Mass Effect PbP Game Thread

[Elemental_Elf]

[ooc=data chip]In addition to the info presented in the briefing, the data chip provides supplementary information that can be fundamentally broken down into 7 key points.

1. The ships are being built some where in the Terminus Systems.
 
2. It is believed the Batarian Pirate Khaza Blackeyes is providing the shipwrights.

3. Blackeyes has a 20k Credit bounty on his head.

4. The Volus Chesla Don has a child named Chan Don, who is listed as the sole heir to all of Chesla's fortune upon his death.

5. Chan Don was last seen on the Citadel.

6. Chesla Don also had an estranged business partner during the early days of the Talis Fia venture - a human named Sergey Volkov.

7. Sergey Volkov is believed to live on Omega[/ooc]

[Steerpike]

[ic]Before everyone departs, Archimedes says, "Chesla Don is almost certainly off-world at this point, but I suggest we begin by paying a visit to Lawa T'Kin.  With some creative persuasion she may provide us with the name of a ship.  Of course, Chesla's departure will probably not have been recorded, but perhaps T'Kin's computer might contain correspondence between herself and Chesla; it's probably worth trying to hack into her files."[/ic]

[CoyoteCamouflage]

[ic= Master Minds]
The Quarian's behavior confuses Kai, at first. Whatever her faults, she suddenly displays something radically different, and it is somehow tied directly to the Vorcha. Implications? The worst implication may make it impossible for the two to work together. Hopefully the issue at hand is not so drastic and can be sorted out soon.

He considers some of the pieces of this plan.

"I believe we may wish to see to this heir as well. And it may prove highly useful in drawing out Chesla if he has gone to ground. Or, at the very least, ensuring that the assets of the father never actually reach the son. It may ease the matter of the money." Kai pauses and considers. Likely, this is to be a secondary or tertiary measure. They need not directly involve the heir until other, more direct avenues have been used.

"But this business with Blackeyes is bad, and it gives the Volus a great many chances to hide in the Terminus systems. We may need to proceed cautiously in case he has not yet sought out a safe bolt hole." He begins to consider some of the other notes. In particular, the Asari Lawa T'Kin is going to be a problem. If they do not handle that delicately, then it may not take long before the Volus is in the wind. Or dirt, maybe.

"That seems like a fair starting point, Archimedes, but we may need to prepare some way to prevent her from warning Chesla that we are coming." He glances to the Asari present. "The easiest would be to dispose of her once the information is gained-- in order to prevent word of our activities from reaching our quarry. But word of his friend disappearing may be just as hazardous to our efforts. I would be much happier with some form of plan to retrieve the information without alerting her or him to our intentions."

If all that was expected was violence, then Kai would not have been brought into this project. He knows how to shoot a rifle, but he's hardly a fair hand with it; his talents lay elsewhere.

"The least assuming lead seems to be his former partner, Volkov. Being on Omega may also put us into a position to keep tabs on the biggest events of note in the Terminus systems. Nobody builds a fleet without somebody noticing, and I imagine that if anyone will know, they will be on Omega." Kai hesitates, not particularly pleased with the frontier justice of the Terminus Systems, but also seeing it as the exact place he would hide out in this Volus' situation.

"For now, I think we should seek out T'Kin, then her residence. They seem the best sources for information. If we can't find anything else useful there, then we may want to consider heading to Omega next. Beyond that... well, I imagine that will depend on just how effective our own cunning and ingenuity is."[/ic]

[Ninja D!]

[ic=Planning]Salana slides the data chip into her omni-tool and begins reading, sipping wine as she does so. 'It seems Chesla Don has given his offspring one of his names. That's a piece of arrogance.'[/ic][ooc=Volus Naming]Maybe I'm the only one that remembers that volus don't have surnames.[/ooc][ic=Planning 2]'One plan is as good as any,' she says, holding the wine bottle out in front of her at arm's length and examining it. Just over half the bottle remains. 'T'Kin is likely our target's best chance of disappearing quickly. We should eliminate that option before he wants to use it.' She puts the cork back in the bottle firmly and returns it to her briefcase. 'That's my suggestion.'[/ic][ooc=Medi-gel?]Do we get any medi-gel?[/ooc]

[Elemental_Elf]

[ooc]I'm really glad you picked up on the Surname.

You have the max amount of Medi-Gel you can carry right now - 2 gels.

[/ooc]

[LD]

[ic=Expectations & Impressions]
Lini'Leera poured over the data on her Omni'Tool, amping up her hearing aid while she did so she could hear the others.

She had not intended to become a murderer, so she increasingly got a bad taste in her mouth about the entire endeavour. Quarians received enough legal difficulties without being tied to real disappearances.

Turian and Salarian stories of roving Quarians abducting tech-savvy youth and great scientists during their Pilgrimages were almost certainly false to the 99% percentile of possibility, but in a court of law the Jury often voted more with their emotions than their heads...unless they were Elcor, but Elcor rarely sat on a jury--they often stood as judges, but they were too few in population to regularly be selected as jurors.

Lini'Leera if caught, would not fare well in the Judicial System. And even if not caught, but only if a Quarian was associated with such shady deals, she would shame her father and the Flotilla. Lini'Leera grimaced. The Flotilla was mismanaged, but it was the Flotilla-her species-Quarians deserved better.

Hearing the others speak, she continued to form opinions of them: Asari "blood to spill..." Violent, but clever, and oddly polite, only offering a suggestion instead of being forceful. A team player perhaps... unlikely though. More likely she is used to being on a team and being oppressed--never a leader--like a Flotillan, so she never thinks to lead, or attains the necessary skills.

Human. "...dispose of her" Violent. Brutal. Dangerous factor. Not as clever as the Asari. Speaks too much. Rambles. Lays too much on the table about his personality. Unless he's showing off, like Lini was with her words.

Vorcha-AI. A plant who is likely speaking the party line of the Drell and the other Asari and Krogan. Probably best to follow what the AI wants if one wants to gather favor with this organization. But does she want to gather favor? Being favored is better than being hated at least. The AI in this creature seemed decent with its voice modulation. Lini wondered how well it could move and react to changing situations... perhaps it was even a semi-autonomous VI? She had read of such things, illegally created...not all VIs had to end like the Geth. She tried to brainstorm some diagnostics to run on the AI next time she got near it.

When she's done reading through the chip and before everyone departs, she echoes Archimedes with a sigh. "Yes, hack her files, makes the most sense. Let's minimize the bodies, no? Unless we're killing synthetics." She looked quickly over at the one who claimed to be Archimedes to see if he reacted to the word. Or unless the community wants them dead. None of you have a reward out for you yet? No? Let's keep it that way.
[/ic]

[Elemental_Elf]

[ooc=Explanation] I am going to assume you guys would prefer to scope the Port Authority Building and her apartment out a little before running in and hacking computers and risk killing bystanders. After searching the T'Parn Network, you find the following information. [/ooc]

[ooc=T'kin's Office] The T'Parn network has a fair amount of information concerning the Port Authority. The Authority divides the air space above Nos Astra into three regions - North, East and South-West. The main headquarters of the Port Authority lies in the Laszen Tower, near the center of the city. Each region is given a smaller campus facility to manage the day-to-day issues and co-ordinate the local departments spread across their region. T'Kin splits her time equally between the North Campus, the main Office and the Ancomp Department (located in the far north of the city).

 Officially, T'Kin's role in the company is to act as liaison between the North Campus and the Main Office however in practice she regularly schedules herself to work in the Ancomp Department for nearly half her work hours. The T'Parn Network operatives do not know the rationale behind this.

Currently, her work schedule states that she is working at the Ancomp Department for the remainder of her shift (which lasts until 9:00 GSD tomorrow morning). Following that, she will have a 7 hour break before reporting to the North Campus for a 3 hour shift (which begins at 16:00 GSD and ends at 19:00 GSD). Following this, her weekend begins, which lasts for the next three days.

The Ancomp Department is located in the Rodla Shopping Area. Ancomp is a fairly modest workplace, with 3 small offices, a storage area, a large reception area and a break room. T'Kin's office is the largest and set the furthest away from the reception area (i.e. the front door). It is very spartan, containing a large L-shaped desk at the far end, several chairs for guests and a large holo-screen opposite the desk. Offices 1 and 2 house four rectangular desks each and are manned by 2 employees most hours of the day. The Break Room contains a large sofa and a small round table with four chairs. The Storage area is filled with crates that Nos Astria-ites pay the Port Authority to ship to different locations across the city. The reception area contains a half-octagon desk which is manned by a receptionist during business house (6-16 GSD).  

All of the employees are Asari save for the receptionist, who is Human.

The Department is constantly being monitored via video feeds, both inside and out. However both T'kin's office and the storage area lack video and audio recording devices (at the request of T'kin roughly 5 months ago). [/ooc]

[ooc=T'Kin's Appartment]T'kin lives in a modest square-shaped studio apartment in one of the wealthier neighborhoods on the south-side of town. The apartment contains a small kitchen and a petite table with three stools in the lower left corner. The upper left corner houses a living room with a holo-screen and a sofa. The upper right corner has a queen-sized loft bed with three crates. The entrance and a small bathroom lie in the lower right corner.

T'parn Operatives are unable to ascertain why T'kin, who earns a decent income, chooses to live in such a small apartment. [/ooc]

[Ninja D!]

[ooc]The following in-character section is in response to

Sal looks at the quarian, curiously. "That's hardly a reasonable assumption in this line of work." She lets out a single, uncomfortable laugh, almost like a cough. "I may or may not have a reward out for me on Omega."[/ic][ooc=Assumption]Next, I'm going to assume that all that data was read to us by Archimedes, who likely got bored while we were talking and looked it up. If that turns out to not be the case, I will try to alter this post to reflect where it did come from. If that's information we could have found on our own, later, Sal probably won't know it. She'll favor just showing up at the appointed time and waiting for someone to direct her where to point her gun.[/ooc][ic=Reply 2]"The only reason I know for a girl with money to live in a place like that," Sal puts in, like an expert on the subject, "is that she doesn't often spend her nights there. I doubt we'll find her at her place. We'd be better off trailing her after her last work shift."[/ic]

[Steerpike]

[ooc]Can I make an intelligence check to simulate Archimedes' calculations concerning the fleet size/armaments?[/ooc][ic]Archimedes reads out the data stored on the ship and what he can find on the T'Parn network concerning T'Kin.  While he does his brain seethes, calculating variables at a fantastic rate '" probabilities that Chesla is still on Illium or that he in the Terminus systems; the likely percentage of the pirate fleet's completion; the number of ships and likely armaments a quarter million credits could purchase.  The dull headache building behind his eyes begins to gradually recede.  Not enough data for conclusive results '" margins of error still high.

The human, Kai, has surprised him.  His brain seems to work like a shotgun '" wide angle, scattered distribution.  That sort of intelligence could be valuable, could force you to see a problem for perspectives others might dismiss.

The quarian's nervousness is increasing; he can see her fretting.  Her comment might suggest a strong moral center beneath the layers of narcissism and paranoia '" more likely, though, she was just worried about potential jail-time.  A neurotic temperament, certainly.

"Alright, it seems that we're agreed '" hacking into T'Kin's files first makes sense.  If we can find out what channels she's using to communicate with Chesla, perhaps we can sever them without her realizing it '" reconfigure her system so that it sends messages to an address we set up.  Then one of us can impersonate Chesla, try and extract information that way."  Throw the quarian a bone; egomaniacs like it when you flatter them.  "Lini'Leera, is that viable?"[/ic]

[LD]

[ic= Germination]
>>"Sal looks at the quarian, curiously. "That's hardly a reasonable assumption in this line of work." She lets out a single, uncomfortable laugh, almost like a cough. "I may or may not have a reward out for me on Omega."

In response to Sal, Lini shakes her head. "I was not aware that Omega had a functioning community."

To Archimedes. "Certainly. Hacking is simple. Impersonating a Volus--not so simple. Sal, have you ever known a Volus intimately? Do you know how they think? ... Even then, we need to know more about him; what he wants, what he sounds like if we do a voice modulation. A text message can work, but-"

She looks back at Archimedes. "It is unclear how impersonating Chesla will lead us anywhere, except to tipping him off. Better I would think, to break and enter if needed, access emails and flight reservations. If necessary, remove her Omnitool and examine its data. Still better; discover from her files how to contact Chesla--and work from there."[/ic]

[Steerpike]

[ooc]Could the Overload Tech power be used to destroy a security camera?  Obviously we won't have to worry while in her office or in the storage area, but any connecting corridors and the exterior of the building will be monitored.[/ooc]

[Elemental_Elf]

[ooc]It could easily destroy a camera. You just have to worry about the consequences if you get caught (i.e. the police). [/ooc]

[Ninja D!]

[ic]Sal shifts uneasily in her seat when the silence has gone on for too long. "Well," she begins, uncomfortably, "what do you need to try to hack her data? That is what you're all planning, right?"

I really must be the only one that's done this sort of thing before.[/ic]

[CoyoteCamouflage]

[ic]"We should look into the Volus' current residence. If he has not left Illium-- unlikely though it is-- then we may find him, or, more likely, a potential lead on where exactly he may be going.

Depending on what we can find within the Volus' data store, seeking the Asari may be pointless." He tilts his head to the side. He smiles like a predator that has just caught wind of its favorite prey. "Do not forget that Nos Astra is run by a giant bureaucracy. It would be simple to convince her that turning on the Volus would be in her best interest. I would prefer to know more about their relation, but I highly doubt their bond is strong enough for her to risk losing everything to protect him. This is Nos Astra. Everything has a price." His smile softens slightly; he looks around. "That may be the safest way to approach her-- and it may give our tech specialists all the time they need to dig through whatever information they can access. Heh. I could probably provide a warrant to seize all of her data assets if we wanted to do away with the cloak-and-dagger ploys and be magnificently blunt. Without the bloodshed, of course."

He looks to Sal. "Unless you'd prefer to indulge in some...?" he queries politely.[/ic]

[Ninja D!]

[ic=Refining The Plan]Sal shrugs, her chin still resting on her balled up hands. "If you all can complete our mission without me ever firing a shot, I still get paid. I guess that's what you could call a benefit of working with a team."[/ic]