[Citadel, Tayseri] It's Been A While...(Open)

As the elevator closed behind him, Tobias shifted his weight to his good leg and surveyed the immediate area.

So this is what Tayseri Ward puts out for newcomers, huh?

The young man presented a somewat unusual appearance as he scanned his surroundings: Tall and thin, with an ancient cane and the distinctive limp of a low-quality prosthetic. Add in the beat-up jacket, and scarred face, and people giving him odd looks were almost guaranteed.

He picked a random direction and started walking, examining the buildings and people around him. Things were familiar, yet...different from his memory of the place. Of course, last time he'd been to the Citadel was before the war. Things were bound to have changed. As he ambled along the street, he pulled up his lonely little thread on CDN and updated that he'd finally arrived. Late by a couple hours, no thanks to customs. That done, Tobias decided to grab a drink from a nearby stall and browse the gift shops nearby until the fabled CDN Probability Vortex took effect, or his supplies were reported delivered to his ship, whichever came first.

Buzzsaw Buckner sat against a closed stall, his arms clasped around his knees. He looked very worse for the wear- A haggard beard around his jaw and his reddish brown hair was fuzzy and recently shaved, and his business suit more or less ruined. Seeing the man with the limp pass by, he slowly stood up, dusted himself off, adjusted his stained tie and removed his hat. "HELLO SIR, I AM BUZZSAW BUCKNER, OFFENSIVE SUPERSTAR OF THE RHODE ISLAND KNIGHTS! Want a picture?"

He pushed up into the man's personal space, activated his omnitool and took a photograph of the two with a wide smile on his face. "There, a photograph! Sports superstar, that'll twenty credits. Come on, man, the UCL hasn't contacted me since the whole 'lockdown is almost over' thing months ago!"

Tobias stood there in shock, mind going into overdrive in an attempt to form a response.

Husks!

Vague flashes of hand-to-hand combat, screams, and gunfire flashed through strained synapses. Something snapped, and Tobias lashed out with his leg.

Can't let them get close! They'd tear you apart, or worse, drag you off screaming...

The strain on his already worn-out prosthetic was finally too much, and he collapsed with a small scream, half-rolling as he hit the ground, coming to a halt a few feet away with his cane held like a rifle in trembling hands.

No, not husks...just a man.

Gradually, his eyes stopped their wild movements and regained focus on the 'here and now'. After realizing where he was, he started to get up, struggling to get the prosthetic to support his weight.

Damn leg.

Finally getting upright, Tobias leaned agaist a nearby support and looked at the strange man who had accosted him.

"I-I'm sorry. I d-didn't see you, and I...sorry."

Buzzsaw fidgeted, his lower lip curling. 'Oh- Uh. Crap, man- Sorry-" He pulled his hat off. "I didn't know- I normally just bug tourists-" He stepped forward, as if trying to help. "Do you need assistance? Because this is entirely my fault." He stowed his hat away inside of his incredibly smelly jacket.

Another man approached Buzzsaw's stall of old Rhode Island Knights merchandise and stole a stack of T-shirts and a jar full of money, running away with an exaggerated jog.

"No, no. I am fine now."

Tobias' breathing was returning to normal, and he straightened up, adjusting his jacket as he looked the man up and down, trying to not notice the smell. He put out his hand to shake, making a mental note to wash extra carefully before his next meal.

"Let's try again. My name is Tobias. Tobias Odinovolk."

He noticed movement and glanced toward what looked like this man's stall.

"...and I believe that man just stole something from you."

"What man- OH FUCK-" He turned, giving chase. "BOOBOO, THAT STUFF IS MOSTLY WORTHLESS, YOU CAN'T SELL IT FOR RED SAND MONEY!" He yelled, his target responding in an incomprehensible accent. The thief dodged out of the way of another cart that was being moved in place- But Buzzsaw kept running, somehow charging completely through the metal and wood stand and catching fire in the process.

"AAAGH!! AAAGHH!! OH MY GOD!!" He screamed, his arm coated in flames. The former sports superstar flailed, ripping his jacket off- As a volus approached and sprayed him down with fire retardant foam and various onlookers attempted to help by pummeling him with objects until the fire went out.

Afterwards, Buzzsaw lay sprawled out on the ground, groaning.

"What do you mean you have no idea who manufactured this part?" Leeta scowled as she leaned forward, getting very much in the face of the merchant she had cornered as he was leaving his shop. Between two of her fingers she held a very tiny metallic device. "I saw the invoices, I saw the goods came through another corporation, and I know how this works." Somehow between her imposing stance and her hushed, venomous voice, the shorter than average quarian managed to come off as intimidating. The human recoiled from her, raising his shoulders and lowering his chin to his chest.

"Listen lady, I already told C-sec everything I know, it was just some guy who bought it from another guy who bought it from--"
"Let me guess, another guy--" She interjected sarcastically, the glow of her eyes behind her visor narrowing to slits. "Do you have ANY idea what this would have done to people if it had been missed in inspection? Any? Tainted purification equipment. People could have died. And look at where your shop is? The Tayseri ward...the home of the same people you would be responsible for poisoning...and if they knew this piece passed through your shop..." The scruffy human's eyes widened at the implications. "I think you should take another long hard look at your shipping manifest, and start remembering who you spoke to when you procured this equipment. And I suggest you start doing it now." The man seemed at a loss for words, choking on his own breath. "No...promises," he finally grumbled, easing away from Leeta's immediate reach before hurrying off at a brisk walk.

Leeta sighed heavily, fuming as she glared after the man. She turned around to storm home, but out of the corner of her eye she spotted a man blatantly robbing a stand. He turned tail and ran, and someone begin to chase after him.

In her anger, an irate thought passed through her usually impenetrable self-control. Pathetic. Leeta mused, shaking her head to herself. It must be amateur hour. The man in pursuit of the thief charged through a stand in his way, catching on fire. Today must not be his lucky day. Swiftly, Leeta moved through the various civilians walking through the ward to jut out a foot in front of the fleeing thief at the last moment, hoping to use his own momentum against him to send him sprawling.

The strung-out thief was sent forward with his own momentum and got caught in a rapid stumble- Bumping into an unaware Elcor, tripping to his right- And over and off the side of a skycar dock. He screamed and apparently fell- Hitting a passing skycar and being shunted off into a lower level of the ward. The man hit the ground, tumbled, and rolled to his feet.

He took a moment to look around, feeling his chest and arms- Nothing was apparently broken, but he had a nasty bruise.
He rubbed his arm and ran off.

At the bottom of the ward, a mugger held a knife up to a horrified woman, trying to get her purse- And was buried under a crate of crappy Rhode Island Knights shirts, completely pinning him to the ground rather suddenly and with violent momentum.

Buzzsaw slowly stood up, coughing violently in pain. "What in the hell was that?!"

As the scene unfolded before him, Tobias had to suppress a small chuckle.

That was fun to watch.

He hobbled over to where the formerly-on-fire man was getting to his feet.

"That would be you catching on fire, said fire being put out, and a quarian tripping your would-be thief, who then went tumbling over the edge to his probable demise. Are you ok?"

As he looked over to where 'Booboo' had gone over the edge, then to the quarian who had tripped him (giving her a small wave of thanks), he tried to work out why this man seemed familiar.

Hold on...

He looked back at the coughing wretch before him.

Yes, that profile was similar to...

His eyes widened as realization dawned.

"You...you wouldn't happen to go by the name 'Buzzsaw', by any chance, would you?"

Through faintly amused eyes, Leeta watched the would-be thief stumble forward...only he kept stumbling. Her eyes slowly grew wider, and when she finally saw him slam into an elcor and bounce off over the edge of the ward, Leeta gasped. In a flash, her anger was replaced with shock. She ran forward, ignoring the man whose merchandise she had tried to save. She got to the edge just in time to see the man dart away and she breathed a sigh of relief. She put her hand to her chest, shaking her head in disbelief at just how carried away she had let herself get until she saw the man pinned beneath the crate of goods. Leeta cringed and looked over her shoulder at the two men standing together. One of them gave her a small wave and she sighed.

She mentally berated herself for being so worked up. You are not that person anymore Leeta, she reminded herself as she hesitantly walked over to Tobias and Buzzsaw. "I apologise," she greeted contritely. "My intention was to save some of your goods but...it looks like they're a few levels down now..." She neglected to mention they had landed on top of someone. There would probably be a police report...especially if the man down there broke anything when the crate fell on him. "If you need me to make a statement to C-sec..." She trailed off, dreading the prospect.

"I don't know, did the fact I screamed "I'M BUZZSAW BUCKNER" not tip you off?" The man clutched his group beatdown injury with pain.

Arina was just returning from a meeting with a volus who had insisted on meeting down in Zekera. She hated it when contacts wanted to play Dirk Black and meet at odd locations. All the time she wasted travelling all over the Citadel! All the dirty places!
On her way to a skycab terminal, a man caught her attention. He jumped through a cart and caught fire, rolling on the floor, while another guy, after bouncing off an elcor, fell over the guardrail by the scycar platform. Poor bastard. The lower wards were so full of crime!
But she knew the pink quarian who now was approaching the still smoking guy and another man with a prostetic leg.

"Oh Goddess, I just saw that, is anybody hurt, do you need help? Oh, hey Leeta!"

Tobias shuffled nervously at Buzzsaw's response. That must have been during his...episode.

"I, uh, didn't hear...I...sorry."

Suddenly hearing a voice behind him, he turned to see the quarian standing there, asking about making a report. As he was about to respond, another unknown approached; this time, an asari offering help. He gestured with his cane to the beaten, barely-standing man beside him.

"I am fine. My acquaintance here, however, might benefit from immediate medical attention. Would either of you happen to know of a nearby clinic?"

He felt like he should something more to help the unfortunate man stay standing, but he was barely able to stand himself, the prosthetic seeming ready to fail again at any moment.

Leeta blinked for a moment at Buzzsaw. He didn't seem intent on filing any sort of support, but at least that saved her the trouble of a witness statement. The sound of Arina's voice made Leeta relax just a little, and she flicked her gaze over to the asari. "I think so," she murmured. "I did not mean for, uh...well I DID trip the gentleman intentionally, but...the rest of that...that was..." She trailed off, at a bit of a loss for words. When the human with the cane suggested Buzzsaw go seek medical attention, she nodded along in agreement. He had been on fire, after all. She was still a little shaken, but not because she had almost indirectly killed a man. She was shaken by the the thought behind the impulsive move. She closed her eyes and shook her head to clear it. You were upset for a good reason, that is all. she told herself, but even she didn't believe that. "Keelah," she muttered under her breath to no one in particular. willing herself to focus on the present.

"You were not harmed?" She addressed Tobias, her gaze drifting down to his prosthetic leg. He seemed like he was on the verge of toppling over, and with the way her luck was going today, she would probably end up sending him over the edge of the ward too.

Arina wasn't sure what Leeta was referring to. The last thing she had seen was a guy bounce in spectacular fashion from an elcor and... drop. (the elcor didn't even notice and was long gone obviously)
She looked from Tobias to the slightly smoking man. "Unfortunately no, I am just passing through this area, I have no idea. But there should be public medigel dispenser at the skycab station over there."

"So who are you, what happened ?"

Tobias tried shifting his weight to his good leg to see if that would help. It did, at least for now. Turning his attention back to the question, he wondered where to start. He decided to start after his episode, not wanting to embarrass himself.

"Well, I was talking to 'Buzzsaw' here, when a thief simply walked up and ran off with some merchandise. Buzzsaw begun pursuit, but ended up crashing through a stall and somehow catching fire. As for the thief, our quarian friend here tripped him before he got too far, though. But it seems that instead of simply falling down, he instead bumped into a pedestrian and tumbled off the side."

He gave a serious look toward the quarian.

"I do hope that wasn't intentional."

Feeling the prosthetic starting to bend, his eyes began roving the surrounding area, looking for a bench or something similar on which to sit. He realized he was probably going to have to replace the damned thing, and soon.

Meanwhile, while all that commotion was going on, Raeta was sitting on a bench, reading something off her omni-tool. She had the day off from work today, and the QCRR wasn't doing much at the moment aside from performing community outreach for Little Rannoch. So she had decided to go for a stroll in the ward.

She had been taking a break on the bench when she noticed a human alongside an asari and quarian, the first one appeared to be walking in a bit of a limp.

She stood up from her spot and approached him. "Excuse me sir, are you okay?"

Leeta cringed at Tobias' question, looking a mix of embarrassed and indignant. "Of course it was not intentional! How was I supposed to know he was clumsy enough to run into an elcor? I just expected him to fall!" She took a breath and shook her head. "...besides, he survived. I saw him run off. It did not look like he sustained any significant injuries." She paused before hesitantly adding. "...however I cannot attest to the condition of the man who the crate of goods landed upon." She idly placed one hand on top of the other in the air as she spoke, indicating a splat. She looked down at her own hands before quickly hiding them behind her back. "Either way," she muttered, ""it was not--" She stopped as another quarian appeared and asked if Tobias was alright, and he certainly didn't look it. Leeta sighed, putting a hand to her helmet as if she had an oncoming headache. Today was stressful enough for her to run off for a drink.

Arina gave Leeta a sympathetic look, then laughed a bit.
"Good, to hear. I actually didn't see you trying to trip the thief, I just saw him... drop. But next time we meet, drinks are on me, 'kay?" They often enough seemed to bump into another with some stressful situation evolving. It must be the pink of that suit that attracts such things, Arina mused.

"Buzzsaw? Strange name.... Oh, my name is Arina", she was sending her embassy contact information to Tobias' omnitool. "Here's my contact, in case you need any assistance or statement."

Another quarian approached, asking if she could help. Arina noticed all the people passing by, not caring about a man on fire and one with a damaged artificial leg and one falling from a balcony...

Tobias momentarily turned his attention to the second quarian.

"I'm fine. Just need a place to sit down before this thing snaps."

He gestured toward his left leg.

"And nice to meet you, Arina. Thank you. Now, if you don't mind, there's a bench over there with my name on it."

Making his way toward the aforementioned bench, there was a sudden cracking noise from somewhere near the ground. Pain lancing up his maimed limb, Tobias felt himself losing balance, and he collapsed onto the seat.

Ouch

He pulled up his pant leg to expose the prosthetic, giving a groan when he saw the damage: a large crack running from near the ankle all the up to where it attached to the muscle of his thigh. He gave an awkward smile towards the others.

"Ah...would any of you perhaps know where I might get this repaired...or, more likely, replaced?"

He gestured at the damaged limb, bringing to mind a related issue.

"...and also be able to provide transport? If not, I can just take a cab."