not_a_whiner | Portalocity Station on Kithoi Ward, the Citadel, Saturday (Reply)

Okay, it wasn't that Kaidan didn't like seeing Anderson again. Because he did. The man had been a huge part of their story, and yet they hadn't spoken since Anderson helped them mutiny and break the Normandy out of dry dock - yeah, way too long. He just hadn't expected it'd wind up being a four hour meeting where the minutiae of an extremely boring mission were driven into the ground over and over again.

Which wasn't Anderson's fault; it was the salarian Councillor's. But, well.

It meant Kaidan was late.

He rushed through the lower streets of Portalocity's strip, dodging asari and turians and even a keeper or two, because of course because of the hush-hush nature of the portal system, there wasn't a skycar pad nearby. Sigh. Sigh.

He just hoped Allie and Jack hadn't gotten bored. Or wandered off. ...Well, okay, they probably weren't going to be going out picking fights with krogan, but... bored. Bored would be bad already. He didn't have enough friends to afford boring these... ones. It made sense in his head, okay?

Allie	There were any number of words that could be used to describe how Allie was feeling at the moment. Bored was not one of them. So much for looking like an accomplished traveler, a mixture of nerves and curiosity meant Allie was up out her seat every few minutes and sticking her head out of the Portalocity office's door gawking like a tourist at all the different things...aliens...people walking by.
Jack	Jack was more relaxed that Allie, and had wandered over to watch ads flash on a nearby video screen. One for something called Asari Confessions kept cycling by. "He'll get here," he told Allie, once he tore his eyes away.
Allie	"Oh I know," Allie said as she ducked back into the office. "I'm just curious. This is a lot different then going to your school for class." Catching a glimpse of the ad that seemed to have caught Jack's eye, she had to laugh. "Reality type TV is universal?"
Jack	"Looks that way, doesn't it?" Jack laughed. "And selling things through sex appeal. Though her being blue, that's still a bit new to me."
Kaidan	Kaidan reached for the hologram over the door, and the door obediently parted before him. Not that he spent a lot of time meditating on that fact - he dashed right in. "Jack?" he called. "Allie? Sorry I'm late--!"
Allie	"It's okay. It happens." See, cool, calm, and collected. Never mind the fact she'd spun around to face the door the second she'd heard it open. Shush Jack. "We were just checking out the video options."
Jack	"We were fine here," Jack agreed, with only the slightest amuse glance to Allie. "We were just saying advertising doesn't really change much, other than reflecting the more -- colorful local population."
Kaidan	"The advertising...?" Kaidan looked up over Jack's shoulder and noticed the billboard. One of... many ubiquitous ones, yeah. "Oh, Asari Confessions? It's not that good. You'd be better off looking up vids on the extran-- uh, moving on."
Allie	"You two can talk about that later. Preferably when I'm way out of earshot." Because there were certain things Allie did not want to know about. "So what's the plan? I want to see everything."
Jack	"We didn't get nearly enough time last time I was here for me to have a preference," Jack added. "I'm up for anything too."
Kaidan	"Well, I figured I'd take you both out to dinner first," Kaidan said, nodding awkwardly at the bored-looking salarian at the desk. "After that-- uh, I promised Allie the Presidium. We could take a walk, see the Krogan Monument..."
Allie	Less nervous now that Kaidan was there, Allie grinned and bounced just a little in excitement. Dignity? What was that? "I like that plan."
Jack	Jack grinned. "I didn't know you could bounce," he told Allie, before shifting his attention back to Kaidan. "I'm in too. Dinner, a walk, trying not to poke at the moodier aliens..."
Kaidan	Kaidan smiled reflexively at the bored-looking salarian - who still didn't care - as he walked outside, trusting Allie and Jack to follow him. "Yeah, try not to stare," he advised as they got out onto the jam-packed streets. No, not even at the pair of floating pink jellyfish that just passed them by, arms trailing to the ground almost like feet. It was so busy, he didn't actually pick up on any of the shouting going on a little further down the road.
Allie	Was it considered staring if Allie turned her head just enough to keep the floating pink jellyfish in her peripheral vision. Because seriously, even with all of Fandom's weirdness, that was a new one for Allie. The jellyfish, as well as all the other strange sites that caught her eye as she followed along, meant Allie missed the shouting as well.
Jack	Okay, the floating jellyfish was more than a little distracting, even though Jack had watched an action movie starring one. He hadn't truly believed they could move like that in real life. But he could never ignore shouting -- not by training, and especially not with his extra-sensitive hearing. He stiffened, took a step back toward the nearest building to be out of the way. "Wait. I hear something." He was going to feel like an idiot if the shouting was just how one of the species communicated.
Kaidan	"I'm sure it's nothing--" Kaidan started, but his own training had kicked in by now, his head tilting towards the source of the noise... ...which had stopped being so much shouting as a huge sign breaking loose and dropping down towards them. "Move!" he snapped, his body gone from resting state to glowing biotic blue in an instant. There were people here. He had to keep that thing away from them.
Allie	So much for being a tourist. At Kaidan's command, Allie immediately darted to the side, shoving a few passerby out of the way falling sign as she did so. Ducking low, she began searching for any other threats.
Jack	Jack leapt away from the falling sign, muttering an apology to the lizard-looking fellow he almost landed on top of as he did that. He wished he'd brought a gun on this trip. He hadn't felt the need to be armed to go play tourist, but it would be a lot more useful if things got bad than anything else he had going for him. He scanned the crowd, trying to work out if there was any way he could help.
Kaidan	The sign came to a sudden stop just a few inches above some poor turian's head, glowing bright blue. Kaidan's hand, outstretched, seemed to guide it down to the floor. He turned his head to try and get a good look at whatever the hell had just caused that, at least as much as he could while still keeping his focus. "Did anyone see what--"
Kaidan	"HYOOMANS!" Several bullets shot just past Jack and Kaidan both, burying themselves in the platform they were standing on. It broke Kaidan's concentration clean in two, and there was a loud crash as the sign followed suit, slamming hard into the platform. "YOU DIE NOW, HYOOMANS!" one of the vorcha across the street shouted. The ominous creaking of the platform was probably not a good sign, either.
Allie	Werewolf abilities and biotics aside, Allie was pretty certain that of the three of them, she was the best able to take a bullet if it was going to be an issue. Which was why she was moving to get in front of Jack and Kaidan, all the while keeping an eye on the angry guy across the street. "This wasn't part of the plan," she said with a quick glance over her shoulder. Allie really wished she'd brought her sword with her.
Jack	"I'm never taking a quiet vacation in your world again," Jack told Kaidan, and -- feeling the creak worsen -- jumped down to street level so he'd at least have a controlled fall. He landed in a crouch and attacked the "hyooman" guy with a sharp glare. It was what he had at the moment.
Kaidan	"This isn't usually what happens!" Not without Shepard around, anyway. Probably a good thing Kaidan had had that crash course in unpredictable disasters, though. A controlled ball of biotic energy smacked the vorcha upside the head, sending him flying back a couple of meters, gun crashing to the ground. He wasn't alone, though - but the sudden chaotic scattering of people made it really hard to tell where his friends were. "Keep moving," Kaidan yelled, reaching for his side-arm with one hand and Allie's arm with the other. Creaaak...
Allie	Allie let Kaidan pull her back, still watching for any other threats. "Just a quiet trip to play tourist huh?" she asked as they got to the edge. But the creaking was more of a shrieking now. They probably should be elsewhere. "Jump on three?"
Kaidan	"One--" Or maybe not. The platform gave in to gravity with an unholy noise. Kaidan rolled forward with as much control as he could muster-- slammed his shoulder into a railing, which gave way and sent him rolling perilously close to the edge of the street. Which in the Wards tended to translate to 'on the edge of a large gaping nothing'. "Shit!"
Jack	"Kaidan!" The platform's crash sent up a shower of debris. Jack coughed and fanned it away, groping for Kaidan's arm or leg or -- basically any body part that seemed sturdy enough to keep him from falling into the pit. He couldn't see Allie; he hoped she was all right.
Allie	Allie was dusty, but otherwise fine. She'd jumped when the platform gave way and landed a little ways away from where the debris came down. She was on her feet instantly, pushing her way through the confused crowd as she searched for Jack and Kaidan.
Kaidan	Kaidan groped around blindly. Nothing, air, shit, damn it, wait, was that a hand? He grabbed onto it as tight as he could. "Nghh... Jack? Allie?!"
Jack	"You got me," Jack said, squeezing the hand back and moving his other arm to find Kaidan's wrist for better support. "Haven't seen her yet, but she wouldn't go anywhere. Are you all right?"
Kaidan	Sadly for Allie, their assailants hadn't all vanished into the crowd or dispersed. In fact, the one Kaidan had thrown across the street earlier was in hot pursuit. "Hyooman!" He launched himself at Allie's head, all claws and very sharp teeth.
Allie	Focused as she was on searching for Jack and Kaidan, Allie almost missed the vorcha's attack. Fortunately the scream of the blue-skinned woman in front of her gave Allie just enough warning to try and dart out of the way. The teeth missed, but the claws? That was going to leave a mark. "What the hell is your problem?" she yelled. Not that she really expected an answer. Next time, quiet visit or not, Allie was bringing her sword. For now though, the long length of pipe she grabbed from the rubble was going to have to make due.
Kaidan	"Just a couple of scratches. Won't do more than give me character," Kaidan said. He grunted, pulling himself up just enough by Jack's hand that he could reach for the remains of the railing just up ahead. "There we-- go. Damn."
Jack	"Damn, Allie's swinging a pipe at something with a mouth full of razor blades?" Jack asked, standing very still. "Or damn, something else has your attention?"
Kaidan	"There are a lot of angry vorcha here," Kaidan said, very slowly. His eyes slid up to look at Jack. "And my side-arm just-- fell."
Vorcha	"You use a PIPE?" the vorcha facing Allie screeched. And... well, what followed kind of sounded like laughter? "I TAKE YOU APART, SQUISHY HYOOMAN!" Okay, maybe throwing a handful of rubble at Allie wasn't quite as dramatic an attack as that statement implied was coming, but it was something, at least?
Allie	Sharp claws, sharp teeth and he's throwing handfuls of rubble. Allie shot the vorcha her best bitch, please look. On one hand Allie didn't want to cause trouble. On the other, she was a vampire with all of the love of a good fight that came with it even if she normally kept those urges tightly locked down. She smiled, showing fangs and tightened her grip on the pipe. "I'd like to see you try."
Jack	Jack glanced from Kaidan to the vorcha to Allie. They were throwing rocks in the middle of a crowd, inches from a long fall to what Jack guessed was space itself. It was not a calming situation, and his werewolf instinct to fly at the vorcha with bared teeth was not helping. "You lost your gun," he said, gently as he could manage. "And while Allie's a mean hand with a pipe, there are more of them than there are of us. Can we get them to back down before they -- put someone's eye out with one of those pebbles?"
Kaidan	"They're vorcha," Kaidan grunted, crawling the rest of the way up onto (relative) safety and stability. "They're not exactly at the top of the reasonable species list. Best chance we've got is to get out of here and contact C-Sec, let them sort it out." Was it just him, or was a vorcha actually hissing at him from an alcove? Had to be just him.
Vorcha	"I tryyyyyy," the vorcha growled - which was not exactly the most intelligent comeback in the history of such things, but, well, vorcha. He leaped forward and slashed at Allie with his claws.
Allie	Allie countered by slamming the heavy pipe upside his head. It was almost like dealing with a slightly better smelling rabid. "You need to work on the witty banter."
Jack	No, no, the vorcha definitely was hissing. It was an ugly sound. Jack growled low in his throat and lashed out, trying to hit the attacking vorcha away from Allie. "Not everyone's as smooth as we are," he reminded her, between grunts.
Vorcha	"Hyooman," the hissing vorcha... well, hissed. "You come here! You no get shot at!" "Seriously?" Kaidan asked, scrambling up to his feet. "You want to get shot at?!"
Kaidan	The blow to the head made the other vorcha lash out in pain, barely even stumbling backwards before he renewed his efforts, at this point just trying to claw through whatever human flesh came near. There were more gunshots in the background. That wasn't good.
Allie	One particularly vicious slash of claw caught Allie's shoulder causing her to drop the pipe. Which went rolling out of reach. Of course. "Dammit, you're really starting to piss me off." Since the vorcha didn't seem to be letting up, Allie decided it was time to go on the offensive. The blade of the knife she pulled from her back pocket was only three inches long. But it was long enough to do damage when slashed towards a throat.
Jack	The vorcha's claws caught Jack's forearm, and he hissed. It would heal, but it still stung like a bastard. He stepped back and -- inspired by what Allie was doing -- pulled his own tiny pocketknife from one pocket and held it out, ready to strike. "Nobody is getting shot," he said, and tried to sound like the sort who could back that up.
Vorcha	Check out how impressed the vorcha... didn't look. Sharp objects didn't inspire much fear when you had a healing factor singing around your blood. Funny, that. He snarled and moved in for the kill-- And then the warp field smashed him straight across the face. He stumbled backwards, his body seizing up and glowing blue.
Kaidan	"This way!" Kaidan yelled, gesturing at the two of them. The other vorcha stood next to him, looking fidgety and impatient. The masses were really starting to clear out of the area. That... wasn't good. Where the hell was C-Sec?
Allie	Allie would never admit that a tiny part of her was annoyed that she couldn't finish the fight. But she was practical enough to admit that killing random aliens in a world that wasn't her own was probably not the best idea ever. So when she heard Kaidan call. Allie ran. "Are you okay?" she asked. The impatient vorcha was just going to get a glare.
Jack	"Mainly hurt my pride," Jack said. He wasn't running, but he was definitely walking toward Kaidan rather quickly. "Are you?"
Kaidan	"I'm fine," Kaidan tossed in. "Look, apparently we walked in on some kind of trade--" "You!" The vorcha snarled, pointing at Jack. "Yellow-head hyooman! You and other hyoomans come to skycar! Now!" He punctuated the statement by turning around and marching resolutely towards a car sitting a few hundred feet away.
Allie	In this particular situation, there were only two people Allie was willing to listen to. The snarling vorcha was not one of them. Feet planted and her arms crossed, Allie shook her head. "Are we listening to the cranky lizard guy?"
Jack	"Certainly not taking orders from him," Jack said, also shaking his head. "Especially if he's calling my hair yellow."
Kaidan	"He's got a skycar," Kaidan pointed out. And right now, it sounded like there were things exploding up ahead. "But I guess we could just fight our way out," he added. "C-Sec should be here any minute... I hope."
Vorcha	"No C-Sec!" the vorcha screeched. He took off his backpack and shoved it at Jack. "Yellow-head! You take package! You come to skycar!"
Allie	Fight it out. With only the weapons they innately possessed. Allie figured the odds were probably in their favor, but it would more then likely get messy. The odds of the three of them against a single lizard guy? Much better. Allie shrugged and decided what the hell. "Didn't you want to ride in a skycar anyway?"
Jack	Jack sighed, glanced to Kaidan, and hesitantly took the package, sniffing it as he did. "Fine," he said. "I think the saying is, any port in a storm -- and any skycar if things are blowing up."
Kaidan	The package smelled very strongly of alcohol - very old, very expensive alcohol. There was another loud explosion in the background, and Kaidan winced. He called up his omni-tool as fast as he could, putting through a call to the local C-Sec branch. Just in case they didn't know. "Let's get moving," he said, "That's awfully close to where we're at. I'll bring up the rear."
Allie	Keeping an eye on the vorcha the whole time, Allie made her way over and into the skycar. Stressful circumstances or not, she was going to have to boggle just a little because seriously. Flying car!!!
Jack	Flying car! Even if this wasn't ideal circumstances for a first flight, he was going to savor the moment. He hugged the package closely to his chest as he moved to the car. This smelled expensive.
Kaidan	"You late," their vorcha pilot grumbled. "Boss will not like you late! Or Red Haze attack! NOT GOOD." Kaidan ignored him. He'd slid into the seat next to the vorcha, his eyes trained on the street outside and the herd of angry, well-armed vorcha running towards them. "We really need to go." "Late, late, late," the pilot muttered, kicking in the gas. The skycar peeled off the ground, rocking a little as the inertial dampeners took a moment to dial up. One or two bullets pinged off the side of the car, but didn't penetrate.
Allie	They were in a flying car, trying to get away from people that were still shooting at them. Allie figured now would be a good time to ask the million dollar question. "Not that this hasn't been entertaining in a run for your life kind of way. What the hell is going on?"
Jack	"I'm with her," Jack agreed, still cradling the box with the hand that wasn't clutching the car seat. "Why are we in a flying car, and why did he hand me a box of expensive booze?"
Kaidan	"And more importantly," Kaidan said, practically glued to the window as he tried to make out the general position of their enemies, "What kind of guns does this thing have?" ... Okay, maybe he was still in the overcompensating-for-the-dead stage of grief. That was a thing, right?
Vorcha	The vorcha obligingly pointed to an assault rifle wedged in between their seats. "You yellow-head hyooman!" he added. "Boss say, find yellow-head hyooman! Give box! Make... TRADE!"
Allie	"So Yellow-head human," Allie asked as she started pulling on the rifle to unwedge it. "Is there something we should know about? Of is this all just a case of really bad timing?"
Jack	Jack laughed, without much humor in it. He was worried. "Mistaken identity," he promised. "Though I'm charmed by the fact you think I'd have an arrangement with these gentlemen."
Vorcha	"No mistaken!" the vorcha - whose name was Vorrk, thank you for asking - screeched. "Boss clear! Yellow head hyooman!" ... of course, if you asked Vorrk, hyoomans did all look stupidly alike anyway. Stupid hyoomans.
Kaidan	"I think you are, actually," Kaidan said, still peering out the window. "But we can talk about that later. Allie, get me the gun. This is going to get ugly." In case anyone remembered about that part.
Allie	With one last tug, the gun was in Allie's hands. She didn't waste any time handing it over to Kaidan. "I don't like the sound of that."
Jack	"Was there any part of this we did like the sound of?" Jack wondered, eying the gun enviously. "Because as far as I can tell things have been going downhill since we left the portal station."
Kaidan	There hadn't been any bullets hitting their car in twenty seconds. That... well, Kaidan knew better than to think that was a good thing. "Guys," he said, a feeling of dread settling in his stomach, "I think you might want to grab a hold of something..."
Vorc-- Vorrk	"You stop!" Vorrk yelled, annoyed. "I good driver! I take to boss, stay safe!" That was what he'd been trying to say, anyway. He didn't get that far: a rocket slammed against his side of the sky car, blowing a hole in the driver's side and knocking what remained of him out of the car, and very, very far down.
Allie	"Dammit!" Allie had been facing the driver when the explosion happened and unfortunately even vampire reflexes weren't enough to prevent her from getting a face full of debris. It would heal soon enough but it meant that for the moment, she wasn't quite up to jumping in the now empty driver's seat. You might want to do something about that Jack.
Jack	Right. The driver's seat was empty, and the car was about to crash. Jack spent a second thinking he was about to die before he realized he was being an idiot and jumped into the driver's seat. A gouge on his cheek where he'd been hit by a shard of metal from the explosion was already starting to clot. He scanned the controls, selecting what he hoped was a steering wheel and jerking it sharply away from the nearest building. There was a blast of horn as he almost smashed into a skycar going the other way. "Can someone talk me through this?" he asked, concentrating on not crashing. Enjoying the moment would have to wait.
Kaidan	"Just keep it stable!" The controls for the window on Kaidan's side - and damn was he happy for his kinetic barriers right now, though he would've preferred the stronger ones on his armor - weren't working. He took the riffle and rammed the butt into the window until it shattered. Clearly whatever flimsy plating this thing had wasn't going to keep them safe from rocket attacks anyway. "It's the-- call up the controls--" He pulled away from the window briefly to point out which controls. "Allie, keep an eye out!"
Allie	Yay for vampire healing. Allie spun in her seat, searching all around to try and see where the next threat was going to come from. She was just going to ignore the healing induced hunger pains. She'd worry about eating when there was less chance of being shot from the sky.
Jack	"Got it." Jack found the controls Kaidan had indicated and poked at them until he had the car going more or less in a straight line, at a more or less reasonable speed, and with the hazard lights and windshield wipers he'd turned on accidentally along the way turned back off. He braced himself for the possibility of future attacks.
Kaidan	The car gave the occasional worrying shake - if you asked Kaidan, it wasn't really made to keep going for much longer than this. He didn't have much time to worry about that, though, as another barrage of bullets plinked off the bottom of the car. Seemed like they were out of range of that rocket launcher, then. Kaidan stuck his head out the window, taking the assault rifle with him. "Allie!" he shouted. "Do you see anything?!" Her eyesight had to be better than his, right?
Allie	Holding on for dear life, Allie peered about looking for...THERE! Another skycar rapidly closing the distance between them. The cranky lizard guys with guns were pretty unmistakable. "Behind us and coming up fast! More of our friends with guns."
Jack	Jack pressed hard on the accelerator and took a sharp left at the next break in traffic, making the skycar's remaining windows rattle and something under the hood to screech worryingly. The thing Jack muttered under his breath was half curse and half encouragement. The care just needed to last until they could get someplace safe --
Kaidan	Kaidan was halfway out the window already. Only way to get a good shot. He narrowed his eyes and pulled the trigger, incendiary ammo mod kicking in. Vorcha. You had to kill them quick or leave them aching-- otherwise they'd bounce right back. "Just get us somewhere horizontal! Anywhere!"
Allie	Jack was driving, Kaidan was half out the window shooting things, and Allie was splitting her attention between looking for more things that were going to shoot at them and looking for a likely spot for Jack to land the car. "Down is good. My vote's for down. Definitely a good idea."
Jack	"I'm trying," Jack said, and -- spotting what looked like a likely patch of greenery and vacant space -- turned the car sharply and dove into the lot. It turned out to be an apartment building's courtyard, and irritated residents scattered as the skycar shuddered to a stop. Jack finally let himself breathe as he turned off the engine. "Did we lose them?"
Kaidan	"Not likely," Kaidan said, pulling back into the sky car. "I suggest we get moving and find a C-Sec outpost." He paused. "I'm surprised C-Sec hasn't found us yet, actually--" His omni-tool beeped. "Commander Alenko? This is Captain Bailey. C-Sec. You need to move." "Yeah, I got that impression."
Allie	Allie didn't need to be told twice. She was out the door and warily glancing around. "I probably shouldn't say this. But it seems clear at the moment."
Jack	"Other than that I have absolutely no idea where we are, that's almost comforting," Jack said, more sharply than he meant it. He stepped carefully out of the car, as if he thought it might throw him off if he moved wrong. "Kaidan? C-Sec?"
Kaidan	Kaidan stepped out with his eyes still trained on his omni-tool. "They're giving us a navpoint," he said. "South, south-west. About six hundred feet down." He pointed towards a small tunnel up ahead. "That way."
Allie	"Lead the way," Allie said. "Since you have a better idea where we're going. Jack you might want to grab that package. If it's important we probably shouldn't just leave it here."
Jack	Jack held up the parcel. "Thanks," he said, and followed Kaidan to the tunnel. He was adding GPS (or navpoints) to his mental list of important advancements in human civilization.
Kaidan	Of course, because this couldn't go smoothly or anything, there were voices calling from the other end of the tunnel. And they sounded vorcha. "Shit," Kaidan hissed. "Down-- behind those barrels!"
Allie	There was a part of Allie that hated backing down from a fight. But she kept reminding herself that this wasn't her world, or even Alice's. Random dead bodies, even if they were shooting first, could be a problem. "I really miss my sword," she grumbled as she ducked down.
Jack	"I miss -- anything," Jack said fretfully, following Allie behind the barrels. He spotted something on a shelf above them that made him hopeful. "Kaidan?" he asked. "If someone just leaves a gun lying about it's up for grabs, isn't it?"
Kaidan	A bullet whizzed by over their heads. So much for staying unnoticed. "Yep," Kaidan said, popping up over the barrels just long enough to fire a few firey shots into a vorcha's head.
Allie	"Go for it," Allie said. "I'll wait and if anything gets to close, then I'll just use brute force if necessary."
Jack	Jack moved more slowly than Kaidan -- he was still feeling out this particular pistol, and he was out of practice besides. But after one shot that went neatly over a vorcha's shoulder, he fell into the swing of things. He knew he couldn't match Kaidan's precision: He shot to sound and to flush them out, not to kill.
Kaidan	Thankfully, Kaidan could follow up on that with well-aimed bullets to the head. There were a lot of vorcha, though. Soon enough his rifle was giving off the familiar beep-beep-beep-woosh of an overheated heat sink that needed to cool down. Kaidan cursed under his breath, ducked out of cover again and fired a bolt of hot metal into a vorcha's face using his omni-tool. The vorcha screeched, catching fire. But they were getting a lot closer. "Allie," he hissed.
Allie	"On it," Allie said, shedding her jacket and assessing the approach vorcha to determine which one was the biggest threat. That one...Right there. Target picked, she let out a howl and launched forward. All five foot nothing of pissed off vampire hit the vorcha and he went down.
Jack	"My money's on Allie," Jack observed, sotto voce, as he lined up another shot. Still, to help her he was going to try to shoot the vorchas to either side. Keep them busy, and Allie could take care of the leader.
Kaidan	Kaidan hit another vorcha coming up on her back with a blast of ice - the vorcha froze in place a few moments later. "Allie!" he called. "You have to end him as quickly as possible, or he's going to start healing!" His rifle was still beeping. Damn it.
Allie	Speaking of healing, Allie's own body was doing its best to heal the wounds caused by the vorcha's claws as they grappled to see who was going to be the one to walk away from the fight. More quickly then Allie would have liked, there came a moment when the vorcha was no longer just a threat to her friends. Instead he was nothing more then prey. Her fangs descended and Allie struck at his throat, sinking her fangs in deeper as the vorcha stiffened and warm blood flooded her mouth. The wounds on her body healed as the Hunger faded. For a long moment, Allie forgot about every thing else, lost in the feeling of power she hadn't experienced in her six months of drinking True Blood on the island. The vorcha gave one last whimper, then stilled. He wasn't going to be a problem any longer. Allie got to her feet, wiped the back of her hand across her mouth, and stared steadily at the remaining vorcha. "Who's next?"
Kaidan	"... Hyooman is fast," one of the vorcha crowed. "We retreat! Retreat! Be back later!" At this point there were only about four of them left, so it was a clever strategy, all in all. They rushed through the door at top speed, shutting and locking it behind them.
Kaidan	"Well." Kaidan threw Allie a glance. "That was... something. Uh. Let's see if we can omni-gel our way through that door..."
Allie	"Yeah, something alright." Don't mind Allie, she was just going to focus on getting her jacket back on without getting too much blood on it and not think about the fact that she just used her teeth to rip the throat of a lizard in front of her friends.
Jack	"The whiskey is fine," Jack said hopefully. "Somehow."
Kaidan	Kaidan sighed, pacing around the barrels so he could have a go at that door. He sprayed some omni-gel over the opening mechanism and waited patiently-- And waited. And waited. "Omni-gel detected," a mechanical voice screeched. "Removing omni-gel!" The gel drooped down the door. "...Well," Kaidan said, activating his omni-tool again, "Damn. That's a new security upgrade. Uh... let me get around that the hard way."
Allie	"Is brute force an option? Because I'd be happy to try." Issues. Someone needed to work through them.
Jack	Jack perked up at that. He wasn't a skilled enough lockpick to get through a system he'd never seen before, but brute force.... "And I'd be happy to help her."
Kaidan	"No, I think I've got it--" Kaidan held his omni-tool to the door. It pulsed for a couple of moments... ...and then the door slid open.
Captain Bailey	...To reveal an older human man with two turians at his back. "Well, hello," he said. "I got to say, this is the first time I've hauled an Alliance hero out of trouble."
Allie	Allie had tensed when the door opened, but held back from doing anything more threatening then stepping a little closer to Jack and Kaidan.
Jack	"We weren't really in trouble," Jack lied. "But -- it is good to see a friendly face." Friendlyish, at least. Or non-hostile. Jack would go for non-hostile.
Kaidan	"Captain Bailey?" Kaidan asked. His own body language seemed to relax somewhat. "Thanks for hauling our asses out of the fire, but... you mind filling us in on what's going on here?"
Captain Bailey	Bailey crossed his arms. "Sure, Commander," he said. "There's an alcohol-smuggling ring spanning Kithoi and Zakera Ward. Vorcha mafia's involved. And you and your two invisible friends here walked right into it."
Allie	The fact that Kaidan was more relaxed and seemed to know the newcomer meant Allie was no longer feeling quite so on edge. But she was still going to stay quiet and still, not wanting to draw any attention to herself and the fact that she was wearing a decent amount of blood. Most of it not her own.
Jack	"Invisible?" Jack repeated, making sure his tone was amused and not, say, petrified. There hadn't been any problems from being supernatural and from a completely different place and time the last time he came to the Citadel, but he'd steered clear of law enforcement then. Well, at least Bailey wasn't ordering their hands above their heads or the like. That was something.
Captain Bailey	"I ran a background check on you two. No idea how you managed it, but unless you died several hundred years ago, the system has no idea who you are." Bailey? Bailey didn't really much care. He just wanted to get his job done. And the blood? Well, hell, they'd been up against vorcha. It was a miracle there wasn't more blood. "But the vorcha seem to think you're in on this deal now. Don't ask me why. So I think you need us, and we need you."
Kaidan	"I'd be happy to help, of course," Kaidan said, his eyes flicking to Jack and Allie. "But they're civilians."
Allie	"It might be a little more interesting then playing tourist," Allie shrugged. And if it kept the Captain from taking a closer look at them, all the better.
Jack	"I'm in too," Jack nodded, his thoughts much like Allie's. "You have to pitch in when something like this comes up, don't you?"
Kaidan	Kaidan didn't look very happy about it. "No, you don't," he said. "I can drop you off somewhere safe, no problem." Sometimes protective instincts beat such middling considerations as 'vampire' and 'werewolf'.
Captain Bailey	"If they're willing to help, I could use you two," Bailey said, merrily disregarding Kaidan's protests. "Especially you. Blond kid. They seem to think you're someone important."
Allie	That comment earned Kaidan the raised eyebrow of doom. "Yeah, because I'm a delicate flower and can't take care of myself."
Jack	"You heard him, Kaidan," Jack said, biting back a smile. "I'm important. Can't leave me with a sitter."
Kaidan	"Absolutely not," Kaidan said firmly.
Kaidan	"So I guess we're shopping for guns and formal wear," he added two minutes later.

[[ because when canon gives me 'undocumented Kaidan adventure involving whiskey, credits, and vorcha', I lose my mind and do something with it. Much love for