Mass Effect: The Valkyrie Chronicles - Part 5

Wonder Bred

Seeing that all was clear up ahead, the group of medics headed towards the downed ship. They would look over their shoulders from time to time, viewing the carnage that the fighting had produced. Gunfire could still be heard from the distant citadel camp. The group talked a little on the way up, still holding their rifles up and ready.

Reaching the rest of the group, Erin asked about any wounded. As she did so Ros noticed a geth standing amongst one of the groups. Odd. Did we actually capture one? These aren’t citadel forces. Pirates? He’d run across pirates while in the alliance. He’d been on a rapid response team out in the Kepler Verge where they ran into pirates and slavers frequently.

Erin returned. “Sounds like the only wounded is Vesper. He’s patched up, but he may need evac. And you know what this group reminds me of?”

“Pirates." Ros responded. "Good ones at that. … Minus the crash in a war zone. Terra, you worked on Vesper earlier. It wouldn’t hurt to go check up on him if he’s down again. You already the injuries.”

As he finished a new voice came over the air. "Whoever you are, we don't want any trouble." It said. "We come in peace."

Yeah. I bet you do.

Wonder Bred

As Vynx headed toward the group merged around the enigmatic Geth, she paused briefly to check on the status of Vesper. She knelt beside him and placed her two fingers just behind the recess of his mandible. His pulse was steady, albeit a little slow, but judging by his breathing he was on the verge of slipping into a recuperative sleep. Blood loss, her mind filled the gap for her.

Tauren, ever vigilant at his side, watched as she assessed his vitals. "Will he be alright?"

"He should be fine," Vynx replied. "But until the medics reach us, keep an eye on his breathing."

Speaking of the medics, where were they? Vynx did a double take as she looked up the ridge, not expecting to see a small group approaching. More humans, Vynx thought darkly. ...And an Asari? What was going on here?

Vynx rose to her feet and pulled the shotgun from the small of her back. Though the newcomers broadcast a message of peace, it did not instill peace in her mind. These cannot be Citadel forces, she rationalized. Humans, Asari, Salarians, and even a Krogan... perhaps a nearby privateer vessel that received a distress call from the encampment? No... how could a ship armed like that fall so easily?

Vynx felt overwhelmed by all the unanswered questions, so she quieted her mind as she met up with Darius and Jax. A thought crossed her mind that, if this momentary still should be disrupted by hostility, perhaps the Geth would remain on their side.

Jaryu 1

Ayame: Hey boss I don't think they like us why don't we just leave them to there fates already. Why we just chilling here.

Ebaumisnoob

"We come in peace!"

Darius wheeled around to see a mixed band of armed thugs descending down the slope, through the piles of Geth wreckage. He activated the team comms and said, "Anarchus, Auoric, lets negotiate. Vynx, stay the hell away from them, lest you get everyone killed over the issue of species." With that, he shut his comms down, holstered his brawler, and began a steady jog towards the collection of armed miscreants.

MysticKnight01

"I'm on it."

Terra raced over to where Vesper was resting, pulling out some medical supplys out along the way. When she got over to him, she saw that he had received some medical help despite it being just a patch work. Shaking her hear and sighing, she went straight to work going over his injurys. "Didn't I tell you to keep your head down?"

Vesper chucked despite winceing a bit. "The geth had other plans..."

She went straight to work, going over fresh wounds as well as the old ones she had worked on before. While she was working, she overhears Saul messages and for a moment stops. "That voice is strangely famiular... " Notising this Vesper asks, "What's wrong?" snaping back to reality, Terra shakes her head. "It's nothing, I was just reminded of something that's all." S

Satisfied with her work and doing a quick check with her omni tool, Terra helps Vesper up to his feet. "You're good to go, but really, keep your head down. Bullets are not doing wonders for you."

da1337Crow

Jonas was still alone at the edge of the basin staring at the ship. He had seen a few ships come into the Citadel while working with C-sec. Most were Alliance, Turian, or Assari make. He had seen a few slaver ships while serving aboard the Prometheus, and this ship resembled their make, but only a vague resemblance. This ship was much to sophisticated to be a slaver ship. Pirates could steal something like this, but it’d take a great deal of planning. A ship like this wouldn’t be easy to come by, much less steal.

He suddenly felt very much alone up their on the basins edge. He looked over his shoulder and saw what looked like the remains of the Rescue Teams congregating with a new and unknown group. And unless his eyes deceived him, a Geth unit too. “What the hell?” he whispered. Something didn’t seem right about this situation, and judging the body language of one of the Turians from the rescue team, it felt the same way.

If things started to get messy, he’d be of more use down their, then he would leaving an imprint of his backside up here. “Get you head in the game Hawkwind,” he thought, “Mama didn’t raise a fool.” Dropping his rifle to his side, he began to casually walk down to the rescue team. Within minutes he came to a spot that had a perfect vantage point over both of the groups. He holstered his rifle back over his shoulder. Folding his arms across his chest, he leaned over onto a slab of sand stone. He didn’t want anyone to think he was trying to be hostile, but he did want them to know that he was watching, and waiting. Waiting for any sudden aggressive action to take place. He would stay up their until he decided the other group of mystery men didn’t have hostile intentions.

He stayed up their and watched. His eyes constantly shifting, never staying in one spot for to long.

Reign_Tsumaraki

"Ayame stop calling the thing Timmy. It'll either ignore you or get confused."

Ebaumisnoob

Darius approached the ragtag band as slowly as possible, Brawler held high, wrist blade fully extended. He didn't trust them in the least, and suffice it to say, he would not lose any sleep over sending each and every one of them to purgatory. About ten feet out from their leader, a tall, lanky human, he made one last call over his comms:

"Auoric, do me a favor and shoot to kill if things take a turn for the worse," He whispered over his headset, hoping he was unheard by the newcomers.

"I can't promise that, Darius, if you believe that you cannot negotiate, step back and let me handle it," Auoric's tense voice replied.

Darius grimaced as he closed in on the Human he believed to be the figure of authority. He took a deep breath and threw his head back before locking eyes with the leader and asking, "Who are you, what are you doing here, and how did you get here?"

Mushufasa 49

"Affirmative Reign," Forty Two responded. "I am programmed to only execute commands and respond to queries to my given identification, Forty Two." It noted that Reign had called the human Ayame.

Logging data...

Female human identity 'Ayame'. Skilled sniper, possesses human quality 'immaturity'.

Data logged.

Forty Two had still not received an answer to its query. It saw a group coming from the basin and presumably the ship with the rescue beacon. Logically, Forty Two thought, they are the owners of the ship that needed assistance. I should query them about their objectives.

Forty Two began walking towards to what it assumed was their leader, a human. "Greetings human. I am Experimental Biotic Attack Unit Forty Two. What is your identification, what is your objective on this planet, and are you allies with the group of soldiers on the slope?"

Jaryu 1

Ayame: Fine I stop calling him Timmy but I think its a better name then 42.

Green Scythe

Date: April 1st, 2184 _
Location: Planet Chasca, Matano System, Maroon Sea Cluster; _
Mountain near VLRE crash site - 07:12 Hours _

"Who are you, what are you doing here, and how did you get here?" Asked one of the Turians standing in front of me (Darius).

With my palms still out, I stopped, and after lowering my hands, I answered.

"We're friends, first of all." I said.

"Yeah, I'll bet." Said another Turian (Jax), under his breath.

"Second of all, we're here by mistake," I continued, still addressing the first Turian. "and third, our ship was shot down in the chaos as we were passing through this system. We crashed down here, and our ship's just about totaled."

"Are you with the Citadel?" Asked a human tending to one of her fallen comrades (Terra).

"...Technically." I said. "You... could say that."

"I see..." said another Turian, clad in Light Phantom Armor (Auoric). "So--"

"That's a lie." Interjected a female Turian (Vynx), cutting off the other. "Your look gives you away - you're not Citadel."

"Even if we're not," I continued. "We're not here to start a fight."

"Why would you pass through this area?" Continued the female. "And how did you get in? The Citadel has had this system under a military blockade for days now."

"...We don't keep very well informed." I said to the female. "Our job doesn't exactly require us to."

"So you're obviously not merchants either." Said the female.

"So what if we're not?" I asked rhetorically. "The point is that we don't want any trouble. We just want to repair our ship so we can get out of this cluster and go about our business. I wouldn't mind it if you guys just went back to your camp and told them that there we no survivors, and that you never saw us here. Look, my name's Saul, and we just saved you guys from those Geth. I think you owe us that much."

"You saved us?" Asked yet another Turian (Regalt), "I don't know which fight you were watching."

"Besides, we can't do that." Said another Turian, clad in heavy Phantom Armor (Anarchus). "There's no doubt that the others saw the firefight. They know you're here."

"Tough crowd..." I said. "...Well, before this goes any further, I would like to ask who you guys are... especially that thing." I said, pointing at Forty-two.

Reaper 07

Taking a step forward Auoric left the sanctuary of his shadows and stepped into few, his exhaustion hidden behind his shadowed carapace.

"I am Commander Auoric Narsia, i am in charge of this response team, however do not reserve your questions for me, my unit know all that i do"

Taking a step forward once more he placed his fist into his flat hand held across his chest and bowed slightly, a gesture of good will and respect.

"Pleased too meet you Saul, now let us discuss our options."

Ebaumisnoob

"Well, I can see no reason for open hostility," Darius said as he lowered his Brawler, scanning the crowd before him, "But don't make it out to be that I trust any of you in the slightest." He took a breif pause before continuing.

"My name is Darius Archos, mercenary, and as you can clearly see, working with Big Brother. Unless you have to adress me directly, find someone else to talk to, I'm a grunt for all intents and purposes."

Reign_Tsumaraki

I began running around the battlefield, collecting weapons and ripping out the power cores of the Geth. I piled them right next to the rock I was hiding behind during the battle, only this time facing where the battle was. I got out my tools and began working, making a pile of strange-looking grenades next to me. Each one had a different shape, on account of the geth using different weaponry and utilizing a different power core.

ForumAura

As far as Vynx was concerned, these people were no less of a threat than the broken machines among which they stood were five minutes ago. Her suspicions held truth, and with each fumbling lie they only deepened the contrast. If she actually cared about deterring them from making mistakes, she would have told them that she didn't like being lied to. However, their ignorance was to her advantage; she owed them nothing, despite their attempt to claim savior rights. Knowledge was like enlightenment; the less they knew, the harder their search would be. Vynx had no intentions of making this easy.

Auoric, good and honorable Auoric stepped forth and offered his name for the sake of peace. Darius, too. Vynx stood near the outer edge of the circle still clutching her Avalanche. A voice fought at her, chastising the men for the decision they had made. This was only because Vynx refused to offer her name. Civility was only an option. She dearly hoped it would not occur to Auoric or Darius to introduce her; there was a grave feeling evident in her silence, and hopefully they would pick up on it.

Vynx could not help but glare at the human who heralded himself as "Saul". Both Darius' and Auoric's proximity to a potential threat kept her rigid, vigilant. Realizing that the human might find her stare intimidating or threatening, she slowly reached up and cycled her visor closed. Now, free to shoot daggers or scan their surroundings, Vynx did the latter.

Never taking her eyes off the engagement for more than a few seconds, Vynx accounted for their party and the opposing one, calculated their chances if things should escalate, judged the time of day, lost another percentage of hope for the Citadel forces back at the encampment, and determined the best escape route.

Then, something Vynx never foresaw occurred: While scanning the area again, she spotted a figure surveying the scene from above - a human she recognized from their unit back in the dropship. He seemed to have made himself comfortable atop the range, and if Vynx's eyes could perceive so small a detail from such a distance, he was doing exactly what she was: never removing his eyes from what could be a hostile situation.

Before being startled by the realization of what she'd just allowed herself to do, Vynx felt a strange alleviation that she was not the only silent spectator ready to pull the trigger. However, once she became aware that she had, even scarcely, associated herself with a human, her gag reflexes kicked in, fueled by extreme self-humiliation.

Vynx managed to retain her composure despite her sudden sickness, laying her eyes once again intently on the lead human. She was narrowing it down to two options: They should submit and lend their guns to the suffering Citadel forces at their backs, or forfeit any hope of ever leaving this damned planet with more than an ounce of life left in their bodies... if any at all.

Jaryu 1

Ayame: Man these people are grumpy at least they could say thanks. Well anyway I headed for cover to rest my shoulder still hurts. By the way all My name is Ayame Kurosaki nice to meet you all.

With that she headed towards Reign and lay here head on the rock. Ayame: Wake me if anything happens.

Reign_Tsumaraki

"Ayame, get up please. Sitting yourself next to a bunch of hastily built grenades is not the best decision. And It's strange your arm is still hurting, the steroids and painkillers half-life is much longer then this."

I paused from my work and examined the crowd. They all looked suspicious, and hostile. The first is understandable, but when a crew of varying species comes charging in and kills your enemy you shouldn't act hostile. Especially against a superior crew of armed and skilled pirates.

I should probably get back to the ship and continue repairs on the prototype. With the dual core fixed to a working degree all that's left is to make sure it can make it into space and through a few relays without falling apart.

Green Scythe

As I pointed at it, the strange Geth that was talking to Ayame and Reign looked forward, and began walking towards me.

"Greetings human," it began, in an elevated, polite tone. "I am Experimental Biotic Attack Unit Forty Two."

"A Geth that speaks English?" I said in shock.

"What is your identification," Continued Forty Two, "what is your objective on this planet, and are you allies with the group of soldiers on the slope?"

I stuttered; I didn't know how to respond. It was then that Ayame walked past me, moving back for a minute to rest her shoulder. As she came up, she put her hand on my shoulder and whispered to me.

"He's OK." She said. "He's one of the Citadel's toys. He won't shoot you or anything."

"A friendly Geth?" I asked her.

"Man these people are grumpy." She added. "At least they could say thanks. Well anyway I headed for cover to rest my shoulder still hurts."

After introducing herself to the others, Ayame proceeded to sit by a rock behind us, and I turned to the Geth that called itself "Forty Two."

"I'm Saul." I said. "Our objective is to get out of here, and yes. I'm the leader of this group."

"Well, I can see no reason for open hostility," said the Turian who addressed me first as he lowered his Brawler pistol. "But don't make it out to be that I trust any of you in the slightest."

I swallowed, then he continued.

"My name is Darius Archos, mercenary, and as you can clearly see, working with Big Brother. Unless you have to adress me directly, find someone else to talk to, I'm a grunt for all intents and purposes."

"Darius?" I asked, slightly more nervous than before.

"Darius..." I thought to myself. "I have a bad history with people who go by that name..."

As my attention began to drift to memories of the past few months with a certain someone by that same first name, my internal monologue was interrupted by another Turian who was stepping forward.

"I am Commander Auoric Narsia," he began. "i am in charge of this response team, however do not reserve your questions for me, my unit know all that i do"

Taking a step forward once more he placed his fist into his flat hand held across his chest and bowed slightly, a gesture of good will and respect.

"Pleased too meet you Saul, now let us discuss our options."

The Turian's gesture of respect made me smile. Returning his bow with one of my own, I continued.

"I agree." I said. "Maybe we can help each other out."

I looked over at the female Turian, who said nothing, instead opting to hide behind her helmet's visor. The rest of those I could see kept the same demeanor.

"If I may ask Saul," began the one called Auoric. "Where were you coming from that caused you to pass through this cluster? Was it in any way possible to avoid this area?"

"...We were coming from the Terminus Systems." I said, telling the truth.

"The Terminus Systems?!" Said Darius in shock.

"The Terminus Systems..." Echoed Auoric, slightly taken aback. "But what business would humans have out in the Terminus - its far too dangerous out there!"

"Any human valuing his life would know to stay far, far, away from that place." Said the downed Turian (Vesper).

"We had to go there." I said. "We were just finishing a job, and the fastest way to our base was through this system."

To this, I itched my nose.

"We had no choice." I finished. "So here we are."

"I get it!" Said another human coming up behind us (Ros). "You're Citadel spies!"

"Yeah." I said, hesitating at first. "Yeah, that's right. We're spies!"

"They're not spies." Came a voice over the com-link. "That's a Batarian ship up there."

I looked behind me, and saw a Heavily-armored human standing on a small ridge up above (Jonas). He was standing tall, and after observing his surroundings, I noticed that the soldier had the perfect vantage point - great cover with an even better view of the situation down below.

He could pick us off without even having to worry about return fire.

"I once served on board the Alliance ship, Prometheus." Continued the soldier. "That ship resembles a bird that's native to the Batarian homeworld. Most Batarian ships bear a vague resemblance to it, and that ship is no different."

I turned around to face the speaker, and he continued.

"The Citadel would send people to recon, maybe even sabotage, but they wouldn't go so far as to sacrifice men to steal a ship. The Salarians would do it, but the Asari wouldn't allow it."

"What's your point?" I asked. "So what if that ship's Batarian?"

"The Citadel wouldn't risk starting a war by stealing a new ship model from the Terminus Systems." Said the human. "You can tell me what that means."

To this, I kept silent, trying to find the words to say.

"...Who are you people?" Asked the human tending to the fallen Turian (Terra).

To this, I tensed, and both Leon and J.R. were ready to draw their pistols. Knowing that the jig was up, I decided that it was best to just up and tell the truth.

"My name is Saul Franklin." I said. "And I'm a pirate."

Jaryu 01

Ayame: Well the cats out of the bag now. As she says this she gets up and starts walking towards the ship."Man he could of said we escaped from them or something man what a let down" She thought.

Reaper_07

"My name is Saul Franklin, And I'm a pirate."

Nodding in acceptance too Sauls new statement Auoric continued too keep his calm demeanour and smiled at his "Help".

"That would explain a lot, and put the pieces in place, i can only assume that the batarians where not too happy with your actions."

The crew of the downed ship hung their head in recognition knowing that he was right, The injured human resting her shoulder looked very edgy and smug, not particularly attractive qualities, but they where pirates after all
"Sorik, make a quick round, make sure the geth aren't preparing for another offensive"

"Roger"

The lithe giant sprinted off in a surreal speed quickly vanishing out of sight, which seemed too worry some of Sauls crew.

"So Saul, where do we go from here"

Gripping his rifle tight, Auoric braced himself for any sudden deceit or assault, he had no disdain for humans, but they where not exactly in the safest of locations.

MysticKnight01

While she was working on Vesper and listening to the conversation, Terra was trying to figure out why Saul seemed familiar to her. She never met him personaly so it must have seen him from a far. Sauls revelation of being a pirate was like the final piece clicking in her mind.

"Now I remember you...." She said as she finished up sealing the last of Vespers wounds with Medigel using her omni tool. She helped him to his feet and said to him, "I say it again, keep your head down..."

Vesper nodded and watched as Terra walked up to Saul.

Terra walked calmly and spoke to Saul, "Saul Franklin, captain of the Ravenheart, and.....one of the many annoyances among some pirates in the Traverce. Partly to his personality but mostly to his moral code on pirateing."

Auoric looked over to Terra and asked, "How do you know this?

"A professional never gives her trade secrets.." She said but smiled inwardly. Infiltating organizations for information was one of her freelance jobs for C-Sec. And since it was one of the two things that the Alliance trained her for, she was good. Getting in as a medic (After all, everyone needed someone to fix and heal troops), finding out their secrets, altering them so they head straight into traps, all in good fun. After all, no one would suspect one who healed their troops...

"And having different hair color, style, eye color, and alias helps too."

Ebaumisnoob

Darius had to try his hardest not to grin as Jonas tore Saul's lie to shreds. He may not have seen how the Human did in combat, but the fact that he was able to analyze a situation like this and bring out the truth of the matter more than made up for any lack of combat ability. He finally let his grin surface and turned to the human to give him an affirmative nod. He then turned his attention back to Saul, his light expression reverting to one of anger in a heartbeat.

"I've dealt with many a pirate Saul," Darius said as soon as Auoric had finished, "It is likely that I will deal with many more before I die. I've seen the best scum in the galaxy, and I've also seen the most pathetic. I've seen entire armies of them, and I've seen trios operating as them. However, you stand apart for one reason: you're useful to us right now, you've come at a time where your skills can help us resolve a little situation."

He took a deep breath as he let his (he thought) profound monolouge sink in. After a second or two he gripped Saul's right shoulder and gestured towards Auoric, "Go on," he said in his usual monotone, the emotion erased once more from his speech, "Answer the Commander's question, it would be poor form not to."