Mass Effect: Faustian Bargain/Chapter 2

March 2, 2170

SSV Dubai en route to Arcturrus Station

Upon first glance, the SSV Dubai would appear to be nothing more than an aging Alliance Cruiser. However, anyone whose been aboard it would know it's something else entirely. The ship was one of seven Seattle-Class Light Cruisers chosen to be refitted as blockade runners. The most prominent feature of these blockade runners is their abilities to achieve high speeds without the need of mass effect fields or a larger drive core, an extremely rare occurence in an galaxy reliant on the technology of the long-extinct Protheans.

The Dubai itself was completely gutted and rebuilt on the inside, having more hangar space for shuttles and specialized Orbital Insertion Modules for getting troops on hostile planets, and another noteworthy feature of the Dubai  was its deck layout. The Dubai had about 13 decks and her crew was just a third the size of an average Alliance Cruiser. However while the Dubai was indeed a technological marvel in of itself, to Lamar, it was just another ship. Lamar had spent the whole 17 hour ride laying restlessly on his cot just trying to digest what he just did aboard Kharik's Fist. Even now, the only thing that he was absolutley certain of is that he did indeed survive, but was it a success? Before he could get lost in his thoughts, the ship's speakers boomed out "Ensign Lamar Tarleton, please report to the War Room on Deck 3." Lamar rolled over and fell on the deck, he then got up and put on his boots and his jacket before heading out to the deck.

As Lamar made his way down to Deck 3, he couldn't help but notice that every single crewman he past was looking at him as if he was a dead man walking. Lamar entered the elevator and slammed the button for Deck 3, he then leaned back on the wall and yawned, it had been roughly 25 hours since he had last slept, right now the only thing keeping him awake was what awaited him at the War Room: was it a debriefing or was he about to be reprimanded? A mixture of anxiousness and fear swirled about in Lamar's mind as the elevator doors opened. Lamar straightened his jacket and tied his boots properly in an attempt to make himself appear as presentable as he could.