<span style="color: Blue">We do nothing. When the Salarian wakes up, we find out what he knows. But for now, we wait.</span>Cantenelli stood.<span style="color: Blue">You are confined to this location. Until we can decide what to do with you, you are not to leave.</span>He said, staring at Darion.<br/><br/>The Human turned and left to oversee the repairs. Ashana remained at the table. She took a deep breath to regain her composure then looked at Rajarr.<span style="color: Purple">The next time you - or any of us - have to go somewhere, we inform one another. We seem to be attracting a lot of bullets lately.</span><br/><br/><span style="color: Purple">No one just tags along with an armed Quarian and an armed Krogan. So you either tell us why <i>exactly</i> you were there, or I start redecorating with your head.</span>She threatened, glaring at Darion.<br/><br/>She listened quietly and patiently.<br/><br/><span style="color: Purple">Well regardless, we can't do anything now. I'm going to my quarters to relax for a moment.</span>Ashana announced after Darion had concluded. She got up and went to her self proclaimed room where she sat down in the middle of the floor and looked out the window at the repair platforms.<br/><br/><br/>***<br/><br/><br/>Cantenelli emerged from the ship's airlocks and was again bombarded by the sounds of Illium mingled with the sound of the repair docks. The docks nearest the ship were empty, and wisely so. Flakris was never one to allow anyone to see the ship too closely, particularly while it was having work done. The cost of the repairs was also four times what it needed to be. Expunging records was expensive.<br/><br/>The repairs were underway on the engines. The Human girl was busy working on one of the cells while Airea stood near directing the work. He whistled loudly and the Asari looked down at him on the main platform.<br/><br/><span style="color: Blue">Report!</span>He shouted and crossed his arms.<br/><br/><span style="color: Navy">The cells are fine. It looks like the censors were wrong. We just need to recalibrate the software and reintegrate them into the translator!</span>She shouted back.<br/><br/><span style="color: Blue">Then get it done! Our time frame just got a lot shorter! If it isn't necessary to fix, move onto something that is!</span>He ordered.<br/><br/><span style="color: Navy">Aye Captain!</span>Airea shouted back without argument. The Asari turned back to the working crew, including Kala.<br/><br/><span style="color: Navy">Zip her pants back up. We're done here.</span>She ordered, though Kala could plainly see that a number of the couplings were over stressed and probably needed to be replaced.<br/><br/><span style="color: Navy">Mickey, disconnect the engine cells from the network and recalibrate them.</span>She spoke into a Holo-interface that glowed at her ear and curved down before her mouth like a headset. She stared at the fuel cells blankly then shook her head.<span style="color: Navy">No, Captain says were out of time to be nit picking. Just get the translator set for the current hardware.</span><br/><br/>When the external panels had be properly re-secured to the ship Airea moved the work platform that Kala's crew was on across the hull of the ship.<span style="color: Navy">Alright, lets get her dress off!</span>She ordered and began shouting and pointing to various places along the hull where seals and locks needed to be removed so that the external hull armor could be removed for access to the more delicate hardware within. Among the hardware were heat dispersion pads that soaked up the thermals from the ship's operation to prevent the components from overheating, or worse, from cooking everyone inside.<br/><br/>Unlike with the engines, the moment Kala let the lifting clamps move the glistening black armor plate she was bombarded by sets of equipment that she had never even seen before. Among the workings were components that looked familiar, but only vaguely. The majority though were something else entirely. Two panels of metal were mounted perpendicularly with 4 inches of space between them. Kala recognized the material the panels were made of instantly. It was a complex molecular compound that absorbed thermal emissions. Ship board heat sinks, ultimately. The protective coverings on the panels were completely alien, however, as were the components attached to them. Insulated and tightly wound cables ran from the various mounted clamps and other devices into the ship. On a normal ship, a few mounts would transfer heat into such panels to cool away from critical components, a fairly simple process. But on this ship, the array of equipment on and around the panels suggested a function far more complex. A clever mind may even have divined that the entire thermal array was shielded to prevent thermal emissions from escaping the ship's hull, effectively eliminating its thermal signature and masking it to a large array of modern sensor equipment. Of course, a clever mind would also know that if the heat couldn't disperse into space naturally through the hull, then it would be trapped.<br/><br/>Airea began shouting a number of other orders, these were far more stressed and specific. She told the crews how to release the thermal panels from the arrays they were attached to. She offered absolutely no explanation as to the function of any of it, however. When the array at last began free and mechanically withdrew away from the panels, Kala saw the damage Mickey had related first hand. The panels were severely warped as a result of heat levels that were far too high being applied for far too long. The panels had naturally tried to expand, but had been unable to, being mounted to their brackets. As a result, the surface deformed and twisted.<br/><br/><span style="color: Navy">The panels have to go!</span>Airea shouted. Beneath the arrays the mountings were mercifully familiar enough to Kala that she didn't need Airea's further direction to know how to release the panels for the idly floating loading clamps to carry away and exchange with new panels.<br/><br/>Once the crew understood how to disable to arrays, the process proved fairly straight forward. Although, it did remain time consuming. A point that was painfully driven home by number of times it apparently needed to be repeated. The ship was lined with the thermal plates and the majority required removal. While pulling the ship's armor again and again to replace panel after panel, Kala did get to see brief glimpses of odd devices nestled away and partially obscured. What Airea had said about the ship had not disappointed. There were things on board that served functions that Kala could scarcely even guess at. And all the while Airea shouted orders and communicated with Mickey who sat at the helm working along side Airea's hardware with his software.<br/><br/><br/>***<br/><br/><br/>Ashana's eyes bolted open as the door behind her opened without warning. She had managed a level of meditation, though it had taken a solid hour for her to calm down enough to focus. Now she turned, letting the undulating blue pulse around her die so that she could see who it was that had opened the door so abruptly.<br/><br/><span style="color: Blue">Come on. The Salarian's awake.</span>Cantenelli said and nodded for her to follow. Firas, Rajarr, and the new Human were all standing behind him, having apparently already been roused.<br/><br/>Ashana stood and turned on her bare feet. She had discarded almost all of her gear, which lay haphazardly on the floor nearer the presently sealed shutter over the window. She wore only her tight fitting, asset hugging, black suit, which she had only kept on for lack of anything else being available. She pulled her knee high boots back on and followed the group across the hallway to the other door where they had tossed the Salarian. When they reached the door, Cantenelli paused.<br/><br/><span style="color: Blue">We need information, and apparently the slime bag behind this door has some.</span>Cantenelli looked at Rajarr and Darion, hoping that what little they had told him was at the very least somewhat accurate.<span style="color: Blue">When that door opens, I want everyone in that room to keep their cool. Dead men don't talk. Ashana, while you were... away, Sorv stabilized. The Doctor is expecting him to regain consciousness shortly, so don't feel like you need to put a bullet in him to avenge a fallen comrade.</span>The Human told her gruffly.<br/><br/><span style="color: Blue">Get your heads together and get him to talk.</span>He said then walked to the door and quickly input the lock override command and the airlock opened into the black room.<br/><br/>Gilax, who had been sitting on the floor in the dark listening the the banging and booming of the hull repair around him recoiled suddenly and lifted a hand to his eyes as the door opened and a single blast of light hit him from the other side. His eyes were so accustomed to the light that he couldn't see anything but a number of approaching shadows. Ashana entered the room with the others and felt the door close behind her. Cantenelli didn't follow them in. Suddenly they were in complete darkness with Gilax, who was breathing heavily. A moment later a single light burst to life overhead and shone down brightly on the Salarian who, now able to vaguely see the darkened features of those around him shouted and began stuttering.<br/><br/><span style="color: YellowGreen">L-l-l look! Ok! o-ok! I'm done! I-I-I I made a mistake! I won't say a-anything again - I swear! Just tell the Shadow Broker - just tell the Shadow Broker it won't happen again!</span>He stammered and stared at them with wide eyes of horror, which widened even further as he saw the Krogan from the bar among the cloaked individuals.<br/><br/><br/>***<br/><br/><br/>Beruut saw Sorv beginning to sit up and leapt to him, putting his hand firmly on the Quarian's chest to keep him down.<span style="color: Olive">Careful.</span>He cautioned sternly.<span style="color: Olive">Your suit is still ruptured and your wound may as well have happened a few moments ago. If you start moving your going to cause even more damage. I'm going to need you to remain still until I otherwise instruct. If necessary I will have to immobilize you again.</span><br/><br/>Beruut kept his hand firmly on Sorv's chest until he was satisfied that the Quarian wasn't going to move again.<span style="color: Olive">We're going to need to get you patched up quickly, though, and clean your facial apparatus. The timer on the bio-medical fog is quickly running out.</span><br/><br/>Beruut carted off Sorv's mask into the fog to some unknown apparatus, presumably for cleaning it.<span style="color: Olive">The rest of your crew just began interrogating the Salarian that was with you. Unfortunately, neither the Human nor your Krogan friend, Rager, could tell us a great deal about what happened, or so I have been told, and the Captain still hasn't deemed it necessary for the rest of the crew to know exactly what you, the Asari woman - Asheni was it? - or your Turian officer were actually doing with the ship.</span><br/><br/>The Doctor appeared a moment later carrying Sorv's mask in his hand. Its interior glistened, freshly cleaned. Beruut quickly reattached it to Sorv's helmet turning returning his voice to the its familiar synthetic twang. Shortly after Sorv could dully feel flesh being manipulated about his abdomen and pressure on his suit, though the pain medications made it difficult to feel anything, or even to think clearly, at that.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>