The party turned from chatter between guests to hushed whispers and looks of concern as the security guards abandoned their posts on Vega's order. A few called out, asking what was going on.  No response was offered as the guards filed into the elevator, each occupied with their headsets.<br/><br/><span style="color: Red">Roger that Darion, the shaft exits into a loading and maintenance way, western edge of the tower. </span>Malcolm acknowledged.<span style="color: Red">Hub, lock down the freight shaft, all but the west exit. Teams two and three, get ready on floors 100 and 60. We'll push him down the shaft to the ambush team at the bottom.</span>Malcolm looked at the security feed on his omni-tool, at the various dots on tower's overlay representing his teamMalcolm frowned. It made no sense to him, no one could have made it to the 120th floor. They had the entire tower locked down save the party levels. The target would have triggered at least a dozen alarms bringing a weapon in.<br/><br/><span style="color: Red">And figure out how the hell he got in undetected!</span>Malcolm felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead.<span style="color: Red">And how the hell did he find out where the cache is?!</span><br/><br/><br/>***<br/><br/><br/>The shaft was only illuminated by a spattering of small green lights marking each exit. The freight shaft wasn't overly large, only large enough to move up the occasional unusual piece of furniture or decor to higher places in the tower. The man stepped across the corner of the shaft, between two narrow beams protruding form the walls. In each corner of the shaft, from the top floor to the bottom, was a mag rail that the elevator used to ascend and descend. The man, legs spread between the two beams, faced the rail and pulled a small, compact device from the belt beneath his black coat, no more than a grey plasteel square with a handle. He gripped its handle and thumbed the single glowing light on it. It widened, breaking open at the seams, two blue bars of light on either side indicating that it was charged and ready.<br/><br/>He pushed the device against the rail and it sides closed, magnetically clamping on. He stepped off the beams and began falling down the shaft, the rail grip he held keeping his descent steady while it used the mag-rail's suspension system as a one man elevator.<br/><br/>The man looked up, the occasional green light flashing past him as he descended. He watched for any movement above him, and indication that he was being followed down the shaft, but there was nothing. Never the less he watched, one hand on the rail clamp, the other on his pistol.<br/><br/>His omni-tool suddenly growled a low warning. He looked down to check the tool, but he didn't need to. He saw exactly what it was going to tell him without needing to open it. Below him, the myriad of green lights in the shaft were all turning red, all of the access corridors and floor exits were locking.<br/><br/>The man pushed his armored boot against the rail, the friction slowing his descent until he reached another protruding beam where he planted his foot, stopping himself. He looked up again, watching the rising tide of red pass him and continue up the shaft until there was no green lights left. He looked down again, and paused. A single green spec of light stood out, far, far below. His eyes narrowed, but it took only a split second for him to know what was going on.<br/><br/>A door opened several floors above him. In a split second he had his pistol aimed. A head was visible for only a moment as its pair of eyes locked onto the human. He fired, the round missing the head but only just, instead ricocheting loudly off the shaft above. The head ducked back quickly and echoed shouts came from the doorway. The assassin flattened himself against the shaft wall as best the could when a pair of rifles were held out into the shaft, and blind fire rained down.<br/><br/>The shots weren't aimed, the weapons' users staying wisely out of range, but it made the bullets there were firing no less dangerous. A round ricocheted off the shaft wall dangerously close to the human, another zipped past his head close enough that he could hear it, followed by a blue flare from his kinetic barriers. He grimaced in anger, extended his arm and returned fire, sending several rounds as close to the door frame as he could from his position. The weapons recoiled in reflex of the close hits and the man stepped off the ledge, dropping into the shaft. He reached out, to grab another of the shallow ledges before his momentum overpowered his grip. He felt his fingers hook on the ledge painfully to slow his fall, but the pause in gunfire had ended, and a flurry of rounds came at him again. Two caught his barriers, causing his armor to sound a low shield energy warning, while another round hit the ledge close to his hand. The round sparked as it impacted. His fingers flexed in reaction, and his grip faltered. He lost the ledge and started to fall down the shaft, no longer in control of the descent.<br/><br/>With no time to spare, he hit a key on his omni-tool and the mag-lock on his boots activated. He kicked out his feet toward the shaft wall in an effort to catch it, to stop himself using the tech in his armor for walking on ship's in space. The sole of his boot caught the wall, slowing him, but his downward momentum was too strong, and for the brief moment his foot was immobile, his torso pitched, sending him into a tumble. He boots caught the wall again, slowing him further, then broke from the wall, pitching his back onto the wall with a loud thud that shook the man. They caught again as he tumbled around once more, this time his momentum slow enough that his boots held.<br/><br/>He was held on the wall by his boots, but gravity was still trying to pull the rest of him down the shaft. He reached and grabbed the edge of a small doorway, an access hall that led out of the shaft. The plasteel portal was sealed, its locked status indicated by a red light. He took a breath to steady himself after the dangerous tumble down the shaft. His reprieve was cut short, however, as shots came ricocheting off the wall again, but these were clustered, close. He looked back up the shaft, leading his gaze with his pistol.<br/><br/>The security guards had taken the opportunity of his fall to move into the shaft, using the same ledges he had been trying too, and the doorway. But they weren't blind firing any longer, they were aiming at him. The human stared down the barrel of his gun, angry now. He fired, with rough precision, striking a guard, causing him to pause in his attack to recoil against the shaft wall, but the others continued. His shields flared again, and the warning became louder. He cursed and quickly slapped his pistol back on his hip and pulled himself against the wall as best he could. His omni-tool hand, still gripping the lip of the access exit, lit up orange and the device activated. He quickly struck keys as the rounds ricocheted nearby. The fall down the shaft had proved useful. He was far enough away now that hitting him was difficult, even with careful aiming.<br/><br/>After a few key strikes, the lock on the exit he was hanging from turned from red to green and opened. Without a moment hesitation he cut the mag on his boots and hauled himself up and into the exit, out of the shaft.<br/><br/><br/>***<br/><br/><br/>Ashana knelt down in the elevator as it rose. She grabbed the cut in the dress along her leg, just above her knee, and pulled until the fabric split. She tore the skirt off, exposing more of her legs. She didn't think twice about damaging the dress, even as well made as it was. She was a hunter now, and she needed to be ready to fight. She closed her eyes as the fabric fell, and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She needed to bury the moment before, she needed to turn off the tricks and the charm, she needed to ignore desire.<br/><br/><span style="color: Green">This is security hub, a maintenance access in the freight shaft just opened.</span>A voice said over the comms. Ashana opened her eyes.<br/><br/><span style="color: Red">I didn't give any order to -</span>Malcolm responded, angry.<br/><br/><span style="color: Green">We didn't open it. And the security system wasn't activated from outside. I don't know how, but something is inside our system.</span>The voice from the security hub said, confused.<br/><br/>Ashana didn't to guess at what that meant. The target had hacked the tower's security system.<br/><br/><br/><span style="color: DarkOrange">This is the 100th floor team, he's exited the shaft, I say again, target is no longer in the shaft.</span>A security officer spoke up, breathing hard.<br/><br/><span style="color: Red">Hub what floor did the access open on?</span><br/><br/><span style="color: Green">The 89th.</span><br/><br/><span style="color: Red">Teams, break from the flushing effort. Target is on the move on the 89th floor. Floor 60, converge with floor 100. give him no where to run.</span>Malcolm ordered, frustration in his voice.<span style="color: Red">Darion get your team up here. Take the freight elevator, get in behind him.</span><br/><br/>Ashana looked at the floor indicator on the elevator. 78. She prepared closed her eyes again, taking another deep breath, preparing. Suddenly the elevator slowed and stopped. She looked up. The indicator read 80. She frowned, the elevator wasn't supposed to stop here. The door opened and a calm female voice recited a prerecorded message.<span style="color: Teal">Please remain calm. The elevators have been disabled due to a security emergency. Please exit and wait for designated security personnel. Thank you for your patience.</span><br/><br/>Ashana was about to speak up, but a litany of voices all spoke up over the comms. Her elevator wasn't the only one that had stopped. They all had.<br/><br/><span style="color: Red">Hub what the hell is going on?</span>Malcolm demanded.<br/><br/><span style="color: Green">Sir, we have lost control of the system. I say again we are no longer in control. We have been locked out.</span>There was a brief pause.<span style="color: Green">All security locks are being released throughout the entire facility. Everything is opening.</span><br/><br/>The prerecorded message played again. Everything but the elevators, apparently.<br/><br/><span style="color: Red">Shit. Hub get your asses working, get control of this tower back, and do it NOW! All other teams, I don't care if you have to crawl through access ways, converge on the target, and do not let him off that floor!</span><br/><br/>Without much choice left, Ashana exited the elevator to find another way up.<br/><br/><br/>***<br/><br/><br/>Cantenelli listened to the comms from the tower and watched the readout of the being being displayed in the center of the CIC. His rubbed his chin habitually.<br/><br/><span style="color: Red">Precision work.</span>Falkris said, admiring the chaos that was being created in the wake of the mysterious assassin.<br/><br/><span style="color: Blue">I'm glad you're enjoying it.</span>Cantenelli muttered.<span style="color: Blue">But without the security net in that tower...</span>Cantenelli shook his head, paused, his eyes fixing on Kala, then Sorv. Falkris glanced from the the holographic display to Cantenelli, then followed his gaze to the human and quarian.<br/><br/><span style="color: Blue">Kala, Sorv, you both tried your hand at breaking into this ship. If Acheron can get you into the security net of that tower, do you think you get it back on our side's control?</span><br/><br/><span style="color: Blue">Mickey, have Acheron reverse tunnel our feed from the tower. Open a back door for us.</span>Cantenelli nodded to nearby consoles.<span style="color: Blue">Let's see what you've got.</span><div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>