27th October
Thessia
City of Serrice
8:31PM Earth Standard Time

There were perks to working within the Bacalou, as both a member of the Dust Marked and being a 'Hand' of Mr Dust, coincidentally the two Bacalou operatives were both asari. Well, there wasn't really any coincidence about it at all, any other species would get noticed quite quickly roaming around Thessia but asari, being the natives, are largely overlooked and paid little attention to. Do you keep track of every person you see walking past you down the street? Of course not.

Having said that though, the less attention Bal'Falan Hasati and Sirenia T'Gatoi bring upon themselves, the better. There was a uncalculatible risk that someone on Thessia would recognize either of them. So naturally, they'd taken proper measures to mitigate that risk, covering their markings, drawing on fake ones, anything to throw a weary eye off their scent.

Additionally, they refrained from using a civilian shuttle to the planet and instead 'hitched a ride' on a cargo freighter leaving from Platform 47 on Illium. Their departure went by without incident for the platform itself was under the Bacalou's thumb.

The exfiltration however could go very easily or very badly, assuming things went well, they could board a civilian vessel and leave without incident, if things went badly however... a hijacking would be needed for sure, no doubt bringing much unwanted attention.

Once the ship had past through it's check in orbit, it settled down in the city of Serrice at a docking bay, it's contents, legitimate at that, was then unloaded, Bal'Falan and Sirenia slipped out of their hidey holes and made their way outside.

Bal'Falan looked up at the gigantic structure in the distance that housed the information they seeked, somewhere.... she felt an odd pang of nostalgia sweep over her, her red eyes blinking amusedly as they took in her surroundings, she seemed to have gone into a trance...

Thessia. This was a place that Sirenia never thought she would ever see again, especially not so soon. It hadn't been more than five years since she was banned from this planet. Leave it to the Bacalou to make that void. Thanks to their clever disguises and sneaky entrance, she had no trouble getting in without being noticed.

Truth be told, Sirenia hadn't really changed much about her appearance. Her pigment was still a dark magenta color, but the white streaks going down her head fringe were masked with make-up to blend in with the rest of her skin. Another Bacalou member had drawn red markings on her face. No one would ever know who she was unless they took a very long and hard look. It was doubtful that anyone would do that.

In the distance, stood a large and remarkable building. It was their target, but more importantly, it was the Ardat-Yakshi Research center. Sirenia had actually been inside this building before, perhaps that is why the Bacalou suggested her for the mission. When her daughter, Wyntyr, was found to be an Ardat-Yakshi, they were both taken here for processing. It was likely that somewhere in this massive building was a stack of papers with the name "T'Gatoi" written on it.

The amount of potential that this building had was great. They could do so much to combat the disease here and help patients recover. It was quite a shame that this building failed to be anything but a prison. The only research done here is on ways to control the Ardat-Yakshi - not to cure them. The areas which are designated as "Living Areas" for the inmates are completely sealed from the outside world. It was however, fairly comfortable and nice, but very sheltered and likely quite boring.

Sirenia looked towards Bal'Falan, who appeared to have been in a trance. She knew little about the other Bacalou member besides the fact that she was quite important. Still, rank mattered little at this point. They had to work as a team if they wished to accomplish their goal.

Moving closer to the other Asari, Sirenia placed one of her dark purple hands on her shoulder and spoke. "We should get moving, night is already beginning to fall. "

She snapped out of her trance when she felt Sirenia's hand upon her shoulder, the nostalgic feeling still there but moderately dulled for the moment.

"We should get moving, night is already beginning to fall. "

"Yes" she said simply, looking herself over to make sure that her weapons were still there and in working order, a pistol and smg, of course she'd be relying on her considerable biotic ability if a fight ensued, though at that point things will have definately taken a turn for the worse and making an escape would be that much more difficult.

"Understand that we are here for files, not liberation, there are other monasteries outside of Thessia that we will visit in order to obtain those we seek, some may not wish to leave" she warned before she started in a hasty walk towards the structure.

There was a transit taxi not too far from the docking/warehouse bay, convenient for those that wanted to pick up ordered goods at reduced costs and avoid paying out extra for delivery fee's. It'd also be the most expedient way to get to the giant structure, which would be closing to the public in less than 30 minutes.

Bal'Falan planned to improvise by saying that she and her friend were part of the tour group but left her credit chit in the rest room, along with a brief not overly dramatic sob story. Ideally she'd rather neither of them be seen at all but if they could suave their way past reception they wouldn't have to focus too much on being stealthy.

Bal simply focused on the path infront of them, her arms folded under her bust as she occassionally glanced at another shuttle passing by the other direction, not showing much in the ways of interest in Sirenia, not that she was loath to be working alongside her, which she wasn't, she simply wasn't much of a talker, never had been since.... as far back as she can remember...

"Understand that we are here for files, not liberation, there are other monasteries outside of Thessia that we will visit in order to obtain those we seek, some may not wish to leave"

Sirenia grunted at the comment. She wouldn't want to liberate any of these Asari anyway. They were weak. They thought that going to a prison full of others like them would make them better, or help them in some way. It didn't. All it did was make those in power feel better about themselves because the Ardat-Yakshi population was under control and that the other races were still mostly oblivious to their existence. It was pitiful, but true.

"These Ardat-Yakshi choose a life of solitude and they can have it." She said, using her hands to emphasize her words. "The ones which get away and learn to control their own power, those are the ones which we should be liberating. These Asari here likely have a Biotic equivalent of a Nathak. Useless."

Sirenia knew full well that her own daughter would have fallen under this category, although she didn't think that she would have been of any use to the Bacalou. Wyntyr did poorly on her Biotic Competency tests and couldn't even grasp the basic techniques. Had she done better, it was quite possible that she would still be alive today. Since her death, the mother had been fighting alongside the Bacalou to get revenge and attempt to expose the poor way that Ardat-Yakshi are treated. This mission was just the first step towards this goal!

"So what's the plan anyway? Or are we just going to walk in guns blazing, get the documents and leave?"

"The ones which get away and learn to control their own power, those are the ones which we should be liberating. These Asari here likely have a Biotic equivalent of a Nathak. Useless."

"Those hiding themselves from the republics eyes are too difficult to find, the monasteries are the only locations where we may easily locate those we seek. Some may be more inclined to leave than others, but all may use their abilities to sway us in a different direction, be vigilant" she warned Sirenia.

"So what's the plan anyway? Or are we just going to walk in guns blazing, get the documents and leave?"

"Tours are run at the main office building that we are heading to, the last one should be finishing in approximately twenty minutes, my plan is for us to masquarade as tourists that had left early but left a credit chit in the restroom upon the second floor, assuming we get permitted to enter further into the premises we are to proceed to the restroom and use a voodoo bomb to burn a hole into the floor below which is... if information is accurate, a terminal office. This late in the day it should be unoccupied as it is not in the path of the tour."

The transit taxi landed out the front of the building and the asari duo climbed out of it. "The information we are seeking will likely be in the head administrators computer, Hotshot provided a program before her depature to bypass it's firewalls. If all goes to plan, we will be able to exfiltrate with the last tour and leave before anyone realises the hole we left in the office exists."

"Those hiding themselves from the republics eyes are too difficult to find, the monasteries are the only locations where we may easily locate those we seek. Some may be more inclined to leave than others, but all may use their abilities to sway us in a different direction, be vigilant"

Sirenia nodded, she knew that the other Asari was right. Those that have run away have not only evaded the law in the Republic Space, but now have to deal with Justicar whom are some of the deadliest hunters alive. If they have been unable to find them, than why would the Bacalou be any better? "True, true. Although, I believe that most Ardat-Yakshi whom are being held prisoner by the Republics would be more than happy to leave." She said, and than continued in a joking manner. "Especially since they would have the opportunity to drain the awesome power of Bal'Falan Hasati and Sirenia!"



"Tours are run at the main office building that we are heading to, the last one should be finishing in approximately twenty minutes, my plan is for us to masquarade as tourists that had left early but left a credit chit in the restroom upon the second floor, assuming we get permitted to enter further into the premises we are to proceed to the restroom and use a voodoo bomb to burn a hole into the floor below which is... if information is accurate, a terminal office. This late in the day it should be unoccupied as it is not in the path of the tour. "The information we are seeking will likely be in the head administrators computer, Hotshot provided a program before her depature to bypass it's firewalls. If all goes to plan, we will be able to exfiltrate with the last tour and leave before anyone realises the hole we left in the office exists."


The dark purple Asari thought about the plan for a second. It could work, but it was clear that whomever thought of the plan hadn't really done a lot of research on what the tours were like here. They were not the standard tours in museum or something of that sort.

"I have my doubts on if we will be able to get upstairs that easily. The tours here in this facility are all planned in advance. The workers know who is going to be part of each tour and they aren't public, they are for young Ardat-Yakshi and their parents deciding on which facility they would be staying at. "

"When I came here with my daughter five years ago, we had to go through a sign-in process and given an ID tag before we were able to go passed the lobby. They would likely be suspcious of us when they realize we have no tags and, well, quite frankly, neither of us look like a young Ardat-Yakshi looking for a place to stay in isolation for the rest of her life." Her voice sounded a bit bitter towards the end of her sentance. It simply didn't matter how comfortable these facilities were or even how much their was to do their - they were still prisoners and isolated from the rest of society. She simply couldn't let her daughter live a life like this. So, they decided to run from Thessia and the republics.

"On the brightside, their was little to no guards on the first floor of the building. Most of them are concentrated on where the Ardat-Yakshi are to prevent them from leaving. As long as we don't make a big commotion, we should have no trouble with them."

"True, true. Although, I believe that most Ardat-Yakshi whom are being held prisoner by the Republics would be more than happy to leave." She said, and than continued in a joking manner. "Especially since they would have the opportunity to drain the awesome power of Bal'Falan Hasati and Sirenia!"

"There is that chance yes" she said in a calm albeit dark tone, the hint of a smirk appearing in the corners of her lips.

Sirenia's personality was quite refreshing. Maybe it was just because she was an asari, she'd rarely interacted with her own kind, there weren't very many asari in the Bacalou at all. Odd.

"I have my doubts on if we will be able to get upstairs that easily. The tours here in this facility are all planned in advance. The workers know who is going to be part of each tour and they aren't public, they are for young Ardat-Yakshi and their parents deciding on which facility they would be staying at."

"Hmm... unfortunately we do not possess any advantages this deep in republic space. Deception and stealth are essential here" she said while slipping into some quiet contemplation as they continued towards the building.

"When I came here with my daughter five years ago, we had to go through a sign-in process and given an ID tag before we were able to go passed the lobby. They would likely be suspcious of us when they realize we have no tags and, well, quite frankly, neither of us look like a young Ardat-Yakshi looking for a place to stay in isolation for the rest of her life." Her voice sounded a bit bitter towards the end of her sentance.

Bal felt a pang of guilt and other depressing emotions at the mention of a daughter, she'd spent so long with Amaranth training her up, making her more well versed with her biotic ability, but they'd scarcely spent time together outside of that.

Amaranth was far too... 'old' to share a bed with her mother, namely because she wasn't a baby in need of coddling, that was stolen from her. She wish she could turn back the clock, do things differently, perhaps.... perhaps have taken Amaranth somewhere else?

"On the brightside, their was little to no guards on the first floor of the building. Most of them are concentrated on where the Ardat-Yakshi are to prevent them from leaving. As long as we don't make a big commotion, we should have no trouble with them."

Sirenia had become background noise while Bal worked through her inner turmoil, now wasn't the time to lose track of why they were here, she looked up towards the top of the building then down towards it's entrance. "Very well Sirenia, being more familiar with this structure, how do you propose we get to the second floor?" she asked curiously, clasping her hands behind her back and straightening a little as she looked to her partner.

"Very well Sirenia, being more familiar with this structure, how do you propose we get to the second floor?"

"Uhh--" She said softly, realizing that she rather walked straight into that question. She wasn't entirely sure what they would do actually. The building had rather tight security, it would prove to be at least a bit of a challenge. Thinking hard, she suddenly remembered something that just might work...

"Well, I vaguely remember their being a small stairwell in the customer service office. If one of us distracts the employees long enough, the other could sneak upstairs without much issue... although, I can't say what kind of security they have once you get up as I've never been up that particular flight of stairs." There was quite a few flaws with her plan, as neither of them were necessarily experts in stealth, if they got caught even once, the plan would fail. "Also, this would leave the other stuck outside. The one inside would have to find a way to open a side-door to let her in."

The main entrance to the building gave access to the buildings lobby which is a very open room with lots of seating and a set of double glass doors which lead to the rest of the building. To get through those, you need to either be escorted by an employee or have a special card which gives access. To get one of those cards, you'd need to see the front desk to the left of the doors or - if you're a particularly difficult case - you get sent to the customer service room which is to the right of the double doors. Very little else is open to the public besides a restroom.

"Uhh--"

Bal's eyes narrowed noteably downwards, apparantly she wasn't pleased with Sirenia's response and was hoping for, instead, an actual idea since she had poked holes in Bal's not one minute ago.

"Well, I vaguely remember their being a small stairwell in the customer service office. If one of us distracts the employees long enough, the other could sneak upstairs without much issue... although, I can't say what kind of security they have once you get up as I've never been up that particular flight of stairs."

A small smirk started to form, relieved that her asari partner started to express the foundations of a plan, while she [Bal] could storm the place and tear it apart with her biotics, she'd rather not get shot at if she could help it, and capture wasn't an option. Many problems, but having some back up went a long way to mitigate them.

"Also, this would leave the other stuck outside. The one inside would have to find a way to open a side-door to let her in."

"Hmm, I'll try the stairs approach, I will attempt to get inside the complex and open a door for you from the otherside, you go in first and distract the clerk and guards, I will wait until I see an opening then make my move" she said in a typical airy tone that was acustom to asari.

Once that was said and done, Bal turned on her heel and proceeded towards the lobby entrance before waiting idly for Sirenia to go inside and 'do her thing'. She wasn't used to relying on other operatives, let along other asari to help her in this line of work, she expected some of the Eyes or Ears to have been able to acquire this information themselves but seemingly... Mr Dust was blind here.

((I don't think you quite understand whats going on too well, so I made an image to make things more clear. Hope it helps!

Lobby Image))

"Hmm, I'll try the stairs approach, I will attempt to get inside the complex and open a door for you from the otherside, you go in first and distract the clerk and guards, I will wait until I see an opening then make my move"

Bal went in first, leaving Sirenia a bit of time to think up a good plan and prepare herself. It didn't take long before she got an idea. Before entering, she straightened out her shirt and made she sure she looked well enough. It would be difficult for her to make much progress if she looked like a lowlife from omega.

Now ready, she opened the door wide and stormed into the lobby. She took a quick glance at the front desk before deciding that she would rather just go right for customer service.

Luckily, their had been no line, so Sirenia went straight up to the open receptionist and began her distraction. Hopefully she could keep the attendants occupied long enough for bal to slip passed and go upstairs.

"Excuse me, but I have come here take my daughter away from this rotten hell which you call 'life'." She opened, immediately catching the attention of the receptionist.

"I'm terribly sorry, but we don't let our patients out of the building, It is a company policy." A polite response was given back. She seemed nice enough and Sirenia ALMOST felt bad that she would be making the next ten minutes of her life miserable.

"THEN CHANGE IT!" She screamed, her voice echoing throughout the lobby. "I have paid thousands upon thousands of dollars for her to be here, and you can keep my money! I JUST WANT MY DAUGHTER!"

While the deep purple skinned Asari's acting wasn't exactly Shakespeare, it did the job well enough. Luckily, she had been here before and knew how the company operated. "I... I'm sorry. What is her name?"

Her gut reaction was to blurt out her real daughters name, but she quickly stopped herself when she realized that they could find out that Sirenia was not actually allowed on Thessia. "Ophelia Victoria"

Typing quickly, the clerk soon realized the inevitable. That name didn't belong to anyone. It was a fake. "I can't seem to find her in the system... are you sure this is the correct facility?

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CANT FIND HER?" Sirenia screamed. out of the corner of her eye she saw many other employees staring and watching the situation unfold. Perfect. "DID YOU LOSE MY DAUGHTER? I have been here countless times to see my baby. paid my bills on time and allowed you to TORTURE her in the meantime. NOW YOU TELL ME THAT YOU CANT FIND HER?" The Bacalou agent had been getting a little bit too into her work, as she found herself leaning over the desk and practically yelling in the poor attendants face.

"Let me get my supervisor, she can help clear this up... I hope..." With a devilish smile on her face, Sirenia watched as the younger employee walked off to go speak to her manager and anyone else who would listen. They were distracted now, it was the perfect time for Bal to make her move!

Bal listened tentatively to how Sirenia engaged the receptionist, she seemed to be speaking quite convincingly, almost to the point that it didn't even seem like an act, perhaps she'd had a similar conversation with someone here before?

She couldn't begin to imagine what it would be like to have a daughter, and denied being allowed to see her, the solid difference between Sirenia and Bal evidentally was Bal would crush and kill anyone that got between her and her Amaranth, the prospect of dying in the attempt was inconcievable.

When the fiery asari became more animated, shouting at the top of her lungs and drawing attention to herself from everyone with ears in the vicinity she prepared herself to scurry up the stairs, when she saw the receptionist leaving to get her manager, it was time.

Bal slipped into the room while all eyes were on Sirenia and wisked her way upstairs, when she found the door she used her omni tool to activate a digi-nuke, a application constructed by Sakoda Toku with limited amount of use but useful for cracking doors open without detection except on the most secure of facilities, and while this was what asari would class as such... it wasn't on par with salarians... or Sakoda.

The red circular shape infront of the door changed to green in but a few moments, allowing Bal entry, once it was opened she did a quick survey of the area to make sure she hadn't roused attention to herself before slipping inside, she then proceeded to the next location so that she may allow Sirenia entry as well. Expediency was key now.

Sirenia quietly noted that Bal had slipped passed and went upstairs. No one appeared to have noticed, luckily. Their plan seemed to have worked!

The clerk returned and was about to speak before Sirenia intervened first. Her business was done here and she was sick of speaking to customer service anyway. "Nevermind, I will take my issues to the authorities. Expect a visit from the police, or maybe even a justicar, in the next few days." After speaking, she simply left the building. Her final words hadn't lingered in the air long. The employees knew full well that their practice was not only legal, but encouraged. Their wouldn't be any authorities showing up anytime soon, even if Sirenia would have placed a call.

After leaving, she turned the corner and stood out in front of a side door. She would have to wait for Bal to open it up to let her in, but in the meantime, she looked mighty suspicious. From her pocket, she produced a cigarette and with modern technology, she lit it up by simply taking a puff. Hopefully her partner wouldn't take too long, if she finished smoking before she arrived, she had no other alternative then to stand around and look awkward.

Security in this area wasn't exactly light, but it wasn't heavy either. A lot of the premise for this building was keeping the main avenues of entrance and exit into the building under watch as well as presumeably any ardat-yakshi they had on site... that and labs or rooms that contained sensitive material.

For Bal'Falan however, she was in the limbo between the two, neither skulking in the entrance nor loitering anywhere that the asari republic would rather she wasn't.. at least, no more than where she currently was anyway.

Of course there were security camera's, just the fact that no one was working in this part of the building until tomorrow wasn't a good enough excuse to remain blind to whatever may.. or may not.. transpire there. Keeping out of the cone of vision was simple enough for most, some not so much. A few minutes had passed which soaked up time while she navigated and detoured around camera's that weren't simply side-stepped around until she found the side-door in question.

Assuming Sirenia had managed to break away from her fiery tantrum without being either detained or escorted from the area then she should be waiting just on the otherside of the door. She'd almost activated the door mechanism when she caught herself seconds away from making a foolish mistake.

The area around this door wasn't fitted with much security because the door itself was an adequate security measure alone. Had she attempted to open the door there was every chance she may have triggered an alarm, probably a loud one too. So she used another hacking program administered via her omni-tool which changed the red globe to a green one, she then opened the door and sure enough there was Sirenia.

"That's the easiest part... it will be much more difficult from here on in, I trust you to perform at your peak" she said with a cool tone before motioning her partner in crime over.

Sirenia had finished her cigarette just as Bal'Falan showed herself on the other side of the door. The last puff of smoke quietly exited her mouth as she flicked the remains of the small stick onto the ground. She hadn't bothered to step on the remains, as it had put itself out automatically. The Asari had once thought how horrible it must have been to live in a world where their was no automation.

The door to the facility opened and the Bacalou leader spoke to her comrade quietly. They had completed the first part of their objective.

"That's the easiest part... it will be much more difficult from here on in, I trust you to perform at your peak"

"Don't I always?" Sirenia answered sarcastically as she passed through the open doorway. "Did you happen to spot our target on the way over here?" The next part of the plan consisted of finding the upstairs bathroom and burning a hole into the floor so they could drop down into the room under it. It would be a quiet process, but could be time consuming depending on how thick the floor was. With any luck, they would be able to get in and out of the building without issues... but Sirenia highly doubted that. Besides, she wouldn't mind killing a few of these bastards if she had the chance.

(A thousand apologizes for the delay)

"Don't I always?" Sirenia answered sarcastically as she passed through the open doorway.

"We will see if it's enough should our purpose for being here be discovered, a non-hostile extraction at that point may prove impossible... I will trust you not to falter when you must pull the trigger" she said cooly, stepping aside so as to let Sirenia through.

"Did you happen to spot our target on the way over here?"

She shook her head "Not as of yet, my priority was to get you out of sight before your lingering presence outside drew unwanted attention... and now we are able to cover ground much more quickly. Additionally, if we split up we can continue the operation even if one of us is spotted. Let's move quickly, time is of the essence."

With that said, she gestured for Sirenia to move out while Bal took another direction, fortunately there was only one bathroom on the second floor which made it easy to determine the target location and given that there's no sensitive material to be found there, that meant security would be light so odd's of being interupted was slim.... thinking optimistically of course.

While Intel was incredibly scarce, there was apparantly no time for the Bacalou to get an 'Eye' inside this facility, while bribery was a possibility this operation was seemingly very black-book, the fewer people that knew about it, the better it seemed, and simply eliminating any bribed pawn would likely draw attention and a single oversight could be all it'd take to unravel the concealment of their purpose. She didn't want to think about it too much, that wasn't her purpose, she was the blunt instrument being wielded by her leader, she did not need to think...

"I'll contact you via headset if I find the bathroom first, let me know if you discover it prior, keep the channel open in case you get spotted, I doubt any guards will allow you to check your comm piece without reacting negatively."

"We will see if it's enough should our purpose for being here be discovered, a non-hostile extraction at that point may prove impossible... I will trust you not to falter when you must pull the trigger"

Sirenia gave a cruel smile as she spat a quick response. "I have no sympathy for these bastards." Her long purple legs strode passed the other Asari as she gave a quick look at her surroundings. They would need to head back upstairs, but for now, everything seemed calm. With her left hand, she did a quick pat at where her holster was hidden to be sure that she hadn't lost her gun.

"Not as of yet, my priority was to get you out of sight before your lingering presence outside drew unwanted attention... and now we are able to cover ground much more quickly. Additionally, if we split up we can continue the operation even if one of us is spotted. Let's move quickly, time is of the essence."

"I'll contact you via headset if I find the bathroom first, let me know if you discover it prior, keep the channel open in case you get spotted, I doubt any guards will allow you to check your comm piece without reacting negatively."

"Right." Sirenia responded, and walked off towards the direction Bal had directed her towards. It was a well-lit hallway filled with doorways for offices and other rooms which likely held no interest to her. Luckily, most of the employees of the building would take no notice towards a random Asari in Civilian garb and her facial disguise would remove the possibility of anyone remember her... not that it was likely. However, it was the guards she had to worry about. They would immediately ask for an ID or, even worse, shoot on sight if they had been told of the display she made at the front desk. If she gets caught by one, the mission was over for her.

Taking a quick peak into the first doorway, she noticed a young Asari at her desk typing away at a document. Sirenia's gaze lingered for a moment, the other's appearance was strikingly similar to that of what her daughter might have looked like now. Holding back a tear, the widowed mother tried to block the memory. This was not the time. A few seconds later, she was back to peering into doorways and attempting to find their destination.

The hallway was short and after checking 6 or 7 office rooms (of which, most were empty) she had only one doorway remaining. Sadly, it was quite clear that this room would not be that restroom she was looking for, however, it was of peculiar interest to her. The light above flickered eerily and inside the doorway, the Bacalou agent could see the outline of a guard through the window screen. It was obvious that something was going on in this room, and she was determined to check it out.

Walking slowly towards the door, she did her best to keep out of sight. Luckily, the guard was keeping his eyes trained on something else and it wasn't until she was in earshot that she had any idea of what that might be. An audible smash could be heard among the brutal voice of another. She was yelling at a third person in the room, and her tone was clearly offensive. While she was unable to understand any words through the walls, she couldn't help but wonder who she was with. Inching closer, Sirenia hugged the wall until she was within reaching distance of the doorway...

(OOC: ...and i'll stop there for now. :D)

Sirenia gave a cruel smile as she spat a quick response. "I have no sympathy for these bastards."

Bal remembered a time where she had such a fiesty passion.. or rather.. she recalled having that temperament, when specifically... was foggy at best. How long she'd been with the Bacalou was something that wrought only a headache just thinking about it.

"Right." Sirenia responded, and walked off towards the direction Bal had directed her towards.

She reflected on how Sirenia had been behaving since the start of this operation, weighing up whether or not it'd be good for Bal's odd of succeess if Sirenia was caught on whether she'd go out guns blazing or simply stall as long as she could. Obviously neither of them being detected was the ideal outcome... but that was wishful thinking at best, still... no sense in not trying to achieve it.

Her eyes lingered on Sirenia a short while until she disappeared from view, then went back into action on seeking out the restroom, the elusive thrones of waste that the deadly duo seeked out to further the goals of their enigmatic leaders grand plan... whatever that was.

She refrained from passing by too many people, the less people around the less likely they were to engage her in conversation because they were hopefully too engaged in their work. Eventually she found a sign that indicated where the restrooms were located... convenient.

All she had to do was get there.

"Working hard or hardly working right?" said a random asari at her desk not too far from Bal.

Bal turned around to look upon the asari, she immediately felt a pain in her head, like something was blistering on the side of her brain. She clutched her head and leaned on the desk. "Arghh!" she groaned, inadvertantly into her comm piece.

"Oh my-! Are you alrigh- Do you need-!?" the asari spoke in a panic, reaching for the desk phone [or w/e passes for a phone] to which Bal stopped her.

"No... no.. I'm fine, just... too many long hours, not enough sleep, I think I've almost worked myself into a coma" she lied, hopefully convincingly. She knew that she was inviting suspicion upon herself the longer she conversed with this woman, so she decided to deflect her mind to something else, like.. her goal.

"Nurghh... actually.. could you.. help me get to the rest room... I think I'm on the opening salvo of a miagraine" she pleaded, and who was the desk jockey asari to refuse helping her fellow race? The asari locked her terminal and assisted Bal towards the nearest restroom, which would definately be her target. Way to turn a disaster into success Bal, she'd think.

Sirenia crept closer to the doorway and placed her head fringes at the wall so she could hear better. From inside, she could hear an older Asari yelling at another to do as she was told. Faintly, a quiet sobbing was also audible, likely from the other in the room.

Moving slowly, Sirenia decided she needed to take a look at what was going on. The risk of being seen was great, but her curiosity had gotten the best of her. She moved a purple hand up towards the door handle and opened it slowly until a small crack formed between the door and the room. Looking through that, she was clearly able to see what was going on.

A young Asari, whom was likely an Ardat-Yakshi judging by the ID tags on her body, was sitting in the corner of the room, crying. An empty syringe lay on a table next to her and the broken remains of a chair not fair away from that. She had wounds on her arms and head with blood streaming down into her lap. It was a pitiful sight, and even the Bacalou agent was horrified at what she saw.

There were two guards in the room, the one was at the doorway and luckily had not spotted Sirenia. The other was the dominating voice she had heard earlier. She was standing over the younger Asari and yelling at her about "saving their species" and "becoming normal again". It hadn't made sense to her right away, until she spotted a 4th in the room. A Salarian strapped to a chair and unconscious.

They were trying to cure the disease. They wanted the young Ardat-Yakshi to meld with the Salarian to see if the substance in the syringe had made her normal. Of course, Sirenia knew it wouldn't. The young Asari likely knew that too and was refusing to take an innocents life.

"This has to stop..." The Bacalou agent mumbled to herself. Her mind thought of her daughter and how she almost had gone to this facility. She couldn't bear the thought of Wyntyr being tortured like this. These people were completely insane. Even some of the mentally unstable bacalou agents she had known wouldn't beat a child, force them to kill and inject them drugs.

Powering up her biotics, Sirenia prepared herself to launch an assault. She had completely forgotten about her mission at this point, rage engulfed her body and now all she wanted was vengeance and to protect the young Ardat-Yakshi...

The duo hobbled along the scarcely populated office cubicles, Bal's melon was feeling like it was going to explode, it was quite debilitating and for a few moments she really thought as though she was going to combust, the nameless asari beside her continued to help her along until they finally got to the restroom, and Bal's headache seemed to start subsiding immediately.

She walked over to the sink and started splashing water on her face, rubbing the corners of her eyes nearest to her nose, she let out a sigh as her head started throbbing less and less.... then she heard a gasp. Opening her eyes she peered up and saw what the issue was in the mirror, applying water had washed off the fake markings and revealed the real ones, red and true.

Even the shadows seemingly forever coiled around her eyes had been revealed due to the cover-up being washed away, evidentally this asari beside her either knew now whom she was sharing a bathroom with, or was simply suprised and worried about what she'd just witnessed, an asari.. for some reason, was replacing her real markings with fake ones.

"Sorry...." she cooed quietly. "You weren't meant to see that" she said in a still quiet tone before she spun around, body glowing with biotic energies as she did so. The other asari was lifted into the air against her will and then cast into the nearest toilet cubicle.

Bal then rushed over and seized the asari by the back of the head and shoulder, wrestling her head up and then down into the toilet, of course there was a struggle but with Bal's augmentations and training, the other asari was surely done for. But rather than prolong the torment, Bal simply gave a hardy punch to the back of the asari's cranium to knock her out, the water would do the rest.

She let out a sigh of relief, wiping her fringe once more. She looked into the mirror, taking in the sight once more of her 'true self'.. which.. looking upon her face now.. seemed.. so.... alien? She shook her head and dismissed the strange vibes swarming her brain, better to ponder about it later.. or not at all. "Sirenia, I'm at the restroom, deploying 'entry method' now" she stated, also giving her partner directions from where they parted on how to get to said restroom.

Bal then hid inside one of the cubicles, the furtherest away as the package of voodoo bombs dentonated shortly after, there was no building shaking explosion or pronounced noise to give away what was going on, more of a <PUFF> like a smoke bomb, though she knew better than to check so soon after to see if it did the job, the gas that was wafting in the room would cake onto and melt just about everything. Fortunately, there was likely to be a more than large enough hole for her to drop down in.

Bal's voice spoke into Sirenia's ear right as she pushed the door open. The guard at the doorway was only a breath away and she knew instantly that her headset was loud enough for them both to hear. Luckily, her biotics were fully charged. All she had to do now was finish it. There was no turning back.

The guard turned quickly and readied her weapon but before she could react, her body was pushed towards the far wall by an invisible force. Blue energies spiraled around the hands of the Bacalou agent as she reached for her pistol and fired at the second guard in the room. Sirenia's eyes had the cold look of bloodlust in them. She wanted someone to pay for these crimes no matter what the cost... and that cost may very well be the Bacalou's Mission. The dominating Asari was the first to pay. A Pool of blood formed under her chest as three bullet holes populated the middle of her armor.

With this guard dealt with, Sirenia looked towards the Doorway guard who was now on the other side of the room and moaning softly. She had hit the wall hard, but it was only enough to stun her temporarily. Moving slowly, the deep purple Asari stood over her victim and placed her pistol on her temple. "I hope the goddess makes you pay dearly for the crimes you have committed here." With her finger about to pull the trigger and end another life, a voice from behind distracted her.

"Stop! Please stop! Don't kill anymore, I beg you!" Without moving or looking away from the pitiful guard in front of her, Sirenia knew it was the Ardat-Yakshi. Her voice was fail and weak, but strangely confident.

"Why shouldn't I? This bitch doesn't deserve to live." The Bacalou agent responded in disgust. She had no pity for those who take advantage of others.

"Maggel only followed orders. As was the other. They were scary, but they can't kill me." The voice grew even more confident, but she paused for a moment to let out a loud cough. "I merely need to refuse, and no one loses a life."

Sirenia didn't respond. The words which were spoken cut into her mind like a knife. The sudden realization of the gravity of the situation hit her. This wasn't simply a two man operation. It likely included the majority of the staff in the facility. Even worse still, the Republics may even be involved. The women she had killed was brutal, but merely a pawn in the greater scheme. The stunt which she had just pulled off, would merely be a slight setback. Still, there was one thing which the young Ardat-Yakshi seemed to forget.

"Next time, it may not be you being tortured. They will find someone else who isn't so strong willed, i'm sure of it." With a long backwards sweep, she moved her weaponhand away from her target before giving her a hard pistol whip to the head. She would be unconscious for a few hours, but she would survive.

"Get out of here. There's an exit down the stair well. Bring the Salarian with you."

"And where do I go? I will be hunted and all my friends are here. I am an Ardat-Yakshi... everyone will hate me."

"Outside the doors is a small garden. Hide there. I will find you in an hour and take you to safety." Sirenia responded, before taking back down the hallway. She activated her comm to respond to Bal's message. "Ran into some trouble, but i'm clear now. I'm on my way."

"Ran into some trouble, but i'm clear now. I'm on my way."

She didn't respond, anything she'd say she'd have just been repeating herself anyway. A few more minutes past and only then did she dare to peek out from the cubicle that was also showing signs of deterioration from the explosive she had used... fortunate that she'd chosen one as far as she did, it'd be very unfortunate if she had been in the cubicle the next one over.

Sure enough, there was a gaping hole in the ground, melted away and providing easy access to those above it. A brief smirk covered her lips, things were going pretty well, all things considered, aside from the asari she'd left face down in the toilet bowl... unfortunate that. She went back over to the next cubicle and yanked the head from the water, dumping the body on its side, unlikely that after this long being submerged that she'd live but... maybe.

She furrowed her brows, why did she care about whether this solitary asari lived or died? She'd been the one to put her in that condition afterall, that awful pang in her head started oncemore but didn't last anywhere near as long. Clutching her forehead she decided to walk over to the hole, peering over it she could see some desks underneath and databases, the priiiiiiize as it were. "I'm going in, make haste Sirenia" she goaded over the comm before dropping down to the next floor and peering around.

There was certainly a large number of terminals, of them could house the information they wanted, or none of them could. All she knew was that this room housed the information they sought, and she wouldn't be leaving until she found it.

Right. The purple Asari thought to herself as she stumbled around the building. She silently wished that she had listened to the instructions better until she saw a clearly marked sign which read: "Restroom" and a big arrow pointing in the correct direction. That certainly made things simpler for her. Following the arrow, she soon arrived at her destination and opened the door.

Inside she immediately saw the devastation that her partner had wrecked. Another Asari lay helpless on the ground next to a toilet and a gaping hole in the middle of the floor was not far from the body. Moving slowly, Sirenia walked towards the edge of the hole and peered down. Below was her partner beginning the work which she needed to perform. Before taking the jump, the purple toned Asari took one last glance at the dead body at the toilet. "Don't let anyone follow us now, we're counting on you!" With that, she lowered herself down into the room below.

Computers. That was pretty much all that was down here. This large operation would all come down to whether or not they could click a few buttons on some stupid box. While she had no real hatred towards the technology, she simply would prefer if her missions had guns and loud explosions in them while her leisure - which she rarely had anymore - consisted on mindlessly clicking around in computers.

Looking towards Bal, Sirenia cleared her throat and questioned her. The faster they completed this objective and got the hell out of here, the better. "So, whats the plan boss?"

Terminal here, computer there, glowing screen this, desk that. Any of these computers could contain what they wanted, it was just a matter of finding the right ones. Fortunately, Sirenia had finally decided to join her in the room.

"So, whats the plan boss?"

She took a few moments to think, rolling her neck a little while she did so. "Hacking isn't exactly my speciality... fortunately Hotshot had supplied us with a few digi-nukes to crack through most firewalls, find a terminal, apply the virus to force entry access, search for locations of monasteries and or ardat-yakshi, if you find a bust, destroy it... no sense leaving evidence of what we searched for" she said simply, handing Sirenia a few handfuls of the single-use "keys" before she went over to a terminal herself and applied the digi-nuke.

While she was no hacker by any real stretch of the word, she could still use terminals adequately to find information, once she'd had access anyway, and ardat-yakshi would no doubt be a hot topic, especially in a facility like this. She was fairly sure that it wouldn't take too much browsing once the search began.

"Be vigilant for guests, it'd only take one of them to sound an alarm" she warned Sirenia, Bal also taking the frequent glance around the room to make sure no one had either stumbled in or was sneaking up to them.

"Nor is it mine." Sirenia confessed, taking one of the Digi-Nukes that she was supposed to use. It certainly had a nice name. Anything with the word "nuke" sounded fairly promising. Sadly, this particular device was far from interesting. It closed a few programs down and allowed her to click on some more buttons. Yippie. "uhh. How exactly do I use this thing again---Actually, nevermind, I'll figure it out"

Turning towards the first computer and took a seat. With the DigiNuke in hand, she looked for a place which would allow it to connect. Glancing over the monitor, she saw no connections. Back in the day, these things had ports all over them to put stupid shit into, but technology these days has evolved so much that they disappeared from most units completely. Unsure what exactly to do, she looked back at the device and realized something quite silly. It was wireless. "Uh, silly me. I shoulda known." With a flip of the switch, the device was on and she got right to work.

*((No idea what this diginuke thing is, didn't see it in the tech compendium so I figured I was free to make things up about it))*

*((It was the same device Sirenia and Don used in Progenitus, but your right, there isn't a lab thread reference for it, it's pretty much like an ice-breaker.. if your familiar with those items. Used to brute force way into computer terminals without need for codes, though these are single use devices... think omni-gel mechanics in ME1.. but for computers))

"uhh. How exactly do I use this thing again---Actually, nevermind, I'll figure it out"

It was a crying shame, truly, that the Bacalou didn't have agents on the inside of the asari republic... or maybe they did and it just wasn't worth the possible exposure and risk of losing assets. But since this task was handed down to her from Mr. Dust then shouldn't that have warranted all resources at her disposal.. or assets granted to her? Maybe that was a contingency plan.... after all, he could always train a new hand. New asset deep in a government... not so much. It made sense in only a few moments once she cared enough to think about it.

"Uh, silly me. I shoulda known."

She could only stiffle a mild chuckle as Sirenia started picking through terminal files, looking for anything relevant to the ardat-yakshi. Right when Bal thought she was onto something, her senses perked up at the sudden outburst of an unknown.

"What in the goddess are you doing!?" asked an asari peeking down the large hole they'd made, it appeared the next asari in need of a toilet break had come at a very inconvenient time. Bal looked up at the source and gave her a foul sneer, the asari in question immediately showed a flash of recognition.

"B-B-Bal'Falan... Hasati!?" she stammered, itching away from the hole. "B-BAL FALAN.. SHE.. BAL'FALAN IS HERE!" she yelled, disappearing from the hole, no doubt to alert security or sound an alarm.

Bal turned to Sirenia "Find those files! That is your sole task now, 'I' will handle her and whatever security throws at us" she scowled, summoning biotic energies to the forefront as she levitated upwards through the hole and resumed the chase.

--- 5 Minutes Later --- ((OOC Note: Can alter this part if you wish, wasn't sure if you'd prefer some action or continue with a moderately successful covert operation))

The sound of alarms could be heard, you'd have to be deaf not to hear them, but shortly thereafter, Bal'Falan dropped down the hole once more. "Anything?" she asked expectingly.

Without looking up from the computer screen, Sirenia responded sarcastically. "I take it shes not part of your fan club?" Her voice sounded slightly distracted as she clicked on a few files and copied them onto the digi-nuke.

"Yeah yeah." She responded as if to blow her off. Of course the boss would get the fun job and leave the lackeys to do the stupid shit. There was no reason to protest, Bal'Falan Hasati was one of the more stubborn Asari she had ever met in her life and they simply didn't have the time to argue right now. Besides, she stumbled upon some information which sounded relevant already.

Time... something they really needed more of. While Sirenia gladly dragged and dropped files to save them, she had no time to open each one up individually and check to see if they were useful. She was going solely off of file names. If they sounded like what they were after, she stole it. Hopefully one of them would be what they wanted.

It felt as if almost no time had passed before her partner in crime was back again, wondering if she had found anything important. Luckily, Sirenia felt she had. "I have it. Lets get out of here." She responded before turning off her Digi-nuke and tucking it away into one of her pockets. It would be safe there.

Looking around the room, Sirenia spotted an exit and pointed towards it. "Lets go that way. The guards will likely come from upstairs." As she spoke, she found her pistol and checked its heat sink. It appeared to still be good enough. Before even waiting for a response from Bal, she took off towards the rooms exit.

Looking around the room, Sirenia spotted an exit and pointed towards it. "Lets go that way. The guards will likely come from upstairs." Before even waiting for a response from Bal, she took off towards the rooms exit.

She gave a nod, taking one more glance around the room before heading towards the exit Sirenia specified. Once she was at the doorway she started to summon her massive reservoir of biotic energy to the forefront, deductive reasoning by investigators may consider what it was the duo came to that room for but with no evidence pointing directly to it, it will take them a while... by which point it will be too late to stop the Bacalou.

A large sphere of biotic energy manifested infront of Bal, investing as much of her energy into it as she could while leaving a little in the tank, just incase she encounters resistance enroute to the escape shuttle. Slowly the sphere wobbled further into the room as she followed it, threatening to explode... which was precisely the idea. A new brand of biotic discipline she'd been testing out on Lorek, taxing on the body.. but when by yourself it was quite useful, especially for its sheer destructive potential.

Once it had found its way into the middle of the room, she slowly made her way back to the exit, maintaining her concentrating which was much more difficult from range, by the time she'd got to the exit she had beads of sweat pouring down her face, fortunately it was now time to go.

She summoned a biotic warp into her hand and propelled it towards the sphere, once it sailed across the room and was moments away from slipping inside to disappear she clenched her fist and imagined the warp dentonating, a second later.. it did.

An explosive eruption of biotic energy rippled throughout the room like a bomb going off, shattering all manner of equipment on desks, walls and ceilings, nothing was spared and even Bal was knocked off her feet from the blast, not a concussive force but certainly enough to wind her. She picked herself up off the floor, using the wall as a support as she went from shuffling, limping, stumbling, jogging and finally running.

It wasn't long before she'd caught up with Sirenia at the exit, the mission was only a success at this point if they got off the planet and eluded arrest. Sooo... cloooose now!

Sirenia had left the room a few minutes before the blast and had made her way down the hallway. Things were looking good for her and the Bacalou. Unfortunately, that good fortune wouldn't last long. An intelligent guard met her with her gun drawn as she turned around a corner.

"Stop right there or i'll gun you down where you stand!" The other Asari yelled. Her pistol was only inches away from Sirenia's face. A blast from this range would not only kill her, it would paint the walls an ugly shade of crimson. "Drop your weapon and disable your biotic amp! You're under arrest!"

Sirenia hesitated for a moment, knowing that her chance to retaliate was only seconds away. Still, she needed to stay calm and play along with others directions... for now. Slowly, she bent down and placed her pistol on the floor and deactivated her biotic amp. Raising her arms in the air, she showed the other that she was unarmed... and that was when it happened.

An explosion from the room she had left only minutes before shook the walls around her. Light fixtures fell from their place and pieces of ceiling tile hit the floor. The guard was taken by complete surprise. She looked around the room and foolishly took her eyes off of the Bacalou Agent. That was when Sirenia attacked, grabbing her arm and yanking her Pistol from her hand. With a quick jab, she elbowed the poor Asari in the face and she fell to the ground.

Now standing over her victim, she finally spoke up. "That was your second fatal mistake, missy." She said, aiming the pistol at her face in the same manor that she had done to Sirenia only moments before. "The first was messing with the Bacalou" She finished and pulled the trigger.

When the encounter was over, she traded weapons for her own Pistol and reactivated her Biotics. Bal joined her only moments later and they were ready to get out of this damned building.

The asari could only briefly ponder the fate of the lone guard she passed on her way to catch up to Sirenia, a bullet to the brain at close range, probably didn't know what was happening in the span of time that passed for Sirenia to put her on her back and blow her brains out, messy.

Once they were outside, there was a lot of noise and activity, sirens flailing in the ambient light of the complex, hysteria could be heard not too far away, made by scared office workers and the shouts of guards and authorities closing in, though they didn't appear privvy to Bal and Sirenia's location for the moment.

"I think you will have an easier time getting to the shuttle than I will... if but one person in the crowd identifies me, it will take more than fast footing to make a break for our escape" she said quietly.

Bal contemplated suggesting Sirenia make her own way to the shuttle solo then bring it around to where Bal was hiding, but that in itself would draw attention as well. An unauthorized shuttle flying over the police line to keep 'civilians' out. But odds of escape would improve over the both of them trying to make it past the grid.

Though, there was also the unknown number of people actively pursuing them, and no idea how far behind their heels they were or would be. Sure Bal could hold off a small group, that destructive use of biotics had still winded her a bit however.

Sirenia and Bal had both left the complex together with no other resistance after the explosion went off. Hopefully the police were preoccupied dealing with their dead and hurt to go after the two bandits. She knew that was wishful thinking however. It was very likely that the Asari Republics were called in and they would be here within only a few moments.

Taking a glimpse at her Omni-tool, the time of day struck a note in her mind. It had been almost an hour since she had saved the Ardat-yakshi and Salarian. They both should be in the Gardens which happened to be right at the exit they left. "Give me a minute Bal, I have unfinished business to attend to." She said before walking off into the Gardens without her.

Her mind wandered back to the situation which had unfolded earlier that day. The Ardat-Yakshi had been given brutal punishment and was to kill an unconscious Salarian. Or, well, NOT kill if the serum she was injected with were to work. They didn't find out because Sirenia burst in with guns blazing. They were to meet up again here and Sirenia planned to make this other Asari her protege. She would train her to be exactly as herself and help her along the path of success in the Bacalou Skulls. Within only a few years, she predicted, the Ardat-Yakshi could become a skilled warrior and a high ranked official.

Pushing away some bushes, she glanced around at the plants and ornaments inside the Garden. It wasn't large by any means, and you could see the whole way around by only moving your head in a half circle. Sirenia's heart sunk when she came to the realization that she was alone. The garden was empty besides a few annoying birds and stupid flowers. Not only was the Ardat-Yakshi not here, but the Salarian was also not in sight. "Damn it!" She yelled. Anger was her replacement for sadness and disappointment. She had no idea what had become of the two others and would never know either. She had no time to wait.

Re-emerging from the Garden, Sirenia met Bal again. "Best if we took the walkway back to the shuttles." She said, trying her best to not let her anger show. "This is a busy town and we can use the cover of the crowd to buy us time and hopefully conceal us as well. Don't run unless they spot us." Moving forward, she walked into the crowd and began to push her way passed the others to the shuttle. It would be a long, but the security guards would never catch them unless someone from the crowd turns them in... which would be unlikely since both Sirenia and Bal were armed and dangerous.

"Give me a minute Bal, I have unfinished business to attend to." She said before walking off into the Gardens without her.

"We don't have a minute Sirenia..... so make it quick!" she scolded, watching her partner in crime wisking herself away for unknown reasons while they were so close to getting away relatively unscathed. Getting in was all well and good, but right now is where they have cause to be incredibly apprehensive about new comers to the scene. Since any getting in the immediate area are likely law enforcement.

Bal slipped into whatever darkest niche of the building she could find, not inclined to stick out like a sore thumb waiting for Sirenia to come back from.... whatever it was she was doing. She kept a vigilant look around for hostiles, fortunately anyone tracking them down would be following their trail rather than cutting straight to where they are now.

Wishful thinking though...

Re-emerging from the Garden, Sirenia met Bal again. "Best if we took the walkway back to the shuttles." She said, trying her best to not let her anger show. "This is a busy town and we can use the cover of the crowd to buy us time and hopefully conceal us as well. Don't run unless they spot us."

"I hope whatever you were looking for was worth it" she said under her breath as they started wading through the crowd along with Sirenia. It'd be incredibly difficult to get out of this situation if one of the crowd fingered either of them. Infact it could turn into a downright massacre...