Sniper Bec

Albert could see him whizzing off in a new direction into the swamp lands. He looked back, sighting Bec after them in the distance in the open. The salarians seemed to still be back at the balcony dealing with that other Cerberus forces. The jungle was getting thinker. Dense and muggy. Albert was used to the outdoors, though. Years of survival training paying off. This might actually be good for him.

She spotted a gun on the ground, eyeing it for a moment. “Bastard.” It was the Admiral’s, so he was out of clips. She glanced around. She couldn’t tell which direction the admiral would have headed.... her worst trait, outdoor survival. 

Kay nodded, smiling, then lead the way out of the cockpit. She headed towards the ‘nose’ of the ship where the galaxy map was. Zaeed, Nel, and Fred (aka Blasto) were waiting there, along with Garrus, in a bare, darkened room.

“Okay,” said Kay, stepping forward. The galaxy map sprang to life around them, a three-dimensional model that was projected through the space. It was not only accurate, but breathtakingly beautiful, the stars winking like diamonds, the planets like so many rubies and sapphires.

Kay walked through it towards a galaxy. “This is the Knossos system,” she touched it, and they zoomed in. She touched a planet, and they zoomed in closer, able to see the continents and weather patterns.

“And this is Zakros. The mercenary outpost is somewhere here.” she circled an island of the coast of one of the larger continents, and it lit up, pulsing with a soft glow.

“The island is relatively small, but we still need to narrow down where they might be. I want a way to pinpoint exactly where they are. That way we can drop right down on their heads.”

How are you today?

What is your name?

Have any nicknames?

How old are you?

What gender are you?

What is your sexual orientation?

What country are you from?

How would you describe yourself to a stranger?

Are you attending school?

Do you have a job?

Are you single or taken?

What is your best friend like?

When did you start roleplaying?

What are your favorite subjects/genres to roleplay?

What fandoms are you in?

Have you ever been to convention?

How many muses do you currently have?

Do you relate to your muse?

Do you think you and your muse would be friends?

How would you feel if you met your muse’s faceclaim?

Would you ever consider cosplaying as your muse?

What do you think are your roleplaying strengths and weaknesses?

Is roleplaying more of a job or a hobby to you?

Are you a jealous roleplay partner?

How do you feel about others who have the same muse as you?

What’s a song that could be your theme song?

Name something that’s a favorite of yours?

Any advice for other roleplayers?

Tell us a story about yourself?

“Regular people?” She couldn’t help but laugh at the thought. “I gave up on that over a century ago,” the asari raised her free hand, brought it up to lay on Bec’s face. “It doesn’t have to be wishful.. I’m sure there’s things we can do that won’t ultimately lead to our demise.”

She paused, bit her lip as he nodded, “I’ll let you know the same. Our time approaches anyway, to stretch our legs in a new place. Can only be somewhere for so long before people start connecting the dots.”

“Yeah. We could go out and enjoy some grilled donuts.” Bec smiled, recalling the day that they went out for breakfast, just the two of them. “We’ll keep in contact if anythin’ like that happens.”

He was interrupted by Kay knocking on the wall of the cockpit.

“Hope I’m not interrupting?” she said, and Joker shook his head. “Nah, just finishing up.”

“In that case, I need my sniper.” said Kay. “Hope things worked out?”

Joker snorted, flushing slightly. “Oh my God Shepard, what are you, my mom? We’re fine, I’m fine, please stop embarrassing me.”

Kay walked over and gently tweaked the brim of his cap, smiling. “Drink your milk and eat your veggies.”

Bec turned, seeing Shepard join them in the cockpit. She nodded at the commander, greeting her. “Yeah, I’ll join you.” She stepped towards Kay, taking a moment to glance back at Joker and nod at him. “Thanks for talkin’ to me, Joker. I appreciate... what you said.”

She tosses her head and laughs at Bec’s question. “Not so much teenage days, more like….Trying-to-throw-my-life-away-because-my-people-are-lost-forever kind of days.” She gives another shrug; she’s come to accept that she’s the last of her kind. “But yes, I have my act together. I only get into trouble when I’m not on duty.” She winks. “So as soon as we’re back here, I’m probably going to go challenge a krogan to some sort of stupid pain-endurance test because they get a kick out of ‘humans’ being able to….how do they put it? Have the quad to do something.” She snickers. “And I was never the one for sneaking and pickpocketing. I did the really dumb stuff.”

He gave her a shrewd look. “I’m guessing…..this is all kinda weird? Going from some kinda black ops babe to getting adopted by Commander Shepard.”

He grimaced. “And getting fawned over by Aria T’loak, not so great. She’s like a shark in a meat suit.”

“Weird?” Her head perked up at the notion, one brow cocking up. “No, not exactly. Not really weird as just... awkward. An’ its not about bein’ taken in by Shepard either. These kinds of missions I’m pretty use to.” She paused, rubbing the back of her neck. “Its more so, bein’ around people. I’m use to workin’ on my own. It feels strange to be around a crew more like.”

As Lombard had ran past the distracted agents behind him, the effect of being stunned was doubled by him activating an overload module, frying the two salarian’s weapon systems.

Rentola started to try and drag Bec to her feet. “Get after him!” He shouted to the two other troops behind himself and Albert. Nonetheless they were much too focused on the previous distraction and distant fighting.

“Come one Bec! It’s just a flesh wound.” Albert rallied. He quickly head to the balcony, leaving her behind briefly. Lombard had jumped onto a large tree below him, now climbing down to the forest floor. The firefight between STG and retreating Cerberus troops continued on the other balcony across the way. The other salarians, not sure what to focus on, started to try and help their comrades by setting up a sniping position and leaving Albert, Bec, and Rentola to deal with Lombard.

She got as far as the edge of the balcony before she stopped, watching Albert slide down the trunk after the admiral. “The fuck!” Bec waved her hand at the tree, annoyed that she had to get shot and climb down a tree in the the first few minutes of getting shot. 

She quickly opened her omni-tool and slammed an adrenaline shot into her thigh. She shouldered her rifle and jumped for the tree, sliding down the trunk a few minutes behind Albert. She hit the forest floor, taking a knee as she held up her rifle, switching shoulders as she stared down the scope. She could see the admiral, but Albert was too close behind for a clear shot, with her bad side.