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

Arina Caenis was sitting in her office at the embassies. It was a shared space with three other diplomats, not very spacious but tidy and totally sufficient. Also, as an asari, she enjoyed having at least some company rather than total seclusion but currently onely one of them was occupying her desk, totally consumed by preparing some speech.

Arina was going through her new assignment, courtesy of the Diplomatic Special Services, which was a branch she was, among others, working for. Somehow someone had put her name on the list of candidates to handle this one. Everyone had to do ‘field time’ away from the Citadel now and then and she actually had been looking forward to something… but if she had expected Thessia, she had been disappointed, it was Trategos, the freezer in Nimbus Cluster.
Nimbus Cluster.

For a few weeks now she had been observing the fleet’s reports about the anti piracy measure after the relay opened again. Some progress had been made but fighting such a cancer was a time consuming effort.

Nimbus had suffered in the war as much as any other region but the prolonged seclusion had left an additional mark, lost leaders, lost Matriarchs could not be replaced as easily as in the reconnected parts of the galaxy. She had to chuckle dryly about the technical description: “replaced”. The deaths of so many capable and well respected Matriarchs and Matrons had been a drama that maybe had added to the fact that misled Maidens turned rampage and pirating. It was up to a common effort of all asari republics to give everyone more and a better perspective than that. Every remaining Matriarch counted, counted for a near millennium of experience in whatever field. Helping such a Matriarch was the assignment.


And this was her assignment, bringing a sick Matriarch and her personal assistant from A to B. Not exactly exciting business but she could not be picky.

It could be worse really, the Matriarch was obviously popular and respected in her Republic. This would be done within a couple of days, a week at most, depending if the Matriarch had already packed her stuff or not.

Well then, she sighed. Nimbus it is. The following papers gave her command over a ship and its pilot, a fast long range shuttle for up to ten people, along with an additional commando as security – or should that read honor guard? – and a medic.

Arina had to laugh when she read the names. Freh’ya Paruun and Temria Aujury were familiar names, only the pilot was not known to her. The galaxy was tiny and the vortex was mighty.

When she browsed the linked files she raised an eyebrow about a detail in the doctors curriculum. She always had the impression that something had escaped her but now she knew what it was – the doctor was a pureblood. It was interesting how little this mattered now in the aftermath of the war. There had been times when one of questionable heritage would not have been contracted for even such a mission. The times were changing and Arina was in the middle of it. Of course she would never talk about it in public but it was not easy to throw all her upbringing overboard in one instance but discovering that fact after she had grown so fond of the doctor... everyone counted in this time and age.

A notification was flashing on her desk: Briefing Trategos mission – 10 minutes.

Well then, she leaned back and looked forward to familiar faces under unexpected circumstances…

Freh’ya sat in the cab on her way to the embassy. She was reflecting on her vidcall with Illium the night before. Just after she had returned from earth she had to go on another mission before being allowed a period of holiday which she wanted to spend with her mates in Nos Astra. Not, yet, she had to explain to Taleeze and Skylar, maybe another week for a relatively simple diplomatic mission into Nimbus but then she would be coming over. Sad faces and sighing was involved but it could not be helped. The exchange posting on earth had drained her more than expected and she had only had two days on the Citadel to catch her breath.

Security detail for a diplomatic transport, along with one other huntress who was the pilot. Sounded easy enough. The exceptionally funny part was that Arina was in command of this mission. They knew each other from the recruitment efforts not too long ago and at least they got along well.

Freh’ya actually looked forward to be among her kind again for a while. She was not xenophobic at all but some of the stuff going on on earth had saturated her need for humans other than Skylar. She would have to go there again but a break was well deserved.

The Skycar touched down and Freh’ya, wearing a set of dark brown fatigues, entered the embassies without troubles. She knew where Arina’s office was, the door was open.

“Madam Arina, greetings!” She said with a smile. “I won’t ask who set up this team but I won’t complain either. How are you doing?”

Freh’ya was on the spot, as Arina had expected from the formal and correct huntress who took her duties so seriously. She stood and greeted Freh’ya with extended hands.

“I am fine and I am actually happy it is you! I wasn’t involved, I swear. But from what I read in your file you are busy these days. How has earth been treating you? I doubt, this operation will get as exciting.”

They walked over to a corner of the office with a small conference table and four chairs. Arina put two datapads on the table and handed one to Freh’ya.

Freh’ya just sighed and slumped her shoulders. She didn’t want to bitch and whine though.
“Let’s just say, after all that sand and heat, Trategos sounds appealing?” she managed a weak laugh.

Freh’ya took the datapad, it contained the basic mission parameters which sounded a bit dull to be honest. Honorary guard for a sick Matriarch.

But then, it was Nimbus Cluster. She had heard of the pirating going on in the sector and she had more than a small itch to teach such lowlifes a lesson on occasion. She would never have guessed that one day she would like the days back when she was hunting scum in the border regions to the Terminus. It was something that left you satisfied after an assignment, without doubts about what side you were on.

Thessia had messed up a lot. On which side were you when you killed kids to prevent them from becoming banshees or just being ‘processed’?

"Sala T'Era, this is Citadel docking control. Please engage guided approach to bay A-94. Do you require transport from your dock?"

"Docking control, Sala T'Era. Guided approach locked in. A cab to the embassies would be appreciated, thank you."

"Sala T'Era, docking control. Inbound path confirmed, enjoy the ride. We'll have a transit 'car standing by. Welcome to Sol, huntress."

"Welcome to Sol," Rahilan Eleis repeated quietly to herself, once the comms indicator had closed. The human homeworld loomed large beyond the shuttle's enhanced forward viewports, the glare of the daylight surface making a silhouette of the Presidium's ring and spindly gantries. It was the first time Rahi had seen the Citadel since its relocation; it seemed alien.

She leaned back and glanced at the inactive tactical array, finding her reflection in the darkened screens.

Aren't we all.

-----

The transit 'car brought her swiftly from the dock to the embassy section of the Presidium, and her assignment orders sped her through the reception area and security stations; it was barely half an hour since docking when she reached the office her omni-tool directed her to.

A diplomat was hard at work at her desk, barely glancing up - Rahi gave her a brief nod, if she even noticed, but her attention was already on the room's other occupants, seated at the small conference table. Her orders had been brief, anticipating a face-to-face meeting would serve as better introduction to her passengers than a set of documents, but by virtue of her role she knew her complement and their respective fields. There was no mistaking the commando; the other she took to be either the diplomat or the physician, probably the former. She approached the table and bowed.

"Madam Caenis?" she addressed the probably-diplomat of the pair, and not knowing the commando's name settled for a courteous "Ma'am," to her, dipping her head again to show deference to both. Her young face had the look of a cheerful nature, but at present her features were smoothed and all business. "Rahilan Eleis of Epira, helmswoman of Sela T'Era. At your service."

This was outrageous, and the exact sort of absurd combination of haughty presumption and paper-thin cordiality that people associated with the worst of asari stereotypes. Yes... as Temria's fingers danced across the illuminated interface of her omni-tool, it at last dawned on her why the summons irritated her so: It didn't just need to be disruptive and demanding, it was stereotypical, offensive, really.

With a sigh, she closed that interface and sent its message off into the extranet and took a moment to look out the window. The RT vehicle was turning lazily through a crowded stream of traffic, assuming place in a queue to use any number of pre-authorized routes while its passenger occupied herself with her own matters. Sighing, she began another message, this one quick and to the point, sending it off without giving it a second look, to prove that she could: "If I come back to find Ms. vas Kazan has been frightened away from her scan again, I'm going to be very cross with you. And only you."

Of course she had every intention of going. The fact that Nemruna's and the treatment thereof was woefully under recognized outside of specific circles dedicated to treating it was an unfortunate truth that Temria understood keenly. Worse still, it was exactly the sort of wasting disease that tended to frighten the young and confident, and tested the patience of its victims, one never knew just what to expect from someone faced with their mortality in such a way; and the doctor felt a certain tinge of pride to be called on as 'the expert' no matter the circumstances. None the less, she didn't appreciate the way the note seemed to indicate they could buy her up and send her hither and yon at their whim (which, admittedly given the circumstances of her leaving the fleet, they probably could, but Temria didn't like to dwell on it.)

Arriving at the embassy with time to spare, Temria had opted to arrive straight from work still dressed in a plain white/red medical uniform under a long sheer white coat. With the sleeves rolled up and the hem of it trailing behind her, the doctor had the look of an ancient warlord off to settle a debt, her fierce but authoritative expression silencing the canned greeting from the poor girl at the front desk, it was markedly less so when she came back to ask for directions.

Announcing herself with a quick touch to the door comm, Temria stepped into the office with her head high and expression one of calm authority, though it comes very close to cracking when she sees Arina behind a desk. At once the name on the summons came to mind, and the way it had seemed so familiar to her at the time but hadn't been able to place it, to think that it would belong to the sweet asari she'd shared a few drinks with those nights ago! Was this a trick? Was she being scouted that night?

"Ahem." she cleared her throat quickly, the moment of hesitation driven off, with so many others assembled, she'd be well advised to act that much more professional. "Doctor Temria Aujury, reporting as requested."

“At ease, Rahilan, and please, just call me Arina.” The diplomat greeted the young asari.
The pilot was very young looking, Arina had known that from the files, but also that she had top ratings and was obviously trusted with a very sophisticated craft on her own. Not that any special skills would be requested in this assignment but it was always good to know that ship operations were in capable hands.

“Welcome to the Citadel.” She took the liberty to introduce. “This is Freh’ya, she will be the guard on our mission.“ her eyes travelled between the two. “You two can sort out the military details, I am no expert in that. All I care for is a smooth operation in which both of you will have a lot of ‘nothing’ to do, hopefully.” She grinned and handed Rahilan one of the datapads on the table.
“Good, now we are only short one more ….”

Then Temria entered the office like a high ranking surgeon an OR, looking for a patient. Arina noticed the small expression of surprise in her otherwise so very businesslike expression.

“Temria, welcome! I was pleasantly surprised when I saw your name on the list! I had nothing to do with it, I didn’t even know you were free contracting.” In fact, the doctor was such an amiable person and Arina had regretted not getting back to her for an encore of that night at the Forest. So, what had changed now that she knew the doctor was a pureblood…?

She came around the table and offered both her hands for a greeting and a sincere smile before introducing the others in their function, she just couldn’t do any different.
“Rahilan, our pilot, and Freh’ya, the guard detail. This is Doctor Aujury, our medical expert. Please all sit and take your pad. This will be easy enough to explain…”

They obviously had sent a rookie as a pilot. Well, she’d take her time and would get to know the other huntress once they were under way. By comparison at this point, Rahila already had the better looking uniform.
I should get the formal duty suit out for this one Freh’ya thought. Of course she could not go without a combat suit but this would be mostly about looking good and impressive and the latter she had down, she knew it very well. She towered over the other two by at least one head and looking at the pilot’s physique, she seemed better suited for space duty than combat drops. But then – you could never know, sometimes asari were full of surprises. Freh’ya was very curious to get to know Rahila, a fellow huntress to talk to finally after all the Alliance humans.

She nodded her greetings. “Rahilan, nice to meet you.” She also approved Arina’s comment. “Yes, we will get to that, I am sure.”

When the medic entered, she did so in whirl of white, maybe as if she was just rushing in from saving the live of some poor victim, only to be called off to some highly urgent other case in asecond. She looked like a doctor all right and seemed to be the oldest of the group. And she was a purple, which raised a smile from the muscular commando.

With a short bow to acknowledge the doctors age and authority she greeted her. “A pleasure to meet you, Ma’am.”

When Arina told them to take a seat, she did so and was switching on the datapad. But she rather listened to the diplomat for a rundown on mission parameters.

"Thank you, Arina." Rahi flashed a quick smile at the welcome. "Freh'ya. Pleased to make your acquaintances." She added a quick nod to Freh'ya's comment to Arina, leaving the military matters to later. The commando was clearly the senior of the two huntresses - Rahi wondered what small craft experience she had. Unless her build was the matriarch of all coincidences, close quarters was her speciality, but any asari of her calibre would have a broad selection of skills to draw on at need.

Arina obviously had some prior social acquaintance with the physician, Temria. Rahi nodded and greeted her with a respectful "Doctor," then did as she was bid, taking a seat and a pad. She made a quick scan of the front page's key points and the menu hierarchy, but otherwise left the reading for when the briefing called for it.

Showing pause as Arina circled around to greet her face to face, Temria refused to let the surprise of the repeat encounter be betrayed by her expression any further. With a genuinely pleased smile she brought her hands up formally to accept those of the younger asari, squeezing them firmly. "I do, but it doesn't typically take me out of Sol. The embassy was of course quite clear on the need for me to be along on this venture." she replied, truthfully enough.

Releasing her, she turned to acknowledge the greetings of the other two present, the first young, sharply dressed, and evidently talented behind a haptic interface, the other an imposing turian who-

Wait, no! Not a turian at all! Temria practically balked at sudden realization that the towering figure was in fact an asari, kicking herself for not noticing as soon as she'd entered the door. The girl was built, and as a doctor Temria could appreciate the amount of work that must have gone into it, even if she wouldn't professionally recommend it to someone in a military field. She realized she was staring and made quick to return the bow.

"Good to meet you both." she replied politely.

Smooth, Temria. Well done. The pleasantries thus observed she took a seat as instructed, taking the remaining datapad in hand and skimming through its contents. Lets see if we can avoid asking to feel her bicep in the interest of medical science, shall we?

Arina thought she could hear a tiny bit of annoyance in Temria’s voice. She couldn’t puzzle the remark about the ‘embassy being clear’, but maybe this was interrupting other duties Temria thought important. They would have time to talk later though.

When all had gathered around the table, Arina opened the briefing.
“Alright then. I’d like to keep this informal, if everyone is okay with that.” She looked at Temria, who by fact of age could object or not and the Maidens would have to adapt, despite their theoretical ranks. This was a matter of courtesy and respect.

“This is a mission under the command of the Diplomatic Special Services. The task is simple enough. A Matriarach is to be transported from Trategos to Hyetiana for medical treatment. Her condition is the reason why she is not taking a regular shuttle and why this is a mission to be conducted without delay. She suffers from Nemruna’s Disease in a progressed state.”

Arina vaguely remembered her from her time of diplomatic duty. They had met occasionally but had only little business. From what she remembers, she had been healthy then and been a typical Matriarch for Trategos. A bit rough and brusk but very hearty once she had decided to like you.

Arina knew very little about the illness. The condition was rare in this time and age and it was mostly only heard of from old times, most asari had never seen an actual patient. She only knew it was some degenerative Matriarch’s disease.
She had found a holo of a face with awful rigid muscle contractions on the extranet, it had been very creepy and had discouraged her from further searches. Arina thought that this must be a terrible condition to have and a terrible way to deteriorate towards death, she’d rather not confront it that much. No envy for the doctor.

“The doctor can give us a bit more details on that later, I believe. Anyway, we are to ensure Matriarch T’Veda will get to Hyetiana for special treatment as soon as possible. The isolation of Nimbus obviously had left her without the needed medication for a while. We only know that her state is at an unusual progression already and that she is needing a hover chair and will be accompanied by an assistant. That’s all in the file as well.” She put her own pad down now and folded her hands over it, looking at the three faces, stopping at Freh’ya.

“As you all know, Nimbus has a bit of a bad reputation these days. Our expeditionary fleet is doing their best but piracy is still a threat and a single diplomatic courier vessel may raise attention. This is why we were allocated a fast and armed ship and a guard.” One commando did not seem much but Arina knew what Freh’ya could do in the face of an adversary.

“No diplomatic traffic is allowed to go unguarded into the Nimbus Cluster at this point although I have to note that I don’t exactly expect any trouble. It is not that bad, the media exaggerates a lot but regulations will be followed on this mission.” She made the statement matter of factishly, so everybody knew this would be taken lightly, despite the seemingly boring nature of the task. She looked at the doctor.
“Is there anything about Nemruna’s we should be aware of? If I recall it correctly… it is not… contagious, right?”

Goddess, this sounded boring already.
Freh’ya was trying to calm her anger about missing time with Taleeze and Skylar over this. Nonetheless she was a professional and took even the most boring assignment serio… professionally. On the other hand, Nimbus was classified space in regard of piracy threat and as little as she hoped the civilian party members would be endangered, she would love to have a shot at one of the bastards – or bitches or whatever.

As Arina rolled along, her mind was trailing, trying to find angles for motivation. Most of the Nimbus colonies had to be self sustainable since the war after being hit hard. So experienced personal was only now flowing inside from the rest of the Republics and in some cases other species. But capable leaders are hard to replace, so they counted. She had no idea about that particular Matriarch but steering a place like Trategos through war and isolation was no simple task. Well then, see to it that the Matriarch get to her destination safe. While at it, she could polish up her knowledge on ship operations, it had been a while.

She looked around the table and noted the doctor was looking at her with what Freh’ya assumed was a professional eye. After the rough events on earth, maybe this would be a good opportunity to have the doctor perform a checkup on her. This was actually a good idea, she thought, putting the time in transit to good use. A few muscles were a bit strained and she had to cough sometimes, which she expected would go away after moving from the dusty environment. But no harm in having a doctor look at you after a mission.

Nemruna's Disease. Rahi frowned slightly as she pulled the embassy's shared files on the condition into the pad's interface with her omni-tool. A matriarch warranted swift service in any case, but she had suspected the 'medical condition' had to be something severe for the DSS to pull Sala T'Era out of the Reach for this. Talith Programme ships had the latest in onboard medbay hardware among their advances, and with a hand-picked physician aboard the Matriarch would have far better care than any older courier would be able to provide.

She looked back up and nodded slightly at Arina's mention of the Nimbus's current state. She had already plotted potential courses to Trategos and then Hyetiana, but on the off chance the Citadel databanks had more up-to-date information on the pirate problem she added those files too to her stack. Probably whatever recent data there was would make no difference, but Rahi wholly agreed with Arina's directive to follow regulations however routine the situation seemed. Sala was fast and quiet - and she had sharp teeth for her size, if it came to that - but she was the defensive party on this mission, and even a poorly-disciplined pirate crew could get lucky, if they were left an opening.

Rahi felt eagerness creeping up on her, and clamped down on it, not wanting to seem unprofessional in front of her seniors. But the mission was no mere package delivery. She knew her elders back on Epira had confidence in her - even chronically short of huntresses as they were, the Republics didn't assign just anybody to crew the Talith classes - but even with a commando to protect her, a physician to care for her, and Arina in overall command, being trusted with a matriarch's wellbeing was no small thing.

Temria took her seat alongside the table and scrolled quickly through the mission briefing, catching only the first opening words of each before settling on the asserts list. She noted, with some satisfaction that the medical supplies were listed separately, and almost immediately began taking stock of them as Arina began her briefing. With a polite nod she ascended to the younger asari's suggestion that the briefing be kept informal, common sense superseded by protocol.

As Arina spoke, the doctor took inventory, easily able to keep track of both, as at this stage it was merely a checklist to start with. Exact quantities would need to be determined with terms somewhere between 'preferable' and 'impossible' as befitted the reality of the post-reaper world. But then again, this was a government job, and the difference already showed in that by the time they had gotten to the subject of pirates, Temria could acknowledge that at the very least nothing needed to be taken off, at least.

The news of pirates didn't sit well of course, even if the prospect of a cadre of Trategosan space pirates read like something out of some exploitation vid out of Illium. She glanced at the other violet asari, at first to remind herself of the assurances afforded to them, and then let it linger because, well, she could. Of course Freh'ya would take that moment to look back, and Temria had to maintain the look just long enough to make it seem innocuous and hope she wasn't blushing.

When Arina called on her again, Temria nodded. "Hm? Yes." she stated flatly, catching herself as she looked up. "That is, you're correct, it's not contagious." Sitting up straight, she set the pad on her lap and continued. "Nemruna's is a neurological disorder and is traditionally believed to be hereditary, though not consistently so. The leading theory suggests may be caused by a combination of a genetic defect on two specific recessive genes that... sorry, too much..."

Clearing her throat, she leaned forward, "To the point, the disease traditionally manifests in the matron stage. Early symptoms being a weakness, shaking, and eventually paralysis to certain muscle groups as nerves die off. As the disease progresses it impacts more central nerve bundles, causing the extremities that branch off of them to fire continuously. The end result is severe and continuous muscle contractions in the impacted area and all the pain and discomfort thereof. Fatal attacks typically center around the heart and lungs."

"Treatment options often involve nerve restoration procedures and artificial bypasses, there is a fairly consistent window between attacks and such treatments to reduce impact to their lives, but eventually the rate at which attacks occur outstrip any reasonable means to treat them. Or you have situations like this... We don't have exact information on when Matriarch T'Veda started showing symptoms or the current extent of them, but between the official announcement and all that has happened it is very much expected that she has suffered a degree of permanent mobility loss."

Clearing her throat awkwardly she looked to Arina, then to the others "Despite that, she is very much herself and fully aware. Of course, please keep this in mind during any interaction with her." Weakly, she smiled. "Not that I expect that to be an issue, of course."

Arina flinched several times when Temria explained what she knew about the illness. This was no funny way to fade out, even more so if it dragged out over a century or more. She felt sorry for the Matriarch, especially if she had to go through a hopeless time in isolation.

“Thank you, doctor. Yes, I am aware of that fact.” She picked up her pad and skipped to a section. “The point of this is that this AcaMedic company obviously was experimenting on a cure to regress the symptoms and Matriarch T’Veda is to receive a treatment. An experiment with no guarantee but given her progressed state maybe a chance worth taking. It seems they are the leading researchers and kind of monopolize on the medication already. But that may be because it’s so rare and the demand is not huge… anyway, you can find something about them in the dossier if you are interested.” She put the pad down.

“If you need anything on top of what’s in there, let me know. If it’s available on the Citadel we will get it or otherwise will pick it up on the way.” With that she focused on Rahilan.

“Our departure is set for tomorrow 8 am. This seems sufficient to equip the ship with everything that’s not already on board, I assume you see to that?” Technically, that was not an actual question. “As for the flight plan, there’s two relay jumps, Sol to Aralakh, then to Parnitha…” she shot a quick glance to Temria, remembering their conversation about not wanting to see Thessia. Well, the relay way outside viewing distance, but still…. “… and then to Pelion, which is already Trategos’ system. We will get a diplomatic ID code which I will bring on departure; we will get priority relay slots but it nonetheless will take a bit of time to reach the target. Any comments on our vessel or flight plan, Rahilan, anything you need to make this trip comfortable?”

Freh’ya had heard about the disease. It was one of those illnesses that you think extinct because they are invisible these days. Modern medication had obviously made it so over the last centuries. The people affected just needed constant care and medication and could look perfectly healthy and live a normal life. But to actually suffer from that… it sounded terrible. Degenerating was terrible… it was like… a shiver went down Freh’ya’s spine as she was remembered of ‘transformation’… physical transformation, the banshees, rotting, degenerating living corpses… she blinked several times to get the image out of her head.

She then recalled biology classes. There had been a picture in a lecture … she remembered stupid and thoughtless pupils making fun of the “fossilized Matriarch”. Goddess.
Good, this asari needed help and whatever little she could contribute, she would.

Her attention switched back to the conversation when the operative part became topic.

"Thank you," Rahilan nodded, hiding her relief at being back on familiar ground after the disturbing brief on Nemruna's disease. As a huntress she was aware, in a more immediate sense than most, that there were no guarantees for the future, but she still enjoyed some non-specific hopes of a long and satisfying life. The thought of a condition like this - the years upon years of pain and treatment in cycles, and knowing it would only get worse, until there was no relief at all... She pushed that thought out of her mind and focused on the matter at hand.

"CDC is aware of our schedule, and we'll be setting out at 0800 tomorrow, as- Arina said," she began, catching herself with the slightest pause from lapsing back into formal titles. "It would be convenient if our party were ready to board, at dock A-94, no later than 0770." She made a note on her pad. "Sol-Aralakh-Parnitha-Pelion is anticipated to be entirely routine travel. Freh'ya, this would obviously be an ideal time to rehearse tactical responses. Doctor, medical at Epira installed an equipment package in the medbay tailored to the matriarch's care needs, but you're the expert. If you have any of your own equipment you'd like to bring, let me know and I'll make sure it's aboard before we leave. If you'd care to requisition anything not available on the Citadel, the fleet station in Parnitha can arrange a rendezvous there that won't slow us down too much."

She put her pad down for a moment and looked around the table, at each of the three in turn.

"Pelion-Parnitha-Kypladon should also be a smooth ride," she went on, "and the Silean Nebula hasn't shown any marked tendency towards criminal activity, beyond what's to be expected given the weakened states of everyone's navies. Our prime area of exposure is Pelion itself. Trategos and the system relay are near enough at conjunction currently, so we'll be moving across the system plane. There will be stretches here and here," she tapped a system map on the pad, transmitting the information to the others, "where interception is a possibility, if we're observed entering the system, or over Trategos, by hostiles. Pelion is the staging area for the relief forces being sent into the Nimbus by other Republics, but they have a lot of space to cover, so we can't count on there being ships to spare from picket duties to escort us while we're there. We'll be running with decoys and WSKR drones deployed, though. If there are hostiles present, we won't make it easy to find us, or approach unseen if they do."

She made another note, and as an afterthought opened and shared the files on the shuttle's decoys and drones, as well as the defensive weaponry. Freh'ya would certainly want to know their capabilities, and if the others were aware of them to some level of detail, that couldn't hurt either.

"Given the standing of our passenger, I'd recommend maintaining that level of readiness once she's on board, all the way to Hyetiana," she added, glancing at Freh'ya for approval. "Pelion may be the risky leg at a glance, but as my mentor back in the Reach likes to say, complacency is the surest threat."

She took a brief glance at the notes she had prepared, then looked back at Arina.

"I think that covers the essentials," she said. "If there aren't any questions? Sala T'Era's a good ship, she and I have been running recon and courier missions in the Reach since she was completed. She won't let you down. So far as our comfort goes, since it's just going to be the six of us all up - and the matriarch has the VIP cabin, of course - I've asked our people at the dock to install some additional recreation options, in place of the unused bunk space." She grinned, slightly shyly - with the military business out of the way, she seemed a young girl in the presence of her elders again. "Hopefully we won't be bored."

"If at all possible..." Temria leaned forward, looking over the pad once again to read over the equipment manifest with a critical eye, "Could we take the time today to inspect the equipment today? Everything appears to be in order from the list, but if there's to be any issues better to sort it now rather than later." she gave a sheepish smile, "Or at the very least, it'll keep me from getting lost tomorrow morning."

Looking to Arina specifically, she addressed the list once more, "Given the circumstances this may be too short a notice, but if it's at all possible I'd like to supplement some of the previously approved pain medication with synthetic ikritene. It will give us a bit more flexibility in dosing it and the sleeping aid. I understand it may be hard to arrange in the current environment but if it can be done relatively painlessly it would be useful."

“Very well, that all sounds good . I am afraid I will have to finish some work but feel free to check out the ship and list what’s needed. You won’t need me present for that I think.” It felt as if equipping a deep space exploration… not a week-long trip through asari space at most.
“Oh, one more thing. Be sure to bring warm clothing in case we have a bit of stay on Trategos.”

Facing the doctor she added: “I will look into it… ‘synthetic ikritene’…” she made a note on her pad. “If it’s in quantity on the Citadel, I will get it, otherwise most likely in Parnitha – if that’s okay?” Who knows where they would make them pick up the supplies if necessary? It could mean, landing on Thessia but Arina doubted that, as there were a lot of fleet supply depots throughout the system.

She turned to Freh’ya who had been silent until now. “Anything from your side? I am afraid I can offer anything exciting. But you may want to check the ship and equipment?”

Freh’ya chuckled.
“No problem. You know how it is, you diplomats are supposed to make sure we commandos have an easy and boring life. Best thing for everybody.” She straightened a bit in her chair. Mmh, muscle strain. She rotated her left shoulder to release it.

“As for overall procedures I have nothing more to add. You all know how to handle a sidearm and from what I read, destination Nimbus makes them mandatory.” She looked at the doctor. “I assume everybody has one? If not, I can issue one - a more general remark on the situation though: While we should be cautious of course I do not see an immediate danger of an attack. Piracy is happening in remote systems. It is a hide and seek with the pirates hoping to be gone before military shipping arrives. That’s why every commercial shipment is nowadays requested to travel in convoys. Not possible to the last remote moonbase of course but still. I bet the space around the relays is full with our fleet by now so the Trategos system is as safe as it gets.”
Then she turned to the pilot.

“I’d also like to check out the ship and the equipment. I’d be very pleased to get a refreshment course on all the defense suits, Rahilan. It has been a while since I was on duty on a ship. I know my way around radio and navigation if they are standard interfaces and no weird special equipment.” On a craft as the Sala T'Era the first would be more likely as it was to be operated by a minimum crew and not just specialist.

“I’ll see if I need anything when I had a look at the ship.” She wondered what kind of recreational equipment Rahilan was talking about.