I may have miscalculated.
Slightly.
Although, it may not be entirely my fault.
Just mostly.
But it shouldn't have been!
But really, I shouldn't expect more from my team mates either.
It turns out that the mass relays aren't just these really cool machines that have been floating in space for the past who knows how many thousands of years. They're AI's. Apparently, they're freakishly advanced and powerful AI's.
How was I supposed to know that? You know, if they're supposed to be so awesome I don't see why they couldn't predict that I DIDN'T KNOW THAT and maybe tried to tell me instead of trying to KILL me.
Doesn't seem that hard to me.
And what are they doing, anyway? If they're supposed to be so brilliant and powerful and just all around better...then what are they doing with their lives? What is their purpose? Why do they continue to shuttle all of us around the galaxy but only to the predetermined points? Why do they exist? WHY ARE THEY SENTIENT? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me... why haven't they communicated with us before now? And if they don't want to be involved with us, then why do they help us with the whole relay thing?
I wouldn't have done what I did if I had known they were sentient. I do respect all forms of life - both organic and inorganic.
Well... I wouldn't have done it exactly that way...
Here's the thing. I am sorry that I ticked off the big scary robot. Keelah, yes, I'm sorry. I mean I almost died! If Terryck hadn't saved my life and the Commander hadn't come to get me and K-QO hadn't talked to the AI... then I would be very, very dead. The AI (it didn't even share a name, so no, this is not be trying to be rude) not only had some very powerful mechs in its control, it also completely powered down all my tech! No omni-tool, no nanites. Even Fenris was turned against me.... Terryck blew him up, but I can't be mad at him since he did it to save me.
The stupid robot killed my dog!! That's just rude.
Anyway, I've never felt so useless and so terrified in my life. All I could think of was that I had to get to the computers so I could fix whatever had done this... I had no way of knowing that this had happened precisely to stop me from getting to it's brain (said computers). Seriously! If it had just tried to talk to me this would have all been so much simpler. I mean, I would have tried to talk to it, but I didn't know it was sentient! So I think the blame lies with the robot this time.
But I still have to apologize. For my team. The Commander wants to be able to use the mass relays more effectively, and if the stupid robots are going to act like five year olds then I guess I can be the one to make the first move. I'll apologize, and see if there is anything I can learn from them. They obviously know some pretty cool tricks, and I am genuinely interested in learning them. And I am sorry I was rude, even if it wasn't exactly my fault. So I will apologize, and I will fix this.
And I owe Terryck. I don't know how I'll repay him, but he could have left me - it would have been much safer for him - and he didn't. He literally carried me away from the mech and then tried to heal me and keep me safe. I owe him big time. Much more than I owe that bosh'tet our crew calls a doctor. He opened sixteen contact points on my suit while attempting 'surgery.' Sixteen!!!! And my whole crew was standing nearby to learn. So many germs. I caught what I believe the humans refer to as "the common cold." It is disgusting. My suit has been working overtime to deal with all the phlegm and mucus.
Also I'm bored, which is why I have so much time to waste updating this log. I hate being stuck in the hospital. At least it gives me some time to work on my new Fenris.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
Missions 12 - 15
Sorry it's been a while. Although why I'm apologizing to an unsentient computer terminal is beyond me. It's not like anyone will crack this code and read my entries.
Our doppelgangers proved to be...disappointing. The quarian wasn't even a quarian, just a human in quarian armour. And she was not very good at all - with technical skills or her Widow. I suppose I should be grateful she missed the shot at my squad mate, but seriously. That's the best the Alliance could find? Disappointing. At least my team acknowledged the difference between us - the geth made some snide comments to the human female that I actually appreciated.
Regardless, we took down our doppelgangers and captured a few of them - the human female included. Luthien, Terryck and I interrogated her and I tried to have a few words with her after to help her understand the error of her ways. She didn't listen and I'm afraid I lost me temper a little...I may have knocked her unconscious with neural shock.
Our squad made it's way to Omega at Luthien's request and it turned out we got stuck in a quarantined zone. Luthien's mother, who seems to be some sort of de facto leader of Omega, actually expected Cornelius of all people to cure a virus that was running rampant. Apparently there were different strains for each race and it was not a pleasant disease. Of course, the Commander had no choice but to try so he ordered Cornelius to attempt a cure - and he sent me with him to keep an eye on him!!! Most boring day of my life. I spent all my time cajoling Cornelius into being smart about how he went about it (he cured the Turian strain first instead of the human, even when I pointed out that if he got sick and died we would all be hooped. He tried to start the krogan strain next but fortunately the commander came in and got him to listen). Aside from babysitting Cornelius I upgraded the medical equipment to speed things along and then found some robots to send out to fix the security network and help my teammates out. Boring, boring day.
Cornelius wound up being able to make a universal cure and I took it to go distribute. Once we were out of the lab he caught up to me and insisted he be the one to distribute the cure - unfortunately the moron decided to yell this piece of information, attracting the attention of two asari commandoes who immediately decided to attack. Cornelius didn't notice...so I shot one with my widow and neural shocked the other - one got Corneliusin the leg but after he distributed the cure I knocked him out so that our ships medical staff could fix him up.
The only other interesting thing to happen since I last wrote is that we decided to head on an escort mission our doppelgangers had been assigned to do after they took us out. There was a ship loaded with Eezo out in the middle of nowhere space that we needed to escort through some rought territory. We managed to convince them we were our doppelgangers - after a tense moment where we shot them. That was interesting to cover up. My dog, Fenris, had to go over with one of K-QO's LOKI mechs as 'repair drones' to gather intel and explain that we had thought they were renegade since they started running away.
We got the ship to its destination and to stop their plans from working we changed to programming of the crucible (which is what they were building). If they try to use it it will look like it's working...but the ships will be exploding, not going somewhere else.
Leaving we found ourselves facing a horde of reapers...who thanked us for our work and gave us a big gun for our ship...like, a really big gun. It's pretty.
The best part of all this though, and the reason for this update, is that the reapers appeared and disappeared using the same mass relay we did to go to the crucible....but that's not where they were and probably not where they went. So theoretically, a mass relay could be programmed to take you to any other relay and not just a set destination.
Even better, the Commander has given me permission to examine the mass relay to see if I can figure out how to do it! Imagine the possibilites! No one has ever done anything like this before! I'm actually very excited. Between this and the work I've done lately on my dog (Fenris seems to have become a fully functional VI) and my research into technical combat techniques - I've learned how to make additional armour from nanites and I'm working on using to make myself...less visible - this whole mission has been very, very satisfactory.
Our doppelgangers proved to be...disappointing. The quarian wasn't even a quarian, just a human in quarian armour. And she was not very good at all - with technical skills or her Widow. I suppose I should be grateful she missed the shot at my squad mate, but seriously. That's the best the Alliance could find? Disappointing. At least my team acknowledged the difference between us - the geth made some snide comments to the human female that I actually appreciated.
Regardless, we took down our doppelgangers and captured a few of them - the human female included. Luthien, Terryck and I interrogated her and I tried to have a few words with her after to help her understand the error of her ways. She didn't listen and I'm afraid I lost me temper a little...I may have knocked her unconscious with neural shock.
Our squad made it's way to Omega at Luthien's request and it turned out we got stuck in a quarantined zone. Luthien's mother, who seems to be some sort of de facto leader of Omega, actually expected Cornelius of all people to cure a virus that was running rampant. Apparently there were different strains for each race and it was not a pleasant disease. Of course, the Commander had no choice but to try so he ordered Cornelius to attempt a cure - and he sent me with him to keep an eye on him!!! Most boring day of my life. I spent all my time cajoling Cornelius into being smart about how he went about it (he cured the Turian strain first instead of the human, even when I pointed out that if he got sick and died we would all be hooped. He tried to start the krogan strain next but fortunately the commander came in and got him to listen). Aside from babysitting Cornelius I upgraded the medical equipment to speed things along and then found some robots to send out to fix the security network and help my teammates out. Boring, boring day.
Cornelius wound up being able to make a universal cure and I took it to go distribute. Once we were out of the lab he caught up to me and insisted he be the one to distribute the cure - unfortunately the moron decided to yell this piece of information, attracting the attention of two asari commandoes who immediately decided to attack. Cornelius didn't notice...so I shot one with my widow and neural shocked the other - one got Corneliusin the leg but after he distributed the cure I knocked him out so that our ships medical staff could fix him up.
The only other interesting thing to happen since I last wrote is that we decided to head on an escort mission our doppelgangers had been assigned to do after they took us out. There was a ship loaded with Eezo out in the middle of nowhere space that we needed to escort through some rought territory. We managed to convince them we were our doppelgangers - after a tense moment where we shot them. That was interesting to cover up. My dog, Fenris, had to go over with one of K-QO's LOKI mechs as 'repair drones' to gather intel and explain that we had thought they were renegade since they started running away.
We got the ship to its destination and to stop their plans from working we changed to programming of the crucible (which is what they were building). If they try to use it it will look like it's working...but the ships will be exploding, not going somewhere else.
Leaving we found ourselves facing a horde of reapers...who thanked us for our work and gave us a big gun for our ship...like, a really big gun. It's pretty.
The best part of all this though, and the reason for this update, is that the reapers appeared and disappeared using the same mass relay we did to go to the crucible....but that's not where they were and probably not where they went. So theoretically, a mass relay could be programmed to take you to any other relay and not just a set destination.
Even better, the Commander has given me permission to examine the mass relay to see if I can figure out how to do it! Imagine the possibilites! No one has ever done anything like this before! I'm actually very excited. Between this and the work I've done lately on my dog (Fenris seems to have become a fully functional VI) and my research into technical combat techniques - I've learned how to make additional armour from nanites and I'm working on using to make myself...less visible - this whole mission has been very, very satisfactory.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Mission 11
Ok. I think things are ok.
For starters we've about caught up to our doppelgangers, and they should be headed straight towards us. I'm monitoring the communications as I write this just to make sure, and K-QO probably is too.
We got to Eden Prime after two days of travel only to find five hyperion class cruisers orbiting the planet. Our stealth systems are good, but that doesn't prevent them from seeing our ship out their windows. I managed to hack into the satellites to try and locate the fake Saschen. Even though I got the information the Commander and Luthien somehow managed to lose it and so I had to go back in and get it again. There were two individuals fishing around looking for me... but of course they found nothing. Pathetic. Anyway, my team mates were able to find holes in the surveillance we could slip through and we flocated the fake Saschen. Getting onto the planet was surprisingly easy, and we landed about forty kilometres away from our destination, took the shuttle up close, and then began sneaking towards the ship.
We were all being pretty careful - I mean, this crew was supposed to be us, and my team mates are pretty skilled at their respective...whatever it is they do. This, unfortunately does not include tech abilities for any... Cornelius did something to his omni-tool and short-circuited his internal computer. The plus side of that was is was something I could actually fix, since it was a mechanical problem. Still, they all really need to learn some basic technician skills before they seriously injure themselves.
Anyway, we didn't see anyone and so I snuck up to the ship. Terryck covered me, thankfully. It was very nerve-wracking. Once I was close enough to touch it, I hacked the ship and learned several interesting things: the doppelganger crew was away, the basic crew was all in crew areas away from the main door, and there was not an AI on this ship (which was good, because I don't know that I'm that good...yet). So I locked of all incoming and outgoing communications, locked the crew into the areas they were in, and opened the door.
Unfortunately the ship (it's actually the Triton) had no non-lethal gases we could use on the crew, and they had started to notice little things like that the elevators were not coming... So we decided maybe we could impersonate our impersonators. I took the crew off lockdown and the Commander and the rest of my squad persuaded the crew we had found us and to fly the ship over to the real Saschen. The best part is that they even managed to get the whole crew onto the Saschen under the premise of re-fitting it, and K-QO gassed them all... We left them tied up to a tree. I'm actually kind of surprised that the Commander didn't just have them all killed in the first place. Surprised but grateful. Maybe Tali was right about humans...
Anyway, we had to leave them tied up because K-QO also detected an outgoing transmission to the hyperion cruisers above us. I managed to steal the signal (their technician, by the way, didn't even seem to notice. So much for our doppelgangers having equal skill sets to us) and Nienna pretended to be a communications officer. We sent them coordinates to "their ship" (a location we'd picked that was far enough away we'd have plenty of time to beat them there and set up an ambush) and promised back-up (some of our marines will go in a shuttle with Cornelius and the geth to protect them). I've got the turrets ready to go, and now we just have to wait.
As crazy as all this is, this is more like what I expected when I joined the Alliance. I actually feel like I'm accomplishing something. And while my crew may be insane, I do trust them to get the job done. They are good at that. And I think I can trust them to have my back. So I just have to make sure I have theirs.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Missions 9 and 10
Just one day of peace, that's all I want right now. One day without people asking me to do ridiculous things or something going wrong with the crew. Is that really too much to ask?
Everything started out well enough - I was able to obtain many of the upgrades that my crew requested including a thermal scope for my Widow, muscle weaves in my arms and legs, and the internal computer I needed. Many of the crew opted for cypernetic upgrades, so most of us were in the hopital for three days. When we got out our Commander was nowhere to be found. Luthien decided to hit up some of the bars, and since most of the crew seemed eager to accompany her I decided to tag along as well. I thought it would help me maybe get to know them a bit better, plus I wanted to make sure they didn't get up to too much trouble here on Rannoch.
It's a good thing I followed, Luthien led us straight to bar of...less than desirable taste. It was disgusting. We weren't there long, however, before we got shot at. A Salarian STG team attacked us. No serious damage was taken, although I did have to save Cornelius - he really is rather reckless. At least now we're even - he saved my life, I saved his... although who knows, given his luck he may have been able to dodge the bullet. So I killed a Salarian today, but it was in defense of a team mate and I think I'm ok with it. President Tali'Zora did tell me to find a reason to kill... But I'll get to that in a bit.
Two salarians ran away during the fight and I headed off to take the second one down so we could bring him into questioning. I neural shocked him and he collapsed (I actually did it with the right amount of force this time!). I tried to drag him in with me but his arm had gone all funny and it didn't work very well. Luthien came up behind me and tried pulling him by his horns, which I guess worked a little better. Fortunately Terryck came along and hauled the salarian onto his back and we all went back to the ship.
As we came up to the ship the commander came out of a very official looking car, K8 running up beside him. I approached the commander and asked him about the scientist we had kidnapped last week - he gave me permission to interrogate him and then kill him to ensure the information could not spread. It was...odd, having the commander agree with me. I realized later that President Tali'Zora had filled him in more about my quest and she must have told him how important it was the information all be destroyed.
Anyway, the interrogation started out fine. Braxis and Cornelius decided to join so I warned them to be on their best behaviour. The Salarian was cooperating and he told us that the data from his ship was also stored in a vault back at his house... wish we'd known that the first time we were on Sur'kesh!
I was trying to convince him to tell me the location of the vault (other than that it was in his study) when Braxis and Cornelius... actually I'm not sure what they thought they were doing. Braxis was talking about eating the salarian, Cornelius was talking about doing it while the salarian was alive... the salarian went into cardiac arrest and Joe medic-ed him so they could torture him. I'm really not certain what's wrong with him - Cornelius that is. Healing someone so you can kill them slowly? That's abominable.
It's all kind of a blur, really. When I realized they weren't kidding I decided to kill the salarian (it seemed by far the more humane option) and sent a neural shock his way. At this point the geth decided to walk into the room and for some insane reason made the asinine move of jumping in front of my neural shock. Idiot. He's lucky he didn't die. I rushed over to fix him, leaving the unfortunate salarian in the hands of my two sadistic crew mates. Judging by his screams, I think the krogan may actually have bitten the poor guy.
Fortunately the chaos ended as I finished repairing the geth. The commander burst in (drawn, no doubt, the the screams of pain emanating from the salarian) and after staring in shock for a minute he shot the salarian in the head.
I really couldn't deal with all the drama and terror going on, so I may have kind of run away at that point.
And honestly, as horrible as all that was I would have been ok with that being my day. It's the rest of it that threw me.
In the first place, K-QO has somehow managed to upgrade the ships internal monitoring systems - as in there are camera's and microphones and thermal sensors EVERYWHERE. Including my room. And the washrooms...
Everywhere. And it won't turn them off. I asked why, and it said that it had been instructed to monitor the crew, and that this seemed the best way to understand organics. My arguments that organics really didn't make much sense to anyone didn't seem to do much to deter it.
In the second place, on top of his absolutely brutal behaviour in the interrogation room (and he wonders why I have a hard time explaining my feelings towards him...) Cornelius started yelling at me in a corridor. He started out by apologizing to me for his behaviour earlier - the whole pinning me down and asking me how I felt about him bit. But the apology aspect wasn't really there, it was more of a frustrated yell of "I'm sorry" followed by him yelling that we would be just friends before he ran off...
I don't really understand him at all, but I really don't think he's well. But hey - a friend! That's good, right?
Finally, the best part of my day wound up being the worst. When I told the Commander that we needed to go to Sur'kesh he agreed, but pointed out that we also had to stop the look alike Saschen and it's crew, who have apparently been flying around and causing mayhem and destruction in our name. Both tasks were urgent, so he decided we should ask President Tali'Zorah if she could offer any advise or assistance. I begged the Commander to take me with him so I could meet her, and eventually he caved and took Luthien and I with him on the condition that we remained silent. Which I did. I may, however, have waved at her when she looked my way. But, I mean, I was actually standing in the same room as Tali'Zorah vas Normandy! What was I supposed to do?
She waved back :)
And then she asked me to stay back when she dismissed the Commander and Luthien. I was so excited...
Until she started talking. President Tali'Zorah thanked me for the work I had done so far, and then added that it wasn't enough. She spoke for a while about humans and their emotions and influencing people... I really had no idea what she was talking about. But then she told me I had to get closer to my crew so I could help them grow and be better. I need to be friends with them, and... yeah.
Actually, I don't really want to think about it.
Anyway, I guess it's a good thing I pulled the crew's files a few days ago. Nienna agreed to help teach me how to make friends if I send an encrypted message for her, so hopefully she'll give me some helpful pointers. You know what, life's not that bad. I can do this friend thing. I really can. As for the rest, well... if I can get close to my crew and help them out, then nothing else should be necessary, right? It's all going to be perfectly fine.
Maybe I'll go check on the crew with K-QO. Watching the monitors should help me get to know people better, right?
Everything started out well enough - I was able to obtain many of the upgrades that my crew requested including a thermal scope for my Widow, muscle weaves in my arms and legs, and the internal computer I needed. Many of the crew opted for cypernetic upgrades, so most of us were in the hopital for three days. When we got out our Commander was nowhere to be found. Luthien decided to hit up some of the bars, and since most of the crew seemed eager to accompany her I decided to tag along as well. I thought it would help me maybe get to know them a bit better, plus I wanted to make sure they didn't get up to too much trouble here on Rannoch.
It's a good thing I followed, Luthien led us straight to bar of...less than desirable taste. It was disgusting. We weren't there long, however, before we got shot at. A Salarian STG team attacked us. No serious damage was taken, although I did have to save Cornelius - he really is rather reckless. At least now we're even - he saved my life, I saved his... although who knows, given his luck he may have been able to dodge the bullet. So I killed a Salarian today, but it was in defense of a team mate and I think I'm ok with it. President Tali'Zora did tell me to find a reason to kill... But I'll get to that in a bit.
Two salarians ran away during the fight and I headed off to take the second one down so we could bring him into questioning. I neural shocked him and he collapsed (I actually did it with the right amount of force this time!). I tried to drag him in with me but his arm had gone all funny and it didn't work very well. Luthien came up behind me and tried pulling him by his horns, which I guess worked a little better. Fortunately Terryck came along and hauled the salarian onto his back and we all went back to the ship.
As we came up to the ship the commander came out of a very official looking car, K8 running up beside him. I approached the commander and asked him about the scientist we had kidnapped last week - he gave me permission to interrogate him and then kill him to ensure the information could not spread. It was...odd, having the commander agree with me. I realized later that President Tali'Zora had filled him in more about my quest and she must have told him how important it was the information all be destroyed.
Anyway, the interrogation started out fine. Braxis and Cornelius decided to join so I warned them to be on their best behaviour. The Salarian was cooperating and he told us that the data from his ship was also stored in a vault back at his house... wish we'd known that the first time we were on Sur'kesh!
I was trying to convince him to tell me the location of the vault (other than that it was in his study) when Braxis and Cornelius... actually I'm not sure what they thought they were doing. Braxis was talking about eating the salarian, Cornelius was talking about doing it while the salarian was alive... the salarian went into cardiac arrest and Joe medic-ed him so they could torture him. I'm really not certain what's wrong with him - Cornelius that is. Healing someone so you can kill them slowly? That's abominable.
It's all kind of a blur, really. When I realized they weren't kidding I decided to kill the salarian (it seemed by far the more humane option) and sent a neural shock his way. At this point the geth decided to walk into the room and for some insane reason made the asinine move of jumping in front of my neural shock. Idiot. He's lucky he didn't die. I rushed over to fix him, leaving the unfortunate salarian in the hands of my two sadistic crew mates. Judging by his screams, I think the krogan may actually have bitten the poor guy.
Fortunately the chaos ended as I finished repairing the geth. The commander burst in (drawn, no doubt, the the screams of pain emanating from the salarian) and after staring in shock for a minute he shot the salarian in the head.
I really couldn't deal with all the drama and terror going on, so I may have kind of run away at that point.
And honestly, as horrible as all that was I would have been ok with that being my day. It's the rest of it that threw me.
In the first place, K-QO has somehow managed to upgrade the ships internal monitoring systems - as in there are camera's and microphones and thermal sensors EVERYWHERE. Including my room. And the washrooms...
Everywhere. And it won't turn them off. I asked why, and it said that it had been instructed to monitor the crew, and that this seemed the best way to understand organics. My arguments that organics really didn't make much sense to anyone didn't seem to do much to deter it.
In the second place, on top of his absolutely brutal behaviour in the interrogation room (and he wonders why I have a hard time explaining my feelings towards him...) Cornelius started yelling at me in a corridor. He started out by apologizing to me for his behaviour earlier - the whole pinning me down and asking me how I felt about him bit. But the apology aspect wasn't really there, it was more of a frustrated yell of "I'm sorry" followed by him yelling that we would be just friends before he ran off...
I don't really understand him at all, but I really don't think he's well. But hey - a friend! That's good, right?
Finally, the best part of my day wound up being the worst. When I told the Commander that we needed to go to Sur'kesh he agreed, but pointed out that we also had to stop the look alike Saschen and it's crew, who have apparently been flying around and causing mayhem and destruction in our name. Both tasks were urgent, so he decided we should ask President Tali'Zorah if she could offer any advise or assistance. I begged the Commander to take me with him so I could meet her, and eventually he caved and took Luthien and I with him on the condition that we remained silent. Which I did. I may, however, have waved at her when she looked my way. But, I mean, I was actually standing in the same room as Tali'Zorah vas Normandy! What was I supposed to do?
She waved back :)
And then she asked me to stay back when she dismissed the Commander and Luthien. I was so excited...
Until she started talking. President Tali'Zorah thanked me for the work I had done so far, and then added that it wasn't enough. She spoke for a while about humans and their emotions and influencing people... I really had no idea what she was talking about. But then she told me I had to get closer to my crew so I could help them grow and be better. I need to be friends with them, and... yeah.
Actually, I don't really want to think about it.
Anyway, I guess it's a good thing I pulled the crew's files a few days ago. Nienna agreed to help teach me how to make friends if I send an encrypted message for her, so hopefully she'll give me some helpful pointers. You know what, life's not that bad. I can do this friend thing. I really can. As for the rest, well... if I can get close to my crew and help them out, then nothing else should be necessary, right? It's all going to be perfectly fine.
Maybe I'll go check on the crew with K-QO. Watching the monitors should help me get to know people better, right?
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Letter from President Tali'Zorah
TO: Aliya.Irit@alliancenavy.web
FROM: TPOR@Rannoch.gov.org
Aliya:
We thank you for your service to the galaxy and recognize that you and your team are now in a difficult position. Our spies tell us you would be in an even more difficult position had you turned over the information.
Rannoch has officially condemned the council's actions but they don't listen to us. A wise man once told me when th politicans don't listen to you then don't listen to them. We have just publically declared that the SSV Saschen and its crew are under Quarian protection. You are welcome to Rannoch whenever you like and treat this as your home.
Office of the President of Rannoch
Signed by President Tali'Zorah
FROM: TPOR@Rannoch.gov.org
Aliya:
We thank you for your service to the galaxy and recognize that you and your team are now in a difficult position. Our spies tell us you would be in an even more difficult position had you turned over the information.
Rannoch has officially condemned the council's actions but they don't listen to us. A wise man once told me when th politicans don't listen to you then don't listen to them. We have just publically declared that the SSV Saschen and its crew are under Quarian protection. You are welcome to Rannoch whenever you like and treat this as your home.
Office of the President of Rannoch
Signed by President Tali'Zorah
Mission 8
It's over. I did it...
I don't feel as glad or relieved as I thought I would. Mostly I just feel...guilt.
I'm still alive, and still on the Saschen. For now. I told the Commander that if he didn't want me to remain I would stay on Rannoch. Honestly, I'm surprised I'm not just resigning from the Alliance. I've finished my pilgrimage.
Maybe I should start from the beginning.
K-QO and a turian female came into the lab shortly after the Salarian...passed on. I was pretty certain there was no turian female on our ship, so that must have been the prisoner K-QO went to free. I'm glad something came from this trip other than destruction.
I pretended to try and get information from the computer, and pretended to fail. I... I couldn't tell my squad yet. We were still on enemy territory, and I could barely think straight. Everything was happening so fast.
I guess something was going on with the Salarians piloting the ship, because the Commander damaged the computer and asked me to fix the ship. There were still two Salarians in engineering, and I was pretty certain I could handle them so I told the Commander I would take control from engineering. I arrived at the same time as the two asari, and the Lieutenant ran up the corridor to join us. Opening the door and sneaking into the room was easy... although as usual the Lieutenant decided it would be better to charge straight in waving his sword. Normally his incessant need to kill things would have irritated me, but today it was what I needed. Unfortunately one of the asari used her biotics to send the engineers to sleep - which for some strange reason meant they walked past us back to their bunks. I followed, and neural shocked them in their sleep.
I can't believe I did that.
I've killed so many people since joining the Alliance, and many as a direct result of this mission. I've certainly never killed anyone in their sleep before. I'm still not sure how to live with that.
The lieutenant had decided to follow me because he wanted to talk to me. He saw what I did... the look of shock on his face is burned into my memory. I truly have become a monster if even he is shocked by my actions. He confronted me, and although I tried to put him off he wound up pinning me to the floor. I suppose I should be grateful he didn't tear my suit in the process. I expected more of an interrogation about what he had just seen, but he was quickly side-tracked into confessing his feelings for me.
The lieutenant is in love with me. Or at least thinks he is.
What am I supposed to do about that? What was I supposed to say? Especially today, with everything that was going on. I froze. Then I demanded he get off of me so I could fix the ship that for all I knew could have been careening wildly through space since I hadn't taken control yet like I said I would. He wouldn't get off. He wanted to know how I felt about him. Why would I ever have even thought about him that way? He's always disgusted me with his amoral, care-free attitude...
And what right have I to criticize him for that now? He's saved my life before. I lied to him, and the rest of my squad. I still can't deal with this.
I convinced the Lieutenant that now was really not the best time for this conversation and he got off me and put me back on my feet. He's certainly very strong. I made it to engineering without further mishaps and after a bit of work on the engines I had control of the ship (which was working fine, by the way. Thanks for scaring me Commander). At this point I realized that the Commander was interrogating the only two living Salarians on the ship, and I headed to the bridge, with the lieutenant and the two asari following me.
At this point the whole crew had realized something was up. I probably didn't help matters by telling the Commander I had something I needed to tell him, but that I didn't want to share it until later. The turian looked very upset, and kept his hand by his pistol and his eyes on me the whole time. Which was pointless, he couldn't tell what I did to the computers anyway.
Oh, right. The Commander wanted me to get whatever information I could from the computer he'd shot - even just a history of where the ship had been. So I fixed the computer... and then I extracted the data dumped it in my suit with the rest, and wiped the computer spotless. It's not like there was any more point in being subtle.
The crew was not happy. One of the asari reported that I had killed the two engineers, and the next thing I know I'm staring at the barrel of the turian's pistol (the male turian. The new female wasn't really a big part of this whole thing), and the asari is standing between us glowing blue. I wasn't sure who she was going to attack.
The Commander was less than thrilled as well, and demanded answers. Again, I pointed out that now may not be the best time. The asari actually agreed with me...so the Commander shot the last two Salarians and then said that now we could talk.
I guess at least that dealt with that problem.
So I told them everything. Almost everything. I may have implied that I deleted the data. We're going to Rannoch now, and I'm going to get a cybernetic memory chip in my brain while I'm there. I'll lock the information up in there and I will never, ever tell anyone. But just in case we ever need it, I have it. The location the Salarians were attempting to determine. How to find the reapers.
Anyway, the Commander was furious. Everyone was furious. We got back on the shuttle and headed to the Saschen where there was apparently a message for everyone. Well...they left me on the shuttle. The turian tried to take my omni-tool away (which would have been intelligent of him if I were actually working against them, and if I didn't have a direct interface. This crew is very technically challenged) but that obviously didn't work, so I watched the broadcast from the shuttle. It was a news report from Earth. An Alliance base - actually, the Alliance base this crew was assembled at - was destroyed when the Saschen landed and it's crew got out of the ship (including me!) and blew up the base, killing everyone there including the Admiral. So we're now fugitives. I wish I knew how they managed to build a look alike Saschen and find people to play us without anyone knowing - whoever "they" are.
Somehow, the crew decided this was all my fault. The Commander hauled me out of the shuttle and showed me the report. Are all humans as grabby as the two on this ship?
I think he would have killed me then, if people hadn't realized that this message was two days old and had just taken this long to reach us. This had happened long before I betrayed my squad.
Keelah, that's what I did, isn't it? I betrayed them. How will I ever make that right? I... I can't just pretend this never happened and continue on like normal. No one here will ever trust me again...
Except the Lieutenant already forgave me. He confronted me in the com room after everyone left, and said that we were back on the Saschen so it was time to talk. He said he understood that I was only doing what I thought was right, and he said he cared for me. And then he asked me what I thought of him.
I've never been more grateful for my suit in my life - he didn't see me cry. The lieutenant - the person on this ship I respect the least, the one who always seemed to be trying to be horrid... he forgave me without a second thought. And actually cared what my opinion of him was.
I froze. I don't care for him, and I never have. But I didn't want to hurt him. Fortunately something must have come up because he started a private com conversation with the turian... and I took advantage of his distraction to run away down to the engine room. Today was far, far too much for me to deal with. What am I supposed to do about Cornelius?
That's the Lieutenant's name by the way. I pulled my squad's files. But I'm getting ahead of myself again.
I received an e-mail when we all arrived back on the Saschen. It was from President Tali'Zorah, thanking me for my service and offering the Saschen and it's crew sanctuary. One of the asari and the male turian both received similar offers of aid from different sources. The Commander decided to take us to Rannoch first - probably mostly so we could finally get the sixty quarians we have in pods out of our cargo bay. And that's where we're headed now.
As for me, I've decided my pilgrimage is complete. But if Cornelius can forgive me, then maybe I have a shot at earning back the trust of the rest of the crew. I owe it to them to try. I've asked the Commander for permission to stay aboard, but I'm currently on probation, so we'll see what happens on Rannoch. It may help that President Tali'Zorah's intel says that we would be in a much worse situation had we turned the information I stole over to the Alliance.
At least while I'm on Rannoch I can have some time out of my suit... And I should start praying I don't run into my parents. They'd try to stop me from leaving again. I have to make things right with my squad, I can not stay on Rannoch.
I'll spend the rest of our trip there learning what I can about my squad. I'll even try talking to them. Whatever it takes to win their trust.
...I just realized the Scientist who ran the experiments is still on our ship. It's not over yet.
I don't feel as glad or relieved as I thought I would. Mostly I just feel...guilt.
I'm still alive, and still on the Saschen. For now. I told the Commander that if he didn't want me to remain I would stay on Rannoch. Honestly, I'm surprised I'm not just resigning from the Alliance. I've finished my pilgrimage.
Maybe I should start from the beginning.
K-QO and a turian female came into the lab shortly after the Salarian...passed on. I was pretty certain there was no turian female on our ship, so that must have been the prisoner K-QO went to free. I'm glad something came from this trip other than destruction.
I pretended to try and get information from the computer, and pretended to fail. I... I couldn't tell my squad yet. We were still on enemy territory, and I could barely think straight. Everything was happening so fast.
I guess something was going on with the Salarians piloting the ship, because the Commander damaged the computer and asked me to fix the ship. There were still two Salarians in engineering, and I was pretty certain I could handle them so I told the Commander I would take control from engineering. I arrived at the same time as the two asari, and the Lieutenant ran up the corridor to join us. Opening the door and sneaking into the room was easy... although as usual the Lieutenant decided it would be better to charge straight in waving his sword. Normally his incessant need to kill things would have irritated me, but today it was what I needed. Unfortunately one of the asari used her biotics to send the engineers to sleep - which for some strange reason meant they walked past us back to their bunks. I followed, and neural shocked them in their sleep.
I can't believe I did that.
I've killed so many people since joining the Alliance, and many as a direct result of this mission. I've certainly never killed anyone in their sleep before. I'm still not sure how to live with that.
The lieutenant had decided to follow me because he wanted to talk to me. He saw what I did... the look of shock on his face is burned into my memory. I truly have become a monster if even he is shocked by my actions. He confronted me, and although I tried to put him off he wound up pinning me to the floor. I suppose I should be grateful he didn't tear my suit in the process. I expected more of an interrogation about what he had just seen, but he was quickly side-tracked into confessing his feelings for me.
The lieutenant is in love with me. Or at least thinks he is.
What am I supposed to do about that? What was I supposed to say? Especially today, with everything that was going on. I froze. Then I demanded he get off of me so I could fix the ship that for all I knew could have been careening wildly through space since I hadn't taken control yet like I said I would. He wouldn't get off. He wanted to know how I felt about him. Why would I ever have even thought about him that way? He's always disgusted me with his amoral, care-free attitude...
And what right have I to criticize him for that now? He's saved my life before. I lied to him, and the rest of my squad. I still can't deal with this.
I convinced the Lieutenant that now was really not the best time for this conversation and he got off me and put me back on my feet. He's certainly very strong. I made it to engineering without further mishaps and after a bit of work on the engines I had control of the ship (which was working fine, by the way. Thanks for scaring me Commander). At this point I realized that the Commander was interrogating the only two living Salarians on the ship, and I headed to the bridge, with the lieutenant and the two asari following me.
At this point the whole crew had realized something was up. I probably didn't help matters by telling the Commander I had something I needed to tell him, but that I didn't want to share it until later. The turian looked very upset, and kept his hand by his pistol and his eyes on me the whole time. Which was pointless, he couldn't tell what I did to the computers anyway.
Oh, right. The Commander wanted me to get whatever information I could from the computer he'd shot - even just a history of where the ship had been. So I fixed the computer... and then I extracted the data dumped it in my suit with the rest, and wiped the computer spotless. It's not like there was any more point in being subtle.
The crew was not happy. One of the asari reported that I had killed the two engineers, and the next thing I know I'm staring at the barrel of the turian's pistol (the male turian. The new female wasn't really a big part of this whole thing), and the asari is standing between us glowing blue. I wasn't sure who she was going to attack.
The Commander was less than thrilled as well, and demanded answers. Again, I pointed out that now may not be the best time. The asari actually agreed with me...so the Commander shot the last two Salarians and then said that now we could talk.
I guess at least that dealt with that problem.
So I told them everything. Almost everything. I may have implied that I deleted the data. We're going to Rannoch now, and I'm going to get a cybernetic memory chip in my brain while I'm there. I'll lock the information up in there and I will never, ever tell anyone. But just in case we ever need it, I have it. The location the Salarians were attempting to determine. How to find the reapers.
Anyway, the Commander was furious. Everyone was furious. We got back on the shuttle and headed to the Saschen where there was apparently a message for everyone. Well...they left me on the shuttle. The turian tried to take my omni-tool away (which would have been intelligent of him if I were actually working against them, and if I didn't have a direct interface. This crew is very technically challenged) but that obviously didn't work, so I watched the broadcast from the shuttle. It was a news report from Earth. An Alliance base - actually, the Alliance base this crew was assembled at - was destroyed when the Saschen landed and it's crew got out of the ship (including me!) and blew up the base, killing everyone there including the Admiral. So we're now fugitives. I wish I knew how they managed to build a look alike Saschen and find people to play us without anyone knowing - whoever "they" are.
Somehow, the crew decided this was all my fault. The Commander hauled me out of the shuttle and showed me the report. Are all humans as grabby as the two on this ship?
I think he would have killed me then, if people hadn't realized that this message was two days old and had just taken this long to reach us. This had happened long before I betrayed my squad.
Keelah, that's what I did, isn't it? I betrayed them. How will I ever make that right? I... I can't just pretend this never happened and continue on like normal. No one here will ever trust me again...
Except the Lieutenant already forgave me. He confronted me in the com room after everyone left, and said that we were back on the Saschen so it was time to talk. He said he understood that I was only doing what I thought was right, and he said he cared for me. And then he asked me what I thought of him.
I've never been more grateful for my suit in my life - he didn't see me cry. The lieutenant - the person on this ship I respect the least, the one who always seemed to be trying to be horrid... he forgave me without a second thought. And actually cared what my opinion of him was.
I froze. I don't care for him, and I never have. But I didn't want to hurt him. Fortunately something must have come up because he started a private com conversation with the turian... and I took advantage of his distraction to run away down to the engine room. Today was far, far too much for me to deal with. What am I supposed to do about Cornelius?
That's the Lieutenant's name by the way. I pulled my squad's files. But I'm getting ahead of myself again.
I received an e-mail when we all arrived back on the Saschen. It was from President Tali'Zorah, thanking me for my service and offering the Saschen and it's crew sanctuary. One of the asari and the male turian both received similar offers of aid from different sources. The Commander decided to take us to Rannoch first - probably mostly so we could finally get the sixty quarians we have in pods out of our cargo bay. And that's where we're headed now.
As for me, I've decided my pilgrimage is complete. But if Cornelius can forgive me, then maybe I have a shot at earning back the trust of the rest of the crew. I owe it to them to try. I've asked the Commander for permission to stay aboard, but I'm currently on probation, so we'll see what happens on Rannoch. It may help that President Tali'Zorah's intel says that we would be in a much worse situation had we turned the information I stole over to the Alliance.
At least while I'm on Rannoch I can have some time out of my suit... And I should start praying I don't run into my parents. They'd try to stop me from leaving again. I have to make things right with my squad, I can not stay on Rannoch.
I'll spend the rest of our trip there learning what I can about my squad. I'll even try talking to them. Whatever it takes to win their trust.
...I just realized the Scientist who ran the experiments is still on our ship. It's not over yet.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Mission Seven
I did it. Well, technically we did it, I suppose. K8 was helpful in completing our mission.
We boarded the Salarian ship without difficulty, but unfortunately there was an alarm hardwired into the system that went off when the krogan entered. So much for sneaking on and quickly taking out the scientists. Instead we got to fight past some Atlas mechs as well as the usual lot of guard drones.
When K-QO figured out how to add a software patch so the ship's computer saw her as a friend and went off on her own, K8 and I knew we had to act fast. We slipped away from the rest of the team and headed straight for the central labs, where we knew from our scans there was a lone salarian scientist. Unfortunately we ran into an Atlas mech along the way. I dropped its shields and K8 took it out with its Spitfire before the Atlas could do any damage. I took a hit from a drone, but my shields held and my Widow took care of the drone while K8 blasted the other drone with his spitfire.
The "scientist" in the lab appears to just have been an assistant and was rather unhelpful. I re-wiped the computers and made it look like a virus so no one should have any questions. K8 threw the scientist against the wall which killed the poor salarian...eventually.
Now I just have to tell the rest of my squad what we've done. After I make sure all the other salarians are dead and can't spill the beans to anyone.
If the crew decides to try and get the information from me, it'll be wiped before they can even try.
If the Commander throws me out the airlock... well, then at least I did what I said I would do. Perhaps my death will benefit my people if I take the information with me. Then I really would have completed my pilgrimage and I can go in peace.
I am sorry I had to lie. But I did what I had to do.
We boarded the Salarian ship without difficulty, but unfortunately there was an alarm hardwired into the system that went off when the krogan entered. So much for sneaking on and quickly taking out the scientists. Instead we got to fight past some Atlas mechs as well as the usual lot of guard drones.
When K-QO figured out how to add a software patch so the ship's computer saw her as a friend and went off on her own, K8 and I knew we had to act fast. We slipped away from the rest of the team and headed straight for the central labs, where we knew from our scans there was a lone salarian scientist. Unfortunately we ran into an Atlas mech along the way. I dropped its shields and K8 took it out with its Spitfire before the Atlas could do any damage. I took a hit from a drone, but my shields held and my Widow took care of the drone while K8 blasted the other drone with his spitfire.
The "scientist" in the lab appears to just have been an assistant and was rather unhelpful. I re-wiped the computers and made it look like a virus so no one should have any questions. K8 threw the scientist against the wall which killed the poor salarian...eventually.
Now I just have to tell the rest of my squad what we've done. After I make sure all the other salarians are dead and can't spill the beans to anyone.
If the crew decides to try and get the information from me, it'll be wiped before they can even try.
If the Commander throws me out the airlock... well, then at least I did what I said I would do. Perhaps my death will benefit my people if I take the information with me. Then I really would have completed my pilgrimage and I can go in peace.
I am sorry I had to lie. But I did what I had to do.
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