest considerably later than either of them had planned for. By the time they had collected their few possessions and attended to the various other errands that Kalo had neglected to perform until now a not insignificant amount of time had passed since they had left the presidium. In fact for the last half an hour Blinky had been convinced that the Tempest would’ve left without them and by the time the ship came into view even Kalo was relieved to see it still in its dock, despite what he told his brother. It would have taken the pair longer still to board the ship had Blinky not firmly pushed his brother through the door.[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]After the Ensign had greeted the pair and informed them of their assigned bunk the brothers Kalo left Blinky to go about his own business while he explored the ship. Kalo loved looking at a truly new ship, most of his life had been spent aboard the odd collection of second hand ships that made up the flotilla and so new ships always seemed special. After several laps of the CIC he worked his way round to the crew quarters, looking into every room he could and poking anything he thought he could get away with until only the medical bay remained unexplored. [/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]He had been avoiding the med bay, they were his least favorite part of a ship, people had a tendency to get bodily fluids all over them. Even though his environment suit was ample protection against pretty much every known pathogen in the galaxy the thought of a med bay was enough to make Kalo shudder. Still at least this one was probably unused as of yet.[/BCOLOR]
 
The sweet release of death would be better for Druin in his current moment than staying in the room for more than a second when Osar had entered. Already she had begun running her mouth faster than the mass effect relay stations could move a ship. With the spinning coming to a slow, steady turn after laying down. He could barely focus on what the salarian was going on about, and then brought up his body and why he is so pale. "My training taught me how to resist drugs and poison...but not alcohol." He spoke slow compared to his new roommate. "I have a...hangover." He said with a grimace, shutting his eyes closed and trying to bring the familiar feeling of sleep over his eyes.

"You should check the ship out...and I will stay here and take a nap." He stated to her before rolling over onto his stomach with his face buried into the sheets. He didn't care who got what bunk, the bottom bunk was perfectly fine for now because it didn't require any effort to get into, and she wasn't going to get him in the top bunk until this hangover blew over.

Drugs had been placed in his system before, building a tolerance and ability to resist them. Yet alcohol was unknown to him and he was unprepared for the effects it could cause at mass consumption. Alcohol was seen as a 'poison' by many who hated the drink, but not a conventional poison one would need to build a tolerance to in the profession of assassinating.
 
It wasn't before the hyper vorcha was off at the speed of...something fast and goofy looking. The ship was boarded easily enough and Chacho's first order of business was to look for a place to crash. Searching about, there was a few worthy places. Kitchen would be most convenient, but bad if Chacho didn't shower first. Bathrooms would be good for emergencies, but people hate people watching people poop. Chacho didn't understand.

"Chacho doesn't know this word." He said, scanning the name plate.

The omni-tool brought up the word for him to see along with a basic definition. He squinted, not quite reading all the way through before opening the door. It was rather small and smelled like chemicals, like it was just cleaned. He switched on the light and found a blanket. It was kind of rough, but it would likely help in case it rained. Setting up his bed between some nice boxes. This was a good spo--

"What are you doing in the maintenance closest?"

The sound of the voice made the vorcha jump.
 
Aerin had just finished unraveling her bedding and began sucking on a pouch of nutrition paste when the krogan approached her. She nodded his way after he gave the most stale greeting she had ever heard from one of his kind. Krogan on Omega were arrogant and outright haughty, always going on about the size of their quads. They were also ruthless and bloodthirsty, but she had killed her fair share in her clashes with Blue Sun and Eclipse. This big guy was obviously different than the krogan of Omega.

"Mercenary. And you don't look that old either, for a Krogan. Don't you guys live to be hundreds of years old?" She shrugged lightly as she used the vehicle to stand, offering her hand. "Name's Aerin Wright. I run with the group Adrestia on Omega, and sometimes take solo jobs. Although I guess this job isn't really solo."

It was odd that she felt more relaxed around krogan than most members of her own species.

@Spectre
 
Sresk gave a breathy single syllable 'Ha' to her opening statement, accompanied by a crooked Krogan smile. She was right- he was pretty young, himself. Despite what he imagined, he liked her initial attitude. He figured she'd come off as the 'too tough for you' tempermantal teen. Pleasantly surprised, you could call it. She was a mercenary at that age? Maybe the human had some blood lust in her. Working in Omega at that young, though, often meant that they didn't have much choice.

"Sresk, of clan Foric." he grabbed her hand firmly and shook. "I spent some time working in Omega, myself." he nodded enthusiastically. "Had some of my best hunts from there. People from Omega are a wily bunch- who don't usually go without a fight." he said, a smile creeping back to his enormous mouth. "Never heard of 'Adrestia' though," he shook his head.

His large arms crossed before his chest. "You met anyone else on this ship?" he asked, as he had never seen any of these people before. The ones in the citadel were all strangers to him.
 
Amidst unconventional displays of Salarian-Drell interactions, the Tempest traversed time and space alike. Intergalactic travel was a marvel, especially towards the uninitiated mind, in which it was almost as if high-science turned magic. There was, indeed, something magical about this the prying hands of technology stretching out their omnipotent fingers, and squashing the distance between System and System. The Terminus System existed, technically, outside Council space, yet never outside its reach.

FTL Travel was a marvel.

Light years condensed – selectively - into hours, as the Tempest stormed onwards, past the Caleston Rift, and the Eagle Nebula. The Second Flotilla, the Fleet not of Migrants but of Protectors, was a moving entity, although it had slowed its movements in anticipation of the Tempest. It settled for a position nearing the Omega Nebula, the haven of malcontents and the sanctuary of criminals. A wise choice.

This incarnation of the Flotilla was smaller, yet impressive nonetheless. It retained both the sleek qualities of Quarian knowhow, and the roughshod amalgative nature that the former Migrants had been known for. With their newfound galactic responsibilities, the Quarian had been placed somewhere in between the Turians and the Asari/Salarians as far as the Treaty of Farixen was concerned, allowing them an increased number of Dreadnoughts. A single one of their number – the grand-ship Tadarum - served as the Nucleus of the New Flotilla, an imposing capital ship that screamed ‘peace-or-else’. Lesser arms of ships surrounded it, even including outdated Turian and Alliance models – a token of interspecies respect and gratitude.

The Tempest was waved down near-abouts the left arm of the Flotilla, permitted to dock with the vessel Windrunner, ad-hoc passages created from mounting point to mounting point, allowing the crew of the Tempest to make their way aboard. Once aboard, sterilization and sanitization procedures were enacted, Geth Legionnaires and Quarian technicians alike seeing to the treatments.

At last, two Quarians awaited them – leader of Security Arm of the Fleet, Admiral Sal’Akira vas Windrunner. And the Councillor Tali’Zorah vas Neema.

The commander greeted them with a certain cockiness in his stride though he later straightened up when he addressed the two esteemed Quarians. Looking into what he could see of their eyes through the masks, he donned a grin. "Tiger Squad accounted for and ready."

The female Quarian crossed her arms but thankfully she replied with a tone more akin to her former shipmate Councillor Moreau than say, Escheel. "It is good to see you in person, Spectre."

"Your group seems a hardy sort...and quite varied. I look forward to seeing if you'll get the job done." the Admiral added in, shortly introducing himself afterwards. Marko chuckled heartily in response, gesturing to the cast of aliens behind him.

"Yeah I have a feel that we'll be getting that a lot." The commander replied.

"Then let’s make sure that your job is done right." Councillor Tali'Zorah interjected with a tinge of amusement in your voice. "It's time we discuss the specifics of your squad's task. For starters, this is the New Flotilla, which will serve as a mobile base for when the Tempest requires resupply and refuelling. Admiral Sal’Akira is in charge of the Security Arm.”

Sal’Akira’s tone was even, reserved, “The Flotilla, as a moving fleet, is modular – each component ship sustains the others, providing fire support, medical assistance, re-supply, repair. While the Dreadnought Tadarum serves as our nucleus, we operate without centralization, and thus no primary target exists that would cripple the rest of the parts if destroyed. As such, we are sturdy even against surgical strikes. Additionally, as we are the moving fleet, serving as the grand base spares our home planet of Rannoch priority from the Hegemony.”

“The Tempest will dock with us for a certain distance, before making for Batarian ground, where your mission of espionage and sabotage can begin. In emergency scenarios, we will be able to dispatch contingents of vessels for support.”

Finishing his spiel, his tone suddenly adopted a more personable, casual veneer, “So, the Yahg? Who would have imagined in our lifeti-.”

<ANOMALY DETECTED, ALL HANDS BRACE FOR IMPACT>

No sooner than the disembodied voice had finished, The Windrunner flickered, primary power dying and secondary power kicking into effect, filling the environment with the ominous glow of back-up lighting. And all around them, it was as if space itself shattered, turbulence overwhelming Quarian and others alike. With trained reflexes, both Quarian Admirals steadied themselves.

Sal’Akira spoke, index finger to the temple of his mask, “Pike, sitrep?”

<LARGE PREVIOUSLY UNDETECTED ANOMALIES DETECTED…>

Another fit of turbulence.

<BEFORE SUDDEN IMPACT. THE SAKO AND THE FORON COMPROMISED…>

“What about the Windrunner?”

<BOARDING PARTY IMMINENT, ENTERING THROUGH SHIPBAY. HOSTILES IDENTIFIED AS… UNDESIRABLE SPECIES, YAHG>



- Tempest crew has docked with the Windrunner, a vessel in the Security arm of the Second Flotilla.
- Some strangely cloaked bombardment has levelled a few of the ships in the fleet. Additionally, a boarding party has made its way unto the Windrunner, in the same bay where the Tempest is located.
- Upon entering the area, two of the very primal Yahg will be located, tearing at anything they see, armed with energy-based munitions.

- @Derp Your character is free to be located nearabouts the Fleet/Windrunner, and make his entrance.
- @Artorias same goes for the Turian.

 
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Artyom had been returning another young Quarian engineer who saw it rather fit to run away from the fleet in hopes of meeting some dashing human who had messaged her over Extranet comms. He was surprised to have received the contract from Tali'Zorah with an offer to of reintegration into Quarian society as well as an apology for his 'accidental' exile but for now it was a chance to at least be back where he felt he could help. It helped he was a bit of a 'exception' to fleet rules letting him get away with more than a standard Marine could when it came to his duties.

He was busy finishing a report on a data pad and handing off the returned Quarian to another security agent when he felt the turbulence and looked over to their temporary guests as he steadied himself and pulled out his rifle from it's holster and swiftly prepared for action. The moment primary power gave out and the secondary kicked on his helm's optic light seemed to automatically activate. Artyom was noticeably differently geared than the other quarians around him everything from his suit to his weapons seemed to be entirely custom even his reaction was one that told this wasn't the first time he'd been through this.

He quickly loaded his weapon and a promptly took position as he moved near Sal'Akira, Tali'Zorah, & Marko. "Sal'Akira, Sir. I get a feeling we're going to need anyone we can get at this point to deal with our unwelcome guests. Particularly those with hard hitting rifle's unless someone's feeling heroic..." He said in a surprisingly calm tone as he prepared for a fight having gotten into combat with batarians and a single Yahg before and suffice to say it was a very close fight. His experience reminded him that one would prefer to keep distance from a Yahg unless they'd want to be hurled like a toy or ripped into bits or unless they were a Krogan.
 
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[BCOLOR=transparent]Decontamination. Always with the bloody decontamination.[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kalo knew why it was necessary. Every Quarian knew why. Hell most of the galaxy knew why the bloody decontamination process was necessary, that didn’t mean they weren't a dam nuisance all the same. It was good to be back on a Quarian vessel again though. The heavy dull hum of of the ship felt just right, the citadel had been far too quiet and still.[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]“Why don’t you come aboard Blinky? There must be someone you want to talk to.”[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]“I have already communicated with everyone I wish to Kalo.” Blinky’s voice crackled over the comms. “Besides there is still much I wish to investigate about the ship”[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]Inside his helmet Kalo couldn’t help but roll his eyes. That was Blinky all over, if it were allowed he would probably seal himself in the engineering bay and speak to everyone via comms. Kalo also made a mental note to get the engineering crew a small token of appreciation. Dealing with Blinky’ had once driven an engineer to request a transfer off the Neema and that was a fairly conventional vessel. The Tempest was clearly something a little more special.[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]When the decontamination process were finally finished Kalo fell into step with the rest of the squad as they followed the Commander out of the decontamination area. As he walked he tried to recall if anyone he knew was stationed on this ship. The problem was that Marines had a tendency to move between ships and there were just so many ships in the flottilla, it almost impossible to keep track of people[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]Kalo was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he failed to notice the group stop and walked smack into the back of the person in front of him. After a hasty apology he shuffled to the edge of the group to find out why they had stopped and was surprised see Admiral Zora inspecting them. There was someone else talking to the commander but Kalo couldn't see them from where he was. If they were with Admiral Zora though they had to be top brass. Mindful of future career prospects Kali decided to shut up and standstill, he didn't want to be remembered as that Quarian that said something moronically stupid in front of Admirals.[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]<ANOMALY DETECTED, ALL HANDS BRACE FOR IMPACT>[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]It took a second or two for the warning to register in Kalo’s mind and by the time he moved to brace the turbulence was strong enough to throw him to his knees. Cursing he crawled towards a shipping crate, using it as support to get back on his feet as a second wave of turbulence hit. [/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]“What the hell wa….” Kalo started before trailing off as the new announcement cut over him. This time Kalo reacted without delay, his left hand reaching for his rifle while his right launched a tiny drone as he dropped down into crouch behind the shipping crate and cursed leaving most of his gear aboard the Tempest. Looking over his left shoulder he saw that another soldier had already taken up position by the commander and so he stayed where he was. It was a better position anyway and being here would draw fire away from the Admirals. [/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]There was a small ping from his omni-tool and when he looked at the small projection he felt a chill run down his back. The thing was huge, monstrous. He’d seen vids of Yaghs before but somehow they hadn’t done the species justice.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]“I have eyes on one hostile” Kalo shouted as he tapped at his omni-tool “Lighting it up now”. A red glow began to emanate from the far end of the hangar as his drone locked onto the Yagh it had found.[/BCOLOR]​
 
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