Day 10ish

[shiro2hero]

(It's high time I did this.)

[Oh no, someone is gearing up for one of Those Speeches. Because one of their new arrivals ticked off a box in his head, and Sam's asking for training helped.]

[And he's tired of walking on eggshells.]

(I don't know how many of you were there when I found out what my Symbiote does. I sort of wish I hadn't. But. I can't change that.)

[Yeah apparently it made him the Space Hulk. And it took at least two people to keep him from ripping someone's face off.]

(What I can do is control it. I just need to know where to start.)

(So I'm taking a lead from Sam Wilson. Asking if anyone is willing to help. I... don't think I can promise no one will get hurt, but if we're careful, maybe it'll just be me.)

[And he can live with that.]

Comments

[earthborn]

( We didn't get off on the best of terms, but I'm up for it, if you're still taking volunteers. )

[Shepard's tone, if a purely mental voice could be said to have one, is somewhat distracted. She's coming around to this mental link thing, when it's convenient..]

( What's it do? )

[shiro2hero]

(The more the merrier.)

[There are deserts less dry than that comment.]

(You know the saying, 'You won't like him when he's angry'? Think like that. But with more... roaring sound effects.)

[earthborn]

( ...Uh... No? Wait, like... )

[The description is evocative enough. Uncertain how to explain it, Shepard pushes through the image instead, a massive, enraged creature, as much made of tech as flesh, looming large overhead. Vicious, aggressive, brutish-- and with lots of roaring, yes, though how it does that without a lower jaw is better not known.]

( ...Something like that? You tryin' to control this thing or just... work out the combat angle? )

[shiro2hero]

[What. Is that. That's nothing he's ever seen before. Not even the monsters they'd fought as a team looked like that thing.]

(Not... entirely. Unless you mean the aggressive part.)

[Focus, control yourself.]

(Control it. I want to be able to shut it off, or, if not that, at least figure out what brings it up.)

[earthborn]

( That, is a brute. It's a Reaper unit, used to kill a lot of the big ugly bastards, back where I came from. I'd say you get used to it, but... Yeah, you don't. )

[This is a white lie; you can get used to anything, and Shepard knows brutes well enough that she could kill them half-asleep. But do you get used to people being melted down and melded into monsters? God, she hopes not. What kind of life is that?]

( My experience is, best way to learn to turn something like that off, is to use it. ) [Then again, Shepard's experience of how to control things like this extends as far as Biotics training and Krogan puberty, so what does she know?] ( I can work with you, give a few tips, if you want. Looks like you don't lack for volunteers, though. )

[shiro2hero]

(No. You don't.)

[Because there's always something new lurking around a corner. Some new horror you didn't anticipate.]

[Because your enemy made them specifically for that purpose.]

(Use it until it's worn out? Is that what you're saying?)

(I'll take whatever I can get.)

[earthborn]

( Eh, lemme put it this way; when I first tried to drive a tank, I was embarrassing, and destructive. But after I logged a few thousand hours, I'd pretty much only drive off a cliff if I meant to. )

[Or, when it was funny.]


( I don't see why "extra-terrestrial brain-fungus superpower" should be any easier to learn. )

[Nobody likes hard work, but that's life.]

( I got a space cleared out in the hangar where I've been doing my own workouts. If you wanna give me a shot, we can meet up there, I'll do what I can. Worse comes to worst, I'm pretty sure I can disable you before you do something really stupid. )

[Like breach the hull.]

[shiro2hero]

(I... guess that's reassuring. I'm pretty sure this won't end in me driving anything off a cliff.)

[It's not a funny joke, but hey, he tries.]

[And it isn't the work he doesn't want to do. He's no stranger to difficult jobs, to working hard. It's the process itself. The fact it might mean digging into places he would rather be left buried.]

(The hangar has too many delicate ships. There's better empty space in the rec wing.)

[earthborn]

( Hey! ) [Shepard's tone is offended, but only as a joke.] ( The M35 Mako is a beast. It takes more than a little cliff to knock out one of those babies. )

[Any girl can love a good tank, and the Mako was a very good tank.]

( Rec wing it is. When are we doing this? )

[shiro2hero]

(Okay, okay. Fair enough. I'm not really a tank kind of pilot, anyway.)

[More like ships and giant space lions now.]

(Whenever the safety measures and... triggers... get sorted out.)

[earthborn]

( No time like the present. Unless your basictest to destruction isn't really your style. )

[Not the station, she means-- his composure. Shepard's very confident she can take Shiro down, if she pushes him too far, at least.]

( Not like I've got a busy social calendar here. Let me know when you're ready. )

[shiro2hero]

(I'll keep you posted.)

[Because there's a lot to sort out. And because he doesn't actually want anyone or anything to be destroyed.]

[For a lot of reasons.]