[Mass Effect: New Genesis] Part 6.2: The Fabled Prothean Base - Thanatos (Group B)

Aivar and Jorgal took the lead, slowly making their way into the metallic pyramid. Their weapons were drawn. Their eyes and ears alert to any and all possible danger. Their footsteps made a soft clinging sound which offered no echo. The pyramid was uncomfortably silent.

Kreiger and Corwin followed next.

Eri protected the rear.

The team continued to advance until they reached an incredibly wide hallway to their left. It was then that the silence was shattered. The pyramid began to emit a voice understandable to everyone in the party.

Warning. Human female indoctrinated agent detected.
Warning. Human female indoctrinated agent detected.
Warning. Human female indoctrinated agent detected.
Warning. Human female indoctrinated agent detected.

All at once, a cold consuming darkness swallowed the pyramid. The door to the outside slammed closed, sealing the heroes from the safely of the Eris. The pyramid's warning continued to repeat itself. But that may not be the most worrisome thing that was heard. A mighty, demonic screech pierced through the warning. Again and again, it sounded with its terrible distinctiveness.....

Getting closer.

Corwin thought he was prepared for anything before he stepped foot into the Prothean Base. He studied Prothean ruins before and read all the leading modern scholars on the topic. But now, as he advanced down the hallway with his weapon drawn, he no longer felt so certain. There was something that was troubling him... being in the actual Pyramid. It should have been the greatest experience of his life. But Corwin wasn't able to shake the feeling of impending doom.

Corwin heart stopped and his eyes widened when the warning blared and kept repeating itself.

Warning. Human female indoctrinated agent detected.
Warning. Human female indoctrinated agent detected.

The door to the Pyramid slammed shut. He got on the radio, more out of instinct than anything else. He knew everyone else was thinking the same thing as him. But just in case, he had to make sure.

"Everyone," he shouted over the noise. "Hold your position. We have to fi...."

Corwin stopped talking when everything went dark. Dark wasn't the right term to use, but it was all that Corwin could process. He hit the side of his helmet to turn in his portable helmet flashlight. The light extended out, but not as far as it would normally go. It was like the darkness itself was pushing back against it, only letting him see no more than forty feet. Corwin felt his mouth go dry as he tried to keep speaking.

But before he could get a word out, he heard that inhuman screech dig into his ears. It was painful, but he managed to shout into the radio again.

"Everyone! Report in....NOW!"

No sooner had the question of which way to go left Eri's lips than all hell seemed to break loose around them.

Warning. Human female indoctrinated agent detected.
Warning. Human female indoctrinated agent detected.

Eri's froze on the spot. The warning blarred from all around them, repeating over and over. It took her a moment to even process what the warning was saying, but she felt as though her heart had stopped as soon as she realized what it was implying.

Human female...

Corwin was shouting into the comm. "Everyone, hold your position. We have to fi...."

Human female... This place was built by Protheans. They were the only humans IN the place - probably EVER. It was clearly talking about one of them...

The door slammed shut with a resounding boom behind them and Eri jumped, spinning around. The sudden darkness felt absolute. She immediately flicked on the flashlight on her wrist, but it seemed to do little to illuminate the sudden gloom.

Around them the warning was still ringing out. Human female... There were only two. It can't be me... Eri repeated to herself over and over, but she couldn't shake the nightmare weighing heavily on her mind. She felt as though everyone's eyes were going between her and Aivar. Aivar... The woman at the end of her dream looked like Aivar. Was it a warning...? It can't be me... I'm still in control!

Before they'd even had a chance to process what was happening, an inhuman screech rang out, echoing through the halls, with no indication on direction other than the fact that whatever the hell it was, it was getting closer.

Corwin's voice yelled out over the comm, startling her. "Everyone! Report in....NOW!"

"West, here!" she called back, standing at the rear of the group, her shotgun darting back and forth between the two hallway openings. She listened to the others report back.... but her blood ran cold as no one from the Myn's team replied.

Warning. Human female indoctrinated agent detected.
Warning. Human female indoctrinated agent detected.

It was all Aivar could hear after it went dark. Human female Indocturnated agent? Aivar frowned. 'He' has never run into a Reaper in 'his' life. How was 'he' indocturnated?

Warning. Human female indoctrinated agent detected.

The screams were becoming inhuman, more demonic actually. Goosebumps rose from 'his' flesh and hairs raised. 'He' detached 'his' sniper rilfe from 'his' back and pointed it out. 'He' peered into the darkness, the halls faintly visible a little beyond the flashlight. 'He' could see into the darkness, 'his' eyes ablaze with the hellfires. 'He' turned a bit and yelled "Eri! Make sure nothing is coming up from behind!" 'He' turned back to trying and see beyond the flashlight, rifle up and ready.

The oppressive darkness of the pyramid enveloped much of the light projected by the team's flashlights. This darkness was not a mere absence of light. It was real. At the edges of the light, wisps of darkness poured in, eating away at the beam.

The hellish screeching grew louder. Angrier. It was coming from above. Corwin, Eri, and Aivar aimed their weapons up and watched. It was right at that moment the screeching stopped. None of them moved. They remained perfectly still and waited for a sign of where it was.

They waited.

They watched.

They listened.

For ten second.

Absolutely nothing.

A deafening screech erupted right behind Corwin. Aivar and Eri spin around and almost shoots their leader. Corwin instinctively hit the ground. Behind him were two yellow gleaming eyes spaced too far apart and round to be almost any species anyone had ever heard of. Aivar and Eri pull the trigger. Almost faster than the eye could follow, the creature sprung. It was huge and wolf-like. There was murder in its eyes.

Everything was going dark, very dark. kreiger froze up, he wanted to leave but couldnt even move. He couldnt even utter a word when Corwin demanded that everyone radio in. He was just frozen in place, unable to do anything. He begged his body to move, to activate a flashlight or to radio someone, ANYTHING! but his body simply wouldn't move. the fear ran so deep in his body that it froze him to the core.
Cmon Kreiger! you have to move! you going to let a little darkness discourage you!? cmon move damnit! kreigers mind began screaming at him to move, still nothing. there was a loud screech and gun shots a few feet in front of him, the muzzle flash highlighting a creature most horrifying . kreiger simply slinked to the floor and held himself...
Your not a soldier, you are NOT a soldier, Your a damn techy with a gun, you don't have the training for this.
She will die here, but this will be your tomb
the words echoed from inside his head, but he wasnt sure if he was just going mad with fear or if someone was trying to talk to him.

Aivar's voice erupted out of her headset. "Eri! Make sure nothing is coming up from behind!"

"I'm not seeing ANYthing..." Eri replied, her gun trained on everything she thought was moving, yet when her light touched it, there was nothing there.

The darkness around them felt oppressive - as if it was literally closing in. Eri thought she caught wisps of darkness actually moving, but quickly dismissed it as her eyes playing tricks on her. The horrible screeching grew louder until it sounded directly above them. Lights and weapons all aimed at the ceiling, leaving an uncomfortable pool of darkness around Eri's knees...

But they saw nothing, heard nothing.

If Eri had felt like her heart had stopped before, it was certainly beating now. It sounded as if it was thundering in her ears. She dropped her light back down, sweeping the darkness behind the group, the beam barely making a dent in the dark. She couldn't even see the door anymore.

And then, a deafening screech cut through the agonizing silence directly behind her. Eri spun around, her gun aiming at the sound. Only her soldier's reflexes kept her from very nearly shooting Corwin, but then he dropped to the ground, and behind him were two yellow gleaming eyes. What little she could see told her it was huge, and varren-like, except... not shaped right for that, or for any creature she recognized.

Eri didn't hesitate, pulling the trigger. The deep shot of her gun rang out almost in unison with another. Judging from the direction of the other shot, she could only assume it had been Aivar, as a quick glance told her Corwin and Kreiger were crouched on the floor.

The creature blended with the darkness so well, Eri couldn't even tell if they'd hit it before it had sprung. Faster than she could even process, it was on her. She fell backward, her back hiting the ground and knocking the wind from her lungs. She felt something scrape the front of her helmet and chest plate, and pulled the trigger again, shooting it at point-blank range.

Another deafening screech erupted from the creature and Eri took the chance to shove it upward with a biotic throw. Lying nearly under the creature with her arms and gun trapped between them, her aim was bad, but it at least served enough purpose to get it off her.

Gasping for air, Eri rolled sideways, popping up to her knees in time to see a humanoid shape with glowing red eyes coming straight for her.

The thing, whatever it was, landed in the middle of the group. 'He' spun around and shot it. A sniper round at point blank range had got to hurt, and the screech that 'he' heard told him just the same. The huge wolf-like being sprung onto Eri. For a moment, 'he' was actually frozen with fear as 'he' watched. 'His' teammate could die. Another shot gun the Shotgun rang and it brought 'him' to 'his' senses, and the sense of fear was replaced with boiling rage. Rage pented up for far too long.

'He' dropped his sniper rifle as 'he' sprang for the thing, as well as any clear thought 'he' had. 'His' pray was now this monster. 'He' gave a feral screech and landed on top of the thing and Eri and 'he' ripped the thing away from her. It struggled and smashed an arm into 'his' helmet, and pulled free from 'him'. 'He' heard Eri shuffle away on the ground as it turned to face 'him'. Its yellow round eyes full of bloodlust, and 'he' the same. They were both stone still. Silence.

Both emitted hellish screeches all of a sudden and attacked each other. It lunged for 'his' throat but 'he' smacked it away into a wall, biotics flaring silver, but it was uncontrolled. 'He' lunged at it, electricity crackling and shocked it, smoke rising from its body. It gave another hellish screech and used its legs to push 'him' off, which sent 'him' soaring, smacking into the other wall. It lunged at 'him' again, biting 'him' at the shoulder in 'his' dazed state. Instinctively 'his' body was lit up by biotics and electricity. The thing let go and screamed.

'He' got up and sprang at the thing, hand going through one of its eyes. It gave a wail of of a child in pain, which unnerved 'him' in about what 'he' was about to do. Electricity ran down 'his' arm, frying its mind and vital organs. It slumped, finally dead, and 'he' brought out his 'hand' from its head and backed away quickly, frightened, not by it, but by what 'he' had done.

Like an illusion, its body was disappearing.

Eri nearly shot at the creature with the red eyes as well, before she realized it was actually Aivar.

The beast itself had recovered from its momentary biotic-induced daze and was rearing back to lunge again, when Aivar collided with it nearly in mid air. Eri trained her shotgun on the battle, but the two were moving so quickly, locked in a close struggle, that she couldn't risk shooting and hitting Aivar.

Silver biotics flared, hellish screams issued from the darkness, and then with one last wail, the fight was over - the creature was down.

Eri scrambled to Aivar side, grabbing his elbow gently, and turning him away from the dead beast lying on the ground. "Are you alright?" Eri asked with concern. He seemed a bit stunned, but there were no noticable injuries.

Eri angled her light at the ground, trying to get a better idea of what the beast looked like, but it was as if its body was fading back into the wisps of darkness.

Great...

"Is everyone okay?" Eri turned back to the group, straining to hear if there was anything else lurking in the dark. "Anyone hear or see any more of those... things?" She blinked her eyes several times, trying in vain to see through the darkness. She'd never had the best night-vision, but this was ridiculous.

"no, no no n-no....they'll be back...the things...the shadows live! they move and breathe as WE DO!..." kreiger began hyperventilating as the room grew dark once more.
"we need out...I NEED OUT! or light or...or...SOMETHING!"
Kreiger began to panic. his whole life he was taught that darkness befell danger. if things went dark on a floatilla ship, you had exactly 3 minutes 45 seconds to figure out why or the likely hood of you dying was extremely high. it was always drilled into him, its why he feared the dark so much. but now knowing that something was living, hunting in this pit, well that was becoming all to much for kreiger.

Corwin listened to the crew shout their responses. He felt relieved when he heard the people call in. It wasn't until the radio fell silent that he knew something else was wrong. There was no response from Myn's squad.

"Myn!" he called out into the radio. Corwin knew it was that screeching that was getting to him, but he was getting lost in the moment. He had to make sure the other team was still alive. He let his gun fall to his side while he tried to reach the other team. "Myn! Come in. Aashe. Aashe DeWinter. Aashe. Please respond."

He waited for a response and heard nothing back. Corwin saw Eri and Aivar pointing their guns up to the ceiling. He upbraided himself and lifted his gun up and trained it on the ceiling. That horrible, ear-piercing screech was still getting closer. Corwin looked to the left and right, trying to illuminate the area, but it was a futile effort. The light was not extending far enough. It was light the darkness absorbed it.

"Astila," he whispered into the radio. "Astila. Come in. Astila. Jeshua? Nick. Any anyone on Myn's team hear me on this frequency? God damn it. Jarvis. Jarvis?"

Corwin kept his weapon trained, but he made a mistake. He wasn't aware of his surroundings. The ear-shattering demonic screech that erupted behind him caused him to stumble. His ears rang as his military training kicked in. Friendly fire would be pouring into this location and he needed to be on the ground. And it was there that he stayed for the next twenty seconds until he was able to hear again.

When he looked up, he was Aivar standing there and something black disappearing into an evanescent wisp.

Spirits be damned, this is.... Aivar thought as 'he' watched the thing fade away, 'he' was then turned around by the arm and faced Eri. "Are you alright?" she said. 'He' nodded quickly. The monster's last scream had broken 'him' out of 'his' animal-like trance, and put 'his' mind in darker places then this hallway.

'He' fumbled around, exhausted, weak, dying. There was a puddle nearby and 'he' looked into it. 'His' once black hair dark as the night sky on Earth was now fading to silver, 'his' face drawn and grim. This was no child, but a husk, a ghost, a fragile thing with a frightening power that 'he' couldn't control. Darkness was swirling on the edges of 'his' vision, and it was threatening to embrace him....

'He' went back to reality. 'He' was breathing fast, and was attempting to slow it down. 'He' went to Kreiger who was muttering how he hated the dark and how they were all doomed and whacked him on the head, lightly. "Hey, you need to calm down. This is... This is scary, okay? But- we can't lose our minds. We need them to keep alive." 'he' said, voice cracking and faltering. The speech was more for 'him' really. 'He' was every bit as scared as everyone else was.

a sharp thud hit kreigers head, he shuddered slightly as he realized Aviar was talking to him, he took comfort from her presence.
"keep your head, keep your life...okay...got it..." He finally pulled himself to his feet and loaded his shotgun, the place was too tight for an SMG. all the while as the group recollected itself, kreiger was mumbling to himself.
"keep your head, keep your life, keep your head, keep your life..."
he took a few steps forward and his boot kicked a corpse, a long dead body, decapitated by the looks. he couldn't make out the race, but he chuckled lightly to himself, trying to lighten his own mood.he leaned down and spoke to the corpse a moment.
"Looks like you couldn't keep your head buddy...whats beyond this entrance, i will never know from you, for you never left it either."
he fiddled with the rib-cage a moment picking threw some dust and broken bones when a glimmer poked threw as his flashlight caught something. it was a pocket watch. small, round, brass pocket watch.
"hey Corwin! i haven't seen one of these in...well i haven't! we had a holo for reference in the libraries...it's not important, here."
Kreiger slipped the watch into corwins hands.
"I hate old tech, maybe Aashe will appreciate it once we all get out of here?"

The first thing Corwin was able to hear over the radio was Eri's voice. He had to admit, he was happy to hear her voice. "Is everyone okay? Anyone hear or see any more of those... things?"

Corwin pushed himself up to his hands and knees and shook he head to knock the cobwebs loose. "I'm....I'm fine Eri. That thing got the jump on me. But I'm fine. We have to find a way to turn that alarm off. It'll be at this place's control room. Maybe that will let us get back in contact with the other group."

He quickly scrambled to his feet and looked around into the darkness. Corwin saw something so horrible. So unexpected. That it almost shattered his perceptions of reality. "No way," he muttered. "No way....."

Aivar was being nice to Kreiger.

"I must still be asleep," he whispered. He looked around into the darkness, trying to see something out there. He did not hear and screeches nor notice any movements out there. Kreiger came up to Corwin holding something brass and a little shiny.

"Hey Corwin!" Kreiger said. "I haven't seen one of these in...well I haven't! we had a holo for reference in the libraries...it's not important, Here."

Kreiger slipped the watch into his hands
.
"I hate old tech, maybe Aashe will appreciate it once we all get out of here?"

Corwin grinned.

"She'll love it, Kreiger." Corwin paused and looked around. "Kreiger. We need to find the control room and shut down this alarm. Do you have any thoughts on where it could be?"

"Kreiger. We need to find the control room and shut down this alarm. Do you have any thoughts on where it could be?"
"sure, i'll just pull out my schematics of a centuries old building built by a long dead race that i just so happen to always carry with me, im sure they will help...NO CORWIN! i don't have a F***ING clue where to look for something like that."
kreiger panned the room, he even tried to get a scan from the building for a power source, the whole thing glowed, the entire system was untraceable.
"unless we can find a control room or something, we have to deal with it..."

"I'm....I'm fine Eri. That thing got the jump on me. But I'm fine. We have to find a way to turn that alarm off. It'll be at this place's control room. Maybe that will let us get back in contact with the other group."

Eri was relieved to hear Corwin's voice over her headset, but Kreiger wasn't faring nearly as well. He looked to be having some sort of nervous breakdown, which confused her momentarily. Granted, this place was officially creepy as all hell, but he'd held his own in the fight against Skar or even the Asari commandos for that matter.

Eri was about to approach him to see if he was alright, but Aivar beat her to it, knocking the Quarian over the head with a solid thump. Eri blinked in surprise, not quite sure that was the way she would have handled the situation, but... it seemed to have worked, because a moment later he was chattering excitedly about a broken piece of tech he'd found on the floor.

"I hate to be a downer, but I think we've got better things to worry about right now, guys..." Eri spoke up as she took a few hesitant steps down the corridor to their left.

"Kreiger. We need to find the control room and shut down this alarm," Corwin replied.

"Agreed," Eri mumbled. The darkness and shadow creatures were enough to deal with without the ever ominous repeating alarm accusing one of them of working for the Reapers.

Corwin continued. "Do you have any thoughts on where it could be?"

"Sure, I'll just pull out my schematics of a centuries old building built by a long dead race that I just so happen to always carry with me. I'm sure they will help..." came Kreiger's sarcastic reply over Eri's headset. "NO CORWIN! I don't have a F***ING clue where to look for something like that."

Eri felt herself bristle as she spun back to the group. "HEY! We're all stressed here - we don't need to be fighting amoungst ourselves too!" she snapped, before remembering she was not dealing with trained soldiers like she was used to. She sighed heavily, wishing she could rub at her eyes to ward off an incoming headache. "Sorry..." she mumbled, turning back to the hallway.

Kreiger spoke up again behind her. "Unless we can find a control room or something, we have to deal with it..."

"I think I can make out a doorway down this hall if we want to check it out," Eri said more calmly, trying to remember to be patient. "It's not far - Maybe there's some equipment we can use. I don't know about you guys, but... I can't see a damn thing the other direction except more hallway."

[For clarity's sake - Eri is indicating they investigate Room D. Not sure how much space one square represents, but I figured if they are standing in the little 6-square grid around #1, and it's dark enough - Eri moved North 1 square, and can see the door to D (2.5 squares away) from where she is, but the doorway to E (at least three squares away) is not yet visible.]

Following Eri's suggestion, Corwin's group decided it would be wisest to to left at the intersection. There appeared to be something like a door at the edge of their light. Despite the silence, an uneasy feeling remained. There was someone, or something, still watching them from the darkness. At least in the room, they would not be out in the open. They would not be so vulnerable.

Jorgal and Aivar took point, quickly marching down the hall toward the door. Corwin and Kreiger had their respective guns drawn and watched the flanks while Eri kept her eyes and ears open for any hint of danger. As they moved closer to the door, they were able to make out a new ambient noise that somehow breached the stygian blackness. A hiss and a clank.

A hiss and a clank.

They continued to move toward the door. Enough light reached the door to see it was actually a double sliding door.

A hiss and a clank.

The door looked like it was parted in the middle. Like something was propping it open.

A hiss and a clank.

An rosewood colored scale plated arm stuck out of door.

A hiss and a clank.

There was four scratch marks leading from armored fingers out twenty feet into the hallway.

A hiss and a clank.

They reached the door. Working together, the team pulled the door open. One of them shined their flashlight down toward the arm and tried to follow it up to where the body should have been.

Someone gasped.

The rosewood colored scaling was scattered along the ground where the rest of the armor should have been. Splatterings of blue and purple remain in silent testament to what may have occurred here.

Corwin's team spread out to look for something here. Anything. One of them came across what looked like a sizable terminal. There were a few recognizable technological items there, such as a button to activate the holographic interface and a large screen. There were unexpected things as well on the terminal..

A test tube. A metal tray. A slit. And a number pad.

Another member of Corwin's squad found something posted on the wall. They read it out loud.

• To deactivate the security system, present proof of victory.
• To activate the environmental system, present proof of rank.
• To unlock the doors on this level, present proof of intent.
• To activate the elevator, present proof of perfection.

The rest of the team found various small items scattered throughout the room. A small flat rectangle with five gold dots lined up on it. A plain purple and blue cloth. A gold dagger. A painting, very similar to high renaissance style, of two Protheans staring at you. An unknown pistol with an empty thermo-clip..

Eri sighed as their lights fell on the source of the repetative metallic sound - a severed arm, lodged in a sliding door that had been struggling to close for who knew how long. The marks that she assumed had been drag marks appeared to be claw marks in actuality, as if whatever creature the arm original belonged to had been dragged off against their will.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Eri mumbled, poking her light into the room through the doorway to see if anything moved within. All appeared still, though she couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.

She looked down at the arm and made a face. Did methane and chlorine atmospheres preserve flesh? She doubted it... "Is it not weird to anyone else that this hasn't decomposed yet...?" she questioned outloud to no one in particular as she bumped the arm with the tip of her boot, just to make sure it was actually real. Then again, despite the fact that the shadow creature had faded away into nothing, it had certainly felt real enough when it knocked her over...

Being the smallest, Eri wedged herself in between the two doors - her back against one side and a boot up against the other. Giving it a hard shove while the others pulled opposite directions, they got the doors locked into an open position, leaving them free to explore the room within.

After a few minutes of exploration, the team regrouped beside Corwin at a large terminal with a handful of items they had discovered. Eri herself carried a pistol of unknown design with a depleted clip and a small, flat rectangle with gold pips lined up on it. She looked up at the painting in Jorgal's meaty hands and felt unnerved at what appeared to be Protheans staring vacantly outward. "That thing's creepy," Eri stated flatly before turning to investgate the terminal herself.

Off to one side, Aivar was reading out another sort of riddle inscribed on one wall:

"To deactivate the security system, present proof of victory. To activate the environmental system, present proof of rank. To unlock the doors on this level, present proof of intent. To activate the elevator, present proof of perfection."

Eri sighed. What was it with ancient races and their penchant for riddles and vagueness? Was it simply the passing of time that made it appear vague or was it actually designed that way? She chewed at her lip for a moment before speaking up, pointing back and forth from the objects they'd found to the instrument panel.

"Okay, what about this..?" She commented, puzzling it out as she went. "Proof of Victory - Sounds like an empty weapon clip to me. You have to fight to win, right? That could go here in the tray..." She pointed at the metal tray that was inserted into the terminal. "Proof of rank - this looks like a rank insignia, if I've ever seen one," Eri held up the flat rectangle she'd found. "Also, it would fit in this slot on the panel here... And then... proof of perfection," she paused a moment. "With this place's obsession with indoctrination, it's my guess they want us to prove that we aren't indoctrinated before we can move on..." She didn't like where this was going. "And... well, we've got a test tube." She eyed the dagger. "You think Protheans were advanced enough to be able to tell if someone was indoctrinated through a blood test?" She made a face, looking at the others for further input. "Of course, we'd have to get the environmental system running first..." Eri mumbled, thinking out loud. "As far as Proof of intent or this key pad thing? I dunno... you got me there."

(reply any)

"Regardless, we should probably see if there are any clues or further instructions on that holographic projector first..." Eri commented, indicating the button on the panel that she wasn't about to hit personally. It could all just be a coincidence, but she couldn't shake the feeling that this place didn't like her much, and she certainly wasn't going to tempt fate or put the team in danger by hitting buttons on her own.

Eri looked back at the arm in the doorway, not relishing the idea of finding out what happened if they chose the wrong items.

Jormungand had remained silent throughout all of the jabbering and whining of the Quarian. After what the delusional female had just fought, it was best to stay quiet and alert. The hissing and clanking were a sign that something was moving... something was active within the pyramid. He wanted it to show itself, he wanted to rip the thing apart with his bare hands.

After they forced the doors open, Jorgal stalked around the room, alert for any threats.

• To deactivate the security system, present proof of victory.
• To activate the environmental system, present proof of rank.
• To unlock the doors on this level, present proof of intent.
• To activate the elevator, present proof of perfection.

Someone read the list out loud, once again revealing their position. He sighed under his helmet, irritated at the lack of military control. They spread out around the room, scouting out various devices and trinkets until regrouping with Corwin.

"Okay, what about this..? Proof of Victory - Sounds like an empty weapon clip to me. You have to fight to win, right? That could go here in the tray..." She pointed at the metal tray that was inserted into the terminal. "Proof of rank - this looks like a rank insignia, if I've ever seen one," Eri held up the flat rectangle she'd found. "Also, it would fit in this slot on the panel here... And then... proof of perfection," she paused a moment. "With this place's obsession with indoctrination, it's my guess they want us to prove that we aren't indoctrinated before we can move on..." She didn't like where this was going. "And... well, we've got a test tube." She eyed the dagger. "You think Protheans were advanced enough to be able to tell if someone was indoctrinated through a blood test?" She made a face, looking at the others for further input. "Of course, we'd have to get the environmental system running first..." Eri mumbled, thinking out loud. "As far as Proof of intent or this key pad thing? I dunno... you got me there."

"I doubt the dead guy would call it a victory with the gun. An empty gun just means you ran out of thermal clips." He eyed the firearm, "Dibs, by the way."

"Even IF we needed a blood suit, i can't go cutting myself open without environmental's up, i may have a stronger immune system, but i'm not willing to push it on this piss heap."
kreiger scanned the room, looking for another 'shadow' creature to jump at them. he noticed the pistol the krogan held, empty, no clips and it didn't look as though it took the thermals the had, the slot seemed to be of different shape.
"proof of intent you say?(mumbled to self). HEY GUYS! i think our proof of intent is more violent in nature than we first thought...this gun has been used before but there's no clips we can use...gimme 10 minutes and i can modify a clip to fit."
kreiger didn't wait for an answer, he just got to work. the distraction was nice, but he hoped that Astila hadn't fallen to the horrors in her ruin.