Ghost Town

"Maybe so, but the Krogan is right," Noct said, "You open those doors and try to make a run for it you're going to get picked up by one of those things and hauled off somewhere for lunch. It is smarter to wait it out here, then move quietly when the coast is clear. Until then it is too dangerous."

--

Illy kicked and struggled, as did Zell. Before another second passed though, the girls came to their wits, Zell backhanded the ape with fire, and Illy unloaded a clip into the things head.

--

With everyone else either naturally gifted, or aided with Biotics, Mortal's fat ass brought up the rear.

Sab on the other hand found a few open doors leading into the lobby of what could have been anything from a hotel to an office building, and made a dash for it.

*The building Sab locates is empty for the time being, with all the creatures chasing them now.*

Ryder: “Good as any, let’s get in and secure it now!”

*Jade runs into the doors and sets up a biotic barrier around the entrance to keep back the mist. Syn runs inside and pulls the sniper off her back. When it activates, she starts picking off the beasts in the sky.*


*The humans size up Noctis.*

Human: “And who the hell are you? You look nice and tough, why not go and play hero.”

Krogan: “Shut it, human. You don’t want to mess with an Aether merc, and more importantly someone that agrees with me.”


*The ape drops them as it winces in pain and runs into an apartment. Glass shattering can be heard in the hallway.*


*The coast is clear, with the creatures moving deeper into the city.*

Linox: “Looks like this is our chance. Wouldn’t happen to know how to hotwire a car would you?”

Gazelle joins Syn in sniping the birds by busting out his hi-tect rifle and picking off several at once when they line up.

Quill joins Jade and reinforces the barrier as well as blockading the windows except for those being used by the snipers.

Sab and Mortal join in on the war efforts to take out the birds.

--

"I'm not going to go and play hero because it would be foolish, or did I not make that point clearly enough," Noct said.

--

Illy and Zell give chase.

--

Dura let a coy smile dance across her lips, "I do, indeed, doctor."

OOC: Sorry that took so long, could have sworn I posted at work Friday and didn't have much access over the weekend.


*Ryder moves to the doors and closes them once everyone is inside. While the rest of the team holds back the creatures in some way, he runs behind the front desk and finds the security switch. The building goes into lockdown as heavy, steel shutters close down on every door and window. Jade lets go of her barrier and sits down, exhausted.*

Ryder: “That should keep them out for a while.”


*Inside the apartment, the place is torn apart and the window in the living room is busted out where the ape escaped. Outside, it is nowhere to be seen.*


Human: “Whatever, we don’t need to deal with this shit.”

*The humans walk away, starting to bicker amongst themselves. The large Krogan turns back to Noctis and give his a head a slight bow.*

Krogan: “Thanks for that, these humans think they know everything. I didn’t expect to see an Aether Merc down here.”


Linox: “Well, if you wouldn’t mind demonstrating, we could get to the security center much faster.”

*Linox points over at a car still in fair, if just a little rough, condition and walks towards it.*

Noct nodded back to the Krogan, "Don't mention it. Sometimes people have to be dragged, kicking and screaming for their own safety. As for why I'm here, the UGA contracted us and a few other mercs to help out here on Rexil. It didn't go well, now all that is left is a small squad of UGA soldiers, and my small band of mercs." Noct let out a small sigh, "I'm Noct T'Silsi, nice to meet you."

--

Dura quickly and quietly makes her way over to the car. She checks the door, finds out it is locked, then fashions a slim jim with her omni tool. Quickly opening the door Dura began her work, and after a few sparks with the wires, and a biotic surge to start the electronic chip, the engine roared to life. "There we are," Dura said, admiring her handiwork.

--

"Well, that sucked..." Illy said, rubbing her throat.

"Yea, no shit," Zell agreed, "Lets get back to Noct. Everything seems to be clear up here anyway."

--

Sab takes a seat against the wall, and lets out a sigh. After closing her eyes for a few seconds she lets them wander, eventually settling on the other Ovisian.

Mortal turned to the new comers and got to the point, "Who are you two?"

"Gazelle" Gazelle says as he checks his guns to make sure everything is in order.

Quill crashes down and leans against Jade since he too is tired.

*Jade rests her head against Quill, ready to fall asleep.*

Ryder: “Don’t get too comfy, we’ll need to move out soon.”

*Syn pulls off her recon hood and sits on top of the front desk.*

Syn: “Cool your jets, Turian. We need to regroup. The name’s Syn Moria and you’d be best to listen to someone who’s been dealing with these things for weeks now.”


*Mist begins to roll in after the car starts up.*

Linox: “Time to go. Get in!”

*Linox instinctively jumps into the pilot seat and lets the car hover while he waits for Dura.*


Krogan: “No shit...not only is it an Aether merc, it’s the Aether merc. Srong Krast, I was head of security for Vixen. I’d imagine they’ve taken me off the payroll by now.”

*Krast watches as the survivors start to settle down with the screeching of monsters starting to fade off down the street.*

Krast: “So the UGA is here, huh? If they hired mercs, they got desperate. Can’t imagine that’s good for us down here.”


*Zell and Illy run into no more trouble on their way back down and would join Noct, currently in conversation with a large Krogan dawned in heavy, dark blue armor with the Vixen logo branded on it in a few places.*

Dura gets in.

--

"Nice to meed you Krast," Noct said. She then leaned against the wall, and let out a small sigh, "I'm afraid it isn't," Noct explained, "If things went well there would have been more than just us and another squad. The initial plan had everyone from the Blue Suns to Eclipse and everyone in between ready to come planetside, then our ship got attacked by those shadow monsters and I'm pretty sure its floating dead in space now."

At this point Illy and Zell reach Noct. "There was some weird thing on the tenth floor, but everything seems to be okay now," Zell said.

--

"Alright then Syn," Mortal said, holstering her weapon, "Lets hear what you've got to say, but make it quick. We don't have a lot of time for the finer details."

Quill positioned himself so Jade would be more comfortable leaning on him. He was tired but she looked exhausted. She needed the rest more than he did.

Gazelle checked his guns one more time.

*Syn relaxes, not phased by Mortal’s warning.*

Syn: “Don’t worry, sister. This is a Vixen building. They won’t be getting in here tonight. And we need to take advantage of that. I suggest some rest, you’ll need your strength.”

Ryder: “We’ve been doing fine so far. Guns and biotics make short work of those things out there.”

Syn: “For everyone that I take down, I swear two more show up. I don’t know where they are coming from, but I have yet to see their numbers thin.”

*Jade keeps her eyes open, listening in on the conversation. Worry crosses her face the longer the conversation goes.*


*Linox abruptly takes off into the air, knocking out the power light the car was parked next to. He rockets off down the street, smacking into the side of some buildings as he tries to regain control.*

Linox: “Sorry! Sorry! Never done this before.”


Krast: “No shit...an entire ship...these bastards are tough, even for me.”

*Krast’s attention drifts off into some bad memories. He snaps back to when Zell and Illy arrive.*

Krast: “You two were upstairs? I heard some of those bastards up there, that’s why I designated these floors as the safe area. What did you see?”

"It isn't entirely out of the question for the UGA to kilsat this rock from orbit," Mortal said, "So as I was saying before, time is of the essence."

Sab looked at Mortal, "You don't really believe that, do you?"

"Our operation was supposed to be the final effort," Mortal said, "And it went sideways. Worse yet, no one here can make any kind of message to the outside, so the chain of command isn't even aware that anyone survived down here."

--

"Some beating wings, no mystery what that was, and an ape like monster," Zell said.

"Stupid thingy attacked us on the tenth floor, but ran off," Illy continued, "We couldn't finish it, but it is no longer in the building."

--

"Perhaps it would be best if I drove," Dura said, "I'd rather not crash land twice in one day."

"I highly doubt they'll glass the planet Mortal" Quill says.

"But if you're feeling paranoid then you get first watch. We need rest" he adds.

Ryder: "The relay for this sector is down. They'd have to take a few months just like we did."

Syn: "There, you see! We'll be fine. You military types worry to much."

*Jade created a biotic ball in her hand and has taken to just watching it.*

Jade: "Unless they assumed we would fail..."


*Krast looks over at them.*

Krast: "A Howler? Guess I should have checked those floors out."


Linox: "Crash landing, highly unlikely. But perhaps best not to tempt fate today."

"And they had no reason to suspect that we wouldn't," Mortal said, "Remember, this mission was voluntary. Still, this is getting us nowhere slowly. Do you have any other insight, or does it end at 'this is a good building to sleep in'?"

--

"Is that was that thingy was called?" Illy asked, "It was a royal asshole."

--

"Agreed," Dura replied.

"This ends in get some fucking sleep Mortal" Quill sighed with frustration. He then held one hand up and created his own biotic ball with a ring around it much like the planet Saturn.

Gazelle sighed as well. "I just woke up from cold sleep. I'm good for another few hours. I'll take first watch."

Mortal furrowed her brow and took a few steps towards Quill before pointing at him, "Watch your mouth when you're talking to me, or I'll fucking break it."

*Syn thought for a moment.*

Syn: "Well, do you know where these things came from?"

Ryder: "Some ruins they found in a mine."

Syn: "No, I mean where they came from. Who they are."

*Jade let her ball suddenly evaporate and looked up at the small Drell.*

Jade: "You know?"


Krast: "Haha, well I'd imagine so. All we've seen them do is kill and scream, that's why we call them that. We call the shadows Ghosts and the birds are Banshees. Not particularly creative, but the humans came up with them."


*Linox quickly lands on a clear rooftop, pops open the cockpit and walks around to Dura's side.*

Linox: "Never did like these things. Too clumsy."

Quill let his float lazily around letting more and more form until he had a miniature diorama of the Sol system.

"Mortal calm down. Syn was it? I'd like to know where these Vorcha fuckers are coming from too."

Syn: "Well, not much. They're old, like before the Protheans. And I think they had space travel, at least their artwork shows things you can't find on Rexil."

Ryder: "You telling me those monkeys are intelligent?"

Mortal takes Quill's unwillingness to even raise his voice to her as a small victory, and sits down next to Sab, who was paying attention to Syn as she spoke.

--

Illy frowned, "That sounds like the kind of originality I've come to expect from humans."

"Any idea where they're coming from?" Noct asked.

--

Dura just kind of scoots over, "Oh, I wouldn't say that." Dura makes adjustments, gets comfortable, waits for Linox to get in, then heads off.

"So the things are intelligent? Comforting" Quill snarks. Its taking a lot of energy on his part not to put his hands on Jade's boobs, thighs, or ass.

Gazelle goes to check the fortifications of the building.

Syn: "That's what it looks like. So far, all I've seen is a bunch of monsters killing people."

*Gazelle's checks would comfort him that the lockdown is sturdy.*

Syn: "We should be fine, as long as none of the really big ones have woken up yet."

*Jade childishly grabs Quill's hand at the mention of something bigger out there.*



Krast: "Not much. I was over at HQ when the damn things pour out from the mine. It had to be from the ruins they found, but I'd like to know how the hell we missed them. We sweeped the place before Vixen's scientists moved in."

*Krast walks over to one of the hallway windows, watching the night sky.*

Krast: "This is not what I signed up for..."



*They arrive shortly at the security center without any problems. From the outside the building looks abandoned. The landing pad on the roof has a few shuttles all ready on it and the flora littering the rooftop provides pletny of hiding spots. The streets below would allow even more hiding for monsters.*

Linox: "Data servers would be near the bottom, probably a basement, but should be able to access files from any console."

Quill squeezes her hand back.

Ryder: "What do you mean 'bigger ones'?"

Syn: "Some of the artwork shows large quad monsters. It looks like most were wild but some of the apes could tame them and ride them."

Ryder: "Fantastic..."

*Jade blushes slightly and pulls her hand back.*

Jade: "You think they're still sleeping?"