maskormenacelogs | When they finally come to destroy the Earth

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When they finally come to destroy the Earth

WHO: Jacob Taylor, Kaidan Alenko and Thane Krios (single thread)
WHERE: Alaska: Operation Iron Wall camp
WHEN: Evening, backdated to earlier in the month while Samara is a ‘guest’ of the Soviet Navy during negotiations.
WHAT: A Normandy crewmate is a Communist hostage, supposedly as a temporary measure. Jacob is not pleased.
WARNINGS: Probably none

Samara was somewhere out there now, aboard one of the Soviet battleships lurking somewhere just over the horizon. Standing on a bluff with one hand shielding his eyes against the orange glow of a setting Sun, Jacob shook his head. He didn’t like this at all.

It wasn’t even that he and Samara were especially close. He hadn’t gotten to know her that well aboard the Normandy, and it wasn’t as though she was the easiest person to befriend. She had spent so much of her time between missions meditating in the observation lounge, still as a statue, silent unless approached, offering little except calm politeness in conversation. And for his part, Jacob’s policy had been to focus on his own duties instead of trying to chat up everyone on the ship like certain superior officers he could name.

But she was part of the crew. They had fought side by side. They had done something impossible together, following Shepard through the crucible of the Collector Base, covering each other’s backs against hopeless odds. Samara had stood tall and unflappable through the worst of it, never blinking in the face of Husk swarms and Collector assassins. Giving someone like that up to the Soviets for the sake of political negotiations didn’t sit right with Jacob.

Jacob did know that there was nothing that he could do at this point, that Samara’s fate was out of his hands unless a rescue mission was ordered. He also knew that there were few creatures in the Galaxy who could handle being a hostage as well as the Justicar could. But with his chores at the camp finished for now, there was little to divert his energy from his frustrations beyond checking the same traps for the fiftieth time or carrying out another patrol of the empty Alaskan landscape. Which left the bluff, and the horizon, and staring off into the sunset- wondering.

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Thane cursed himself for the situation in which Samara was now trapped. A guest, they'd called it, but whatever name the decided to place on it, the outcome was the same. They had detected signs of entry, his entry, and had retaliated. This ransom of his crewmate was his fault and there was no denying it. He would sit vigil until she was returned, mindless of the cold his body was in no way built for, as it was his penance for being sloppy.

He hadn't expected another to be present as he climbed to the ridge overlooking the Russian warships, and was even less expecting the man standing there, shielding his eyes against the setting sun. A fellow crewmate sitting his own vigil, perhaps? He wasn't sure Jacob would welcome his company, tense as things had been between them aboard the Normandy, but they'd saved the galaxy together, at least for a time, and perhaps that counted for something.

"Good evening, Jacob."

"Thane?" Jacob did a double-take when Thane's raspy voice popped into the air. Jacob was ordinarily a pretty alert soldier, but 1) he was preoccupied and 2) Thane was very good at being quiet.

"What are you doing out here?" He folded his arms as he asked, only sparing Thane a glance before returning his gaze outward over the waters. "Pretty cold weather for someone like you, I'd guess." Especially for someone who pretty much always went around with his man-cleavage on display.

[ooc: Was Thane's spying mission common knowledge within Iron Wall, or would that just be known to him and the officers?]

There were certain things Kaidan could understand, being frustrated about being in this world? Being worried about cremated? Sure, he could get that. In fact, the longer they waited for samara to come back, the longer he started to worry about her, and he wasn't a part of the crew. Not really. This crew was different, the kind of thing that he'd missed out on.

He didn't understand this crew, their dynamic, the way they worked. He knew they were supposedly loyal to Shepard, but he didn't trust them. If course, Kaidan knew some of that may have been the fact that they'd gone into the unknown and certain death and came out alright... He was certain it was that, if not other things as well. He'd never asked, either Shepard or this crew. It was a sore subject.

He wasn't quite so silent, not nearly as quiet as Thane was. Didn't even stand a chance. The gathering was...difficult to intrude on, so he didn't say anything for a few long moments, mouth pursed in a hard line. He'd give them time, to talk, honestly, he hadn't expected to see either of them up here, but he didn't really know how to retreat without being rude.

"Indeed, though the cold doesn't bother me." Thane was never one to complain even on a good day, and now seemed like a poor time to start. He was clothed for the season, at least, wearing a full coat. It was something, and far more than he usually wore.

As for Jacob's other question, he felt the truth was self-evident. "I have a friend on one of those ships." His keen senses hear Kaidan's approach, though, and he turned at the sound, noting who had arrived before looking back in the direction of the ridge.

"Hello, Major."

( OOC: No, it was just Thane and the officers who knew about his mission. )

"Major?" Jacob turned his head to see that Kaidan had showed up at some point as well. This was not his evening for spotting people, it seemed. He tilted his head slightly. "Popular spot tonight. Looks like a crew reunion shaping up. Except not everyone's here who should be."

He wasn't talking about Shepard, or about the many Normandy crew who hadn't been Ported in yet. The truth really was self-evident, and Thane had hit it dead-on. They had a friend out there in the Arctic waters, in God only knew what kind of circumstances.

[OOC: Okay, thanks!]

Kaidan, of course, while he knew Samara wasn't there, didn't catch the implication. His eyes narrowed, somewhat. "Let me see if I can call in a favor, get the porter to bring the ones who should," and although his tone wasn't snippy, exactly, it dipped in tone. As if to remind him that he knew he wasn't the one that was supposed to be here -- at least according to Jacob.

Thane and Samara hadn't shown the same shock that he was alive, but maybe they just weren't invested in the same kinds of human affairs that Jacob would be. He didn't even know.

"No word yet, about the Justicar?" he asked, pushing through. He wouldn't give them a chance to dwell on the fact that they expected Williams, instead of him. That was an old wound he thought closed, and he wasn't really in the mood to reopen it.

"It passes as a vantage point, though it leaves us completely exposed." If that was Thane's attempt at a joke, it fell flat and he knew as much. "Of course, stealth isn't my concern at the moment." He nodded in quiet agreement to Jacob's observation, but turns to regard Kaidan fully, giving him his attention.

"I don't worry for her sake, Major. Her code dictates she can only be held for 24 hours. After that, it dictates she regain her freedom. That may hurt our cause."

Jacob gave Kaidan a brief look that said 'what the hell is your problem', but didn't respond otherwise. The Major's attitude really could throw a guy for a loop sometimes. He wasn't going to let himself get sidetracked into another round with Kaidan though, not while they were still on a recon mission.

"Samara versus half the Soviet Navy? Ordinarily, I'd call that even odds," he said, shrugging slowly. "But we know from Shepard's mission that the Russians have lots of power nullifiers. And they wouldn't send those ships out here without having some on board." He frowned deeply, trying to picture the situation out on the waves. "Wherever Samara is, I doubt she can still use her biotics."

"If not just the power nullifications," he replied a touch icily. He'd seen that look, but only kept his arms crossed, to hold in the heat. "They could have more," but then again, he wondered how much Jacob or Thane knew about everything that he and Shepard found back in Europe, or if they even knew everything about the trip. He suspected that they'd been filled in, but how much...

Well, that probably wasn't his business. "What's with the twenty four hour rule?" he didn't really understand Justicars, or how they worked. "Was that a part of the terms, or..." something else? He was, unfortunately, painfully in the dark about this.

He didn't like feeling ignorant.

"Even without her biotics, Samara is capable and has centuries of experience." He looked between the two of them. A patient vigil would have to wait, it would seem. Of course, they also had plenty of time for it. "I doubt the Russians would risk open war with an unknown enemy. They may be able to nullify our powers, but many of us are formidable without them."

Edited 2014-11-26 01:17 (UTC)

"They were risking a war the second they shot at us," Jacob pointed out. "I'm not expecting them to flinch at much after that." He was just grateful those warning shots hadn't been the opening salvoes of a global conflict. The US government had shown more restraint than Jacob would have expected, not retaliating after Russian shells landed on their soil.

"Anyway, I've been wondering about that too, Major." He turned his head from Thane to Kaidan. "Kinda expected you'd have more information on this than the rest of us, actually. Looks to me you've been spending a lot of time in the officer's tent with the General. Anything you want to share with the rest of us?"

Two can play the PA game, Kaidan. Two can play.

Well, Kaidan should have expected that, really. He had been spending a lot of time in the tent, having proved himself to the General. It hadn't been easy, and while he hadn't been considered a commanding officer for the entire operation, that didn't mean that he hadn't worked his ass off.

After all, while he technically outranked a lot of the people here, that didn't mean that he had the same qualities that Olivier was looking for. And it hadn't exactly put him at a disadvantage. He lifted his eyebrows at Taylor, and let his lips thin.

"I'm sure whatever the General wants you to know, she'll share with you. I don't make a habit of going behind a commanding officer's back," he said simply. Of course, he didn't think she'd mind, but...

Well, he could be petty from time to time.

"Anyway, I think she'll be fine, but I don't like putting this up to fate. Not with one of our own."

Our own being someone from their universe. Despite their problems, it felt like they all had to stick together, in some form or fashion.

Thane knew far too little about this country in whose name he was fighting, which was disquieting. How could one champion any cause if it was not understood? Still, Shepard chose this fight, he'd only followed. At the beginning, he'd promised his arm to the commander, and he never backed out of a bargain.

Still, with so little knowledge as his own, he'd trust the judgement of others as to what would and wouldn't start a war. Jacob's commentary on the Major's position caught his attention though, and he looked to the other two men with interest.

"Fate has little to do with this, I think. Perhaps it's a test."

Shepard was the only real reason Jacob was out here as well. He understood more about the Cold War than Thane did, but that just made him less motivated to get involved in what he saw as a pointless political conflict that could get a lot of people killed. But the Commander had decided to go, and Jacob always had Shepard's back- even an alternate Shepard.

"Testing sounds right to me," he said to Thane, not really responding to what Kaidan had said. It figured a guy like that would hold to the chain of command, even with a situation like this. For better or worse, Major Alenko was Alliance to the core.

"I never really believed the Soviets would go this far just over one spy. The way I read this? They're here to push our buttons and find out what happens." Which was a dumb plan when applied to a country with nuclear weapons, an unstable force of superhumans, and an enormous patriotism complex, but 'dumb' described most of what Jacob thought about the Cold War anyway.

"Maybe," he mentioned, his voice low while he looked over the sea at the ships. They still sat there, and his mouth turned down in a frown, before he looked back at Jacob and Thane, calculating. He would adhere to the chain of command. He wouldn't give up iintel without vetting it first.

HE could, however, give them a hint.

"I don't think they expected us, though. Not really. I think it would have been easier for them, if we'd just not shown up."

What he thought the Russians were here for, well, he had a few theories, but nothing concrete. Kaidan was Alliance to the core, which meant he didn't share theories, only facts. "But they're here for us now, we need to prepare to take them on, if necessary. Hopefully it won't come to that. I don't want it to."

"Superpowered or no, there are two things working against us if they decide to launch a full-scale attack." He addressed them both as he spoke, his voice low, soft. He didn't often speak up about strategy, simply taking his direction, doing what was asked, and slipping out again without incident.

This was not a typical situation, of course. "One, we are drastically undermanned to face a force of warships, even if they are...antiquated by our reckoning. Two, what intel we do possess assures us they are in possession of devices that render our powers useless, even biotics. We may be able to cripple them, if we could invade their boats simultaneously undetected and sabotage them from the inside, but we have no hope against a direct strike."

"Yeah." Jacob shook his head, thinking over Kaidan's little hint and Thane's analysis of the one-sided tactical situation. "I don't want to fight them either, and not just because they might wipe the floor with us. I mean- we're good, but we don't have the artillery to sink those ships."

He turned away from the ocean for a moment, facing inward to the camp. His silhouette glowed half-orange, lit by the setting Sun. It was actually a perverse kind of relief to bitch about politics and mysteries and impossible odds for a minute: it was familiar, and more comforting than wondering about Samara.

"You have to wonder what the government was thinking, trying to hold this territory with a recon team this size. They've got a Navy, but you don't see them out there. Maybe this is their way of trying not to provoke the Soviets."

"Or maybe they want to show them what they have tucked away. We might not be able to take down a fleet, but we're a small recon team, and I'm pretty sure we can hold our own, can't we?" he asked, still shifting from foot to foot. Kaidan didn't often bitch about politics -- it was above his paygrade, and therefore not his concern -- but...

Something about it stank, for sure. Being able to weigh those concerns, and know they weren't singular, and that they weren't only... in his head, it was relieving, at least. He knew he wasn't alone, even if it was two Cerberus agents that were sharing his worries. Shepard continued to vouch for them though, so maybe he needed to keep them on less of a high alert.

"I think they know exactly what they're doing, and what they're doing is making sure both we and they know whose in charge."

"There doesn't seem to be any territory to hold. If the Russians wanted to invade, they could have easily. Perhaps we could hold our own against ground troops," he looked over to Kaidan as well, including him in the exchange, "but the artillery these warships can bring to bear is too much for us. We would need reinforcements, whom I'm certain would come, but would it be soon enough?"

He nodded at Kaidan's comment. I seemed to be a show of force, of what the Russians were willing to do. They felt threatened, and with good reason. Perhaps this wouldn't need to turn to bloodshed. They had offered armistice and the ImPorts had accepted.

He could pray for a peaceful resolution. He'd seen enough fighting.

"I'm with Thane on that one," Jacob favoured the Drell with a nod. Despite all his previous issues with Thane's... profession, Jacob had fought beside him and knew firsthand how good his tactical judgement was.

"In a fair fight against infantry? We'd kick ass. We've all seen what the General's got prepared up there. But if you factor the battleships in..." He lowered his head for a moment. "I was on the beach just after those salvoes landed. I saw some of the wounded. They never had a chance out there. With firepower like that, Samara busting loose inside the fleet might be our best bet at surviving. Again, let's hope it doesn't come to that."

"I know," he mentioned. "I got a good...perspective," he admitte4d, rubbing at the back of his neck. Ira had picked him up, interestingly enough, and that had been something. He could see for miles from there, and he'd watched the battleships tear things apart, and there was never anything like it. Even from the perspective that they had, in the future...

Well, it was never easy to see people get outclassed that greatly, was it?

"We'll find a way, won't we? Hopefully once Samara's back, she'll have...something. Maybe she'll get some information while she's trapped. Overhear something, or maybe see something."

They could always hope, after all.

"That take leaves quite a bit to chance, Major." The drell didn't miss Kaidan's off-handed statement and he couldn't help but wonder what sort of 'perspective' the Major had been referring to, but it was an idle curiosity and one that could be left for more casual times.

It occurred to him that life with Shepard quickly acclimated anyone around him to living on the prospect of chance, and a slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth at the thought. The Commander certainly had a way of making everything more interesting. The assault on the Collector base hadn't been how he'd planned to spend his remaining days, but with everything they'd accomplished, everything they'd been through, he was grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it.

That, and it all made the events here pale in comparison. The though brought confidence to the assassin's shoulders and he looked between the two men.

"With Shepard, we have accomplished the impossible before. We all returned from what was supposed to have been a suicide mission. If anyone can figure out a way for a handful of ground troops to stave off an oceanic invasion, it's him."

"Guess you're both right," Jacob allowed. "We just have to have faith in Samara. And the Commander. We've definitely all seen a lot worse than this." He crossed his arms again, then looked over his shoulder at the frigid ocean stretching out behind him. In this light, and from this distance, it was impossible to really see anything. Certainly not a Soviet war fleet, or an escaped asari Justicar swimming back to shore with game-changing news.

He looked back with his face resolved. "Look, there's no point brooding out here like this. All worrying accomplishes is getting us cold and stressed. I'm headed back to the camp. Maybe somebody needs help keeping the fire fresh. Anyone want to come with?"

Samara could take care of herself. Jacob had known that before, but now he was accepting it and was ready to move on until the situation changed and action was needed. His ability to process stuff like this was one of his powers almost as much as his biotics were.

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When they finally come to destroy the Earth

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