maskormenace | 002. [VIDEO]

Yeah, alright, when do you want to -- [ Turning around, he narrowed his eyes at the comm that was obviously on. ] You couldn't give me a little damn warning before you turned it on? I'm not even done cooking! [ He gestured, with a fork, before turning back around, pointedly. ]

No time like the present. [ The broadcast’s coming from the commander’s communicator, and Shepard sounds relatively relaxed … for Shepard. ] Besides, this was your idea. It’s your show, Major.

My show? Dammit, Shepard, I was thinking out loud. [ The annoyance is obviously fake, and it sounds like he's used to putting up with Shepard's shit. ] Alright, fine.

We were talking about what the possibility for more spies is, after the shuttle malfunction, and I noticed that there were a lot of people that ducked out -- we figured maybe we weren't the only ones who found someone who wasn't supposed to be there. [ He wants to say more, but held up a finger, to turn around and focus on the pan. He's already burned things once today. ]

We also figured we might not be the only ones who got permission to travel out of the country. [ Shepard picks up where Kaidan left off without missing a beat.] We think we should put that opportunity to good use.

[ After a second, there's a moment where his head tips, like he's rolling his eyes, and then he turns around, crossing his arms over his chest while he rests against the counter ] Yeah, and what I'm really asking is if anyone...might have seen anything, or talked to anyone? We haven’t heard anything from the government -- and it doesn't sound like they're going to give any answers...

... If they have them in the first place. Which is why we’re going to look for them somewhere else. Unfortunately, going directly to the source isn’t an option -- we can’t travel into a country we’re at war with. [ Or more accurately: they could, but there are several reasons that would be a bad idea. And while Shepard’s normally a fan of bad ideas, it’s usually when he has a better idea of what he’s facing. ]

So.[ He pauses. ] If you wanted to do recon about Russian undercover operations, but you couldn’t go to Russia itself, where would you go?

That’s the big question, especially if we don’t want to waste any second, with how they keep catching us off guard -- [ And he’s back around, to save his food. ]

It’s probably safe to say that things are only going to escalate from here. [ Shepard tactfully turns the camera back to himself, face managing to be mostly serious despite the sound of Kaidan muttering darkly in the background. ] We might have caught their agents, but they accomplished what they were after. They’ll be bolder next time. Aim for something bigger. We don’t intend to sit around and wait for that to happen.

[ ooc; open to action for residents of #15! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Shepard doesn't look or sound the least bit repentant. ]

Might've forgotten a letter or two.

...in an official report?

It was just paperwork. I'd already given the oral debriefing.

[ He does look a touch regretful, then. Not wise for a commanding officer to get shaken up, but he'd been angry more than sad. ]

It wasn't a good time.

...you had to file a report using the word "reaper", and I figure you didn't mean farming equipment. Of course it wasn't a good time.

Has Kaidan told you about them?

Not Alenko, no. I talked to Taylor about them.

Should've guessed you knew Jacob too. [ Future people just have a way of finding each other. ]

What do you know about them?

Only that they're out there, and they're trying to destroy all living things.

It's...really similar to what's going on in my universe.

Sentient life, specifically.

[ That and the fact that they've been at this long enough to be experts at eradicating everything with a civilization. Seems like world-consuming monsters really are a universal experience, at least from everything he's heard so far. He crosses his arms, raising a brow. ]

What can you tell me about that?

I can tell you there are Markers, giant twisting obelisks, that emit this...this signal. It starts with a massive EMP that knocks out all power and communications, and then it starts...twisting and animating anything dead. First, though, that same signal starts driving some people crazy. It causes insomnia, delusions, and eventually they snap, and go homicidal. That's when the Marker uses your own dead against you.

[ Commander Shepard isn't usually at a loss for words, but that just sounds too familiar for comfort, and it takes a few tries before he finds his voice. ]

That ... doesn't sound too different from what the Reapers could do. If you spent too much time around them -- even just their bodies -- most people became indoctrinated. Seeing and hearing things they shouldn't be. And they had technology that could turn humans into half-machine hybrids we called Husks. Which mostly didn't seem interested in doing anything but trying to kill you.

[ Isn't comparing notes fun? ]

You ever manage to destroy those things?

...that's what Taylor said. [A beat.] Which ones?

The Markers. [ He folds his arms. ] They're what started the whole thing, aren't they?

[ Makes more sense to take them out than try to pointlessly cut down an army it can just endlessly regenerate. ]

That's what we thought at first, yeah. They come from something else, though, they have to. You can trace the signal away from them.

...but we've destroyed a few of them, yeah. You have to completely destroy them, though. Even their shards are dangerous.

[ Yeah, no, that sounds just like the Reapers. ]

Did you find out where that signal came from?

It seems to originate from the Moons. That's...what they become if the process completes.

Huh. [ He grimaces. ] That almost makes it sound like they were alive. Something that was trying to grow.

They are. They...talk to you. Get in your head, make you think things are real. Once you've figured out what they are, they drop the bullshit and just talk instead of pretending.

You've spoken to them before? What was that like?

It was, uh...intense. That's a good way to put it. They...make you hallucinate, pretend to be people you know...or knew.

[ Shepard grimaces. ]

All right, at least the Reapers never did that. Got into your head with the voices, maybe, but didn't pretend to be anyone else. [ Though he does remember some pretty fucked up crap from the derelict Reaper and the crew that was stuck on there. ]

They used it to manipulate you, get you to do things for them.

[ He's really sure he's going to regret this question in a second but-- ]

What kind of things?

They can only mutate dead flesh and they need it to multiply. You do the math, Shepard.

Oh. Yeah, I don't think you need to go into any more detail.

[ Groooss. ]

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abadidea - 2014-09-08 06:53 (UTC) - Expand