[h3][i]Briefing[/i][/h3] [hr][i]Starring: [@Andreyich][@Lauder][@DrRtron][@Auz][@Naril][/i] [hr] A day had passed since the crew of the Weiro had been brought aboard, and now was the time for their first assignment. Sending a message to Sosa, Eustace awaited the Captain in the bridge, leaning back in a chair with his feet resting upon a keyboard. They were to discuss the mission before calling in the rest of the crew to inform them of what would be happening. As Sosa came into the room Eustace would stand up and straighten out, his face curled up in a frown. “You’re late.” he’d say, before in a few seconds laughing and waving to her to sit down as well when he took a seat. “C-Sec gave us our first task. There’s an Asari Matriarch we need to talk to, supposedly she has something important to tell us. We’re to meet her and provide security because it’s sensitive information. I’ve sent you the location along with other details.” Straightening out in his chair Eustace again accessed his omni-tool. “Like I said it’s a matriarch we’re dealing with, this is a big deal, though - at least for now - it doesn’t seem we’re at any real risk. Matriarchs always have enemies, and she seems to have only been concerned enough to get a single real bodyguard. If she thought she was at real risk she’d be in a bunker of sorts. I think the Krogan and the Doctor would suffice, Dreklei will fly you down and stay on the roof if it looks like there might be any problems. I want the turtles to work together here. If they can’t be good around each other on a calm security detail then we can’t expect them to work together in a firefight. I suggest the rest of the crew be on standby, we bring too many people over and people will know something is up. Maybe Seraph can bring his platform down in the shuttle to guard the landing zone should we evacuate.” Eustace finished, testily sipping from a cup of coffee while he awaited input from Sosa. The captain listened silently for a moment, taking in the briefing one piece at a time and processing it as Eustace spoke. She leaned back in her chair and intertwined her hands as she formulated plans in head in silence before her visor shifted up to look at Eustace, continuing to contemplate the mission. “The krogan would be valuable assets upon this mission, however, having both of them may work against as. They have already fought, from what I heard, and if anything goes wrong they may fight again,” she stated coldly, her normal happy-go-lucky voice not present as she spoke. She knew that Eustace knows of her true nature, she worked with him for a little bit while at C-Sec and it was hard to hide that part of her file from him in particular. “However, we still could bring them, just not at the same time. Two teams, one headed by me and the other headed by Seraphim. My team shall contain Mister Corr and Miss Osino, while Seraphim leads Shephurd and Doctor Zahir for standby in case things get out of our control,” she looked continued to stare at Eustace as she stated her draft, “That would leave the ship without its main engineers, but I can trust that what other crew we have can handle that while they are away, no?” Eustace rubbed his chin, and then shrugged. “This isn’t a hostile warzone or other crisis area, here it won’t be such a big problem. However, if worst comes to worst, I really must ask that you make Urd and Tak fight together. Perhaps in the crucible of battle their little squabble can be overcome. Just think about it Captain. If we keep them separate forever on these smaller assignments, what will we do when we’re against great odds and they haven’t learned to be part of the same team? Beyond that this works for me. I’ll ready my armour, I’ll be ready to come if worst comes to worst though I really do doubt it will. If the heat gets really too much just tell us, I’ll get the cyborg out on her leash.” “Valid points, Eustace,” Sosa commented, taking a moment to think once more before her mind came to a conclusion, “Very well, my team shall consist of Shephurd and Corr. If things get hot immediately, then I will need their strength and resilience immediately. Osino, Doctor Zahir, and Seraphim shall standby for clearing an evacuation zone, again, assuming things go beyond our control.” The captain took a breath in for a moment before asking Eustace, “How much do we know of this Matriarch? You know how much I value information, especially if it is pertinent to my job.” The Yeoman rubbed his forehead for a moment, shaking his head. “Unfortunately not too much, or less than either of us would have hoped. I’ll send you what we have now. Her name is Sotiria, and she knows something very important. Has some friends on the Citadel. Very influential in the Terminus Systems though this has earned her some enemies. Of course by the nature of the mission I reckon you gathered as much but nevertheless. Definitely a less than legal sort, but that doesn’t matter since her criminal associations are outside of our jurisdiction anyway. Not her own fault anyway, seems to be a good woman in a nasty place. There’s… rumours about her, but nothing really out of the ordinary and frankly nothing I’d blame her for given it’s the bloody Terminus Systems. Didn’t tell me much beyond that. Shall I ring up the crew to have them meet us here?” Eustace queried. “If we have nothing else to discuss, then very well,” Sosa said with a mild bit of disappointment, not particularly liking the answer that Eustace had given her. However, she knew that not everything could be given to her, though she knew she could find her own information on Sotiria in her own time. She leaned forwards in her seat, taking a deep breath in as she prepared herself to act as the crew knew her so far. After a moment, she straightened herself in her seat before she spoke once more, her normal voice coming back, “I’m sure this will be a resounding success for C-Sec!” “Excellent.” Eustace said, tapping a few keys on the omni-tool. “Everyone has been messaged, they should come here soon.” [hr]Tak tilted his head, furrowing his brow as he looked at his omni-tool. There was a time when all of his brethren believed that the tank had given them all the information they could ever need to know their enemies. Now that he was here among them, it couldn’t be more clear that they were wrong. There was so much to process he didn’t know where to begin, from the surprise of being put on this mission, to the protection of an Asari who had lost the capacity for battle. How was he supposed to protect something so soft? The krogan shrugged, shooing away the omni-tool and packing away his mop. A day had passed since what the Geth voice referred to as ‘the incident’ and Eustace had given Tak the bizarre human punishment of cleaning the crew's facilities. The tank bred had told the Yeoman to remove one of his claws instead, as a form of retribution for his mistake but instead Eustace insisted, the krogan filling it away as just another bizarre alien practice. Nevertheless, he was here now, striding down the hallways of the Weiro towards the cargo lift. As he reached the doors, Tak gave himself a once over, ensuring his armour was tightly fastened and admiring the deep green and black camo pattern. The council had shelled out for some top of the line Predator armour and the tank bred couldn’t help but get excited at the thought of breaking it in. The Cargo bay doors opened to reveal Urd, dressed in full hazard armor and armed with all of his weaponry. He was reading the report on his omni-tool, and Ruzad floated dutifully next to him. As doors opened fully, his gaze flicked upwards and a disgusted look crossed his face. Of [i]course[/i] he was stuck with the tank-bred mongrel. Nonetheless, he had promised Eustace and CSEC that he could work with the abomination, and here and now he evidently had to prove it. Without a word, he returned back to his omni-tool to finish reading the report. Chalkos. A mostly asari world in the terminus systems. And they were taking a Tank-Bred whose people had a reputation for excessive brutality against the asari they captured? On a mission to save a matriarch, who was guarded by another asari? Ridiculous. As the doors closed and they began their slow ride up to the briefing room, Urd finished the briefing and his thoughts turned to the brief fight in the engine bay as the silence rode on. The fight that Eustace had distracted him in. The fight that the tube had almost won. The monster was probably thinking that he had won fairly, disregarding the extenuating circumstances. The thought ground against Urd’s pride, like a blade being slowly pushed into his side. Finally, the silence couldn’t last. “You won’t get so lucky next time.” The comment hung in the air for a moment, seemingly stuck to the hatred that oozed off of the natural born. In the background, the gears of the elevator winced and squealed, causing the tank-bred to flash a quick look towards the lift's signage. He was happy to see that it could hold over 1000 kilos. [I]Bing.[/i] The elevator doors opened earlier than they should have, the Turian Pilot walking into the elevator with a quizzical expression once she realized neither of the Krogan were very happy. She read of them of course but had not yet seen much of the crew. Giving both the closest thing her avian mouth could to a smile as Krogan would know it she pressed the button and once more machinery whirred. “Clan Urdnot,” Tak spoke, not paying the turian much mind. “Should you be killed in this mission, fear not, I will claim your hammer.” Urd curled his lips back into a grimace in response to the turian. His teeth audibly ground at the audacity of the tank-bred to think he could wield [i]his[/i] hammer. “Don’t worry. It’ll take far more than you think to kill me. Not that you’d be capable of wielding such a weapon, even if one were to somehow fall into your hands. But I will extend the same courtesy. When you die, I will claim your Spike Thrower. Make it do some good in the universe for once.” The tank-breds head dipped back, his eyes inquisitively studying the natural born’s Claymore Shotgun as his brows furrowed in confusion. “If your equipment is faulty, you should seek an upgrade before battle. It would be unwise to wait such a time to do so.” Urd merely growled in reply. “All personal belongings, in the untimely death of its owner, will be requisitioned by C-Sec unless otherwise noted in your official will.” Seraph’s voice speaks out without prompting. “I can make adjustments to your forms now, if either of you wish.” “Thank you, Geth. But I think the tube and I understand each other.” Urd replied into the air. Rin arched the brow over her artificial eye, catching Seraph’s voice while the elevator doors opened. One of the Krogan alone would have made the elevator crowded, with both of the hulking, humpbacked figures, the platform was more than a little full. She checked the time, no point in waiting for the next lift, she was already going to be later than she’d like. And, also, one of the Krogan was Urd, and that, at least, meant a bit of entertainment. “There are things in my personal belongings that C-Sec might not want to acknowledge,” Rin said with a grin, stepping on to the elevator. She looked at the two Krogan, then settled a mock-serious lock at Urd, “All right, get down here. My leg’s acting up, and your hump looks comfortable.” Despite his foul mood, Urd couldn’t help but grin back at Rin. “Of course my hump is comfortable. Wrex’s and Shiagur’s genetics wouldn’t allow for anything less!” He settled down lower onto his knees so that Rin could, with his assistance, clamber on top of his hump into a sitting position. “Are they bringing you along for the mission?” Rin laughed. The tension between the two Krogan was electric, but her leg actually did hurt, and she hoped she could lower the temperature a little. She hooked her living hand into a convenient spot on Urd’s armor, holding herself in place while he let her settle into position - a place that put her about eye level with Tak. She grinned, and assayed a small wave before addressing Urd again. “Oh, that’s actually really nice,” Rin said, stretching her artificial leg, “Thanks. And yes, they seem to want me along for the ride this time.” She grinned, “I suppose there are worse things than spending time around Asari.” Tak had eyed off with the human for a moment, noticing the slight discrepancy of the green in her eyes, before breaking off to analyze the rest of her form. Her scent was thick with an artificial essence and by the way she moved, it was clear she had been through some type of serious trauma. Was this how all aliens operated? Putting such soft, weak creatures on important missions? No wonder his kin had turned the tide of the war, perhaps they should’ve continued and put the entire galaxy out of this fragile existence. The tank-bred shook loose his befuddled look, all this bewilderment was becoming too much, images had begun to flood his mind goading him into tearing through everything with a pulse. A loud exhale caught the back of his throat, giving it a growled nature, he just wanted to be free of this infernal box. Dreklei did not quite understand what had just transpired. Yes apparently the Urd character had some past with the doctor but what she was seeing did not match with any sort of common sense she previously believed was in her possession. She thanked whatever Gods might be listening as the built up tension and awkwardness was not quite relieved but at least came to be escapeable as the elevator doors once more opened. "Uhhh… nice to meet you!" The Turian pilot managed, before running off to the bridge. Eustace looked over the edge of his computer at the approaching party coming from the elevator, nodding to Dreklei and Tak whilst hardly suppressing a sigh at the sight of Urd and Severin. “Take a seat.” He suggested, before pulling up a hologram in the midst of the bridge that gave a detailed overview of the building they were to descend upon. “Hopefully by now everyone has read the mission dossier.” the man said. “We depart in about an hour, so get ready to gear up following this meeting.” he said, before turning to give the proverbial stage to Captain Sosa’Numos. Urd settled into the chair as best he could, Severin still atop his hump. He kept his front towards Tak, and Ruzad constantly watching the Tank-Bred. He didn’t trust there to not be a repeat of last time, honourable promises from his enemy or no. “Yes. We will be running security for an Asari Matriarch!” Sosa’Numos proclaimed rather excitedly as she looked as the crew assembled, she would have been hopping in place if she were not already seated, though her incessant foot tapping filled the air as she spoke. The captain did, however, maintain a professional posture as she looked over the crew, letting out a giggle before continuing on, “We will be running with two teams, the first will be Takarr Corr and Urdnot Shephurd led by I because, come on, two krogan are the best security options anyone could want. The second team would be Doctor Zahir and Osino Kael led by Seraphim.” Sosa’Numos looked to the doctor, “You, doctor, will be on stand-by in the event of emergency medical attention.” “Questions?” Eustace asked, scanning the room. "Comments, concerns?" “Should we really be bringing the tube on this mission?” Urd spoke, looking over the building. It looked messy. Like a death trap. “Chalkhos is a primarily asari world, even a century after the Reaper’s ravaged it. This is an asari matriarch. She, and any other asari we are bound to encounter, have no doubt heard about the many atrocities the tankies have committed against their kind. Skinning prisoners alive to make blue drums. Actively torturing the asari prisoners purely because they find the screams of pain amusing. If we want this matriarch to trust us, bringing along something that has a reputation for brutality against her kind doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that would invoke confidence in her. Even if we got as far as that without someone, rightfully, shooting at it and then us because we’re with it. Besides, you don’t need more than me there for security. If you insist though, I would recommend taking Mckenna. Having seen her work on Turgix, she’ll be quite the asset with none of the drawbacks of being hated by the person we’re supposed to be helping.” Tak raised an eyebrow, the butcher was here? On their ship? The tank-bred’s fists tightened as he recalled the stories from his brethren. [i]No, not here, not now.[/i] The krogan thought, there would be time later to decide how to properly digest that information but right now, he needed to be mission focused. “Captain, as stated, I will kill for you as instructed. If you require further education on the battle tactics of my people, the human femur also made for strong drumsticks.” Tak turned, looking directly at Urd. “It worked wonders in demoralising our more [i]emotional[/i] enemies.” Eustace sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Humour me Urd, how will they tell when he - much like yourself - is to be both silent and wearing a helmet? " He said, looking between the two Krogan. "But you have my word, 'Shephurd', if he so much as breathes the wrong way I will make sure that the marketing campaigns regarding the use of a Carnifex pistol against Krogan will be more than proven right upon Mr. Corr. Of course, the same applies to you and the rest of the crew though somehow I doubt any of them will be so… brazen as you my dear Krogan comrades. Cooperation and professionalism is expected of both of you. What I say is of course with the aim of discipline in mind, to prevent a mess-up. Once a mess-up happens of course… well I am sure we can expect similar vindictive promises from the Captain, hmmm, no?" The man finished, giving a meaningful look to both Krogan. It was a look that told them the memory of the ruckus in the Engine rooms was not forgotten and if so soon after it there was yet [i]another[/i] disturbance the Krogan would face very generous but egalitarian punishment. But damn if it wasn't hard to ignore the little comment about human femurs. Even now there were doubts going through Eustace that putting the Krogan together was a bad idea but he kept thinking better have them deal with each other now than learn to work together when it really mattered. Tak simply nodded in response, feeling more at home now that his superior had threatened him with death for insubordination. “As you say. No further questions or concerns from me.” Urd replied, settling back into his chair. "Most excellent!" The Yeoman said, clapping his hands together. "The armoury is at the disposal of anyone who wishes to further garnish their arsenals though I do not think this will be necessary. If that is all then dismissed, the pertinent crew members are expected by the shuttle in forty five minutes."