Through the Relay and Far Away

Game Master maca673

The year is 2185 by the human calendar, and the galaxy is uneasy. Spectre Commander John Shepard of the Alliance has destroyed a Mass Relay, obliterating a batarian colony. After standing military tribunal, citing the defense of 'buying the galaxy time' in order to prepare for "a Reaper invasion", he is now in custody on earth, stripped of Spectre status and languishing behind a desk.

Four months have passed since then, and anyone in any system can tell you that everyone is uneasy. Rumors of shadow wars between unknown forces whisper from all corners of the Extranet, and doomsday prophets are citing the end of times. No one with sense is travelling without a gun. Politicians desperately try to assure the general public that all is well, but generals begin to muster their forces, particularly those of the Turians at the behest of a certain Vakarian's warnings.

But that is all irrelevant, for that is only important for a part of my tale and then becomes significant only for the story of Commander Shepard. No, his is not my tale to tell.

There are certain individuals sitting at a bar on a Fuel Depot drifting through the Artemis Tau. They arrived to the station by chance or convenience, each carrying with them their own dark pasts and troubles a-plenty.

Unknown to them, these individuals are about to be swept by the jaws of fate, destined for great and terrible things. But what lays in store for them is something that even I am not privy to...

Will they stand defiant against the abyss? Or be consumed by its ravening jaws?

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The Ursa is a medium-sized, privately owned space station designed to be a fuel depot for passing ships of all race and coin. While its only residents are those that have permanent jobs performing maintenance and other laborious activities aboard the station, there are still residential areas that cater to visitors and tourists, though it is obviously nowhere near the glory of the Citadel.

The illusive Mister Jackson is the station's owner, a wealthy human who likes to keep out of public eye. For the most part, he allows his station to be run by the administrators and dispense discipline and justice when necessary. Don't disturb the peace, and the administrators won't disturb your head off.

Possessing a similar build to the infamous Omega, there is a place for almost every person. Armor, ship parts, whores, bobble-heads, you name it. If you can think it, then it should exist. A general description of the 12 mile structure include:

10th Floor: Mister Jackson's Private Floor

9th Floor: Residential Blocks for Visitors and Neptune's Lounge, a bar of respectable repute and owned by Mister Jackson.

8th Floor: Marketplace F2 (Mechanical Parts, Ship Parts, Tourist Attractions, etc.)

7th Floor: Marketplace F1 (Armor, Foodstuffs, Guns)

6th Floor: Ship Docks Iota-000 to Mu-999

5th Floor: Ship Docks Epsilon-000 to Theta-999

4th Floor: Ship Docks Alpha-000 to Delta-999

3rd Floor: Permanent Residential Area

2nd Floor: Permanent Residential Area

1st Floor: Permanent Residential Area

??? Floor: Rumors linger that floors underneath the 1st floor exist. Mister Jackson has firmly denied such claims, but rumors still persist.

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You have landed on The Ursa. Who are you, and what is your business here?

Reporting for duty, since this is before the events of Mass Effect 3 I can assume Jona Sadaris is head of the Eclipse? Also I advise we tally our members and get a figure for how our group is outfitted, if necessary we can make our final build adjustments. I'm putting up a build plan for my own character, I advise my fellow players to do the same so that we can compare notes. As playtesters we have a duty to figure out the system...

1) Yes, Jona Sadaris is head of Eclipse.

2) Waiting for other players...

Checking in, reading now.

Will wait for the gameplay thread to post in character stuff. :)

Good intro.

Enira is an assassin who used to work for the hadar, but she has been released due to fulfilling her duties. She was basically rewarded with her equipment and release from service. Enira is really designed as a combat specialist, specifically a sniper, but she's decent at infiltration as well. She really rounded, both biotic and tech abilities, so she won't be the best biotic, or the best tech, but she's a good backup on either. I intend to continue that build, a sniper with backup abilities to back up others on non combat situations.

Halar refers to herself as a freelancer. She's adventurous and enjoys traveling to different planets. To support herself she takes odd jobs, mostly on cargo ships since she then gets free passage to somewhere new. Halar generally works as a guard or a mechanic, although she'll take almost any job as long as it's not illegal.

Shockingly enough I'm going to focus on focus on making the Elcor Living Tank into a Tank. I'm going to keep growing her skill with shotguns and heavy weapons and of course getting her better armor. I'm going to keep up her skills with electronics/repair too. She relies on her weapon mounting for combat so she's gotta be able to repair/improve it.

Character development
Secundus' build is quite simple. He's a combat specialist who goes for volume of attacks and due to precise shooting, coordinated shot and overkill also quite acurate. I will be upgrading dex (for accuracy) & str (for carrying capacity) throughout his career, with the focus being on dex. I will mostly invest my feats in becoming more accurate, more damaging & higher in initiative, but no exact build planned yet and might pick up some feats for out of combat utility. Due to the fact that I'll eventually be able to wear heavy armor, I'll also be soaking up some of the damage that comes our way :). Although I currently only have 1 medi-gel kit, I'm quite the ok combat medic.

Secundus is a merc with no company affiliations. In his life as a merc he mostly gets hired as security detail for people who are expecting trouble or those that just feel that having a security detail follow you around awards them a certain amount of prestige. He doesn't care, as long as he gets payed. His last job brought him to Ursa station. After he got payed, he spent some of his money on better equipment and now he's looking for a new job to keep him busy.

thanks for pointing that out Secundus, between you and Halar we seem to have long range combat covered... I think our krogan battlemaster could use a flank buddy, once we have everyone tallied up I may switch to a Vanguard or perhaps an adept (the one class we don't seem to have).

thanks for pointing that out Secundus, between you and Halar we seem to have long range combat covered... I think our krogan battlemaster could use a flank buddy, once we have everyone tallied up I may switch to a Vanguard or perhaps an adept (the one class we don't seem to have).

Enira looks at her 4 foot long sniper rifle, then at Secundus and Halar, then back to the sniper rifle, and then sighs.

So have you all arrived on the station at the same time, or have come separately and mixing over a few drinks?

Thanks for catching that Secundus!

Halar's more close combat than ranged. Though there are heavy weapons where you definitely don't want to be within blast range! I fully support Enira having a sniper rifle

Halar would arrive on her own

Mallene Lidanya wrote:

thanks for pointing that out Secundus, between you and Halar we seem to have long range combat covered... I think our krogan battlemaster could use a flank buddy, once we have everyone tallied up I may switch to a Vanguard or perhaps an adept (the one class we don't seem to have).

Enira looks at her 4 foot long sniper rifle, then at Secundus and Halar, then back to the sniper rifle, and then sighs.

I concur that you have long range ranged covered. I'm more in the short-medium range part of engagements ;)

As stated before I came here due to the fact that my previous contract ended at the station. I will have arrived here on my own, probably have been spending my time in the local watering holes looking for new contracts, so I will most likely run into some of the group there. That or in the weapon/armor shops :)

Mallene is likely on the space station on either leave or assignment by Eclipse... It seems our krogan vanguard is a no show which means I may be rebuilding my character...

If you plan on rebuilding, I would suggest saving what you have now, just in case you end up not doing the rebuild and wanting to keep the huntress (for example if the krogan vanguard does show up).

Also important to note is that our asari scientist hasn't showed up yet.
Did you get any replies from them GM?

Another thing that I noticed is that currently the only person with a decent diplomacy is Mallene, due to her racial modifier & high charisma. Which is important thought to keep in mind, as I don't believe we'll be able to solve everything with shooting/killing/... alone ;)

If Alestia Calis does show up we have a second character with a decent diplomacy.

Enira has just been released from service, so she's still trying to decide what she wants to do. She's not exactly eager to continue being an assassin, but then again, it's what she knows. She's likely to be picky about her targets though. She's on the station because it is the station she staged through on her last mission, so she was here when she was released.

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

Enira could have a decent diplomacy, if it were a class skill. Without it being a class skill, it's useless to try to raise it. I wish they'd used the Pathfinder rules for this, instead of the old 3.5 OGL rules. I'd spend a trait to add diplomacy and put a few ranks in. But as it is, 3.5 cross class skills were insane. There's a reason nobody took them.

If those selected don't show up (and it's looking like they won't), we have some other possibilities, I'd wait to see who of the ones not selected is still around to join before doing any rebuilding.

I know what you're saying about the Cross-Class skills. Their solution was done by adding the able learner feat, which makes it so that all skills cost 1 skillpoint to increase, but your cross-class max skill level doesn't change, so not a complete fix, but it helps the high int-characters that don't want to specialize in only a few skills and don't have access to many of the skills they want to invest at least a little in.

They also have a feat to make all knowledges class skills and some other things like that.

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

So anyone chatting with this Turian Merc in the bar? Did you bump into him when he was browsing the weapon shops? Or did you just literally bump into him somewhere in the streets?

As the GM stated in recruitment, he is currently going to use the discussion topic as a "before s$@* happens" part of the game, where and how we get to know the other characters.

Oh, I missed that then. I'll post an intro then.

Enira watches as the Hanar ship disengages from the station, and flies off. The small fast scout ship had been her home for the last five years, and seeing it vanish as the relay reached out to send it on it's way slammed home the fact she was now officially out of service.

Five years was not a long time for a Drell to be in service, but it was above average. The Hanar generally tried to keep that service to the absolute minimum to justify training, so as not to burn out or otherwise mentally damage their client race volunteers. Still, Enira had insisted on one more mission. It wasn't as if she minded, she'd had full control over which missions she took, and the last one was for someone who needed killing, badly. People who traded in sentient slavery were rather low on her list. People who traded in sentient slavery for biomedical and bioweaponry research were even lower.

She hefts up her pack and drops it on her shoulders with a sigh. Her pocket was not full of credits, one didn't get paid credits in her former position. She did keep her equipment though, and the collapsible sniper rifle on her back was a comfortable and comforting weight. She would miss all the super secret tech modifications she'd had on each mission, of course, but alas, those she didn't get to keep.

She set off through the station, finding it uncomfortably cool and moist, but still much drier than home. At least her lungs didn't ache from too much water. She paused and considered, lodging, or a drink. She had refrained from drinking for 5 years, always being on duty. With a grin that probably scared small children if they were looking in her direction, she turned left, toward the stairs leading down toward the bar.

As the doors shushed closed behind her, she paused to let her eyes adjust. She waved off three, admittedly upscale and attractive, prostitutes, an Asari, and two Humans, one of each gender, before they could start flirting. The pounding music washed over her, and she flashed back for a second, Robert McLudlum, Human, 42, political activist, mover and shaker for a Human First organization, with ties to it's militant wing. He's going to fat, his hair salt and pepper, he wears a pungent cologne, his eyes are blue, his shirt blue as well, but it looks purple in the light of the bar. Black pants, boots made of real animal hide. A bump as she walks past, the barest of touches to his hand. An apology from her. A sneer from him. She finishes leaving the bar. An hour later, he's dead of a heart attack, her own body immune to the contact toxin that coated her fingers.

Enira snaps back to the present, only a few seconds having gone past in real time. She shakes her head, and moves to the bar, taking the first empty stool that she sees. "Mythsaria, no ice, thank you." She tells the tender.

Mallene moved out from the Eclipse transport, her Captain had told her that if she wanted to lay back and party now was the time. Sergeant Mallene didn't mind, drink was a good way of forgetting her troubles.

Popping over to the bar Mallene sits just a barstool away from a Drell female, Mallene motions for a bottle of wine from the counter...

I will be setting up two additional stat blocks in my profile soon, one Adept and one Vanguard. We look like we need some hefty biotic support.

Scrapped the vanguard and adept, Mallene has two stat blocks now. One is a revised huntress that is going to be built around Pull, Throw and Statis along warp ammo and overkill for some real pain...

The Second build is a sentinel based around heavy dcs and the nastier powers like Reave... Are salarian engineer hasn't reported in yet...

Want me to GM-PC?

Nah, I think we can do it with just four of us, Sheppy did it with 3 after all:)

@GM, Don't think there would be a specific need for it. But I personally think you should do what you think will be best for the story :)

It's been a few days since his last contract was terminated and he was glad that was over. It had been 2 weeks of boring escort duty. Nothing happened, but at least the pay had been decent enough.

He spent most of his day on the 7th floor, browsing the various weapons available. It took some haggling, most of his money and his old beaten up M-8 Avenger, but he got his hands on a brand new Phaeston. Though after that much talking he could use a good drink.

He made his way to the first bar he could find and went straight to the counter slowly taking in his surroundings on his way there. Leaning on the counter he calls to the bartender.
"I'll have a beer, thanks."

Secundus looked around the bar, noticing the 2 other people at the counter and many more in the establishment.
"Busy night it seems.", he said when the bartender gave him his beer.

@Mystria: The bartender, a quarian dressed in black, nods as he pulls the ordered drink from the cooler and pops the cap off. Sliding it towards you with the motion of well-practiced aim, he moves on to serving the other customers seated at the bar, an asari and a turian, as the bottle comes to a gradual stop in front of you.

@Mallene: The quarian bartender pauses for a moment before saying, "It's not often that we get people that ask for the wine, if you don't mind me saying that, ma'am," he politely offers as he sets down a glass and a chilled bottle and sets about to pouring the beverage. "I can count the number of people that have asked on my fingers and still have plenty left to work my omni-tool. But that's just me observing, ma'am." he finishes, passing you the glass before he moves on to serve anther customer.

@Secondus: A beer slides right towards you, courtesy of the quarian bartender, who hums an affirmative at your words. "People have been coming more often since the galaxy stopped working. Anxiety loves company, and alcohol is the perfect equalizer against the worries and concerns of the ordinary men and women hearing too many things happening too fast for their liking."

@Halar: So where are you now on the station?

Mallene looks at the bartender and speaks, I prefer to get drunk slowly. Taking the glass Mallene begins the process of drinking it, it will take her an hour to finish her glass.

I assume Mystria is Enira? She ordered Mythsaria, an alcoholic beverage. :)

Enira nods her thanks to the bartender, and swipes her credit chit over the pad on the bar. She glances at the Asarri on one side, and the Turian on the other, then to the Quarian bartender. She suddenly blinks.

"I'll be damned, first time I've been in a bar in 5 years, and not one damn human. I thought they were like gar-rats, they came with the construction?" She chuckles. She doesn't much have anything against humans, but they do tend to get underfoot like vermin, whether you want them to or not. "Not that they're any worse than any other species, just odd not to see one under foot these days."

Secundus looked up when the Drell chuckled, but he then saw who was all sitting around her at the bar. "Well I guess it does kinda look like the start of a bad joke. But what have you been up to that you haven't had the need to step into a bar in the last 5 years?"

Mallene nearly snorts her wine when she hears "5 years", By the damn goddess your still sane?

Enira's smile vanishes in an instant, and for a second, every muscle in her body tenses at the Turian's question. Her hand reaches for an empty spot on her thigh... and then the fingers twitch, and her head snaps sideways in a twitchy manner. She then relaxes. "Consulting for a religious firm, no alcohol." She says finally with a ghost of a smile.

Bluff: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

Updated stats to show skills/stats, and put in link to picture

sense motive1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

Hopefully they didn't prohibit sex either, you gotta have either alcohol or sex to remain sane and I only get the bottle...

Halar strides across the docking area with a feeling of joy. It took three months but she finally hitched a ride out of the Faia system. The Viantel-Zorya-Hito cargo ship she'd been working on had, in a word, sucked. Being stuck working as a common laborer/the ship's go to "Oh, this is really heavy, get the Elcor to lift it" was bad enough. Throw in a planet full of condescending, self important Blue Suns Mercs and the worst allergies she'd ever experienced and you got one of the worst jobs she'd ever had. Working the tiny transport ship to the Ursa was a relief. Even if the pay had been so minuscule she was now officially broke.

The bar catches Halar's eye. After a moment of hesitation she decides to go in. Broke she may be, but she deserves a drink.

"<with great courtesy> Excuse me, coming through. Pardon me." she says as she pushes through the crowd. Over the years she's come to appreciate the fact that most species can't read Elcor body language. It's kept her out of a multitude of fights.

Halar finally makes it to the bar counter. She tries not to push up against the Turian next to her as she flags down the bartender. "<with a polite tone> Give me something strong but cheap."

Enira, where did you find that picture? That's awesome!

@Halar: The quarian bartender pauses for the briefest of seconds before reaching under the table and pulling a gigantic tankard with an extendable straw. He empties two bottles of the house's cheapest and strongest brews before pushing the tankard towards you.

"There are plenty of humans here, ma'am, if you don't mind me interjecting." the Quarian says politely as he begins to clean the glasses that the waitresses brought back. "A majority of them just happen to be working at this time, since the worker's population consists of mostly human individuals. If you wait awhile, you'll soon be able to see some of the day shift workers coming in for happy hour after punching out."

If you mean the Avatar, she's the female Nagaji from the Advanced Race Guide, I thought she'd be pretty good for a Drell. :) If you mean the drell female picture in the link, I just went to images.google.com and typed in 'female drell' and looked through till I found one I liked. :) Elcore Living Tank - Heavy Armor

Enira laughs. "Oh no, don't get me wrong, I don't care one way or the other. Just found it odd was all. Anytime something odd pops up, I ask about it. If it's nothing special, like the humans just all working the same shift, then no worries. Better to know than not though. If all the humans had left the station, that would be reason to give pause."

She idly watches the Elcore take it's drink from it's mug, shaking her head at how expensive it must be to be an Elcore.

So a Drell, an Asari, a Turian and an Elcor walk into a bar and ask the Quarian bartender for a drink, if that isn't the start of a bad joke, I don't know what is :)

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
"Jikes, I hope you got enough "danger" pay for that job. Don't think I'd last for 5 years without a drop. Doesn't matter, what's done is done. Enjoy your drink now that you can." in saying that, Secundus raised his beer towards the female Drell and took a sip, before he placed it back on the bar.

"Don't think I'd be good for consultancy work. I'm a freelance merc. It may not give you job security, but at least it gives you an interesting life."

The Drell takes a swig of her liquor and snorts in amusement. "I hear tell that both the Asari and the Humans have the same, or at least, a similar curse. 'May your life be interesting'. From what I hear, it's the worst curse you can give someone."

Statted Mallene up as Adept, going for Throw, Warp, Statis, Warp Ammo and the Marksman powers. She won't be helpless in a firefight. Added appearance as well, unfortunately no hyper-links (for some reason they just hate me).

Mallene turns to Secundus, the prominent symbol of the Eclipse emblazoned on her armor.

So your a fellow merc eh? If you want it Turian I can see about getting you a job in the Eclipse, always need more mercs with the damn blood pack getting uppity...

If you like, I can look up some Pics for an Asari biotic and put a few links in here for you to copy/paste.

Edit : How about this one? Looks like an Asari biotic merc

To use the link, copy the following : {url=http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/169/d/5/asari_mp_by_biotickorgi -d658dh4.png}Asari{/url} And replace { with [ and } with ].

If you prefer 3D, then this one might be more preferred? {url=http://i35.tinypic.com/2i1pfdt.png}Asari{/url}

I noticed that you had put links in your profile. You can change them like this :{url=http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Sisterhood_Initiate}In Combat{/url} and {url=http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100208110652/masseffect/images/d/ d6/Anaya.png}Face{/url}, replacing the { and } with [ and ], like Enira said.

"Depends on how you react to interesting situations I guess."
he said, taking another sip from his beer.

When Mallene joined the conversation he directed himself to her.
"If I don't find a decent gig from someone on this station, I might take you up on that offer. You're staying here long or do I need to be quick with my decision."

Just use the links I posted as a visual, don't try telling me how to hyperlink. The damns things hate me and nothing is going to change that.

I think we have about 2 days leave before we shuttle off to the next battlefield...

No problem, I will not offer any more unsolicited help.

Sorry if it seems like I am snapping at any of you, I just have Murphy's law of Links (and printers).

"I'd say that your best bet for a job of your unique...caliber," the bartender slowly and deliberately chooses his words as to not cause offense, "Then you'd have the best luck signing on with the Admin's Security, or with one of the passing trader ships. Some captains are always looking for extra security. You can't be too careful nowadays..."

Enira perks up at the bartender's words. "Admin's Security? Administration Security? I didn't realize the station had a security force. I mean, I guess it has to, just hadn't seen anyone in obvious uniform. Did I just miss them, or are you understaffed, or are they all in plain clothes? It'd be nice to have regular hours for a change." She gives a soft laugh.

"<curiously> How good is the pay for station security?" Halar realizes she's butting in on the conversation so she nods to the other participants. "<explanatory statement> The last job I worked payed so low it was like a volunteer postion. I could use some credits."

Enira laughs. "Ironic amusement. I can fully understand that statement." She responds to the Elcor with some mirth.

I could be interested, although if this would be more then a two day affair I would have to check with my superiors...

The quarian pauses cleaning a mug to check something on his omni-tool. "If I can remember correctly, Station Security payed six hundred credits per shift, rotating every standard day." He looks pensive before adding, "The most excitement you'll see is the odd brawl or flare of passions. Nothing really dangerous enough to activate all Station Guards, ancestors forbid."

Enira looks a bit surprised. "Six hundred credits, per shift? That can't be right, especially for a low danger position. That would be 3,000 credits a week, 12,000 credits a month, 144,000 credits a year..." She trails off suddenly, and then nods. "Oh, right! Taxes, Rent, Food. Sorry, I'm out of practice with day to day expenses."