When they finally come to destroy the Earth

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

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.

Comments

[chancetoatone]

"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."

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

"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.

[kanadian]

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.

[chancetoatone]

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."

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

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.

[kanadian]

"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."

[chancetoatone]

"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."

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

"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."

[kanadian]

"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."

[chancetoatone]

"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.

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

"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."

[kanadian]

"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.

[chancetoatone]

"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."

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

"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.