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 Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 8:15 am
Pain...everywhere at once, and...simultaneously not attached to his own body? He had a body? Of course he did, it was over there, he just had to reach out and... It was so close, but kept slipping away... Then more pain, somehow worse than before, like his leg was being crushed by a biotic field.
Cae woke with a bit of a start, staring up at the ceiling through his sightless eyes. He wasn't quite sure if the dreams were from a bad batch of meds or not, but he started to wish there was a trustworthy doctor on the station. It was always a gamble when he self-medicated.
Sliding out of bed, he cautiously flexed the bitten leg, trying to work the stiffness and pain out of it, before grabbing his visor. He looked around his room for a moment, then slowly put weight on the leg, hobbling out into the main room. After that it was back to the same old routine; 'coffee', whatever passed for breakfast at the time, searching for a job for the day so he could support himself and his mute guest...
His head snapped to look at the couch at the last thought. Nobody sitting on the couch trying to learn Galactic, or jumping around trying to find things to incinerate, or tormenting him with various states of undress. That one was mostly his own fault though, he still hadn't quite adjusted to living with a female in his apartment yet. Pulling up the tracking program, he sighed inwardly at the thought that she had stayed the whole night by his door.
Switching to his contract search, he decided that today would need to be less active than yesterday. He just needed a job that wouldn't involve running or killing or wading through Vorcha. Guard duty sounded boring, but it was probably the best he could do, there wasn't much demand for contract desk jobs. Not that he would be much use there anyway. And just his luck, there was a contract for a guard position, though the client had him pause for a moment. Guarding a major weapons manufacturer, even if it was just for a trivial corporate matter might prove to be eventful. The price was a little higher than he'd expect as well, probably because it was a last-minute need. Still not much, but add long as he was making credits he would be alright.
Accepting the contract, he finished his morning routine and went about inspecting his armor, shaving off the bits of metal that poked inwards with his omni-grinder. A temporary fix, but he could take this risk for now and get real repairs done once he got paid. With the armor cleaned up, he slid the parts into place and secured them, his omnitool chiming with a message about halfway through. Snapping the pistol to it's holster point, he pulled up the response to the contract, which was just a time and place. He knew the drill though, specifics and temp softkeys would be supplied at the location.
Everything taken care of, he stepped through the door of the apartment, looking over at where his omnitool had said Tace was the last time he checked. He held up a finger to the empty spot next to the door, warning off the cov-ops before he walked off to the meeting area.
"Stay here, I'll be back later."
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Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 10:03 am
Sleep had been a restless affair. Light dozes against the wall while people passed by. And they were always passing by, no matter the hour. Luckily foot traffic was slower in the residential areas, but there was no common 'curfew' so to speak here. She'd gotten up to stretch a few times, and even at one point brought up her omnitool to study as it were. Hours trudged on and she was beginning to debate the merit of sneaking into the apartment and getting a few winks on the couch; hopefully sneaking out again before Cae caught her... or shot her for intruding, when the doors to his apartment began to grind.
Ears perking up as she turned her head curiously, Tayce watched as the by-now-familiar male emerged in battle gear. Though he couldn't see her Cae still looked her way before holding up his hand with a 'wait for further commands' gesture. Or simply 'give me a minute' or 'wait here' in more lax terms. Still curious how he was able to locate her, she didn't bother to acknowledge the gesture. It was obvious he couldn't really 'see' her, just the general idea of where she was, but that was enough to have her wondering if he planted something on her all the same.
Flicking an ear as he spoke, the mute Spartan didn't exactly understand the words, but coupled with the command the message was clear. And she had no intention of obeying it whatsoever. Shaking her head at him in defiance, Tayce got up as quietly as she could while still in full armor and started to follow him through the corridor. Wherever he was going, it had to be dangerous. Well, more dangerous than your average Omega stroll. This was her chance, and despite being hungry and tired she planned to make the most of it and use her training here.
♪♫ Oh, a storm is threat'ning
My very life today...
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Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 9:28 am
Cae made his way through the station, not purposefully keeping in mind that Tace was following him, but going a little slower with the leg. No sense in aggravating it on what should be an easy day. Even so, he made it to the meeting place on time, eyeing up the others who had gathered. It was almost a sample of most of the races on Omega. The ones that were any use in combat at least, but thankfully no vorcha.
The job turned out to be fairly simple, a layered security approach that covered all viable entry points, with the assumption that there might be some stragglers to...whatever type of meeting they were holding. He didn't bother asking, since he would probably wouldn't get an answer, and more likely would lose the job for being a possible threat.
The 'job orientation' completed, he received the temp softkeys and info on the people currently missing from the location, along with challenge questions. Nothing new to him, really, and he stored everything for quick retrieval. They didn't even say what company was here, but from looking at the few 'employees' they had, he would have to guess Elanus Risk Control Services, which made him wonder what they were doing that they couldn't use in-house security. Seeing their iconic Warlord armor set piqued his interest, though he damped down the idea of asking how it performed, if only because he wouldn't want a personal demonstration in his current state.
Everything else taken care of, he moved to his designated post and prepared to be bored for the next few hours. Times like these made him wonder if he could get a HUD rigged up to his visor, maybe watch vids or something. At least there was a crate he could use to rest or stretch his leg, if needed.
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Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2013 2:42 pm
Trying to stretch out her limbs as she bustled after him, stiff and sore from an uncomfortable night. Not that he was being particularly difficult to follow. Tayce frowned slightly as she thought about how bad his leg had looked earlier, watching him stop to bend at the knee for yet another time. Progress was slow, and though it seemed to be intentional he wasn't pausing or checking behind himself as he did when she followed him while cloaked. Did he really expect her to stay by his apartment door? Instead of sighing, which might give her position away, she rolled her eyes in silence.
Eventually they reached a gathering that left Tayce scrambling for the corners, trying to stay clear of accidentally bumping into someone. Thankfully with so many bodies close together she didn't have to worry about being sniffed out by the predatory looking Turians or accidentally sensed somehow. Playing keep-away with herself for the next several minutes while the gathering grew in size was starting to get exhausting. It was one thing to move through a crowd, another to have to stay in it and not be touched. Especially when everyone there was purposefully trying to take up more space, look dominant, challenging. Worth their pay. A presentation of sorts started and then it became easier as focuses shifted. She couldn't understand much of what was said, a word or two in a cluster at most, but the tone was demanding. She started to circle back to Cae cautiously, keeping a look out and watching the faces of those she danced around. Her breaths were louder than she would've liked and began to wheeze at the end from the exertion, so she watched the orator's face and started to time her breathing with his talking; the bark of his voice hopefully helping disguise the noise along with the ambient shuffling and living sounds form the crowd.
All the same, she was glad when the gathering started to split up, being sent to posts it seemed. Guard job? The details didn't mean much to her, her objective was to keep Cae safe and to stay undetected unless she didn't have a choice. Still, she was glad for the easier contract, maybe his leg would have time to heal.
Shadowing him as moved to his designation, she circled the area curiously while he got acquainted with a crate nearby. Looked like he was settling in for a long wait. Joy. She had no idea how she was going to keep herself awake through hours of staring at a wall. ♪♫ If I don't get some shelter
Oh yea, I'm gonna fade away...
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 12:22 pm
It wasn't too long before his first 'guest' appeared; Cae only had enough time to disassemble and reassemble his pistol once. The Salarian seemed in a rush, and didn't think highly of the hired gun who was taking his time checking his credentials, but a job was a job. And if Cae let someone in that didn't belong, it was his pay that would be cut. Still, everything cleared, all challenges were met with the proper response, and he let the guy pass.
Another dis-assembly of his pistol, and a few attempts at being proficient with his omni-tool later, and his second guest made himself known. Of all the aliens, Krogans were the one that he liked dealing with the least, and even more so to fight. What could you do against a mountain of muscle like that? He had heard a few rumors that they even drank some manner of corrosive concoction, for fun.
The...male, he thought, looked the most harmless of any he'd seen, wearing what might pass for business attire among their kind. No armor, no visible weapons, not that either of that mattered much given his size. Much like himself, it was easy to pass a weapons checkpoint when your body was the weapon.
The immediate problem was that the Krogan wasn't even on the list of missing corporate reps, despite his claim that he passed the first checkpoint without issues. He had a legitimate looking ID badge, but that also came back as invalid. Most other species would have tried to reason or weasel around the problem, but the Krogan went right to threatening to break Cae in half if he didn't step aside. He liked having his bones in one piece, but he needed the money too, and if he caved here he'd lose the pay for sure. Which was going to be harder, since the Krogan's short patience quickly ran dry, and he tried to force his way past.
Cae was caught off guard just a bit by this, and shoved the interloper back with a warning, doing his best to keep weight off of the leg. The Krogan was only moved back a few inches, and even laughed at the comparatively tiny human's attempt. Shifting as best he could into a fighting stance, Cae primed his biotics, hoping this would be a short fight, and really hoping he didn't end up in a body bag for this...
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Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 8:44 pm
The edges of her vision was already starting to blur, damn. Normally adrenaline kept her going, but without any proof that she was in a hostile situation and with no clear objectives her body was pretty sure that there was no reason for her to be awake. Frustrated, she got up and paced as she listened to the click and clack of Cae's repetitive motions.
Fortunately, or unfortunately however it was looked at, one of the people called Salarians approached and Cae moved to deal with him. She blinked and circled around quietly, observing. They were odd creatures, with their sunken chests and large, expressive eyes. They could hear, obviously, but how? This one, like any other she'd ever seen, was hurrying and abrupt as Cae cleared him.
Tayce followed the amphibian for a few paces before letting him go. Another tilt of the head as she regarded Cae again as he went back to fidgeting with his pistol and then she returned to pacing. When he tucked his weapon away to toy with his omnitool instead, she sat down again slowly; avoiding making a noise. If she kept this up he'd figure out she was there for sure, a misstep and she'd knock into something or step too hard and he'd be on his feet searching for the intruder.
Unsure whether or not her own omnitool would remain hidden under her stealth net, Tayce settled for counting random objects and examining her surroundings. She'd just turned to look at Cae and the odd cast the omnitool's aerogel screen lighted upon his face when someone started to approach. The heavy footsteps rattled the floor and Tayce practically jumped to her feet as the Krogan approached. Even with her limited knowledge of this place and its inhabitants, she knew this could mean trouble. As if looking at the creature's face wasn't enough of a tip off.
No, person, not creature, she reminded herself. Though the reprimand held little sting as she looked up at that weathered face. Same procedure as before, it looked like, until the voices rose. Already nervous, she slid behind the back of the Krogan, his hump completely obscuring the back of his head. And here she was without a weapon.
Tayce had to hop back quickly as the Krogan rocked and moved perhaps half a step back. Cae's firelight flared and her eyes went wide. A fight it would be, and she couldn't calculate the odds. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, perhaps if she really knew it would be even harder to do what came next.
Without a gun, she had no means of attack besides her body, and from what she could sense his broad back was more like a shell and less like skin. Joints it would have to be. The way he walked meant there was knees, ones that bent forward even. She dropped without thinking, using her augmented legs to kick out the back of his knees with as much force as her enhanced and trained body could muster. Gathering herself right behind his legs, so that he would trip and fall over her as he fell back, she sprung up as his hump made contact with the floor. What now? She knew nothing about them, their nerve points or how to attack. Jumping back and away to get out of Cae's direct path, she hoped he would know, and circled behind the biotic as the Krogan roared.
♪♫ War, children, it's just a shot away.
It's just a shot away...
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Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 7:19 pm
He had been prepared for a punch or a headbutt or maybe just being charged at, watching the Krogan seem to just...fall backwards put him off guard for a moment. Sure, Cae had shoved him back with a quick biotic hit, but he hadn't honestly expected it to do much besides give him a bit of space to work with. Not that it had done much of that either. Still, he'd take what he could get on Omega.
Quickly snapping out of his thoughts, he threw a high-powered stasis field on the downed Krogan before he had much time to react. Given their general shape, Cae wasn't even sure if he would be able to get back to his feet. Not quite a turtle, but still pretty top-heavy. Once the Krogan froze, he started a count in his head. A field this powerful might hold a human for 20, maybe 30 seconds, but a guy this big? Cae figured 15 tops.
One...
Without taking time to talk it out with the incapacitated male, he grabbed the pistol from his side and aimed, the hand cannon's report cutting through the air as he fired.
Three...
The first shot was too low, where the sternum would be on a human, and Cae re-aimed the next shots. Five more muzzle flashes, five more sharp echoes through the crowded walls of Omega, and the Krogan's face became a bloody mess.
Twelve...
The pistol clicked in his hand as it burned through the last of the heat sink. Six shots was fairly standard for this model, but now he really wished he had brought something heavier.
s**t!
Cae popped the spent 'clip', ignoring the sound as it clattered on the ground. He fumbled around for a replacement, not daring to take his eyes off the Krogan, not when the field would be tapering off by now.
Which it was, earlier than he had anticipated. Now Cae's problems were getting worse, a field that strong would leave him unable to use another biotic attack for...too long, by his count.
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Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 10:42 am
She saw Cae draw his pistol and quickly skittered away, backing up further from him to avoid potential wild recoil or just in general being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
The Krogan wasn't moving, however, as he aimed the gun. She tilted her head curiously and noted the shimmer of Cae's firelight over the angry male. Her memory flashed briefly to him holding her hand, and her arm suddenly feeling like it weighed far too much. Was this what he'd done? Weighed the intruder down?
But then the pistol flashed and her attention snapped, the instinctive urge to jump had been conditioned out of her of course, but her focus sharpened on the gunplay. He adjusted his aim after the first ranging shot and then unloaded his clip into the krogan's head, blood misting briefly, just a few shades lighter red than a human's would be. The detail caught her fascination briefly, macabre though it was.
She heard the clatter of the sink hit the floor and turned her head briefly to see Cae groping for the next clip, eyes wide and fixated on the gore that was the krogan's face. Tayce blinked at this, surely a whole clip was overkill to begin with, five bullets to the head-
The krogan was starting to move, rise, in fact, and Tayce's breather had trouble with her sharp inhale. She fought the urge to cough and won for the most part, though staying silent wasn't as much of a concern as it had been a few moments ago. She painfully ached for a weapon of her own, cursing the idiocy of being here unarmed.
There wasn't time for that though, she had to buy Cae time, and make herself a nuisance, though she felt chilled at the thought. Five goddamn bullets to the head and he's still getting to his feet...
Circling around, she quickly jabbed the brute in his side, pulling far away quickly. Obviously it wouldn't do anything in the way of damage, but getting its attention was her goal. And it was definitely an 'it' now to her, a moving slab of meat with no real face left. She shuddered at the flash of bone peeking though the sinew and tissue. One eye had been completely blown, the socket now a mess of bone chips blood. The other eye, though...
Tayce hopped back as an arm swung her way, uncloaking with a humorless smile. That's right, keep your eye on me...
♪♫
Ooh, see the fire is sweepin'
Our very street today.
Burns like a red coal carpet,
Mad bull lost its way.
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Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2013 10:28 pm
Cae had finally pulled a fresh sink out, slamming it home as the Krogan inexplicably got to his feet again. Because he had never seen one do so of course, he had no doubt that it would take more than 5 shots to take it down. He calmed himself as best he could, engaging the new clip and taking aim. He had to bring the Krogan down before he got within melee range.
Something was wrong though, his target's attention wasn't on him, as it should be, but to the side; Cae even watched the Krogan take a swipe at the air. He paused for a moment, trying to make sense of what was going on, which was when an armored figure popped into existence.
Or uncloaked.
Cae growled a bit, ears flat against his head. What the hell was she doing out here?
"TACE?!"
Not wasting any more time, he squeezed the trigger, steadily putting another 6 shots into the Krogan's head, cursing under his breath as he did. The distraction was sufficient enough, and the wall of muscle finally collapsed to the ground, beginning to pool blood onto the floor plating. Cae fell into a crouch, calmly letting the new heat sink slide from the pistol, sizzling an angry red as it rolled on the ground slightly.
"Ugggggh..."
He tried to collect himself as the adrenaline wore off, calm down instead of blowing up at Tace. She had probably just saved his life, after all. Slow, deep breaths. At least the encounter with the Krogan made sense now, she'd been responsible for tripping him before Cae started shooting. Finally standing, he walked over to the dead lizard thing, kicking its side just to be sure it was down for good. It would look better anyway, if he was standing over his kill when the corporate security folks finally arrived.
They arrived not too long after, clearing the area and checking the surveillance vids, giving Cae s**t for bringing in an unauthorized individual in. The upside was that the merc responsible for the first checkpoint was gone, either an accomplice or dead somewhere, and Cae had stopped the Krogan from getting in, albeit with help. For that he got 1/3 the missing merc's pay as a bonus, and a stern reminder that next time his armored friend needed to apply for the position just the same as he did, or they would both face the consequences. All in all, not a bad deal, considering the possibilities.
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