Mass Effect: Terminus

Gerard Kalgard

The distance between the two and the guards, along with the limited ammunition they had, caused Gerard to stand back and watch as Sashryn took out their enemies. If he had his Omnitool or his other engineering equipment, he could at least sabotage the guards' weapons (making closing in for the kill an easy prospect) or incinerate their armor.

As it stood, there was little he could do to make himself useful aside from keep a watchful eye. But that changed as he saw a Batarian handle the remaining guardsmen with relative ease. Damn. He hated Batarians -- most humans in the system had developed a prejudice toward them -- but he had to respect this one's efficiency.

Their actions proved that they were not on the guards' side, but they were too well-equipped for prisoners.

"Sashryn. Keep them in your sights. I'll attempt to parlay."

Gerard raised his arms, leaving his weapons clearly visible as he approached. From as far a distance as he could manage, he called out to them.

"You guys the rescue team?"

Rioth rounded the corner, aiming the submachine gun right at his chest, the spray alone would mangle the front of this poorly armored human. But then with a smirk he lowered it, looking at the Batarian, "Keep our backs covered while i talk to the humans." He knew that their was more than one. The human in front of him did not have the look or the equipment on him to suggest he was the sharp shooter. "And where is your skilled friend, that is the one i am interested in. And for your information, yes I am here to rescue. But only one person in particular. The rest of the prisoners will probably be locked up once more after we leave since going outside would not increase your chances of living. And you can only hold out so long with whatever weapons the dead guards leave behind...." * inhale* " But that does not mean i cannot take on a few more souls. Depending of course if they are worth my time. The people from the old crew died. So I have to be sure this time that I am taking a chance on people worth their weight in skill."

He looked the man up and down. "You do not have the build of a sharp shooter. Whoever did has a ticket with my luxury liner off this cloaca of a planet. You...what will keep me from pushing you aside."

Sashryn Velentor

As she watched the corner for a clear shot, fire erupted from behind it, and shots rang out. They were followed by one of the guards' smoldering corpse falling into her vision. So, someone else had a gun with the guards in their sights. After her ally explained what he was going to do, Sashryn nodded in compliance.

Sashryn watched the scene pan out. She almost shot the Salarian when he came around the corner with a gun raised, but refrained as he was likely simply taking a precaution. Of course, normally she would have shot him anyway to be safe, but that would defeat the purpose of negotiation. By the looks of it, this group was the one who broke in to the prison, so they most likely had a way off of the planet. They would to make friends if they wanted to the join them. Nonetheless, she didn't like the way that the Salarian seemed to be addressing her companion. His mannerisms seemed to denote an almost threatening attitude. Should he make a move to attack the human, he would be joining the guards in the afterlife. Not that Sashryn would care what happened to the man under normal circumstances, but he had done much to aid her in her escape, and she felt little good would come from betraying him now.

Gerard Kalgard

Gerard lowered his arms. "My name is Gerard Kalgard, ex Alliance Engineer, more recently ex Cerberus officer, and the guy who just blasted the head off the guard in the preceding corridor. I can offer close range combat support, hack networks, and sabotage hostiles, among other things. The latter two would require an omnitool, of course. Do we have a deal?"

He spoke quickly, not being in the mood to bargain, though he was still sure to cover the essentials. Part of him was betting that they were not in the mood to argue either, which is why he kept Sashryn back as insurance.

He smiled at the words engineer, he frowned at the mention of his Cerberus background. Not that it mattered, Cerberus was done. From the ashes were numerous lesser human supremacist groups, which were no where near are powerful or dangerous. Nonetheless, an engineer was needed currently. Esecially after they got outta here, he would take out his frustrations over previous Cerberus slights out on him by making him earn his keep twice over.

He sighed and then addressed the human once more, "Gerard is it? Well you are in luck, i have need of an engineer. Tell your companion to show him or herself. I done like having a rifle pointed at my head. I tend to shove the rifle up there asses once i get my hands on them. My name is Elvis Rioth. I do not know or really care at the moment the names of my two associates yet. Once you all have proven themselves to me, then I might take the time to make room in my head for your names" *inhales* *exhales*

Gerard Kalgard

The newly recruited engineer waved Sashryn over, nodded to the Salarian, and fell into line. There was nothing else to say. Their mission now was to help these people grab whoever it is they came for and get the hell off this rock. One thing did occur to him, however, as he took his place among the others. Whoever captured this group's target clearly fucked with the wrong people if those coming to rescue him/her were capable of tearing up the entire complex with a crew of only three aliens. This was a very bad day to be a guard.

Sashryn Velentor

Her companion waved her over after seeming to come to some agreement. Getting up from her kneeling position, she made her way over to the pair, her Raptor lowered as to not be threatening, but still raised enough to be used should the situation turn bad. Sizing the Salarian up with a glance, she determined the best possible places to shoot him, and at what ranges, before addressing him.

"Who are you here for, how soon are you leaving, and will you be taking passengers?"

Two humans! They really are taking over the galaxy. Elvis hoped the batarian was professional enough to over look the fact.....And a young woman no less! The galaxy was always filled with surprises. Though he was not sure what pissed him off more, hundreds of reaper forces descending upon him or a mouthy young human who did not know when she was addressing a potential savior. "We leave when I have who I came here for little girl. Fall in line and you might make it out of here alive, which in loads better than staying here alive, especially for a young woman. I hope you can continue to use that M-13 raptor to continued efficient use or I will leave you here for the dogs. I do not care whether you live or die. Whether you do is up to you. But I can get you out if you can preform and follow orders." *inhales*

"As I told your partner, my name is Elvis Rioth. Follow me, I have an Asari to pick up." He turned his backs on them and pressed forwards. Looking over his shoulder back to Gerard "We will be heading to the lock up, I have a feeling if she is alive she will want her affects...she is very fond of her mask...." He nodded to the Turian and Batarian to follow.

Sashryn Velentor

This is why I usually work alone. thought the young woman to herself. She says something, intending to simply be blunt and to the point, and it's taken as sass. At least he didn't go beyond threatening her. His allies might not like the results if he had. As it was, however, no one had to die but their enemies, and Sashryn most certainly did plan on putting her M-13 to good use.

Falling in step next to her first ally as they followed the Salarian and his friends, she realized that she still didn't know his name.

"I'd rather not refer to you as 'that guy' should we continue to fight together. What should I call you?"

Gerard Kalgard

The response Sashryn received was exactly why Gerard himself did not ask for specifics. So long as they followed, the mission prerogative was the business of the head officer and whoever he deemed fit to share it with. Questions from subordinates that were not critical to the immediate success of the mission would be viewed as unnecesary and burdensome. Of course, her status as a young, human woman may also have played a part in the Salarian's word choice. It was simply a matter of ego.

It never occurred to Gerard to give his acquaintance his name. Such things he currently disregarded as irrelevant. However, this did provide an opportunity to give her some mutually helpful advice.

"Name's Gerard Kalgard." As he finished, he suddenly pulled her by the shoulder so that her head was close to his. "Eyes open, mouth closed until we get off this rock," he murmured. "These people can change their minds at any time."

Fehln Davris

When it was clear that things had cooled down for the most part, he stepped out from his cover that was the hallway and took up position behind his boss, his phalanx still in hand in case either of these people decided to make themselves a threat. An ex cerberus engineer and a woman who was obviously the one who had shot the two guards, both human, the latter the only one he was honestly worried about at the moment. Cerberus had been dead for five years now, whatever had been trying to rise up from their ashes was pathetic in comparison, still they were probably going to need an engineer at some point.

And the woman, she was a good sniper if nothing else, her choice in weapon, the ease she dispatched the two guards, she really was no simple mercenary. Perhaps an assassin, or a specialist of some sort, he'd figure it out eventually, getting to know other hunters was part of his job after all. "Not to be the guy that sounds racist sir, but are we sure we can trust these two?" he indicated their new human allies "it's not that I am or that I'm not grateful for the extra guns, but they don't put your average criminal in a prison like this, believe me, I put plenty of them in purgatory and other places like this before, and they aren't usually the type you trust."

Elvis Rioth

Elvis was still walking as the Turian spoke. His concerns were not unfounded but it seemed he lacked when it came to seeing the obvious. "If they killed us they would have no way off this rock. They do not know our plans beyond what i'm here for. And they do not know the method of escape i have for us. Not to mention they are out numbered and our batarian friend has a shotgun he is probably not to hesitant to use on Humans. I think we are fine for now. I will decide whether they are worth the trouble, and if they are not you will be the first to know." *inhale*

"For now, use your skill set and scout on ahead, I do not want to walk into a fire fight with us between manic prisoners and guards. Between us and the lock up is another hall way. Then hopefully the door is open or unlocked."

Sashryn Velentor

The young woman was surprised when Gerard grabbed her, and almost reacted violently until her began whispering in her ear. With a slow nod, she pulled away from his grip, and spoke low so that only he could hear.

"You may call me Sashryn."

The red haired woman watched her three new allies. A Salarian, a Turian, and a Batarian.
Really the Batarian was the only one she was concerned about working with, as they had a tendency to dislike humans, and this one was carrying a shotgun. Sashryn herself had no prejudice against the race; they died just as well as the next. The Turian seemed to be a focused individual, and the Salarian had already made his intentions clear. All in all though, it seemed that Gerard was the only one she could trust for now.

Fehln Davris

His boss had planned this out, that much was clear, but it wasn't the present that concerned him, it was after they got out of this place. Once they were clear the prisoners didn't exactly have a whole lot of use for them, and taking any more of them didn't exactly make that any better, it just meant they were going to have even targets to worry about. Still, if worst came to worst he could always lay low for a bit and then bring them back in when their bounties came back.

"Of course sir" he ran on ahead of the others, finally able to fully let his skills loose. The ratio of dead prisoners to guards was just about even if one took into account the fact that prisoners were doing pretty well for themselves at the moment, there were a few dead guards with missing weapons, but they'd be dead or back in their cells before long. He heard angry voices from the next hallway, using the wall as cover as he looked into the next hallway to find more guards trying to get the door to what he presumed was lock up.

One of the guards was shouting orders to the others, who were following them as if it were nothing new, which meant he probably the vice warden or someone else of importance. "Hurry up and get that door sealed! The warden wants the ones in lock up separated from the rest, we can't deal with them on two fronts!" That was not a good sign, he could run back now and tell the others, but that left the guards with more time to close the door. Their new engineer friend could probably work around it, but that would just take even more time.

A good hunter knows when to take the shot and when to wait for a better opportunity, this was the time weather he liked it or not. He activated his biotic focus and revealed himself to the guards, firing into a weak spot of the armor of the one working on the door before moving onto the one beside him, shooting through his visor with another two shots before the focus wore off, leaving him to shoot the rest of the clip at the guards, taking down another one, and take cover behind a crate as his shields dropped. He felt a bullet rip through his armor and into his chest, not a problem at the moment but he was going to have to deal with this later. That still left five guards on their feet, and they'd be coming for him soon. He pulled out his shuriken, awaiting their arrival or that of his comrades.

Kiares


For a while, the way to the upper level went smoothly. They encountered one other prisoner, but that one ran away before either word or bullet could be exchanged.

Halfway up the stairs back to the upper floor, the unmistakable sound of a firefight could be heared. Unfortunate, but she didn’t want to waste time searching for a different route. Or bust Ken’s cover to have him show her one.

When they reached the end of the stairs, they could see two guards at the door. One of them was furiously tipping on her omnitool, presumably to get the door shut permanently. The other, armed with an SMG, was standing guard. Naturally, he spotted them the moment they spotted him.

Simultaneously, the guard opened fire and Kiares shot her hand forward, throwing a ball of biotic energy at him. As one SMG round actually hit her, only to bounce off her barrier, the Asari shouted in an authoritative voice:
“Biotic explosion, NOW!”

The human's first internal reaction would have been to immediately dominate the mind of any lone hostile encountered, but beyond the threshold of the open door a large group of at least five guards was visible. When the asari he had silently followed shouted for an explosion, it was very clear why. Immediately a sleek gauntlet-covered hand shot forward, and Kayne flung outward a powerful throwing biotic force, detonating the asari's biotic hold on the target into a biotic explosion.

Elvis Rioth

It did not take long for the Turian to start stirring up a varren nest, Elvis signaled to the rest to double time it. he stuck to cover as the sounds of gunfire and biotics became louder. He shouted out to the Turian, "So you open fire without back up! I hope you killed at least half of them, losing the element of surprise like that!"

He turned on the Tech armor and combat rolled to a position opposite the Turian's. He stared down at the floor, and took a huge breath. He fiddled with his Tempest machine gun some and then rose from his cover. He over clocked his Tempest...Rapid Fire.

Elvis unloaded all fifty flechette of ammo into one poor soul in under two seconds before seamlessly putting another thermal pack into the gun. He shifted his aim to another and did the same, but now they were smart enough to dive for cover, so his hail of gunfire only clipped his legs. He went back into cover and called back to the group. "Lay down some damned gunfire will ya!"

Sashryn Velentor

As soon as they saw the firefight, Sashryn began getting as far back as she could. Once she was in position, she knelt and rose the Raptor to look down the scope. Five targets. As she began lining up a shot, the one she was aiming at went down to a mess of bullets. After he went down, she heard the Salarian shouting something about laying down some fire. Give me a second, she thought to herself, annoyed, and you won't have to keep shouting.

Choosing a new target, she waited until he had gotten into a position where he sustained fire at her allies cover, leaving him relatively still. She shot him straight through the neck. When another poked his head up to fire, she shot him through the skull. Ah, the life of an assassin. You get paid to be the most accurate around. Not that these guards were much of a challenge.

Fehln Davris

He was about to activate his tech armor and start shooting again when he heard an explosion, and his boss came in guns blazing with the others at his back, berating him for doing his job. "Oh, I'm sorry" he shouted over the gun fire, the irritation in his voice on the verge of being actual anger, "I was just trying to make sure we didn't stay in this place any longer than we had, you know, like you TOLD US TO, given they were trying to lock the door! Unlike you I'd rather not get stuck in a place I'm not supposed to be at any longer than it takes to drop off a bounty and collect my reward!" yes, his decision may have been a bit rash, but hunters took risks now and then on the chance it would pay off, and this was it.

He stood up from his cover to see that the salarian had managed to kill one, and the female human two others with her rifle, a fine shot she was, while a fourth lost his life to a biotic explosion. None of the team were biotics besides himself, and as far as he knew, neither of the humans were, so that left the prisoners. His hand instantly went to his scoped eye and began to adjust the settings once again, trying to get a clearer view of the other side of the door, eventually managing to see a quarian, what he assumed was a human in some kind of specially made armor, and last but not least, an asari that fit the description of the target. "Sir, I think we found who we're looking for!" he announced before firing off a burst to keep the last remaining guard where he was.

Ken had followed in silence, keeping an eye on the human they had picked up while remaining cloaked. It was a tad boring and in the back of his mind he thought about the irony of fixing his Vocal unit only to be put into a situation where he couldn't talk again. Keelah...
Then they ran into heavy resistance, a group of guards trying to lock down a door.
His new employer seemed to take exception to this and put her powers to use. Her powers combined with that of the humans made quite a pretty show, blasting away a guard in an instant while more went down to gunfire from the other end of the hall.
Seeing how the guards were falling like flies he saw no reason to show himself just yet, so he remained cloaked and to the side, watching to see if the human or the other people fighting the guards would take any actions that he would have deal with.

Gerard Kalgard

Little could be done in this situation. The range between them and the enemy was too long for a shotgun to be effective; the lack of spare ammo made suppressive fire a non-option; and without an omnitool his other combat options were off the table. All Gerard could manage was to take point and watch for enemy movement. If someone tried to charge, then he would blast them into oblivion. Aside from that though, his job was simply watching for now.

On the bright side, the Turian seemed to have spotted the PoI (person of interest). That meant after this fight they could link up and concentrate on getting the hell out of here.

His ears picked up at the Turian's words. He rose from his position. The Sniper had done good work, her aim was solid, she gets to stay if she survives. He walked over to the corner where the two paths converge, and poked his head around a corner.

Mask and all, it seemed she had made a friend too. He stepped out, casually walking towards her. If she had picked up a sharpshooter or two, he was sure she would keep them in line and they would not shoot him. He came to a stop ten feet in front of her and folded his arms together in front of him. "Kiares...." was all he said.

While a pair of humans weren't the most appealing of comrades, it was certainly better than say, a Collector or a Yahg. From his time spent in the Blue Suns, the Batarian had developed a toleration for humans, so long as they did what they were told and didn't cause any trouble. The same could be said of Salarians or Turians, but Humans seemingly possessed a natural affinity for causing irritation in his eyes.

Harus was broken out of his reverie once again by the sound of gunfire, which just so happened to be coming from the hallway that his Turian comrade had been sent to "scout out". As crazy as it seemed, the Batarian had the strangest feeling that he'd probably run into a group of guards, and was in need of aid. Moving behind the others, Harus came upon the scene of a firefight, watching as four of the five guards were dispatched by both his teammates and yet another force, which was shortly confirmed to be the Asari they'd come for. Well, now all they needed to do was eliminate the guards and make their way out of here, which seemed simple enough when you ignored the problem of there being an unknown number of guards between them and their escape.

The first order of business was to eliminate the sole remaining guard in the area, who was currently behind cover. While the Batarian's shotgun lacked the needed range, and he doubted an M-3 Predator would be enough to kill the guard, he did have another option. Loading an inferno grenade into the Raider's launcher, Harus fired in the general direction of the remaining guard. Like before, there were two possibilities, the guard would either be forced to leave cover, becoming open to fire from his companions, or it would simply kill him. An explosion followed soon after.

Kiares

Once they exploded the guy at the door, Kiares and her team took cover beside the door. Usually she was happy about any opportunity to attack people from behind, but if those people were shot at from the opposite direction….

The fire fight continued for a short while, until it ended with a small explosion. From the sounds of it, the guards had lost.

Stepping out of cover and through the now charred door, Kiares assessed the situation. The presence of Elvis was no big surprise, not with the huge explosion that started this whole prison break. As for the people with him…

If their equipment was any indication, the one eyed Turian and the Batarian were today’s hired help. The other two were either hired help with crappy equipment, or prisoners Elvis had picked up.
And they were both humans. Terrific, that made three now. While she preferred teams consisting of multiple species, for the sake of more variety in talents, an uneven ratio usually led to the majority banding together over their shared genetics and looking down at the minorities. And ever since the end of the Reaper war, most humans she’d met had been insufferably prideful.

In any case, it was time to establish that she was the captain, and Elvis just the grunt, like everyone else.


“Human with the shotgun, join him at the door and stand watch.” She pointed at Kayne, sounding like someone who was used to giving orders and having them followed. “Batarian, Turian, meet up with the sniper back there and secure our other flank.”

Not giving them another look to see if her orders were carried out, she turned to face Elvis. She offered no greetings, no thanks, no acknowledgements. She simply demanded:
“Report.”

Fehln Davris

The batarian ended the final guard with one of his inferno grenades, which left the simple task of dealing with the people he had seen. With surprising luck, it turned out to be exactly who they were looking for if the reaction of the salarian was any indication. What happened next surprised him, and actually left him wondering what he should do. The asari actually began giving orders to them, and she sounded like she had done this before. If they had some warning that this asari was in charge of something, perhaps whatever the salarian belonged to, he'd follow her orders, but while Fehln had only recently decided to stop with the whole lone wolf working style, he preferred there to be a clear chain of command.

He took his place a few feet from the salarian, shuriken still in hand, awaiting to hear to what his boss was about to say, but not before he cleared something up. "Until someone here clears things up, the only one I'm taking orders from is the one who paid me to do this in first place." Having a clear chain of command was something he actually liked about the turian military, the salarian had only told him they were here to retrieve someone, not follow their orders.