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Marked Effect (AFF Edition)	By : unrealuniverse Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 22185 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Mass Effect characters, species, locations and the universal setting are owned by Bioware and not myself. Any other brand names mentioned are property of their respective owners. This work is and always will be free for anyone to read.

Chapter List
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Chapter 26 - First Day
Monday 23rd January 2017
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Seliha's Omni-tool beeps as she walks into the kitchen. "I like how you announce your arrival Seliha."
"It was just co-incidence Sam although I see it has amused you." Sam laughs a little as she checks the message.
Seliha,
I will meet everyone in testing room two in the biotics building.
Usarta
"Usarta will meet us all in one of the biotics testing rooms when we arrive. I suppose to help you all settle in."
"I think I will need that as I have no idea what I am to do." Kate expressing some nervousness.
"You will be fine Kate; I guess I will have to work out how to actually use their software though, which could be fun. I struggled a little with the console upstairs yesterday just to read my messages."
"I have not even used a console yet Sam."
"They are not that difficult to use once you know the basic layout and how to interact with them Kate. I will help you out this evening if you wish."
"I would like that."
"I think since we are all arguing who is going to find it most difficult, and we have all finished eating our breakfast, we should set off. Are we using one shuttle or two?"
"I think two Adastra as we do not know what will happen today." Adastra nods to Fosanta and the five of them exit the house and board two shuttles.
-----
Seliha leads everyone to the testing room, which they all enter to find Usarta sitting on a chair at the side of the room with three boxes next to her. "Good morning. I called you here as it is a good space that is not being used for a while."
"I think everyone is a little anxious as to what is going to happen Usarta."
"That is understandable given it is your first day." She stands up and picks up the three boxes, handing one to Adastra, Kate and Sam.
"What are these?"
"They are the Omni-tools I mentioned about on Saturday Kate. The instructions are on a datapad inside and are also stored as a file on the Omni-tool itself for future reference. I would advice you all today to get used to them as you will likely be using them a lot."
"So I guess we have some sort of a profile stored somewhere which they connect to?" Sam wondering quite how they work.
"Both yourself and Kate have a profile on the Asari Republics database Sam. Your messages are stored on your profile as well as medical records, financial details and any legal documentation you may obtain."
"How safe is all this information Usarta?"
"Good practice dictates that you should treat messages as not private, especially on Illium Kate. You will need to use a console to authorise your Omni-tool to make financial transactions later. That system is in place so it makes it very difficult for someone to take credits from your account. The information on the server itself is highly secured Kate. While no one can guarantee it would be immune from hacking it would be essentially pointless as it is highly encrypted."
"So we use our Omni-tools to make payments?"
"You can Sam and I would recommend that you do so as the transactions are safer than using credit chits. Armali have given you two this weeks pay in advance to allow you to complete any purchases that you may need to make." Kate and Sam nod, Adastra seemingly more interested in her new Omni-tool.
"Would you like me to help Fosanta Usarta?" Seliha seemingly not all that happy with silence and nothing much happening.
"I would appreciate that Seliha. Adastra, Kate and Sam would you like to follow me to the propulsion building." The four of them exit leaving Fosanta and Seliha in the testing room.
"Your room is one floor up Fosanta. I will also show you the software we use for bioamp design as it has a few things which are not intuitive." Seliha gesturing Fosanta to follow her.
"I would appreciate that Seliha. Could I ask if there is a manual for it as well as it could be a good idea to read that?"
"There is a manual on the network storage which you can take a copy of before you leave for the day." The two of them get into the lift to go up a floor.
-----
"I think I am going to have to look at the manual to work out how to use everything this Omni-tool offers." Adastra keeping one eye on here she is going and one on the Omni-tool.
"It would be best if you both read the manual and learnt how to use everything. I have had the opportunity to use one myself and they are certainly not as easy as most are to use. Kate, your Omni-tool has a relatively simple interface and should be fairly intuitive. I would still recommend you reading the manual however."
"I will make sure that I do that this evening when Fosanta can help." Usarta nods as they approach the lift in the propulsion building.
"I have a question. Do Omni-tools work in space?" The four of them enter the lift to go down to floor seventeen where Adastra and Sam are to be located.
"Local functions are unaffected Sam. If the ship is below light speed and near a communications buoy you can send and receive messages. Calls are usually not typically permitted from Omni-tools in space because of the limited bandwidth available. If you need to make a call then it is best to use the ships on-board communications systems to do so."
"I just have one thing to add that Adastra has not mentioned. There can be delays when sending or receiving messages in space if there is heavy traffic at that part of the extranet but usually they are fairly quick."
"Will we get messages from people we do not know or just random messages from companies?" Kate curious if they work the same as e-mail.
"Probably Kate but spam messages are not that common as the extranet drops excessive sending of messages to keep unneeded traffic to a minimum."
"So it stops people who send more than say one message per second?"
"I am not sure what the limit is Sam." He nods to Usarta as the lift doors open and the four of them walk into the first room on the left. "As you probably remember from Saturday this is your room Adastra and Sam. Adastra you probably did a ship maintenance module in your degree."
"I did why?"
"The software we use for design is quite similar to the augmented reality software used for maintenance. There is a manual on the consoles and I am sure Thea or Samalya, in the room you share manufacturing machinery with, would be more than happy to help you as well."
"It may be an idea to say hello anyway given we need to share."
"That sounds a good enough reason Sam. Anyway I must show Kate her office before lunch so I will leave you two to settle in. If you have any problems do find me or give me a message."
"I am sure we will be ok Usarta." Sam nodding in agreement to Adastra's comment but not looking quite as convinced.
"I will see you both at lunch time." Adastra and Sam nod as Usarta and Kate leave the room.
"How difficult are Omni-tools to use Adastra?" The two of them sitting down at the consoles at the back of the room, Sam struggling a little to open his box up
"Certain functions such as language translation, once you have them set up are automatic. Then it is dependant upon the Omni-tool model how easy it is to use Sam. This is not the worst I have used, it is logically easy but just the amount of functions makes it confusing." Adastra having a bit of a browse around the various menus. "You should have a go Sam."
"So it is basically a fingerless glove?" Sam looking at it before putting it on.
"You may be pleasantly surprised Sam. You can also get variants that detect finger movements which make the holographic interfaces on consoles easier to use."
"You are telling me there is an easier way to use consoles as I had a bit of difficulty yesterday? Using a keyboard that is not there is really strange and not easy."
"If you are to use consoles and interfaces a lot then implants in your fingertips are usually recommended. For moderate use haptic gloves provide the same kind of feedback which makes using holographic interfaces easier. You can as you found out yesterday use them without any kind of feedback but it is really strange to do so."
"What was the excuse given for not using a piece of glass? I admit for something portable it would be impractical but for say ship controls or even on a console which is on a desk, why not?"
"Space saving Sam. You may find your Omni-tool is a little strange to use as well I just need to warn you." Sam just looks at it.
"I know I should read the manual but actually working out the basics yourself is better I find."
"I will get you started, to open your Omni-tool open your hand and rotate your wrist at the same time Sam. The Omni-tool might trigger itself incorrectly a few times at first but it learns." Sam does as Adastra mentioned to be greeted by an orange holographic interface. "I think it would be best for you to work out what to do with the manual Sam as everyone has their own preference on how they set up and interface with their Omni-tool."
"This is as bad as the console to use Adastra." Sam trying to press things and most of the time missing.
"Sam in the system options there should be an option to turn off haptic interfacing." Sam struggles to get to the system options menu and then choosing interaction he turns off haptic interactivity. The Omni-tool seems to become much more responsive with that one setting change.
"That is so much better. I guess that is on by default because most people get implants who use Omni-tools?"
"Usually, yes. The procedure only takes a couple of hours and is not expensive. However they have to have the option there as some people either prefer not to have the implants or cannot have them because of some medical reason."
"Am I actually loosing anything important as the interface looks different now?" Sam noting the new layout of the main screen.
"You will notice you get visual feedback now instead so the slightly larger keys will light up when pressed. This is also common with consoles and shuttle control systems if you turn off haptic interfacing." Sam nods but is concentrating more on what other options he can play with. He quickly finds the option to display the current time seemingly inside the glove which seems to make him pleased.
"I will mess with that later." Sam presses the close button and the holographic interface disappears. "You said shuttle control systems; do larger ships not have that option?"
"Usually if you are to pilot anything larger then it is highly recommended that you have implants. It is entirely up to the manufacturer of larger ships as to what kind of controls are fitted, but haptic implants allow you to pilot them all. They also make it easier to control the ship as you can have feedback of what is happening." Sam nods before turning on the console in front of him and notes the time before laughing as he has the time on his Omni-tool.
"I think it is about time to meet everyone else for lunch." Adastra nods and the two of them exit the room and head to the lift. "I have a question Adastra. Does this that is displaying the time now also give indications of messages?"
"I would expect so Sam. If it does not then I am sure you could probably use the built in programmer to change it." Sam nods as the lift progresses slowly towards the Skylounge.
-----
"I know it is not the largest room Kate but you will not be meeting clients here." Kate looks around at the large desk, two chairs and a console. The rest of the room was relatively sparse except a chest of draws with had a turquoise leaved plant on the top.
"It has a good sized window and is light enough. It will be plenty to work in Usarta."
"I am glad to hear that Kate. I will give you an introduction to what we would like you do this afternoon. Do you have anything to ask now, perhaps about your Omni-tool?"
"Not really Usarta. I will sit down this evening with Fosanta and work out how to use it."
"Fair enough. I will meet you here after lunch to explain everything about your role." Kate nods and takes a seat as Usarta leaves. Kate looks out of the window at the traffic passing below before feeling a touch of vertigo. Stepping back she steadies herself before deciding it would be a good idea to head to the Skylounge even if she is a little early.
-----
Kate finds Adastra and Sam already at a table, Sam seemingly playing with his new toy. "Hello Kate. I am a little surprised that you are not having as much fun as Sam." Kate putting her tray on the table and taking a seat opposite Adastra.
"I am leaving it for tonight Adastra. I am a little nervous as I was not the best person with technology back on my home world." Sam laughs a little before looking up.
"Sorry, I just remember you walking to technical support whenever you had a minor problem. Half of the people who worked with me found it funny you only seemed to turn up when it was my time to be on the desk."
"The others were more intimidating Sam." Kate seemingly managing to convince Adastra but it was not seemingly washing with Sam.
"I will not mention that problems could not always wait the two days between me being on the desk. Anyway you will have fun with the Omni-tool Kate as it is a little strange." Sam prodding at something else. "Oooh. You can rearrange stuff. That will be handy as I can stick the most used things first." Seliha and Fosanta walk up with their trays and take a seat.
"I guess that was the designer's intention Sam. How are you doing with learning how to use it?"
"It is not too bad after turning off the haptic interface Seliha. It will take a while for me to get it how I would like it though." She nods.
"It should not take too long to get it to something usable Sam. Kate it should not take you long either."
"I am not sure about that Fosanta but we will see this evening. I am just curious as to how it feels wearing it Sam?"
"It would be a bit less strange if you had one for each arm but I can see it being easy to get used to. It does not weigh much and does not restrict movement."
"I do not think they would be very popular if they did Sam."
"Thank you for making my comment look silly Adastra." She gives Sam a smile. "I think we best look at this design software if you are so bored." Adastra nods. "I will see you all either later or back at the house I presume." Seliha, Fosanta and Kate nod. Sam and Adastra leave the table.
"I guess I will only be here as long as Usarta needs me. She is going to explain what my job is going to entail this afternoon."
"If you come to find me in room 23042 when you are finished Kate then we know when you are ready to leave."
"I will do Fosanta. I will see you both later. I best not keep Usarta waiting." The two Asari laugh and nod before Kate makes her way back to her office.
"She looks a little stressed. I guess her first day is quite a bit to take in."
"I think you are right Seliha but I think Kate will be fine."
-----
Kate walks into her office to find Usarta sitting on the second seat in the room. "You must be fairly quick at eating?"
"I only have time for a snack at lunch time Kate. Please take a seat as you look overly nervous."
"I am a little Usarta given it is the first day and I am on a practically unknown planet." Usarta passes Kate a datapad.
"I am sure you will be fine as I am going to explain everything to you. On the datapad I have just given you is the form that you will need to fill in for each individual. I am sure you can work out what questions you need to ask to get the answers that you need to help you will it in." Kate quickly looks through the form.
"So things like why are you choosing Armali's propulsive products over someone else's?"
"Yes. It is entirely up to you how you word the questions as long as you get the answers that you need to fill in the form. You then need to check for any known security issues with the individual or the company or both. You can do this using our database which will highlight problems for you."
"I guess if there is a problem I reject the application?"
"It depends on the severity of the problem Kate and whether it would affect us. We would like you to use your own discretion in making the decision. I am sure every verifier we have had on Thessia has treated cases differently. As long as the worst individuals are removed then we are not too bothered with borderline cases. Some individuals ran the security check first and then if it came back as a borderline issue they could ask them to explain why you should grant the application."
"That sounds like a better way to doing it to be fair Usarta."
"I found it quite inventive as well Kate so I thought you should know. I will show you how to do the searches." Kate nods and Usarta takes her chair around to the other side of the desk.
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"This software looks rather similar to 3d design software we have. It is going to take a while to work out all the menu items though."
"Hello, are we inconveniencing you?" Sam and Adastra look up to see two Asari.
"Of course not, we were just trying to work out how this software worked. I am Adastra and this is Sam."
"I am Thea and this is Samalya. You are both rather well known. I feel honoured to meet you."
"Thea, I am not special and I doubt Adastra thinks she is either. While it is good to meet you both I hope you can see us as just co-workers who do the same work."
"Thea is a little young and excitable at times but she is remarkably bright Sam. It is however good to meet you both. Would you like our help by explaining how to use the software?"
"We would Samalya as I have only used something similar and Sam has barely used a console and an Omni-tool." She nods not having a large smile on her face unlike Thea but she does look friendly. Sam guessed Samalya must be a couple of hundred years older than Thea and guessed that must be why she is a little more reserved. "I am a little surprised neither of you are bothered about being with me?"
"Why would we be Adastra?" Adastra holds her left hand up so Thea can see the markings better. "I am confused."
"I have markings on my body and I still have this public image of being a bad person. It makes me a little weary when meeting new people as I do not know how they may react." Thea looks more confused.
"The rumour is that Adastra may have killed someone who saw her markings Thea. I personally think it is just a rumour though and not to be taken seriously as it was not like you were ever convicted."
"I was not Samalya but the rumour does have some truths to it. If you both just treat me as you would anyone else I will be more than happy."
"I think we can both do that Adastra." Samalya looks to Thea who nods. "Ok we should get on with explaining the software otherwise we will be here until tomorrow."
-----
"It is quite scary the amount of information Armali has on everyone." Kate randomly mentioning as the shuttle makes its way out of Nos Astra towards the house.
"I guess you know roughly what you have to do now Kate?" Fosanta shouting back from the pilots seat.
"Yes and I have my first client tomorrow which is a little frightening. Usarta is keeping me to one or two a day for this week."
"That is nice of her Kate. I hope you are not too tired or anxious to learn how to use your Omni-tool later?"
"I will be fine as long as it is not too complicated Fosanta. I do have a manual though so it should be easy enough." Fosanta forgoes answering as she lands the shuttle in its space at the house. Adastra, Seliha and Sam seemingly already back before them.
-----
Sam said his goodbyes to everyone at the houses before he got in to the shuttle with Adastra, Imphaya and Lianta. The shuttle was making its way towards Nos Astra space port, Adastra seemingly trying to use short cuts to avoid traffic.
"Do you know where you will be meeting Sam?"
"It said near dock sixty seven."
"Of course it did, she knew you would not be flying the ship. Just trust that I am right about this Sam." He says nothing but wondered how the hell this is planned so far in advance unless she could see into the future. Adastra soon parked the small shuttle near to dock fifty one and once they had walked to the dock it was only a couple of minutes before the meeting time. Only a minute later a nondescript small passenger transport appeared and smoothly parked in the dock. Once the walkway had extended to the ship they saw an Asari walk out and head towards them.
"Talima, it is good to meet you again." Sam sounding a little shocked.
"It is good to meet you again as well Sam. Adastra I hope that there are no hard feelings for me being the one to deliver the news of your limiter."
"No Talima. It has turned out to not be too bad to be honest. Could I ask before Sam leaves if he will be back before Friday?"
"I would think so Adastra but I unfortunately cannot promise that."
"That is all I wanted to know." Adastra turned to Sam and gave him a hug. "Be careful Sam."
"I will Adastra, you do as well Seliha." She nods, "See you in a few days you two." Imphaya and Lianta nod and Sam leaves with Talima to board the ship. It was not long before the ship was outside of Illium space and Talima had set autopilot.
"Unfortunately unlike when you were on the Enlighten we cannot skip some traffic queues and we cannot travel quite as fast so it will be about nine and a half hours before we reach Thessia. Do you have any questions about what you are to do Sam?"
"Do you know who I am to meet?"
"I know her name is Amistathya Sam."
"Amistathya... ah-mist-athya."
"No Sam. Aymi-sta-theia. It is difficult for even some Asari to get it right but I would recommend you do because even a small mispronunciation ruins its meaning entirely."
"Amistathya. That is going to be difficult to remember let alone pronounce. I am going to probably keep saying aymist-athya which I guess is also wrong?"
"It is Sam, as I said it is difficult to get right but I guess she will understand that."
"Could I ask what it means?"
"I think it is for her to tell you Sam, not me." Sam nods. "She has been in the care of Galactic Understanding for just over a week." Sam looked puzzled.
"Surely the Consort would be a better individual to help her than me? I mean I have no experience at doing this kind of work."
"Experience helps but it really is not essential Sam. The Consort wished me to remind you how you gained Adastra's trust." Sam wondered what that meant but then remembered back to what happened in the bathroom back on Earth.
"Oh. I think I may understand Talima. If I am right then the only piece of information I would like to know before I meet her is her age. I do not want to know anything else about her."
"She is two hundred and sixteen Sam and I will make sure that no one tells you anything when we get to the facility."
"Thank you Talima. Does this ship have a bed? I have had a long day and am quite tired."
"Yes second door on your right." Sam moves down the ship and finds that the room has a single bed in it which before long Sam is sound asleep in.
-----
Fosanta sits down next to Kate in their top room. Kate with the datapad on her knee and her Omni-tool open. "How is it going?"
"It is not too bad after I made sure I was reading the correct part of the manual. I did not know that there are two different interfaces so I was really confused at first."
"I cannot really remember what it is like to have no feedback with holographic interfaces other than I really did not like it."
"It does take a bit of thought to select what you want but it is not unreasonable. I can see why someone such as yourself would not like it though as it just feels like you are waving your fingers in the air."
"It could have been that feeling that made me dislike holographic interfaces so much Kate. I did all of my work on datapads until I had haptic implants then I felt fine using holographic interfaces."
"What are they Fosanta?"
"They provide a little sensation of resistance when you hit a holographic surface. They can also give you various tactile feedback such as textures of things or a warning if you do something wrong. It makes the experience that much more satisfying than waving your fingers around in the air."
"I think I will stick with waving my fingers around in the air for a while Fosanta as I would rather not have implants if I can avoid it."
"You can also get gloves which give you the same feedback Kate. I would actually recommend trying them at least at some point as they do make a difference."
"I will keep that in mind." Kate closes her Omni-tool and turns off the datapad. "I think we best be getting to bed given I have a long day tomorrow again."
"That sounds like a good idea." Fosanta following Kate out of the room and down the stairs to bed.
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Notes.
I was rather undecided initially as to how to deal with Sam and Kate not having haptic implants and use of holographic interfaces. I could see no practical reason why a console or Omni-tool could not measure distances to objects and check to see if a key has been touched. It would probably be strange enough to explain why people prefer haptic feedback whether in gloves or implants.
Next chapter will mostly be Sam on his trip to Thessia. That chapter needs some more polish for all you fine people so chapters 27, 28 and 29 will be posted on Saturday the 7th. I hope you are all enjoying the story up to now.
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Marked Effect (AFF Edition)