DearTrickster

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

@ShyDot Hay, I'm going to be out for a little bit like 30 or so minutes but when I come back we can hammer out our collab, if you are around! <3

Mass Effect: Borealis

Meanwhile… Back at the Communications Center

“Fuck!”

Dex snapped her organic hand away from the sparked wire she was attempting to splice then tried again with more success. She was working on the physical terminal waiting for Drono to stabilize the generator. She felt a little bad for sending him out in the storm but knew their window was shrinking. It was only a matter of time before the smugglers caught onto what they were doing. Their luck wouldn’t hold out. She’d be long gone before they realized what she had done. As was her way.

Gunshots rang out and startled her into hitting her head against the underside of the terminal. Growling she pushed out from under the terminal and ran to the ladder leading up and out to the tower itself. Before she could yell another clap of thunder rattled the prefabricated walls but… She looked over her shoulder and the terminal didn’t flicker with the surge.

“Done here. Please tell me you can get it fixed now. I don’t like water. I can feel the bloody keppler syndrome already.” Drono’s attitude droned through her ears. A pause in the comms then he yelled out, “I really hope you got your shit working Dex!”

“The systems are stable now enough for me to work! Thanks!” She replied through the comms, Drono pulled through once again. Noting the clear distress and yelling in the background, Dex hailed Kasy and Khosin, sending support hopefully in time to quiet the noise.

“Dodnovran and Zela, Tenrom needs a hand. I’m still working on a special project. Be ready when the light goes green, communication might get shot to shit in a few. While you're at it, lend a hand to Kiv. He's drunk again.”

She dived back into the terminal, quickly working through all the physical barriers that would have slowed her hacking down. Within a few minutes she was finished with the terminal, she popped up then went to work her talons rapidly tapping across the orange keyboard. Eyes clear and focused. She ran her weakening programs while she broke through the initial firewalls. Several alarms turned the screen red and she continued regardless quieting the alarms before they broke across the network. She hummed through her sub vocals, concentrating.

“Probably poked too hard on that chink... What a sensitive system you have, smugglers.” She said to herself with amusement, relishing the push back a bit too much. She loved the challenge of a decent hack, a time limit and the fight of a struggling system. Her onslaught was ruthless. The VI tasked to defending the network hounded her every move. Trying desperately to pin her down. She hopped through servers with ease.

Every time the VI got close she slipped away into data mountains, disappearing amongst the code.

“Catch me if you can.”

Leading the VI into false holes she buried it alive with garbage data dumps, a program courtesy of her days in with the Taetrus Separatists. She dumped enough garbage data to make Hierarchy security techs shudder after one look. Free to work she gained access into the auditory comms listening to the various reports from security and personnel across the compound. She isolated security reports, the noisiest being the ones about the drunk Krogan outside of the communication center. Not worried about Tonka, in spite of the reports escalating from ‘This drunk fuck!’ to ‘Armed and requesting back up!’

He'll be fine... Probably.

She muted those reports then listened to a team feeding reports outside the compound talking about making contact on Happy Cliff.

Dex’s heart rate doubled, her adrenaline spiking. That was where the Observation Team was set up. She pushed her efforts in securing comm lines for the Jury Riggers. She searched Kasy, Khosin, Drono and Tonka’s omnitool signals. Masking their comm lines as indistinguishable from the smugglers and personnel on site. Impossible to tell the difference unless you knew to recognize the tags from memory. A technician possibly would but Dex planned to lock access when she was done. Effectively crippling their ability to organize across the compound.

Moving next to the Borealis she would need to connect with Iosif… She squinted at the line of code, his omnitool not present on the ship and his login being idle. She looked a little further and saw his ID on the Kite instead along with Tanya and Vellios…? What the fuck happened? She shook her head, the three of them being on the shuttle didn’t change the fact she needed to route through the Borealis to make contact with the Observation Team.

Reaching through their own systems to secure lines for all three parties. She saw to masking both the Borealis and the Kite under serial numbers assigned to ships in the compound. Something that would throw off pursuers if they saw duplicates of their own ships in the sky. When she saw Haze and Serena’s signatures appear after reaching through the Borealis, Dex went for Serena’s initially expecting the most reliable connection but… something was wrong. Her omnitool signature was red and offline. Her worry increased but she remained focused and worked through Haze’s instead. She connected the entire team bringing communication line in a complete loop back to the smuggler’s communications center.

All their audio and transmissions went green to Dex and she grinned pressing her talon to her ear speaking to everyone, “We are all green for secure communications. Borealis, Kite, Observation Team, and Infiltration Team are now connected. What the fuck is going on? Security from the compound reported contact on Happy Cliffs, Observation Team. Please tell me they’re taken care of.”

Dex had a growing unease, she surprised herself with how concerned she was but knew her attachment to the crew was growing and the thought of losing someone so early on opened up a nasty pit in her stomach. Serena being offline wasn’t right. Why the fuck was the observation team split up?

Speaking next to others in the infiltration team, “I’ll be crippling their communications and sending the entire compound into the dark. Be ready to initiate sabotage on my signal. Tonk-” She stopped listening instead to a new report coming in from a lone guard.

Dex tapped a key on the board squinting at it’s tag. Volegnar. They were trying to make a report back to security, Dex intercepted the call and listened.

“Moving into the communications center, confirming suspicious male Drell and male Turian. Likely armed. Requesting back up.”

Subconsciously Dex’s hand swept up to the top of her head patting around the ends of her fringe. “My fringe isn’t that long… HEY!” She snapped glaring at Volegnar’s ID on the terminal humming her irritation.

Dex found the guard’s location from her last transmission and she was inside the communications center presumably on her way to find Dex. No doubt going to stumble upon the bloody floor Drono left behind. The turian spy went to work setting up her final lockout sequence for the entire communications network, save for the lines the Jury Riggers were hijacking. Effectively arming it when they were ready to ruin the smuggler’s compound in its entirety.

BAM BAM BAM!

The door was thankfully locked, Dex finished one last line of code then locked the terminal. She quietly stepped up beside the door waiting for the guard to enter.

“Open up! Open the fuck up!” The guard shouted through the door banging again, faintly hearing her attempt to key open the door with her ID.

Dex initiated her cloak blending into the shadows, waiting patiently. Her breathing was even and quiet as was her heart. Focused once again. Her shotgun in her hands, her organic talon brushing lightly across the trigger. It would only be seconds now…

Mass Effect: Borealis

<Snipped quote by Rtron>

As much as I want to vote 3, I'm going with two because I assume you don't mean sex partner because Serena screams like a little girl every time sex is mentioned.

<Snipped quote by Hellis>

I'm going to say Numero Uno

<Snipped quote by DearTrickster>

Imma say she only has two siblings.

~~~

TANYA TIME

1. Tanya had an intimate relationship with Lewis, the designated marksman of her unit in the 63rd division, after several years of working and socializing together and becoming close. He was who she moved on from Gary with.
2. Tanya's fascination with metal music stems from the local scene in Scott, Terra Nova, having a considerable amount of local talent that more or less became the voice of the younger colonists. She listens to this genre because it reminds her of home.
3. The primary reason Tanya favours shotguns over any other weapon is because she barely passed basic marksmanship training and prefers her marksmanship be limited to generally pointing a gun at the bad guys to kill them while she focuses on other things.

TONKA TIME

1. Tonka's never had romantic partners, mainly because he's not interested in anything that's not krogan and things on Tuchanka are rather abysmal in the
romance department, given that the entire planet is an apocalyptic wasteland where the women are considered a sacred resource that requires a lot of red tape to even attempt to breed.
2. Tonka hates children, since they remind him of what he'll never have.
3. The reason Tonka specializes in infiltration and marksmanship was because he was the runt in his brood, so he had to adapt to survive with other krogan who were bigger and stronger than he was, and so he determined the best way to fight was by stacking the odds in his favour.

@Dervish

Tanya's is 2

Tonka is 1

Mass Effect: Borealis

I will be posting my solo post after Dervs, Fallen and Zombie post their collab.

Mass Effect: Borealis

Truth or Lie!

1. Dex's secret snack compartment has a custom cut hole on her armour for easy access.

2. Dex hounded and begged Jorick (her mechanic) to add it in.

3. She wholly believes it is a secret to everyone else besides Jorick.

OOPS I DIDN'T READ THE RULES PROPERLY.

MY BAD. OOPS.

AAAAA

1. Dex has had so many sex partners she's lost count.

2. She only has 2 siblings.

3. Dex still has a copy of her favourite turian musical script on her omnitool.

Mass Effect: Borealis

I'lll go.

1) Serena's training during her alliance run was skimped on fighting in favor of specialization.

2) Barat was Serena's ninth partner (before his own untimely death)

3) Serena is gonna use Barat as a sex toy.

@Rtron

Number 2 is the lie.

Actually Number 1 is the truth because I still think Number 2 is a lIE

1. Drono is barred from the sol system after decking an admiral.

2. Drono is banned from the sol system after sleeping with and tgen decking an admiral.

3. Drono is banned banned from the Sol system after sleeping with and then decking an admiral. Then leak the affair to the press and getting him fired after the admirals keycard was used to clean out an armory...

@Hellis

I'm going to say Number 1 is the lie.

NUMBER 1 IS ACTUALLY THE TRUTH.

Mass Effect: Borealis

Totes down for a game of Truth or Lie.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

@NeutralNexus Mood music to ruin the universe by. Eternity Served Cold

@ShyDot Music was playing when Mandate was created? y/y? It was probably this: Black Rose/Green Sun

Mass Effect: Borealis

Ummm, sorry for bothering again but I was rereading that collab that was posted and I have a small question. Was there a small time-skip where the infiltration team left the smuggler's camp and are now attacking it, or did I completely misunderstand the opening of the collab? I mean the collab done between Dervs, Trickser and Hellis btw. Sorry for all the questions.

@Mortarion

A little time has passed, but they are currently operating within the time frame of the storm. Drono, Dex and Tonka talked privately in the truck (which is parked in the smuggler's camp) then moved out to the communications tower shortly after.

I'm not sure where Khosin is right now. But if you're looking for something for him to do he can start his own sabotage work on weapons, vehicles, anything you can think of to cripple the smuggler's base from properly defending itself. The guns have been sold and are out of their hands.

I'll be working on a post and have it up here soon. Ready yo butts for some hacking mumbo jumbo. <3

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

_{banner credit to Hellis}

---

Time: Present Day - Evening
Location: Paris, France

The Ambassador watched her newly acquired ally, Mandate be lead away by a trusted ally. Heading presumably to tourist spots to keep the golem's attention occupied.

Finally having time to respond to Lekh's text message her fingers tapped across the touchscreen.

-`ღ´- I will be in the city tomorrow. -`ღ´-
✿ That is very interesting! ✿
I would love to hear more, you pick the time and place.
I'll be there ~ ♪ ♫♩♬

Allowing Lekh to have control over the environment would give him an illusion of control while they talked business. Even from the brief time working with him, seeing him in action, rereading his reports from the CDC it gave her a strong impression of intelligence. More than just an criminal opportunist and someone she had to be cautious with. Months have passed and a smart man wouldn't allow to be fooled twice by something even as outrageous as magic.

She wanted information on Racheli, wanted to know everything she could so it would only be a matter of pinning her to a wall. From the reports she received from her spies, Racheli seems to be rather new to her powers but unfortunately the good samaritan Bak May had given her shelter. Bak May's belief in the mystic had her home bolstered with handcrafted wards powerful enough to repel the likes of the sprites. The elderly woman was a blindspot.

If she was careful she would get what she wanted from Lekh.

The Polish criminal, Lekh Antol (AKA Silence), had a time and place in mind almost as soon as he read that message, which was impressive when you consider the fact that he was reeling, taken aback by the fact that the Ambassador was going to be visiting Lost Haven so soon. It was too soon, he needed more time to plan. Still, he was nothing if not flexible, he'd have to improvise.

So soon? Luckily I am not busy tomorrow.
We can meet at Dark Brews and Bakery around midday.
It is on the corner of Elm street in the French Quarter.
Until tomorrow.
-L

---

Time: The Next Day - Midday
Location: Lost Haven, Maine

The air conditioning at full force in the taxi cab droned out the sound of the radio. Odette had arrived to Lost Haven in the middle of a heat wave. Thankfully, she dressed appropriately for the weather in a light breezy dress. Still adamantly fashionable regardless of who she was going to see.

"Do you think this will be easy?" Bach said, sitting beside her in the cab. "A pretty dress and a few practiced smiles won't convince someone like Silence to trust you."

"You are as transparent as a window, Bach. I know what I am doing." She replied quietly, speaking in French. "This will be a simple transaction of services."

"He will want to know more about the Soul Mark."

"I wouldn't doubt it."

Bach spoke firmly as the cab pulled up to the curb just outside of Dark Brews, "Whatever trust you have will be shattered when he knows what it does."

Leaning forward, handing the cab driver the fare money and a generous tip she replied tight lipped to Bach, "You can wait outside while I meet with Lekh, since you are so concerned over earning his trust. Your presence will be a distraction"

Odette left the cab, waiting the extra second to let Bach out. She waved to the driver then faced the shop front. Bach looked sour, turning an indignant lip up at Odette. She glared at his back as he sulked away.

She entered the small bakery, presumably locally owned. Several tables were occupied with the lunch time rush. Chatter filled the bakery from an assortment of languages, she recognized splashes of French here and there but it mixed generously with Ukranian, Swedish, German, and Italian. While the smell of freshly baked bread was welcoming it was equally stifling in the heat of summer.

Lekh had arrived shortly before midday, and had already finished a cup of Inka, czarna specifically, which was essentially dark Polish coffee. Dark Brews was one of the few shops that actually sold his preferred brand of caffeinated beverage, which would have been more of a hardship if not for the fact that he drank coffee quite rarely. He sat alone on a table for two just off to the left of the main entrance, and he was almost unrecognisable from the man the Ambassador had first met. Sure, he was of a similar height, but he was paler than she would remember, his hair gelled back and no longer dyed a reddish brown but black. He was dressed casually in a black polo and dark blue jeans, basically indistinguishable from anyone else off work for the day or out of business dress. Even his eyes were a different colour, a pale blue today, though it was unlikely she'd looked that carefully in the first place to note such a small detail. Luckily perhaps, he was paying attention to each visitor, and raised a hand in greeting to Odette after giving her a few moments to walk through the cafe.

Expecting to see him in the security guard disguise was a silly after thought when she arrived to his table. His hair was noticeably shades darker but her initial impressions of his appearance were all but lost to memory. It was strange of her to forget small details. Then again, when she thought back to the kidnapping she often saw red and in gross detail had remembered everything she could about Racheli. Anger had a funny way of colouring memories.

She brought an easy pink lipped smile, "Bonsoir, Monsieur. Lovely little bakery you've picked." She realized she hadn't a single clue what his surname was, her expression didn't falter at the awkward note.

Lekh returned her smile, it even looked real. "Bonsoir, Madame Favre. I quite like it, reminds you of home does it not? Please, sit if you would."

"Merci. It certainly does." She said pulling the wooden chair out and flattening her dress beneath her legs as she sat. "I can't quite place your accent. Where is home for you?"

"I like to think my home is wherever I find myself, Madame, but my heart belongs to Polska"

She pushed her sunglasses on top of her head as she fixed him with blue eyes of her own, "I have never visited Poland. In spite of my skillset, I am not the most well travelled European."

She smiled again, entirely for the irony in her comment.

"I'm glad to see you are doing well for yourself here in Lost Haven. Most of what I hear is from the disjointed grapevine, whenever Parisian and Lost Haven associates cross paths." Letting her eyes wander the cafe casually checking for any eavesdroppers, not lingering on any one person for long. "I have personally not stepped foot in Lost Haven since we last met."

"Oh? Bad memories perhaps?" He asked, quite seriously.

"Something to that degree, I wouldn't count my last visit as enjoyable." Odette replied with a slight shrug. She had comparible experiences with failure but it had been a while since she took such a heavy hit.

"Yes, I had heard you encountered difficulty at the Ironworks, I am sorry I could not be there." He wasn't, really, in fact he was quite glad he hadn't been there, but he sounded sincere enough.

"A kind sentiment but difficult to believe." She said not unkindly, "Until a few days ago, I saw no opportunity to rectify the mistake. Now however, I have confirmed our mutual acquaintance's location here in the city."

Lekh only smiled in response to her disbelief, she had him worked out, at least that far."Oh, you have? She has been spending time in Chinatown, with an elderly lady of all people." He chuckled, for the sake of anyone listening, but his remarks were deadly serious and revealed that he in fact had Rach's current location as well.

She nodded, "This older woman is of the superstitious sort, from what I have heard. Believes in wards, sage and other such silly measures as protection." She was glad to know Lekh had taken steps to watch Racheli as well.

"What I was hoping to discuss today was along the lines of information, I remember distinctly you are skilled at gathering information. From your part time work at Lost Haven's CDC. I was hoping you could revisit our dear friend's past."

"I am sure we can agree on terms, but allow me to do something else for you first." He stood up. "I would like to buy you coffee, do you have any preference?"

Odette smiled having nearly forgotten her thirst, "Skim milk caffè latte, please and thank you."

Lekh used the time while ordering coffee to think about Odette's reason for speaking with him. He was a little off balance, though to look at him you wouldn't have thought it, because some of his most valuable information wasn't any worth to him. He hadn't predicted that the Ambassador would know about Rach, he'd underestimated her resources in Lost Haven. Still, there was nothing for it now. He returned to the table, placing her coffee before her without spilling a drop.

"Your coffee, Madame." He affected his best waiter voice to relieve some of the tension that he felt building and then took a seat and sipped his own drink. "So, you are interested in learning more about our friend's sorid past?" He smiled faintly.

She hid a small giggle behind her hand, "Your accent needs a little work, Monsieur. Credit goes to the timely delivery." The cream had a artistic swirl across the surface of the coffee. Wrapping her hands around the white mug leaning her elbows against the table.

Answering his question settling her gaze upon him, watching for hints to what he was thinking or feeling. "I am interested in seeing what makes her tick. I find the best traps are better set when they are intimately personalized. Wouldn't you agree?" Lekh was proving to be incredibly difficult to read in spite of feeling the distinct touches of magic she left behind on his soul.

"I would agree in so much as that more information is always of use, but information is my business, so perhaps I am biased. The past often holds leverage over people, it should be closely guarded. I suspect that our friend will not have taken great care to conceal her past." As he mentioned leverage, he rotated his right hand around his coffee cup, displaying the mark there seemingly by accident.

Her eyes flicked to his wrist then returned in a blink, "Our friend also seems to be lacking in other areas as well, not just in intelligence. As information is your business, I am fully prepared to pay the appropriate rates for your service. If you are interested in the work, of course."

"I must admit, it would feel wrong to ask for any significant sum for such a simple task." He shrugged his shoulders. "Yet there are other things that demand my attention in Lost Haven, I am quite busy as of late, you must understand." He looked apologetic, for what it was worth. "Still, I like you Ms Favre, so I will do what you ask. However, rather than money, perhaps you could answer a question of my own about your, ahem, world?"

"An exchange of information? I must warn you, Lekh. Explanations will not make sense of how my world works. Not without a..." She waved her hand trying to remember the english phrase, "Acte de foi, hrm... Leap of faith if you will. Are you absolutely certain that is what you would prefer?"

She expected this to come up and she truly hoped he would not have pressed the question forcing her to be truthful. Possibly leading to severing their new friendship. While she could carry on without his services she hardly wanted to add Lekh to the list of enemies that seemed to be growing in the past few months.

"I am certain. I do not believe I can continue to operate in complete ignorance of your world, Ms Favre." Reluctance, attempts to dissuade his pursuit of an answer to an unasked question, curious. "So, do you agree to answer a question of my own in payment for me giving you the information you seek?" As always, his demeanour failed to betray the seriousness of his question, in fact, he seemed almost painfully casual about it, almost as if he were but a child asking an adult questions about how the world worked. In a way, perhaps he was doing just that.

Odette readjusted herself to sitting up straight, her shoulders automatically shifting into a perfect posture. She took the slight pause to think, now resting her eyes on the coffee. Lekh knew she needed the information as he needed to know what the mark was. As she was sure there would be no guarantee of keeping a tether like that on him for a long period of time even when she initially placed it. There were always other ways to keep Lekh close.

Careful, she had to be absolutely careful.

"Very well. I agree to answering your question in exchange for information on our friend." She said firmly looking him in the eye she held out her hand to be shaken. "A handshake is as binding as a contract to folk such as myself."

"Excellent, I must confess that curiosity is a flaw of mine. I will look forward to sating it once I am able to honour my end of our agreement." He shook the hand offered, his mind flashing back to the last time they had shaken hands, nodding at her remarks in regards to a handshake being binding.

Oh, I know.

At least, with the blessing of time to prepare her answer the buisness had been concluded. Now, she was free to simply enjoy the rest of her coffee date with a tentative friend.