[Mass Effect: New Genesis] Part 3: Interrogation and revelations

Othic went to the drawer and found a small plastic syringe and a glass test slide. Not being totally sure what he was doing, he gathered some of the blood from Corwin's nostril with the syringe; then squeezed the contents onto the slide.

He went over to the machine and put the sample on the machine Jarvis had indicated. "Is....is this ok?

"Yes Mr Othic. This sample is suitable. Scanning...

Othic paused as the machine took it's reading. He looked down at Corwin. The mission was not even 24 hours old and he was beginning to think the it was cursed. By his count only three members of the crew, including himself, hadn't picked up some sort of injury.

"Mr Othic, the readings are complete. They medication needed to treat the disease is already present in My Haven's system."

Othic sighed and ran both hands through his hair in frustration. "And what does th...."

"One more thing." Jarvis interrupted. "Mr Havens does not have the biological markers which are indicators of this disease."

"But you said the disease was hereditary."

"It is."

Othic slapped his forhead. "Jarvis, is Corwin in any immeadeate danger. In say, the next five minutes.?"

"I don't believe so." Replied the V.I.

"Good." Said Othic. "Did you hear all that Aashe?" He asked as he looked over to the terminal where she was working.

"I've got it... I'm still searching for a Doctor... there's only a handful of people on this extranet game right now... Give me a moment."

Aashe frowned, watching text as it went by on the screen ahead of her.

((Waiting for Corwin to reply to a PM I sent him....))

"Oh thank the god of thieves..." She'd mutter after a second. Then, more loudly. "Hey! I knew there had to be a doctor hiding out on this game somewhere.... I almost forgive you for check mating me inside of ten moves the other day."

"Aashe deWinter. I was thinking you had to be some sort of off the radar person - your moves come in far too slowly for you to have a 9-5." The voice on the other end of the terminal sounded amused. He was a younger man with unaugmented dark hair and eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, I'll owe you one - I need your help with something. I've got a passenger on my ship who's passed out. Something called Nagi-Syndrome." Aashe said tentitively, watching for a reaction.

"Really? That's reasonably uncommon, are you sure?" The man asked, he leaned forward with interest.

"No, not really. I went to University and all, but..."Aashe said, offering him a sheepish grin.

"How did you approach the diagnosis?" He asked, curiously.

"My VI and a Holo Scanner?" Aashe knew it sounded a little odd - but lying at this point in the game wasn't going to do anyone any good.

There was a moment of silence from the terminal. "Go on with what you were going to tell me." He said, suspiciously.

"I'm told he's being medicated, but he's still passed out. Should I wake him?" Aashe was grateful that her friend didn't press the issue.

"Has the subject been through any undue stress lately?

"You can say that."

"It's likely just low calories and adrenaline. A simple stimulant should wake him, and he shouldn't suffer any ill effects from it. Make sure he eats, and rests. Just monitor him for a day or two, if he continues to show symptoms of fatigue, let me know." The calm, easy tone of the man's voice put Aashe back at ease. See there, Aashe - it's nothing. You've got this handled.

"Right, okay. Stimulants.... Hey, Myn - I think there's some artificial adrenaline in the second cabinet there..." Aashe said, pointing. "That's where I keep the first aid supplies."

"When he's awake, you'll need to be certain he has his medication. He'll need to take it on a regular basis - it's not something you'd keep stocked on board." The male voice said through the comm channel.

"Good information to have, I'll ask." Aashe said, nodding once. "Is... anyone else on the ship in danger?"

"I don't believe so - it's a hereditary disease." Her Doctor friend said. "It shouldn't be communicable."

"My VI says that he doesn't have any of the... biological markers?... for the disease. What does that mean?"

"Really...." the Doctor said, the frown was evident in his voice. His interest was piqued. "Are you sure?"

"I'm a pilot, not a doctor."

"Send me a sample of your patient's blood, I'll run the necessary tests over here." He offered, smirking at her joke.

"I'd need to ask him if that's okay - consider it doctor patient confidentiality."

"Of course." A slight pause. "You know where to find me, Aashe. I hope this information helps you. Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you."

"I owe you dinner the next time I'm in your neck of the woods." Aashe said with a grin.

"I'll consider it a date." He said, and the terminal went dark. She glanced up at Myn to see what he was doing.

"Well, that could have been worse." She said with a bit of a laugh.

"I guess so." Othic agreed, relieved that the disease was not contagious. He found the artificial adrenaline in the second cabinet just like Aashe had said. He went back to Corwin and pressed the adreanline-holding device into Corwin's neck. It gave a slight hiss as he pushed the button that delivered the dose.

Aashe got up slowly, and walked over to stand next to Myn after he injected Corwin with the adrenaline. She wrapped her arms around her torso, hugging herself as she waited. Even if it was only five seconds, it would be the longest five seconds in her life.

Astila watched down the hallway, blanking out. Humans would call it 'staring into space.' She had started to dream when she was jolted by Eri's voice. She paused a moment, making sure it wasn't a dream. "As long as I need it to.", She said, rubbing her eyes. "I can feel it weakening. But, I can put up a new one if this one breaks." Eri looked just as tired as she did. At least Astila had coffee.

Astila looked in the room at the Krogan who looked like he was in lighter stages of sleep.

Corwin slowly comes back into consciousness with a groan. His eyes open up and he looks around a little confused. Every motion he makes seems a little forced, as if he is trying to get his bearings. Jarvis continues to monitor Corwin's vital signs and theta wave readouts. They are rapidly normalizing.

"What happened," Corwin groans.

[I'll be away from my computer for a few hours....sorry for any inconvenience]

[curious question are you guys on your way to the prothean vessel already? cause if you are don't forget the distress signal that Primey sent out. When processed initially it will seem to be Quarian in origin unless Kreiger scrutinizes it further.]

((Oh, whups - thanks, Kin for reminding me! I'm gonna be out of the Krogan discussion on account of being in the Corwin discussion - and I imagine those two discussions are actually a "meanwhile" not a one after the other, I just know Myn has to hit the hay earlier.

I'll send Aashe to the cockpit once she's sure Corwin is okay. I know we were headed your direction anyway, so I'll have something worked up for post Krogan antics.))

[way ahead of ya]
kreiger saw that Astila was having a hard time standing. she kept dozing off in the hall.he approached and rested a hand on her arm, almost then same way he did in the med bay.
"you should go and get some sleep, i'll take watch here until someone takes over or we decide to wake this thing, after that i'll drop by your quarters for a chat."
his voice quiet and caring, a much different tone to his normal, constantly agitated voice.

as soon as he turned, his omnitool flashed up. a distress signal? he thought. and its from the quarian fleet? thats not right, they would be near Hastrom by now if they followed cycle.

"javis, i need you to analyse something for me when you have a moment.i'll forward the data to the ships data core."

kreiger sent the files with no reply from javis, he must be running too many systems in medical. kreiger then turned and approched the krogan. it would be so easy to just slit your throat right now. he thought, a sadistic smile crept across his face. i mean we can't keep you forever anyway's can we, bubbles? the thoughts in kreigers head became darker and darker as he pondered the results of "waking" the krogan at this point.

((Even better!))

Aashe pulled the scanner up so Corwin could sit up if he wanted to, she kept her voice low and easy. "Hey, take it slow. You passed out. We want to make sure you're okay, and then we're moving you to your quarters so you can get some rest. What do you like to eat, Corwin? I'll put some dinner together for you."

Aashe leaned back then, stepping over to one of the counters to get some water for Corwin. She came back with a small cup. "With the lot of you getting injured or sick, we might want to consider a medical professional on board."

"I'm okay, really. I need to be here.", Astila said, leaning back against the wall. "I can stay awake ... But feel free to come by later.", She said, smiling softly at Kreiger's gentle tone towards her. "When do we wake him?", She asked. "I can 'Dominate' him if something goes wrong. Takes a little bit more power on a Krogan, but I can do it. And please ... That is not what 'she' said.", She laughed a little, peeking in the door frame. She looked around at every one else remaining in the room for a moment, her silver eyes scanning the group. Everyone must be eager to get some answers.

a file flashed up on kreigers omnitool. it was from the Eris, but thats impossible, the VI system couldn't gain access to his omnitool. he would investigate at a later date. the file was direct from javis and read.

"kreiger, the distress signal you sent was difficult to decifer, but not impossible. it has multipul feedback loops and underlying sub routines. the distress signal it self is almost VI in nature, it try's to look as convincing as possible."
kreiger paused, knowing that the next words to come would say the floatilla was safe.
"this signal is a fake. a rather convincing fake and had any organic tried to decode it, they would have failed and assumed it plausible." this almost felt like a dig at organics from kreigers view, but VI's can't be judgmental or insulting, not intentionally. "the point of origin is our planned destination, the derelict prothean vessel, this is at best a 76% chance possibility though, as i am simply comparing signal location to the charts provided by our benefactor."
well Corwin had thought of everything, let the ship know an exact location but not the crew, smart man. at least this put kreigers mind at ease. "inform Aashe, she'll want to see this" kreiger barked at jarvis. he then took a seat on the couch, retracing some of the bullet holes in the room he motioned for Astila to join him.

Jeshua felt no remorse for what he had done. Of course, ignoring a perpetually-apologetic VI to take a shower didn't really seem like something you'd feel guilty about, but whatever.

Fortunately there were clothes tucked away in the drawers. They were suspiciously feminine - oh god, am I going to have to wear Aashe's clothing, Jeshua thought - but it's not like he had any other choice.

"Jarvis?" Jeshua called out, instantly regretting it.

"Ah, Mr. Robinson." It sounded to Jeshua like Jarvis was mad. But he's a VI, isn't he?

"Uh, is there a "laundry room" on the Eris?"

"Perhaps you would have received an answer had you gone to the rec room a half-hour ago."

"Alright wise-guy, I'll go ask Aashe myself. Where is she right now?"

"Perhaps she is in the Rec Room. Maybe you should go there." Jeshua didn't even feel the need to respond. He took the darkest, most gender-neutral clothing he could find and hoped to god no one noticed. But someone would, and they all would.

He entered the Rec Room to a heavy mess. He had drifted off and wasn't even sure what was going on. All he could tell, though, was that Aashe and Corwin were missing. I really need to keep myself in the loop, Jeshua decided, before sitting down and checking for on-board cameras to hack into with his Omni-tool, in order to figure out what exactly had transpired in the half-hour he was absent.

Systems reactivating... Distress signal was pinged. Assessing chances of discovery of deception...10% chance of discovery if signal is processed by organics. Scanning for heretic runtimes... local runtimes have not discovered distress signal...analyzing ping's source...ping's source is an older model of Turian make... accessing ship's systems...ERROR...ERROR... ship's network is defended by unknown program...deliberating...consensus requires more information...will classify vessel as unkown until more information is garnered. Extranet usage log... runtimes 2320-2348 once again logged 5 minutes of "game time" this time playing a round robin of final fantasy tactics... runtime 1748 downloaded several music files from the "rock band" Metallica... Command runtimes 1-20 downloaded medical information on current members of the citadel annotating need for information on possible racial weaknesses. Systems deactivating...

Astila slowly walked over to the couch and clumsily yet still lady like, plopped down and crossed her legs. Kreiger was being especially nice to her, which she was enjoying. She liked it when someone cared about how she felt. Since being a Justicar, no one thinks you're ever hurt or tired and most of them would never approach you if they noticed, they'd be too scared. Especially other Asari. "Thank You.", She said, glancing over at Kreiger. She leaned against the arm of the couch, propping her cheek on her arm as her elbow rested upon it.

Eri did not like the way Kreiger was eyeing the Krogan. There was something about his entire body language that was making her uncomfortable to the point where her hands unconsciously gripped her weapon a bit more tightly.

"Why don't you take her home," Eri spoke up, indicating Astila with a nod of her head. "I've got this here... he is asleep after all."

"I'm okay, really. I need to be here," Astila spoke up, crossing the room to stand with Kreiger as the two conversed so quietly that Eri could barely hear them. Eri glowered at the two, annoyed that they seemed so entranced with each other that they were barely paying her any mind. It was like they were off in their own little world - If they were just going to ignore her, she might as well go the hell back to bed... except for the fact that she wasn't entirely comfortable leaving the Krogan in the care of a half-asleep Asari and a Quarian with a dangerous look in his eye.

The pair crossed over to the couch and took a seat right beside her, and Eri wondered if they even realized she was there.

"When do we wake him?" Astila asked. "I can 'Dominate' him if something goes wrong. Takes a little bit more power on a Krogan, but I can do it. And please ... That is not what 'she' said." She laughed a little, her eyes twinkling at Kreiger.

Eri rolled her own eyes and cleared her throat, speaking up as she leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. "I'm of a mind to say we wake him already and get this over with." She knew she sounded a bit cranky, but didn't really care at this point. "But... we should probably wait for the others to come back, don't you think?" She raised her eyebrows at the two.

"your right Eri, we shouldn't waste time here until everyone is present, less someone do something stupid" he was refering to himself here, worried that killing the krogan would only raise concern. "i'll take astila back to her quarters, if you'll accompany me" kreiger said sarcastically as he stood and extended a hand out towards Astila.
"oh and one last thing..." he pulled the shotgun blade from his boot and threw it into the floor dangerously close to Eri's feet. the resounding 'thud' gave her a jump. "this WILL save your life if he awakens while we're gone."
he turned with Astila in arm and they left down the hall.

"I agree, Miss Meridian.", Astila said, looking over at the Krogan. "I could probably-", She was interrupted by Kreiger reaching for her hand. She hesitated a minute, looking over at the Krogan, before taking his hand and standing up. She was a bit embarrassed being this tired. But, in all honesty, she did have to use a large amount of power the previous day. "You seem cranky ...", She said to Kreiger as he threw down the blade at Eri's feet. Of course, they were all on edge. No one had gotten good sleep, the biotics were cranky, and there was a sleepy Krogan in the rec room who was going to be very pissed off when he woke up.

Astila could feel the barrier weakening, so before she left, she turned around and placed a duplicate barrier over the Krogan. "That should hold him ...", She said, as she headed down the hallway.

"You're right, Eri. We shouldn't waste time here until everyone is present, less someone do something stupid," Kreiger replied.

Eri kept her face neutral, raising one eyebrow at the Quarian, unsure if he was speaking about her or himself.

"I'll take Astila back to her quarters," he added, before offering a hand to the exhausted Asari. "If you'll accompany me..."

Astila had started to say something, but was cut off by Kreiger's words. She took his hand obediently and together they started to head for the door. "Oh, and one last thing..." Kreiger stopped, pulling a wicked blade from his boot and throwing it directly at the floor in front of her.

Eri tried her best not to flinch, but failed as the blade stuck, point down, dangerously close to her feet.

"This WILL save your life if he awakens while we're gone," Kreiger finished, and with that the two were off down the hall. The barrier flared briefly as Astila refreshed it, and then all was silent.

Eri glared at the dagger sticking out of the floor. "Sure... cause I'm totally getting close enough to stab a pissed off Krogan," she mumbled to herself sarcastically.

As if on cue, the Krogan stirred for the first time in his sleep, a deep sound rumbling in his throat. Eri stared at him for a moment before leaning forward and giving the knife a hard yank to free it from the floor. Either way, an extra weapon wouldn't hurt. She tucked it in her own boot.