[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/211208/c74d12e522e452bb5aea0e5767795a9b.png[/img][/center] [center][h2][b]and[/b][/h2][/center] [center][img]https://images-ext-2.discordapp.net/external/r-dtuG3zIh0CZnb-ATKwtUAu-gtPKpGn5N9U1lS5Uak/https/fontmeme.com/temporary/1cffc69bb2ae6c7e169d79befbfbf6d2.png[/img][/center] [i]Heat sink? Check. Scope? Check. Suppressor? Check. Everything else that might be needed for the upcoming mission? Maybe check.[/i] It was a familiar, monotonous kind of work for Kaevius as he checked over his weapons and attachments to make sure that nothing had been left behind or misplaced when they arrived on the Intervention. So far it seemed that everything was put in the right place, so he clicked and locked all the needed attachments back onto his Viper and stowed it away in the gun locker where the rest of his weaponry was carefully placed. He went to reach for the next when the door to the armory slid open and the loud bang of a crate hitting the ground caused his head to turn sharply to see who had come in. He expected one of the other members of the crew, obviously, but what he hadn’t necessarily expected was the Quarian wearing a pink containment suit. His mandibles fluttered slightly as he looked from the crate to the Quarian and back again, [color=Silver][b]“Drop something?”[/b][/color] His tone was light and somewhat teasing as he met the glowing gaze of their Head of Security “Might have. Don’t worry, it’s just inertial dampeners,” Roxy replied, pulling off the top and showing one of the squarish, oddly shaped objects off before stashing it away. “Could tie it to the tail of the ship and drag it behind us and it’d be fine.” Resealing the crate, the quarian glanced up at the alcove where the crate was supposed to go, pondering it for a moment before grabbing it again and hoisting it up with a slight grunt to put it away. [color=Silver][b]“Ah, well, you don’t need to prove that. Think the Captain would be a bit upset to find cargo hanging off the back.”[/b][/color] He pulled his Vindicator from the locker next and started going through the same check as before; glancing up to watch the Quarian lift the crate with little trouble. [i]Impressive.[/i] [color=Silver][b]“Kaevius Mercarian by the way. Haven’t really exchanged names with anyone on the crew, but now seems as good a time to start as any.”[/b][/color] “Raela’Xanis vas Leyte,” the quarian announced, flexing her shoulders after lifting the heavy package. “Call me Roxy, easier to say. Nice to meet you!” She walked up to the turian infiltrator, taking a moment to glance over the turian’s impressive looking gun before offering her hand. He reached out to shake the offered hand with a trademark Turian grin, [color=Silver][b]“Pleasure’s all mine Roxy.”[/b][/color] He hadn’t had much experience with Quarians aside from the ones that were on the Citadel for various reasons, pilgrimage mostly he figured, but Roxy was certainly different from those he’d seen. She was almost as tall as he was and that alone was enough to throw him for just a moment. [color=Silver][b]“Ready to kick some Cerberus ass? Should be getting where we’re going before too long.”[/b][/color] He returned his attention to his gun for a moment to check the heat sink and place it back where it belonged. “Can’t get there soon enough,” she responded enthusiastically, immediately taking a liking to the infiltrator. “I haven’t been in a good scrap since the War, perfect chance to shake some of the dust off.” Roxy patted the holster on her right hip, a perfect match for the one on the other, both holding her dual Carnifexes. “And against Cerberus no less, can’t think of a more deserving bunch for an ass-kicking than them.” [color=Silver][b]“I hear ya. Thought about going back to C-Sec after the war but the thought of slogging through all the red tape again,”[/b][/color] he shook his head, [color=Silver][b]“Not worth the effort.”[/b][/color] The Carnifexes were nice looking guns, he’d thought about getting himself one, but stuck with the Predator mostly. Not like he was really getting up close and personal anyway. He stretched out his shoulders and chuckled lightly at the Quarian, [color=Silver][b]“Couldn’t agree more. Haven’t had very many encounters with them, but I’ve heard enough to know they’re getting what’s coming to them.”[/b][/color] With luck it wouldn’t be too much trouble, but then again, when had they ever been lucky. “Good point,” Roxy said, smiling slightly beneath her mask. Yeah, she could get along with this one. “We’re just about planet side,” came the sudden and slightly harried voice of the commander over the comm system. “Get to the comms room for a briefing.” “You weren’t kidding, we did get there soon.” [hr] There were really only four of them going planet side? He had no idea what kind of numbers they’d be dealing with, but that didn’t seem like enough. There was himself and Roxy, of course, a bearded man who looked like he’d seen hell, and…oh yes. For someone who could read Turian expressions there was a smug look in Kaevius’ eye as he stared at Rigel. He knew the medic was on the ship but he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him. Now the question was how long he’d be able to stop himself from spilling one of the many secrets he’d gathered over the years working C-Sec. There’d be time for pestering the medical officer later though. For now he listened to the brief given by the Captain. She had a rough and blunt kind of attitude that reminded him of his old CO, minus the superiority complex, and that was something he could get behind. Find information and destroy the base. Easy enough. Or it should’ve been. He turned his head up to the announcement on the intercom and then looked towards Roxy with an expression that told her it’s about what he expected. Nothing could ever be easy could it. “Well if that’s not a blast from the past,” Roxy commented with a chuckle. “First mission and we’re dealing with mercs caught in the crossfire.” She prepped her weapons, twirling each Carnifex with the seasoned hand of an expert before holstering them again. She hadn’t brushed up on the merc factions that became active after the war to guess who this was, though it probably wasn’t the Big Three; the pirate queen kept her old gang under tight control, they wouldn’t be this far from Terminus for something like this. Roxy’s senses suddenly heightened at a familiar sound; automatic fire raking across the metal hull of the shuttle. It dawned on her properly that this was the first time she’d been in a combat situation since that desperate fight on Earth that left her bedridden for months, and for a moment her worry got the better of her. Could she handle this, after everything that happened? Was she ready to jump back into the fire again? Her hand tensed around the familiar grip of her weapon, biotic energy wreathing between each finger. Damn right she was ready. “Sounds like we’re going in hot, probably catching Cerberus evacuating.” Roxy drew her guns with a flourish, glancing towards Kaevius prepping his own weapon. “Got my six?” Kaevius pulled his Vindicator free, not really the time for posting up with a sniper unfortunately, and looked towards Roxy as she drew her guns. [color=Silver][b]“Probably,”[/b][/color] he grinned slightly, [color=Silver][b]“We’ll see how it goes.”[/b][/color] “Works for me!” The shuttle door flung open as the shuttle landed, scattered fire peppering the outside as Roxy suddenly drove forward faster than expected, returning fire with her dual pistols as she dashed to cover. A few heavy shots landed home, catching the retreating Cerberus goons unaware and forcing them to take cover as well. Good to be back, Roxy thought proudly as she watched them go down. If there was one thing he hated it was cover based fighting. The Cerberus goons had posted up just as they had on the opposite side of the field by the base, and they weren’t moving. Kaevius followed Roxy out with a quick volley of shots to keep their heads down before ducking into cover himself. He moved to fire a few shots, but puffed out an annoyed breath as he immediately had to duck back down as the soldiers peppered the opposite side of his cover. He waited for a moment of quiet and leaned around the side where one of the soldiers was slightly visible and grinned. With a flick of his wrist and a quick flash of light the Cerberus soldier’s armor burned with red hot plasma and the additional burst of fire sent him screaming and writhing to the ground. It was enough for Kaevius to vault his cover and duck behind where said soldier had been. If he could get around to flank then it would be easy enough to pick them off, but that was easier said than done. A few more quick triple shots from his Vindicator left at least a few of their enemies questioning whether or not to stick their heads up again, and a few more not able to do so any longer. He huffed out another annoyed breath before glancing over at where Roxy was. [color=Silver][b]“How many have you got?”[/b][/color] He called out to her as he shot another soldier through his visor and the man dropped dead to the ground. “At least three confirmed!” Roxy called back, not even flinching as sparks from a shot grazing across the metal railing across her visor. Catching sight of some Cerberus soldiers approaching with heavier weapons, she performed a biotic dash towards a pile of equipment and hook kicked a heavy fuel barrel in their direction, putting them on the backfoot as they tried to dodge it.. “Four!” she shouted as one soldier went down clutching at his chest as a shot landed home. [color=Silver][b]“I’ve got at least five!”[/b][/color] He called back to her as another soldier dropped to a second incinerate. It really was one of the worst ways to die, but they made the mistake of wearing heavy armor so too bad for them. He watched as the barrel went flying through the air and looked back at the Quarian in faint surprise. Maybe he should’ve read the dossiers on everyone else in the crew. There were way too many soldiers here for this base to be anything but important. Now they just had to figure out what they were hiding. A wayward shot from one of the Cerberus soldiers hit far too close to his head for his liking. He ducked further down behind the cover before doing a quick survey of the area. There wasn’t a clear shot to get around behind them. Not while he was visible anyway. A quick tap to his omni-tool shut off his shield regen, not that he’d taken any hits, and the comfortable feeling of his tactical cloak slipped around him. Now this was more like it. He ducked around to the side and took a run towards a stack of crates closer to the rear of the area. If he could get up on those, he’d have the perfect sniper perch. It was just a matter of getting there. Roxy had more pressing matters to deal with as another side door opened up and something big charged out. At first she thought it was a Krogan, but on second glance she recognized the familiar look of a Hahne-Kedar hull; it was a mechanical infantry unit, a staple of Cerberus armies before the Reapers and after. Roxy expected to see a couple FENRIRs and LOKIs, but this looked like a VALI, one of the newer generation mech infantries built around shock tactics. More importantly, it was coming right at her like a rachni with a bad attitude. Rolling out of the way in the nick of time, the VALI demolished her cover as it smashed through, lifting its heavy scattergun to make short work of her. Blasting away at the mech’s arm until the heatsink popped, the heavy gun limped to one side before firing off, turning the floor next to Roxy into scrap metal. “Annihilating target…” the mech snarled, wrenching its arm back to fire again. “Like fuck you are, [i]kiyet![/i]” Drawing her hand back swimming in blue biotic light, Roxy flung herself forward and slammed her fist into the machine’s chest, the impact shattering the armored carapace and launching it into the wall with a massive crash. The machine let out a garbled mess of syllables as it slumped to the ground, its neck bent out of shape and the circular red lights flickering. “Even!” Roxy called out as she jumped back into cover, recovering her pistols and reloading as the Cerberus soldiers regrouped. Good to be back, she thought to herself as weapons fire bracketed her position.