Post by Xavier Cross on Mar 15, 2019 8:21:09 GMT
2185, The Citadel. Inner Council Space
The small shuttle felt slightly cramped, glancing around. It was one thing to be wearing his black and blue N6 designated alliance armor, but he was packed in like a fish with various civilians working on immigrating into the Citadel Wards. His eyes moving slowly back and forth, studying the various species that shared space with him. Xavier wasn’t a xenophobe, but he also didn’t trust too many of these other species. Call it a human flaw, he called it survival. Between the First Contact War with the Turians, or the constant conflict with the Batarians. The Human race had forced itself onto the Council, something that other species were jealous of, throughout human history it was always a race or gender conflict, but once humanity discovered other things are out there, our little squabbles felt minute compared.
A small Turian child caught Xavier attention, sitting on his mother’s lap, waving slightly at the soldier, who managed a smile, making eye contact with the mother her turned her child away quickly. It was a similar feeling, for other races, humans blasted onto the scene, and besides the three original Council races, might have progressed faster than any others. It was a sore spot, and many still held grudges. Cross just kept everything at arm’s reach, it was easier to pull your pistol that way if it became an issue.
The thrusters on the shuttle begin to sputter, before fading completely as the Mass Effect field of the docking system catches the craft, pulling it in slowly. Tucking his dog tags underneath his upper breastplate, Xavier stands up grabbing onto the railing lined across the ceiling of the shuttle as it began to shake violently before docking. His eyes blinked quickly as he was brought back to his first drop on a Batarian raider encampment only a few years into his military career. Slavery wasn’t just an Earthbound concept, stealing and binding life for services was a common practice across the galaxy that was frowned on by the wealthy, and scolded by the politicians. Human’s became a favorite target of the Batarians, the Alliance wasn’t fond of their citizens being captured and sold on the black market.
Shaking his head, the explosions and gunfire of the past fade into the background of his subconscious as he looks up, seeing the doors open slowly, as he begins to funnel his way out of the shuttle. As soon as his feet hit the Citadel floor, he breathed a sigh of relief, he was off that planet, and back into space. This assignment might not be the ideal thing, but it was better than running errands and paperwork. He was meant for field work, and if having to deal with this group of degenerates of the Alliance was his only window, he would turn it into a door. Making his way to the Human check-in section of C-Sec, the joke police force of the Citadel, but they had their upsides. Military clearance usually made this a breeze, but something felt off. Glancing over his shoulders, it felt as though eyes were trained directly on him. Shacking off the paranoia for a moment, he gets in line behind a few men on shore leave. God how he missed his old crew, and the ridiculous times they’d have in various bars on Colonies, or somewhere in Citadel space.
After making his way through security, Xavier glances down at his Omni-Tool, no notifications from this team member he was supposed to be meeting, a liaison of sorts. Shrugging his shoulders, Xavier makes his way to the best intergalactic baggage exchange. He would leave his personal items until he got on his new home, away from home, the Cannae. A ship built in the shadow of the SSV-1 Normandy, which was supposed to be the new standard of Alliance Excellence, with various technological advances from allied alien technology. This ship was said to be a step up but turned into a glorified pirate ship by Alpha Squad 219. They had garnered quite the reputation if Commander Shepard was the Paragon Hero of the Alliance, Commander MacDonnough was the Renegade Privateer of Alliance Space, or at least that’s what the rumors of the Commander were. A roughneck by all means, when Alpha Squad 219 went somewhere, they left a trail of ruin in their wake. They became an Alliance Raider squad during the Geth invasion, boasting the highest success rate. A hundred percent completed missions, with zero fatalities. But the damage MacDonnough’s crew left behind them, balanced out their success rate.
Grabbing briefcase, Xavier felt better being able to have his sidearm on him. A soldier through and through he didn’t have the technical skills nor biotic implants that other’s had, so two hands, an omni-tool, and a pistol was his must-have items for the season. Suddenly, as he begins to attach his pistol to his hip, he feels a brush against him, before noticing a Drell taking off in full sprint, reaching down, Xavier feels his pistol is gone.
Lt. Commander Xavier Cross: “Fucking lizard!”
Giving chase, Xavier sprints after the Drell. The Drell reminded Xavier of an anthropomorphized lizard, from a dying homeworld that held debt to a separate alien race for saving what they could of their species. But this one was a dead one as soon as Xavier could get his hands on him. Watching the incredible agility of the Drell, leaping over a box, stepping on a railing, before leaping into the air grabbing onto one of the exposed support beams, climbing up to the second level.
Maintenance Workers: “This is for approved workers onl-AHHH!”
The Drell thief shoved the maintenance worker down, who flips over falling into a large fountain. A smirk plays on the Drell’s lips before it waves at Xavier, who is getting more and angrier now.
Lt Commander Xavier Cross: “I’m gonna get you bastard!”
Mimicking the movements, Xavier leaps onto the railing, before leaping into the air. Unable to match the agility, Xavier fires a short burst of a jetpack from the backplate of his armor. It wasn’t enough to fly, but enough to get him onto the second level of the floor, giving chase to the Drell. Xavier nearly catches him, the adrenaline pumping in his ears, when suddenly the Drell disappears. Xavier barely looks up in time, to see the Drell above him coming down with a hard strike. Barely moving out of the way, Xavier rolls on his shoulder as Drell holds the pistol to Xavier’s head.
Drell: “I expected more…”
Xavier chuckles softly.
Lt. Commander Xavier Cross: “So did I…”
Xavier wiggles his opposite hand, which is holding a grenade. The Drell looks around for a moment, noticing the pin in Xavier’s teeth, as he clenches the explosive in his hand.
Lt. Commander Xavier Cross: “Way I see it, you drop the pistol, and I put the pin back in. If you don’t, we have ourselves a foot race to hell, and see who gets to the gates first?”
The Drell begins laughing a bit, as he turns the pistol around, holding the grip out to Xavier, who looks a bit surprised as he unarms the grenade.
Drell: “You aren’t as smooth as your dossier showed, but I can respect the tenacity, and you’re kinda cute.”
Lt. Commander Xavier Cross: “Excuse me? Dossier?”
Drell: “I am your new, well not quite your boss, but I’ll be on top of you.”
Xavier blushes a bit.
Drell: “Not like that, well maybe not right now. Dean, Dean Harper…”
The Drell holds his hand out, as Xavier takes it a bit nervously.
Dean Harper: “I’m your liaison, second in command to Commander MacDonnough. You must be the LT…”
Lt. Commander Xavier Cross: “Lieutnent Commander Xavier Cross…”
Dean Harper: “That’s a mouthful, I’ll call you Sweetheart.”
Xavier Cross: “How about Xavier, or Cross?”
Dean Harper: “Whatever you say, Sweetheart, let’s go, best not to keep the Commander waiting.”
Xavier Cross: “Waiting? You’re the one who sent us off on this little diversion!”
Dean Harper: “Stop looking at the little picture of things, when the big picture is just...We...should probably start running….”
C-Sec Officer: “STOP! RIGHT THIS INSTANT!”
Rolling his eyes, Xavier and his new Drell squad mate, Dean Harper, take off running. Leaping down to the bottom floor on opposite sides. The two make eye contact, before charging down the alleyway into the lower wards of the Citadel, the Slum area. Dean grabs Xavier’s arm, pulling him into a tight one-way section.
Xavier Cross: “Reall-”
Dean shoves his scaly hand over Xavier’s mouth, as the C-Sec officers run past them. Xavier’s face is six shades of red, as Dean looks about.
Dean Harper: “Not my ideal first date, but I've also had worse...Like I was saying, best not to keep the Commander waiting Sweetheart…”
Groaning a bit, Xavier follows Dean, as they make their way towards Chora’s Den, a gentlemen’s club. Which described the locals as livelier, but deadlier than any other place on the Citadel. Xavier hurries his pace up to keep up with the Drell.
Xavier Cross: “Where are we going?”
Dean Harper: “The Commander is blowing some steam off, we’re going to make sure that the Commander is blowing steam off because if steam isn’t blown off, things tend to go…”
Dean makes an explosion motion with his hands. Xavier shakes his head, pondering how the hell he got himself into this situation.
The small shuttle felt slightly cramped, glancing around. It was one thing to be wearing his black and blue N6 designated alliance armor, but he was packed in like a fish with various civilians working on immigrating into the Citadel Wards. His eyes moving slowly back and forth, studying the various species that shared space with him. Xavier wasn’t a xenophobe, but he also didn’t trust too many of these other species. Call it a human flaw, he called it survival. Between the First Contact War with the Turians, or the constant conflict with the Batarians. The Human race had forced itself onto the Council, something that other species were jealous of, throughout human history it was always a race or gender conflict, but once humanity discovered other things are out there, our little squabbles felt minute compared.
A small Turian child caught Xavier attention, sitting on his mother’s lap, waving slightly at the soldier, who managed a smile, making eye contact with the mother her turned her child away quickly. It was a similar feeling, for other races, humans blasted onto the scene, and besides the three original Council races, might have progressed faster than any others. It was a sore spot, and many still held grudges. Cross just kept everything at arm’s reach, it was easier to pull your pistol that way if it became an issue.
The thrusters on the shuttle begin to sputter, before fading completely as the Mass Effect field of the docking system catches the craft, pulling it in slowly. Tucking his dog tags underneath his upper breastplate, Xavier stands up grabbing onto the railing lined across the ceiling of the shuttle as it began to shake violently before docking. His eyes blinked quickly as he was brought back to his first drop on a Batarian raider encampment only a few years into his military career. Slavery wasn’t just an Earthbound concept, stealing and binding life for services was a common practice across the galaxy that was frowned on by the wealthy, and scolded by the politicians. Human’s became a favorite target of the Batarians, the Alliance wasn’t fond of their citizens being captured and sold on the black market.
Shaking his head, the explosions and gunfire of the past fade into the background of his subconscious as he looks up, seeing the doors open slowly, as he begins to funnel his way out of the shuttle. As soon as his feet hit the Citadel floor, he breathed a sigh of relief, he was off that planet, and back into space. This assignment might not be the ideal thing, but it was better than running errands and paperwork. He was meant for field work, and if having to deal with this group of degenerates of the Alliance was his only window, he would turn it into a door. Making his way to the Human check-in section of C-Sec, the joke police force of the Citadel, but they had their upsides. Military clearance usually made this a breeze, but something felt off. Glancing over his shoulders, it felt as though eyes were trained directly on him. Shacking off the paranoia for a moment, he gets in line behind a few men on shore leave. God how he missed his old crew, and the ridiculous times they’d have in various bars on Colonies, or somewhere in Citadel space.
After making his way through security, Xavier glances down at his Omni-Tool, no notifications from this team member he was supposed to be meeting, a liaison of sorts. Shrugging his shoulders, Xavier makes his way to the best intergalactic baggage exchange. He would leave his personal items until he got on his new home, away from home, the Cannae. A ship built in the shadow of the SSV-1 Normandy, which was supposed to be the new standard of Alliance Excellence, with various technological advances from allied alien technology. This ship was said to be a step up but turned into a glorified pirate ship by Alpha Squad 219. They had garnered quite the reputation if Commander Shepard was the Paragon Hero of the Alliance, Commander MacDonnough was the Renegade Privateer of Alliance Space, or at least that’s what the rumors of the Commander were. A roughneck by all means, when Alpha Squad 219 went somewhere, they left a trail of ruin in their wake. They became an Alliance Raider squad during the Geth invasion, boasting the highest success rate. A hundred percent completed missions, with zero fatalities. But the damage MacDonnough’s crew left behind them, balanced out their success rate.
Grabbing briefcase, Xavier felt better being able to have his sidearm on him. A soldier through and through he didn’t have the technical skills nor biotic implants that other’s had, so two hands, an omni-tool, and a pistol was his must-have items for the season. Suddenly, as he begins to attach his pistol to his hip, he feels a brush against him, before noticing a Drell taking off in full sprint, reaching down, Xavier feels his pistol is gone.
Lt. Commander Xavier Cross: “Fucking lizard!”
Giving chase, Xavier sprints after the Drell. The Drell reminded Xavier of an anthropomorphized lizard, from a dying homeworld that held debt to a separate alien race for saving what they could of their species. But this one was a dead one as soon as Xavier could get his hands on him. Watching the incredible agility of the Drell, leaping over a box, stepping on a railing, before leaping into the air grabbing onto one of the exposed support beams, climbing up to the second level.
Maintenance Workers: “This is for approved workers onl-AHHH!”
The Drell thief shoved the maintenance worker down, who flips over falling into a large fountain. A smirk plays on the Drell’s lips before it waves at Xavier, who is getting more and angrier now.
Lt Commander Xavier Cross: “I’m gonna get you bastard!”
Mimicking the movements, Xavier leaps onto the railing, before leaping into the air. Unable to match the agility, Xavier fires a short burst of a jetpack from the backplate of his armor. It wasn’t enough to fly, but enough to get him onto the second level of the floor, giving chase to the Drell. Xavier nearly catches him, the adrenaline pumping in his ears, when suddenly the Drell disappears. Xavier barely looks up in time, to see the Drell above him coming down with a hard strike. Barely moving out of the way, Xavier rolls on his shoulder as Drell holds the pistol to Xavier’s head.
Drell: “I expected more…”
Xavier chuckles softly.
Lt. Commander Xavier Cross: “So did I…”
Xavier wiggles his opposite hand, which is holding a grenade. The Drell looks around for a moment, noticing the pin in Xavier’s teeth, as he clenches the explosive in his hand.
Lt. Commander Xavier Cross: “Way I see it, you drop the pistol, and I put the pin back in. If you don’t, we have ourselves a foot race to hell, and see who gets to the gates first?”
The Drell begins laughing a bit, as he turns the pistol around, holding the grip out to Xavier, who looks a bit surprised as he unarms the grenade.
Drell: “You aren’t as smooth as your dossier showed, but I can respect the tenacity, and you’re kinda cute.”
Lt. Commander Xavier Cross: “Excuse me? Dossier?”
Drell: “I am your new, well not quite your boss, but I’ll be on top of you.”
Xavier blushes a bit.
Drell: “Not like that, well maybe not right now. Dean, Dean Harper…”
The Drell holds his hand out, as Xavier takes it a bit nervously.
Dean Harper: “I’m your liaison, second in command to Commander MacDonnough. You must be the LT…”
Lt. Commander Xavier Cross: “Lieutnent Commander Xavier Cross…”
Dean Harper: “That’s a mouthful, I’ll call you Sweetheart.”
Xavier Cross: “How about Xavier, or Cross?”
Dean Harper: “Whatever you say, Sweetheart, let’s go, best not to keep the Commander waiting.”
Xavier Cross: “Waiting? You’re the one who sent us off on this little diversion!”
Dean Harper: “Stop looking at the little picture of things, when the big picture is just...We...should probably start running….”
C-Sec Officer: “STOP! RIGHT THIS INSTANT!”
Rolling his eyes, Xavier and his new Drell squad mate, Dean Harper, take off running. Leaping down to the bottom floor on opposite sides. The two make eye contact, before charging down the alleyway into the lower wards of the Citadel, the Slum area. Dean grabs Xavier’s arm, pulling him into a tight one-way section.
Xavier Cross: “Reall-”
Dean shoves his scaly hand over Xavier’s mouth, as the C-Sec officers run past them. Xavier’s face is six shades of red, as Dean looks about.
Dean Harper: “Not my ideal first date, but I've also had worse...Like I was saying, best not to keep the Commander waiting Sweetheart…”
Groaning a bit, Xavier follows Dean, as they make their way towards Chora’s Den, a gentlemen’s club. Which described the locals as livelier, but deadlier than any other place on the Citadel. Xavier hurries his pace up to keep up with the Drell.
Xavier Cross: “Where are we going?”
Dean Harper: “The Commander is blowing some steam off, we’re going to make sure that the Commander is blowing steam off because if steam isn’t blown off, things tend to go…”
Dean makes an explosion motion with his hands. Xavier shakes his head, pondering how the hell he got himself into this situation.
Well howdy there pardner.