Mass Effect: Uprising, based on Bioware's new RPG.... Options

[Lord Revan]

Mass Effect: Uprising

<<Civilian Transport: Yucatan-en route to Caleston, Hades CGA 12506, Hades G Cluster>>

<<Captain’s log: 2186/ [Data Corruption]>>

Cpt. O’Brien: The voyage has gone smoothly enough so far, it’s been two days since we left Sol. I am somewhat anxious about all this; I’ve clocked more hours in the Traverse than most captains these days, but ever since the Geth came out of the Veil three years ago, I’ve been getting this sinking feeling it’s only a matter of time before they give wiping us all out another shot.

<<Corruption>>

Cpt. O’Brien: That feeling’s getting stronger the closer we get to Caleston; it feels like something’s hovering over my shoulder but there’s nothing there.
Some of the crew have been talking about similar feelings they’re getting..... It’ll only be a few more hours before we land..... I don’t know if I’d feel better spending a few days with firm ground beneath my feet or heading right back for real civilization ASAP.

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

“Come on, move it! The faster you all haul the cargo, the sooner we get paid and be able to live comfortably for a couple months!” Lundro, the Yucatan’s salarian first mate shouted at the armored lifters.

“Lundro? What’s the status on the cargo dump?” Captain O’Brien asked through the com-link in the salarian’s headset.

“We’re getting there, Captain; Marquis and the others are working as fast as they can without being more clumsy than usual.” No sooner did the alien finish then a very heavy cargo crate, plus two armored humans slammed unceremoniously into the dirt of Calestine.
"What are we going to do about them?" Lundro muttered, shaking his head as the two humans struggled to their feet.

--------

<<Infiltration Drone- Alpha_2832-5316/ Status: Online/ Location: Human Cargo Transport- Yucatan>>

Unit Alpha’s orb-like eye lit up. Its mandibles flexed outward, as if yawning. Rising to its full height, Alpha ran a brief self-diagnostic.
When the systems check was complete, the synthetic scanned the room it was in. The space was small, an unused space between a layer of ablative armor and ship hull.

Without pause, Alpha crawled through a small hatch and sealed it shut after entering the ship. The Yucatan was dimly lit, a common trait of human vessels, energy conservation was a keyword.
Alpha’s mandibles clicked together, reducing the glow of its spherical optical receptor to a small enough point that it wouldn’t give away its presence.

The synthetic life form leaped up to the ceiling, its hands and feet adhering to the metal alloy. <<Priorities: 1. Eliminate target vessel’s crew and any other organic sentients. 2. Remain undetected unless there are extreme circumstances.>>
Infiltration Drone Alpha found a maintinance terminal and sent a remote hacking signal.

The Yucatan’s VI noticed a new user enter the system. Before it could begin to follow protocols and query the new user, an override command went out through its systems.
The command was identical to the one Cpt. O’Brien would use, so the VI waited for orders that were expected to come with an override..... It waited forty nanoseconds before its code was suddenly erased from memory.

Alpha flexed his mandibles into an expression similar to a smile, the ship’s VI was out of commission, and the crew was still unaware of any of these events.
The data-eating virus had been attached to the override, which had forced the VI to idle. Now that the annoyance it could pose was out of the way, Alpha could concentrate on its objectives, one of which, was gathering intel on the organics in Citadel Space.

----------

<<Citadel News Report>>

ExoGeni has denied reports that their mining operation on Caleston has been attacked. Corporate officials claim that the sudden loss of communications with Caleston is due entirely to technical difficulties.
And that the ship being sent to the Hades Gamma Cluster is a simply intended to supply and repair the facilities.

Many investors have pulled much of their funding until confirmation from ExoGeni that their report is not a cover-up.....

This post has been edited by Lord Revan: Dec 6 2007, 10:47 PM

[Lord Revan]

<<Skyllian Verge/Camala>>

Infiltration Drone- Alpha_2832-5316 came on-line, his optical receptor brightened, and a welcome sight greeted him. A single orb of light hovered in the center of his vision, Eta returned his gaze.
“Reapers come with the dusk, on the winds of deliverance.” Among the infiltration drones, Eta was particularly dedicated to the Reaper faith. Alpha was more or less indifferent, but attended devotionals all the same.

“In the mean time we must suffer the blight of organics,” he chirped ineloquently. Eta studied him for a moment, then shrugged and offered a hand. Alpha’s “eye” flickered, the equivalent of a blink, before accepting Eta’s abnormally gracious gesture.
“The nearest eezo refinery is a couple of kilometers from here. Lambda, Kappa, Gamma, and Epsilon are already in progress of disabling their objectives.” Eta was a more combat oriented model than Alpha, who was similar in many respects to a ghost unit.

The former had armored plating, powerful heavy weapons, and dedicated programming to suit her specialization. Alpha was largely unarmored and was programmed to analyze and exploit the computer programs and databases that organics used.
His mandibles snapped shut and he said. “Then we should make haste, the organics won’t take long to send people, Reapers save us from Spectres, to investigate and reinforce their refineries when they start going out of contact.”
--------------------------------

<<Citadel Station: Twenty hours later/Citadel Tower>>

Garrus leaned against the railing around the large fountain in the council chambers. Tali had been restless since yesterday, pacing around and seemingly staring off into the distance. But, given the message she had with her he couldn’t blame her.

“Five days ago, the Migrant Fleet was attacked. It was the Geth, they must have stowed away in some of our mining vessels because nothing suspicious happened until after they returned.” Tali had explained.
“Geth attacked the Migrant Fleet? How could infantry, armatures, even combat drones pose a serious threat when they were stuck on a few ships?”

“There weren’t normal Geth heavy weapons and troopers; there were no more than eight intruders in all!” The quarian shook her head and clenched her right hand into a fist. “They must have known the conclave and Admiralty Board were meeting on a single cruiser at that time.”

Garrus Vakarian clenched the railing tightly, his expression particularly hard on his chitinous face. “Agent Vakarian, Miss Nor’Rayya, the council is ready for you.” A salarian clerk said formally, motioning them up the stairs as if they weren't fully aware of the directions to the council chamber.
I’ll bet they aren’t, the turian thought, but nodded and caught up to Tali before they both began climbing the stairs. As always, the spaces between the entrance and the council podium was filled with multi-racial diplomats, many of which stole sideways glances at the pair, Tali in particular.

The walkway to their podium seemed to stretch on and on until they finally stopped at the end. Garrus stood at attention, well aware of the observers on the balconies above, but shared an anomalous nod with Captain Anderson. “Tali’Zora Nor’Rayya, Garrus Vakarian, you requested this meeting under the pretense of quarian business and a threat to the security of Citadel Space. Please, explain.” The asari councilor began; on the surface she seemed to be the most sympathetic of the council.

Vakarian gave Tali a reassuring nod, both a government agent of peace and a close friend. The quarian stepped forward. “Everyone here knows about the threat posed by the Geth,” Tali started. “For three hundred years after their struggle against my people they never ventured past the Perseus Veil. Three years ago, the rogue Spectre Saren broke the isolation the Geth had maintained for three centuries.”

“They willingly fought for Saren because of the Reaper, Sovereign, that was manipulating him. Since Sovereign’s destruction, yesterday three years ago, they have not show any hostilities and appeared to have returned to their lives of isolation.” Garrus noticed some of the observers speaking with armed salarians or making notes as Tali spoke.
He also studied the councilors, Anderson and the turian councilor were both grim; most of the casualties in the final battle with Sovereign and the Geth were humans and turians. The asari councilor was completely impassive, patiently waiting for Tali to finish before making any judgments. And the salarian representative blinked slower than usual, committing everything going on to memory.

“But that isolation has been shattered once again.” Tali continued, her focus constantly on the councilors and not being distracted by the activity on the balconies. “The Geth committed an act of extreme hostility against the Migrant Fleet of my people.”

Garrus immediately saw Cpt. Anderson shift his weight, and the asari diplomat steal a glance at the salarian who shook his head. The turian councilor’s face hardened even further, but he did not interrupt.
“Five days ago, the Flotilla stopped momentarily to mine an asteroid belt in the Grissom System. At the same time, the Admiralty Board and the conclave were meeting on one of the old cruisers for a conference to decide where to head after the mining operation was over.”

The quarian paused almost undetectably to marshal her case and her pain. “The first units snuck onto the cargo vessels on the asteroids surfaces. Suddenly the comm. frequencies became clogged with false messages and transmissions.”
Tali paused again, glancing down at the garden below before lifting her head back up and continuing anew. “The Geth saboteurs hijacked the freighters; we don’t keep the kinetic barriers on our ships up, to conserve power. All four ships lifted off, and before anyone could break through the smokescreen or begin to come about, the ships had already collided with the cruiser.”

“Then an entire fleet of Geth ships emerged from the field, at least a hundred warships! Only the vessels that fled as the Geth attacked survived.” She let her arms drop to her sides. “40% of the Flotilla was destroyed; millions of quarians were killed, and the conclave....... The Admiralty Board, ever member is dead.”
Garrus lost his precise, military stance; his mandibles went slack for a second. The conclave was the civilian government of the quarians, and the Admiralty Board wielded, limited, power in their own right.
If everyone on the Admiralty Board is dead then.... The turian Spectre didn’t let himself finish. Tali had lapsed into silence; if they weren’t under scrutiny Garrus would have tried to comfort her in some way.

Captain Anderson looked to the other councilors with conviction in his voice and determination in his eyes. “This attack is an act of genocide against not just the quarians, but every single race in council space. We must take action!”
The salarian nodded almost simultaneously. “If the Geth were bold enough to attack a force as large as the Migrant Fleet it stands to reason that they intend more daring offensives. Half the worlds in Council Space are less protected targets than the quarian Flotilla was!”

Not only were the councilors vexed by the news, the entire room was suddenly alive with frantic discussion. Garrus glanced at Tali, the quarian had her head down and one hand tightly clenched in a fist.
Forget professionalism, everyone has gone crazy anyway. The council’s debate merged with the background noise as he stepped forward beside Tali. Garrus lightly rested one three-fingered hand on his friend’s shoulder.
Tali gave a start, and then returned his concerned gaze. “I’m sorry, Tali.” The turian whispered gently. She nodded slightly, “Garrus.... thanks.”

For all Garrus knew, the turian councilor brought order no more than a heartbeat later, or after several minutes of uproar. Regardless, the entire room was silenced. “This Geth assault is a disturbing development, but nothing we do will accomplish anything if we don’t remain calm.”
Cpt. Anderson stood tall, hiding the fact that he’d taken a hit to the gut like all the other councilors. “Where are the quarian survivors, Tali? What do they intend to do?”
Garrus could imagine Tali’s remorseful look under her visor. “Councilors...... The remnants are in the Utopia system; they’re coming here to the Citadel! I came ahead to tell you.” That was the equivilent of the hiroshima bomb in the human WWII....