DJAtomika

Mass Effect Andromeda: Frontier

Day 3 of Shore Leave
A Gym
Somewhere on the Nexus

The slender, gray-skinned turian adjusted the speed on his treadmill and pounded his feet a little more, panting a little as he pushed his stamina to his limit, earbuds seated on his head as he drowned out the world around him to focus on his exercise.

It was day 3 of shore leave, one more day before they were shipped off to Voeld, and Hazan had decided to get some stamina training in before they left. He knew that the planet was going to be extremely cold, a fact which he loathed, and as such he was training himself to better handle the weather. The bitter cold would drain his stamina a lot faster than normal, since his body was also going to try and keep itself warm, so he wanted to make sure he was at tip top shape before the fireteam left.

Tazen made his way into the gym, carrying a bag that held clothes more comfortable for a working routine. The shore leave would end up soon and so the Salarian decided that it was time to do something more prolific with his remaining free time rather than idle it away stargazing or reading a book. He made his way through the few individuals in the gym, his thoughts briefly turning to the fact that he had only managed to get into it after he had provided credentials that he was part of APEX. He didn’t like the decision, even if he understood the reasoning behind it, of barring the civilians to use what few training faculties there were, but before that particular train of thought could go any further he noticed a familiar figure in one of the treadmills. “Volintis?” He asked, incredulity creeping into his voice. He hadn’t seen nor heard of the Turian scout in their three days of shore leave, and so he was surprised to find him in the gym.

”Huh- WOAH!”

At the sudden mention of his name from the voice he knew as his team leader, Hazan tried to both turn around to acknowledge his superior and keep running at the same time, but his feet tangled themselves up in each other and made him tumble head over heels off the treadmill and onto the floor. With a rather unprofessional yelp of protest, he untangled himself from his earbud wires and stood up, giving Tazen a small salute before a spike of pain entered his right leg, making him hiss a little.

”Sir, didn’t expect to see you here. Sorry about the leg, old injury.”

Tazen let out a little chuckle at Hazan’s tripping accident. “At ease Hazan, when out of duty you don’t need to treat me with any extra respect you don’t think I deserve. Outside of APEX you and I are equals.” The Salarian said, smiling to the Turian. He frowned slightly as Hazan hissed, waving his apology away, “There’s no need to apologize, I understand perfectly.” The ex-STG operative answered.

Before Hazan could speak again, Tazen bent down and pulled up the hem of the left side of his pant slightly. Immediately Hazan would be able to notice that the Salarian’s left leg was a prosthetic replacement, “As you can see, I know quite a bit about leg injuries myself.” He spoke before letting go of the hem that he had pulled up, “So, Hazan, what brings you here? Trying to get in some extra training before we ship to Voeld?”

The turian nodded and tried his best to be informal.

”Yeah, sir- I mean, um, Tazen. Trying to get my stamina up so the cold won’t bother me as much. Although now...maybe I should take a break, hehe.”

Hazan moved over to one of the nearby benches and sat down, popping open the top of his water bottle to take a swig, limping a little as he walked.

”And what brings you here? Also wanting to get some exercise in before we ship out?”

“Same as you Hazan, I’ve been taking it easy this past few days, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to get in some exercise done before we ship out of the Nexus.” Said the Salarian as he sat next to Hazan, “But I also tend to exercise as much as I can when possible since it helps with this as well.” He added, patting his prosthetic leg in indication of what he meant.

“Must say, I’m surprised to find you here. All this time on the Nexus and I didn’t see or hear about you once. And, well, considering that I’m ex-STG I’d say that’s fairly impressive. What’s your secret Volintis? I won’t go spreading it around, spy’s honour.” The Salarian said with a light chuckle, waiting for the Turian’s reply.

”Well... The Nexus is a big station, and I kinda like to keep to myself. Probably have my navy training to thank for that. But honestly, if you wanted to find someone, you probably could given enough time.”

The turian chuckled, mostly to himself and took another drink of water, one talon idly massaging his hurt right leg so the pain would go away.

“Any particular reasons for that?” Asked Tazen, his interest piqued. While he wasn’t the most social person, he didn’t understood, or saw the purpose behind, secluding oneself. “Ah, I’m sorry, that’s a bit of a personal question to start asking all of a sudden, huh?” He added once he got over his curiosity and remembered his manners, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Hmmm, you did mention your navy training? Any stories worth sharing?” He asked, hoping to divert the attention from his, well, rather question. “If it helps, we can swap stories. I doubt the stuff I did is classified after 600 or so years.” The Salarian added, laughing slightly.

”Well, I was with the 132nd Light back in the Navy, we patrolled the rim between Citadel and Terminus space, catching pirates and slavers and smugglers and the like. I did my duty for sixteen years, and I saw the worst side that the galaxy had to offer. Just...can you imagine people of any species, with explosive collars on their necks, crammed into cargo containers to be shipped across Terminus space? Coming in from the mass relays that are in Citadel space? Those men, we sent straight to the Council. They locked those slavers up for life, last I heard pending execution. Well, that was six centuries ago anyway. I left the 132nd after my sixteenth year, went to do mercenary work for a change. I was allowed the leave from the military by then anyway.”

Hazan shook his head. Six centuries had done nothing to dull the memories of his days as a Navy man, hunting pirates and slavers all across the Terminus sector.

Tazen grimaced slightly at Hazan’s recount. “Sounds like the standard situation in the Terminus-Citadel borders.” He said, not exactly surprised by what Hazan had told him. He had been in many covert operations in the Terminus and the Skyllian Verge and so he knew how bad those place could be, especially the former. “I do know what you mean though, I’ve seen it plenty of times.” The Salarian said, shaking his head to clear his mind of the memories.

“There was this one deep cover assignment I had, me and a group of other STG-operatives were sent to the Skyllian Verge as private security consultants. Pirate and slaver raids were one of the main concerns that those frontier colonies saves, we liberated more than our fair share of captured slaves, though probably not nearly as many as you.” He said with a sigh, smiling sadly. “We were in deep cover after all, so attracting attention beyond what was necessary was strictly forbidden, no matter if we wished to intervene and try and do more than liberating the slaves of those pirate crews that were stupid enough to attack colonies we were advising.”

”That reminds me of my first job with the Riggers. I’m sure you made the connections between me and some of the other members of the fireteam. Our first real mission together was to capture a bunch of slavers for the Alliance. That went kinda well, but that was the mission I got my bum leg from.” Hazan gestured to his right leg, which had stopped aching a few minutes ago.

”I got blindsided by a rocket and fractured it in a few places. You’d think several medi-gel casts, a few years of desk work and six centuries of space travel would’ve healed it.”

“Hmmm, I see, the Alliance does likes to use mercs every once in a while, especially when it comes to the Terminus. Always had a problem with flaunting that unspoken ‘don’t mess with the Terminus’ rule.” Tazen said with a light chuckle, “Then again, it’s a bit hypocritical on my end to say that. It’s not like STG didn’t flaunt the rules quite often, if not blatantly breaking them sometimes if the situation was bad enough.” He said with a sigh, nodding slightly when Hazan explained how he got his bum leg.

“Hmmm, you got lucky, I lost my leg to a loose shot from a Striker assault rifle. You know, that Krogan-made AR that is basically an automatic grenade launcher. My shields were down after I had taken a beating doing an unsanctioned action while defending a Salarian colony from a bunch of slavers. Mind you, this was back when I was still in the army of the Salarian Union though, surprisingly enough, that little maverick action is what got me into STG.” He explained, letting out a sigh as he remembered the siege of Na’Kesh.

”I’m surprised you aren’t missing more parts. That weapon is nasty.”

The turian chuckled softly, reminiscing at all the five years he’d spent with the Riggers, all the odd jobs and contracts up until the crew disbanded. He sighed and took another drink of water.

”So how did you end up joining the Initiative? Something about the pull of a new galaxy to explore?”

“Something like that, yeah, my time in the Traverse awakened in me a desire to explore, to see new stars.” The Salarian explained, smiling slightly “But, I also wanted to get away from the society in the Milky Way. Bloated with corruption and petty politics that ensured the benefit of the few over the many, rotted from the inside out.” He continued on, “The Initiative seemed like, well, the prospect of making something new, something better.” He said, smiling slightly. “I still believe in that dream, even after all that has happened since we got to Heleus. I know it won’t be easy, but I’ll do my best to make sure that what Jien Garson promised us comes to be.”

”The same for me, I guess. But for me it was more of that I wanted to get my family out of the Milky Way. It just didn’t feel safe there any more.” Hazan shrugged and idly gripped his water bottle in his talons.

”My family’s still in cryo. I just hope, one day, they’ll be free and we’ll be together again.”

“Hmmm, I came alone here, so I can’t say I understand you very well Hazan.” Said Tazen, putting his hand on Hazan’s shoulder. “But with the discovery of the Remnant vault we know that we can make Heleus livable, I’m sure that in no time your family will be out of cryo and ready to join us here in Heleus.” The Salarian said, offering the Turian a smile.

He let out a sigh of relief and, for the first time in a while, smiled back. Hazan was briefly reminded of Serena’s chat with him the previous day...maybe his family was still on ice, but he still had a family in the Riggers.

”Thanks, Tazen. I feel a bit better.”

“Glad to be of help Hazan.” Tazen said, patting the Turian’s shoulder amicably. “I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but I’m sure that we’ll fix these problems in no time and everyone in cryo will come out. Then, together with the Angara, we’ll be able to build a brighter future for us all.”

”I’m sure. Well, in the meantime, I better go clean up and make sure my things are packed. Think my bum leg’s telling me to stop pushing myself too hard. Thanks for checking in on me, sir.”

Hazan stood and gave Tazen a slightly more informal salute, then wrapped his towel round his neck and walked off to the showers.

Maybe there was something to look forward to in this galaxy after all.

Omega Serenade

Hazan Volintis

Hazan Volintis

Race: Turian

Sex: Male

Age: 46 CE

Profile: Infiltrator; tech and combat powers, two weapons.

DOB: 2139 CE

Homeworld: Palaven

Appearance: Hazan stands six feet straight, with a rather average build for a turian his age. His chitin is scratched and worn, especially across his face, with a very prominent scar running horizontally across the bridge of his nose and under both eyes. A second scar graces his chin, a small vertical scrape underneath his mouth. The colour of his chitin has not changed, but the stark white of his face paint has dulled slightly and become scraped and dinged from the battles he's fought.

His armour is scratched, battle-worn. Dinged and scraped. His visor, similarly, is worn but still usable. His eyes are a stark, bright yellow that stands out from the rest of his colourations. He also wears a desert camouflage shemagh with his armour.

When not on duty, he usually wears a slate grey hoodie with blue and white highlights, with the Initiative logo on the back, paired with a simple white t-shirt and grey jeans and shoes. He keeps his visor on at all times, mostly for convenience sake.

Background: Born to a regular urban Turian family on Palaven, Hazan grew up like any other man of his race would. He spent his days in school, learning about the galaxy, the various races that made up the Council and the Alliance, along with other subjects like math and science. Inquisitive and curious for his age, Hazan displayed an aptitude early on for following instructions and improvising directions if he wasn't given any, along with displaying a near single-minded dedication to accomplishing tasks he was given. Chatty and friendly, the young turian was all set for his time in the military that came all too soon, leaving him to follow in the footsteps of his parents. They had become security specialists after their service, setting up their own company on the Citadel while they ran operations from Palaven, and although becoming a glorified security guard didn't sit well in his gut, he was young and impressionable. Something he took with him into the military.

He enlisted in 2154 CE.

All throughout basic, he got hazed (get it) for being scrawnier than the other recruits. This developed the normally talkative turian into a withdrawn, yet dedicated soldier as he spent his time honing what skills he could in the military. A knack for following and improvising directions turned into a talent for map-reading and navigating, and his single-minded dedication developed into one of the best marksmanship abilities within his company. The combination of talents made his commanders consider him for reconnaissance training, and the year of his graduation, his commanding officer came up to him with a proposition: to specialise and develop those innate talents into something solid. A scout and a marksman.

A recon sniper.

He readily accepted the challenge, thinking it'd be a good way to hone his skills even further and to push his capabilities to his limit. After all, becoming first a reconnaissance trooper and then a sniper was no easy feat. But he dedicated himself to his training. His map-reading talent expanded into analysing terrain and the stars of different systems, navigating land by moonlight, traversing jungles, forest, valleys and even urban battlefields, along with sketching and making maps from scratch and memory work, just by having been on the terrain for several days. Scout school drove him right into the ground and back out, covered in enough mapping and navigation experience to make the turian one of the best of his class. Hazan had just gotten back on terra firm of Palaven before the second phase of his training began: marksman academy. Hazan shipped off-world again and spent the majority of his academy training on different environments and planets, learning how to adjust to every land he was in, compensating for wind speeds, elevation, planet rotation and different forms of bullet drop from the various rifles he was equipped with. A lot easier on the body than scout school, but harder on the mind. Still, Hazan bit down and forged through mental tests of wind speeds on famous planets and locations, bullet speeds of different firearms and even the average bullet drop on certain planets. All this to prepare him for his final test, a combination of both schools of training: dropped on a planet he's never been on, forging his way through harsh terrain, analysing an enemy structure and eliminating a single high value target with one shot. All of which he accomplished without complaint. In 2161 CE, he graduated with full honours and became one of the turian military's many reconnaissance snipers in active service. The road was hard, rugged and destructive, but three years and two schools of training had honed Hazan into a fine-edged weapon, one that was being talent spotted by many regiments through the turian army and navy.

One stuck out to him, though. The 132nd Light Patrol Squadron, a small battalion of ships and troops that patrolled the mass effect relays between the Terminus systems and Council space. For the men and women aboard the 132nd, this meant pirates, slavers and all manner of criminal known to border space. The 132nd took down these threats to the general peace and rescued whoever they could, to be returned to their families and home worlds in one piece. He signed on and the Squadron welcomed him warmly, assigning him as chief navigator aboard one of their small light vessels. His duty was simple: aboard the ship, to navigate the systems and chart their journeys to the various criminal hub worlds and highways that their targets sailed on. On the ground he was part of a seven man fire team assigned for target elimination and VIP extraction, often picked to carry out hostage rescue missions and running security for traders and cartographers. If they weren't in combat, the Squadron spent their time training on different worlds, charting them for turian records while also analysing their terrain and formulating different strategies for each. He spent the remainder of his service years with the 132nd, making lasting friendships and learning a lot about the galaxy and how it worked.

All too quickly, 15 years passed. Hazan turned 30 in 2169 CE. He spent one last year in the 132nd, learning about the abject horror of Mindoir and being very angry about the whole situation without being able to help, before leaving. The last few years of pirate hunting and scouting new worlds had grown boring to him, and although the rest of his team didn't share the sentiment, he was the only one to harbour a very specific itch. The itch to travel, see more, and try his luck at doing things on the other side of the law. Bidding farewell to his shipmates and promising to see them again whenever their paths crossed again, he left and took a one way ticket to the only station where luck and skill with a gun meant everything: Omega.

Personality: Hazan is a humble, down-to-earth soldier merely doing his duty. His loyalty used to lie with those who paid him enough, now they fall solely with the Initiative. He doesn't agree with some of their methods, but the protection of his home comes first. Hazan keeps his mouth shut and his thoughts to himself and his team, and is fiercely loyal to those who believe in him and count on him. If you've known him for long enough, he is a reliable ally with a sharp wit and a fierce streak.

Outside of the job, Hazan is very approachable, often volunteering his ear or shoulder for others to lean on if they're feeling low. Years spent alone have developed a loner streak in the turian, and he spends most of his time off duty either drinking in the bar or walking the Nexus hallways, admiring the scenery of space and trying to keep his thoughts focused on the positives in his newfound life. He's taken up tinkering with firearms as a hobby, along with the more peaceful hobby of writing a diary that he keeps stored in his personal datapad that he carries with him at all times.

Equipment:

• M-97 Viper semi automatic sniper rifle
• M-96 Mattock battle rifle
• M-3 Predator heavy pistol
• M-27 Scimitar assault shotgun
• Serrice Council Phantom-class light armour, minus the hood.
• Ariake Technologies Kuwashii Visor.
• Kassa Fabrications Polaris omni tool, with omni blade functionality.
• Combat knife

All guns listed are rotated around as needed for the situation or mission.

Powers:

• Tactical Cloak
• Adrenaline Rush
• Concussive Shot
• Incendiary Ammo
• Disruptor Ammo

Font Colour: Light Blue.

Omega Serenade

Will post turian boy's latest sheet soon!

Crestwood Hollow - A Superhuman RP

Quietly stalks the RP because it's one of Wraith's RPs and those are always good.

𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚜𝚝

@Poet You there bud?

Mass Effect Andromeda: Frontier

Something Something A Man Wakes

Ryria scrutinized at the name on her Omni-tool. Her lips curled into a frown and flipped back to the cryo pod’s console display, pulling up the listed occupant’s information. Hazan Volintis...Turian, male and a part of the APEX team. At least this one wasn't dead, she thought. Her hand shoved away the confirmation information before her ears caught a young nurse step closer, her timid voice stated what Ryria already knew.

“None of these pods have the individual we are looking for, should we check another room?”

The Nexus systems had been damaged, first during the crash with the Scourge and then during the mutiny. Engineers had been primarily focused on getting the primary systems up for survival rather than the less important ones. Like the pod lists, forcing most the medical staff to manually check each individual pods for their target patients and deceased.

Straightening upright, Ryia shook her head, “No, I found him. Prep the examination table and the tools.”

“Yes, doctor.” Came the quick reply before the woman walked to the cabinet.

As the nurse did her job, Ryria went to work on hers. Her hand flew across the pod console causing it to pop up he vital signs, followed by temperature and finally the code pad. Wasting little time, the asari punched into the eight digits of numbers and letters. The pod quietly hummed as it injected a murky fluid into the host’s carapace near the neck. Its main purpose was to revive and encourage his vital organs to once more pick up their biological functions. While waiting, Ryria carefully monitored his vitals to prevent any complications. Then came the temperature, the degrees slowly raising.

She couldn't help but notice there was some appeal to his facial features, easily seeing why some females would find him attractive. When the procedure drew to its end, Ryria stepped back far enough her patient could exit his pod. However she remained near enough to assist should his body fail to hold him upright.

A blinding light flashed before Hazan's eyes as he woke, followed immediately by a rush of blood to his face and ears, along with everywhere else. He woke up with a gasp and nearly smacked his forehead against the glass of his pod, just barely remembering that he was even in one. The stiffness in his very bones gave him the answer to the first question that formed in his mind. His sleep was over. The Nexus was in Andromeda.

As his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed an asari standing just shy of the pod as it hissed and opened up. Still very weak, he clung to the sides of the pod and pulled himself slowly into a sitting position, catching his breath and looking around the chamber.

”Woah… so that's what it feels like to sleep for six centuries. Damn.”

“Yes, but better than being a skeleton or corpse,” Ryria shot off in a crisp, clear tone, “Describe what you're feeling to me and remain sitting upright.”

She stepped closer then placed a single device upon Hazen’s chest. It was a high tech stethoscope as it counted, monitored and reported his heartbeat back to her omnitool. Her eyes fixed on it while she listened to the turian’s report.

”Well… I feel like the whole world's spinning, my bones ache really badly, I'm really really hungry and also kinda groggy. And tired. Wait, did you say corpse? What happened while I was asleep?”

“Short version: on route to the new system, some of the cryo pods were damaged. Some didn't make it.” Ryria said cold and bluntly.

”Woah… You're telling me some of the colonists are dead? Shit… Wait, that means-”

Hazan started out of his pod but sat back down, his head still swimming as he groaned and held his forehead in his talons. His vision went blurry as he tried to regain his focus after six hundred years of sleep.

“Take it easy,” Ryria snapped abruptly. As she spotted Hazan’s figure give out from under him, her mind immediately went to vertigo and stress for the cause and checked his vitals.

“Getting worked up isn’t going to save someone that doesn’t need it, focus on yourself first. Then you can worry about what comes next,” The asari medic explained.

Her hands then tilted up his jawline enough she could examine each eye, noting any imperfection caused by the de-thawing process. Gently she shifted the head side to side before releasing her grip. She held a blank expression, giving nothing away, before she typed something into her notes and then held one finger up.

“Follow my finger with your eyes only,” Ryria requested, her finger drifted slowly from right to left then back. Noting the whole time how well he was tracking it.

He tracked her finger well enough, eyes following the digit left and right and back again as he laid down and tried to relax. A million questions swam through his head but he kept quiet for the sake of recovering faster and getting answers further down the line.

”Am I okay, doc? I feel okay...ish.”

“I’m just checking all my bases. So far your ocular responses are normal for your experience, but you if feel a slight pinch behind your eye or something off then let me know immediately. It could be a nerve had suffered frostbite.” Ryria answered then removed her finger and constructed a omnitool light.

She leaned in, “Stare ahead and don’t blink. Tell me about the earliest you recall to ensure there’s no memory issues.”

”Earliest...my time in the military back on Palaven. Scout training. And before that...school. Hearing about the First Contact war on the news.”

Ryria noted as she took stock of his eye movements, any word slurring, or notable concern in his speech. She typed another observation in her omnitool before she urged him on, “Alright, what about your last memory before the cryo pods?”

Before cryo? Hazan chuckled.

”The party. Finding my friends and knowing that I wouldn’t be alone, coming to Andromeda.”

Ryria nodded, then asked, “Now, raise your arms at about ninety-degree angles from your torso and wiggling your talons.”

Hazan nodded and raised both his arms rather unsteadily to the position the doctor required, giving his cold talons a little weak wiggle.

“Any odd sensation or stiffness?” Ryria asked, observing the fingers’ wiggle pace and the movements. Her fingers darted over her omnitool for a moment to update her notes.

He shook his head.

”Nope. Just cold and weak. Like I haven’t exercised in a while.”

“You’ve been in cryo for over a few decades, that’s natural.” Ryria leaned forward then held out out finger, “Now lowers your arms and touch my finger.”

The turian silently complied, lowering his arms first, then reaching forward to touch her finger with the tip of his talon.

“Alright, good,” She pulled back then made another quick clicks in her report. "Now stand upright for me and take your time. I can’t have you falling over from vertigo.”

”Okay…”

Hazan took a bit to collect himself before slowly pushing himself to sit on the edge of the cryo pod, legs hanging off it. He slowly lowered himself until his feet were firmly planted on the floor, then stood up very, very slowly, wobbling a little to either side since his legs were still rather weak.

Ryria watched carefully. Her biotics on standby to catch the patient and gently push him back onto the table, preventing serious damage. She had even stopped typing to witness his wobbly victory.

“Any pain, discomfort or odd sensation?”

He shook his head and steadied himself against the side of the cryo pod.

”N-nope. Just wobbly, feeling a little light-headed from the cryo.”

“I see, give me a moment,” Ryria shifted over to look through the various medical cabinets.

After a few moments of searching, she pulled a small bottle out then popped two out. She then passed the small capsules over to Hazan, “The light-headedness is expected from the cryo sleep, but take these to help reduce it faster. Then do a squat for me.”

The turian took the two capsules in his talon and swallowed them right down. After a moment or so of letting his head rest, he slowly lowered himself into a squat on the floor of the med-bay, then stood back up, taking his time to do so.

Ryria studied each movement with intense scrutiny. Her fingers making notes then sliding her pad to the side, typing additional tidbits before she came to a stop. Placing her omnitool away, she addressed Haze.

“Now, how do you feel? Any sudden pain or unnatural stiffness?”

”Just a little dizzy, kinda weak, but that’s to be expected, right doc?”

“Yes, I’ll have you assigned a small dosage for two to three days since stock is limited. If it hasn’t faded by then, notify me immediately. It might be connected to a more serious problem,” Ryria stated as she returned to the cabinet. Her arm reached for the medicine and poured about four proper doses into a new bottle, her hand ticking off the number in the stock listing. She then handed the bottle to her patient.

“I believe you’re fit for duty now and can leave through that exit,” she pointed to the nearest door that several patients were already departing at.

”Thanks doc. Hopefully I, uh, won’t be seeing you so soon.” The turian extended a hand for her to shake as a gesture of thanks, trying to suppress a shiver now that he realised the room was freezing.

Ryria paused. Her hands still close to her as she eyed up the gesture, raising a tattooed eyebrow.

“That isn’t necessary. I assume you’ve been around a few humans and that’s where you learned that gesture?”

Hazan nodded. ”C’mon doc, indulge me. Treat it like you’re the welcoming committee, y’know?”

“There’s other people actually better suited for that-”

“Ryria, will you just shake his talons and stop stalling. You still have another patient waiting for cryo defrost,” came a shout from a Turian nurse, her tag printed with the words Surerax Leneiros on it.

Ryria exhaled, then cautiously took Hazen’s outstretched hand. She gave it a brief, but firm shake before retracting it back to her side.

He returned the handshake warmly and gave Ryria a smile. ”Cheer up doc. New galaxy, new future! Don’t have to be such a sour fruit all the time.”

“It could be off to a better start,” Ryria replied, through her tone held a hint of sadness. She checked down at her omnitool for the next patient’s name, “If you don’t mind, I have a turian female to dethaw and pair of asari on my list to ensure are still alive.”

”Right then. See you on the flip side, doc. Maybe a bit later when everything’s settled down, if you want to have a brandy with me.”

Before Ryria could decline, Surerax popped in.

“Yes, she would. I’ll make sure she’s ready...What time?”

”Maybe after work. I’ll send you my omnitool address.”

Surerax ignored the glare Ryria’s frowning face gave her, finally resigning herself to whatever fate her companion was setting up for her.

“Deal, she’ll be ready and waiting.”

Hazan chuckled and made his way out of the cryo bay to go find whoever was in charge of APEX. He had a recruitment interview to sit through.

𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚜𝚝

David's hands were shaking. Being one of the last few to escape the building, he'd left with the images of the monster he'd taken a photo of in his head and in his camera. He was just behind the cop as the motley group gathered outside the staircase that led to the street, each one catching their breath as they took stock of the situation. He was in shock, mostly. The sight of that...thing in the hallway...coupled with the funny smelling incense candles and the weird placement... The ex-journalist was in agreement with everything being said right now, out in the Seattle cold. The moment felt right as well, right for...a bit of documentation. David fiddled a little with his camera to get the settings right, moved a little ways from the group to set his camera down on the pavement with a timer set on the shutter. He adjusted the focus, making sure it was angled at the group by propping it up with a pebble, then hit the shutter button and went back to stand with the group.

Five seconds later and his camera made itself known with the shutter going off again. Satisfied with the result, he went over to pick it back up and put the strap around his neck. You never knew when you'd need to take another picture...

The cop did hit it on the head: Dr McCoy was suspicious. Something was up with him...how he'd been so snappy in their little group therapy and how he vacated the room like his life depended on it after he lit up those candles. And that...monster. Why did he get that feeling of 𝚍é𝚓à 𝚟𝚞 when he'd taken its picture? Like he'd seen it somewhere before? But that was...impossible.

David shook the thoughts out of his head and collected himself. There had to be something to be done, right? And as he looked over the group, he noticed something...

"Uh...guys? Someone's missing from our gang of misfits. I counted six of us including myself up there, minus the doctor. Now there's only five. And as much as I'd like to go pursue Doctor McCoy, I think we should try to find the missing guy too."

Mass Effect Andromeda: Frontier

Serena and Hazan, overlooking Hangar bays, day 2 of shore leave.

Hazan sighed, a drink in his hand as he stared off into the nothingness of the Nexus hangar bay. The last two weeks had been hard but fair, as he’d expected for a military outfit like APEX. Nothing too difficult but it really broke him back into the old rigorum of the military life. He rested on the guard rails and took a sip of the triple-distilled turian brandy that sat in the glass in his talons. He thought back to the times when he was still on Palaven, undergoing the same type of training, working with his platoon in the Navy. It just...didn’t feel the same though. Out here, six centuries away from home, away from the people he knew. His family was still here, as was his former crew, but it just didn’t feel the same.

Serena walked up on Haze, eyebrow raised in mild amusement as she caught him drinking by himself, staring off in the distance. He did always like to be at least a little melancholy from time to time.

She sauntered up, sitting herself down unceremoniously next to him. ”You know, the last time I found you drinking alone and staring off into the distance, I had to convince you that a bed was a better place than a rickety chair to go to sleep in, and that was after a failed mission. This mission went off without a hitch, so why the ‘by my lonesome’ drinking game? I’m sure there are plenty of people in the Vortex Lounge for you to drink with, and we can call Dex anytime. If she hasn’t already shacked up with someone for Shore leave.”

The turian raised an eye ridge at Serena’s sudden appearance, not like it surprised him. Somehow she always knew how to find him, even when he’d gone to extreme lengths to hide himself back on Omega to follow up on his very last job there. He nodded briefly in greeting to her as took another sip of his cold drink.

”I dunno. Feels more...comfortable this way, I guess.”

”Comfortable? Are you getting melancholy on me again Haze? Do I have to go on another exciting adventure like the time I saved you from the thugs about to mug you by tricking them into thinking I’m lost in Omega and getting your attention?” Serena nudged him lightly with her elbow, smirking at him. ”I can you know. Just run off and I’ll do it again.”

”Oh Serena, please no. I don’t think the Chosen would just mug me for credits.”

”You’re right, I may have to improvise this time. Pretend to have a piece of Remtech or something, you know to really get their attention. Then, while I have cleverly and selflessly distracted them and saved your life, you can shoot them in the back! And owe me another chess game.” She grinned at him. ”That’s right, I haven’t forgotten.”

Hazan chuckled and smiled a little. ”Right, like the time you ‘pretended’ to get lost on Omega, eh? I can still remember that look on your face when you stumbled onto me. I had a plan to get the jump on the muggers anyway, I just got surprised. And are we still on that chess thing? It’s been six hundred years, surely I can catch a break, Serena.”

”Yep. One hundred percent an act. I knew exactly where I was and what I was doing, and was in no way confused or lost in the hateful maze that is Omega alleyways.” Serena deadpanned, before snorting. ”Of course we’re still on it. You cheated to get out of it last time, and then bailed on my conversations on the Borealis every time I brought it up!” Her eyes rolled to the heavens. ”And we always had a plan. But the Riggers luck with plans was generally ‘its gone to shit, time to improvise!’”

”Hey, last time I had to drag you screaming from the wreck of a shuttle while two battleraged krogan were destroying an entire mercenary base trying to find us. All while Tanya was screaming in my ear to get the hell to her shuttle while we still could. And the base was on fire. I think I deserved that for pulling your ass out of the flaming debris.” Hazan chuckled a little and took another sip of his brandy.

Serena held up a finger, counting out her points. ”Okay, for one, you were leaving BARAT behind and pulling me by my shoulder with shrapnel in it. My screaming was justified. For two, it is not my fault that the guy we thought was dead wasn’t, that he then warned the krogan brothers that we had infiltrated their base and stolen their data right when we were about to leave peacefully without a hitch, and that I had to fly because in the ensuing chaos we got in literally the only shuttle without either an autopilot or any of our pilots. And! And! I got pretty far before slamming through that wall.” Her protests were filled with mock indignity, interrupted by laughing laughing.

”In all seriousness, how have you been since those days Haze? I mean, aside from sleeping for six hundred years, and then having this general shitshow to deal with. After Omega you needed some space so I didn’t really keep up in contact. What’d you get up to without my wisdom to guide you?” She smiled, eyes twinkling goodnaturedly.

”Well… I became a glorified security guard for a few years. I got back in touch with my family on the Citadel and went back to work for my dad. After that, well...a lot of paperwork and mostly doing desk work until I found the Initiative.”

”Better than me. I ended up being a travelling mechanic, going from either desperate colonists who had no money to pay me or desperately annoying collectors who had too much money to pay me but found reasons to skim off. ‘Oh you scratched it.’ ‘Oh now it makes a noise.’ ‘Oh you fixed my precious antique but now it works like it's supposed to and not how I was told so obviously you broke it.’” She shook her head. ”I was seriously contemplating resigning up with the Alliance when I found the Initiative.”

”I am glad that you got back in touch with your family Haze. They really missed you while you were on the Borealis and you needed to see them again. I do trust you turned your newly found chess skills on them and established yourself as a master turian chess player?”

”What? No, I mean- most of my family were too busy trying to keep the business afloat rather than play chess with me. We, uh… The market for private security in those times was pretty bad. Eden Prime had gotten attacked earlier that year and...it just didn’t sit well in my gut to stay there. The Initiative was my idea for our family to maybe find somewhere else safer to live, that needed the expertise of a bunch of security specialists like me and my mother and father and sister.” Hazan sighed and swirled the brandy in his glass before taking another sip. ”They’re...still in cryo. My dad and I were woken first for the riots and unrest, but after that he volunteered to go back into cryo to soften the supply crunch the Nexus had before the human ark got here. I’ve been alone ever since, not until now with APEX and you guys around.”

”I see I’m still the only one who sees the virtues of playing chess as much as possible.” Serena sighed dramatically, before focusing on Haze again. ”Hey.” She said putting an arm around his shoulders, or as much as she could given the height difference. ”We’re gonna keep them safe. We’re gonna make the planets Ryder fixes safe. And then we’re gonna wake your family up and you’re gonna introduce me to them and then I can establish myself as a master turian chess player.” She grinned at him, squeezing his shoulder.

”We’re the shield of the Initiative, Haze. And we’re not gonna break.”

At the squeeze to his shoulder, Serena could feel Hazan shudder, almost like she was putting cracks into his emotional dam. He suppressed a rather long sigh of sadness and tightened the grip on his glass, collecting his thoughts before he gave her a reply. ”Thanks, Serena. I just wish it felt that way in the minute, y’know?”

”That’s because you’re focusing on all that needs to be done, rather than what has been done. We’ve got a Pathfinder. Eos is viable. We have allies in this cluster who are willing to help us. We’ve struck back against the Kett and won. Everything is on the up. We’ll tackle the other problems one at a time, and get them done, because we’re not gonna accept anything less.” She smiled encouragingly, before it dropped a bit. She was worried about that shudder. ”I know you can probably recite this by heart, since I said it all the damn time to everyone on the Borealis, but you know you can talk to me about anything right? I’m always gonna be here for you. You’re family.”

”I- we’re-...family…”

The turian winced a little at the words, but they did make sense; the Borealis crew had been his friends...his family for several years. He hadn’t connected with them the same way he’d been with his former friends in the Navy or his actual family, but the team had heart. Hazan suppressed the urge to bawl his eyes out and instead wrapped an arm around Serena’s slender shoulders and returned the squeeze.

”Thanks...thanks for everything then, Serena. Suddenly it feels like life on the Nexus is going to be worth it after all.”

𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚜𝚝

Will make a post soon, if someone goes before me.

𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚜𝚝

Posted.