She was annoyed that the guy, whoever the hell this guy was, had the ability to keep talking the way that he does. [color=DEB887][i]“I’m surprised that he’s not choking on his own damn spit yet, or worse, done in by his own guys,”[/i][/color] she thought to herself while paying some semblance of attention to what the jarhead was saying. Not out of want, but of need. She still needed to hear what the other had to do after all. One by one, her crewmates were grouped and assigned to jobs that seemed to fit for them. She wondered who she would end up working with and hoped that it was with Koren, or Tibulass, or Harriet, or maybe even the new mysterious man that boarded their ship in such short notice. He was quite attractive and the bionics added charm to his mysterious self. Alas, the list kept getting smaller and smaller until Koren and Harriet too were relegated to their own squads. She found herself feeling less and less enthusiastic when she realizes that it’s only her, Tibulass, and Stryker left. While she did not find the Pilot annoying, she did find Stryker as such.

	[color=Gray]"Which leaves us with the final target, and this is the big fish: Zala Ha'rek. He's a core member of the Federation's leadership group. One of the original founders if the rumors are true. He's hosting a ceremonial gala, some form of political or military fundraiser, probably in support of M'raek. The plan is simple, infiltrate undercover and poison the target, slip out in the confusion of our attack run starting."[/color]

	She took a moment to take in that she’s going to be alone. While it wasn’t a new concept to her, she felt outcasted when she realized that she’s the only one who won’t be having any backup. Enraged, she was about to voice her thoughts about the matter when Stryker assured her that him and Tib would be nearby. That placated the Mecorian just enough that she was willing to keep her mouth shut for the time being. [color=DEB887][i]“Damn right,”[/i][/color] she thought, [color=DEB887][i]“I’m the only good thing around here that’s going to make sure that none of these idiots fuck it up”[/i][/color].

	Eventually, they were all dismissed and Matija made a beeline towards her room, not bothering with the others. If anything, she thought that she’ll spend most of her days doing Stryker’s stupid drills, and recalibrating and fixing any damages that her suit may have from the previous mission. While not exactly the most adept in fixing such devices, she has basic knowledge of mechanisms and at least had Koren to ask and if she found something that she could not fix, she can always ask Grayson as the man is still in good terms with her anyway.

[hider=Pre-Mission Prep]
	Stryker’s daily combat training was totally ass. Matija found the idea stupid and hated sparring with people she didn’t like. While the idea was nice enough, the execution was less than savory.

	2 days in the week of waiting, a curious knock came at her door. Initially she thought Koren had forgotten his tools again so she opened the door without checking. [color=DEB887]“Ya forgot your tools again, K-”[/color] she stopped, looking at a tall man with burns scars and a robotic arm. [color=DEB887]“Oh,”[/color] she started, still confused as she put herself between the door and her room. [color=DEB887]“Wait. Why are you here?”[/color] Benny said that he wanted something from her: her armor, to be more specific. Matija rolled her eyes, was less than eager to see him. But she found it amusing that he's asking for a favor, from her of all people, and thought that it would be funny to tease the man until she shoo him off. Unfortunately for her, the Scotsman was annoyingly insistent to the point of using Skelly to keep her from slamming the door on his face. She glared at the man and wanted him out as soon as possible but then came an interesting offer, an offer to do anything for her. Matija stopped, and the door is left as is. [color=DEB887]“You cain get on yer knees an’ ask for forgiveness for bein’ a douche ta me,”[/color] she said with a grin.

	Knowing that Benny would rather die than be subservient, she found herself feeling triumphant knowing that he'll never get what he wanted out of her. But when the sound of Skelly bending metal, her thoughts quickly spiralled towards the possibility of a fight. But instead of a blow, she heard the sound of gritted teeth and Benny's voice with barely withheld anger. [color=B8860B]”If… if I fuckin’ do this… you’ll let us look at the gear?”[/color] Matija nodded at the forced words, now knowing that his pride is less important than something for once. [color=DEB887]“Hmm… yeah. I’ll let ya look through my gear. I’ll even list all the mods that I’ve done and gone with it. What do ya say?”[/color] With that said, she finally managed to get that well deserved, albeit forced, apology that she had been waiting for. It made her feel smug about being underappreciated and she had hoped that it taught Benny a lesson.
[/hider]

[b][i]A WEEK LATER...[/i][/b]

	The days where the nerds did not need her help was more or less mind numbing.

	The strain of not knowing what else to do other than follow a training regimen was not her thing and it did little to abate her anxiety. Seeing Benny and knowing that their relationship was also not the same as before bothered her, but it was at least better prior to him apologizing to her. So when game time came, she was more than happy to move up and ready. The downside, however was that she was not going to wear her suit this time. If anything, she was mostly armed with nothing more than her fists and a few things that she got herself as a precaution: one of her silken handkerchiefs, a meter of wire-rope from the ship’s supplies, and a small foldable knife that she [i]borrowed[/i] from someone that she didn’t even bother looking up. To relax herself, she visited Tibulass before the mission and helped her fix her disguise as she had the tools and ability to make her as close to who she’s supposed to be playing as. She then gave her friend some tips on how to not trip on heels, and then left to fix up Koren even though the Juz’ was more than capable on taking care of himself.

	Despite all the fanfare and anxiety of the oncoming mission, Matija fixed herself up last. Partially because she felt so vulnerable knowing that she is going to a mission without armor, mostly because she found the waiting clothes horrible and colored contacts more so. Thankfully she’ll need to be near or in the target location before she needs to fully clothe up. But that doesn’t make the look any more palatable.

	On the night of the job, she came in a little before call time because her nerves won’t let her sit still. Stryker was surprisingly early (then again, of course he would), so was Tibulass though she seemed out of it. Koren followed a little after her and she nodded at the armored Juz’, internally envious that he could hide underneath his armor. Benny and some new guy came over too, though she took a moment longer to stare at Benny before looking away. Koren came over to talk to the two men and she paid no heed to them.

	Eventually, they were all boarded to their shuttles with Matija sharing the space with Tibulass and Stryker. All seemed well, albeit the tense air of anxiety for what’s to come, before Stryker broke the silence that made Matija instinctively look at the unarmored man as he handed her a small case. [color=FFA500]“...a dose of the poison we're to use on the target. There's probably a syringe in there if you think you can get away with that undetected. Otherwise, keep the vial handy in case an opportunity to slip it in his drink arises. I've got a dose of it too, but they'll probably be checking us for weapons inside, so it's a good thing I've got this,”[/color] to which he produces a flask with a false bottom. While it was old-school, she could not help but find that cute in a way. But just to make sure, she too checks the case handed to her to see a small small vial and a syringe. Satisfied, she closes it before tucking it between her breasts, beneath anyone's view, as it was still the easiest way to hide items.

	Upon landing, she stands and stretches for a moment, timing her breathing with the metallic hiss of the hydraulic doors opening. Stryker gave her one last reminder about keeping in contact, and she nods. [color=DEB887]“Don’t gotta tell me twice,”[/color] she grins as she made her way to the kitchen staff entrance.