Aran stared at Mark and Jaerdi shamelessly, his eyes shifting between them, seizing them up for the job ahead. He realized this would probably be perceived as rude or weird but in a business like this, Aran attached little value to etiquette or politeness. He needed to know what these two bodyguards of his would be good at. He decided that the burly human would be best for a big shock-and-awe entrance, shouting people down, the whole drop-your-weapons routine. If that didn't work, the immaculate salarian looked like the prime candidate for a quick and merciless backstab to any armed resistance. The others gathered in the hangar a short distance away from them, but as the last member of their group, the young quarian female -- what was her name? Kali? -- joined them, Aran nodded to himself, cleared his throat and spoke up. 

"Looks like we're complete. Having studied the layout of this station that Tanya so generously provided, we fortunately don't have to walk very far. Whoever designed this station decided to install the entire docking bay control station and all relevant comms panels in the same chamber. Station HQ, if you will, though it's referred to as Administrator Var'uun's office. And it's right above us." Aran pointed a finger at the docking bay's ceiling. He was carrying a backpack, shifting his hunched posture even more, and he adjusted the straps a little. "I've brought some equipment with me in case the station's security protocols prove challenging, but once we get there, it shouldn't take too long." He turned to Mark Jaerdi more directly, pulled a small device out of his backpack and handed it to Mark.

"This is a comms blocker. Once we get upstairs, I need you to go to C-Pat headquarts, conveniently close to the Adminstrator's headquarters, and plug this into their comms panel. Kill or disable anyone you find there just to be sure. It'll make sure Cartagena Patrol doesn't swarm all over our friends down here in the hangar to shoot them in the back. Got it?" He didn't wait for an answer and instead turned to Kali and cleared his throat again, addressing her directly, noticing she seemed a little zoned out. Typical. "Quarian. Time to go." 

----

Armed resistance was, indeed, present. Aran stood back behind Jaerdi and Mark as they worked their magic, hiding behind whatever cover was avilable as they moved up through the station. When he saw an opportunity, he motioned for Kali to follow him and the two engineers slipped away to the Adminstrator's office. "Remember, go to C-Pat headquarters," he told Mark over comms. "Hurry!"

As he and Kali left the noise of battle behind them, moving through empty corridors with his cloaking device activated, he used quiet, non-verbal radio clicks -- one for stay, two for go -- to guide Kali in his footsteps from hiding spot to hiding spot. Whatever ruckus Mark and Jaerdi had caused seemed to work, as when the two engineers arrived at the door to Var'uun's office, it was unguarded. The electronic lock on the door was swiftly undone with a wave of Aran's Omni-tool. He drew his submachine gun from the folds of his robe, motioned for Kali to arm herself as well, and entered the room.

His heart was racing. This was the most personally, physically involved with an operation he had been in over a decade. He trained his weapon right at the Administrator, the only person in the man's chambers, and spoke quickly and quietly. "Raise your hands above your head. My name is Aran. I'm an associate of Tanya. You remember her, don't you?" He didn't wait for an answer, but instead approached, his gun still raised, and scanned the rest of the room quickly. The control panels he needed to access were off to the side, next to a large viewing port into outer space. Clearly, the Adminstrator picked a good spot to oversee his station. Aran saw several Siame Industries ships hanging in the void and stifled a gasp. He had to hurry. 

"Listen, Administrator. I need you to do absolutely nothing for the next 30 minutes. There [i]may[/i] be a bit of a shootout in the hangar below and we really don't want C-Pat to interfere with that. I know that's their job, but if you just let us take care of these Siame goons, we'll be out of your hair before you know it. Okay?" Aran looked at the Administrator again, who had his hands in the air at this point. He looked flustered and frustrated at the same time -- clearly, Tanya had not told him of the potential for a shootout. However, realizing he didn't have much of a choice, he nodded. Just to be sure, Aran waved his Omni-tool in the Administrator's direction and fried the personal comms systems he had on him. 

Turning to Kali, he directed her to one of the panels. "Lock the ship in the hangar down. It's held in place by docking clamps -- disable the manual override controls. Make sure it can't leave."

He turned to one of the other panels himself, his eyes soaking in the readouts. He hooked up with it via his Omni-tool, uploading several virus bombs to disable the rest of the station's external comm panels. This wasn't the only one capable of making contact with the SI ships outside, but after Aran was done, it was. Now he had sole control over communications with the support ships. He breathed a sigh of relief -- the prospect of the support ships potentially opening fire on the station was one of his least favorite prospects, but that seemed a very remote possibility now. 

"I'm done, Sleuth," he heard Kali say. Aran gave her a thumbs up and a crooked turian smile before messaging Tanya. "We're in position. Ship's locked down and comms to the support ships outside are disabled. Mark and Jaerdi are taking care of C-Pat."