open]

[implant]

Who: Kaidan Alenko & OPEN
What/when Kaidan is hunkering down for 3rd night of the game. food has been had and kaidan is getting a bit of a stress headache
Location: 7-E

It's cold. It kind of reminds him of home, that damp chill that works its way deep inside; the one that always made him run to his mothers side and quickly inside their house. Only here there's nothing; just an ancient forest with little cover at all. Even with the absence of bright lights and loud noises, Kaidan has been getting headaches nearly daily; the L2 implants just working themselves out. He doesn't know why; but they just... don't work. He hasn't tried to use any of his biotics here and thankfully no one has approached him as a hostile.

Kaidan is by a stream. That was his first action-- finding clean water and keeping close to it. Animals need water, humans need water-- and hell, most plants grow close to it. Kaidan is lucky enough to have a basic grasp of plants and wildlife; knowing edible from inedible; safe from poisonous. Right now all Kaidan can do is sit by the tree he's chosen, overlooking the stream in case anything wonders by. He doesn't have a fire, doesn't have anything that could make a fire-- and he's not exactly looking to cast a beacon out on his location. He hasn't forgotten that many people will be trying to kill him; even if how he acts seems to hint at that.

Comments

[c_sec]

It figures Garrus would see a familiar face-- making himself a target, no less. Garrus had found himself a nice spot on a tree, grabbed a couple rocks and stood watch as long as the sunlight would allow. Things were getting dim now, and though there weren't any moons in the sky, he could still see well enough. Not well enough to shoot anything, but well enough to spot the familiar-looking human looming by the stream.

Garrus approaches carefully, as silently as he can, before confirming that, yep, it's Kaidan. Well, it's certainly been a while. Might as well just blow his cover-- Garrus is pretty confident he wouldn't try and kill him this soon.

"It's Commander, right, Kaidan? This is the last place I expected to see you."

[implant]

Kaidan picks up on the approach of someone he can't hear. He's paying attention to his surroundings, no matter what anyone could say. He's on his feet before the shadow makes itself known and he knows his fingers are cracking a sharp blue, if the pain in his temple means anything.

It cuts out when he sees who is approaching. It's an old squadmate. One of Shepard's best. "Garrus? What are you doing here?" He's the last person Kaidan ever planned to see. If Garrus is here, though, where's Shepard?

[c_sec]

Garrus takes a step back while Kaidan tones down his biotics. Good to know those still worked.

"Judging by the lack of turians in the area, I'd say you have a better chance of answering that than me. This a colony?" Spirits know what kind of stuff people could get away with out in the Terminus systems. Back on Omega, this sort of thing would've been a public event-- it's not all too hard to picture.

[implant]

"No way this is a colony. The tech is outdated; the setting is... You've been to human colonies. They look nothing like this." Kaidan takes a bit of a step back from Garrus. It hasn't escaped his knowledge that Garrus is working with Cerberus either. It's... unlike them, but Shepard made people do strange things, no matter who she worked for. "No, this is something else. I just... can't figure out what, yet."

[c_sec]

"Hey, I'm not suggesting it's one of yours. Once you get out of Citadel Space, anything could happen, I'm just sayin'. They're advanced enough to get me dextro food-- or make it, I guess." Though the wariness makes Garrus tilt his head, giving Kaidan an odd look. They were on the same Normandy when Sovereign hit, right? And Shepard had taken down the Collectors too-- wasn't that enough?

He just shrugs. "I'm glad to see you're alive in any case. Laying low seems like the best strategy right now."

[implant]

"For now. Soon, this will be a very vicious, very feral, blood bath." BAaT taught him one or two things, and the breaking point was one of them. Everyone had them, and it was only a matter of time before this terrain and pressure brought everything to a boil. "It's good to see you alive as well, Garrus. Is... Is Shepard with you?"

[c_sec]

"I dunno why she would be. This whole thing happened kinda suddenly-- ending up here, getting thrown into this." Though Shepard would be the type to run head-first into this sort of thing. She has a knack for stirring up trouble. "You're right about that-- Winning comes a lot easier if you wait for everyone around you to tire themselves out. Best you can hope for is everyone fighting each other before they get to you."

[implant]

"How can you think about winning something like this? We should be stopping it! Killing civilians and people who don't deserve that... how is it justified, Garrus?" Kaidan's ethics and moral code are hardwired into his being and this place goes against them all. Garrus playing along with it only makes it worse.

[c_sec]

"I never said it was justified. Hell, the whole thing's wrong, there's no doubt about that." That explains Kaidan's stance at least. "Look, the way I see it, ending up here? We're already dead. At best, we're being held hostage. These people obviously could've killed us all-- the platforms, the games; it's all some weird, sick game. But not playing along is only going to get you killed sooner, that's just how it is. A hostage doesn't have much leverage over his kidnappers." He'd be deluding himself otherwise.

[implant]

"Wouldn't it be better to die for what you believe in than to submit? To kill in cold blood?" What Garrus is saying though... might be their only option. Kaidan has a long list of things he wants to do before he punches out and he'd hate to move all of them over to regrets. Kaidan rubs his forehead again; his temple buzzing dully in time with his heartbeat.

[c_sec]

"Honestly? I'd rather survive to stick a bullet through whoever's behind all this." This may not be war, but sometimes you have to set your pride aside to do what needs doing.

[implant]

"Look, I'm not trying to start a fight here. I agree with most of what you're saying... It's just taking a bit to set in." Kaidan still hasn't found that homebase he's looking for, hasn't really had a chance to collect his thoughts. "I'm sorry."

[c_sec]

Well, shit. Garrus doesn't know to do with apologies. "Nah, hey... it's alright. This is kind of a lot to take in. Can't imagine anyone's handling this super well. Death isn't something you ever get used to seeing."

[galaxyherder]

It's so late that it's early, and the night is heavy black and cold. Since the Cornucopia, she's been doing her best to keep a low profile. Three days of walking when she can and sleeping when she can, she's pushed all the way to one edge of the Arena and is doing her best to learn just how far it goes in the other direction. Its been a good opportunity to clear hear head, but it has also given her plenty of time to work up a healthy (or perhaps, unhealthy) dose of frustration over this entire ordeal.

Can't her life be normal for ten goddamn minutes?

The terrain here is steep and rocky, the stream cold and fast. She's been able to nibble on a berry or two now and then, but she's not so confident in her plant-life taxonomy that she dares try anything more than she's nothing short of sure on. At least the water's plentiful and she managed to snag a bag with a survival blanket in it, so the nights aren't as terrible as they could be. Not that she wouldn't give up her whole left arm to be back on the Normandy right now.

She pauses for a moment to stare at the sky, thinking of home. The Normandy. The fact that the constellations are Earth's constellations seems like a sick, cruel joke. But a joke she doesn't quite buy into yet. A place that can project the faces of the dead into the sky can certainly project a few strategically placed points of starlight as well.

That's when she sees him. It. The shape. She thinks it's a man, but it's still too far away to tell for certain. It's a black shadow against black shadows, but it takes more than a few skipped meals for Shepard's eyes to be anything less than sharp.

She tucks herself amidst a thicket of brush and stills; watches; waits. Waits to see if they've noticed her too. To see if they're alone. If they're armed. If they're a threat at all, or can simply be avoided by a diversion to her projected route. After a what seems like hours but was only a few minutes, she shakes her head and scrubs at her eyes. For a moment. A foolish moment. The shape actually looks familiar.

[implant]

Kaidan hears the faint whisper of fabric moving. It's slight and far away, probably just his imagination-- but it hadn't been with Garrus. This time Kaidan might not be as lucky. He turns just a slight way to where he heard the sound, keeping his head ducked and hoping whoever is out there was friendly. That's painfully optimistic, so Kaidan keeps his biotics on the line, ignoring the way his implants shoot off in pain automatically. He hasn't had a chance to use them in full, not yet, and he's not looking forward to it.

[c_sec]

It's not hard to tell Kaidan's tense all of a sudden, and when he does, Garrus turns around, nodding his head toward the sound. 'Hostile?' He mouths, though turians don't have lips to speak of. They could throw a rock and see if it gets spooked, or lure whoever it is out with a distraction. Garrus wouldn't mind playing bait-- he trusts Kaidan's biotics enough to risk it.

'Should I go around?' Garrus moves one of his claws in a circular motion, tilting his head with the question. There's a whole slew of turian non-verbal signs he could use (that Kaidan wouldn't know,) but hopefully these translate well enough into human gestures too.

[galaxyherder]

Whoever it is, she's fairly certain they are aware of her presence. There is a tenseness, a poised stillness, to the still-unknown shape that easily translates into vigilance. They know she's here, and they're either waiting on her to make a first move, waiting for their own right moment to spring, or maybe just waiting until she disappears.

She grinds her teeth in anger at herself. Until she had seen their shadow, she had not been traveling as stealthily as she could have been, so they likely herd her approaching before she even saw them. She'd set out from her camp at that ungodly early/late hour of the night; to hopefully avoid others while they slept. But apparently her lack of contact with the others in the last few days allowed her to ease up on her alertness.

Still, she's faced worse odds before, and bigger, more violent opponents she's sure. True, she's used to being better armed and armored, but Shepard got a good enough look at the supplies at the Cornucopia to know that, at the very least, if she's about to face an armed opponent, they've got no more of an advantage over her than she does over them. Quiet as she can, she pulls a long slender object off her back and unwraps the sword she acquired at the Cornucopia from its makeshift sheath and prepares herself for a fight. Not her weapon of choice by a long shot, but she knows it's sharp and she's always been one to make the best use out of the lot she's been given.

[implant]

Kaidan nods to Garrus; eyes flickering blue on and off before they quiet. It's taking a bit for Kaidan to get used to all of this, but he's diligent and a fast learner. If the hostile makes any move towards them, Kaidan is more than ready. He hopes it doesn't come to that. There's not a sound made as Kaidan tries to scry out where the sound originated from. There's a rustle, but the wind is picking up...

[c_sec]

Garrus returns the nod, taking a deep breath and taking one last look toward where the noise came from. Once he starts running, there'll be too much noise to gain for the element of surprise, but hopefully Kaidan's biotics will be enough of a shock to turn the tide.

That being said, once Garrus darts off toward the sound, he's all precision, ready to dodge or cut away as need be. He catches the glimmer of a blade, but little else. The important thing is keeping the enemy engaged long enough for Kaidan to strike. Even if that enemy looks--- well, it's hard to tell in the dark, be he could've sworn--

[galaxyherder]

The sudden rush of a second, unseen person startles her only enough to get her adrenaline pumping. She's fairly well rested and she's been walking long enough ready that her muscles are loose and warm. Perhaps not quite as mentally prepared to take on two enemies at once, but she's been trained for situations like this. Perhaps not specifically trained for taking on a rampaging turian in the darkness of a mountainside forest with a sword, but... things could always be worse. 'Adaptable' is a quality she has in spades.

It takes a moment to register that though.

Turian?!

She's prepared to strike; drive her sword into flesh and at the very least, do some debilitating damage, but when she sees claws coming at her and the flash of vivid blue eyes she switches gears entirely.

No. Fucking. Way.

"Garrus!?" her voice is tight and apprehensive, like she's not actually sure she can even believe it. But she can't bring herself to strike until she knows, so she leaps out of his reach until she knows for certain.

[implant]

Kaidan's heart stops when he hears that voice-- when he sees the figure it's attached to come out of the shadows. It's Shepard. Everything halts for a second, the biotics and the assault. He knows Garrus won't attack; not when it's... it's Shepard. What is she doing here? Was this all some kind of Cerberus plan-- no. It couldn't be. They wouldn't have Shepard hunt her old squadmates. That just spells disaster.

Kaidan's throat is locked-- his fingers twitching; firing impulses. He wants to take her down, the fact she's working with terrorists but... he can't. Not here.

[c_sec]

"Shepard?" Garrus would know that voice anywhere, that walk, that dodge-- he slams to a halt, frozen in his stance like he can't believe what he's seeing. It shouldn't be possible, but then again Kaidan is here, why not--? "Spirits, what are you doing here?"

[galaxyherder]

She releases the tension in her shoulders, lowers her sword enough to at least let him know she's not going to slash him open in the next five seconds. And won't, ever, if she can be sure it's really him. Though she's in such disbelief that he's standing here right now, that she can't allow herself to drop her stance entirely.

But she grins at him anyway. "Might ask you the same thing," she says. Because what else can she? She has no idea why she's here, but she's damn curious as to why he is. Maybe she wasn't looking as closely as she thought she was, but there seemed to be a pretty high ratio of humans at the Cornucopia three days ago. It seems almost too good to be true.

Garrus. She's not sure if she can come up with anyone she would rather see more.

And then she remembers that he was the surprise attacker; the hidden shadow. There had been another. And hadn't that one reminded her of something? Her eyes move from Garrus to the still-distant shadow. "Looks like you've made a friend at least."

[implant]

Kaidan stares for a second longer before he ducks his head, having to build the guts to say anything. He steps forward first, instead, making sure to hold his chin high and give away no weakness. "Commander." It's the best he can do. He's still... in shock, over what happened at Horizon. Paralyzed with fear but so happy, surprised, to see her again.

[c_sec]

"You know me, I'm a charmer." As the only turian he's seen so far, he has to be. He's lucky to have run into Kaidan, and now Shepard. He knows Turians make most humans uncomfortable.

"Good to see you." Garrus grins right back, relaxing his stance like they're back on the Normandy. They might as well be-- now that Shepard's here, things might work out after all. Still, he takes a step to the side, letting Kaidan have his welcome. Garrus wasn't there on Horizon, but he heard the stories. This could awkward quick...