mental link | Day: 38

[earthborn]

( Some of you may have noticed a fire, not too long ago. Or maybe you were busy, fair enough. )

[Shepard's broadcast is just that; open, conversational. Let's have a little chat, all of you. The fire last night burned through a fair portion of the Descendants' dormitory, destroying property and causing distress. Deaths? Don't worry about it. Shepard certainly isn't.]

( I would like to formally take responsibility for that incident. Don't worry, we didn't get caught, this isn't my first time setting fire to something-- no, Sam, it was fine, I had it under control. More to the point, we happened to acquire a bunch of junk, including some tech Pidge has been making good use of-- You're welcome, by the way. ) [This addendum delivered with no particular malice. All the blame and none of the credit, that's how it always goes. ( As for the rest, I have it; decent haul, some of which might be relevant, some of which might just be that I've stolen somebody's junk mail for all I know. )

[Always a risk with smash-and-grab]

( Anybody who thinks they might have some insights, feel free to have a look. )

Comments

[earthborn]

( Huh. I'm not gonna lie, I don't usually end up depending on witnesses, but it's good to have you around. )

[The memories float in an aimless clump, confusing, interconnected. Kelham's ugly face made uglier by fear. The pained, unhappy expression on Jedore's mercenary, injured but defiant in his bloodstained Blue Suns armor. An expressionless helmet I have nothing more to say to you. Well, how about goodbye? Shepard tamps them down almost before they've floated to the surface of her mind. Focus.]

( You tried it on one of the locals, yet? We could get some good intel, if it works on aliens too. )

[redheadcarrier]

( That was you? I don't know whether to be worried or impressed. )

[ And unsaid (un-thought), the idea that it's nice to hear from Shepard. ]

[shri]

( And?

We are all waiting. What was this great 'actionable intelligence' that you might have forsaken all other plans for? )

[perroquet]

( Goodness, what villainy. )

[ They may be closing in on their enemies, but thievery and arson are unacceptable methods of moving the mission along in Gildor's opinion. One he shares like a bad taste left in the mouth. ]

( If stealth and secrecy weren't so important I'd ask that you out yourself, return the items, and apologize before offering my help. )

[theycalledmeacurse]

( No, not yet. I'd rather have someone specific in mind before trying, in case it works. It's hard enough to manage everyone I've got in my head now. )

[ As much as it might help the mission, Rogue isn't quite ready yet to just go around touching everyone she happens by, hoping to get some valuable piece of information in passing. If someone else turns up dead, perhaps she'll resort to that method, but until then she's going to hold on to what sense of self-preservation she still has left. ]

[earthborn]

( You did listen to the start of this, right? The whole... I've got stolen tech and paperwork, need some help with the interpretation and evaluation stage bit? I'm just a dumb jarhead, Lakshmi, not some genius-intellect Royal Highness like some people. I can't really make the process any more transparent than it is. )

[earthborn]

( Your occupation of the moral high ground is noted. )

[Not that it was ever in any doubt.]

( Am I hearing an offer? My door is always open. )

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ That should be Sam's line here. It makes him chuckle, though, because he's pretty sure he knows exactly why Kavinsky hisses at him.

Uncomfortable with affection that doesn't come with a price - or it does, it comes with a price of Sam, but not one that Kavinsky's used to - unwilling to admit he might like it, refusing to be seen as anything that could even hint at soft.

Sam gives him the attention anyway, fingernails scratching through fur. ]

( That mean you're gonna be one of the big kids? )

[earthborn]

( When you decide, let me know. I like to keep track. )

[Smug is a verb. Or, it should be, the way Shepard does it.]

( Sorry I didn't invite you along. Had to keep it light and fast, you understand. )

[redheadcarrier]

( I can be both of those. But yeah, I get it. )

[ Which is honestly a mark of how she's changed since... everything. And maybe something to do with her time here. ]

( You're not going to get arrested or anything, are you? )

[ There's an undercurrent of itchy nervousness. She hasn't had a chance to talk to Shepard about Seviilia vanishing into a coma just yet. ]

[earthborn]

( Me? Nah. I'll be fine. Might get in trouble around here, but we covered our tracks. )

[And even if by some slim chance they'd missed someone, and Shepard did get arrested, she'd been in worse situations and escaped them. She isn't going anywhere.]

( I'm not leaving you any time soon. )

[perroquet]

( There's always room up here for more, you know. )

[ While he disapproves about as much as his royal broodmate, she's clearly taken care of the scolding, and Gildor isn't one to pick fights. He lets it rest, staying focused on the present. ]

( Well, what's done is done. There's no use in wasting whatever leads you may have found, even if they are likely null. My symbiote has granted me the ability to read an object's past. How it was made, who it was owned by, places it has been - that sort of thing. )

[shri]

( My mistake I thought you would at least be discerning in what you took as having importance not just grabbing items at random.

Fine. Have them ready, I will look over them. Fighting with your poor action gives us no benefit no matter how you deserve it. )

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Being so much in her mind - he's listening to all of this, curled up in her space like he belongs there, and it sure as hell feels like he does - the fire he'd had when he'd come to find her and talk her down from continuing, from letting this spiral until it got so big that Damon and Elena couldn't take care of everyone, is gone.

Instead there's just a resigned affection, a vague sense of disgruntlement and the sense of a shoulder pressed against hers, as though they were reading all of this over a shared communicator instead of in their minds.

He's tired from - everything - but his mental tone makes an effort at playful. ]

( You know you needed me. )

[redheadcarrier]

( You'd better not. You still have a lot to teach me! )

[ That's how she frames it. Not in terms of emotional support or the idea that there might be something else at play. Purely in how useful Shepard is to her.

Even if she knows that she means something else. ]

[earthborn]

( I don't need nothin' or nobody. )

[She needed him. She needed him so badly that it is possibly a little frightening. Having this little control, over what she does, over where she goes, over her choice of missions and people and circumstances, while at the same time being given no clear directive at all? It's as far from safe as anything can be. Shepard hasn't been outside of a command structure for any significant portion of her life; if Sam hadn't stopped them, she certainly would have kept going.

And it would have been a disaster.]

( But I do want you here. )

[Which is as good as an admission of wrongdoing, or at least as close to one as she's going to get.]

[earthborn]

( Aw, you care. That's adorable. )

[She's teasing, of course. But it is pretty cute.]

[earthborn]

( Oh... Buddy... thanks for the offer, but that ship's flown. )

[Two and a half species ago, to be precise. Awkward.]

( That's very useful. I appreciate your help. )

[redheadcarrier]

( I just don't want my training to be incomplete. That's all. )

[ Sure, Jan Asuka. ]

[perroquet]

[ Not awkward. She is answered with quiet patience and gentle violins. There's always hope to mend your reckless and wicked habits, Shepard. ]

( How many items are there? The cost of this ability is more taxing than any magic I've known. If some items are clearly junk and can be set aside for last, that would be better - for time's sake. )

[raw]

( See, this, this is the kind of initiative we need to have more of around here! Can't make an omelette without burning a few eggs. )

[adamance]

( You took initiative in a plan that should have been relayed to the rest of our group. A plan that could have been the first step to costing us our lives.

Is there a reason why you thought you couldn't share with the rest of us? )

[The casual conversational tone is really what hits a nerve for Lexa.]

[earthborn]

( That's fair; I did not make a general broadcast of my intent, nor did I ask permission. I'm not in the habit of submitting my decisions to a general vote-- that said, I didn't act alone, and while I didn't tell everyone, I did tell some. )

[Shepard's not dropping the conversational tone anytime soon. It's a smokescreen for an edgier emotion, but also a result of the lack of what Shepard sees as vested authority. She is not issuing a debrief to a superior officer, or recording personal impressions for the official record, and neither is she relaying the particulars in the truly casual tone of someone who must make herself understood to her peers alone.

Truthfully, in her mind, she feels she owes none of you anything like deference, and sees that no one has felt she is owed any in return: hers has not been the only dangerous little foray made without prior consultation or permission-- only, it is the loudest, the most personal, and the most recent. She isn't sorry.]

( Given that a group of people as large as four can argue for a month and not come to a conclusion? I made a judgement call. )

[earthborn]

( Well, I'm always up for hitting something. )

[Sometimes, even eggs. To break them. Possibly to make an omelette.]

( Nice to have someone on my side, at least. )

[adamance]

( It's not a matter of asking permission. It's a matter of considering our lives. Too many people have been reckless, and there are already newcomers who believe they can solve this problem on their own. Did you know that we're being relied on for our chaos and our lack of communication? ) [By Rhan. Lexa doesn't give that context.]

( We are a group of more than a handful. Too many people have forgotten that while we've been here. )