maskormenacelogs | bam! here's the plan

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bam! here's the plan

WHO: Commander Shepard, Major Alenko, and Major General Armstrong
WHERE: An abandoned warehouse somewhere in Heropa.
WHEN: A few days after Kaidan and Shepard's joint post.
WHAT: Some conversations are best had face to face.
WARNINGS: None expected, will update as necessary!

The text message that hits Olivier's communicator the day after Kaidan and Shepard's post on the network was unassuming enough, naming a street address, a time, and a date. Shepard figured he didn't need to explain more than that.

At the address, Olivier would find an empty warehouse, abandoned long enough that the outside was scrawled with graffiti, and the only entrance not chained shut was an almost-unnoticeable side door. Shepard was here early, dressed in civilian clothes instead of his usual police uniform, hands jammed into the pockets of the leather jacket he'd managed to dig up from somewhere while he leaned against an old rusted shipping container -- one of many still taking up room in the warehouse, though whether they have anything inside is a mystery.

Kaidan wasn't here yet, but Shepard expected him to show up any minute, probably annoyed that Shepard had elected to leave him behind instead of waiting around. By now, they'd managed to get started on looking into exactly where they should be headed, but they hadn't settled down on a destination -- or much of a plan -- just yet. He was curious about Olivier, and he has to admit agreeing to meet like this had half to do with the desire to satisfy some of that curiosity, and half seeing what she had to say.

She hadn't implied she was in possession of information she shouldn't be, but whatever her motives for wanting this meeting were, it should be interesting.

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The need for secrecy like this -- clandestine meetings in abandoned warehouses was a bit too much for Kaidan, who hadn't been expecting to go into this much caution about a meeting. Were they in possession of something already, it would make sense, but Oliver seemed to be taking this down to the very root of the issue, cautiously and carefully watching their backs from the get go.

He could appreciate the paranoia, he could. It was good to be careful -- but he worried this was going to raise more eyebrows, and focus a lens on them. He had his own particular brand of caution, but it was more subtle, playing by the rules, unless absolutely necessary. He was a particular sort, however, and he knew that. At the end of the day, this felt all too Spectre -- except he hadn't encrypted the message -- and Kaidan didn't know why he hadn't, but then again, he was the techie.

He slipped in quietly, sliding the door behind him, nervous to make too much noise, and hands stuffed in his own pockets. He was dressed in casuals again, the god awful casuals he couldn't seem to escape. People didn't seem to have normal clothing here, but at least it was cool. "You couldn't wait ten minutes?" he asked, his voice a little hushed. It felt weird, to speak up in such a large, empty space.

Empty, abandoned warehouse in the middle of a dilapidated shipping district? She supposed it fit the whole setting and atmosphere. It was near enough to actively used environments that it wouldn't be odd for someone to head in that direction and discreetly slip past, but its location also would make it difficult for someone who wasn't supposed to be in there to get by unnoticed. Tactically, they could do a whole lot worse.

For once, Olivier had ditched her customary uniform for something somewhat more civilian. Somewhat. She wore the long black slacks and white button-down as severely as she'd worn her service outfit; somehow she made even that seem like a uniform.

Her eyes scanned the outside of the building for possible spies or eavesdroppers; finding none, she headed for the small side door, pushing it open and entering with all the force of a hurricane.

"Not bad," she said with a nod. "Remote. Unless their surveillance is far beyond what's expected, we should be safe to speak here."

Shepard, on the other hand, didn't seem troubled at all. "It doesn't hurt to practice," he pointed out, mildly. "You might have gotten rusty since getting here."

It did have the air of Spectre business. Of course, it could all prove to be a waste of time (something he highly doubted Olivier would appreciate) but in its own way, it was satisfying to move like this, act with the purpose that had been lacking since his arrival in Heropa. Before he could comment any further, the opening of the door heralded the arrival of their guest.

Who certainly knew how to make an entrance -- not even a greeting, straight to business. Shepard glanced at Kaidan, before turning back to Olivier and crossing his arms.

"That was the idea. I'm glad it passes your standards." A beat before he went on, keeping his tone brisk and professional. If she wanted to go straight to business, then he would. "I'm Commander Shepard, and I believe you're already acquainted with Major Alenko. We all know why we're here, so I think it's best to start with what we already know." He nodded at Kaidan.

"Major General Armstrong," she replies smartly, the brief introduction needing no elaboration.

"I'm a more recent arrival to this city than the two of you. Thus far, the information I've been able to gather without tipping my hand has only been that which is available on the network."

She tilts her head to the side. "Which brings me to my next point: We can't be certain anything found on the Network is genuine."

Kaidan didn't get the chance, of course, to respond. Of course he didn't. It never seemed like he was able to get a word in, when certain personalities were involved -- or rather, when a powerful personality like Shepard's, and a personality like Armstrong's were involved, it was inevitable that he was going to be the one to hang back. It was fine, of course, he was good at that. At least until she spoke, and he shook his head.

"Of course not, but I've met a lot of people on there. So far, none of them have been disingenuous," he pointed out, but started to tap on the haptic display on his arm, flashing to life, and bringing up a screen. Thankfully -- of anyone here -- he'd been the luckiest from their world, and came in with his omni-tool. It was a boon, of course, so he was going to utilize it whenever possible. The information flashed on the screen fast -- obviously notes that he was reviewing.

"So what we know so far isn't much more. I've met a lot of people so far, most of them have been pretty genuine, but you're right -- we can't always be for sure. The problem is that we're working at a disadvantage in this. We're all released from the Government, aren't we? When we show up. Given government technology, jobs, and housing. If they can get someone into the space shuttle, can they get someone into the port facilities too?"

The screen flashing into life in midair was mildly surprising; it certainly wasn't technology they had in Amestris. She made a mental note to ask about it later, it seemed very convient.

"The people on the Network aren't what I'm concerned with," she clarifies. "It's the medium. If the government here has the power to kidnap us from alternate worlds, we have to assume it has the power to potentially change or edit any information in archives. Maybe even editing what we say in real time."

She glances at Kaidan, than tilts blonde hair out of her eyes to look at Shepard. "You were talking about ferreting out the Soviet spies. But as far as I'm concerned, the government of this country is just as suspicious."

"What if these things weren't Soviet operations, but just meant to make us think they were?"

It's impressive that Olivier, given the level of technology in her own world, has already assessed the potential ways of abusing it in this one. Paranoid, but impressive. Shepard has to wonder if this is how she treats everything, but he wouldn't be surprised if that was the case -- it doesn't seem likely she would have earned her position if she didn't know how to examine a situation from all angles.

"Something meant to rile up the public or the imPorts to get their commitment to the cause?" It seems like a bit of a stretch to him, but he knows people have done stranger things in the name of what they deem to be the greater good -- like engineering a plague designed to render an entire species practically infertile.

"It's not impossible, but what proof do we have that they might be behind it?"

"None," she says with a shrug. "Other than the ease with which the Soviets have apparently penetrated this nation's defenses."

"Sources I trust as well as any here have indicated to me they believe this government is thoroughly corrupt." She looks at Shepard, then at Kaidan. "And I'm not inclined to trust a group that openly admits to kidnapping me in order to fight its wars."

"Whatever investigating we do must keep that in mind. We do this sloppy, and we risk being a pawn playing our role to perfection."

Our role to perfection. Armstrong was the sort that was going to offer a perspective unique to Kaidan and Shepard's -- Shepard was and always would be the one to run on impulse, do things without thinking. It's what made him a good soldier -- not that he couldn't think...but in contrast, Kaidan was the thinker, but he needed a direction. A goal. They were both good soldiers, but they were still soldiers.

Apex soldiers, even, but they still responded to a higher command, whether it was Admiral Hackett or the Council. Maybe a loose command -- but still a command.

He rubbed at the back of his neck, letting his omni-tool display fade. "I don't know if they're corrupt. Everything I've heard says that they don't know how to stop the porter, they may be just as lost as we are in how to send us back --" he paused, and held up a hand. "Or they could be lying. We don't know," he shook his head.

"It's something where we have to be careful, you're right. We don't want to give too much away, until we figure out where they sit in all of this."

As Armstrong speaks, Shepard finds himself relaxing unconsciously, despite the urgency of the situation -- and the fact that she's essentially telling them to live with a healthy amount of paranoia -- the sure tone of her voice is familiar. One that he's heard from other commanding officers a thousand times over, and one that he's comfortable with.

"It's not a good idea to trust anything completely, anyway." Technically, it's possible that Olivier herself could very well be simply here to catch Shepard and Kaidan out in doing or planning something they shouldn't be -- but he doesn't think that's the case at all. "Whether they're corrupt or not, we're still at a disadvantage -- meaning we're not in a position to call any shots." He nodded at Olivier, respectfully.

"I think the only way we're going to change that is to get more information ... and hopefully, proof of anything suspicious going on. Whether it's our government or the Russians behind it."

"Agreed," she nods sharply, curtly. "We're operating blind here, and I don't like it. We need intel, intel we know we can trust."

Another look at Kaidan, and then Shepard. "I'm speaking with you here because I think the two of you can be trusted. If I'm wrong, by the way, it goes without question that one of my allies will kill you regardless of what happens to me, and I assume the inverse is true if I betray you as well."

She reaches into one of her pockets, taking out a folded piece of paper and setting it on the table. "This is a list of individuals from my world that I know to be trustworthy. Any intelligence ring starts here, with the three of us, and with the people on this paper. Commander," her eyes dart up to the higher-ranking officer. "I'm sure you have people of your own here as well. If you don't doubt their allegiance to you and you alone before anything else, then we've got ourselves a start."

The paper has four names on it:

Colonel Roy Mustang
Major Alex Louis Armstrong
Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist
Alphonse Elric

"I propose we keep on-Network communication to a minimum. Regardless of security protocols used, it goes through the government's hands, and that means they can spy on it. Or," she allows, after a moment, "A Soviet spy with access to that database can access it. Real-world communications can be burned or forgotten. It's the most secure."

Edited 2014-08-11 03:55 (UTC)

Shepard drops his gaze to the paper, reading it quickly and memorizing the names on it, before looking up again.

"The Network's got its uses." Admittedly, Shepard hasn't used it much himself, but he's trying to figure it out. The technology's awkward and clumsy to use, and he's always been someone who's preferred to get to know his crew face to face rather than over a device. "A lot of times, it seems to be the only way we get the details of anything -- from people sharing their experiences. It shouldn't be a tall order to keep anything sensitive online, but we need an alternative way of getting in touch with each other when we need to." He looks to Kaidan, like he expects he'd be the one with more to say on that.

"Right now I have two members of my former crew here. One's offered the use of the resources she has to help search for more information in tracking down the origin of the spies' orders, but maybe she'd be willing to help with this, too."

Kaidan skimmed over the list, memorizing it just like Shepard did. He'd already spoke with some of them, actually. It seemed logical, in retrospect. Although he was honestly surprised her brother was on there. No offense to him, but he'd been...an interesting conversation partner. His eyes flicked to Shepard, protest there, but not spoken, when he mentioned them.

Kaidan had his own issues with those two, but he'd defer to Shepard on them. It wasn't that he couldn't come to his own conclusions, but old habits died hard, even if he technically outranked him. Shepard was in charge of their mission back home, and it was hard to get out of that habit even now.

"I've spoken with some of these people," he offered, before handing the list back to Oliver, and turning to Shepard.

"I can set something up. Encryptions and I'd suggest maybe using phones instead of the communicator. I can make sure they're not tapped at, the very least. The technology isn't...good, but I can at least circumvent whatever attempts they could try to make."

Her brother is many things, Kaidan, many of them she would have spat out with disgust. Another one of them, though, is absolutely loyal. Once Shepard and Kaidan have read the list, Olivier takes it back, pulls a lighter from her pocket and sets fire to one of the corners, tossing it to burn away on the concrete floor. "I'm not sure her mission and what we're talking about might be all that different in the end," she says, tilting her head to the side. "Two superpowers at war; the only difference is we live in one."

Her attention turns to Kaidan; she at least understands wiretaps and encryption from her era, even if the latter was wholly written at the time. "Good idea. Like Shepard said, the Network has its uses. We should keep on using it ourselves for mundane things; it'd look odd for us to just drop off completely."

She closes her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "It might even throw them off our trail. Give them just enough to be satisfied that we're harmless."

She also, however, notes Kaidan's brief look at Shepard when the latter had mentioned his crew members, but says nothing. "Your crew; tell me about them."

Burning the list is a little dramatic, in Shepard's opinion, but it just reinforces the sense of needing to be covert -- something, admittedly, that he hasn't had the best track record with, but this looks to involve fewer explosions.

Though the mission to Aratoht was supposed to be covert too, and look how that turned out.

He crosses his arms too, tipping his head to the side. Kaidan's look is easy to ignore for now, but it doesn't look like Olivier will let that lie. "Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor. They were part of my crew on my last big mission. Jacob's unsettled, like me. Both of them are biotics, like me and Kaidan, and they've got experience..." His lips twitched a little. "... with staying under the radar. I'll vouch for their skills, and their trustworthiness."

It was a damn miracle he didn't speak up, his eyebrows furrowing, but he didn't point out what experience they had. He was being a damn angel about it, and if Shepard trusted them, he wouldn't fight him on it. He would, however, talk to him about it later, in private. Just not...right now. Not while they were speaking with someone else. It wasn't that he didn't trust Shepard, he just didn't trust Cerberus agents.

He crossed his arms over his chest, and tilted his head, like he was thinking.

"Anyone on Shepard's crew is going to be nothing short of capable, and probably better," he offered, as if that were going to be a peace treaty, at least for the moment.

"For the time being, I'll take your word on it," she tilts her head to the side. She really doesn't like judging people on anyone but her own opinion and evidence, but she's also a pragmatist at heart, and their resources are limited as-is. This man seems like a soldier; rather, he seems like a warrior, and that's something she'll trust in for the time being until she can form her own opinion.

She also notes the look Kaidan is giving his former CO. Again, something to be aware of.

"For the time being, until leads present themselves, let's focus on the Soviets as planned. What are our plans there?"

A pause. Ugh, she hates alchemy, but leaving potential resources unused is also anathema to her. "All four of the men on that list are alchemists. The last two in particular are capable of making anything, given the right materials and schemata. I'm not sure what physical devices you need for your technology, but the Elric brothers would be the ones to create it."

This time, it's Shepard's turn to look towards Kaidan for an elaboration, brow quirking in wordless inquiry. Kaidan had mentioned having spoken to them before, but this is the first time Shepard's ever heard of an ability like that -- it almost sounds like the flash-fabricators some omnitools are fitted with, but it sounds like Olivier isn't much interested in explaining the details.

"Kaidan or Miranda would know more about what materials than I do, but personally? Something that could help block power-nullifying capabilities would be nice." As for planning ... "Right now we're taking advantage of the chance to step out and working off the assumption that there's something to find outside the country -- that whoever issued the orders to the spies isn't someone on the inside. We're still working on narrowing down possible destinations, but we're looking at places that affiliated with Russia."

He shrugs, keeping his arms crossed. "I've only got permission to be out five days. Kaidan's got a week. We'll have to work fast at finding the right people to talk to." Shepard's sure he's not going to have any trouble. People come to imPorts, not the other way around.

"Not sure if they can do that," she acknowledges with a frown; she has no idea what a power-nullifier might look like, let alone one that fights against it. "But might be worth a try."

"What makes you think anyone's going to speak up? All of the propaganda here says Russia's a strict authoritarian state that crushes dissent. That part might even be true."

"Maybe," he offered, but he shifted, moving while he paced, bringing up his omni-tool again to start tapping away at it, while he thought over things.

"But then again, the old soviet union back where we came from seemed to have a lot of spies, as did our side. I assume there's still something going on there. They might crush it, but they have to know it exists to step on it, so maybe we might have a chance to get some information," he offered, trying to work through it.

After all, while Oliver seemed to run a tight ship, from everything he heard, not everyone was like that. Leaders like Shepard and Oliver were rare, after all. Kaidan didn't even think he'd ever have the chance to be as good a leader as either of them, but that was alright. He was an officer, a Major, but he'd worked hard to get there, but he never had that same... spark. Not really. Only a few people did, but that was why they always changed the world.

"I'm sure we could find something, or maybe someone would give something up on accident."

"They'll talk," Shepard added confidently. "People always do, as long as they know there's someone willing to listen. We can give them that."

His crew, after all, was ample enough proof of that.

"I'm not an expert on history, and for obvious reasons we don't have any access to records that show how the Cold War ended in our world -- but we know for a fact that it did." He uncrossed one arm to make a short, sharp gesture. "Besides, even if we don't find anything about the Russian spies, it won't be a wasted trip. We'll learn more about how the rest of the world sees this place -- see something that isn't propaganda."

"Hm. Fair points. All right, I'll leave that to you," she said with a tilt of her head. Right now, she couldn't trust these men to be as competent (or trustworthy) as her own soldiers like Miles or Buccaneer, but they were certainly better than nothing. And a good commander delegated when she didn't have the resources to pursue something herself.

"You'd better come back with something interesting. We'll work out Step 2 depending on what you find."

Kaidan would have laughed, had it been a CO of his, telling him he'd better come back with something. People didn't demand things of him -- or Shepard -- they expected it to happen. Two spectres wasn't exactly the worst thing to place a bet on, in the slightest. He gave Shepard a look, lifting his eyebrows.

Armstrong was tough, but... well, he wondered if they'd ever impress her. They weren't doing it for her. They were doing it to help save this place, but if they got an ally on the way, that was more important. "Don't worry about that. Anything else, just in case? We might not be able to meet up again anytime soon, and I don't want to waste the opportunity. This is a good meeting spot, but... we might not be able to meet in the same place every time."

Shepard only smirked, raising his brows right back. Not that Olivier would know, but there was a joke to be made here, about how wherever Shepard went 'interesting' inevitably followed. It didn't make sense to jinx their efforts before they'd started, though, so he schooled his expression back into something like businesslike and nodded.

"If you find anything interesting here, we expect you to return the favor," he added, unnecessarily perhaps, but he had to make the point, but he was waiting, too, to see if Olivier had anything more to add.

"Maybe not," she acknowledged Kaidan's point. "That said, it'd be nice to have a safe house. Not one that ties us down too much, though."

The general glanced over at Shepard again. "You'll know if I find anything worth telling you." Which didn't mean she planned on telling them everything, of course. And she assumed they knew that as well.

Just because they'd found early allies didn't mean they could automatically completely trust the other.

"Then I think we're done here."

"Sounds like it. Do you want us to lead you out?" he asked, running a hand through his hair. He didn't think that she'd share everything, but then again, he didn't think he and Shepard would either. They were both spectres, weren't they?

It wasn't even dishonesty, not really. They were simply pragmatic, and careful. They had to be. But they'd share what they could, and he had a feeling that Olivier was going to do the same thing. He gave her a weak smile.

"Or I guess, you can probably take care of that just fine, I'm sure."

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Shepard countered, swift to follow up before Olivier could answer Kaidan's attempt at courtesy. If there was anyone who could fit his foot in his mouth more than he already had, it would be Kaidan. While he didn't necessarily think Olivier would take offense to the suggestion that she couldn't find her own way out, it was best to establish that from the start.

He straightened, squaring his shoulders back and giving Olivier a stiff, formal nod. Only remembering that she wasn't technically Alliance kept him from saluting.

"We'll keep in touch." And with that, he'd be the first to head for the door, getting it open and throwing a quick glance around before he nodded the all-clear and slipped out of the building.

Edited ( ) 2014-09-08 04:33 (UTC)

Olivier returned Kaidan's suggestion, innocuous though it might have been, with a cold look that clearly communicated an intention to take care of herself. "I'll be fine," she returned flatly. "I'll wait before following. Makes it less likely that we'll be seen as traveling together."

"We'll be in touch, then."

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bam! here's the plan

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not sure if it's my turn or not, do we just go in a set order or?

anything goes!

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