Sirius and the Citadel Thread 2: Why so Sirius? (ME/Freelancer)

[SharkGlue]

Armstrong Nebula Mass Relay
Armstrong Nebula

"I wasn't expecting something like this you know," Perkins said to Aela as they both stared at the Mass Relay in the Nalia's observation deck.

"Were you expecting something like your own Jump Gates?" Aela asked.

"Yeah, but on a more massive scale." he said. "Don't get me wrong, it is huge, easily larger than a Jump Gate, but… a tuning fork? Really?"

Said 'tuning fork' was right outside, its distinctive blue glow at the center, where the 'tongs' met, showing it was an active relay. It was massive, at over 15 kilometers long. It was certainly a testament to the skill of its Prothean builders that something of its sheer size and complexity was still working after over 50,000 years.

"Like I said, we didn't build it. Though I think you'll see why we think it was built like a 'tuning fork' soon enough," she replied as the ship gradually approached the relay.

"It certainly looks like something you folks would build. It has all the things I've come to notice in anything Asari. Curvy, shiny and lots of blue," Perkins replied, another of his grins on his face.

"Like how Humans have a distinct tendency to go for big and blocky?" she countered.

"With a general ability to spring a surprise or two if I may add." Perkins replied.

"I guess…" she mumbled.

"Should that Mass Relay of yours be doing… that?" Perkins suddenly said as he pointed out the window towards the Relay as the blue eezo core throbbed with power.

"Yep. Enjoy the ride." she said. The energy in the center gradually built up as the ship approached until, in a blinding flash, the ship shot along the relay like a bullet. One moment they were in the Artrone Nebula, the next they were in the Attican Beta system.

"Huh". Perkins said as the ship slowly drifted away from the relay. He could hear the crew scuttling around as they checked for what he imagined to be drift and any nearby traffic. "I'll be. It's more of a gun than a tuning fork, and we were the bullet."

"Essentially, yes." Aela replied. This was her world, and she was a lot more used to things this way, the nice and reliable Prothean Mass Relays.

It'd be nice to play tour guide to Perkins instead of the other way around.

Neural Net Update

The Citadel

Class: [Unknown]
Gravity: Complete (1.03 G in Wards, 1.02 in Presidium)
Amenities: Complete
Population: 13.2 Million

Ships for Sale: Athabasca class Freighter
Commodities for Sale: Light Arms, Security Mechs, Engine Components
Commodities Buying: Food, Water, SynthPaste, Eezo, Ship Hull Panels (Sirius)
Weapons for Sale: Unknown (Compiling)

The Citadel is the beating heart of Citadel Space. Lying in the middle of the Serpent Nebula, the Citadel was a natural location to set up the center of Citadel governance, due to it's proximity to many nearby Mass Relays that connect the Citadel to the rest of the Galaxy. Built by the mysterious Protheans 50,000 years ago (Citadel Standard), it has since become the witness and catalyst to many a historic event, from the Rachni Wars to the Curacao Convention.


The Presidium, The Citadel
Serpent Nebula

If there was one word Perkins would use to describe the Presidium, it would have to be 'shiny'. Seriously, whoever these Protheans were, they sure loved their chrome.

"Don't you guys, you know, ever consider painting over all this chrome?" Perkins asked offhandedly as he and Aela slowly made their way to the Council chambers. "I mean, let's face it, with this much chrome, someone is going to be blinded by a flash of light one day, and that cannot be healthy."

"The Citadel itself is over 50,000 years old and certainly the greatest relic the Protheans had left us before they mysteriously disappeared." Aela said as she paused in front of Perkins. Since they were officially going to go meet the Council, she was wearing one of her fancy Asari dresses, while Perkins himself was all spick and span in his dress uniform. Even though he was a civie now, it was still the most formal outfit he could get his hands on. "It's practically the center of known galactic culture, and you're suggesting we paint it a different color."

"I'm just saying that it seems to me to be a potential safety hazard." Perkins said nonchalantly as he went on towards what he presumed to be the Council chambers.

"Right," Aela said, deciding to let the issue drop as they continued on their way through the Citadel. In all honesty, Perkins had so far reacted to a lot of what he was seeing pretty well. While she and Perkins tagged along with the representatives of Bretonia, Liberty, and Rhineland early on, mostly past a few landmark views, good meals, etcetera, the two of them elected to break away from the group and let them engage in the politics. Perkins did want to rejoin the representatives when they would officially be meeting some of the other races though, and she couldn't blame him. The man hit off splendidly with the Turian meetup, likely because the Turian in particular was a former pilot, and the Salarian went along well enough, with Perkins and the other Sirius representatives answering the questions good naturedly.

"Now that we're away from the Sirius representatives. Care to give your opinion of them?" Aela asked Perkins. As a Sirius native, he had to have a better feel for them than she did.

"I've got to say that picking Princess Yvette to represent His Majesty was an... interesting choice." Perkins said. "I mean, she's his sister, and while she's supremely qualified, seeing as she's an expert anthropologist from Cambridge, she's a Princess. I can't help but think that it's a little too early to be displaying that level of trust with your people, no offence."

"None taken, and I can't say I disagree. Relations between the Citadel and the Sirius Houses haven't even been established for a full year. Perhaps he just wants to show trust on his part?" Aela commented.

"Maybe. I can't say for sure I know whats going on there." Perkins went on as they approached a stall selling some Asari nut cakes.

"Do you want anything?" Aela asked Perkins.

"No thanks. I'm fine enjoying the view." he said as he looked out over the small lake and towards the Krogan Monument.

Aela simply shrugged and grabbed one of the tasty cakes for herself. The sweet nuttyness reminded her a little bit more of home. "What about the Rhineland representative? That… Herr Moltke, I think?" she asked.

"Bit stiff, hear he's got nob blood in him, but seeing as he was… an illegitimate child, ended up carrying his commoner mother's name. Didn't let that stop him from rising in position within the Rhineland Military as one of Rhineland's premier pilots before retiring. He's got over a 100 kills under his name he does, but real bright too. Heard he set the Rhineland standard for most fighter engagements today with his innovative tactics, and he studied military history in the academy too. Otherwise, he seems like your typical Rhinelander in attitude, but I haven't had the real pleasure of getting to know him personally."

"So, we've got a military observer then here?" Aela asked. "Why do you think they'd send someone with that much war experience?"

"Mostly because I think they're worried about pirates. Rhinelanders have enough criminals and revolutionaries to deal with." Perkins commented as he looked around and absorbed the view. "Makes sense they'd send someone along to see if you Citadel folk have similar problems. I mean, no offence, but it's one thing to say it, it's another thing altogether to see it."

"None taken." Aela replied as she finished her cake. "And what of the Libertonian rep then, Mr. Perry?"

"Definitely corporate. Clean suit, shiny smile, slick hair. Could've pulled him straight out of a movie," Perkins replied a little distastefully. "Hear he used to work for Interspace Commerce, so he's got some of the finest financial training in the Sirius sector. A very Libertonian move to check the proverbial waters. They have the money, and they're interested in investing. As a person though, he seems okay enough. Quite friendly and he's an interesting conversationalist. He used to pilot a few escort runs with a few Universal Shipping convoys for his… thrills before he got promoted. I can't help but feel like he has an underlying motive whenever I'm around him, though."

"A person to keep an eye out if anything then." Aela replied as she stared out over the Presidium. How much of it will change now that the humans are here? The last time there was a major change was when the Quarians all left for their Migrant Fleet. Gone were their arts and wares, but at least the occasional one still visited, trying to earn a living so that they may return to their home with something worthwhile..

"I wonder how'd the Kusari would've reacted to all this." Aela mused out loud. "You and the other humans looked pretty appreciative of the aesthetic. Aside from your comment on chrome that is."

"Dunno. I haven't got a real good grasp of them really. I imagine they'd be real quiet about it though…" Perkins replied as he stared out towards the lake.

Aela herself basked in the general familiarity of the situation. It was refreshing to be the tour guide for once, yet somehow still learning more and more about the humans. Though, the question of their homeworld still remained a mystery. She wasn't even sure if it was on the Relay network.

"I wonder what happened back on your homeworld? It's been… millennia since you left it, yes? I'm no expert, but the genetic, not to mention cultural difference between you and whoever lives on your planet now must be very different." Aela asked.

"Knowing human nature, I'm not even sure if there is a Human left on Earth. It could very well be that there are other sleeper ships of the Coalition out there as they attempted to escape a dying Earth. Could be they fought a total war for leadership or resources, and ended up destroying themselves. We'll never know unless we head there, but I think the leadership just wants to keep the past in the past. I haven't heard anything about an expedition there." Perkins replied.

"What if they come out of there, though?" she asked.

"We'll have to hope that what we have is enough then." Perkins replied as they walked away from the memorial, and made their way back to the other representatives.

Aela couldn't help but think of Perkins' insight into Human nature thought. Even after millennia, they were still expecting war to come should they meet the Coalition again.

If this was the nature of Humanity, then this did not bode well for the future...

___
This is the Colony News Service, bringing to you the latest in news in the Sirius sector.

Envoys to the Citadel: Curacao, Cortez System -- The Curacao Convention has concluded with House Representatives leaving with excellent results. "We are walking forward together as friends and fellow humans, into a bigger Galaxy." King Alexander stated in his closing speech to assembled reporters. Among members to visit Citadel Space soon are Hauptmann Manfred Mokte of Rhineland, Matthew Perry of Liberty and Princess Yvette of Bretonnia. Kusari will send their own envoys later after "sufficient screening" stated Lord Oda before leaving for New Tokyo.

New Visitors?: Curacao, Cortez System -- With the end of the Curacao Convention, expect new trade and alien visitors to arrive soon. Citadel Representative Matriarch Benezia wished the best for both Humanity and the Citadel with opening of limited Trade within the Sirius sector. Be advised of the following items which are considered illegal when selling to any Citadel trader: Light Arms (without license), Heavy Arms, Gate and Trade Lane parts, Cardamine, and Police to Military grade weaponry. Be advised that the list is prone to any amendments by future agreements with Citadel space, and possibly individual House laws. Stay tuned to learn of any updates to the list.

 

[SharkGlue]

"Perkins?" Aela asked as they walked towards an elevator that would take them to the Wards.

"Yes, Aela?"

"Why were you looking panicky when the Princess greeted the Hanar?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…" he said dismissively.

"Don't give me that tone, I know something is up. That Liberty guy, Mr. Perry looked like he just swallowed something unpleasant, while the Princess' smile looked a little too… happy," she said accusingly.

"Alright, you got me." Perkins said, slouching a bit. "Okay, word back home is that Princess Yvette was always a bit of a party girl," he said as they entered the elevator. "Even though she graduated top of her batch in Cambridge, she was notorious for hosting some of the wildest parties on the planet. Drinks and partying all night long, though drugs were never found in her parties. Everyone thought she was using Royal influence on the University for her to get that degree, but outside parties like the Hammer Institute have concluded that she's genuine. Anyways, every party of hers ended with her in bed with some guy, or occasionally gal and the tabloids just licked it up. Not that she minded."

"So when she met that Hanar bloke, and she was smiling like so, all I could picture was some… things that Kusari is notorious for exporting." Perkins finished.

"What?" she said incredulously.

"You see… Kusari is notorious for…" and here Perkins visibly struggled in finding the right word for whatever it is he was talking about. "creating… videos involving distressed women and… tentacles."

"I don't understand..." she replied. "What does this have to do with the Hanar?"

"Er…" here he continued to visibly struggle. "Rather racy videos. Involving… movements rather a lot like what you pulled off on New Berlin?"

"Oh. Ohhhh…" Now it was all clear . Disturbingly, terrifyingly clear. "Oh Goddess…"

"Yes. Which was why a lot of us were… particularly unnerved by the Princess'... enthusiasm upon meeting that Hanar ambassador, which is something you should probably keep in mind when the Kusari ambassador arrives." Perkins awkwardly responded.

"Right. Moving on…" Aela said trying to change the subject. "What did you think of the Hanar anyways? Asides from that … thing" she said as she waved her hands about.

"Honestly, I found Opold kind of preachy. Seeing as we need to be… informed of these… Enkindlers, who I understand are basically the Protheans, yes?" Perkins replied a little distastefully.

"Yes. They believe it was the Protheans who uplifted them and are responsible for their civilization." Aela replied

"I don't bloody well care who they believe in, honestly." Perkins said, the slightly venomous tone still in his voice. "So long as they remember to not dictate who I should be believing in, and I'm sure all the other Houses would react the same way."

"I'm sure he means well, Perkins." Aela said soothingly. "They are actually rather peaceful, and just want what they see is best for everyone, though they'll never force down your throat."

"Still struck me as like the worst kind of Nob. All the Snob, none of the tolerance." Perkins replied

Trying to change the subject, Aela elected for a less hostile topic "What about the Volus? What did you think about Vin?"

"If it weren't for the fact that Volus bloke, Vin Dulak or somesuch, and Perry were getting along so swimmingly, I would've found his appearance amusing. They're just so… rotund, I kind of wondered if I could've rolled him all the way down the stairs." he chuckled.

"They are the premier financial geniuses of Citadel space." she replied a little sternly. "They were the creators of the modern Galactic Credit system. Even the Terminus system makes use of the Credit system. Galactic trade on the scale we perform today wouldn't be possible without them."

"Hence why I refrained from making my amusement visible." Perkins replied seriously. "Someone like that sounds a rather lot like Liberty. They say that money talks, and I'm pretty sure you know what I mean by that."

"Are you making an analogy between the Liberty Big Three and the Volus?" she asked.

"Exactly. I'm sure somewhere somehow, the Volus are influencing the Galaxy in some manner that will benefit them." Perkins responded confidently. "No one with that amount of money can help but be pulling some sort of strings somewhere somehow."

"I don't think so," Aela responded. "They are a client state of the Turian Hierarchy, and thus more than anything have to answer to the largest military in Citadel space, and their Council status too."

"I guess…" Perkins grudgingly admitted. "You would know the situation better. You are a local. Still, something in my gut tells me the Volus are behind something big."

"And I don't think that's happening anytime soon, Perkins," she responded. "What about the Elcor then? what did you think about them?"

"Slow, old, conservative, kind of get a more welcoming Kusari feel from them honestly," Perkins said as the elevator opened up into Zakera ward. "I think they and Kusari would get along just fine, in that they wouldn't want much, if any, outside interference."

"Really? They never really struck me as particularly militant." Aela replied."How are they like Kusari in that sense?"

"I suspect they would rather concede something rather than fight over it, peace and status quo at any cost, but I digress. Where I think the Elcor would leave things be, the Kusari would fight tooth and nail for their ways, at least that's the way things look like to me," Perkins replied. "Ultimately, I think they just want things to more or less stay the same."

"Which is something that we of the Citadel have definitely tried to respect," Aela responded.

"Still not too sure how Kusari will see what will happen," Perkins replied. "So when are we heading to Thessia, eh?" Perkins suddenly asked. "I've been itching to see a totally alien world, and although our time here so far has been interesting, I really really want to see an alien world."

"We first have to figure out how to get there with that ship of yours." Aela responded." Seeing as it doesn't have what I'd call the fastest FTL around, we're going to have to find a cargo ship headed there that will take us and your fighter aboard."

"Makes sense, no way could I abandon my gal here, alone and unattended." Perkins said with a tad too much affection to be comfortable. "So I guess that's why we're here, then?"

"Yes actually. We might find a captain willing to take us on, in one of the nearby clubs." Aela responded.

"Sounds fun," Perkins responded. "Should I expect anything like what happened on Roppongi?" he asked a little teasingly.

"Nothing should happen there. We'll be in and out in under an hour trying to find a captain. I guarantee it." Aela said confidently.
_
The moment Aela stepped into the bar, she could immediately tell that she was going to find herself a captain somewhere among its patrons. The smell of alcohol wafted in the dim lighting of the bar one of her colleagues back on Thessia had recommended. From the entrance she could recognize a lot of spacer types. It was easy to tell really, she just had to look for the ones still in their space suits. Judging by the number she could see, they were in the right place.

Perkins walked up next to her and took a deep breath, even as more than few patrons noticeably shifted their attention towards him. "It's like I never left home," he commented with a smile.

"Come on," Aela said. "We've got to find ourselves a captain if we're going to keep that ship of yours."

"And knowing what my ship can do, I'd rather keep it close at hand thank you very much." Perkins replied defensively.

Aela decided to ignore that comment and started looking for some of her fellow asari. They were the ones most likely to be heading towards Thessia, or at the least as far as Ilium. Noticing a few at the bar, she made her way there.

"... then that Vorcha flew out of the airlock like that! Stupid guy never had a chance." exclaimed a particularly young maiden loudly.

"I swear Talia, I'm almost a hundred percent certain that your stories are made up." commented another asari, this one certainly much older looking than the young maiden. "Last time, you claimed you managed to scare a krogan into leaving you and your ship alone after 'threatening' him."

"It's true! You just have to get into the right position and threaten to tear off their plates." the maiden, Talia, replied confidently. "Scares the shit out of them to lose that, apparently."

"Yeah. Suuure." one of the other captains commented, this time a scared looking turian. "I'll believe it when I see it, Talia."

"Excuse me," Aela interrupted, hoping to disrupt things before any sort of heated argument starts. "But me and my friend are looking for passage to Thessia."

"Buy a ticket and get on one of the liners there." the Turian retorted grouchily.

"Ah, that's the problem you see…" Aela said rather awkwardly. "My friend here, Perkins is a human as I'm sure you've guessed."
"Oooh… I like him." the maiden, Talia, said a little too aggressively. "Familiar enough to be like all those naughty naughty vids, but different enough to not be. Good thinking there, sister!"

"It's not like that at all," Aela quickly said. "We just need passage to Thessia because we have ourselves some extra large cargo that liners won't take on."

"What is it?" the turian asked. "On second thoughts, is it legal or illegal?"

"What we're transporting is my ship." Perkins replied. "A B-907A Crusader, straight from the cunning minds at the BAA Armory, and certainly one of the finest pieces of engineering of Bretonnia."

"You stole military grade equipment?!" the turian quickly said.

"Nothing like that at all!" Perkins replied. "What I have is essentially my retirement package from the Armed Forces. I'm now freelance, and my current contract is with Dr. D'Avo here."

"So why don't you just fly there yourselves, flyboy?" Talia asked.

"Current human ship FTL is vastly inferior to anything Citadel space has." Perkins replied. "At least, for now. I'm sure once Cambridge gets its hands on enough of the principles, we'll be able to compete on that level well enough."

"Alright, you've peaked my interest" Talia replied. "How big is it?"

"About 12 meters long, 4 meters tall." Perkins replied. "Kind of like a shuttle, but with significantly more firepower."

"I won't have anything to do with it," the turian commented. "Sounds exactly like the sort of thing a pirate would go after."

"I on the other hand, am interested in simply looking at the thing." Talia replied cheerily. "It just so happens that I've just completed a cargo run, and am now in need of gainful employment."

"How much?" Aela asked. Though the young maiden was a little unsettling, if she was willing to let them aboard for a reasonable fee…

"500 credits for each of you, 12,000 for the ship based on the dimensions you gave me, though I'll up it if I think I need to."

"That's reasonable." Aela replied. Certainly within her limited budget, and she wasn't going to push her luck on trying to get something cheaper. "We accept. Where will we meet you?"

"Meet me at Dock C 24. I have to tell my crew about the new passengers and cargo, so if you will excuse me," she said as she got up. "I will see you both in an hour there. When do you want to leave, though?"

"Within the day if possible, tomorrow if not." Aela replied.

"I can do today. Just need to buy food and supplies for the trip." Talia replied confidently. "I'll have you both on Thessia in a few days."

"Thank you, Captain." Aela said. "We'll meet you there promptly." Aela then turned around and made for the exit. "Come on Perkins, I know this restaurant nearby that has the best seafood this level."

Perkins hurriedly caught up to Aela. "You know, I was almost a hundred percent sure that something would happen there. My gut has never failed me on this. It didn't help that you tempted fate by stating that we wouldn't run into any trouble."

"Superstition is all that is, Perkins." Aela confidently replied. "Forgive me for being presumptuous with this, but aren't you supposed to have grown out of that since you were a soldier and all?"

"Aela, if there is one thing I'm reasonably sure is true throughout any human military is that we're some of the most superstitious people around. Death does that to people, you know?" Perkins replied in a strangely cheery manner. "It helps to take a nice humorous view to something like it. Lightens the mood significantly."

"I'm sorry." Aela apologized. "I didn't think of it that way."

"No worries. Let's just go and enjoy the restaurant you mentioned. Shall we?" Perkins said, offering his arm for her to latch on to. Aela took the proffered arm, and began to lead the way to the restaurant.

Maybe they'd get a free meal if they play their cards right.

___

The food in the restaurant was as good as she remembered, thought Aela as she and Perkins made their way back to Perkins's ship, safely stored by the Nalia. It was a rather lengthy trip, but flying it from there to the docking bay where Captain Talia was should only take a few minutes.

"I've got to say that I have some reservations about our transportation to Thessia." Perkins commented.

"Oh?'

"I gather that she's… a little boisterous, with little to nothing to back up her claims." he responded hesitantly, while he continued to walk in that crisp military manner of his.

"You overheard that too, huh?" Aela asked. "Truth be told, I just couldn't say no to the rates she offered. They were very affordable and certainly a lot cheaper than anything I expected."

"Still, I'm going to be sleeping with my service pistol on hand. Just in case." he said cautiously.

"Whatever makes you feel comfortable." Aela said as they arrived at his ship. Perkins quickly opened the hatch into the ship and made his way into the pilot's seat while Aela settled onto hers.

"So," Aela said as Perkins performed his system check. "What do you think of Talia?"

"She's quite a shady character if you ask me, but I defer to you as the local here." Perkins said cautiously. "Other than that, she seems a little over-eager, like something you'd see out of someone too green to have seen actual combat".

"I know that. I meant when she made her comments about your… looks"

"Oh. That." Perkins said, letting a little bit of silence hand in the air as he steadily started the ship up. "to be honest I've never encountered someone who is so… open with her attraction with me, let alone one as… different as Captain Talia."

"So awkward then?"

"Could be worse." Perkins said as he shrugged, and gently directed the ship to the docking bay where they were to meet Talia. "She thinks we're a couple."

"Which we're not. Strictly professional." Aela said. It was true. She had no interest at all in starting anything now, or ever with Perkins. Handsome as he was, it probably wasn't wise to date someone who was essentially a free agent.

"I intend to keep it that way, Aela." Perkins commented as he began the landing sequence. "Come on. Let's go meet the illustrious crew of our home for the next few days."

They both exited the Crusader to be greeted by the energetic young Captain with her unusually cheery smile. "Glad to see you both here on time. Interesting ship you've got here too, Mr. Perkins."

"She's a right beaut ain't she?" Perkins said a little longingly.

"Ooh, you've some stories to tell about this old gal, eh?" Talia said. "Come come, I'd love to hear all about it, after you two meet my very small crew."

Talia soon led them to the docking port of her freighter. Standing there peacefully by the entrance was, strangely enough, a quarian and batarian.

"Mr. Perkins, Dr. D'Avo, I'd like you to meet my crew," Talia said proudly. "This here is Korvan, finest navigator to come out of the Khar'shan Navigation Academy."

"Good to meet you... human, Doctor," Lorvan said as he looked Perkins in the eye. Perkins just smiled and never lost his composure as he greeted back.

"And of course, I'm lucky to have this wonderful young lady, Lia'Nel nar Rayya, as our engineer."

"Please, call me Lia," the quarian, Lia, said as she bowed slightly.

"And welcome aboard my ship, the Siri." he said as she dramatically pointed her arms towards the, admittedly large, freighter.

Aela could already tell that this would be an interesting trip.

 

[SharkGlue]

Aboard the Quick Capital
East Leeds Smog Cloud
Leeds System

Right now, all Decimus wanted to do was punch that useless rotund methane breather of a captain of his for getting the crew into this mess. Having finally arrived in human space, their captain, Doran Vor, had greedily decided to have the ship go through conventional FTL and bypass the trade lanes to reach the New London jump gate, despite all warnings by Bretonnian authorities not to due to navigational hazards.

Well, they were stuck in the middle of one now for sure. They hit the massive smog cloud on the way to the jump gate and quickly got lost in it. It was worse than a damn nebula, at least radiation wasn't a problem they had to deal with there. All because Doran wanted to save some time. The worst part was that as navigator, it was now his job to try and find a way out of this mess.

Honestly though, he was hoping for a police patrol to stumble by and lead them out. It was kind of their best bet right now, seeing as their sensors could barely read anything in the Spirits damned smog.

"Decimus, have you find us a way out of here?" Doran wheezed again, for what had to be the hundredth time.

"No sir." Decimus replied, his anger at his superior only barely contained. "I think we may have entered a pocket of rather intense radiation. It's blocking a lot more of our sensors, and our range is rather limited with them. I would also advise against moving forward any further. From the looks of things, the radiation only gets worse the more we travel into it, and it could actually be enough to cook us inside the ship."

'"So you are saying our best hope is to deploy our distress beacon and hope for the best?" Doran asked.

"Yes sir. While the Bretonnians wouldn't recognize it, any other Citadel ships would, and would hopefully inform the authorities." Decimus said. What was left unsaid though was if the beacon could even be picked up from this deep in the smog. He could only pray to the Spirits that it could.

It was a grueling half hour after deploying the beacon before Decimus started to pick up some contacts on his sensors. "We have contact, sir!" he exclaimed excitedly. At least now he knew that he wasn't going to die in here with that wretched captain of his. He didn't care if he was going to be stuck on new London, he was going to take all the dextro food he could and wait for the next Citadel ship to stop by and hitch a ride on it.


"Open channels" Doran ordered. "I shall convey my thanks to them myself." the comm officer quickly complied, and Dorlan took a deep breath, likely trying to sound more authoritative than he actually was.

"Greetings Sirius clan. I am Doran Vor, and we thank you for responding to our distress signal." he said, more humble than Decimus has ever seen him. Likely this was the voice he reserved for his clients.

"I'm getting no response from them, captain," the comm officer replied. "Maybe they didn't get the message?"

"Well, try again." he ordered. "Greetings Sirius clan. I am Doran Vor and my crew and I thank you for responding to our distress signal." he said again.

"I'm picking something up. Translating." the comm officer said again.

"Received, Captain Doran. We're making our way there." said the contacts.

"Captain, reading four contacts coming in fast." Decimus reported. They finally hit sensor range at least.

"Good." Doran replied.

"Captain, something's not right." Decimus reported after he could make out the vaguely avian shape of the incoming ships. "Those don't look like Bretonnian vessels."

"What?" Doran said incredulously. "I mean, so what? So long as they help us get out of here, I don't care."

"But they might be-" Decimus tried to say, at least until a brief weapons fire barely grazed the hull, triggering alarms throughout the ship.

"Cut your engines, Captain." the leader of the patrol said. "And prepare to be boarded. Resist, and we'll end you."

"Understood." Doran immediately complied.

"Captain, I'm reading two of them making their way to the ship. Orders?" Decimus asked.

"We comply, Decimus. This isn't the first time I've been robbed. Better to surrender and let them take what they want." Doran replied calmly.

"But sir, only two of them are coming aboard from the looks of things. We can take them on." Decimus replied confidently.

"And then we get destroyed by those two other ships, and if we don't we die in the smog. Better to comply, Decimus. Better to comply and live to make another profit another day." Doran replied, a lot more calmly than Decimus would have ever pegged the volus.

"All right sir." Decimus replied in resignation.

Soon enough, Decimus read that the two contacts were now right by the two airlocks of the ship.

"Captain Doran, unlock your airlocks." the leader of the pirate patrol ordered.

"We are complying." Doran said as he pressed a few buttons on his console.

Soon, two humans entered, each brandishing a rifle.

"Señor, we have the ship. Crew is compliant." said one of them with some sort of cybernetic device where his right eye would be.

"Which of you is Captain Doran?" asked the other, taller one.

"I am, Sirius clan." Doran said, waddling forward. "The cargo bay is down there. Take what you want."

"You will follow our ships and make no sort of communication whatsoever. Any of you leave our sight, we blast you." the taller one said.

"Spirits, this isn't a robbery, it's a hijacking," Decimus muttered to himself as he slowly got the ship to follow the two pirate ships to Spirits only knew where, deeper into the smog cloud.

__


Athena Nebula Mass Relay
Parinthia System

"That was rather uneventful." Perkins commented as they completed their transition into the Parinthia system, home to Thessia.

"Were you expecting something, Perkins?" Aela commented.

"Pirates for one thing. Attempts to steal my ship for another." Perkins replied in a rather nonchalant tone. "I mean, the list is certainly longer than that, but those are the two rather large ones I really expected to happen in one form or another."

"We're in the middle of civilized space, Perkins. Neither of those are going to be happening anytime soon." Aela commented. "Though, as I continue to review my report to the University, I think they'll end up sending us to Ilium to chat with my friend regarding what I learned back on New London, about the Dom'Kavash."

"Not that I wouldn't mind seeing more of your handsome face around," Talia purred. "I'll be picking up some eezo here anyways, so if both of you need a ride to Ilium after whatever business you've got at the University of Serrice, then I'd be happy to take you."

"Thank you," Aela aid, genuine thanks in her voice. Though the whole flirting with Perkins thing was was still very awkward for her. Perkins still didn't seem to mind, though.

"I'm going to go check on my ship. Make sure she's all ready for flying in atmo." Perkins said as he left for the cargo bay.

"And I'll go help him out. I'd love to hear more stories from the Sirius sector." Talia said, following Perkins.

"Is she always like that?" Aela asked the engineer, Lia, taking advantage of the absence of Talia.

"For as long as I've been a member of her crew, yes." she said a little exasperated. "Though I've never seen her dedicate this much attention to one person though. This one might be serious."

"What happens if Perkins will finally acknowledge her?" Aela asked.

"I dunno." Lia responded. "I don't normally mess with the affairs of my Captain, though I imagine it'll end with a really really long session in her bedroom. Or Captain's chair. Or engine room. Actually, I imagine she might kick us all out of the ship for a while."

"So!" Aela said, trying to change the topic. "Thoughts on Perkins' Crusader huh,? I'm sure you've taken a look at it. Maybe even scanned it a bit, too."

"It's absolutely wonderful!" she said animatedly, probably because this triggered into her love for engineering. "It manages to compress a very efficient fusion reactor into such a small package, and its engines manage to achieve some very interesting results too without making use of anti-matter or mass effect fields. And it all runs on the same fuel composition we make use of, which makes sense as the H-Fuel is a relatively stable and common fuel source. Not to mention the weapons on it. I can't even begin to understand what's going on in them. Though what I'm most interested in is the hull composition. If we could take that and combine it with increased density through mass effect folding, I think we could create hulls stronger than anything before! This might be enough to give back to the Fleet!"

"Congratulations." Aela replied. Honestly, she kinda glazed over the explanation a bit. She had already heard all that before. "I'm sure the Fleet would love to see something that will win Rannoch back."

"Thank you." Lia said happily. "Though, I must still pass my condolences to you. I understand what it's like having a man snatched away from me…" she sighed.

"I keep telling you all, it isn't like that." Aela exasperatedly exclaimed. "We're just employer and employee. He guards, I dig. That's it. He's loaded, he just wants the adventure of seeing things he's never seen before."

"I'm sure." Lia said in annoyingly sympathetic tone. "Well, we'll be at Thessia soon. I expect we'll be docked here for a while, as our Captain processes her eezo export papers for Ilium."

"If we're headed there, I'll be sure to tell you guys." Aela said. "It's my gateway to the Terminus systems, and chances are, my next dig will be there anyways."

"And if all else fails, it was nice meeting you Dr. D'Avo." Lia said extending her arm.

"Please Lia, call me Aela." she replied shaking her hand. It was good that she found a friend aboard the ship.

 

[SharkGlue]

Neural Net Update

Thessia
Controlled by: Asari Republics
System: Parinthia
Radius: 5,940 km
Orbital Distance: 0.94 AU
Orbital Period: 0.9 years
Terrain: Terrestrial
Temperature: 25C
Surface Gravity: 1.1 g
Mass: 0.947 Earth Masses
Population: 5.5 Billion

Ships for sale: Compiling
Commodities For Sale: Eezo (restricted), Luxury Food, Entertainment Media, Alcohol
Commodities Buying: Consumer Goods, Luxury Goods, Gold, Silver, Niobium
Weapons for Sale: Compiling

The asari homeworld, Thessia, is the heart of the largest economy in the galaxy. The planet's eezo reserves are so vast, they affect its price across the galaxy. Names for the planet range from "the crown jewel of the galaxy", to "the beating heart of galactic love". Thessia is uniquely home to a wide variety of republics instead of a single government, and has long been free of external or internal wars.


Serrice Spaceport
Thessia

If Aela was honest with herself, she was only slightly smug as they entered atmo and she saw Perkins' face visibly smile in awe of the city of Serrice. Designed in the very best of asari style, with chrome towers that gracefully soared to touch the crystal clear blue sky interspersed with well tended gardens that hosted plants from all over the planet, Aela was personally very proud of her home city and how it seemed to capture what she thought was the best of asari architecture and planning.

"Now that's a sight," Perkin breathed out as the ship descended into the spaceport. "Nothing at all like New London."

"You mean the fact that we have some actual decent weather?" Aela replied.

"Haha. You know New London does have days with good weather too, " Perkins snarked back.

"What, once a year of just cloud and no rain?" Aela asked.

"...Maybe" he said a little sheepishly.

Aela just laughed at that, pleased with her triumph over Perkins, just in time to feel the gentle bump of the ship landing on the spaceport.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Thessia, home of the most beautiful women in the galaxy, and largest source of eezo. " Talia announced over the intercom. "Thank you for flying AirTalia, and I do hope you fly with us again."

"Come on, I'll show you the way to the University." Aela said as she led Perkins to the ship's exit.

"What about the Crusader?" Perkins asked.

"I'm sure that we can leave it here in the very capable hands of Captain Talia for a few hours. They'll be busy here handling eezo negotiations with the customs officers, which gives us time to go to the University to check on my own project." Aela replied as they arrived at the airlock.

After a brief moment in the decontamination chamber, Aela found herself on Thessian soil once more, while she found Perkins just standing still in the airlock.

"Come on," she said a little annoyed. "What are you waiting for?"

"Savoring the moment, dear," Perkins said in that annoyingly Bretonnian tone of his. "With a occasion as momentous as this, me being the first man to set foot on truly alien soil surrounded by a completely foreign culture, I've got to savor it," he said after taking a rather theatrical deep breath.

Aela just grumbled a bit and let Perkins practically preen himself over the situation. Honestly, sometimes she thought he just did this to annoy her.

"Welp, enough of that," Perkins said suddenly. "Let's go."

Aela just sighed as she led Perkins towards the nearest fast transit station. Goddess, she hoped that at the very least her dig went well enough without her.

___
The University of Serrice was considered by many to be one of the best Universities, not only on Thessia, but within the entirety of Citadel space. Having several millennia's worth of tradition helped, but they were also host to some of the CItadel's finest minds, from all walks of life. It was not uncommon to find a professor from another race here in a permanent teaching position, imparting some of the finest points of their specialties into the next generation who would shape the galaxy.

It was Aela's home as much as anything, and would always be something she would keep in a special place in her heart. Just seeing the familiar university grounds as they approached via aircar released a feeling of homeliness in her heart

Perkins whistled at the sight. "Rather posh looking, isn't it?"

"I think you're just associating all the chrome and gardens with 'posh', Perkins." Aela responded. "We have a rather extensive scholarship program that any and all Citadel races do participate in."

"I'm just saying, I'm getting a very Cambridge feeling from this place." he replied back as they landed.

"Come on, let's go before classes are dismissed and you become the number one crowd attraction here." Aela said.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Perkins said, once again living whatever his imagination had in mind.

Aela just gave him as harsh a stare she could manage, and it thankfully mollified him enough to follow her into the main faculty building. That was something she definitely had to do more often.

__

Aela just knew the moment she entered the Archaeology department that her colleagues would immediately flock to either her or Perkins, and ask all sorts of questions.

What she didn't expect was the rather large number of assistants and students in the faculty room, as they all quickly dropped what they had and crowded around him, excitedly interrogating him for any scraps of knowledge about humans.

Perkins naturally managed to calm them down enough to get them to ask their questions one at a time, instead of all at once.

Aela just let him be for a while. He could handle things while she went and talked to her good friend, Dr. Faen Coralis.

"Aela!" Faen greeted happily. "It's good to see you. How are you? How was meeting the humans?"

"I'm fine, thank you." Aela responded kindly. "And the humans were… interesting, to say the least."

"Like that human outside the door, then?" Faen replied. "He looks like he's answering the questions of the students in good spirits."

"I'm convinced that it is a matter of Bretonnian pride that nothing should faze them," Aela replied. "No matter how unusual a situation, they will probably face it with a smile and a wave."

"So a cultural thing?" Faen asked.

"Yes, like how the Turians tend to be martially focused." Aela replied.

"I wonder what it was that shaped their culture to be like that?" Faen mused to herself out loud. "But that can come later, come in, have a seat," she said, offering up her hospitality to Aela. "What can I do for you? Especially after your long absence from here, I'm sure you have many questions."

"Thank you," Aela said after taking a seat. "How went the results of my dig with the others?"

"Nothing too groundbreaking, though we did indeed find some new glyphs in that pot you found. We're still working on figuring out what exactly it means, but we suspect that it involves destruction of some sort, though Goddess knows why," Faen replied. "Other than that though, your team found a good number of well preserved artifacts, but nothing particularly noteworthy."

"Oh." Damn. She was sure they would've found something particularly interesting there that time.

"I'm sorry, I know you were hoping for something big, but… well, you know how it goes." Faen said apologetically.

"It's all right. Though, I do have another question." Aela asked, a little resigned at what fate handed her regarding her earlier dig. "Do you know where Dr. T'Vedri is?"

"Last I heard, she was on Ilium trying to get some corp to sponsor her next expedition for her next dig for those really ancient crystals she found." Faen replied. "Why? I mean personally, while ancient, those crystals and whoever made them aren't anything particularly special. They just look like a very well preserved bronze age culture that somehow died off and was preserved by some fluke."

"Take a look at this." Ala said as she uploaded her own scans of what she found in the Bretonnian Museum. "I found them while being toured around the Sirius sector."

"Hmm, very interesting. Deeper scans, show crystal matrix structures? These were data storage devices of some sort?" Faen asked, her eyebrows scrunched up.

"From what the humans tell me, yes, though they've never figured out how to read them." Aela replied.

"So the creators of these crystals were spacefaring?" Faen asked in response.

"Yes. It's amazing isn't it?" Aela responded. "I have to find her and get her opinion on this. If we could find whatever the equivalent of a beacon these… Dom'Kavash had, imagine the sort of advances the galactic community could glean from them."

"Right. You should make for Ilium then and join Dr. T'Vedri in trying to get a sponsor. The university board isn't the most generous group around right now."

"I understand." Aela replied. The university can be rather stringy at times, and even with something as potentially groundbreaking as this, it might be best to go for private sources of funding.

"Well Faen, I should go rescue Perkins over there from the hoard of students asking him all sorts of silly questions."

"You go do that, Aela. Good luck!" Faen said after giggling a bit to herself.

She wasn't too sure what Faen found funny, but just attributed it to her general bubbly attitude as she left Faen's office to find Perkins still answering questions.

"How does anyone even live on Leeds?" one of the students asked, a little bit of horror in her voice.

"A lot of them say it could be worse. Having not had the pleasure of living there, I fail to see how it could get worse, so I have no idea." he replied with is trademark smirk, which somehow got a few chuckles from the crowd.

"And that ladies was the last question I'll be answering. Take care, and I hope to have left you all with a good impression of humanity in general ." he said as he bowed out and left the faculty room, waiting for Aela to catch up.

"How was the interview?" Aela asked.

"Quite civil. I liked it honestly." Perkins replied.

"Well, we're headed to Ilium next, so we best inform Captain Talia of the plan." Aela responded.

"What about her processing those papers you mentioned?" Perkins asked.

"That should take a while, so we can stay here in my apartment in Serrice for the night," she responded. "From here, I think things will only get more interesting."

 

[SharkGlue]

Aela was actually looking forward to staying in her apartment for the night. After checking with Captain Talia on the flight schedule, they were clear to leave with a load of eezo along with the Crusader in the morning, so she and Perkins set off for a nice relaxing period in her apartment. Just her, Perkins, a bottle of Serrice Ice brandy, and the couch.

Wait, that sounded a little bit wrong. Just her, Perkins, a bottle of Serrice Ice brandy, and the extranet connection to her screen. Much better

It was rather much to Perkins' visible surprise and Aela's amusement that when they arrived at her apartment, Perkins whistled at its appearance. It had a rather stunning view of the university, with its large window walls providing a beautiful overview of it. It also helped that it was all rather tastefully decorated in a style that Aela like to believe would remain immortally beautiful: gentle, subdued furnishings in simple, neutral colors.

"This seems a rather bit more expensive than what I imagine an academic would earn." Perkins said after a brief moment of tasteful silence by the door.

"You can save a lot if you live for a thousand years, Perkins." Aela replied smugly.

"Point. Where will I stay then?" Perkins asked as he hefted his rather small bag.

"You can sleep on the couch," Aela replied, pointing out said sofa.

"Right in front of the telly. Already I feel like I'm back in the good ol' days of the academy,"

"Well, I do own the apartment. The Bed should belong to me,"

"It's all right. I'll just content myself with watching the telly. Speaking of which… How do I turn it on?" Perkins asked.

"By the small table in front of you is a console. That's for the screen."

Perkins promptly turned it on to find what looked like a news channel on screen.

"This is Calia D'Avo, of the Citadel Broadcasting Network, bringing to you the latest news from across the galaxy. Despite efforts by the Bretonnian Police Authority, there remains no sign of the cargo ship headed to New London. Reports say that despite warnings by the BPA, the ship proceeded to conventional FTL instead of making use of the Trade Lanes within the Leeds system. BPA authorities suspect that the ship ended up going through a particularly hazardous portion of the Leeds Smog clouds, and are now presumed lost. The BPA urges all ships to make use of the Trade Lanes, no matter the circumstances, as the navigational hazards of the system are incredibly dangerous. Citadel representatives have brooked no blame on Bretonnia for the incident, as the ship was warned before they entered FTL."

Perkins turned around to Aela, his eyebrow raised as if asking a question. It was probably the obvious one.

"Yes, she's my sister," Aela answered. "She always has been the more talkative one."

"I can see the resemblance," Perkins replied as he turned back to the screen.

"... and economists expect that proper integration of the Sirius Credit with the Citadel Credit is to be completed by tomorrow. Analysts expect that more formal large scale trading will begin tomorrow, once the integration is complete. Meanwhile, the Asari Republics are in negotiations with the Republic of Liberty regarding the construction of Jump Gates between the Tau 30 system and the Armstrong Nebula Mass Relay. Matriarch Benezia is expected to meet with President Wallace in three weeks on the Citadel during the opening Liberty embassy party to discuss terms. The Matriarch has confirmed her expectations that the agreement will benefit both parties."

"And it looks like Liberty is talking with your people. I can only imagine what new hells Liberty can come up with," Perkins said.

"I know that the Sirius sector has had a history with Liberty, but honestly, I don't think they will be in too much of a position to argue." Aela countered. "Despite your advances in several fields, the Asari Republics holds the technological edge in Citadel space and I'm quite sure we have much Liberty is willing to trade secrets for."

"Then that just means your people will be hand in hand with Liberty, lordin' it over the rest of us technologically illiterate peasants in the dirt."

"It's not like that at all. The Asari Republics prides itself on the very basis of fairness. I'm sure that this can only lead to further proliferation of all sorts of useful technology for the benefit of all."

"If that happens, then I can go and claim myself as the next Emperor of Kusari," Perkins said deadpan. "Just one more reason to go and be a freelancer, find some place where they can't smother what we have."

"And I'm sure you're overreacting, Perkins."

"I may not live to see it Aela, but I guarantee it'll happen. Your millennia long lifespan almost guarantees you will see it. At least, pending any unforeseen circumstances."

"Like what?" Aela asked dubiously.

"Pirates, industrial accidents, vehicular accidents, navigational error, slavers, drug overdose, simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time…"

"I get it Perkins, but I'm relatively sure I can handle myself in those situations. I did live on Omega for a while."

"Omega?"

"Think a neutral ground for the criminal society of the Galaxy. A large portion of the people who live there are involved in a criminal enterprise in one form or another."

"A wretched hive of scum and villainy?" Perkins said with a smile a little too wide.

"... yes?"

That response just got Perkins roaring into laughter, though Aela failed to see what was so funny. Honestly, humans still confused her sometimes. Or maybe it was just Perkins.

___


"That" Pub
Trafalgar Base, New London system

For Jerry Maxwell, life as a Junker was good. It's an easy living picking up scrap from the many many junk fields scattered around the New London, then selling it to whoever was popping by. Whether it was some freelancer or a Corsair who wanted some old part for some reason, someone, somewhere wanted to buy something from a Junker.

He kind of hoped that some of those blue ladies would be visiting soon. God knows he could stand to see some more... attractive women in his life. Heck, he might also be able to charge them extra. Its not like they'd know the difference between a repairable part and something completely junked.

"Oi," hissed his partner Dean by the bar's viewing bay. It gave a great overview of the approach to the docking bay, letting anyone who was expecting someone to do their business properly. And on its way to Trafalgar was a definitely alien ship. All chrome and fat, likely a freighter, but definitely not a human ship. "Looks like one of 'em alien ships approaching us."

"You think it'll be one of them blue asari ladies?"

"I hope so. I know that the ladies here are a little.. feisty for my tastes."

"Too right, mate," chuckled Jerry, as they scrambled to the docking bay. Seeing as they ran the commodities bay of the station, it was always prudent to get to know your clients early, no matter who they were. Outcast or Corsair, Freelancer or some poor bobbie sent here to fish, all were welcome, so long as they had the credits and followed the rules.

Of course, Junkers gave no guarantee of not being caught by the cops due to a leaked bit every now and then, but that was an acceptable level of risk for many for the near universally accepted neutrality that Junker bases provided deep in House space.

It was thus to Jerry's pleasant surprise that upon arriving at the docking bay, he discovered that the ship did indeed carry at least one rather pretty specimen of asari kind. She strutted down that freighter of hers in her hardsuit like she owned the station, as if nothing but God himself could command her with a small group of rather feisty looking asari bodyguards.

Jerry figured the bullshit approach would not be wise. "Welcome to Trafalgar Base," he greeted as jovially as possible, signalling Dean to let him handle things. "I'm Jerry, and I run the commodities and equipment dealership here on Trafalgar. Is there anything I can help you with, Miss…"

"Captain, actually." she said in a firm voice. "Captain Enyala of the Eclipse. I'm looking for engine components, light arms, anything of yours that is high tech and makes or stops a big bang.

"I'll be honest Captain, that could be problematic. Not for us mind you, but for you." he said as he walked towards the main commodities bay, gesturing her to follow.

"You see," he said as they walked along. "You ladies did indeed come to the right location to acquire your less than legal commodities. You need anything bought or distributed, we're the right people to come to."

"Thing is, the bobbies, thats the name we use for 'em BPA blokes, have been stepping up patrols around the field. Normally, we have an arrangement with them, but with something this big, weapons that aren't exactly what we'd call 'civilian' grade, they'll be scanning everyone and everything that goes anywhere near a jump gate, along with the BAF. There is no way you'll be able to bypass that."

"We'll settle for barely legal then." Enyala answered promptly. Good that she understood the risks.

"Then I have just the things for you." he said as he cheerily led them to one particular area. "I must also warn you of the… policies aboard the station. No killing anyone. You're all guests aboard here. And all purchases are final. Period. If you're unhappy with someone or a business arrangement, then tough luck on you, take it out of the station."

"I'm not really in a position to negotiate here," she said, her hostility just barely felt by Jerry. Still nothing overtly hostile on her part, so he figured it still safe to lead her into the his own little kingdom.

To the untrained eye, it would've been best described a random junk. Parts from what looked like all sorts of ships were littered here and there, but to a Junker, these were all the things worth saving and not immediately smelting down to be turned to metal.

"I've here some parts that a lot of locals of… questionable authority make use of to make their Mules and Wolfhounds. Lots of old civilian grade weapons found off wrecks that we got to, and you'd be surprised at the sheer number of them. Even have a few shields that didn't blow up with their ships."

"We'll take them." she said tersely. Talk about a cold fish.

"Interested in anything else? Construction Machinery? Latest models from Leeds, guaranteed to last you a good 30 years. You want some Molly Gold? We're a regular stop for them, and we offer rates I don't think you'll find beyond the Dublin system. General supplies? We have a little bit of everything here."

"We'll take a resupply. We're low on food, and it'll be interesting to see what human rations taste like."

"It's shit, but its nourishing," Jerry answered dryly. "But we have some real food in the bar. Why don't you ladies come and enjoy some Junker hospitality and introduce you to the other… visitors we have. I'm sure business can only be improved with new friends."

"Let's," said Enyala, her icy tone lightening up a bit.

The sound of more credits being made was bound to warm up the chilliest ice queen, thought Jerry. Maybe if he's lucky, he'll end up in her bed with those bodyguards of hers. A man can dream after all.

 

[SharkGlue]

Waking up in her own bed for the first time in what felt like years certainly did wonders for Aela. She felt like she could take on the world. It rather made her feel a little guilty having Perkins sleep on the couch, but she wasn't going to be sharing a bed with him. She wanted to maintain at least some form of employer-employee barrier.

Though… if she could use it to mess with Talia, that might be worth a little teasing. She'd have to get Perkins in on it of course, to make it look convincing but it could work.

Still, seeing that according to her clock it was rather early in the morning, she got up out of bed to get ready for her undoubtedly long trip away from her home again. Grabbing her large travel pack reserved for long term trips, she proceeded to pack her usual dig gear. Her shield and Elkoss combine pistol were the first in. While she may have been capable of putting up a barrier, having a shield never hurt as an extra layer of protection. She figured Perkins' own gun was better than hers too, but still. Better safe than sorry. Her various tools and dig outfits were up next, and finally, she carefully packed in an elegantly simple white dress, reserved for the inevitable begging for funding from various sponsors.

It was while packing her dress that she realized that she had no food for any visiting aliens. Thessian food had a considerably higher than safe level of eezo for non-biotics in them, and she hadn't informed Perkins of that. Deciding to rectify that mistake, she moved out of her room to find Perkins already up and about eating from a tube.

"Good morning," he greeted as he stopped eating. "I see you've finally woken up."

"It's barely sunrise, and you're saying I woke up late?"

"I may have left the Armed Forces, but they haven't left me yet." he said after a brief chuckle. "Care for some SynthPaste? It's a lot better than it looks I assure you. I was about to sample some of your goods in the cupboard, but I wasn't exactly sure if it would be safe for me to eat. I mean, just because you can eat what I can eat doesn't mean I can eat what you can, right?"

Aela just sighed a little in relief after learning that. It wouldn't do for Perkins to get eezo poisoning. If it was anything like what happened with other species, it was a nasty way to go. Though…

"SynthPaste? As in the company?" she asked

"Yeah. Totally edible and tasty food. Great for rations, as they have all the necessary nutrients, and don't actually taste like shit." Perkins exclaimed. "I'm almost sure you had some before back in the Sirius sector. You did, right?"

"Sorry, I don't think I did," she replied. "Anything exotic about it? Artificial flavoring, colouring and all that?"

"Not really. It's just ground up genetically modified kelp that SynthPaste somehow manages to change flavors without modifying the kelp strain or add any chemicals. I'm pretty sure it's safer than a lot of things you've had in the Sirius sector. It's certainly safer than Liberty ale."

"If you say so…" she said as she very hesitantly grabbed the tube of paste and carefully squeezed a pea sized morsel on her finger. She then very gently brought the dab into her mouth.

"Sausage?" she exclaimed after taking another larger sample to be sure.

"You can hardly taste the difference, yeah?" Perkin said a he grabbed another tube from his pack. "You can have that one by the way."

"Amazing." Aela said after slowly letting this batch settle on her tongue for awhile. "How do they do it?

"Like I said, I dunno, but whatever they're doing, God I hope they continue. It's a lot better than my usual rations. They have thousands of flavors from the most exotic to the most bland, and near everyone loves it. I can't imagine it not doing well."

Aela mulled over this. If it was this good, then SynthPaste was going to quickly make a killing in Citadel space. She quickly bought up her OmniTool, and after doing quick check on her accounts, let herself have a rather predatory grin.

"That smile of yours could be good or bad. I'm not sure which." Perkins commented.

"It just occured to me that, well. If SynthPaste can arrange itself a wide variety of flavors now, what more when they start mimicking others?"

"I'm not sure I follow."

"At first it'll be human tastes, but eventually, they'll be capturing Asari tastes, Batarian spices, all of it in one convenient package for travel between planets."

"...Then they'll really start to make a killing." Perkins breathed out. "I'd best be buying stock then while it's low. I mean, creds are good and all, but if I'm not under a steady salary, it pays to have a little bit tucked away for a rainy day, right?"

"Perkins, when you've lived as long as I have, you learn a trick or two." Aela said with a neat smile as she had her brokering program prepare to purchase a lot of SynthPaste shares. If she was lucky, maybe she'll be able to fund her own expeditions with this particular little bit of wisdom from the humans.

___

The rest of the morning was spent just watching the various programs available on the screen, though nothing in particular really grabbed Perkins attention outside the news, though to be fair, it was rather early in the morning. By noon, they got a message from Talia that things were good to go on their end, and expected them to meet her within the hour. Aela naturally grabbed her things and led the way to the nearest fast transit point.

"Are you excited?" Aela asked Perkins, as they flew through the city in the aircar.

"For what?" Perkins replied, taking his eyes off the view of the city.

"For seeing another new planet, I mean."

"It's a yes and no kind of thing," he admitted after a while. "On one hand, it's another brand new planet, and from the way you describe it, it sounds like a virtual melting pot of cultures. On the other, I've had hardly a day to even get a feel for this planet. It's hardly enough time to even begin to get a sense for it."

"Sense?"

"You know, every place has a flavor to it. A kind of something that distinguishes its people rom everything else. Even stations have that kind of culture to an extent."

"Take New London, center of Bretonnian culture. Most everyone there works a government job and the people tend to think very linearly. Very focused on their procedures and all that bureaucracy stands for. Cambridge on the other hand is full of hopefuls, its people tend to be quite idealistic and always seek to learn more about the universe and all that. Manhattan is corp and rich central. I mean, of course there are exceptions to every rule, but… you just get this feel for each planet and city the more you interact with it."

"I think I understand." Aela said after a brief silence. "Like how the Citadel has its highs and lows, the gleam of the Presidium and the neon lights of the Wards, Serrice's University, and the Temple of Athame, all of them have an… atmosphere about them."

"Yeah, and it's something I really look forward to seeing more of." Perkins aid with a certain amount of.. wistfulness to him.

"Well, I guess as a Freelancer with a galaxy to explore, that won't be anything near as much as a problem for you huh?"

"Right." he said, his normally cheeky tone returning. "Let's go."

__

"I'm glad you two could make it." Talia said the moment they arrived at the ship. "I figured you would be far too busy in whatever room you two managed to squirrel yourselves away in."

"Nothing like that happened. At all," Aela said quickly. "I prefer things to be professional between me and Perkins."

"Employer employee relationships are always bad in my experience." Perkins helpfully supplied.

"Good. That means I can have you all to myself, hon." Talia said as she slid up to Perkins' side. "I can show you all sorts of things we asari are famous for."

Aela just shook her head, noting that Korvan and Lia were both doing so as well. Aela silently hoped for something to happen to bring Talia to some sort of seriousness. Like pirates for instance.

A woman could dream after all. It was probably a horrible thing to wish for, but she had a feeling that it would definitely be preferable to what she figured was coming.

 

[SharkGlue]

Between Relays
Somewhere in the Eagle Nebula

To say that the trip so far was awkward would have been a severe understatement in Aela's opinion. Talia had so far managed to, to everyone's but her own embarrassment, proposition Perkins in increasingly varied and elaborate ways, often involving something rather… graphic, and always while near at least one other member of the crew. Aela even started to suspect that Perkins' Bretonnian unflappability was starting to crack in face of such an assault. Even now, as they flew through a rather poorly patrolled section of space, Talia kept up her advances, though Aela admitted that she had picked a good background try and win him over. The vista was beautiful.

"So flyboy, I've seen you handle that ship of yours," Talia purred.

"Oh?" Perkins replied, actually lifting his head up from his new omni-tool. He had lately turned to exploring it and its functions in an attempt to distract himself from Talia. "Where'd you see it?"

"Someone leaked some footage from that first contact skirmish with the Mollies in the Tau 30 system," she replied as she slid up beside him. "That took some daring on your part. Especially since I'm assuming you were the daring pilot attracting fire from all those Mollies."

"Just doing my duty."

"And just like that you reminded me of a couple of Turians I used to know."

"Had a responsibility to my men and the Kingdom. Couldn't let them down, especially in a situation like that. Could have led to war, and that is the absolute last thing anyone wanted."

"Definitely feeling your inner Turian there."

"Seeing as I've never really gotten to know one, no comment." Perkins replied as he gently slid away from Talia.

Talia looked like she was going to give chase until Korvan spoke.

"Captain," he said, his tone professional. "I'm reading a ship, a frigate from the signature, heading straight for us."

"Out here? In the middle of nowhere?" Talia asked. "Hail them. Could be a lone patrol for all we know."

"I'm heading to the Crusader. Just in case" Perkins said, suddenly all alert.

"Lia, I want all power to barriers, just in case. With the load we're carrying, I don't think we can outrun them," Talia ordered, her voice surprisingly calm and professional. The change in attitude was so sudden, Aela was almost sure Talia had some sort of emotional whiplash at the change.

"Yes, Captain." Lia responded as she typed furiously into her console.

"Korvan, keep hailing them. I want to know who the hell they are."

"Yes Ma'am." Korvan replied, his eyes never leaving his console.

"Flyboy," Talia said into her omnitool. "Moment you see those cargo bay doors open, I want you to show off those fancy human piloting skills I saw on the extranet. If these are pirates, I want you to teach them a little lesson."

"Aye, Captain." Perkins replied, a hint of the officer he was coming back.

Aela meanwhile could only stand toward the back of the bridge and out of the way, watching helplessly as the frigate approached. Well, if they were pirates, boy did they have a surprise for them.

__


Being part of the Blood Pack meant a few things in Tusk's eye. As a Battlemaster for the Pack for a few decades, he liked to think that he had gained (and lost) a few things. For one thing, he learned that while the Pack ran lots of jobs that no one else would touch, their sort of reputation led to dry spells between "protection" contracts as well. Luckily, the Pack was very flexible in their payment plans and saw "encouraging new investors" as a legitimate form of earning bonuses.

Hence why Tusk was manning his frigate through poorly patrolled space in the search for freighters carrying precious cargo. There just aren't enough contracts worthy of a Battlemaster to go around for everyone, despite how few Battlemasters there were. Hence him and his group of vorcha on the prowl.

Tusk, though, had a good feeling about today. He could feel it in his bones that today would be a day to remember.

"Boss," hissed one of his vorcha. "Found ship."

"Well?" he growled. "What kind of ship?"

"Freighter. Carry much cargoes." the vorcha hissed a little fearfully.

"Good!" roared Tusk. "And so early in the day too! Bring us up alongside them. Don't answer any hails until we're right alongside them. No way can they escape a volley before they start up their FTL."

"Yes boss."

Tusk leaned back on his massive chair, feeling the chair creak against his armored bulk. This was the easy part, come in, board the poor bastards, take the cargo and then figure out if the crew is worth ransoming or not. It was a simple life, but a good one.

Very quickly, his expertly beaten vorcha crew brought the ship along the freighter's side in a perfect position to prevent the ship from fleeing. Close enough to hit, but distant enough to have been innocent until this moment.

"Receive their hail now." Tusk ordered.

"I'm pretty sure at this point that this isn't a social call," said a distinctly asari voice.

"Well done, asari." Tusk drawled out, in a low rumble "You know the drill. Cut your engines and hand over your goods." A rumbling chuckle jumped out of his throat. "Or don't. I know which one I'd like to happen."

"Look, I know how this goes. I think it's best that we cut to the chase. I can jettison my cargo and you leathery lizard can go pick it up. It's a load of eezo straight from Thessia, meant for Ilium, but I'll dump it and save us all a lot of time."

"Uhuh. You go do that, and then we'll go and board you as well. Make sure you aren't hiding anything."

"You touch us, you mess with Eclipse, then," the voice shouted.

"Nice try, but a real Eclipse sister wouldn't have given up the cargo so soon unless you were hiding something valuable. Either way, I'm still going to board you."

"Fuck you too."

"I'm still going to board you, asari. I'll be seeing you in a while. Or not, either way, I'm getting a little bit of that eezo you say you have there."

"Fine, I'll jettison them anyway. Opening cargo bay doors now. Hope you like the gift, you bastard."

"Your cooperation is appreciated." Tusk noted. While the little act of defiance could do nothing more than hinder them, it was probably a sign that these weren't worth ransoming. Probably best to leave them be after grabbing the cargo. "And for that, I'll probably let you live so long as you continue to cooperate."

"Hope you like the gift," the asari repeated, sounding a little too happy.

And like that, Tusk knew something was wrong.

"Boss! Something coming out of ship!"

"What?"

"Shuttle!" pointed out the vorcha. Tusk could make out something vaguely shuttle sized, though definitely a weird shape, coming out of the ship.

"Then blast it and the freighter," Tusk roared as he slammed his fist onto his armrest. It was obvious they were trying to make a run for it with something more valuable than a whole load of eezo. "Aim for the engines!"

The vorcha quickly responded, launching a round of cannon fire at the freighter's engines, though their barriers saved them from any real damage. Strangely enough though, the shuttle wasn't running away from them, it was closing in, and fast.

"They're on a suicide run." Tusk realized. "I want all GARDIAN batteries on the shuttle. Don't let it hit us!"

While vocha weren't well known or being particularly intelligent, these vorcha had literally been beaten and shaped into competent crewmen. They knew enough to save up the GARDIAN fire until the shuttle was close enough. Several tense seconds passed as the shuttle drew closer and closer to Tusk's ship until it finally crossed the invisible line. The very moment it came within range, the shuttle was hit by the full compliment of his ship's lasers.

Whoever was piloting it was good. The pyjack never went for the direct approach, instead somehow always twisting and turning the shuttle in ways he admittedly hadn't seen before in his centuries old life. It took a while for the batteries to get a good lock on the ship, and Tusk could've sworn that one battery that fired only got a glancing shot at the shuttle. It was fighting the inevitable though, as it drove on closer and closer towards the ship. With every kilometer it crossed, it only made the job easier and easier for the GARDIAN's VI, until it finally landed a few direct hits.

Which was why Tusk was very surprised to see the shuttle barreling down on them alive and kicking.

"What?" he roared, jumping to his feet and startling the vorcha around him. His eyes were wide, glued to the sensor display showing the impossible did indeed happen. A shuttle of all things survived what some corvettes couldn't.

"Thanks for the suntan," replied an alien language. "I hope you'll enjoy the one I'm about to give you."

The shuttle flashed, and the bridge erupted in chaos. Warning klaxons rang like there was no tomorrow, as the engine readout on Tusk's display flashed red. His mind raced, trying to understand why his barriers failed even as the shuttle flashed again and again, adding yet more alarms and explosions to the cacophony around him.

It hit him after a moments' realization.A brief sobering moment that he knew would change things significantly. The shuttle had to have energy weapons, some kind of super-GARDIAN on a ship that was nowhere near big enough to be able to power that little monster.

"Lost engines!' hissed one of his vorcha. "Core weakening!"

"He's good," Tusk growled out. Just because he had good toys didn't mean he was dependent on them. Fucker was smart to start by crippling him. But he was Krogan, and he always had more fight to give.

"Use the thrusters to align the main cannon on him." he roared as he punched one vorcha in frustration. "Lets see those fancy shields of his block that."

At a frustratingly slow pace, the frigate vectored upward, bringing the canon into a position that, while not perfect, would maybe hit something important on the shuttle.

"Open fire," he ordered the moment the shuttle entered practically point blank range, confident in the end of his little problem. He was likely only going to get one shot on the ship, but that would be enough to take the fucker down, leaving him open to the GARDIAN batteries.

He felt the main gun shudder through the ship as a single slug was accelerated to a fraction of lightspeed. He fully expected his problems to be gone soon enough, and he would go and educate the asari on the proper behavior of any pirate victim.

His sensors told him it was a grazing shot, which should have been enough to destroy any ship of that size, yet somehow, the damn thing was still there. However it did look a lot worse for wear, and the GARDIAN batteries were now visibly doing some damage.

"That stung." said the alien voice again. "I was just going to leave you defanged, but this calls for putting a rabid dog down."

The shuttle then unleashed a new flurry of beams, after somehow reviving its shields in an amazingly short time, raking the frigate from bow to stern. Tusk could quickly see damage reports form all over the ship, and he could feel the explosions rocking about it as well.

Though it hurt his pride immensely, Tusk knew when it was time to leave. He quickly made his way to his personal escape pod and strapped himself in, not caring about the vorcha still on-board. They were all replaceable, and he had more important things on his mind. Revenge, for starters.

He soon felt the pod rocket itself outside the ship, leaving him a lot of time to plan things out in his head. The bitch said Ilium, and that would be a start. He began thinking of the many myriad ways he would be 'teaching' the bitch who did this to him. Tusk would get his revenge, by Aralakh, and if he could get his hands on that ship as well… that would be a very lucrative form of compensation.

 

[SharkGlue]

Aela could only let out a sigh of relief as she saw Perkins very carefully land in the freighter's cargo bay once more. It took him a while, but he had also managed to ferry the crates into the freighter slowly through his use of his ship's tractor beam (which in itself was another rather spiffy piece of tech Aela knew many would like to understand better)

She actually felt a little guilty for a while, wishing for pirates to break up the incessant flirting of Talia with Perkins, but quickly dashed that irrational thought away. its not like that kind of thinking brought the pirates on them. That was merely coincidence and bad luck running at the same time.

"Anything on our sensors, Korvan?" Talia asked curtly, sitting by her captain's console and reading her outputs as best she could.

Though refreshingly enough, it looked like the pirate encounter brought out the professional side of Talia. For the past few hours, she had done nothing but keep a constant vigil over her board, constantly on alert for anything that even looked remotely unusual, as the ship stayed near the local asteroid field for cover.

"Captain," Korvan said as he looked up from his console. "I'm picking up something unusual coming from the nearby asteroid field."

"Any ideas, people?" Talia asked around. "I'm taking a look at it and I've seen nothing like it before."

"I've no clue, Captain," Lia replied with a sigh. "Nothing like an engine signature, or anything remotely looking like it came from something artificial."

"It's dangerous, then?" Talia asked the crew.

"I don't think so," Korvan said a he looked up from the console. "While it looks like it's emitting a large amount of energy, it's very far away. I'm willing to attribute it to some sort of unusual natural phenomena."

"I've got an idea." Perkins said suddenly as he walked forward to Korvan's console. "May I take a look see?"

"And how qualified are you to understand my readings, Perkins?"

"I've been reading up on your equivalents to my instruments. I'm reasonably sure that I can get a general idea of what it is if I take a look at what exactly it is you ladies and gent are looking at." he replied, his seemingly permanent smirk plastered in front of Korvan's face.

Aela noticed Korvan's eyes go small a bit, and he took a moment to look Perkins in the eye before he moved aside and let him take a look at a simple nod of his head. Perkins merely smiled at the batarian before he went to work scanning through the readings on display on Korvan's screen.

"That's… interesting." Perkins said bringing his head up from the console after a while. "I'm almost certain that there is a Jump Hole in the middle of that asteroid field."

"A what?" Talia asked, still no visible trace of her normally sultry tone, on her.

"It's the natural equivalent of a Jump Gate, what we humans use to go between our systems." Perkins explained. "I'm almost positive that it a Jump Hole, and if you're interested I think it's phase-aligned too."

"Please translate for us clearly ignorant aliens." Aela responded. While she'd heard of Jump Holes, phase-aligned was something new.

"Basically it means it's safe to use. More or less."

"That's encouraging us to use it, how again?" Lia asked now. Aela could've sworn she some sort of eyebrow move behind her faceplate, as if in annoyance.

"Well it's mostly safe, because the trip in the ship should be safe, if a bit rough. The unsafe bit would be where you land. Which admittedly could be in the middle of a dangerous patch of oxygen or methane or radiation, but still. That jump hole could be leading anywhere in the galaxy and we'd be there in seconds. I mean, theoretically, Jump Holes don't have the range limits that Jump Gates have. All I have to do is get on my ship, do a quick jump,see if I can figure out what system I'm in then jump back and hand over my readings."

"So that thing could get us straight to Ilium if we went through it properly?" Korvan asked, a hint of his bluntness breaking.

"Not properly, if we're lucky. In theory yes. it could lead us to Ilium. It could also lead us straight back to the Citadel, the Sirius sector, or even Earth. Hence why it's important that I check where it'll lead."

It took a moment before Talia replied. "Do it. It might cut on time and maybe prevent any more interesting visits from pirates."

"Aye captain." Perkins said with a smart salute before he left or his ship. Strange, he's never done that before. Maybe it was a response to Talia's professionalism?

__

It was a tense half hour while waiting for Perkins' report on the Jump Hole. Everyone was on the alert for any signs of further pirate activity. Korvan's eyes never left his console, Lia was prepping the engines and making sure the core was still stable, and Talia was hardwired into the sensor bank console, keeping an eye out for… well anything really.

Aela honestly felt useless amidst all this action. She wasn't qualified for any of the instruments. Really, the best thing she could do was be ready in case there was an actual boarding, but that wasn't happening anytime soon from the looks of things.

"I've got an incoming transmission, it's Perkins." Korvan suddenly said.

"Put him on speakers."

"Perkins' here, I've finished my readings, and I've confirmed the Jump Hole's phase aligned. Bad news is, I'm not sure where exactly the jump hole leads. My readings when I arrived shows that while it was a relatively safe area, I have no idea where it is."

"Do you have the coordinates though?" Korvan asked.

"Yeah, I'm uploading them to you now, Navigator. Any clue as to where they lead?"

"Checking database… and it looks like that leads straight to the Mesana system… That's where the Elcor homeworld is located…"

"By the Goddess… that's… thousands of lightyears away." Aela exclaimed.

"I guess you weren't kidding huh?" Talia chuckled. "What would normally take a week, you did in half an hour.While it's amazing, I think we lingered here too long. Get back here so we can make for the Relay at best speed.."

"Roger that. RTB, ETA 5 minutes."

Aela was still processing that… these natural phenomena were around all this time.

"Guess those old spacer tales have something true to them after all." Talia said after a while. "Ships there one moment, find a weird energy signature, then poof, no more ship. Never seen again."

They must have entered a… non-phase-aligned Jump Hole then." Korvan replied. "From what Perkins described, going through a Jump Hole is a rough experience to begin with under proper circumstances. Under the wrong ones…"

"It's fatal." Lia finished solemnly. "I can see why Perkins' people don't make regular use of them."

"Usable only under the right circumstances, and located in often dangerous locations to begin with. No wonder they went with making Jump Gates." Aela mused out loud.

"I think that's enough theorizing for now." Talia interrupted. "Let's focus on the job, then we can talk once we're in safer space."

Aela just nodded and let them get back to work while she made way to her quarters to jot down her thoughts in peace.

___

This is the Colony News Network, here with the latest in news.

SYNTHPASTE RELEASING NEW LINE OF ASARI FLAVORS,
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK SYSTEM - SynthPaste representatives have recently met with various Asari representatives to begin operations on some of their newer agricultural colonies such as Tania. SynthPate executives expect to be releasing a new line of flavors centered on Thessian cuisine within the following business quarter. This marks the first major corporation to be making inroads into Citadel space, though other corporations such as DSE are already hunting for contracts with other Citadel species.


NEW EMBASSIES ON THE CITADEL
THE CITADEL, WIDOW SYSTEM - Today marks an important day in human history, as Liberty, Rhineland, and Bretonnia have now opened up their embassies on the Citadel. This was marked by an elaborate party, with representatives from the three nations, and other Citadel dignitaries were out in full force. It was also during the party that the new ambassadors for each nation were announced, with Edward Finnigan, representing Liberty, Lord Edmund Cunningham for Bretonnia, and Wilhelm von Clausewitz, for Rhineland. Ambassador Finnigan stated that "We shall be working together to advance the interests of the common man and woman, and we hope to help ease us into peaceful coexistence with our new Citadel friends".

 

[Czlyydwr Llrngwl]

Interesting, but very confusing. What is the crossover, and for that matter where is Thread 1?

 

[Ironmanalpha]

Interesting, but very confusing. What is the crossover, and for that matter where is Thread 1?

Click to shrink...

It is a crossover of Freelancer and Mass Effect.

 

[Beyogi]

Watched

 

[Nanao-kun]

Great work as always SharkGlue.

Heh, Jump Holes as the Citadel specie's Bermurda Triangles.

 

[Finagle007]

and for that matter where is Thread 1?

Click to shrink...

On Spacebattles, which appears to have given up the ghost for the time being.

 

[Chicago Ted]

On Spacebattles, which appears to have given up the ghost for the time being.

Click to shrink...

No, no, it's pining for the fjords

 

[Finagle007]

No, no, it's pining for the fjords

Click to shrink...

Ok, that's it.

It's not pinin'! It's passed on! This forum is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet it's maker!
It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed it to the perch it'd be pushing up the daisies!
It's metabolic processes are now 'istory! It's off the twig!
It's kicked the bucket, it's shuffled off it's mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!!
THIS IS AN EX-FORUM!!

 

[Daedwartin]

HOLY fUCKING SHIT.

You never really tend to think about how fucking long long running SB fics can be until they get collected into a continuous stream of posts like this.

 

[Chicago Ted]

THIS IS AN EX-FORUM!!

Click to shrink...

Reference secured, good work everyone.

 

[Lone Wolf 666]

HOLY fUCKING SHIT.

You never really tend to think about how fucking long long running SB fics can be until they get collected into a continuous stream of posts like this.

Click to shrink...

Yeah. No kidding. My thumb is tired, trying to scroll to the new post.

 

[SharkGlue]

Yeah. No kidding. My thumb is tired, trying yo scroll to the new post.

Click to shrink...

According to my count, I'm at over 100k words.

I'm shocked I even got this far

 

[Lone Wolf 666]

According to my count, I'm at over 100k words.

I'm shocked I even got this far

Click to shrink...

Its hard. Because I'm using the cell, for majority of my posting. I wish we do away with archaic fingers or mouse scrolling. And start with thought base scrolling.

 

[SharkGlue]

Right, guys, thanks to a severe malfunction in my laptop's keyboard, I haven't really been able to update.

Good news is, I've a new shiny keyboard, and am editing away the snip. While waiting, here is my stance on jump holes.

Essentially they are natural phenomena found in normally hostile and remote environments, like the middle of nebula and asteroid fields. Recently, debris fields also spark the generation of a jump hole, though no one knows if they were always there to begin with or were generated by the general environment that a debris field can generate.

Now theoretically, Jump Holes have no range limit, one could bring you from one end of the galaxy to the next. Secondly, no two pairs of jump holes are the same. They are all essentially, unique to each other. Each paired hole has distinct fluctuations in its alignment with the other, and these fluctuations can over time be predicted to within reasonable amounts of stability for a given period of time, almost enough to make use of particularly stable and well studied ones on a almost daily basis, albeit only under certain hours and there are few of those around. (The Mollies and the Blood Dragons got real lucky)

Notably, most jump holes are nowhere near as stable, and can only be used on a weekly or monthly basis, and some can only be used on a yearly basis. It takes real dedicated study to really understand the schedule of these Jump holes, hence why only those who really have a pressing need make use of them. Notably, the Junkers have stationed a lot of their bases near the particularly stable holes, and can be relied to know the local schedules, emphasizing their usefulness to criminal society in general.

Only a fool jumps into a jump hole without checking if it's phase aligned. Bad things happen if they aren't.

Hence why Citadel governments and scientists and spacers don't really know about them beyond something akin to Flying Dutchman spacer myths. It took an astounding amount of luck,bravery, desperation and cunning for the first criminals to figure out the Jump holes. Over the centuries, Military and Law enforcement members were educated by Aegira on their nature, and have enough of an understanding to look for them, and on the rare need, do make use of them.

Feel free to pick apart my logic/headcanon on them.

 

[Finagle007]

Seems perfectly reasonable to me. BTW, can Jump Holes lead to intergalactic space like the Citadel does? Given that the Reapers have yet to awaken and are therefore totally defenseless...

Also, what about the Nomads?

 

[SharkGlue]

Status of either angry precursor race is still up in authoruak air

 

[Hammerheadcruiser]

Sounds like they need dangerous enviroments (maybe lots static?) to generate so I would doubt you would find many that lead to dark space. Dark space kind of sounds too safe

 

[Finagle007]

Sounds like they need dangerous enviroments (maybe lots static?) to generate so I would doubt you would find many that lead to dark space. Dark space kind of sounds too safe

Click to shrink...

Disproved in earlier chapter, when Perkins emerged in the elcor's home system.