Space E-war Reloaded

[dinoman666]

"I'm not a d*mn encyclopedia, This One," Aria growled. "Like I said, check the extranet. It'll give you everything you need."

[C S]

"This one would divert your attention to this vessel's galactic standing, but this one cannot. Organic minds work on closed, skull based systems. This one will have to inform you verbally of ship distance from any non-Seeker interstellar networking. This ship is very far from any non-Seeker networking a-" said the Seeker, stopping mid-sentence when the ship was in range for approach. Lining up with the mass relay and transferring the necessary information, the scout ship flew past the blue core of the metal arms and was thusly propelled across miles upon miles of space in the blink of an eye. "The ship now even farther from non-Seeker networking. However, this one very close to Seeker networking" Ecliptor said as the scout ship continued along on its course...

[dinoman666]

"So does that mean we're back at... wherever you come from?" Aria asked. She may not get a chance to escape, but other than their rather futile attempts at mimicking sarcasm and poor humor, these "Seekers" seemed mostly harmless. At least This One did. Armed, but more than willing to talk rather than fight. Maybe talking her way out of this situation wouldn't be so difficult after all...

[C S]

"We are near" Ecliptor answered. In the distance, a rapidly growing speck was the austere form of 'Home', its dark gray metal hide difficult to discern from the blackness. There was no star or nebula to contrast it, and only through Ecliptor's inherent awareness of his kind, amplified by the vessel, was he able to tell where exactly his destination lay...

[dinoman666]

"Lovely," Aria muttered. Out of the f**king frying pan...


The shuttle ride to the Citadel Tower, where the Council convened on particularly important matters, was rather short. The elevator ride to the top, much to Grievous's chagrin, was not as short. When he finally stepped out into the massive chamber, decorated with alien trees and majestic fountains, he was even more irritated than when he had first arrived. On top of that, he needed to climb several flights of stairs before reaching a long walkway that hung over a small garden-like plaza in the depression below, with a large pane of glass acting as a divider. A number of balconies, several stories up, surrounded him. Opposite the walkway's end was four pedestals, with a single Council member standing at each. Councilor Sparatus, a Turian, Councilor Tevos, an Asari, Councilor Valern, a Salarian, and the recently-joined human Councilor, Donnel Udina. To the Council's right was a massive hologram of Saren Arterius, looking down at Grievous with what the cyborg could only describe as mild annoyance. His cloak obscured his body, as usual.

"General Grievous," Tevos began, "You are here because you have declared Saren Arterius, one of our Spectres, as treasonous to the Citadel Council, correct?" Sparatus waved his hand dismissively. "We're going to believe the claim of some warlord? What proof does he have?" "I agree, Councilor," Saren growled. "How can I defend myself against this kind of testimony? He is clearly delusional. Or did you not expect such a thing from this... abomination." "You had best be careful of what you say, Arterius," Grievous snarled. "You wouldn't want to insult your Geth friends!" Saren snorted. "You can spout accusations all day, General, but it will get you nowhere but evicted from this courtroom." "Both of you, please!" Valern interrupted, silencing both the accuser and the accused. "I have to agree with Saren and Sparatus, General. Do you have evidence to condemn him? If you do not, I'm afraid this trial is a waste of time." "Yes, we have to deal with more realistic Geth threats right now," Udina added. "And who do you think convinced the Geth to attack you?" Grievous replied. "But if I cannot convince you with words, just take a look at this." The cyborg pulled a holographic projector from his cloak. "My Commandoes and I, as well as a pair of mercenary freelancers, one Turian and one Khurakra, investigated an exchange between Saren and the Blood Pack on Omega. One of my droids recorded it." The Councilors looked between themselves for a moment, silently debating. With a simple nod of her head, Tevos, turned back to Grievous. "Activate the other projector," she announced, seemingly to no one. A few moments later, another hologram sprang up, this time to the Councilors' left. It was a recording of Saren and the Blood Pack mercs, wirelessly connected to Grievous's own, smaller projector. The Councilors were silent at first, watching the projection carefully. However, as Saren brought up the Geth Prime to give to the Blood Pack, they seemed stunned.

"This... this can't be right," Sparatus said. "This footage is uncut?" Grievous nodded once. The Turian Councilor turned back to Saren's hologram, about to ask him a question as well, but, to everyone's shock, he had vanished. "It would appear your Spectre is running scared," Grievous growled, amused. Tevos crossed her arms, thinking. "This does not bode well. If Saren is working with the Geth to this degree, then he has gone rogue." Valern nodded in agreement. "Very well. I believe we can all agree that Saren is officially disbarred from the Spectres. With his title stripped from him, he no longer has access to any of his usual resources. However, he still must be captured and brought to justice." At this, Sparatus spoke up. "We can't just send a fleet into the Terminus Systems, or even the Attican Traverse, to capture one man! It could start a war!" "There is another option," Tevos said, looking at Grievous. "General, you are not a member of the Citadel races, and you have just as much reason to find and capture Saren as we do. You can find him far more easily than we can." Grievous nodded, not nearly as concerned about angering the Terminus Systems as the Council. "I already planned for that. I have hired the two mercenaries to track him down and kill him." Sparatus arched a scaly brow. "You're kidding, right? Two freelancers to track down a former Spectre? Ridiculous. Besides, he is much more valuable alive." "Regardless, Councilor, this situation is now under my control until you decide to assist me directly by sending your own fleet in." Tevos quickly calmed the two down. "I'm sure you have the resources to find Saren, General. Councilor Udina will transfer information regarding the Geth to you. With luck, it will assist you in finding Saren." As Udina activated his Omni-tool to begin the transfer, Tevos continued. "This meeting of the Council is adjourned."

As everyone in the chamber dispersed, Grievous headed back to his ship, growling, "I am glad to see that justice has been served..."

Saren, meanwhile, was elsewhere, somewhere not even the Council would think to look. He was thinking hard, more than a little bit annoyed at this upset. He hadn't expected Grievous to show up, let alone record his transaction with Garrsk. He should have been more careful. And then there was the two mercs the cyborg had mentioned. A Turian and a Khurakra. They were the wildcard here, but at least they would stick out in a crowd. Saren quickly sent a message, a subtle tip-off to the Blood Pack. He couldn't risk those mercs causing any more trouble. If they were still on Omega, he would make sure they wouldn't be getting off that station alive...

[The Kingpin]

"pfft. He's strong, but I doubt he's got that much influence" responded Khuurava. Sharakh was obviously interested, but said nothing, knowing better than to get his nose in business that wasn't his."Anyway, we've got work to do. I'll see you around, Sharakh" hissed Khuurava as he turned back towards the doorway. "Watch your ***, Khuurava. things are going to hell out there" responded Sharakh as he went to check the surveillance equipment...

[dinoman666]

Arrak followed Khuurava, saying, "Nice guy. Probably great with kids..."

[The Kingpin]

Khuurava snorted as they left the safehouse. "Yeah, if by kids you mean Vorcha and other vermin, and by good you mean plugging them full of shotgun shot and plasma" hissed the Khurakra as he made his way back towards the lift up to the main station floor of Omega...

[dinoman666]

"Details," Arrak muttered with a shrug. "So, can we finally get off this rock?"

[The Kingpin]

"Yep. That was the last thing on my agenda. Well, aside from asking Aria whether she has any information on our Spectre friend" hissed Khuurava as he headed for the lift, walking over the dead Vorcha along the path as the entrance to the elevator appeared before them...

[dinoman666]

"Maybe we can call the good General instead," Arrak suggested. "He said he was meeting the Council. If we're lucky, he's got some info on Saren now. If, you know, the d*mn politicians didn't stonewall him."

"Are we there yet?" Aria grumbled, not expecting the Seeker to get the joke. She heard that they were near, but that left a lot open to interpretation. Just what WAS "near" to a synthetic anyway?

[C S]

"No. We are several kilometers away; traveling at a considerable fraction of that distance per second. We will be there soon" Ecliptor replied, at this point not concerned with hostility with the biotic. She had been cooperative enough, in her actions more so than words. She could have easily attempted to destroy the ship's engines or something of the likes- which while suicidal, would have prevented the Seeker from returning to the station. With the last leg of the journey about to come to a close, Ecliptor began to mobilize, slinking through the hull plating towards the hatches on top of the ship...

[dinoman666]

"I figured as much," Aria muttered. Maybe, if she cooperated a little bit, the d*mn thing would let her go after a nice conversation. "I hope I don't go insane from this," she growled. "Patriarch would never let me live it down."

[The Kingpin]

"Perhaps. I'll get in touch with him once we're on the ship. FTL communications on Omega are...less than ideal. I made sure my ship had the best available to civilian ships of that size. Need it to remain updated on my targets and mission goals" responded Khuurava as he entered the elevator, the lift taking the two back up to the main floor, soon slowing and opening, the lift standing beside the doorway to the docking station, across from the Afterlife...

[dinoman666]

"Sounds good," Arrak replied. As the lift door opened, however, the Turian froze. A trio of Blood pack mercs, all Trandos, were prowling around the entrance to Omega, rather brusquely questioning nervous bystanders. "Sh*t," Arrak hissed quietly. "Think they might be looking for us?"

[The Kingpin]

"If that docking station had security cameras, probably" hissed Khuurava through narrowed eyes, his form tense, seeming ready to spring into combat at a moment's notice. "Any ideas?" he asked, a plan of his own formulating, though he intended to see if Arrak didn't have any less destructive ideas on his mind before he risked pulling off his own...

[dinoman666]

"Act casual," Arrak whispered. "They haven't seen us ye--" As soon as the words left his mouth, one of the mercs turned... and looked right at him. The Trando's scowl turned into a snarl, and the other two mercs turned to see what had gotten his attention, unholstering their weapons. "Never mind," Arrak said. "Let's just run..."

[The Kingpin]

"Better solution" hissed Khuurava as he drew his assault rifle, a winding up tone being heard before a bluish orb was launched from the grenade launcher under the assault rifle's bore, the orb streaking forward at a startling place, colliding with the chest of one of the Trandoshans, the large explosion blowing all three off their feet and in different directions, the one shot by the grenade being killed instantly, the others no doubt badly burned or otherwise injured, considering their shields were likely not the highest grade available. "Now run" said the Khurakra as he bolted for the docking station, assault rifle in hand as chaos reigned amidst the populace in the immediate area. While combat in the streets wasn't exactly uncommon in Omega, a blast that large was rare. Aria's henchmen would no doubt be here in moments to take control of the situation, so they had to be fast. a command was sent to the Ezdelera, the ship's fusion reactor humming to life as the systems activated, a destination already plotted and defence systems coming online, lights flickering to life along the length of the black and silver ship as the shields activated, the entrance only opening once Khuurava had entered a certain distance from the ship, built-in turrets rolling out of panels in the ceiling of the decontamination chamber, preparing to tear apart any target not marked as friendly by Khuurava's personal IFF system, Arrak being the latest addition...

[dinoman666]

While not quite as fast as Khuurava, Arrak managed to keep up, leaping into the ship as bursts of gunfire pinged against the walls of the docking bay. Those three Trandos probably weren't the only Blood Pack mercs around...

Indeed, as several other Blood Pack troopers arrived to pursue, Anto and several other thugs marched out of Afterlife, brandishing their weapons. "Alright, cut this s**t out, now!" Anto barked. Most of the civilians had fled the scene by now, knowing better than to stick around and watch the fighting, and the Blood Pack mercs begrudgingly stopped their pursuit. "Those two freelancers killed our boss!" one of them hissed accusingly. "Boo f**king hoo," Anto growled. "Get back to your own turf, before Aria comes out here and tears you a new one herself!" A boldfaced lie, of course, but no one else on Omega knew about Aria's disappearance, and Anto certainly didn't plan on letting anyone know. Fortunately, the mecs didn't press the issue, instead giving Anto cold glares and stalking off...

[C S]

When Ecliptor told Aria the ship was several kilometers away, it was a gross understatement of the several hundreds of kilometers that were between it and 'Home'. Consequently, the Asari had no idea that the ship was barreling towards 'Home' at a fraction of hundreds of kilometers a second; the station no longer a speck, but a massive bulk of metal that she could not even see. Without warning, the ship's forward thruster blared to life, a strong tremor running through the vessel as it started to slow itself down enough for docking...