Mass Effect: Revival

Beneath a microscope a small cell pushes out its membrane into little shoots, exploring its surroundings. The cells life was ended and a picture of it was taken and printed out. The center of the cell, the nucleus, could be seen in a back-drop of colors, each color representing the expression of a protein. With a little artistic editing, the cell looked like the Milky-Way galaxy from a distance. To better the analogy that everything is connected. Structures in the cell were colored to represent the Mass Relays. The title of the piece "We're all connected". It hangs in an art gallery on the Citadel. The ship that dates back to a time well before Turians, Asari, Humans, or any species living today. The repairs to the citadel were done mostly by the Keepers, but everyone pitched in, it took years to do, but it was done. Most of the Mass Relays are in working condition, I wouldn't say the repairs are complete. Omega remains the criminal hub it was under Aria, the Batarians are still a vengeful hegemony. The Reapers were destroyed, synthetic life everywhere was destroyed. But they'll be back.

The Illusive man is dead, the Alliance is hunting down the remaining Cerberus operatives, those who haven't defected. Many mercenary groups were wiped out, like the Talons, leaving a void for new un-tested mercenary groups to make a name for themselves. Many people have returned to their respective homeworlds, leaving a former refugee camps empty - not that they remained for long. The keepers make sure of that. The Citadel seems to have a few more people walking around. The Council stands strong, C-SEC received a boost in recruits, as did many a Military organization, from the Asari to the Volus. Reaper technology is hot on the market - though selling it is illegal, according to the council, and you must turn it over to the appropriate authorities or face a heft fine or jail time. In some ways, there's a silent race for cracking the Reaper's code. Whoever gains the advantage of Reaper Tech will have a technological advantage over the other Species.

The Galaxy is a little bit more united, but there's also a bit more strain as well. Each of the homeworlds are in bad-shape. It'll take many decades or even centuries to rebuild completely. For now, there's going to be an increase in criminal activity, and not a whole lot of intergalactic policing going on. Everyone has their own priorities.

For me, it's finding the Truth, no matter the cost. I am Corvinus Nigrius, Turian detective, biotic, investigator into all things, especially if I'm paid to. Fining people, things, information, that's my game. I live on the Citadel, but my work takes me around the universe. Sometimes it takes me to backwater planets with corporations screwing over miners or frontiersmen. Currently, I've got a few jobs in front of me, on the Citadel.

Character list: https://roleplaycorner.rpg-board.net/t1481-mass-effect-revival#95259

Juliet watched quietly as the captured Batarians were lined up against the wall. They'd been given a choice, tell them something interesting, or they'd be shot. Almost all of them had chosen the firing squad. One, however, had promised to confess everything. He was being shipped to one of their safehouses for questioning. The rest, however, recieved an M-96 Mattock round to the back. On the surface, this was just another gang battle. But Juliet knew differently; these Batarians were Mercenaries, at least at the moment. They'd been hired specifically to attack the Cerberus remnant here.

Which meant they'd been found. Her Omni-tool lit up, receiving a transmission from someone.
"They were hired by a Turian," The voice said, "Introduced himself as Batu. That's all we got."
"Start looking into Batu." She ordered, "I want him found."
The call cut off, and Juliet rubbed her eyes. They'd been on Omega too long. They had a nice slice of territory carved out for themselves. They'd been getting comfortable. "Throw the bodies in the waste disposal," She ordered, "Then head back to HQ for further instructions."

The next thing on Juliet's mind was getting herself a drink at the bar.

"This crew you'll be going with. I've chosen you all very carefully. This mission can get you a lot of creds. More importantly, it can get my employer a lot of creds". The man in the black suit and glasses says. "You do this for me and it'll get you enough to retire. You look young. Imagine getting out of this line of work you're in and just living out the rest of your days in luxury." He continues.

This was the man who had contacted me. A scrawny fuck with his brown hair slicked back. His leg bouncing as he speaks. His tongue licking the sides of his lips as he finishes a sentence. His fingers constantly shaking as he fiddles with the rim of his glasses.

"You think if someone hears all that fluff they'll blindly go with whatever it is you're doing." I shake my head as his eyebrow raises. "I'm not interested in the money. Money is nothing to me. It's a temporary thing. I can have the world's weight in creds but I'd still work. I'd die and there would have been no point to having that much money." I say as I lean forward.
"What interests you, then?" The man in black asks. His demeanor changing slightly.
"It's that you'd ask some nobody on Omega, a place filled with people far more ruthless and skilled, for this opportunity." I reply.
"We don't need someone like that. With them, their allegiances are constantly changing. One moment they will work for us, the next they run off with some other group with the things we asked them to retrieve. To which we have to waste more resources tracking them down." The man in black says. His hands moving away from his glasses and finding a place on his lap. He had stopped bouncing his leg and the erratic way he spoke slowly went away.
"You should find loyal men instead of mercenaries for your jobs." I quip.
"Good and loyal men are very hard to come by in this day and age. Especially for a start-up such as ourselves." The man in black says coldly. An air of familiarity with the situation coming from the tone of his voice. "That's why we I chose you and others like you. You have the tendency of completing your job and reporting back in a timely fashion."
"I'm flattered. What would that start-up be?" I ask.
"You'll find out more if you agree to the job." He says, opening the briefcase he had brought with him and deftly taking out and placing a contract with a pen on my table.

I sigh as I take the pen in my hand and write my name on the dotted lines.

It had been almost two weeks since the discovery of Batu, and they had not been a pleasant two weeks. Omega's gangs were pushing into Remnant territory and bodies were piling up on both sides. Already outnumbered, the Remnant was slowly being pushed back as they lost their soldiers to the gangs. That did not, however, mean that they were losing.

The headquarters of a group calling themselves "The First". Several gunshots rang out, the last survivors of the initial attack being executed. Juliet checked the time,
Less than an hour, She thought as she approached the engineers preparing to cut through a security door.
"Can you get through it?" She asked as the lead engineer turned to face her.
"Yeah, should take fifteen minutes at most." He replied. Nodding, Juliet turned to leave when the intercom next to the door crackled to life.

"So," The voice on the other side said, "You've found us. How many men did it cost you? Think that you're gonna win this war, huh? Well I got news for you, Batu's gonna-" Juliet shot out the speakers.

"I want it open in five minutes."
"Understood."

The two of us had left my apartment after I had gathered my things. The man in black insisted that his group would supply any weapons I wanted, but I ignored his offer. Eventually, I found myself at the docking port staring down the apparent ship the man in black, named Robert, had arrived in. A simple shuttle stares back at me and along with it, two guards armed fairly well.

"We board this shuttle and then head off to our actual base of operations" Robert says breaking the silence that had begun to grow. On our way here, he went over basic information such as his name and a vague description of the crew I'd be working with. All signs of his former nervousness now gone.
"I figured we wouldn't all fit aboard this shuttle" I joke.
"Of course not, we have a much larger setup." He replies with a nod.

The two guards take the nod as a signal to open the shuttle doors. Robert and I walk in with the others following behind. It wasn't long before we left Omega and escaped into the embrace of space. The sound of a briefcase opening fills the space in the shuttle and the rustling of papers happens soon after that. Robert neatly places four packs of dossiers in front of me each with a picture of the person I will be working with. I begin looking them over.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

"By the looks of things, you have a skilled crew lined up. All humans as well, you sure you aren't Cerberus?" I say with a smirk.
"Eclipse admires Cerberus and their beliefs for humanity, but they are a fair bit unsavory." Robert replies, taking his glasses off and cleaning them. "They haven't got the best reputation which leads to a fair bit of other groups raising eyebrows should one associate with them." He continues, placing his glasses back on his face after seeming pleased with his cleaning work.
"I suppose these former Cerberus members don't raise eyebrows?" I ask, scratching my eyebrow
"Former means former. We at Eclipse believe in not judging someone based on previous workplaces." He replies. "What other questions do you have, Mr. Eckhard?"
"I have many questions, but perhaps I should rest. I had a very long night." I say, yawning.
"That seems wise. It will be quite awhile before we arrive at our destination." Robert says with a nod.

With the last room breached, and The First's lieutenant killed, Juliet had time to contact the other Remnant leaders. Their cells, a total of four, had each carried out their own strikes against other organisations on Omega. One had almost been wiped out in their assault, and were now being reorganised into the other cells. Two had carried out their attacks near perfectly, like Juliet's cell, and the final cell couldn't be reached. That, Juliet noted, was making her uncomfortable. She was trying to be optimistic, and the other Cell commanders had waved her concerns away, but Batu had already managed to make enemy gangs work together. Military support for him wasn't impossible.

She sighed, giving the signal for a withdrawal, when a terminal next to her flicked on. A hologram of a smartly dressed Turian appeared. Juliet's eyes first scanned his face paint, followed by his posture. Blue and black, in the same pattern as the Turian members of The First, though he was obviously not a foot soldier.

"Lieutenant Juliet Jackson," He said, "I believe it's time for us to talk."
Juliet tried to talk, but the Turian raised a hand and continued. "I, as you probably guessed, am Batu. As we speak, my soldiers are executing the rest of the Remnants officers and are en route to your location. If you surrender, I'll let you live."

For a few seconds, Juliet silently thought over her options.
"What about my men?" She asked.
"My soldiers have instructions that only you are to be taken alive." He replied. Juliet didn't know if Turians could smile, but something about his expression was starting to piss her off.

She shot out the projector and ordered her troopers to prepare an ambush.

"Mr. Eckhard. Sir, we've arrived at our destination." A voice calls, breaking me from my slumber.

I shake my head as my eyes begin to open. It had been such a smooth and quiet ride that I had wanted to make it last just a bit longer, but work is work. I get to my feet and follow the guards as well as Robert out.

"You talk when you sleep, Mr. Eckhard." Robert points out. "By the sounds of things you've got a lot on your mind. Perhaps seeing a specialist would help matters?" He continues.
"Nah, I'm fine. Thanks for the thought." I reply dismissively.
"Very well. My employer and I hope it won't be an issue." Robert says, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
"I separate my work from my personal life. No need to worry." I reply.

With a nod he and the guards begin walking while giving the rundown of the ship.

"I would have told you this while aboard the shuttle, but I didn't want to wake you." Robert begins. "This is Eclipse's main ship. The Altis. A freighter we had... liberated... and converted to our needs. We have numerous fighters and interceptors ready to deploy should we come under attack." He pauses and looks at me. I give him a quick nod while looking over the interior. Looking at it, they have many stations used for research and the people they have performing the researching look to be the egghead type.

"Your crew members will be waiting for you in the barracks. I must notify my... our employer so he may get things rolling. You and the crew will be notified of when you'll be needed for your debriefing." Robert says, giving a quick bow and departing with one of the guards. The other gives me a look telling me to follow him.

Eventually, the two of us come across a room. I catch a glimpse of a few bodies sitting on beds. The guard comes to a stop, gives a nod to me, and walks off. They aren't the most talkative bunch, I notice. I walk through the opened door and look to the bodies. The faces I can see match those in the photos I had seen on the dossiers. Four people in total. Two men and two women. They must have heard my footsteps since they all turn their heads to look in my direction.

"And that makes five." The man I recognize as Jernigan says. "Dalton Jernigan. Pleasure." He continues.
"He's a cute one." Gwen chimes in with a lilt in her voice. "I'm Gwenevere Watts. I hope you'll give me some pleasure if you don't mind it." She winks with a laugh.
"Harlow Scott." Scott says coldly.
"Nightingale." Alayna says as if she is disinterested.
"Gideon Eckhard. I hope we can work well together." I say, introducing myself.