[Citadel/Nimbus] A Party On The Rocks (closed)

Temria nodded wearily to Freh'ya as the three of them made their way into the entranceway, trying to maintain a professional demenour though she was clearly drained. "These are Acolytes Tinay... and Nin." She introduced them quickly, nodding to each of them deferentially so that the others were clear on which was which.

"The Matriarch's aide has placed the facility on high alert, and it sounds as though she'll be our next point of contact if we want to contact Sunda." She said calmly, reiterating the main point she'd gotten from the acolytes... goddess she felt lightheaded... she needed to take a seat...

The drones were out so Trynessia could not observe what was going on downstairs but she had all the info she needed about the attackers. A group of desperate and hurt idiots from that craft now all herding up at the back entrance while she would leave through the front door. The standoff and fight in the corridor would buy her the time she needed to activate the charges to eventually blow this goddessforsaken place into oblivion. A small change of plans but it would work just as well.

Doing all of this alone had disadvantages but eventually she could always rely on the idiocy of maidens. She chuckled at the thought of everyone killing themselves now.

She was pushing the hoverchair towards the elevator s when she noticed a call on her omnitool. Nin.

The building was calm and she just realized she was missing the expected shootings or explosions. What the fucking tides was going on down there? She hesitated and didn’t take the call, just signaling she had seen it.. Better check personally. Something had gone wrong. Damn those maidens, too stupid to buy some time. Then it had to go the hard way.

Trynessia turned around and pushed the chair back towards the central structure… when the last door opened into the atrium building, cold air was hitting her face. The Matriarch in the chair grunted and moved a bit but couldn’t move much with her tied with omnicuffs. Around her neck was a biotic suppression collar that intensified its glowing.

“Stop struggling, hag.”

Then she saw the group downstairs… Nin and Tinay and…. four fucking others shaking hands, laughing?!

It was as if a mirror broke into a million pieces inside her mind. She should have known that she could not rely on these two stupid bitches, she should have killed them long ago! Her plans were shattered now and everybody just had to die as fast as possible.

Incoming call from Sunda. What in the tides… Not now! She signaled a ‘Busy, will call back asap’.

She shoved the chair up to the guardrail made out of glass and chrome so everyone downstairs could see her. She pulled out her paladin and held it to T’Veda’s head, while she clenched her other fist and flared her biotics, engulfing her armored suit in a blue shimmer with nothing cozy to it.

“YOU down there! Drop your weapons, all of you or I’ll blow her head off! You are all going to die anyway, especially you two stupid disobedient cows. You could have at least died trying to kill these fuckers. But don’t worry, it will look like a pirate attack. You’ll probably be remembered as heroines.”

Nin cried a muffled “no…”
Tinay immediately dropped her rifle and Nin was soon to follow. Both where shaking, eventually Tinay’s knees gave and she fell to the floor, sobbing, slowly realizing….

Vastra T’Veda was drowsily staring at the scene below as her nerves felt like exchanged for liquid fire, courtesy to the collar. Ah… Nin and… whatshername… it’s been a while…. Oh we have guests…. I think I should say something….

“Please… excuse… my indisposition.”

"Rahilan Eleis, of Epira," Rahi introduced herself, following the others. "Helmswoman of Sala T'Era... um, formerly. What's left of her's nose-down in the ice out there about a day's march away, so... temporarily on detached duty, I suppose..." she trailed off. The defenders were young, but they were still a Matriarch's acolytes - she felt like the new girl at school in front of a class that had known one another for years. Probably best if she let Freh'ya and the others handle things from here on in.

The Madam's shout jolted her, and her head whipped around, then she froze - a gun to the Matriarch's head, everything else was secondary, even if it meant a hesitation that might cost her own life. She inhaled slowly, her face tightening as she heard the rest of the demand... tirade, rather. Whoever this woman had been, whatever was going on, she was the enemy. Rahi wasn't the fighter Freh'ya was, but whether in space or not, she was a huntress - she killed her enemies, without pity. All that mattered was doing so without harming anyone else. How...

She heard the two acolytes' weapons fall. Her own were still fixed to her suit - she could let them fall without touching them, with an omni-tool command, but that wasn't a standard feature on all suits. For all the Madam knew the only way she could 'drop' her weapons was to draw them first, and doing so quickly risked looking like an attack. Rahi had time to look to Freh'ya for her lead, without seeming openly disobedient, at least for a few seconds.

Her omni-tool! The gun drone was still outside, and the defending drones - those they had seen, anyway - were gone. She could trigger her omni-tool to blind mode, no visible interface to give it away, and program the drone by remote. From the balcony, the tiny motions of her fingers would be invisible, if she was careful. But what could the drone do? Direct attack was out of the question, it was a suppressive fire weapon, and a hastily-improvised one at that - unless the Matriarch were well out of the way, the risk was unconscionable. She could move it to the main entrance though, cut off the enemy's most likely escape route. Should she? If Freh'ya signalled her to... if Freh'ya knew she could - the drone was a kitbash of parts from the ship, her omni-tool was primarily navy, her thinking was navy, she and the commando had never had time to become fully versed in each other's ways of fighting, what they could do and what they could expect of each other.

Just when you drop your tension…
When Arina had stepped forward, Freh’ya had taken on a relaxed stance, scrutinizing the two young acolytes. Their gear was top of the shelve and most likely they had fought bravely through the Reaper invasion. She had read up about the fights on Trategos, the submarines under the frozen oceans, the defense and the fall of underwater cities, the traps the defenders had laid for Reaper forces, the small, time buying victories, the sacrifices.

They may be young and still had a lot to learn but they had potential, given their dedication and their eventual judgment to resolve this without a fight. That part had been impressive, there could have been killing….

Her thoughts were cut short by the entry of the Madam and the Matriarch. The situation became clear in an instance. Deception and high treason, the reason was secondary now.

Two options, immediate reaction, split seconds to deal a (hopefully) decisive hard blow to bring the enemy dow or miss this point and have this turn into a standoff.
The second option was unconsciously calculated the better one, since Pistol to the Matriarchs head and the odds. Six versus One. Time would work for the larger group.

She let the moment pass. Damnit, she maybe could have flattened that bitch with one dash. Easily perhaps. Most likely before the other would have been able to pull… most likely was not good enough.

She needed a diversion, only one moment where the odds would raise from most likely to certain.

She rose her hands to show she wasn’t carrying a weapon. Standing a bit to the side, she could see what most were doing, noticing Rahi’s mind racing. Please read my mind, girl, you’re a huntress!

What was Temria doing? The doctor that had reacted in a heartbeat to save Arina…

She only needed one second. A second was a long time though.

Arina looked at the scene unfolding, shocked.
Matriarch T’Veda looked at least healthy although skinny and weak. Her stomach revolted, seeing her bound by these devices. She knew all too well what the type of collar was capable off, she owned a similar type, but this one was most likely military grade, capable of more than just basic restraint. She had seen these used on special prisoners before.

Time passed, stretched to eternity as it seemed, weapons fell the floor, arms were raised. Talk, Arina.

“Madam Trynessia I suppose? This does not have to end bad, we are not the enemy, we have come to help Matriarch T’Veda.”

“Shut up! There’s nothing I have to discuss with you. I am surprised you even made it here but that’s just a minor distraction now.”

With a more cutting and harsh tone she continued.
“Nin, collect their weapons and restrain them!” She ever so slightly stretched her arm holding the gun, but the point was clearly made.

The maiden was looking as if she would break down but eventually moved mechanically...

Rahilan felt herself start to tremble, and fought to keep her body still. Nin was moving - obeying? This Trynessia had a gun to her Matriarch's head. Rahi might have done the same in her place, helpless. The young would look to their elders for guidance, not be ready to outwit them at a moment's notice.

Freh'ya wasn't looking at her, but Rahi could feel her awareness on her. There had been no lightning burst of action, the commando was raising her hands - slowly. Trynessia couldn't be allowed to leave with the Matriarch. If Freh'ya wasn't attacking at once, it was because she was waiting for a better equation, the odds more in the hostage's favour.

Alright, she thought desperately, hoping she wasn't imagining things. She raised her hands too, slowly, still with her helmet in one hand - its rim hiding her fingers as they moved, painstakingly typing commands in the limited interface the situation allowed her. Audio feedback, closed link to her aural bud, so she would know she wasn't blindly typing garbage. Gun drone. Destination and path, one, entry - presets, from when they had been planning their initial assault. Action... she hesitated, then commanded Active Observation. The basic VI would head for the Madam and the Matriarch once inside, since nobody it recognised as friendly was nearby them, and it wouldn't be trying to hide itself on approach.

One more command... low-power comms, just enough to reach Freh'ya's audio. Rahi couldn't speak out loud but she keyed in a message, read by a synthesised voice: "Our - drone - main - entrance - distraction." There was still time for the commando to give her some signal to abort the move. If she didn't... Athame answer her prayer that Trynessia hesitated the split second needed when the drone came into view, didn't simply squeeze the trigger at once.

Temria was shaking, her cheeks were hot. Exhaustion born from exertion both physical and emotional refused to be swepped asside again so quickly even as alarm surged through her, the friction between them sparking a furious outrage that sat in the pit of her stomach.

"What the hell are you doing?" She shouted, her voice matching the other in its echo through the silent hall, though her own was shrill with a rage that was only spurred on by the sight of the Matriarch so readily threatened.

She climbed to her feet, only realizing then that she'd sat down, and her arm screamed in agony as she tightened both her fists. She wasn't armed, perhaps the weight of a gun might have brought her into the real world faster, but the realization would have to do. Her own biotics were flaring, licking at the air in anticipation of ripping the balcony apart in some heroic rampage. But Temria restrained herself, in part of course because she had never done such a thing before and would know where to start, and also in part because an older, more rational side of her was struggling to keep her from marching off the edge of disaster and had just started to dig in its heels.

Freh'ya. She looked to Freh'ya for a sign of what to do next. Her expression was uncertain, her arms shaking as her fury boiled away leaving a trembling sense of impotence in its wake. She grimaced, trying to reignite the flame before it was snuffed out entirely.

"This is outrageous... How dare you..."

She took a step towards the balcony.

The thing with putting a gun to someone’s head is: You have exactly one shot. If your trump is called, you should be ready to step up. Most people actually at least hesitate when confronted, that was statistically proven, cross-species even.

But is most people good enough to bet the live of someone on it?
Seemingly it was not for Freh’ya but was for a tired and enraged doctor! Maybe as a doctor and as a matron she just had an instinct for such things…

Trynessia hesitated.
She braced herself, causing her biotics to light up some more and then in a quick motion turned the Paladin at Temria. A shot bellowed through the hall, striking the ground about half a meter in front of the doctor!

“Stop it right there!” she yelled.

Nin had stopped in her tracks, jumping back with a shriek at the shot, Tinay rolled to the side and curled up to cover next to the large desk, which wasn’t exactly real cover in that situation…

She heard Rahi's whisper, not taking her eyes of the balcony, managing a slight nod.

Then came the doctor. This was it. That moment, when the gun pointed away from the Matriarch.

The vanguard huntress charged in less than a second and crossed the distance in the fraction of one. Measuring the impact force of a dash was tricky in a tight space. It was a terribly sensitive matter when someone was as close to the target as the matriarch. Freh’ya could have done it harder but it still was a wild guess as she had no idea about her opponent's defensive capabilities.

Get in hard, get on top fast, was the credo for an attack like this but how hard was too hard in this case? Of course the commando had no time to think about all that as she ran herself at highspeed into the barriers of Trynessia.

The clash with the biotic defenses caused her physical pain on impact but she ignored the well known sensation, the surprise was complete as she managed to violently push the matron to be thrown against the wall of the gallery, not losing grip of her gun but firing another round into the ceiling, grunting in disgust as she tried to recover.

With a yell, Freh’ya launched another physical and biotic attack; with less force though due to the short cooldown but now she got a feeling for the strength of her opponent, someone who seemed to be a well trained fighter!

They ended in biotic deadlock opposing each other, trying to find a weak spot in the melee, both their biotic fields merging, looking like one large blue aura both grunting and screaming... But it prevented Trynessia from using her gun again!

Freh’ya had no time to take her eyes and focus off the traitor, she was in for the kill, should she find or force the slightest breach….

She could not see what had happened to the Matriarch or what the rest of the group was doing…

Through a haze, Matriarch T’Veda followed the situation unfold. If only she would not have been so weak right now, so castrated. She only half realized the violent impact next ho her, causing her hoverchair to trip over!

Instinctively trying to brace biotically for the impact caused the restraints to react with a jolt of pain and she fell sideways onto the cold concrete floor. The world was double images as she tried to roll around and crawl towards the wall. The omnicuffs and the fact that her left leg and arm weren't exactly in good shape wasn't making it easier…

Arina looked with shock at the doctor when Temria flared her biotics and stepped forward.

Then things happened in quick succession, she didn't have enough time to flinch at the shot when Freh'ya was gone with that particular sound only a biotic dash could produce.

In a daring move she just lurched forward and grabbed Nin who happened to be closest to her, pushing her to the wall, shaking the young girls shoulders as if to bring her back to her senses.
"What in the tides is wrong with this place?!" she yelled at Nin's face and nobody in particular really.

Nin came to and stared with shocked wide eyes at the two asari fighting on the balcony.
"We have to save Lady T'Veda!"

Rahi couldn't suppress a jump as Temria shouted - she froze in terror at what the result might be, but a second later the Madam's barrel was moving, away from the Matriarch.

There's your distraction. Goddess knew how long the drone would take to arrive - if the door locks were strong enough, the pre-packaged VI might not even be able to get through - but that was irrelevant now. Short acquaintance or not, Rahi knew Freh'ya would make her move... and just as surely, that she herself couldn't follow so quickly. She darted sideways instead, where Trynessia was aiming, gasping a hurried "Sorry!" as she wrapped an arm around Temria's midsection and spun them both, her back between the doctor and any shot aimed at her from the balcony. She heard the bullet strike just as they collided, felt nothing - a miss? Or had her armour taken it, and the adresalyn rush blinded her to the impact? - and then they were on the ground, her doing her best to cushion the fall for Temria and not damage her arm further, while her helmet clattered away somewhere.

"Sorry!" she said again, scrambling to her feet and looking up - Freh'ya was already engaging the Madam. Rahi ran and jumped, boosting herself as much as she could - no biotic charge, but still she could accelerate herself faster, jump higher. In mid-jump she relaunched the tac drones, the entire fleet erupting from their hangar and zooming out in every direction to cover the potential battlefield, then she was over the guardrail. The Matriarch's chair was over, she was moving - painfully slowly - and Rahi drew her rifle and turned her momentum into a slide in one fluid motion, coming to rest between the Matriarch and the duel, shielding her, waiting for a shot. Freh'ya and the Madam were locked, even a rifle round could spin wild and hit anything with the overlapping gravities they were generating, and she couldn't expose the Matriarch by moving closer. One clear shot, though - one second was all she would need.

"Eleis, shuttle Sala T'Era," she said, for the Matriarch's benefit, entirely on autopilot.

Temria felt her breath catch in her throat, the blind fury that spurned her march evaporating in an instant when the weapon was trained on her.

The room had felt as though it were slowing down, and with a spark from the weapon sent reeling forward like a slingshot as everything erupted at once. Freh'ya made her move, and Temria had only the instant to realize it was happening before Rahi slammed into her from out of nowhere! What grace and care the young commando tried to take with her, she didn't notice, hitting the floor hard enough to get the wind knocked out of her the doctor's barriers flared and fizzled out even as Rahi got up and charged ahead like it was nothing.

Temria groaned and struggled to bring herself up to her knees, trying her best to ascertain the location and position of the main actors while the struggle between Freh'ya and the other raged on, the echo of their biotic struggles reverberating through the stone halls.

"G-gun..." she stammered as she scrambled to her feet, stumbling into cover behind the greeter desk as quickly as she could, ducking her head far under the lip of it. "Arina! Pass it here!"

Arina turned her head at the call by Temria. Where was Rahi? Already going upstairs….
She unhinged the folded weapon of Temria and slid it across the floor towards the doctor. With the same move she pulled out her own gun.

At the same time, Nin had been lurching past the diplomat for her rifle, readying it and firing two rounds at the Madam! “YOU CATASI, YOU DAMNED CATASI!”.

The shots did not penetrate the barriers, only caused bright outbursts, but the made the clinching fighters stumble, Trynessia more than Freh’ya who was a head taller than her opponent…

The drones began to buzz around the room.
Arina had to get to the matriarch, help Rahi up there. She was too weak to attempt what Rahi just did so she had to make for the staircasse, running.

Freh’ya noticed the burning sensation when the shots hit their interwoven barriers but it tripped the balance in her favor! Trynessia was stumbling, falling on her back and Freh’ya broke through the defenses, pushing her down will her bodyweight.

A good old school punch to the face made Trynessia's arms go limp and a gush of blood came from her nose. Freh’ya brought up a knee to pin down the arm that was holding the gun and eventually after a struggle, pinned down the other as well.

The Paladin had come loose and the huntress was just faster, grabbing it while Trynessia tried to bring her legs up to free herself but to no avail.

Freh’ya was in a blind rage now, she was pressing the air out of her opponents lungs, rebuilding her biotic grip. The struggling was beginning to become weaker and the commando pushed the gun into Trynessia's face, pushing past her teeth and into her mouth, her eyes full with rage, the stress of the past two days and the sleepless night surfacing.

Trynessia’s eyes widened in horror and her body went limp, the fight was over.

Freh’ya was pushing the gun a bit further as if she wanted to penetrate the skull of that matron under her, gritting her teeth and a slightly insane flicker in her eyes… was she still seeing this other asari or was it something else?

Rahi let out a gasp of relief - almost a sob - as she saw the Paladin come loose from the Madam's grip, and Freh'ya scoop it up just as quickly. Those shots had come from below, there were shouts, footsteps - Freh'ya had her opponent down, subduing her, Rahi focused on steadying her breathing, letting her finger relax on the Rivebow's trigger, continuing to cover the Madam simply out of formality. Freh'ya wouldn't let them down, she-

Rahi's eyes flickered to the commando's face, and her blood froze. That wasn't right, that wasn't right; the sense she had that set her apart from civilian asari, the ability to feel her place as a huntress without needing briefing, understand her sister huntress's intentions without words, that had meant she had known Freh'ya would time her charge the way she did - now that sense was faltering, like an orchestra dissolving into discord. As huntresses together - even without the shared training that might have honed their reactions to one another - she and Freh'ya were a unit, acting together. Now her mind told her Freh'ya was something else; young, inexperienced, frightened, for this moment she was the huntress. The burden on her alone.

"Arina!" she yelled, scrambling to her feet. "See to the Matriarch! Sorry ma'am!" she added in a rush, already darting forward, sliding her rifle over her shoulder to fold and stow, drawing the Vesper pistol from her hip. A few steps, perhaps a second in passing, brought her to Freh'ya's side, and she had her sidearm pressed against the unconscious woman's temple.

"Freh'ya," she said quickly, quietly. "Hostile subdued. We need to secure her. Ma'am." For a moment she wasn't the junior member of the party, looking to her elders for guidance. Her voice was that of the commander of a vessel in the split-second it took to give an instruction - whether it was a dreadnought or a mere shuttle, whether her passengers were commandos ten times her age and wisdom, whatever discussion may take place later when there was time for discussion, in the split-second the commander's word was law.

Vastra came to rest, leaning against the wall eventually, just in time to see the struggle being decided. She panted heavily and tried to relax to prevent the collar from further tormenting her nerves. Slowly she also regained a clear vision again.
“I am too old for this…” she muttered.

looking around herself, she tried to taking in how this fight had developed. A commando on top of her assistant. So probably a good ending.

Temria snatched up the collapsed firearm as it rattled its way towards her on the hard polished floor. Arina had put enough force into it that the doctor didn't need to strain to reach for it and she was able to recover, arm, and mount it on her forearm in as fluid a motion she could under such stresses, she had turned again to face the embattled commando with the weapon braced against the desk.

But by then, the battle appeared to be decided. Freh'ya and the matron were now out of sight over the lip of the balcony, but she could see Rahi, more importantly she could hear her.

Temria let out a heavy sigh, slinking back behind the desk to try to collect herself and steady her breathing, her arms limp at her sides... "The Matriarch..." she stammered into the comm bead, a hint of dread in her voice, "Is she...?"