Fandom Mass Effect: Between Time - CIU Task Force

[The Silent Z]

In 2184 as chaos seemed to get brushed aside and calm in comparison to the events of Saren and Sovereign. Everything the late commander Shepard discovered and their crew learned of reapers, coming threats that would wipe the entire galaxy clean of intelligent life forms and bring extinction to all races across the Milky Way. It was all swept under the rug and Miranda shepards findings unrecognized officially. Disillusioned, manipulated by Saren into false beliefs, that Sovereign was just some geth technology of great power.

But all of this mattered not, not right now atleast. Another threat was rising, a scientist called Bartarius Carlyle Vander...... In short they called him Dr. Maze for his nickname. A man of suspected human origin, a former agent for Cerberus before he was discovered to have gone rogue and escaped capture to begin creating an army of mixed organics now known as "The Alpha" a sentient creation of Intelligence and feeling, non organic and organic life to create a species of claimed superior ability. Super soldiers. The very goal that Cerberus intended to achieve for mankind and was now in the hands of a successful creator. Dr Maze...

Backed by stolen Cerberus credits and resources, Maze has now risen to threaten all life in the galaxy, save for those allied with him. He was the main threat to the council right now, the threat this council was willing to admit exists. In order to ensure the citadel spaces security and to end this threat before it mounts in greater strength, they've began a project of uniting races into one specialized task force. Not spectres, not military. A team just like the normandys, a new crew, one capable of uncovering this mans plot, it's details and stopping his army. Men and women of nearly every race has been hand picked to join this cause, join the CIU task force and come together aboard the CIU Ship, the newly created and advanced scout ship known as

CIU: Phoenix


The first ship in what aims to be another hand for the council. Council integration unit, team one was underway, crew formed and preparing to set course for new trails in the investigation into Dr. Maze.
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OOC
Mass Effect: Between Time OOC

CS
Mass Effect: Between Time CS

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[The Silent Z]

First day of full crew and mission assignment
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The CIU Phoenix- 1, scout ship and task force vessel was now ready. A full crew was assembled and awaiting take off on the citadel as information was passed on about the crews first destination since being put together. The Salarian councilor spoke of his people's homeworld of Sur'kesh and how they had been dealing with issues involving new forces, enemy operations set up on the jungle world of Sur'Kesh and a formidable base established within the trees and remote areas of the planet. Watchtowers for scouts to keep watch lined up and built into the trees via connecting rods, generators at four key points around the base with a few hundred meters or so set between them and the base itself, a fair sized building with towers and battlements for watchers to keep lookout, while a shield powered by said generators kept enemy forces from breaching the operations base for the Alpha and one of their lieutenants who commanded the force. The Salarian military had made efforts, strides against them however struggles remain and they have been unsuccessful in defeating this enemy and cleansing Sur'Kesh of the Alpha. While they'd prefer to keep their planet in tact and not bombed unless truly necessary.

It was time for the task force to be tested and first encounter with the Alpha... Come to light and finally happen.

Meanwhile with the dismissal of assembly by the council and task set for them. Peros made himself at home on the lower decks of the ship, preferring the quiet beneath engineering and leaving little sneaking to be done on him. It was a tactical oddity considering he'd be furtherest from the exit and airlock.... But it was dimly lit, quiet and left enough privacy to avoid getting in people's way or visa-versa for when he was busy with personal matters and Intel observation, etc. being a Merc and having no real home, Peros was used to packing light and settling in quickly, selecting preferable quarters and laying a bed roll atop a flat surface for a makeshift bed. He had his pack set aside in the corner, bed roll upon the steel, cool surface of a table on the back wall of the small quarters within the red lit, dark area of the room while a computer was set up ahead in the better and normally lit section of the room closer toward the entry ways.

While Peros himself was quietly sitting at the computer with a cigar hanging from his mouth, clenched firm by his teeth as smoke escaped in small puff shots of release, while a drink was set beside the computer. Likely a strong mixture of his own or some remnants of a purchased bottle of whiskey or some other drink

Looking through dossiers and Intel packets while going over mission details, Recon information concerning Sur'kesh and just about anything useful he can find, while wondering what the hell has he gotten himself into this time.

Archon Epiphany Obi-Wan Kenobi Iskandar ThatGuyWithSouvlaki NerdyBirdy Steel Accord Dishonoured Karcen theunderwolf

 

[theunderwolf]

Gwyn Irons​

it was finally ready. The project she had literally brought back from the ashes. She should ask for another Decotorate for actually making the Pheonix work but frankly she didn't actually need anymore place-mats for her apartment, and she wouldn't be back in the huge one room studio for a long time. That wasn't to say she minded. The Phoenix's accommodations were quite nice and she had managed to sneak in a couple of graces like a teakettle and mattress (not that she had ever, to her knowledge, slept). the engine room was hers and it purred like a cat when she touched it. Saale, the quarian who had been the older brother she never had told her about how she had the same addiction to engines his people did, couldn't sleep without one and always a little off kilter without something to tinker with nearby. It was a badge she wore with pride and now her very own engine was finally ready. Mostly. Some idiots, nevermind who, had messed up several key pieces of wiring and she was currently elbows deep in the floor fixing it. She had been at it for a least...time. "If I'm bein completely honest," She murmured as she replaced a particularly complex series of fiber optics, "It's not actually that important to have fixed before we go. It was pretty unlikely we'll need this exact combination of data points on the maiden voyage but if I learned anything, all coooooooooooords are equal." She finished as she closed the floor board and opened her omni-tool display running diagnostics. All streams were green and the small bits of solar map info they didn't have were filled in. But did she smell smoke? Everything was green but...still the smell of smoke persisted. "Danu..." She said activating her infodrone remotely, "Run advanced system diagnostics on the bird, see what's overloading.'
"In progress Dr.Irons..." Danu started, data flashing on his holographic HUD, "Completed. No overloads have been found."
"Then what in the bloody hell is that smell of smoke you tincan filled with children's books?"
"That is cigar smoke Dr.Irons, if my chemical analysis is correct."
Gwyn narrowed her eyes, "How did I not recognize that?"
Danu blinked its orb then displayed and read a number, "At this time it has been 36 hours, 22 minutes and 47 seconds since you last slept Dr.Irons."
"...Fair enough."
"Indeed doctor, would you like me to play your sleepytime playlist?"
"No. Please no. I have work to do. Now go to bed or I'll make you relearn Japanese."
Danu deactivated himself immediately. "I can't decide," Gwyn muttered,"If hes just making reasonable connections or actually learning..." Danu was the closest thing to an AI that was allowed and Gwyn would honestly be unsurprised if he developed sentience. Neural networks were weird like that. She had other things to deal with though. Following the smell of smoke she headed to the subdeck, sliding down the handrail to arrive right behind.... someone she didn't know. And a batarian! He was turned around now but she had always been fascinated by how many eyes they had, it must be so unique!! "Just makes me want to test their efficiency and range of view.." She gleefully muttered and then declared herself, "Scuse me mate, you one of the crew?"

 

[The Silent Z]

It was never without reason to consider ones position before accepting new jobs. Discover motives, read body language, simple motions of the head, movements of the lip and direction of the eyes when conversing with another, it was Batarian way. The simplest nod motion to ones left and down could mean far more then most would see at the time or think of without prior knowledge and informed manner of preparing before discussion of business. Yet, even a Batarian could get played once in awhile, Peros was evidence of that much. A councilwoman caught him off guard and sweet talked him into joining the cause, unnatural tactics he thought at the time, but damn effective. The pay was good, the words like sweet liquor followed by a subtle kick. She outmaneuvered him and now here he was going over Intel briefs, dossiers of what info they offered to him, Sur'kesh layouts and known landscapes, whatever else they could dig up for further use and forward to his personal computer

But wondering of how Peros got himself into this situation and what exactly he got himself into was another and far less important matter, better left buried in his rear view. Taking a swig of his drink and puffing his cigar just a bit, Peros's hand swiped left and scrolled upward in motion as his eyes glanced over the various packets of information he had for the mission ahead. Preparation and knowledge before fool headed rushing into things were his way of getting stuff done, in a way made him relax and offer more opportunity to enjoy a cigar and think as he read through Intel and went over his preparations for the job. Got him settled in more quickly and focused on the task at hand instead of overthinking lesser matters.

Time of this would come to pass yet steps or a landing thud rather were filling his ears, raising alert to his mind, drawing his eyes up from the screen and glancing over toward Lucinda..... thinking it over and telling himself where he was and who it likely would be. It took repeated mental reminders of 'This is a council ship, this is Ciu crew, this is a council ship, this is CIU crew..... not assassins after my head or thieves to my back.' Before Peros eased his eyes from Lucinda and head slowly turned in passing of the screens of his computer toward the woman behind him.

"Scuse me mate, you one of the crew?" The voice declared as his eyes turned up toward the woman after a brief once over. "Sure." He spoke in reply as his chair turned to face her and he leaned back in his chair with cigar between his teeth and drink in hand while the arm laid to rest upon the chairs arm, the other raised to place two fingers on sides of his cigar and grinned a bit with a small, hearty chuckle and removed his cigar long enough to give it a tap or two onto the tray beside his chair. Glancing at the cigar and where he tapped it lightly ensuring it hit only the tray, before looking back to the younger woman and returning his cigar. "Heard you lot needed a Batarian..... or hell maybe you just needed a guy who can get shit done. That's more likely. Either way, names Peros." He introduced in continued response.

"I take it your part of this ship and crew.... maintenance or field team?" Peros asked looking to learn names beyond limited Dossier Intel he was allowed to glance over.

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Talis was in her room working on her computer, looking through the stream of data sent to her by the council and other intelligence sources regarding the mission. There wasnt much here beyond what their task force briefed on, mentioned on a project Alpha, their creator Dr Maze and their connection to Cerberus. However she liked to see the data herself, it allowed her to see if there was any information in the data other analyst had missed. It was alot of data to go through speding most of the previous night going through it and achieved very little. She sat back on the chair and stretched out before letting out a weary sigh, still she wasnt dissappointed. Years as an investigator had gotten used to things going nowhere and knew that sometimes such long shots can make or break a case.

She looked around her room, it was dark beyond the light of the three computer screens constantly streaming data. She hadnt salot of time decorating the place the last few days, most of it spend setting up her computer and data streams. The only things not necessary for the mission was a bookcase by her bed, with in it filled with some of her favourite books. Most of them were mysteries coming from most of the races and cultures from the galaxy including the human Sherlock Holmes series,the Asari Thena Sioptis mystery series and the Turian Stories of an MP officer series. She couldnt count how many times she had read them and how many times more she would. She almost thought to lay down and read one of them before she went on to work on gaining intelligence on the Surkesh situation.

She decided against it though, she was sick of her room for the moment and wanted to stretch her legs. Not to mention get a good dose of coffee. She had also heard some of the crew stirring around and it would be good to at least make an attempt in socialising. She will have to work with them after all. She gave another stretch before standing and made her way out of the room. She made her way to the mess hall.

 

[Iskandar]

Nero Claudius Alexius
CIU Phoenix, Engineering Deck.
​

The meeting with the Citadel Council was one of your standard and typical ones. They had a mission, and needed some unlikely people to clean up a mess for them. Apparently this one was of major importance seeing as they created a task force just for it. Nero had the lovely pleasure of leading this rag tag bunch that had been thrusted together. Personally Nero had no complaints, and overall thought it would be a fun experience. Of course that is if they don't all die or something like that. Sometimes the Council would put a group of people they needed gone on suicide missions which Nero wasn't sure if now was one of those times.

With the debrief done and the Council wishing everyone the best of luck and the pleasantries. Nero couldn't stand the Salarian Councilor and almost tuned out at times. She got the gist of the situation and had made her way to her new ship: the CIU Phoenix. It was a brand spanking new ship with a new crew and was constructed just for Nero and her task force. It was a somewhat large ship that had a decent sized crew. The Turian Commander had immediately set up in her quarters and unloaded everything she brought, which wasn't much. Turians tend to only bring the things they absolutely need and anything else is just a luxury that can be obtained at a later date.

After sometime of setting up her quarters to her liking and Nero began to look over the mission report and dossiers of her crew, "Hmm. This Dr. Maze is gunna be a real problem." Nero muttered to herself as she read over the intel on Maze. They were headed to Sur'Kesh to deal with Maze's creation that was dubbed 'The Alpha.' Honestly what a cheesy and lame name that the Council came up for it. Then again the Council weren't the brightest bunch so Nero wasn't that surprised. At least they tried. Nero shrugged and continue to look over what little more information there was for the mission. "Honestly the lack of intel is a bit worrying. Though I am pretty confident in the members of our little group." Nero tossed the mission report on her desk before picking up the many dossiers. We have two Asari, a Salarian, three humans and... a Batarian, Quarian, Drell and... Robot? Now that is one hell of a crew, Nero thought as she skimmed over the dossiers before putting them back onto her desk and making her way out of the room.

First things first, Nero was going to inspect the ship and meet her crew-mates. She was their commander, but she wanted to try and befriend a few of them. Trust would go a long way on a mission like this, and if you don't trust someone out there while facing the unknown, it could cause you dying or those under you to die and Nero would rather that not happen. The ship was still a bit sparse with personnel at this time though, as either many of the crew members where still getting acquainted with the ship, or had yet to board. Though surely a few were at least on board and ready to socialize. After a few minutes of searching the upper decks and not running into any one, Nero made her way to engineering and the lower decks.

Upon arriving in engineering Nero could hear a few voices coming from some part of the area. It was pretty easy to pick up on as the drive core was rather quiet and it seemed like the two that were talking were the only things making noise. The Commander joyfully made her way to the two that were talking before finally seeing one of the crew members. It was one of the humans and she appeared to look younger than the other two humans that were apart of the crew. She had silver hair and extremely pale skin. Ah, the albino Engineer. Nero thought to herself as she slowly walked up to her.

"Hello there... Gwyn, right?" Nero said with a smile, both hands behind her back. She was now beside the girl and peering into the area where the Batarian had set up shop. It was in a quiet and secluded part of the ship which led Nero to believe that he wasn't a people person, "Ah... Peros correct...?" Hopefully the commander would be two for two in terms of remembering her subordinates names, "I'm Nero, the commander. Though that bit should be obvious. I am the only Turian on this mission."

The Silent Z theunderwolf

 

[Karcen]

Fosa'Xasa Vas Yazzor
​

Fosa really didn't know how to feel about this whole situation, she didn't even get to place any bets on how long she would live on this mission, she had had more or less been press ganged into the crew but it beat a cell. She had been selected because she was a thorn in others sides if she wasn't getting into trouble then she was costing them money to keep her alive to serve out her sentence. It seemed that being annoying to some people was a way to get ahead in life. That was in the past now as right now she was in the shiny new citadel ship complete with her own quarters, which while small were not a prison cell. It almost felt wrong to not have a biotic field for a door as she was used too, but she woudl get used to having privacy once more one day. Fosa thought about what she could do on the ship, as well she had to eat special foods, and she wasn't allowed to get caught stealing stuff, she could always go and find a few weapons they had to have an area fr shooting somewhere on the ship. Some might think about going and saying hi to the crew getting to know them and what not but Fosa had some idea of not fully being welcome, a Quarrian, an assassin, and an excon not the best record to gain peoples trust or admiration. It also didn't help that she wasn't exactly sorry for what she had done and would likely get right back to it if allowed to run off and do her own thing.

Fora decided that she would look around the ship at the very least, get used to it's lay out and where she could hide if need arose and strike out against pirates, geth, other crew members just whoever happened to need it really. New ships were nice being clean and shiny every surface shined from the floor to the ceiling, with the drab blue grey lit up far better than it ever would be again. A new ship was a fun thing but it had no personality like an old ship, they might be rusty, and poorly lit, they might even have a few screed up systems, but they were proven and they new what they were. It night be odd to assign a personality to a ship but any pilot would tell you the same, ships were almost alive in their own way and Fosa having basically lived on ships her entire life had picked up such ideas. Fosa walked through the halls noting which vents she could lesson latter to make into ways in and out of the walls allowing her to move without being seen or get into places she might not be welcome.

 

[theunderwolf]

"Oh I'm Dr. Gwyn Irons, you can just drop any formalities though unless you want to impress someone or y'know talk a favor out of me..." She kept talking and just barely missed Nero's entrance and jumping forward a little in surprise when she noticed her. Caught a little off guard, her first reaction on seeing the turian was a near imperceptible "Pretty..." Before she regained her compusure and stood up straight. As pretty as he new commanding officer was, she really didn't want to be yelled at again for informality. "That's correct Ma'm!" She said a little louder then strictly necessary, "I'm the head ship and field engineer and the one who built this beuty in the first place, so please take care of my child." She finished smoothly, petting the wall affectionately, "I'll be in the engine room usually if you need help with my little bird, though I have to ask you ah, Peros mate, please check if I'm operating anything flammable. Everyone hates unnecessary fire drills right? Nice to ah... meet you both by the way..." She continued, eyes darting between Pero's extra set of eyes and how fetching Nero's frill was. Oh she was in trouble, "Other then that though Peros (am I pronouncing that right) make yourself at home, I'm glad someone found use for this space, I just designed it for extra storage and easy access to the planetary sweeping drives, but you got a straight up office space going which makes me think I should have put a window down here... do you want a window? Or anything I could improve? Please tell me I love new projects. Gos for you two of course commander though since you're like...in charge you'll have bigger concerns like better guns or letting me have those cooling pipes I want..."

 

[The Silent Z]

"Good to know ya, Irons. No worries on formalities with me, the day I talk correctly and formal to please is the day my eyes go blind." Peros responded with chuckled gesture and bluntly spoken. Truly the best he was likely to sound was fair and honest, anytime he was not blunt and himself was the day an ulterior motive, flattery to sweet talk a woman or some other cause changed his ways. He could play the game of formality and rank but didn't mean he would all the time or by preference not without sufficient reason. "Favor wise, well I'll see about it. Might work something out for that." He spoke before taking notice of the commanders arrival. A Turian, a female Turian to boot. Now didn't that beat all, years working with and against Turian mercs now here he was taking orders from one, well likely. If she proved worth trusting to lead then he might, wasn't good business to judge too harshly and out right object orders on jobs like this, he was getting paid handsomely and certain benefits came along with those credits for added perks. Besides, she wasn't vorcha, truth be told he didn't have issues with turians or women only found the situation comical. A human commander would have been even more of a something to him based off mere history alone.

However when she entered the room and he saw Gwyn shape up to military standard when addressing a commanding officer. Peros just kept in his chair with cigar and drink at his leisure, allowing a smile to play on his face while his teeth held firm his cigar, though letting just a touch of loose dip appear as smoke puffed out filling the air before him. "Yep. I'm Peros, your Batarian Recon and Infiltration specialist." He replied taking note of her stance and nodding his head. "Honestly I am a bit surprised you are, usually turians fill operations like this with plenty of your people. Military history and all. Sense of duty, right? Either way, good to know ya Neros." Peros added with honest, fair tone and kind enough for as far as first meetings and this Batarian goes.

Looking over toward Gwyn upon hearing her comment and speaking to both of them and him directly on one matter. He chuckled with amused hearty tone liking the woman's sense of wit, giving a nod of sure, sure, you got it. "Keeps ya on your toes though doesn't it? But that's fair. I'll do that next time I light up. Might be often though just to warn ya." Peros furthered with a light nod in agreement to her request.

Being a Batarian you got used to people checking out your extra eyes though why usually varied from person to person. Still he did notice that Gwyn looked to his second set while looks to Neros as well. So far, despite his thoughts on how this would work and what he got himself into now. Peros was rather enjoying the company and meeting these two 'mates' as Gwyn liked to call him or perhaps each of them. Might be a term commonly used. Giving a smile, he nodded again while standing up from his chair. "You got it right, Gwyn. Now that I know who built this.... bird? Did you say? I know who to thank for fitting quarters. I don't need much, liked the quiet, shades of light and shadow..... one entry viewpoint for me. If the ship was invaded by hostile idiots I'd have the advantage. Element of surprise. No window thanks, nice view sure, but atmosphere down here gets ruined. Might like a mixer honestly, old one is junk now, too old. But I'm not picky, I can thrive here, thanks though Gwyn. Nice offer! Good to know we've got a passionate engineer on board." Peros spoke to the woman he first called irons and now shrugged his shoulders and looked to them both, figuring he'd let his computer keep running data and await updates. While he started on meeting the crew. "Guess I should meet the party huh, Neros, Gwyn? Though I suspect you'd prefer commander right? Most military types I've met do. No guarantees but I'll consider it with time." He added. Being a man of results and people proving him worth his trust meant he didn't fall back into rank addressing of people so easily. It was a matter of personal reason and earned respect for him. The limited Dossier Intel allowed to him let him see names, roles and plainly worded and brief qualifications nothing else, not even faces. So while perhaps he could respect accomplishments when he learns of them, qualities right for this job they have and he knows of. It took time before he would simply trust and follow without hesitations and heeding their rank when addressing them, if they were the sort who preferred rank when being addressed.

Iskandar theunderwolf ThatGuyWithSouvlaki Karcen

 

[Iskandar]

Nero Claudius Alexius
Engineering.​

Nero just smiled and chuckled at Gwyn, "I'd give that response a solid B, not good enough in the Turian Military but it will pass on here. Maybe tone down on the loudness. You could get court martialed in the Hierarchy for being too loud." The commander chuckled and stuck out one of her hands, offering to shake the head engineer's hand, "Ah. Thank you for building and designing this beauty of ship, Gwyn. I look forward to working with you." Nero liked the head engineer, she seemed like a good person that knew how to have fun when the time called for it, though she did seem a bit eccentric when it came to engineering, "Haha. If I ever need an extra window in my cabin, I'll let you know..." She paused before tilting her head slightly, "Ah. I'll put in a requisition for the cooling pipes later today. I want to keep my engineer happy, never know when you might crack and blow the engine up."

Nero's eyes shifted over to Peros, who she would probably get along with just due to the fact of their names being rather similar, "Glad to have you on board, Peros. I'm always happy when I have a Batarian on my team or I'm working with one. You bastards are resilient and resourceful. Plus most of the ones I've worked with are damn good at their job, hope you can keep that trend going." Nero grinned a bit before chuckling at Peros statement about her being a Turian and what not, "True. I was Turian military for fifteen years, special ops for twelve of them. Now I am a Spectre. Been one for six years, so I've got acquainted with working non-Turian crews." She paused before leaning in with a hushed tone, "And honestly, while I do have a sense of pride, I am not like your typical Turian. I like and respect discipline and initiative but I am a bit more free and friendlier than other Turian Militants."

Nero watched as Peros replied to Gwyn in a rather long and breathless way. He said a good amount of stuff in the span of a few seconds and looked more like he was thinking aloud rather than actually giving a concise statement. Nero couldn't help but chuckle at the Batarian as he did so and just watched until he began to speak to her once more, "While Commander would be preferred, Nero is fine as well. I'm not too picky. When we are out in the field or planet side, try to stick with Commander. Same goes for ya, Gwyn Irons." Nero shrugged, obviously not too picky with what Peros or Gwyn would decided to address her as.

Nero looked between the two before offering a terrifying grin. She stepped into Peros' quarters and grabbed his wrist and then forcibly dragged him out. She was much stronger than she looked, able to drag the Batarian male with ease. On her way out she grabbed Gwyn's wrist, "Alright you two. We are launching Operation... Flapjack!" Nero shrugged at the name before taking off with the two in tow, of course by force. She led the two up a few decks to the deck that included the mess hall, "Our objective is to meet one other crew mate. If you can meet up to three and learn one interesting fact about each of them, I'll give you... a pay rise of fifteen percent and I'll even cook for you for the week." Nero released Peros' and Gwyn's wrists as she pulled them in front of her. She crossed her arms and looked at them like a mom looking at her children. Her eyes pretty much told them this: Go and make some new friends, sweetie.


The Silent Z theunderwolf ThatGuyWithSouvlaki

 

[Steel Accord]

Dorathea T'Veris​

Life certainly did have its turns. Just a few weeks ago Dorathea was just wrapping up the day in her classroom when she was approached by a Council liaison. While Dorathea had heard she was popular, some even calling her "the new Consort" after Sha'ira tragically left the Citadel, she had never thought she would receive the Council's direct attention. It's hard to say if she really felt surprised at what they were asking her to do. On the one hand, her commando days were long behind her, on the other hand, two time winner of the Presidium martial arts exhibition and Ward combat zone tournament champ did tend to draw attention to her gift. She received the hologram of Councilor Valern, humbly bowing to the man. Although it was a group viewing, so if he saw this gesture he didn't respond to it. She understood. Wouldn't make sense to respond to information that the other viewers weren't privy to. In any case, the general idea of the CIU and the threat of Dr. Maze and his Alpha were laid out to her and she was given the information regarding her new duties. After cancelling her classes for awhile, locking up the house, and a lot of other necessary busy work, she reported to the Phoenix.

With her personal effects in luggage and a duffel bag containing . . . something some would call anachronistic hanging from her shoulder, Dorathea had to admit that she was far more excited than she anticipated being. It reminded her a little of leaving Omega for the first time, shipping out with a crew of strangers she really didn't know for an open ended trip around the galaxy. She had more confidence now than then though, both in her skill and in the purpose of her volunteering. She set up in a quarter on the port side strut, nearing the bow of the ship, the actual forward head was what she assumed was the ship's primary weapon. Not a place where she wanted to be. Far from the engine as well as the weapons, she was right in the middle of the crew deck where the noise came from people rather than the machinery of the vessel. Speaking of which, she had to make time to get to know some of them. First thing was first though.

Dorathea unzipped her bag. First she pulled out an object and placed it on the bulkhead on the wall. Pressing a button, it activated the device's mass effect field which raised tiny marbles from their resting place in the base and bounce around and into each other, contained within the field. Dorathea then lifted another object from her bag with careful reverence. She ran her hand over it gently, feeling the smoothness of the sheath and the uneven texture of the grip as she wrapped her fingers around it and pulled it a little loose, just enough to catch the gleam of the metal before shunting it back in. She turned toward her little makeshift altar on the bulkhead and bowed, presenting her weapon forward. Dorathea then snapped into a ready stance, gripping the blade at her side and the magnet holding to her hip. She drew the blade in a draw cut. Took a step back and pulled her arm across her face, dipping the blade across her body in what would be a block to receive an enemy's weapon. Then spun on her heel and brought the weapon to both of her hands, holding it pointed toward her shadow foe. A few more slashes and she returned the blade to its sheathe. She wasn't done yet though, switching styles, from the sharp and methodical Turian chivalric fencing to the Asari "violet blade dance." A form of beauty to be certain, but took on a different meaning to other races when they remembered what color asari blood is. Through her graceful circle cuts and pirouettes, she certainly wouldn't seem to notice if someone walked in.
Iskandar

 

[theunderwolf]

"I'm ah, glad you like it, though I didn't really consider how defensible the area is but you bring up a good point. We designed for possible boarding but not at that level. Oh good heavens I have to redesign everything now," Gwyn said, pulling up her blueprints and writing down notes on how she'd need to make improvements. "I think I'll stick with commander, Nero makes me want to call you Empress or some such..." She kept muttering as the Commander grabbed her wrist. "Ok I'm fine with this!" Gwyn near squeaked as she was dragged up the stairs and listened to the Commander's speech. "This just raises more questions though... do turians have pancakes? Are they good? Has your culture invented syrup? Does it taste near ours. how would we know? And dammit now I want pancakes... with lemon and sausage. I don't need the money but... you will find me easily bribe-able with good tea." Nero was smiling widely and Gwyn couldn't help but get swept up in the energy. I can get this challenge done for you." She opened up her security mainframe and stated cycling through motion detectors finding the closest person. Following its directions, she opened the door on...wow.
An asari, engaged in what she could only describe as a very intense and graceful series of swordplay and dear heavens this mission would break her. The only thing that could possibly distract her was the Asari's sword. She would kill to take it apart and see what made it tick but that would probably be rude. "So um..." Gwyn started, figuring it would be polite to force down the massive red blush and introduce herself, "What brings you here Ms?"

 

[The Silent Z]

The commmader wasn't as military as his past experiences with turians had shown. Not that all experiences proved bad due to militaristic behaviors and formalities for Peros, but it was a different ball game with such types. Part of him was glad to know he wouldn't have a full 'by the book' type to deal with or some rogue agent looking to make some credits and a name rather then use sense and have conscious in what they are doing and willing to do for the job and personal gain.

Neros wasn't too surprised but not quite as he expected for a council pick to lead this ship. "Glad huh? *Ha* don't hear that too often. But damn right! We'd just be poor slavers with a attitude problem otherwise." Peros responded with a laugh at the start. "If your looking for a boast you'll be waiting. It's all behind me now." He added before moving forward a bit and looking at the stairs for a moment.

"Good to know. I like variety, eases the long run through hell and back." The veteran spoke with small grin listening to the commander continue. "Like I said we'll see.... Commander means something in my book. I've seen enough come and go, all kinds. You don't seem like a kiss ass with a single minded goal to advance at any cost type. But time will tell what you prove to me, Nero." Peros responded in plain tone and in his mind fair. History told of experiences but not always the whole story, the Batarians personal background brought a certain point of view and perspective that kept his use of 'Commander ' and other ranks, formalities limited to necessary facades, ulterior motives and other reasons. Otherwise he kept it plain and fair.

It was perhaps his ten years of military and siu experience while dealing with political bs that soured his mood on the topic. Kept him rather strong of opinion on the subject that brought this strong view persistence.

However it changed from conversation and strong opinion of his shared to being dragged by the wrist by his superior officer, by Nero. Rather unexpected and her grin oddly telling of her plans for being devious. The Turian took both of them by the wrists and dragged them upstairs toward the upper levels of the ship to meet the others aboard the ship and part of the crew.

Operation: flapjack she called it......

A rather unique form of getting some new faces in front of other new faces for some bonding. But effective tactics he'd have to admit it. Offering a raise in credits that reached up toward fifteen percent in pay. The cooking offer was a mixed bag for him, he wasn't a dextro-amino diet kind of guy, in fact nobody beyond the turians and quarians were without severe troubles to follow them.

Giving a nod of okay and stepping into the mess hall for some casual get to knows. Putting out his cigar and throwing it away, before reaching into the cupboard he opened for a not so well hidden bottle of liquor, whiskey, aged and now being poured into his cup followed by some coffee. He had the feeling he'd need both for what lay ahead of him.

He turned his eyes toward a Asari that was in the mess hall as well. Putting away his bottle and returning the coffee to its place. Peros raised his cup and gave it a swirl with the motion of his hand, before drinking a bit and walking over toward the woman. "Council picked too, huh? Names Peros." He spoke up and introduced himself rather cutting to the chase and breaking the ice.

However at the same time the aroma flowing through the air and carrying to his nostrils, it wasn't a common food of his own experience but well known amongst human culture. Probably more species too honestly, but menus were limited for a traveling Merc yet that aroma was familiar enough, famous, it was bacon.... unmistakable. Hearing the voice call that breakfast is served had caught his ears and added to nostrils awareness. "Hmm.... Food? This band knows how to get faces in front of one another, huh? Bribes, breakfast and new ships. Quite the coming together." Peros spoke aloud and turned around followed the scent and voice. Figuring the breaking the ice could continue over food and with others, hell made that operation flapjack stipulation even easier. At this rate three newly met crew mates in one shot, now that's efficiency.

Starting to walk over toward the man and his offering of food easily heard via the sizzling bacon.

ThatGuyWithSouvlaki Iskandar

 

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Ansgar happily flitted through the small kitchen, adjacent to the mess hall, separated only by a counter, as well as a couple of doorways on either side. His back was to the mess most of the time, though he would notice eventually when someone walked in. Further along the kitchen counter, a pan of bacon and two pans of eggs were sizzling. There was also something he'd determined through a brief jaunt on the extranet on the way to the kitchen was basically the dextro-amino versions of bacon and eggs in its own pan, since he knew there were turians and quarians aboard. Their food wasn't really that different from what was considered 'normal' to species that weren't the turians and quarians, since whether amino acids were 'dextro' or not didn't really affect their makeup, their structures were basically the same, beyond being 'mirror images' so to speak, so anything with protein that existed anywhere could theoretically exist as dextro-amino with no real differences. Interesting, so if it weren't illegal, one could swap over pigs to be dextro-amino with no real difference, and turians could taste the delight of freshly-cooked bacon, for which there was no substitute.

He had no idea if it was what could be called breakfast time right now, let alone if the dextro-amino he was cooking was considered breakfast in turian or quarian cultures (well, probably not quarian culture, given the enviro suits), but it was the morning for him, so damn if he wasn't just eager to be rustling up some breakfast. He'd arrived fairly early, put everything into his rooms, half unpacked, and then bustled straight to the kitchen. He'd read that there was another scientist on this mission, a salarian, Zarik, of the Olus, err, family group. Or whatever that was. Point was, he was related to the Salarian councillor, which made his posting here a minorly interesting prospect.

Ansgar had also skimmed through the notes on the mission that he'd been given, and through the essentials on the crew. He didn't like reading much more than the essentials about someone. It felt a bit too invasive for him, you can't really ask a sheet of data if it's comfortable with you reading it. He'd rather learn about someone first-hand, anyway. He'd been edgy about others reading what was on his profile. He hadn't actually checked if the Council had put in his, ah, involvement with the massacre at Xavier. He certainly hoped not. He had no idea how comprehes Ansgar was an open person, he didn't feel the need to hide much from others, but some things served better by staying shut. Reading about someone committing a massacre sort of gave you a bias against that person. Funny how that worked. Ansgar's good cheer dimmed for a moment, and the quiet smile faded. He paused briefly, touched a hand to his forehead, and shook his head, simultaneously shaking off the grim thoughts as well. Brooding over ill deeds in the past didn't do anyone any good. Hm, unless someone had yet to discover a melancholy critical mass which would curve spacetime back in on itself multiple times, connect the instances, then propel you beyond the speed of light through the middle, maybe accomplishing that last one with the use of a mass effect field, like starship FTL drives did. Hmm. It was a preposterous idea, but there would be no practical way to disprove it. Fortunately, that wasn't how science worked, nor how logic worked. The onus probandi was on the one who claimed such a notion was reality. Poor news for those hoping to harness dark thoughts to travel through time.

Back to reality after his brief diversion, Ansgar grinned at the silliness of said diversion and shifted over to the bacon and eggs. Theatrically brandishing a spatula, he set about turning everything over with the skill of a veteran cook. That done, he took a moment to step back, close his eyes, and revel in the sounds and smells. There was something very satisfying about hearing eggs cook and smelling bacon fry. It was like music, although he was sure that any self-respecting musician would disagree. At least, Ansgar thought with a grin, they would disagree until they tasted a good bacon and egg roll.

He slipped back over to the coffee in the mess hall itself, which he'd set to go just before leaving to turn the food over, took his cup, and moved back into the kitchen. Someone entered the kitchen, followed by a few more someones, going by the footsteps. The sound of footsteps was, however, quickly replaced by the delightful sizzling of eggs and bacon. It was a good thing he'd put in a lot of each. He'd been planning to go around with it to just offer people breakfast, but it turned out that people were already on the way to him. Ansgar hadn't had much experience preparing dextro-amino foods for any of those lot aboard, so he left that by the wayside. "Grab some plates and cutlery. Breakfast," Ansgar called over his shoulder, "is served." Almost. Just a little more time on the pan, he reckoned, then he could transfer them onto trays.

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Talis entered the mess hall and noted one of the humans already there, praparing his breakfast which filled the room with the decious smell of meat and eggs. The smell reminded her that she was hungry as well as needing her caffein fix and she wondered the last time she eat. It was not unusual for her to go one or two days so engrossed in her work and forget to eat. She approuched the boiling coffee and poured herself a glass, giving a quick smile at the human." Morning" She said." I think that is the right time for that... Difficult to say in ships."

She studied the man and had a bad feeling about him, like someone who would be dangerious. She couldnt help feel a little on guard in his presence but she field she needed to give the binefit of the doubt. Still that didnt mean she would stick around alone with him, aiming to get her coffee and leave as soon as possible. However that seemed to be impossible as several people seemed to join them in the mess hall, including a battarian mercenary and humans. The former combining two things she mistrusts: Mercenaries and batarians.

She smiled at them and as it seems this will be a group breakfast, she deccided to play along and see what happens. She picked up a plate and helped herself. "It there any other way to get into this assignement." She repleid to the batarians question.

 

[Karcen]

Fosa heard the rucks coming from the mess hall, a place she expected to rarely visit aside from pick ups as her rather lacking immune system made even eating without some sanitized air something of a risk. It wasn't like she would instantly get sick or even for certain get sick, but well it as best to be careful about where and when she ate and removed her suit. Sometimes t was hard being a Quarian when it came to getting close given most people had never seen ones face. Well that mattered little right now as it seemed that the crew or perhaps just those on the mission were gathering as she heard many voices that were the same race,though only the turrain truly stood out but she could swear she heard a batarian. Fosa unlike the others had not been so kindly briefed about who was who on this ship as if things went the way forces on the citadel wanted she would be dead very shortly after leaving. That also put a damped on things after all most were at least somewhat loyal to those smug jerks on their fancy space station and one might just have orders to do something involving the pest on board.

This idea wasn't completely unfounded, but it was rather expensive as likely the council felt they would get rid of her one way or another on this trip like her ditching during shore leave on the first none council planet they went too. Fosa had entertained this idea but really that wasn't feasible as her rather annoying dietary needs made it somewhat annoying to live anywhere that wasn't decently connected, though she had heard of some of her people living on some backwater colonies just fine. Thus she decided to enter the mess hall though she would remain quiet about it after all it got odd when asked to eat with others and having to either reject the food outright or explain your need to eat alone got awkward. Thus Fosa almost snuck into the mess hall staying near the wall to remain mostly out of the others site, but she wasn't trying to hide right now.

 

[The Silent Z]

Smell of food and coffee with personal touch of liquor to make it extra strong, well somewhat strong. It wasn't much of a kick, but enough to get the taste moving and system active without tiring before he wanted. Looking toward the Asari after she replied to his earlier question. "Each their own right? I'd assume not but politicians have tricks too. Fair enough though, likely not wide variety of details in how they brought this lot together." Peros responded deciding this one wasn't a name dropper early on with the proceedings of breakfast and meetings of the casual sort.

Turning toward the human male, Peros looked over his cooked food and grabbed a plate. "Smell seems better then Varren meat.... Enough for me to check it out. Don't take offense if I check before eating, it's habit of experience not intention otherwise. Omega and all....." Peros added giving fair telling of what he'd be doing before trying this food before him and now on his plate.

"I assume your not the cook. Likely a crewman with other roles to fill, but either way, Dossier Intel was scarce on my end. Names, Peros... thanks for the grub." The Batarian Merc introduced himself and glanced at the Asari from before. "Though what little I was granted tells me one of those Asari sounding names belongs to you, obviously. Dorathea or Talis?" Peros asked coming right out with it. If ice breakers didn't bring the names then simple asking for it works too. While his senses brought wonder to his mind about what else was going on, turning his head and scanning the room for a bit with a quick shot of eyes, Peros shrugged. "Either we got a stow away or someone is looking to make my people skills legendary in comparison." The man joked with a short laugh.

Obi-Wan Kenobi ThatGuyWithSouvlaki Karcen Iskandar

 

[Iskandar]

Nero Claudius Alexius
​

Nero couldn't help but grin as Gwyn went off in one direction to talk to someone and Peros went in the other. She felt like a proud mom watching her children go off and make new friends. Nero just remained silent and watched both of them before heading into the mess hall towards Peros, the human and the Asari. The human was a male, and was behind the counter at the stove cooking what looked like bacon and eggs. She could smell another set of bacon and eggs being cooked, most likely a dextro safe version. It smelled decent but not overwhelmingly great. Nero wasn't huge into the version of eggs and bacon dextro's got as it didn't taste all that good. Then again Nero has never had bacon and eggs all the other species could eat, so she couldn't really compare the dextro version.

"Ansgar I take it?" Nero asked as she clasped her hands behind her back and stood a bit away from everyone. Peros and the Asari were talking and Nero didn't wish to be rude and interrupt either one of them mid-sentence. She grabbed a stool and sat at the counter that separated Ansgar from everyone else, "Glad to see our Biotics Specialist can also cook." Nero smiled and looked over at Peros and subsequently the Asari. For a brief moment Nero was having a tug and war in her head debating whether this one was Talis or Dorathea. Usually all humans look alike to most Turians, but for Nero it was Asari. They all looked so damn similar too her, "I take it you are... Talis, correct?"

Out of the corner of her eye Nero could see something cling to one of the walls. Nero let out a 'Hmm' before shrugging it off. It was most likely the resident convict and Qurian. If she wished to keep hugging the wall and not socialize just yet, Nero wouldn't force her. Nero quickly looked back at Ansgar and then Talis, "A pleasure to meet you two. I'm Nero. I am sure you can guess my job on here. If you guess Janitor... you aren't technically wrong."

Nero still hadn't grabbed a plate, deciding to skip out on Ansgar's kindness of making breakfast. As previously mentioned, she was not into the dextro version of bacon and eggs. Not wanting to eat something she didn't like, Nero quietly refused Ansgar's offer to eat. Instead she remained silent and listened to what the other three... or four would talk about. So far Operation Flapjack seemed to be a success.

The Silent Z ThatGuyWithSouvlaki Karcen Obi-Wan Kenobi

 

[Steel Accord]

"I imagine the same thing that brought you here, an invitation." The asari said, not breaking form. "Give me a moment, I'm just finishing up." Dorothea freewheeled through the air, a little biotic flair to lower her mass. Her maneuver carrying her farther than normal gravity would allow before bringing her blade down swiftly in a move that would open an adversary's chest if one were there. As is, it was simply a pretty flourish to end her ballet of blade work. Dorothea returned her weapon to its sheath and bowed to her makeshift altar. She took a deep breath that carried a sound of clearing. It was a big breath but it didn't sound heavy or labored. It was controlled and calm. Dorathea turned to her guest and gave them all a warm smile. "Dorathea T'Veris. It's a great pleasure to make your acquaintance."
theunderwolf

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

"I am Talis, yes."She said simply bowing her head slightly at the batarian and the turian Specter, her expression neutral without any smile as she began to eat. The food was nice though she felt it lack some spice or seasoning just to bring it to the next level. All the while she tried to remember what she knew of each of her crewmembers. On Nero, as expected, knew little about as Specter records are sealed, but she wouldn't be in her current role if she didn't figure out a few things. "It is a pleasure to meet the person who had my fate in her hands. Not to mention, the hero of palevan against the nuclear threat and the saviour of the previous asari councillor." She said finally smiling, knowing that these were events one usually wouldn't know.
( Iskandar )

 

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Ansgar couldn't help but smile even wider with satisfaction as people slowly began to grab their plates of food. "Smell seems better then Varren meat.... Enough for me to check it out. Don't take offense if I check before eating, it's habit of experience not intention otherwise. Omega and all..... I assume your not the cook. Likely a crewman with other roles to fill, but either way, Dossier Intel was scarce on my end. Names, Peros... thanks for the grub," the Batarian said- no, Peros said. It was annoyingly tempting to be skeptical of the Batarian, given the whole 'slaver' thing, and to disrespect him by calling him 'the batarian', but Ansgar was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, and unwilling to judge him negatively without knowing anything about him. Technically, he did already know everyone's names, he'd memorised the names and faces, but introductions were still a big part of social custom, so he'd g "Peros, good to meet you. I'm Ansgar, you're right, I'm a scientist. And don't worry about it, it takes more than a paranoid disposition to offend me," he said, nodding respectfully to him in greeting. At Peros' self-deprecating quip about people skills, Ansgar cut in. "Give yourself some credit, Peros. You're courteous and you're up-front, so far. Good traits."

"Ansgar I take it?" Nero asked. "Yep, I'm Ansgar." 'Did the protrusions on the head and the silver hair tip you off?' Ansgar almost snarked, but he held it back for politeness' sake. "Glad to see our Biotics Specialist can also cook," she continued. "Yeah, BAaT did that. Cooking classes. I picked it up quickly." Nero continued on to Talis, then came back. "A pleasure to meet you two. I'm Nero. I am sure you can guess my job on here. If you guess Janitor... you aren't technically wrong," she said. Ansgar smiled. "Yep, I know you're in charge. Ave Imperator," he joked. Oh, he was going to have fun with that coincidence of names.

Ansgar took a long sip from his mug of coffee. Fuck he needed that. Already feeling a bit rejuvinated, he brought out two trays and started shoveling the food onto them, making sure to separate the non-dextro food from the dextro food. He tapped the dextro section with the spatula. "This is dextro, in case you're wondering. May not be what you consider breakfast foods or delicious, but I'm trying. I haven't had much experience with cooking for turians," he told Nero, in the vain hope that she wasn't just quietly refusing his cooking. "Or quarians, although I don't think quarians get cooked for so much as they eat a paste of some sort pumped into their suits, from what I read. Nasty," he added, glancing over at the quarian, name of Fosa'Xasa, who was conspicuously hanging back. He hadn't actually put much thought into how a quarian would eat dextro 'eggs' and dextro 'bacon', given that they can't really phase it through their helmets. Even then there'd probably be problems, the food would need to be sterilised or some such. Ho hum, he'd figure something out eventually. Right now he was in a conversation. Distractions later.

The Silent Z ThatGuyWithSouvlaki Iskandar Karcen

 

[Karcen]

" It is simpler and cleaner to just eat the paste" Fosa said now that she was being talked about " It's and old family recipe " she continued having only her rather jovial tone to indicate she was joking as her face was hidden behind her visor.

She had in truth thought she might be able to observe and listen while being ignored as so many often did, effectively hiding in plain sight. It was an odd thing but people were so used to her people being arrested, or trying to sell things, or trying to beg that they had a filter that just made them thing of the quarian's as almost background noise. It was always the same with beggars they were everywhere always listening but no one cared because they were beggars. Still she had been also trying to avoid the awkward situation of being there with the special food made and not being able to eat it or rather not wanting to risk it as so many people all in one area had a higher chance of getting her sick.

" Just put the extras in a fridge i'll eat latter somewhere a bit safer" She said to not make the cook feel as if his efforts had been fully in vain.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

 

[The Silent Z]

"Scientist huh? Hmm.... Can't talk much shop with ya never got far into science studies. But glad ya don't have that thin skin ailment, makes it easier going forward. less offense taken and more as it is, just how I like it." Peros responded with a grin filled nod and ready to chow down in moments from now. Meanwhile a slight delayed chuckle abrupted moments past Ansgar's comment about a paranoid disposition. "Good name for it." He seemed to speak aloud in thought. Chuckling in part of the honest diagnosis of his cautious nature when it came to food and at times drinks, and for the small reflections of his path here, the side effects if you will of being a Merc with enemies or simply frequenting Omega, both true in his case.

However none of that stayed in his mind long, hearing Ansgar cutting in after his self deprecating joke and gave a short laugh. "Never expect, I should remember that next time I'm willing to consider joining a crew. Honestly thought a this would be a bunch of headaches waiting to happen. Glad I'm wrong so far." Peros replied nodding appreciatively for the words by Ansgar.

Meanwhile he found a spot at the table and sat himself down, looking over his food that already passed the sniff test for a final check before digging in. Setting his drink of coffee and whiskey mixed into one cup just before his plate, relaxing his posture just a bit while observed the others as they spoke and he started to eat.

Obi-Wan Kenobi Karcen Iskandar ThatGuyWithSouvlaki

 

[Iskandar]

Nero Claudius Alexius
Mess Hall
​

Nero would raise an eyebrow if she could, but alas Turians do not have eyebrows. She would offer a fake smile and nod somewhat at Talis as she knew something that only a handful of people knew, "That is our intelligence officer for you. Getting intel that no one else knows or should know. Not even the Citadel Council knows about the Palaven incident. Well besides Sparatus." Nero let out a sigh and frowned a bit, "Lesson number one, never reveal important information like that. Especially in front of a crowd of people. Still, I am impressed by your intelligence gathering skills. You might be able to become a Spectre and luckily we are not enemies, so it doesn't matter too much."

Nero just shook her head a bit before her attention was taken by Ansgar, "Well that is good and all. Glad they taught you how to cook." Nero said as she now rested her elbows on the counter. She watched as the other two were eating and then looked at the Dextro meal as Ansgar pointed it out, "I'll pass. Not a fan of others cooking Dextro food. Plus Dextro bacon and eggs are not that good. I'd say try it but I would rather you not puke up your guts. Imagine that; someone dying on their first day here, before we actually got to Sur'Kesh." Nero stopped for a moment as Ansgar said 'Ave Imperator.' and chuckled, "Ah, I've heard that too many times. I do hope you know the rest of that quote though."

"Ah so the Quarian lives. I feared she preferred having walls for friends..." Nero said as she turned around towards Fosa, offering a warm smile, "I agree though. Quarian food paste is not good at all. I've tried it once. Never again. Military field rations taste better than that paste. Plus not being able to cook actual food and then eat it is kinda heartbreaking. Well I mean you can but it is pretty hazardous." the Turian sighed at the thought of not being able to cook and eat her own food for risk of catching a cold or some disease.

Karcen Obi-Wan Kenobi The Silent Z ThatGuyWithSouvlaki

 

[theunderwolf]

Gwyn had a relatively minor disability, and it had caused her no end of trouble. Especially as her complexion did not do anything to hide her radiant blushes from the world. Blood flushed her face like a red siren. Oh dear. It was ridiculous how unfair hundreds of years of grace stacked up against 20 years of being covered in engine grease. Again she had to force herself to focus on the sword, the way the light reflected off it. She found herself calculating metals it could be made of. Something carbon based definitely, but she couldn't tell if it was energized or not. Some modern blades she knew, had a constant heat and resharpening mechanism and that could heavily effect the swords composition. Conductivity was important. hell even a little eezo worked into the design would heavily affect the weight and metal insulation. She respected that level of work. Mechanics and things that moved were more that thing but the idea of putting that much work into a singular piece of the machine was appealing in its own way. She didn't doubt that the rest of the machine was just as honed though. The asari seemed to have perfected herself to match the sword. Damn. She clapped awkwardly when the lady had finished her ritual. "Oh, uh..." She said, more then a little cowed, "I'm Gwynevere Irons, Ms.T'Veris it's lovely to meet you too. That was ah, brilliant. What you just did. It was incredible to see."
Steel Accord