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."

[implant]

"It's why..." Should Kaidan inform Garrus of the two he's with? "It's nothing. Civilian's dying is something I hope I never get used to. That'd mean my service to the Alliance is over."

[c_sec]

"Yeah, casualties like that are the hardest to avoid." It's kinda like when the Normandy crew got taken by the Collectors-- getting the whole crew out took a miracle. Seems like Shepard's the only one who can make those. "Sometimes you gotta make some sacrifices, but this... this is just plain cruel."

[implant]

"More than cruel." Kaidan leans back against the tree he's at, casting his eyes out again, as if scanning for someone. They quickly return back to Garrus when nothing emerges. "Have you met any of the other 'tributes' yet?"

[c_sec]

Garrus nods. He's not gonna disagree with that. He notices Kaidan's gaze and looks out into the dark. "Not yet. Expecting someone?"

[implant]

"That uh, obvious, then." Kaidan laughs a bit, rubbing his eyes gently, coaxing out the slight strain. "Two girls, younger than me. They shouldn't be here and all the training I have says to make sure they survive somehow. I can't abandon that."

[c_sec]

"Oh." Garrus turns, well, blue at that. Turians don't really do pale, but his mandibles draw up, unhappily. "I had no idea they had kids in on this thing, are they serious?" Garrus kind of got the whole warrior-deathmatch bit of this place, but kids? "That's sick."

[implant]

"Well, one was talking about school, how she was kidnapped from there. The other... nah, she's just younger than me." Kaidan blushes at bit, shaking his head. He can see the distress Garrus wears clear as day. Kaidan can read turians pretty well by now, had to, in his line of work and past. "It's all sick, but I can't let them get hurt."

[c_sec]

"I hear you. I just can't believe they'd-- Are they seriously asking these kids to kill each other?" Garrus scoffs, shaking his head. Kids aren't supposed to get involved. Crime, war-- once you factored in kids, you were screwed one way or another. Just thinking of his sister back on Palaven...

"Guess we ought to make sure nothing happens to 'em, huh? You think there's a trade for not playing by the rules?"

[implant]

Kaidan looks over Garrus before he winds up smiling, just a small thing but it's genuine. Garrus was a formidable ally to have, to say the least. "I guess we should. If Shepard were here--" Kaidan cuts himself off last second. It's not often he stumbles over his words, but the thought just came out. If Shepard were here, it'd be like old times. She'd protect them all without a second thought; and she'd survive.

[c_sec]

"If Shepard were here, she'd take the fight to whoever's in charge and talk them down till things made sense in this place." Garrus sighs. It's easy to rely on Shepard, hell, it's even nice, but his time in Omega taught him that you can't always wait on Shepard to save you. It's a great thought, but statistically, the odds just weren't in their favor. "We'll have to make due. Set up a perimeter, find some vantage points... keep a lookout for anyone hostile. There's no reason to assume other the other 'tributes' will be against killing each other."

[implant]

Kaidan nods, pulling his jacket tighter around his body. "I agree, but I don't think the game wants us settling. Not yet, at least. We should stay on the move, quick and silent. Find people who can help or need help. That's all we can do right now." Kaidan doesn't say what they should do when they meet someone who is neither, someone who is playing the game to win. It may be kill or be killed, but with numbers comes strength; and with camaraderie, loyalty.

[c_sec]

"I dunno... staying in once place gives you the advantage of knowing your surroundings. It might be better to set up a defensive strategy before we risk running into anyone else, don't you think?" It's a matter of tactics. "With two kids on our side, we're at a disadvantage against anyone wee meet. Moving might be what the game wants, but it's gonna lead us to a lot more trouble than we'd get staying put."