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Blue-green eyes narrowed as Samus examine the still image. Sangheili involved? They didn't often make long term presences in the Neck if they were affiliated with the Nation States, not outside the Joint Occupation Zones that existed as part of agreements between them and the Confederation. "This security image was captured here on Daiban?" she asked as her brow creased. Diplomatic envoys aside, there weren't many Sangheili on the Federation capital. And working for weapons runners? It begged questions about who else they were associated with. Samus remembered encountering Sangheili with the Banished when she had infiltrated and added the crew of the Euclid's Anvil a couple years back. Was this some indication of their involvement? Or just paranoia?
Macie would give a bit of a harder smile “Yes. Three hours ago in fact. This is Zeza ‘Kharem, a mercenary who some say was banished from his clan for .. let’s just say disreputable conduct. He’s been suspected to be affiliated with several of Altman’s intermediaries. We would like you and Eresh to apprehend him. I would expect stiff resistance though.”
Eresh would give a chuff “A single Sangheli won’t be a problem, not for the two of us.” The Mawkin said with a shrug. “They are powerful, but not insurmountable. Consider it done.”
That made her laugh a bit. “That confidence never fails to impress. That said, I wouldn’t let my guard down. Shameful past or not, every interview or after action report I’ve read paints him as a very savvy combatant, very difficult to get a read on. He likely isn’t alone either.”
A single Sangheili? No, not likely an issue between the two of them. But if other exiles were involved, or even worse, any Jiralhanae? Well, she had learned the hard way and survived not to underestimate a "Brute", as the old soldiers from the Euclid's Anvil had referred to them.
"Never underestimate a Sangheili…I've seen first hand just how hard even one can hit, let alone an elite team of them." Admittedly, she wasn't on the receiving end of that situation, though she had almost felt sorry for the Kromus pirates who had been. "You said just three hours ago…that's pretty quick surveillance data. Almost like he wants to be seen."
Eresh would nod “I’m aware. Rest assured, I’m not underestimating our quarry- I’m simply stating facts. With the two of us working in tandem, we should be prepared for most encounters.” The Mawkin said matter of factly.
“Even so, I would feel better if you two proceeded with at least a little caution,” Macie interjected, before turning her attention back to Samus. “I don’t know if he’s wanting to be found, but this is Daiban; there are few places that aren’t covered by at least one camera.”
Her brow creased as she finished her plate while studying the holographic image intently. Sangheili in general didn't often go outside the Nation States at the far core ward end of the Orion Spur or the Joint-Occupied Zones that were part of their treaties and alliances with Sol, and thus with the Federation. It wasn't impossible, but it did strike her as something to keep in mind. And they were on Daiban. Curious.
"As I said, we are hoping to apprehend him. If he has regular contact with individuals who are affiliated with Altman, it would be prudent to see what he knows. More importantly, taking 'Kharem off the board would be a great win for the justice system- taking care of a hardened criminal like Zeza would be quite advantageous to the both of you as well, reputation-wise. But as for how to go about it, I would suggest looking into a few of the gangs who are reported to be getting funds, illegal substances, and weapons from Altman's people. Who knows, he might be here in order to to lend assistance to whichever group Altman is aiming to garner favor from." Macie said, also finishing her meal.
What was also stranger was that it really did seem like 'Kharem was wanting to be seen; it didn't make sense for a criminal mercenary to be so brazenly out and about. Eresh would lean over to look at the holostill image with her, before softly nudging her with his forearm.
"You look like an idea is percolating, Ha'chidari."
Samus creased her brow, now absently rubbing at the scar under her left eye. "Thinking how to go into this without making a massive scene," she said, thoughtfully examining the holo before frowning. "You're too obvious a mark, I hate to say, but we might be able to have me infiltrate with a little cosmetic work and a few favors called in for IDs."
Though, knowing Eresh's habit of being overly protective of her, he was not likely going to enjoy this idea.
Branagh would tap her finger as she considered Samus’ suggestion, brow furrowed in thought. “That just might work. If you’re lucky maybe you could even be able to get close to Zeza without much notice : assuming he made an appearance of course. And definitely less conspicuous than Mr. Talon trying to do the same; no offense!”
Eresh didn’t respond right away, instead glancing down at the holostil again. Samus was right about one thing: he didn’t particularly enjoy this plan of essentially having Samus pass herself off as a prospective thug or mercenary… but he understood the reasoning.
“So I shall be your back up for this assignment, Ha’chidari?”
A slow nod as she began tapping at her wristcomp, making a few notes of things she'd need. "I'll discuss planning when we head out, I don't want to reveal my trade secrets in public, after all." She had that serious look in her eyes as she took a moment to pay her tab for lunch, then stood up and straightened her jacket. "The sooner we get on this job, the better, so if you'll excuse me, Miss Branagh, I need to prep myself."
"Yes, of course Miss Aran. I'm confident that you'll be able to handle this with little difficulty." The GFPD officer said with a smile, collecting her things as she too paid for her meal before standing and offering her hand for a shake. "It is a pleasure to work with you." she said as she then gave Eresh a friendly nod. "Thank you for meeting with me again, Mr. Talon."
The Chozo would return her nod as he took care of his bill, and stepped to the side to allow Branagh to leave the table and to go on her way. Once she was gone, he would turn his attention to Samus, a curious tilt to his head. "Where to now, Ha'chidari?" He asked, a glint of humor in his eye. "You have that look again, by the way."
Polite farewells exchanged before she readied to leave, with her very tall avian companion following behind her while the peacekeeper agent went her own way. "I need to grab a couple things before I go in and play blackmarket off the grid hunter doing some very off the books work." She turned her head as they left the diner, making sure they were sufficiently unheard in the crowds. "About and hour or two to switch up my gear, make sure my ship is tapped into the planetary transmission network to boost my suit's transport range, and then gotta spice up the looks and cover the scars before I go in to find 'Kharem and get myself dug in." The downside of the propaganda pieces done on her since Zebes; cover her eyes with contacts and dye her hair right, and she could pass easily as any other human mercenary. But her scars were distinctive, made quite famous in the few years since her "Zero Mission", especially after that overly dramatized holo film based very loosely on what had happened there.
She still was frustrated by how they had casted some six foot adult film actress as *her*, and very much misrepresented her life leading up to the Pirate invasion, and padded out anything not directly related to Zebes with very much unneeded steamy casual romances and sex scenes. The only satisfaction she had gotten after that, besides hiring a lawyer to sic on further offenders for misrepresentation, was getting the rather large royalties and making sure a good chunk of it had gone to the Malkoviches for the utter embarrassment that film had made of Ian.
"I'll meet up with you once I've gotten ready," Samus stated as she tapped at her wristcomp and called for a taxi drone to take her home. "Get whatever you think you might need and make sure you're good to go when I call you."
Eresh would tilt his head at the subtle shift in tone in her voice as she spoke of her preparations, but he chose not to dwell on it or comment. He had heard her express misgivings about her public image in the media, and in truth he felt a good deal of sympathy.
“Very well. It shouldn’t take me overly long, the police tend to frown upon bounty hunters terminating potential suspects if they could’ve been captured alive- especially here on Daiban. Then again, you do not need me to bring that up.. you’re my senior in this regard.” He said with a chuckle. He then gently tapped the back of his knuckles against her shoulder as he turned to make his leave.
“Just let me know when you’re ready, Ha’chidari.”
And with that, he was on his way back to the hangar, his mind going over various pieces of equipment that he might need. Mostly nonlethal munitions, a few gas grenades, restraints.. plus a few decidedly deadlier pieces for insurance purposes. While it was preferred to take the Sangheli alive it never hurt to pack something that could put him down if the worst case scenario came to pass.
Thus for the time that Samus specified she would need to get ready, Eresh would gather everything he needed- and a couple things he didn’t.. just in case.
Two hours since shebhad arrived at her apartment on Daiban, filtering her hair with black and brown dyes to cover its rich golden color, as well as contacts for giving her muddy brown eyes instead of their true blue-green hues. A few bits here and there to cover her scars and fabricate different ones to help create the illusion, some IDs pulled up with information loaded to the primary datanet in thanks to some contacts within the GFPD, and her rather uncommon status within the Hunter registries, and the last thing to do was don her techsuit and cover it with outer layers to hit the dull blues and metallic silvers. It wasn't her preferred base armor, but she needed to be hiding, not advertising herself.
A few wrappings wound around her right arm to help hide the biological markings that crossed down from her chest toward her fingers, some worn out gloves to complete the look, and Samus was ready to go. A quick message was sent to Eresh as she made her way out of her apartment, grabbing a synth-leather jacket and a duffel bag as she crossed the main room and exited, with the doors automatically locking behind her. "Time to get dirty," she muttered to herself as she queued a taxi drone and made her way to meet with Eresh before she went into her cover.
Post by Eresh Tarren on Sept 16, 2023 16:17:53 GMT
Receiving her message, Eresh would give affirmation before also heading out to their agreed meeting spot. On his ride over he would glance at the rather curious driver, giving an avian bob of his head before quietly reviewing the data that Branagh had shared with them through his helmet display to see if he could glean any details he may have missed during the meeting. As far as he could tell, not really, although he did decide to look into the mercenary Sangheli’s background again.. and he clicked his beak faintly in contemplation as he read it more thoroughly.
If this individual was as experienced as the documents seemed to indicate, he was silently thankful that he had the foresight to bring the added firepower that he did- but hopefully it wouldn’t be needed. Soon enough he would arrive, and after paying his fare he would wait until the driver was out of sight before making his way to Ha’chidari. He was curious what the extent of her cosmetic alterations would be.
She thankfully hadn't been waiting long when the taxi arrived bearing the two and three quarters meter tall Mawkin. Her hair was tousled and pulled into a messy bun, brown-black hair framing her face in loose strands to help the image of the black market mercenary, while her connective tech suit was covered by the various worn down attire and synth-leather black jacket. "Least that didn't take long," Samus said in greeting as Eresh would arrive and emerge from his ride. "I'm assuming you did some extra research for me while I was getting ready?"