Service Chief Virtro S. Tugimora, in full service dress for the second time in one week ("a personal record!"), waited patiently as his shuttle prepared for landing. This shuttle was to pick up Lieutenant Carchus Ventrallis, a C-Sec investigator, to help with an Alliance spy mission.

And I'm the goddamn lackey. Again.

Virtro did not like the idea of having to follow this...this........this Turian around on his mission. That was the cost of his excellent combat record.

He'd better be worth it.

Virtro's hair was now just above his ears, with sideburns halfway down, and his hair's length vertically was 16/17th of an inch long (he'd measured). Not over an inch, out of regulation, but just long enough to get by. He's also shaved and vigorously shined his boots. To the untrained eye, though, he would look no different than the first time he met Ventrallis. He'd measured the angle of his ribbons, to make sure they were completely lined up and straight, and wore his purple heart proudly.

The elevator to the docking bay’s door slid open and Carchus entered. After him a Krogan in full battle armour and a hell of a shotgun strapped to his back entered the elevator.

The elevator started moving and the Turian Lieutenant was lost in thought. I have appointed a temporary replacement for me, and notified the team… they weren’t too happy about the sudden departure… oh well… Carchus looked at the Krogan. He was wearing a heavy armour, one that Carchus didn’t recognise. He seemed to be busy checking his gear.

Carchus looked in front of him again and he just saw the ceiling of the atrium flash by. After ten seconds or so the lift decelerated and finally came to a halt. He stepped out of the elevator and noticed the human, Service Chief Virtro Tugimora. Carchus walked up to him and greeted: “Good day Service Chief Tugimora.” Carchus looked at the man’s chest and noticed the numerous medals; he was impressed, this soldier really seemed to be worth his salt.

Virtro snapped to attention. Ventrallis had been in the military, and was currently a lieutenant. Virtro's superiors had reminded him to salute the Turian, even though he was a different race, as it was customary to do so with allied races.

Virtro snapped his hand to his brow, in a perfect salute.

"Sir. Our shuttle is this way. Let me get your bags."

Virtro put down his salute, picked up Ventrallis' bags, and did an about face as he walked towards the shuttle bay.

"There is a change of plans, Lieutenant. Now were are going straight to the planet of Mindoir. We have an armory on the ship, as well as my superior to inform you about the mission in more detail than what was in the mail you recieved. Personally, I've yet to see the officer in charge. This is a highly classified mission, and you've been given security clearance."

Carchus saluted back at Tugimora. It might not have been as perfect as the human’s, but it had been a long time since he had saluted someone.

When the Service Chief offered to carry his bags Carchus replied: “You don’t have to. I can carry them myself. You don’t have to pose as a servant.” He picked up one of his bags, but let the young man grab the other; if he insisted in helping him that much…

While entering the ship Carchus listened to the ‘change of plans’. “All right. I’m looking forward to learning the details of this mission.”

They finally arrived at the shuttle. Virtro took a bag, placing it in the cargo compartment in the back of the shuttle. The shuttle had a ramp on the right side if you were facing the cockpit. There was a computer projector on the left wall, with seats surrounding it. The cockpit was a seperate part of the shuttle:



While Virtro was tending to the bags in the cargo hold, a young, female Alliance officer walked onboard. She was also in full service dress on and had a female service cap on her head. Two other men, a lightly armored bodyguard with an M7 Lancer and an m18 Kessler, and a Serviceman 1st class, also in full service dress, though he had a flight cap. She had her three highest ribbons on her coat, though they were not as high as Virtro's.

While Virtro was tending to the bags Carchus leaned against the wall. He looked at the shuttle, “Decent, not too great, but at least a hundred times better than the c-sec staff room.” He jokingly mumbled.

When another Alliance officer with two bodyguards entered the ship he turned to face the newcomers and walked up to them. “I offer my greetings. I am Carchus Ventrallis, c-sec lieutenant. I’ll be the ‘Stealth and spying’ part of this mission, as Service Chief Tugimora had put it.”

[[OOC: Edit. Posted pic of shuttle in previous post.]]

The Alliance Officer smiled genuinely.

"That's Virtro, alright. I'm Second Lieutenant Crystal S. Tugimora, Alliance Navy. I will be commanding this mission. Please, have a seat. We must wait for Virtro. He'll be accompanying you the whole time."

OOC: Nice picture.

Carchus took a seat over at the computer projector.

Service Chief Virtro S. Tugimora and Second Lieutenant Crystal S. Tugimora… family? That’s interesting… He looked at the ribbons on the Second Lieutenant’s coat. These humans sure like to show off. He thought and chuckled at his own joke.

Virtro sighed as he walked out. He looked up to see officer with her two bodyguards. The first thing he saw was her insignias, and snapped to attention. When he began to salute, he noticed who she was.

My sister? What is she doing here?!

She returned the salute. Virtro walked up to her.

"Crystal.....you....you..........."

"Yep, I'm an officer now."

"I knew you'd make it...uhh...ma'am."

Crystal chuckled. "You don't have to call me ma'am. I'm four years younger than you."

"But you're a superior officer, ma'am."

"And you taught me everything I know. If anything, I should be calling you sir. However, since I am an officer, I order you to not call me ma'am."

"Aye, aye, Lieutenant."

Virtro walked over to his seat, a few feat away from Ventrallis as the Serviceman in service dress pulled the computer out to the middle of the room. He turned it on as the ramp closed and the lights dimmed. Everyone felt the shuttle shudder when it took off, and before they knew it, they were in space.

"Okay," Crystal said, walking up to the projection of a 3D version on Mindoir. "As you may know, this is a top secret misson. No one else is to know about this. Understood? Right. Freeze here, please." Crystal walked to the other side of the projection. "Remember to take notes. The City of Chilton is here," she said, relaying off coordinates.

Carchus opened up his omni-tool and activated the sound recorder. He would make mental notes as well, but it would always be convenient to have the mission briefing handy.

OOC: Sorry for the really short post...

OOC: No problem.

"During our usual planetary scan, we encountered jamming signals. These signals were matched to the same ones the geth used during the events of 2183 that Commander Shepard encountered on his missions. How they got pass our defenses and barriers, we haven't the slightest clue. Once we arrive, we will drop you off a distance away from the strongest concentration of signals, where we think they are coming from. Your mission is fairly simple. You must first recon the site; we need pictures, sounds, anything that can help us find the exact location. If you find or hear about anything we deem "essential," you will also have to infiltrate the base itself. Stealth is key here. You cannot be captured. Your objectives:

1. Neutralize perimeter defenses.
2. Recon the base.
3. Infiltrate if nessescary.
4. Do not be seen.
5. Get out safely."

Carchus listened attentively. The plan seemed simple and effective enough.
“I understand. And can you tell me something about this planet we’re going to, Mindoir. I’m not familiar with it.”

"Of course," Crystal replied. "Mindoir is an agriculture-based human colony in the Attiacan Traverse, one of our more.....rocky.......controlled sectors. It is a sucessful colony. In 2170, though, Mindoir was attacked by Batarians. We sent Alliance forces to wash them out, but their defenses proved to be too good. However, we did manage to rid Mindoir of those....animals on a second attempt. The colonist there are now getting used to normal life without those....." She caught herself this time, "Batarians. They had been slaved from 2170 to 2183. If you have to go into the city, be careful. Some people are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome."

"If you don't know," her assistant in service dress finally spoke up, with an unexpectingly....british voice, "Stockholm Syndrome is when people, aliens included, are abducted, show signs of genuine loyalty to their 'masters,' during their captivation and after their release."

The assistant, when the nametag of "MacTavish," had round circular glasses, which were so archaic these days, even some humans didn't know what they were, and extremely short but spikey blond hair, and a determined face. He only had one, plain looking medal on his coat, rather than the three highest.

Atleast he dosen't show off as much as the rest of our race does, Virtro thought.

Carchus vaguely knew what the Stockholm Syndrome meant, but was glad the assistant explained it to him.

“I see. But that will not be a problem, will it?” Without waiting for an answer he continued. “Now that you’ve told about Mindoir I seem to remember… weren’t the humans implanted by some kind of implant by which the slavers could control them? I sure hope the implants don’t work anymore; I’m not looking forward to a bunch of humans trying to kill me.” He said, and mumbling he added: “I’ve had too much of that in the past…”

Only Virtro heard his last statement, but decided against challenging it....for now.

"Something like that," replied Crystal. "I'm not to sure. Whether they work or not, you must sucessfully complete the mission. Keep civilian casualties to a minimum, unless your life depends on it..." She waited for a second.

"Room! Uh-ten-HUT!"

Virtro snapped to attention less than a second. The bodyguard and the assistant did also.

"You are free to review the briefing. Get something to eat, take a nap, suit up, whatever you want to do before you touch down. Dismissed."

When the Lieutenant yelled something that sounded like a military command Carchus was unsure what to do; he really wasn’t familiar with human military codes and commands. When they where dismissed he got up and walked up to Virtro.

“Service Chief Tugimora, you mentioned that there was an armoury on board. I would like to take a look and select my gear; I assume that I am allowed to use it?”

Virtro turned towards the Turian as his sister and her companions walked into the cockpit, the door closing behind them.

"Yes. Behind the cargo bay, the airlock and the armory are joined. Behind that is the bunkbed and mini-kitchen, and the drive-core engines are behind that still. I will come with you; I too need to gear up."

Carchus walked to the armoury. While they where walking he asked:

“Tugimora, for how long have you been in the military?”

"Well," Virtro said, "Officially I've been in for...one...two....three....eight years now. I joined as soon as I was old enough....me and my sister were raised on the Arcturus station since I was five and she was one. We both joined on our eighteenth birthday, and I'm twenty-five now. Before then....well, I'm sure you don't want to here me blab about my life."

They arrived at the armory when Virtro said "life." He sat down on the chair, thinking.

Carchus looked around in the armoury, too see whether there was a sniper rifle available.

OOC: Can you describe which equipment is available, or can I make thing up myself?

OOC: Make up what you want, as long as its not super-rare and unrealistic.

Virtro yawned as he walked over to the other side of the armory, picking up a purple shotgun. He took out the ammo-block of metal in the lower portion of the gun, looking around for the armor-piercing tungsten. He eventually found it, loading it into his weapon and using his omni-tool to change the settings of the shotgun. After loading, he did the same with the M2165 Stinger pistol that he would use as a sidearm.

Carchus walked around the room and stopped when he saw an assortment of sniper rifles. He browsed trough them.

Avenger, Avenger, Avenger… standard issue Alliance crap… Then he noticed a different rifle, Ah! A Reaper, that’s better! He picked it up and inspected it. After some time he put it down however. He sighed, but suddenly his eye fell on a rifle that stood separated form the rest. “I can’t believe it! A Punisher.” He thought out loud and picked it up. The VIII model… that’s an excellent one. Pleased with the acquisition he strapped the sniper rifle to his back.

Carchus walked to the pistols and after briefly looking at them all he picked the M2165 Stinger as well. He also choose the same ammunition, the Tungsten rounds, as the Service Chief and loaded it in both his weapons.

“Done.” He announced.

"You should get something to eat," Virtro said. "I still have to work on my armor. Since this is a spy mission, I should wear light armor, I think."

“I’ll do that. I hope you’ve got some food I’m able to eat on board. The last time I ate something human… err, how was it called… I believe they called it a hamburger; said I really had to try it. Anyway, I was in hospital for nearly a month after I ate it.”

Virtro chuckled. "20th century recipe, Lieutenant. I have no idea why we still eat it; It's not healthy for any race, human or otherwise. Yet we still have a McDonalds..."

When Ventrallis left, Virtro browsed his armor options. Onyx, Onyx, Onyx.....Survivor....Hydra...

"Guess I'll go with Onyx."

Virtro picked up his own suit of armor, with a purple stripe on the right sleeve and an "N3" on the right breast. He'd preferred medium armor, but this was a spy mission.

-------------------------------

"I can't believe it. This isn't fair. Eight Years and only a service chief?" Crystal Tugimora was in the cargo bay, rumaging through her belongings. "He should have been an Operations Chief by now, or atleast a Gunny."

She soon found what she was looking for: a holodisc with the title, "Inseperable." She smiled as she walked to the briefing room, leaving the cargo door open, and, being the only one in there, popped the disk into the holoprojector. A large slideshow of pictures of herself and Virtro during their training at Arcturus. She dropped a tear, reminscing.

Carchus entered the briefing room. He was holding a plate with brown sticks on it in his right hand.

“Lieutenant, I was wondering whether there was som coffee. I’ve been…” He noticed Crystal was viewing a slide-show. “Ow, I’m sorry… I’ll just look another time…”

"Huh? No! It's-it's-it's fine." Crystal stopped the slideshow with a remote, and raised up. "Um, coffee, you said? It's....wait.......why are you drinking coffee? I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, it's just...weird."

“Seriously, I’ve heard that more often than I can count. I started drinking it a few years ago in a mainly human bar back on the Citadel. It seems the stuff is rather addicting…” Carchus smirked. “Besides, it’s one of the few things of the human cuisine I don’t spew up immediately or end up in hospital because of.”

"I didn't know Turian's couldn't digest most of our foods. Then again, we can eat much Turian food, either....Lieutenant, please have a seat."

Crystal turned off the slideshow and turned on the lights.

"I must admit, your files are very vague, atleast what we could get. Would you care to...elaborate your past? You don't have to if you feel uncomfortable."

Carchus shook his head and took a seat. “Not a problem Lieutenant. My files are probably very vague because I had my share of ‘stealth and spying.’ I spend the days of my youth on a rather interesting planet in the Maroon Sea cluster, Chasca. For if you didn’t know: Chasca is tidally locked to Metano, so the planet’s surface offers some… interesting extremes. I err… joined the military when I was fifteen. My soldier’s days where very brief; I became a spy quickly. My years as a spy where probably the best of my life, and I left them behind… for c-sec… Let’s just say I just thought that ‘defending the Citadel’ would be a little more spectacular. A little more shooting the bad guys and a little less pushing paperwork.”

"C-Sec. Yes, I remember that part....how is it? I was planning to become part of C-Sec when I retired from the Alliance."

“Well I guess it isn’t that bad. I mean, Investigation is one of the best divisions to be in, it’s where you get to use your brains and get to see some action from time to time as well. It’s a hell of a lot better than Customs: scanning and screening nearly every damn ship that passes trough, form the ventilation systems to the laundry basket. And believe me, a lot of ships arrive and leave all day long. No, I recommend either Enforcement or Investigation.”

"What about patrol? When I retire, I'll have alot of Naval Leadership experience. But I want to be a law enforcement officer."

"We're coming up on Mindoir," the pilot said through the intercom. "We're going to land at the port at Chilton."

“Ah, I forgot about patrol. We don’t see them that often on the Citadel you see. Now If you would excuse me lieutenant, I should put on my armour before we land.” Carchus got up, walked away and entered the cargo bay.

Crystal nodded as Ventrallis left, and she went into the cockpit to check up on their situation.

------------------

Virtro had on his armor, with weapons attached and his helmet in his arms as Ventrallis walked in.

"Kinda nervous. Haven't been in combat for a while."

“I haven’t been on a mission like this for a long time myself too.” Carchus said as he picked up one of his bags. “You’ll do fine Tugimora, your medals prove you are able to handle yourself very well… not that I know the significance of the medals you just carried, but they sure looked important.”

Virtro explained his medals the the L-tee as they arrived in the main hold.

"Alliance members usually wear their three highest medals on their service coat. On the shirt, they can wear all of them, but instead of being medals, they're little 'bars' called ribbons. My three highest, the purple heart, the Navy and Marine Corps medal, and the Navy Commendation medal, are right here. The Purple Heart is a medal given to soldiers injured in combat from the enemy. The Navy and Marine Corps medal is for lifesaving acts not involving actual combat with the enemy. And the Navy Commendation medal is for, ahem, 'distinguishing oneself by heroism, meritorious achievement or meritorious service.'

Carchus listened to Virtro’s explanation. “You see? With that amount experience on your twenty fifth there is nothing to be nervous about.” Carchus grinned. “Now if you would excuse me, I have to put on my armour before we get off this ship.”

"Alright."

Virtro sat down, waiting for them to land.

OOC: Sorry for the short post.

OOC: No problem. ;)

A few minutes later Carchus came back. He had put on his Explorer armour and sat down next to Virtro.

It’s going to start any minute now… He thought.