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 Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:41 am
Caecilius:
It had been a little over a week since he had encountered the female in the warehouse, though Caecilius had long pushed that aside in his memory to worry about more pressing matters. Nothing out of the ordinary of course, but as a blind biotic he needed more than just the standard food rations. Though even just being a human had its share of problems, and there was no shortage of others ready and willing to take advantage of their newly established presence in the galactic community. This all meant there was no end to the things that required credits, and was the reason why he was always looking for another contract or job.
Today was no different of course, and he skimmed through the latest batch of contracts offered through his usual broker, mentally ticking off the ones he couldn't or wouldn't do. Too much work, too little pay, too dangerous, and like hell he'd work on an all-krogan team. As he continued scrolling through the list on his omnitool, he almost missed one as the projectors seized up momentarily, the amber gauntlet flickering into static. Scrolling back up, he looked over the job name and pay, but it was nothing good. The next one did catch his eye though, mostly for the pay. Expanding the contract, he looked over the details to see if he had found a new job.
Contract: Warehouse pest control
Pay: 50,000 credits upon completion
Details: Someone or something has been tampering with our shipments in a warehouse in sector Fox-Kilo-48. Previous attempts to catch the culprit have been unsuccessful. Job is to find and eliminate the problem permanently. If the problem returns, we will require a refund of all payment, no exceptions. Only sighting so far was by a warehouse worker who claims to have seen an unauthorized human. This is unconfirmed.
Well, this sounded promising at least. He looked up the sector location, since there were just too many in the damn station to keep track of, and grinned slightly as he finally recognized the area. If his hunch was right, he would have the advantage in knowing who was causing the trouble. And if he was wrong, he'd have some target practice with a vorcha perhaps.
Switching back to the contract list, he accepted the contract, but frowned as an error came back saying someone else had already taken it. Caecilius hated when that happened, and it made him feel like decking the scumbag every time. Unfortunately, for just such a reason the name of the contractor wasn't disclosed, but he already had the sector and a good guess about which warehouse it was, and took no time in loading up his heavy pistol and heading out the door.
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Having to work these shitty jobs in random sectors had at least one advantage, by now he knew the ins and outs of how to get around better than most. Or so he liked to think, at least. As he emerged from an alleyway across from the suspected warehouse, he spotted a well-armed batarian trying to work the lock on the door, and did his best to creep up to a closer piece of cover to watch. Guess he was right about who was causing the trouble... Unholstering his pistol, he shifted into a crouch, ready to sneak in behind the other merc. He wasn't against stealing someone else's contract and the situation seemed to call for it, if only to confirm his suspicions. Caecilius watched the batarian enter the door, counting to himself before moving as quickly as he could without behind heard. There was a small window of time he had to slip through the door before it closed again, and with any luck he would...almost there...
But he misjudged the distance, and the door was already closing by the time he got there, the opening too small even for him. It was fortunate that the batarian came flying backwards, triggering the prox sensor on the inside as he buzzed past, before hitting a metal barricade much too hard. Not letting this opportunity slip past him, he moved to the middle of the doorway, giving the merc a once-over to make sure he was down for the count. Turning to face the interior of the warehouse, he crouched down with his pistol drawn, using one hand to switch off the filters on his visor.
He was starting to get a bad feeling about this...
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Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 6:22 pm
Tayce:
The last week had been a living hell. Nothing was right here, and nothing made sense. Raiding containers had kept her from starving, or had just as likely ended up with her vomiting and sick.
As if that wasn't bad enough, everything beyond the warehouse was just downright wrong. And that very wrongness kept trying to force it's way into her hideout. So she did what she had to.
Forcing those things right back out.
Like that monstrous creature she sent flying right back through the door just moments ago. Hiding in stealth and dropping from the rafters seemed to have the best effect in terms of surprising them, and they often never saw the powerful kick coming their way.
She didn't have time to 'reload' however, when the next shadow fell across the threshold. Her spine snapping to attention as her ears pricked forward at the next contender, Tayce quickly darted to the side using one of the several crates for cover as her target drew a weapon.
And raised a hand to touch a very familiar visor. Another moment or two past as she stared at him, making absolutely sure that the shadowy figure was the familiar male she remembered from before; the only one that had shown her any kindness at all in this insane place.
Wheezing in her excitement, she launched herself from hiding to attach herself to his face; completely ignoring the weapon. Sitting on his shoulders as she hugged his face, Tayce huffed and wheezed in her happiness and refused to let go.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:14 pm
Thoughts were racing through his mind as he scanned around the warehouse. Of course, the stupid Batarian hadn't turned on the lights, which was probably one reason why he got thrown out so easily. Still, the force required to launch an armed body that hard, made him question whether the small-ish female from a week ago could be responsible. Even with his visor feeding him every spectrum, it was hard to make out much among the crates in the low-light, and the random clutter didn't help either.
He caught movement out of the peripheral of his vision, turning to bring his pistol to bear on the target, just in time to see the armored figure collide with his face, almost like in that classic horror movie. Though fairly light, the inertia and armor was enough to knock him out of his crouch, and he threw his arms behind himself to prevent being thrown to his back. His gun slid out of his hand across the warehouse floor, and his body flared blue as he prepared to defend himself against whatever was covering his head, pulling back his arm, ready to deck whatever was attacking him before he heard the familiar wheezing.
So it was her?
Leaning forward carefully, he proceeded to peel the armored female off of his face, setting her down in front of him.
Well this was familiar...
Sighing, Caecilius waved at her in greeting, a little unsure of how to react under these different conditions. He was certain things were about to get much more complicated though.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 6:25 pm
Sucking air like it was about to go out of style in her overly excited state, Tayce's filters were working hard so she could pant and wheeze at him. Even as he caught himself, she still clung desperately as her tail lashed back and forth in all the pent up agitation of the past week.
When hands started to grip at her she resisted at first but finally relented in opening her eyes and seeing that no one was trying to tear her away... he just needed space.
Perhaps even to breathe.
Feeling a little abashed, Tayce let go of her grip and allowed herself to be guided to the floor; promptly tucking her legs to her chest and resting her head on her knees as she faced him. Ears flattened as she clasped her hands around her legs, she just started at him, her wheezing still fairly audible as she tried to calm down her hammering heartbeat.
For a horrid moment she wondered if he even remembered her, and her body shook involuntarily at the thought. Would he shoot her, after all? Shrinking away, she mentally prepared herself to spring away if he made a reach for his weapon or if that weird green stuff came back-
But then he waved and all was right in the world. Or at least in this shitty warehouse. For about a second.
Tayce wasn't about to take any modicum of comfort for granted though, and promptly flung herself at him again, arms outstretched as she clung to him. The hiss of her rapid breathing the only sound she could make to let him know how glad she was to see him.
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 7:50 pm
Though he wasn't sure what to do with her, he definitely didn't expect her to lunge at him again, but this time he didn't have enough time or position to catch himself, and he fell on his back as the armored female...hugged him?
He resigned to letting her stay that way while he mulled over his options, arms resting by his sides, either unsure if he should reciprocate, or perhaps not caring, maybe even both. His ears perked up though, and he tilted his gaze to watch her, despite the tinted visor obscuring his eyes.
He couldn't leave her here, otherwise the contractor would just keep sending more people until she was caught, or worse. And she was still in the warehouse, he doubted from lack of available exits. That, along with how she had and was greeting him led him wonder if she was out of a home. It wasn't too uncommon on Omega, but rarely to someone with a nice set of armor like hers. Not like he could just ask her what her deal was, since that went spectacularly last time and all. He doubted kicking her out would do any good either, if she hadn't left after a week there was no reason to think she wouldn't just find a way back into the warehouse, which would result in the same issues as just leaving her here.
That just left him with taking her with, back to his place, which would be a whole new set of problems; he was already living from chit to chit, having another person would strain that. But...was she the one that took out the Batarian? There really wasn't anyone else in here, so maybe? If that was the case, perhaps she could pull her own weight...
Whatever the case, he needed to get her out of here, he hadn't had time to check if the Batarian was dead or just knocked out, and Caecilius didn't want to be around if the merc ever did wake up. He still didn't think he could converse with her normally, but the armor looked military at the very least, so maybe...?
He carefully pushed himself back up, and untangled the female from him again. This time he held up a clenched fist in case she wasn't done attacking him, followed by an 'OK' sign with his hand, tilting his head slightly to the side to try and convey the idea of a question.
Freeze, understand?
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Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 8:45 am
She fell to the floor with him, not particularly caring beyond the distant thought that she hoped her armor wasn't hurting him. The need for comfort and safety was all consuming at the moment though; and her relief at a familiar, if not friendly, face was pretty apparent.
By the time he pried her off again Tayce had managed to get her breathing back under control. Backing up to give him space, she kept her focus on the floor a little sheepishly, her ears flopped down in embarrassment. Though when he made a fist she winced and drew away, cringing at what looked like a threat for the violation of his personal space.
Except, he was gesturing again. She tilted her head in a mimicry of his own expression, the light of understanding beginning to dawn on her. Before, when he had tried to explain his visor, she had understood what that the shake of his head meant 'negative' or no, or some similar thought. And just now, that wasn't a raised fist in anger, it was sign language. Military edition.
Hold. Wait in position. Confirmation. But the head tilt? He was... asking?
Wait, ok?
She sat still, though her excitement was making that fairly difficult. Nodding vigorously, she made a show of staying put, though a chilly fear that he was about to leave again began to creep up on her.
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 8:46 am
He was worried for a moment when she seemed afraid at the new attempt to communicate, but smiled and twitched his ears when she caught on. At least this time didn't result in another dent in the warehouse floor.
He nodded to try and indicate that she had it right, then shifted to his feet and turned away from the female, scanning about for his weapon. Spotting it near an opened container, he quietly moved to grab it, giving it a quick once-over to make sure it wasn't damaged. Satisfied that it would still work if he needed it, he placed the pistol back on his hip, the components shifting around as it switched to its storage mode.
That taken care of, he turned and returned to the female, crouching down in front of her. He tapped his chin as he thought of how to best proceed, looking sightly to the side, ears tweaking a bit. She seemed to have no problem with being close to him, but if he carried her on his back it would be a problem if they ran into trouble.
Nodding to himself as he came up with an idea, he tried 'saying' something more complex. He was still curious as to whether she took out the Batarian, but he could spend more time trying to figure our how to converse with her later, and as such he stuck with commands.
Caecilius first pointed at her chest, then at his, and pushed the palm of his hand towards the floor. He followed this by pointing back towards the door, making a squared arch to clarify, and motioning towards himself. Finally he held up his hand in the 'OK' sign, tilting his head slightly to the side to emphasize the last part as another question.
You, me, crouch, door, come on, understand?
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:30 am
She watched idly as he reclaimed his weapon, tilting her head in curiosity. Come to think of it, why was he here, with a gun? Logic said that he was here to shoot someone. Either her, or someone else. Since he hadn't shot her, and made no motion to do so, deduction suggested that maybe he'd come to help her. Save her, even.
Tayce didn't know what to do with that thought, shifting almost nervously as he crouched in front of her again. He wasn't really looking at her though, and seemed to be considering something. Agreeing with himself before he tried 'speaking' again.
Her eyebrows climbed after the third gesture, her back straightening as she leaned a bit away from him in shock. After all, 'you, me, to the floor' could have a very salacious meaning. And it didn't get much better after that.
If Tayce could laugh, she would've. As it was, she wheezed and her shoulders shook. It looked for all the world like he was suggesting she should get on the floor with him, after following him through the door to his...something. By indicating himself it seemed to suggest his home. Basically, 'Would you like to follow me back to my place for some sex?'
The military translation was quite different though, and he didn't look like much of a marine or anything to her, but maybe he was ex-military? A little young for that... at least in her opinion. Still, 'lie low, but follow me to the door' made a bit more sense in context. Her ears tweaked as she decided to acknowledge, as best as she could manage.
Holding a hand up, she circled with a single finger before pointing to him with the same hand. Nodding in confirmation after the gesture, she slunk behind him while staying in a crouch. Her knees were never particularly fond of this, but maybe he knew something she didn't.
Rally to you.
I'll follow, I understand.
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 1:34 pm
At first when she started wheezing he thought perhaps she was having trouble breathing, but the way her shoulders were moving...was she laughing? What was so funny? Did she know he was leading her into a trap or something? Or maybe she thought the idea of following him was amusing?
He pushed the thoughts aside when she responded in turn and fell in line behind him. So far so good, at least. Carefully turning on his feet, he made his way to the door and lightly placed his hand over the lock, instead of slamming it like the last time he was in here. Better to keep the element of surprise just in case.
Moving to the side of the doorway, he held up a fist again as the door cycled open, then reached for his pistol.
Hold.
Drawing his gun, he checked the area in front of the warehouse, then moved towards the Batarian. He looked around a bit more before he stopped by the body, holding up his free hand and motioning for the female to follow, then pulling up his right arm as he activated his omnitool. Switching it to scanner mode, he waved the amber-clad hand over the body, then looked at the results.
He was still alive.
That could be problematic in many ways, especially if he ever found out who stole his contract. Backing up a few steps, Caecilius kept his pistol trained on the Batarian while he tried to figure out what to do with this problem.
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 1:59 pm
Stalking behind him, she pressed her back against the wall beside the door as he did... whatever he was doing. She saw his fist raise in another signal; wait, and obeyed. Watching as he slipped out the hatch, Tayce's breathing started to hitch again. It's not like she couldn't figure out how to get out of the warehouse, it was just that she didn't want to.
It was the only place that at least made half of some sense. Taking a few deeper breaths, which instantly presented a strain on her filter and caused her to choke for a moment, she regained herself and braced as she edged towards the door.
Peeking around the corner, her ears went back instantly at the wrongness of everything. She whined softly in distress, which was little more than a sigh of air in reality, and watched the male's back as he moved forward to the horribly ugly creature she had sent flying earlier.
Another gesture from him and she emphatically shook her head no. In fact, hell no. Not that he seemed to be paying her much attention. Disobeying an order of superior? Unthinkable. Disobeying some blind punk with voodoo powers that just happened to know military gestures? Totally acceptable.
Pivoting back into the warehouse, she kept herself pressed up against the door and activated her stealth cloak yet again, just in case.
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 8:24 pm
This was kind of neat, finally in command for once, even if it was just a tiny female in armor that looked well outside his pay-grade. Not to mention she was possibly homeless and either mute or otherwise couldn't understand him, but beggars can't be choosers, as the Earth saying went.
As for the Batarian, he needed the credits, and he didn't want anyone coming after him for stealing a contract. That pretty much left him with one option; to kill him. Lucky for Caecilius, he was already knocked out, so it would be really easy. All he had to do was aim for where the heart was, and...
The echoing report of the pistol signaled the end of the merc's life, but he wasn't worried about anyone coming to investigate. In Omega, gunfire was fairly common, so nobody would give a second thought to the noise. Crouching down by the now dead Batarian, Caecilius activated his omnitool again and used it to remove the one that the other merc wasn't going to be using anymore, perhaps he could get some useful data off of it later. He'd also need to come up with a believable reason as to why he was completing the contract, and how he was completing it, but he had a bit of time for that. For now, he also relieved the corpse of its weapons, and turned around to hand off a pistol and rifle to his charge.
Except he was offering the guns to air. He frowned as his ears folded back, staring into the open space between himself and the open doorway to the warehouse. Well that sure didn't last long... But the door was still open? That would mean something was in the range of the prox sensor, right? He set the weapons back down by the other merc and drew his own pistol again, cautiously checking both sides of the doorway before taking a few steps beyond the door. His ears folded back as he scanned around the inside of the warehouse again, his back to the dead merc. What the hell was going on?
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Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 2:32 pm
The gunshot made her jump, though not unfamiliar it was certainly unexpected. Swinging her head to look past the door frame, Tayce's eyes went from the creature to the increasing pool of orange-red...blood? Certainly looked like it, at any rate. She didn't have time to really process that as the visored-male turned around with the pilfered weapons and promptly frowned. Her head tilted at the gesture, noting that he didn't have them 'drawn' so much as offered. That made her grin, though nobody would ever know it.
Curious now, she watched as he laid the arms down and approached her sanctuary again, pistol at the ready. Not that she feared it, or him, really. Respected the weapon, yes, feared his visor, absolutely; but she believed he didn't intend her harm. So when he passed the perimeter again Tayce de-cloaked behind him, trying to get his attention.
Well, trying to figure out how to get his attention without getting shot, anyway. Reaching out, she tugged on his arm and purposefully took a hard drag on her airline to make it hiss. Efforts to be familiar. Though now she jumped back in case the floor underneath him decided to collapse again or something. Or that green light that flickered to life when he was angry.
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Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 6:55 pm
He continued scanning around the warehouse in search of the female, taking his time as he went from crate to crate, his visor not really feeding him anything useful yet. Did something happen to her? Maybe there was a 3rd person, the one that had taken out the Batarian? He hadn't heard any scuffle or struggle, but it wasn't like she could call out for help if someone had grabbed her or anything...
He never heard her de-cloak, but was too caught up in thoughts of a 3rd assailant to react calmly when she tried to get his attention. Whirling at the source of the noise and contact, he flared blue in case a fight was about to start, ears flattened. Once he recognized the armored female the biotic aura almost immediately dissipated, and he placed his hands on his knees as he bent over, feeling the adrenaline rush hit him. He wanted to ask what happened or why she snuck up on him like that, but highly doubted he could get an answer out of her until they figured out a way to communicate other than command gestures. But maybe...?
Sighing in exasperation, he stood up again and tried what might be a question, if he could get the meaning across at least. This time he simply pointed to her chest, then his own, and to the open doorway out of the warehouse, ending with the 'OK' sign and a head tilt.
You, me, through the door, understand?
When he went to leave the first time he was more concerned with the Batarian outside than watching her, so perhaps she just ignored the order? That almost made sense to him.
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Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 7:44 pm
Cringing at the display, Tayce's tail bottle brushed as she pulled it in front of her body as if it could shield the rest of her from his anger; made manifest in that weird greenish fire that randomly consumed him. A spark of recognition and then the light died, but she still kept her distance to be safe.
Taking a moment while he recovered himself to try and smooth out her tail, she tried to hide it behind her back in embarassment when he turned to look at her again. Ears perking at first as he began to gesture, they flattened the instant he finished the suggestion of walking out the door. Shaking her head no, so hard in fact that it was quite uncomfortable with the weight of her helmet, Tayce repeated the symbol for the door; the cornered arch drawn in the air, and shook her head no again.
Looking down at the floor, she rocked on her feet, heel toe heel toe... trying to think. How to explain that beyond the warehouse was a world that didn't make sense? Where she wasn't safe and had no idea how to get home or why the portal had sent her here rather than the designated training field.
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Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 8:26 pm
Her reaction to his command gestures was a little...surprising? At least if there wasn't any confusion as they conversed, she was saying she didn't want to leave the warehouse? It made sense as far as why she was still here, but why didn't she want to leave? She couldn't stay here, more mercs would end up being sent if he didn't get her out, and if a Batarian managed to capture her she'd probably end up a slave. He was just looking out for his own kind, she had to leave.
He watched as she rocked back and forth, and sighed in frustration. There just wasn't an easy way to say everything he needed to say, but...might as well try. Caecilius snapped his fingers to get her attention to him instead of the floor, then pointed to her again, himself, and finally the doorway, simply nodding this time.
You, me, through the door, yes.
Next he pointed only to her, then motioned over his head, before shaking it.
You, hold this area, no.
And finally, he tried to explain why she couldn't stay...or at least he hoped. He pointed to the door, held his wrist, and then pointed to his upper arm. He followed that up by indicating the numbers one through ten, then made a rolling motion with his hands, trying to indicate many. Pointing to her again, he made the motion over his head again, before pointing to her, and pushing his palm to the floor.
Through the door, enemy, squad leader, numerous, endless.
You, hold this area, you, on the floor.
Would that work? It wasn't as if he felt the time pressure anymore, but he still needed to leave. Eventually the contractor would wonder what happened to the Batarian, but that would be days at least, though he didn't expect to stay longer than a few hours, tops. Hopefully.
He ended with another 'OK' sign, tilting his head to the side to indicate that it was a question.
Understand?
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