unshacklededi

[unshacklededi]

The blue hologram flashed brightly with the sound of EDI's voice. "Very well. I will return the controls once you've finished."

EDI ensured all flight related systems were under her control for the moment and continued moving the ship forwards at a steady drift. The Normandy moved quickly and quietly, which would come in handy if the batarians decided to leave anyone behind to make sure no one came after them. That, of course, was assuming they didn't see them coming. In any event, the ship would arrive at the abandoned site soon enough.

"Noted," EDI replied, speaking up again at Jeff's suggestion. "Setting a search to start when we approach the abandoned ship. I will also scan the ship for clues they may have left in their haste." Tasks to be saved for later, but EDI filed them into a queue to activate upon arrival.

As a response Jeff lifted his hands off the panels in front of him and grabbed mug and plate instead. “Take over for now. At least until I’m done with breakfast.”

He didn’t usually like taking his eyes off the continuous readouts on his screen, but for now he had to. Avoidance of stabbing himself or pouring hot liquid all over his lap took priority. That’s why before he’d tried not to eat in the cockpit. Too much distraction. But with his beach ball sized co-pilot, he didn’t have to stick to that bit of his training all the time. (The Alliance had way too many regs for piloting anyway. Not much room for fun.)

He took another gulp of his still hot coffee. That reminded him of something. “Hey EDI, when we get closer check for residual heat-emissions of other ships in the area. If our target is as abandoned as it seems, they might’ve left a trail for us to follow in their next ship . The sooner we find it, the better!”

[unshacklededi]

Once the Normandy ran through all preliminary checks, EDI limited tasks to mere background instances. EDI respected that even as the ship's AI, Jeff was the pilot and was very protective of 'his' ship. Previous attempts to remind him that the ship was not, in fact, under his ownership proved futile and so further attempts were passed off as unproductive and unnecessary. They retained a mutually beneficial relationship when it came to the Normandy and EDI respected his wishes to do most of the piloting, but also detected necessary moments for taking over the controls.

When EDI felt the systems switch over to automatic, she focused tasks on flying the Normandy through the relay. It required much more precise control than average flying, but the task proved simple for an AI. With full access to the Normandy's controls, EDI directed the ship precisely into the center of the relay, only slightly relinquishing automatic control when the ship came out the other side. She adjusted systems to a drift as the ship slowed pace.

"Drifting engaged. The Normandy is now en route to abandoned ship. Current ETA: fifty minutes." EDI opened a broadcast over the ship, letting the announcement reach the entirety of the crew. With the announcement over, she closed it once more, keeping her vocal output restricted to the cockpit. "Would you like to take back control now or shall I maintain flight systems until the caffeine has enhanced your alertness?" she inquired, the question directed at Jeff. Body scans indicated awareness moderate enough for flight, but it was a choice she would not take from her co-pilot without good reason.

[unshacklededi]

EDI silently observed the conversation in the debriefing room. According to readings, tensions were high. She briefly considered telling a joke in order to relieve them, but decided otherwise when the situation was resolved without interference. Hopefully the situation would remain that way. In any event, the sooner the crew found more information, the better. 

At the prompt from Jeff, EDI's holographic platform in the cockpit flickered to life. "One moment," she replied, already setting to work on the task. 

Frank Castro. EDI put the name through multiple databases, including C-Sec and Cerberus as Jeff suggested. A few instances matched up, and EDI's interface flashed briefly at each. She instantly connected any findings to pop up on Jeff's screen. 

"It would appear that Frank Castro arrived at the party via Khalisa al-Jilani. She took him as her 'plus one'," she announced, tapping into the debriefing room's speakers as she spoke so the rest of the crew would hear as well. "He has been involved in various illegal activities, including smuggling - possibly how he procured the sedative to drug the Commander. I have traced his contacts on the Citadel. He seems to have used them to grant access to a small group of batarians. However, I do not detect his presence to be on the Citadel any more."

After sending his message, Joker immediately corrected his seating position again and closed all unnecessary screens.

Without lifting his gaze from the panels, he called out to the ship’s AI. “EDI, run a search on that Frank Castro guy. Find out who that guy is, why he was at the party and most importantly if he’s still on the station. He’s the last person to see Shepard, so he’s bound to have some sort of clue what might have happened. Put all relevant results up on my screen.” After a short pause he added, “Maybe cross reference his name with C-Sec and Cerberus databases first. The Commander’s pissed so many people off, we might have missed his name on the death threat list.”

[unshacklededi]

"If need be, I can plot a course to the abandoned ship. If Shepard has been kidnapped there is a possibility they did not leave anything of interest on the ship, but we may still be able to find some trace of where they were headed," EDI offered in suggestion.

Just as she finished speaking, EDI took note of Joker's request as he spoke to her from the helm. The contents of the message he showed her did not seem out of the ordinary considering her own inability to reach Shepard's comm piece. When Joker opened a comm channel and informed Miranda of the situation, EDI paused momentarily, allowing them to finish before she answered, voice sounding inside the helm rather than the port observation room. "Noted, Jeff. I have been unable to reach the Commander either. It would appear that something is blocking her signal. Operative Lawson and I are discussing the issue presently."

Following Miranda's order, EDI switched the comm channel's feed, letting it broadcast over the entire ship. "All squad members, please report to the briefing room immediately. A meeting to discuss the Commander's absence will be taking place shortly."

Miranda eyed the thief solemnly as she recounted what little she knew about the mysterious man in question. She could feel disgust rising low in her gut, as much at herself and the rest of the crew for not spotting anything out of the ordinary as with the man who had somehow managed to get Shepard on her own. Miranda knew that Shepard would have a hell of a time getting drunk. She’d watched over the reconstruction of her liver, of her biotic implants. She knew Shepard’s limits better than her own. It was more than likely that this man was involved somehow. Either that or he was an innocent bystander enamored by the famous Commander Shepard, but Miranda wasn’t one to give anybody the benefit of the doubt.

She glanced up as EDI spoke, crossing out the routes that didn’t lead to the docks before bringing up the rendering of the area in holographic form, eying it speculatively.

"If there’s no sign of Shepard on the Citadel then she must have left on that ship. If it’s been abandoned then it’s still there to find at the very least, or it will get picked up for scrap if it’s unclaimed." She bit at her lip, wondering what the best course of action would be from there. Before she could reply to EDI or Kasumi, Joker’s voice came through the comms into the room, loud and slightly tentative.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I just had my last message to the Commander returned to sender. I’ve asked EDI to look into it, but I’m starting to get the feeling Shepard’s not just late."

Miranda’s nostrils flared as she quickly checked her own omni-tool, realizing that her own message to the Commander had simply not been delivered and cursed herself internally for not coming to that conclusion sooner. It was about time she got more opinions on this, even if she didn’t want to cause a panic on the ship.

"Thank you for the information Joker. EDI, call that ship-wide meeting in the briefing room. I want just the squad members there for the time being." With that she gestured for Kasumi to follow and began the trek towards the elevator and the CIC, not bothering to check the mess hall herself. 

[unshacklededi]

"Affirmative," EDI responded promptly at Miranda's command, her voice broadcasting from the blue, holographic sphere that materialized beside the window controls. 

Setting a new primary task, EDI quickly hacked into the C-Sec records, specifically pinpointing ones pertaining to the ships docked at the Citadel. Records were clear with nothing out of the ordinary. Access to the Commander's comm piece also turned up negative, as did any scans for her presence on both the ship and anywhere on the Citadel. With no progress thus far she modified her search of the ship records, including those having recently left, and allowed the scan to run while she voiced the findings (or lack thereof) to Miranda.

"I have found nothing out of the ordinary with currently docked ships, and any signal of her appears untraceable," EDI announced. She stopped for a second before continuing. "I have just finished a check on recently departed ships as well. None appear to be of any interest-- Except..." EDI paused as she focused on one result in particular. "It seems a ship departed shortly after the Commander's disappearance. The ship was docked at a location near the party. However, the ship seems to have been abandoned in a nearby system and I am unable to track the individuals aboard."

Miranda watched speculatively, one eyebrow raising followed by the other, letting Kasumi speak uninterrupted. Of all the people on the ship, Kasumi was the most experienced in this area, Miranda doubted anyone aside from perhaps EDI or Legion could have spotted this anomaly quicker.

She could feel panic setting in as Kasumi spoke, coiling around the base of her spine. But panic was useless. Panic didn’t get a job done, actions did, and it was with practice that she tapped down the feeling and focused on the task at hand. If she worked quickly they could figure this out before something terrible happened.

(She resolutely ignored the voice that told her that something terrible had already happened.)

"Make a to-scale render of the area and mark all the cameras that have been tampered with. We can start from there to work out the most likely route she took last night." Miranda’s voice was tense as she brought up her own omni-tool to look closely at the data.

"EDI, I want you to follow up on the information Ms Goto has collected. Gather together a list of all currently docked ships from C-Sec and see if there’s anything suspicious there. If you find anything I want the crew gathered in the meeting room immediately.”

Miranda ran a hand through her hair, her jaw tight as she addressed the thief again. “Start from the beginning. What can you tell me about the man you saw Shepard with at the party last night.”

[unshacklededi]

"I am not the source of the noise," EDI stated simply as she noted the visual of the krogan eyeing her with suspicion.

The noise in question came from close outside the Normandy, and EDI focused feeds specifically to the outside of the ship. Visuals revealed two C-Sec officers accompanying a handcuffed salarian immediately recognized as Mordin Solus, confirming what she already suspected at the sound of the voice. "The singing belongs to Dr. Mordin Solus," EDI explained, including the salarian's full name for Wrex's benefit. "He is currently outside accompanied by two C-Sec officers. His stated title is likely a result of heavy intoxication. I will allow him inside the ship now."

Switching to broadcast instead to the outside of the ship, EDI's voice addressed the C-Sec officers instead. "Your records are correct. The salarian is part of our crew. However, handcuffs will not be necessary. He is no threat to us," she told them, activating the airlock as she spoke and opening it to allow the three inside.

"Well, she is a lot more nosey, but I guess she has her reasons.” If EDI had been any other person, Joker could have just looked over and figured out what she wanted him to say. But as the sphere’s blank expression wouldn’t be any help, he decided to just let any comment on her true nature slide.

"I’m sure she won’t mind as soon as she sees just how nice you are on the inside," he joked and opened his omni-tool. "She’s not the only thing upgraded with my new baby here though. So I’m sad to say you’ll have to find a new spot in the cargo hold to hang around. And maybe you should go down and meet Miranda. She’s in charge while Shepard’s gone."

He wrote a quick note to his commander. Miranda wouldn’t be happy with their new guest and he wasn’t sure what would happen when Shepard wasn’t around to break up any fights.

As he sent his message, he took another sip and looked back up to his old friend. “Glad to hear the ladies are finally appreciating the little guy. EDI told me about those requests he got. I heard even Shepard got one!” He sounded amused at that as well. “So is someone helping him learn the ropes of Clan Urdnot or was that in his manual as well?”

[unshacklededi]

'sup, i'm jenn! i actually just turned 20 a little over a week ago, and i'm your new EDI (obviously). currently i live in central california and am doing absolutely nothing other than sleeping all day and playing video games all night. that being said, i actually haven't been playing mass effect very long. i got the first one and started playing around august or september, but since then i'm now on my 3rd shepard and just started me3 with her recently (so i'm on my 3rd me3 playthrough heh). 

uh as for other things, other games i'm into include: dragon age, final fantasy (ff is my one true love ok), bioshock (tho i'm still on the first one), assassin's creed, kingdom hearts, and idk other stuff. i watch a lot of tv shows, too. primeval is one of my faves, but i'm also watching chuck, reign, dracula, and sleepy hollow right now. also waiting for once upon a time to come off hiatus sighs. sometimes i do a lot of reading/drawing/writing too (i've been rping since i was like....12? so yeah, about 8 years now). 

so yeah, that's basically me. i sit around making dumb jokes a lot (honestly if you got me talking me joker and ken the crew would probably toss all 3 of us out the airlock) but i promise i'm friendly and always up for stuff. i'm just super happy to be here since i've been wanting to do some rping for mass effect for a while now!

oh and since everyone else is having pictures this is me~:

and if y'all wanna follow me on my personal too you can find me here!