The creaking of the bulkhead was a calming sound to Zeph, who sat with his back against the cool metal wall of the ship. Arms crossed over his chest, fingers tapping a nearly silent rhythm against his biceps as he waited. His expression was entirely stoic, eyes closed, devoid of emotion. It wasn't long into his meditation and prayer when a voice sounded over the ship's intercom.

"Zeph. We're almost there, get down to cargo."

Silently, the Drell nodded and stood. Pushing his chair in before grabbing his coat, Zeph turned to step out of the small room he'd been granted during his stay on The Altus. He walked out and into the metal hallways, offering small nods to the crewmembers he passed by when they acknowledged him and stepped into the elevator, keying the button for the cargo hold. As the elevator descended through the various levels of the large ship, Zeph considered his mission.

"Turian. Kez. Powerful biotic, use caution, disruptor rounds most effective against barrier." Zeph mumbled to himself, fingers lifting to tap his chin as he listed off different key points of the target. "Few guards, but all strong. Careful. Attack from afar, L7 best bet for success."

The elevator stopped one floor above his destination. Dark eyes turned to regard the doors as they slid open, a large and hulking figure stepping in. He grunted a greeting to Zeph, turning to eye the buttons. They had the same destination, so the Krogan leaned back and waited.

"Are you coming with me?" Zeph asked curiously as he turned to regard the much larger warrior.

"Ada wants me to make sure you don't get yourself blown up like the last guy did." He laughed then. Zeph never liked the Krogan's laugh; it was loud and grating.

"You mean the Human' He didn't account for Kez's abilities. I've been studying the entire time we've been in space." Zeph assured the Krogan, arms crossing again. "I won't miss."

"Ain't a question of whether or not you miss. You can hit him and still die, Turian's got an army."

"He has six guards." Zeph countered. "Hardly an army."

"Six, powerful guards. Watch yourself, Zeph. You may join the other assassins if you aren't careful."

Zeph shook his head while the elevator slowed to a halt, the doors opening before him and the Krogan. "Try not to give me away, Uvnek." The Drell said to his companion while they stepped out of the elevator, turning to face the large shuttle that waited just around the corner, a few other crewmembers waiting aboard.

"Ha. I kinda want to. Get into a big and bloody gunfight. That's how you kill people."

Unfortunately, the shuttle never reached its destination. While Zeph was listening to the information given by his employer the power in the craft went out. The vessel lurched suddenly, the action almost knocking him from his seat were it not for the straps holding him into place. Zeph unbuckled then, carefully standing to walk around and open the small door that led into the cockpit.

"What's going on?" He asked in that cool and calculated monotone he was never without. The pilot looked over his shoulder at him, entirely bewildered by the occurrence.

"I don't know!" He cried. "I can't even see now. We're flying blind. Everything's black. There was a huge electrical spike before the power went down, I can't do anything, we've lost communications with the Atlus, too."

Zeph nodded his head slowly, leaning over while resting his hand on the back of the pilot's chair. He peered out through the front of the shuttle and frowned visibly for a few seconds when all he saw was a large and dark cloud in front of them.

"What am I looking at?"

"No idea, it just ?" The pilot was cut off when the shuttle lurched suddenly before the nose tipped downward and fell into a steep descent. "Zeph! Go sit down and strap in, I'm gonna try and level her out!"

He had to grab hold of the pilot's seat and lift himself toward the door as they went down at an almost perfectly verticle incline. Dragging himself back into the passenger seats just outside, he dropped back beside the Krogan and strapped himself in, scooping up his rifle as it fell toward him.

"What the hell is going on?" Uvnek asked furiously, turning to glare at the Drell as though this were his fault.

"Don't know." Zeph said. "Just sit down and be quiet, try not to crush me."

The Krogan snorted and turned forward, grumbling under his breath childishly while the shuttle plummeted downward.

"Alright, I can see the planet again." The pilot shouted from the cockpit. "We're a bit off course, I don't recognize the city, but we should be able to contact the Atlus once we land."

Zeph could hear the quiver of fear in the pilot's voice; he didn't mention the loss of power. His brows furrowed in concern while he glanced out one of the small windows again as the cloud fell away to a landscape he couldn't make out from this high above. They soared past it quickly, the entire shuttle shaking and aflame. The heat was sinking in since the kinetic barriers had been shut off along with the rest of the power.

He thought he heard the pilot speak but the sound was cut off by the screech of metal as it ground into the earth and the cries of the Krogan as the engine that was set into the back of the shuttle erupted into flames and blew back a metal panel from the wall opposite then, sending it flying into his chest. Zeph ducked low, hands drawing up over his head as metal and glass flew around him, flames roaring angrily while he heard the disgruntled sound of the pilot being crushed between his seat and the console as the ship's nose end flattened.

When it had stopped there was a long scar in the ground riddled with flames and debris from the shuttle and surrounding trees. The front of the vessel was completely crushed and had nearly split the pilot in half, the Krogan had died from the metal panel and glass was stuck in Zeph's back and hands. His spine screamed from the slams against his seat, every part of him ached as the metal fell around him and he was nearly engulfed in the angry flames that jumped in the shuttle.

Coughing as the smoke entered his lungs, Zeph undid the straps that held him in the seat and shakily made his way to the shuttle's door. It had been jammed from the impact, inoperable with the shuttle's condition. He quickly turned again, snatching up his rifle before turning and aiming a few well-placed shots near the hinges, which were hidden by scraps of metal. After blowing them off his body was enveloped by what appeared to be azure flames before a force of energy shot outward and slammed the door open, sending it rolling back.

Zeph dragged himself from the wreckage, using the length of the sniper rifle to serve as a walking stick of sorts as he climbed out from the scar and dropped into the grass beneath the trees, rolling onto his back to take a deep breath of the air.