Aftermath [Sar'Neda, Caelus Hadrian, Kato Feun, Zahn Viratas, Skyla Marsh, Ben Walker] Earth, 2186 (

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Zahn Viratas
Turian
Male
Age: 23
Mercenary, Traveler, and Writer

Everyone took care of the mess. Zahn didn't have to do anything after all. He walked inside after making sure there weren't any more Cerberus troops waiting to sneak up on them.

"Here," Ben said. "The war is over, go to your family. Don't make me regret this."

Idiot. Zahn knew exactly what was going to happen. You let them go, they come back, then they try to kill you in the future. Zahn was going to shoot him, but Sar was one step ahead of him. He was starting to think highly of her already. She knew the risks of allowing an enemy to escape as well. Ben on the other hand, is either naive or tired of this spirit forsaken war. They were going to have a talk when this was over.

Then another Quarian come in saying "Friendly coming in" while holding an assault rifle.

"Hisha?" Sar nodded, "Well. You don't mess around, do you, ma'am."

Another comes in the fray. From the way Sar spoke, they must be acquaintances. That answers the question of who she was. Zahn hoped that she would be easy to work with unlike their Nemesis friend. She was cooperating just fine, but she was making it more complicated than it needed to be. Zahn was able to work with a known serial killer that one time they had to team up against two dozen Blue Sun Agents. He didn't give Zahn any trouble the entire time.

"You're late to the party," Zahn said. "But we've still got room for you. You're welcome to join us in cracking the skulls of these Cerberus punks."

Zahn pointed to their Nemesis friend. "Except her. She's fine."


OOC: Yeah, that one time with the serial killer actually happened. Like Zahn's Bio says, he gets into many ridiculous encounters.
GeneralXIV

Almost wrote Laughing Man on accident.

"Fine you psychos! I'll tell you whatever you want, just keep that crazy bitch away from me." Finally. There were few things more satisfying for Caelus than the sound of a Cerberus agent squealing in fear. Sam and Kato had done their jobs well, and now it was his turn.

He turned away from the door he had been watching and strode up to the naked human in the chair. The human looked up at him, terror across his eyes. Cael just stared at him for a few seconds, trying to appear as menacing as possible. He then spoke. "Ready to talk? Good. First question: what were you and your terrorist friends doing here?"

"We were ordered to recover anti-Reaper armaments." There was a slight quaver in the human's voice. He had obviously never been interrogated by a turian soldier before. "We came here to eavesdrop on Alliance communications."

"Anti-Reaper armaments, you say? Did you recover any useful intel?" At this question, the human hesitated. Cael sighed and glanced at Sam. "I could always step out of the room for a moment..."

"No!" the human yelped. "I'll talk. We obtained some files talking about an experimental battle tank. Equipped with scaled-down Thanix cannons." Thanix cannons. One of the prouder feats of turian engineering, and a vital asset in the war effort. Cael couldn't imagine such a device being mounted on a simple tank, but then, he was no expert when it came to tech. The human continued. "We haven't been able to pin down the exact location, but we know it's somewhere in the vicinity."

The turian tilted his head to the side. "Interesting. How many more operatives are there and where are they stationed?"

"Outside of this team, there were three others. They should-"

"We already took out two at the nearby triage station" Cael interrupted.

The human's eyes widened, but he continued. "Well, there's only one more that I know of. He was located at the Forward Operating Base last I checked."

"Shit." Cael turned towards the console and addressed Neda. "Any luck on the comms, ma'am? We should probably report this intel to the FOB as soon as possible." He glanced back at the human. "And how should we deal with this Cerberus scum?"

(smilesja)

---

"It... just happened, Ghost."

Sar just watched after she holstered the Phalanx. There was a survivor, and she was very interested what the others would do to this one. The pistol was but a quickdraw away...

Thankfully, the human man was the only one foolish enough. Their own Nemesis was especially fuming after that blunder...
And now Ghost was here, which certainly reduced her fears to a negligible level. Protecting him somehow became her number one objective.

The others certainly didn't stand around, and it was easy to foresee imminent torture. Sar waved them off into a corner with a gesture of her hand and faced the damaged comm link. The QEC seemed beyond salvation with their meager resources and skills at first glance, but the much less technical radio relay was much more likely to be repairable - if it wasn't completely fried by the EMP yet. After all, waves of static continued to be broken up every now and then, ever since they began their movement to this hole.

"Hey. Human. Look at the software," she muttered under her breath, to herself more than anyone, while giving the panel a proper tap with a fist, which released the sorry hunk of metal from it's place.

"So, what were you doing since you left the OP?" she spoke on a private link to Ghost.

"You know Ma'am. Making friends, then planning how to kill them. Nothing special," he replied in jest.

"That's dark. Glad to see you're alright. Do tell me when those clowns are done... doing whatever it is they're doing, would you?"

"Yes. Looks to me like he's wishing he dressed... a little warmer," her spotter thought aloud, with a smile evident in his voice. He did always like to joke about the darker things. Getting shot. Blown up. Spaced. Those things. To many, he seemed sick in the head. But if anyone got to know him like Sar did, they knew it to be a coping mechanism. They were fighting for the continued survival of countless species, after all. As it was, she felt no need to find out what he meant by that quip.

"Hmm. There's a lose wire here. Someone shot the thing with a mass accelerator. Do you still have those spares somewhere?"

No response. Instead, a hand next to her faceplate, holding several pristine wires, used for bypassing security. Ghost was better at this, but busy listening to the... interrogation in the corner.
Sar turned her head to look at him. His body language suggested shock, making her glad to turn off the helmet speakers: "At least he's getting warmer..." he pronounced without a grain of jest to it, his voice full of disgust and even worry.

Whatever was going on, it wasn't very pleasant. Sar just took the wire and solded it to the one somebody shot off. The next step was to find out where it went...

"They're done. By the Ancestors, they're done. You may want to listen, ma'am," a sickened voice pulled her away.

Sar decided to not reply. Instead, she pulled her recon drone, activated it, and set in instructions for it to be close enough to eavesdrop on what Staff Sergeant Hadrian had to say.

"Ready to talk? Good. First question: what were you and your terrorist friends doing here?" Good question. The Turian certainly had a mind for important facts. Sar continued to look for that loose wiring's proper connection...

"We were ordered to recover anti-Reaper armaments," a completely scared voice replied. Whatever the Nemesis and the Drell did, he wasn't about to say no. "We came here to eavesdrop on Alliance communications." Bosh'tets. Probably listening to a lot of the transmissions they made throughout the operation.

"Anti-Reaper armaments, you say? Did you recover any useful intel?" Oh, great. Whatever was strong enough to defeat a Reaper, it was definitely bad news if left alone. Securing it would be a great idea.

"I could always step out of the room for a moment..."
Sar's stomach rose up a little bit. Ancestors willing, the Sergeant was only joking, but...

"No!" sounded what was definitely a plea of mercy. "I'll talk. We obtained some files talking about an experimental battle tank. Equipped with scaled-down Thanix cannons."
Thanix cannons?! What crazy bosh'tet thought that was a good idea?!

"We haven't been able to pin down the exact location, but we know it's somewhere in the vicinity." Not good enough. Somewhere in the vicinity might be right under the window, as much as across half this wasteland.

At least some good news were that Sar found the connection and soldered it together. It seemed like a power cable, leaving her with one more thing to do: double check the device visually.

"Interesting. How many more operatives are there and where are they stationed?" Great question. Never underestimate enemy numbers. Always appear weak when you are strong and vice versa. The humans even had an ancient treatise on the matter, one of the few of their books Sar ever read.

The response was good. Three Cerberus operatives unaccounted for that weren't a part of this team. It would be three, if Lieutenant Commander Viratas didn't kill one, and hold another long enough for the strange Nemesis to finish it. One last, at a FOB, down the street to the west, probably the one they already knew about.

The comm link seemed intact. She looked at the human helping her, who suddenly shouted "Got in!" With a little luck, that meant it was operational. There were certainly no problems on her end.

"Any luck on the comms, ma'am? We should probably report this intel to the FOB as soon as possible. And how should we deal with this Cerberus scum?"

Sar stood up, ready to... render judgement. Play God. One of the things she certainly wasn't. What she was, however, was the ranking NCO in this ragtag group, and LtCdr. Viratas seemed uninterested in a leadership role. The hard decision fell to her.

"Mr. Merciful is still working on the comms. EMP willing, the whole thing will work. As for the Cerberus..." she stopped for a while.

"You," she pointed at the Nemesis, "Sam, is it."

This was not right. No matter who the naked man on the chair was affiliated with, he was a prisoner of war. But he was also a Cerberus operative. The very group that attacked the Migrant Fleet. The very group they were at war with. The group that nearly ended up condemning all sentient life in the galaxy to extinction.

"Make it quick, clean and painless."

And just like that, Sar felt like she needed to find a cleanroom and have a shower. She just wished the Ancestors would forgive her.

---

OOC: I know, I know... Trust me to delay for a week. I won't make excuses.

One thing though, I just went into some really, really dark places, and I'm sure both Sar and Ghost wish it's worth it. At least one of them may or may not be questioning their decisions... Neither Sar, nor Private Rael'Gazu, or Ghost, are evil. While one is an NPC, they both signed up to protect life, not execute prisoners of war. Since anyone can use Ghost - he definitely won't be joking about his superior ordering an execution. He will likely question her leadership now. For now, he is a part of the team.

Xesthan

It took less than a second for her to raise her pistol and shoot the captured Cerberus operative in the head. She gave no warning, no words about him making peace with his god, and nothing more than a single shot. And then there was one less terrorist in the world. She holstered her pistol, but kept her hand close to it.

Skyla stood silently as she contemplated the situation. Thanix cannons were powerful weapons. Her first priority was reconnaissance, scouting the FOB and perhaps trying to get eyes on the tank. She needed to get higher. If she was on her own, the process would be considerably slower. Scouting, infiltrating, assassinating. But she was not alone, and she could provide information and sniper cover from a long distance while the soldiers saved her a little time, and provided their enemies with a target to make it easier for her to pick them off.

She walked out without a word, pushing past the Turian outside as she started to survey the buildings nearby for one of a suitable height.


[OOC: @tzeenchianapostrophe ]

Zahn Viratas

Turian

Male

Age: 23

Mercenary, Traveler, and Writer

Zahn thought about telling his dad he was alright, but the Staff Sergeant took care of it.

The Nemesis pushed towards Zhan and surveyed the buildings.

Zahn decided to attempt to get to break the ice, as humans say. Maybe she'll have a reason to trust him, at least a little bit, and it might her make easier to work with.

"You must be wondering why I said that you were 'fine' back there," he said to the Nemesis. "Considering that you haven't done anything significant enough to earn my trust. On top of that, you were a former Cerberus agent. For all I know, you could be planning how to back stab us when the opportunity presents itself, but I doubt it. Right now, the reason I do trust you is because you haven't given me a reason to distrust you. It's going to take more than Nemesis armor for me to assume you are our enemy."

Zahn pointed at the paint on her armor "If I had to guess, you painted it to show you aren't associated with Cerberus. Am I wrong?"

OOC: I checked Skyla's character post. It makes these evaluations easier. I completely forgot about the paint.

GeneralXIV

The N7 tried to use the comms, but apparently the signal had died again. He asked Sar for assistance, and, after snapping at him, she went back to work on the console. Cael turned his attention to the drell, who appeared to be typing a message on his Omni-tool. Once that was finished, Kato sat cross-legged on the floor and closed his eyes, presumably trying to meditate.

The allied Nemesis was nowhere to be seen. That was concerning. Sam might have assisted him and the other thus far, but Cael still didn't trust her. He decided to follow Zahn outside. As he approached, Cael saw the Nemesis surveying the buildings. She muttered something to Zahn that Cael didn't quite catch, then used her boosters to propel herself on to another destroyed building before disappearing from view. He would have followed, but at this point he couldn't think of any conceivable reason for the agent to betray them. Not yet, anyway.

He instead turned to Zahn. This turian was clearly younger than Cael himself, yet had somehow achieved the rank of Lieutenant-Commander. There was likely a story there. Maybe Cael would ask about it later.

"I look forward to serving with you throughout the course of this operation, sir. We should probably get moving as soon as possible." He glanced back in the direction he had come from. "Quite the band of warriors we've got here. If everyone pulls their weight, this mission should go smoothly. Not sure about the ex-Cerberus, though. She doesn't strike me as the type to work with a team. What do you think? Should we trust her?"

((smilesja))

---

She felt the urge to kick the device. The stupid machine that died when she needed it to work.

But she didn't. Instead, Sar brought up the Omni-tools diagnostic tools to see where the problem was. Considering she was good enough at wires and connections, there was nothing physical - she had just fixed that aspect. When the tools returned a blank error log, she slid the screen left to switch to the EMP measurement program. No ripples of significance were logged.

Whatever this was, it didn't come from the pulsing electromagnetic field still present over the barren wasteland of a city - and there was one way to test it's effects.
"Ghost, radio check, come in," she spoke to the radio.
"Five by five, ma'am. PRRs are functional."
"Acknowledged. This is a jammer, and it's only affecting long range comms. We need to find it."

Taking a deep breath, Sar turned around to the remainder of what now was a task force: "Listen up! Whatever is blocking comms is artificial in nature. Someone put it up to deny communications between the surface and orbit. If we want any support, we must find and disable the jammer. There's enemy in the city and a fleet in orbit that can't fire blind, so let's bring the link back up!"

She took a brief pause. Everyone's attention was aimed at her, waiting for whatever else she had to say. "Staff Sergeant Hadrian. I want you to lead everyone here -" she made a gesture to the room "- to the square south of here. There's a large statue and remains of trees. Grid reference is 142-047. Me and Ghost will move north to a smaller square, trying to find our friendly neighbor Nemesis along the way. Personal radios seem unaffected, so the best guess is this is a radio flooding long range frequencies with static. We can triangulate whatever is transmitting and find it that way. Don't stray out of PRR range, Sergeant. Any questions?"

She didn't wait for the questions before telling Ghost what to do: "Survey the surrounding buildings for good sniper positions. This person... has it out for Cerberus." She could feel goosebumps just thinking about it. She needed a mission. Something to busy herself with. Like a search. "She's probably trying to get eyes on the FOB, so let's start with those. Scan short range frequencies for her if you can."

Sar turned back to the Turian Marine in front of her to answer questions. Soon enough, she would move out with Ghost to find the missing member of their ragtag band and then hopefully find their way to what her map described as 'Manchester square'...

---

OOC: It took me a while. I'd rather not speak of the reason why. There is, however, one thing that should be said: When DD's turn comes up, he can PM me with the questions Caelus has - written in character, pretty please - if there are any. I'll then give him the in-character answers, so he can move on with them without me having to do another turn back here. We spent enough time at the current location.

Xesthan

Skyla heard voices from the street below. She sighed, and realized the 'team' would want to know what she was doing. The team who seemed more occupied with talking than actually doing their job. They were useful, but she was unsure whether their usefulness was worth the frustration. She tagged the FOB with a navpoint, and surveyed the streets leading to it. She avoided those which were either blocked or close to being blocked by debris, so she could plot the fastest route to their target and avoid the team taking wrong turns, which seemed likely. It wasnt exactly a long distance, but with the city being in its current state, it was better to not take chances.

She took one last glance down the scope of her weapon, just to make sure that nothing else had changed in the FOB, then stood up from her little sniper nest. She climbed down from her position, and vaulted over the rail of the stairwell and activated her boosters in time to slow herself down before hitting the ground.

Skyla exited the building through the same window she had entered through, and used her boosters again to slow her momentum so she landed gently beside the Turians outside.

She activated her Omni-tool, and sent the navpoint to both of them, along with the route to take and her radio frequency should they need to contact her. Turians, being the most militaristic race in the galaxy, were the obvious choices to send the data to.

"I have plotted the route you will take to the FOB," she told the Turians, "The building provides a good view of the objective. I have sent you my frequency. When Cerberus operatives are undercover, they are very hard to spot. They may not break character even when you arrive. I will notify you of any armed humans in the FOB and anyone who is acting suspiciously, and kill them the moment they reveal themselves."


[OOC: @tzeenchianapostrophe ]

(OOC: Some music I imagine this plays while Caleus is leading the group

Ben watched Sar worked on the radio with her Omni-Tool . After a few moments, (and some grumbling from the Quarian.) the machine activated. A faint signal came from the device and Ben could barely decipher what was being said:

"Ghost, radio check, come in," Ben heard Sar speaking to the radio.
"Five by five, ma'am. PRRs are functional."
"Acknowledged. This is a jammer, and it's only affecting long range comms. We need to find it."

Ben gave a sigh of relief and gripped his Renevant, communication at last...... for the time being. "Listen up!" Sar shouted Whatever is blocking comms is artificial in nature. Someone put it up to deny communications between the surface and orbit. If we want any support, we must find and disable the jammer. There's enemy in the city and a fleet in orbit that can't fire blind, so let's bring the link back up!"

"It's about damn time we get some action again!" Ben said eager to move out. The fight was almost over...... Just a little bit longer or at least that's what Ben was telling himself as he listened to Sar give out orders on what to do. She was going to go with the Cerberus woman on the rooftop and be a lookout, meanwhile Ben and the others were under the command of Caleus. "Any questions?" Sar finished.

"None from me." Ben quipped "But once this is done, I'm going to need to contact Alliance about my missing team." although Ben had a sinking feeling that his squad were all dead however he still held to a small hope that they were alive. Turning on his heel, Ben left with the others.

Ben followed the group silently his hands fixated on his gun and smelling the scent of smoke and blood. It has been a very long night for of all of them, Ben was tired and just wanted to go home (if it was even in tact.). Kato was scouting the area and was speaking to Caleus, while they were talking Ben heard footsteps echoing in a small building to the east. He slowly pointed his gun, and squinted. No one was there. "I thought saw something." He said to the group. "Keep your eyes peeled, we may be being watched."

(OOC: REAL sorry this is late guys! Serza)

Zahn Viratas
Turian
Male
Age: 23
Mercenary, Traveler, and Writer
"I have plotted the route you will take to the FOB," she told the turians. "The building provides a good view of the objective. I have sent you my frequency. When Cerberus operatives are undercover, they are very hard to spot. They may not break character even when you arrive. I will notify you of any armed humans in the FOB and anyone who is acting suspiciously, and kill them the moment they reveal themselves."

I like her, Zahn thought.  She gets the job done quickly. It's a good thing she is working with us.

After everything was said and done, Zahn accompanied the group led by Cael. He had no problem with the arrangement. Cael was more experienced than him. It made sense for him to leading the group. Zahn was not going to pull rank and disregard everything that came out of Cael's mouth. It would be stupid of him to ignore his orders. Not only that, but Zahn was not entirely used to being a Lieutenant Commander.

He obtained the rank one month after joining the Turian military. It was while he was on the ship called the Nero. They were ambushed by Cerberus. The two highest ranking officers were knocked unconscious. Zahn and another soldier stepped up. Zahn was temporarily second in command. They were able to make it alive thanks to their team work. Zahn knew to trust the more experienced soldier then, and he will now.

I thought I saw something." Ben said to the group. "Keep your eyes peeled, we may be under watch."

It never stops, Zahn thought. They keep on coming.

He saw someone obscured by shadow with a sniper rifle, preparing to take their shot. Zahn shot the unsuspecting sniper with his assault rifle. He went down in an instant.

"It's safe to assume there's more of them," Zahn whispered. "They're trying to give us a false sense of security. We should tread carefully."

He heard heavy footsteps. Krogan. Well, that escalated quickly.

OOC: GeneralXIV