Firas gave Milenya a long look then shook his head.<span style="color: blue">No need. We'll be able to asses the ship just fine without them.</span>He paused.<span style="color: blue">But if we find something, then yes.</span><br/><br/>He nodded at everyone that he was about the enter, then moved around the corner, through the open doorway and out of the cargo bay. Ashana followed the group, keeping watching every visible nook for anything. The doorway led into a corridor with two doors on either side. Like the airlock into the cargo bay, the doors were open. Firas scanned by them with the high powered light on the end of his rifle, noting nothing within and moving on. Ashana peered in as the others passed, also searching them. They had a few crates in them, bu the smallish rooms were predominantly filled with tools and mechanical implements for repair and maintenance work.<br/><br/>At the corridor's end was a shaft with a central stairway running its length, and an elevator in the wall for easy access between the levels. Firas entered slowly, pointing his light up the shaft between the balconies of each level, three in all. He started up the stairway slowly, keeping his light moving, looking for any movement or signs of a struggle. As they reached the first landing he paused, looking at a large sign on the wall designated "ENGINEERING."<br/><br/>He nodded to the others and started down a corridor leading to the back of the ship, passing several more doorways and access tunnels. They were open, Ashana noted, like the airlock and cargo bay... everything was open. There was nothing of note in any of the rooms they passed, no signs of struggle, no bodies or bullet holes... there wasn't so much as a trashcan knocked over. That was what unnerved Ashana the most. The whole ship was dead and there was nothing in it that so much as hinted at why.<br/><br/>Firas paused again as he found the open doorway to the drive core. He moved with his back along the wall, pausing at the open door, then stepping out and turning, letting his rifle lead the way. He stopped as he stared in at the machinery.<span style="color: blue">Milenya, send a feed to the Acheron.</span>He said and stepped inside, still scanning his rifle around the open room.<br/><br/>Ashana stepped in slowly as the group entered, looking at the areas illuminated by their lights. It was a two level engineering bay, with many complicated looking mechanical implements and walkways leading up and around the area. She noted several pillar like protrusions from the floor, marked AZR-1 through 4. She had no idea what any of it meant, but she didn't need to be an engineer to see what had been done to the machinery. The apparatus was mangled, cables ripped open or pulled from their connections, leaving gaping holes or wires splayed out chaotically where they had been forcibly removed.<br/><br/>Firas looked around, sweeping his light from one broken device to the next.<span style="color: blue">Acheron, are you receiving?</span><br/><br/><span style="color: MediumTurquoise">That's affirmative Firas, we're receiving.</span>Mickey responded through their helmets.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">What do you make of it?</span>Cantenelli asked.<br/><br/><span style="color: DarkOrange">The whole assembly has been trashed. This is sabotage or I'm a woman.</span>Sorv responded, examining one of the core leads.<br/><br/>An explosives expert would have noted that while there were many signs of explosive residue, very little of it had caused any damage, rather that the explosions that had occurred had been the result of the damage inflicted.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">Alright... </span>Firas said quietly.<span style="color: blue">Let's head to the cockpit and see if there's anything else we can find. But I'm getting the impression that whatever happened here is long done. Acheron, stay on station.</span><br/><br/><span style="color: navy">Is it safe to start bringing over some crew to unload some of this?</span>Taseer asked.<span style="color: navy">There's some pretty damn interesting shit they have in here.</span><br/><br/><span style="color: blue">Negative.</span>Firas responded.<span style="color: blue">Not until we've finished our sweep.</span><br/><br/>He motioned for them to keep moving. Ashana gave the engine room one last look before following after. Firas led the group back out into the stairwell, and went up one more level. He swung his Revenant down the halls immediately leading off the shaft, the light emanating from the rifle reflecting off the "CREW QUARTERS" painted on the wall. When his light crossed doorways, they like all the others were left open.<br/><br/>Firas ascended the last flight of stairs which had only one corridor leading toward the nose of large vessel. The light shone against a wall at the far end.<span style="color: blue">Alright, keep it steady... watch those corners...</span>He said as they proceeded, passing more doorways leading into rooms filled with instruments and machinery. As they proceeded, Firas trained his light straight down the corridor, and paused. The end of the corridor wasn't a wall, but a door - a sealed one. The sign above it read COCKPIT: Authorized Personnel Only.<br/><br/>Firas moved up to it and ran his gaze around it's rim.<span style="color: blue">The seals all look intact...</span>He placed his hand against the door.<span style="color: blue">Sorv, can you get this open?</span>He asked, looking back. Sorv nodded and lowered his Mantis, moving forward. He crouched down beside the door, and located an access panel which he pulled off and looked at the wires and tubes within. He examined each then unscrewed a small electrical cord and plugged it into his suit. He flipped on his omni-tool and tapped a few keys.<br/><br/><span style="color: DarkOrange"> Hydraulics aren't responding... </span>He noted and pulled the conduit from his suit. He looked across the the tubes and ran his hand across one of of them. He leaned over, sticking his arm up into the access, feeling around higher up the tube, then grabbed a lever and pulled. Metal screeched against metal and suddenly a thick black liquid began running down his arm. Sorv pulled his arm free and stood.<br/><br/>He tugged on the center of the door where it was sealed and nodded.<span style="color: DarkOrange">Alright... Give me a hand with this.</span>He set his mantis against the wall, and Firas set down his Revenant, grasping the door from the opposite side.The Turian looked at Darion and Maethia.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">Get ready.</span>He looked at Sorv then nodded and the two yanked on the door. It moved half an inch and more of the black liquid belched from the access. A hiss emitted from the gap as the atmosphere within equalized. Firas and Sorv kept pulling and yanking until the door was open, the dull yellow light of the planet filtering through the ash laden windows.<br/><br/>Ashana followed them in, Firas and Sorv gathering their weapons and joining them. They scanned the room which was as empty as the rest of the ship was, save one occupant. Firas paused as he saw the legs sticking out from behind the forward console. He pointed, keeping his rifle aimed. He slowly moved around the console, Ashana following close behind.<br/>Firas came around and looked down at the owner of the legs and lowered his rifle.<br/><br/>The Turian laying on the floor wore a workman's uniform. Loosely clasped in his right hand was a Predator pistol. Ashana's shoulders drooped slightly as she looked at the Turian's head, laying sideways. His jaw was askew, limp beneath his mandibles, a dull expression in his open eyes. The back of the Turian's head had a large hole blown in it, and from the entry wound beneath his jaw it wasn't hard to surmise that he had killed himself.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">Hmph.</span>Firas grunted, looking down at the dead man.<span style="color: blue">Acheron, we've found a body. It looks like he killed himself in the cockpit... might have vented the entire ship. Cockpit door was the only one closed.</span>He looked at the others then back down to the body.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">Roger that fire team.</span>Cantenelli responded.<br/><br/>Ashana looked around the cockpit. Were it not for the dead body, nothing would have seemed out of place. She looked back down at him, his posture. He had killed himself while standing, that much was clear. She looked around again hoping for some telling clue, some object that was clearly out of place... but there was nothing.<br/><br/><span style="color: DarkOrange">So... ship's like this have emergency power cells.</span>Sorv spoke up, though he kept his eyes on the door into the cockpit, ready to fire at anything that might suddenly emerge.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">Right.</span>Firas nodded, looking at the Quarian curiously.<br/><br/><span style="color: DarkOrange">Well, if the core was trashed, then the emergency cells would pop on.... last about 24 hours.</span>Sorv continued.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">Right...</span>Firas agreed, curious as to where Sorv was going with this line of thought.<br/><br/><span style="color: DarkOrange">He was in here alone, next to all the ship's equipment... broadcast and all... and if that door was sealed, then there was something he didn't want getting in.</span>Sorv looked at them.<span style="color: DarkOrange">So... if he had 24 hours of emergency power and access to all the ship's systems... then why didn't he send an SOS? There was nothing on that buoy. No transmissions received or relayed between when this ship landed and we got there.</span><br/><br/>Firas gave Sorv a long look then frowned behind the helmet visor. He looked down at the dead Turian.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>