Innate Legacy

@innatelegacy

It's just a fact. My reflexes, my strength, even my looks. They're all designed to give me an edge. No point in hiding from it. It's the reason I'm trusted to oversee the most dangerous, risky, and technically demanding operations Cerberus undertakes. Physically, I'm superior in many ways. I heal quickly, and I'll likely live half again as long as the average human. My biotic abilities are also very advanced for a human. Add to that some of the best training and education money can buy, and well, it's pretty impressive, really. ((Mass Effect RP blog for Miranda Lawson. All RP is welcome and encouraged.))

962 posts

Scenic Route

“We haven’t spoken face to face in a while, Lawson,” Kai Leng’s voice was anything but casual. He made it more than clear what he would do in any other situation. With so many eyes on him, she was safe. Maybe she would slip up, but he doubted it. She was too good for that. “Not since you turned traitor.”

His smirk faded. He didn’t want to hear her reasons, and he doubted she’d share them with him as it was. Kai Leng suspected Shepard’s influence to be part of it. Not that he would blame the Commander for her change of heart. She owned that one.

“I’m here on business,” he finished. It was as much as he would confide, and it would leave her guessing.

"Traitor? From you, that's a compliment." If there's hesitation, any part of her memory that recalls more amicable terms, it's quickly crushed by reason. The threat is clear even if underlying, and Miranda doesn't deal in threats.

"Don't let me keep you, then."

It's enough to know Leng is on the Citadel while she is. That's an opportunity to take precautions; she already has after a fashion. That's why her business is set in the open, before her current guest had arrived. Miranda only has to play her part until he tires of this, but she knows that won't be the last of him. Cerberus is nothing if not tenacious. It's one of their better qualities.

#ourobori #[team sassy]#thread: scenic route

Scenic Route

“You weren’t my target today,” Kai Leng said, turning his head to give her a wry half-grin. “But you’re right. This isn’t a coincidence.”

The question still remained of how it was he’d found her. It seemed likely that his current objective had ties to Miranda. He isn’t about to ask her, however, seeing as how showing his hand could ruin the entire game. Leng knew better than to let that happen. Still, it was an intriguing puzzle.

“I wonder why that is,” he finished. Just as Kai Leng doesn’t expect to give anything away, he thinks the same of Miranda. She won’t give up her secrets easily, if at all. Where she shifts away, he rests his weight on his elbows to lean closer.

"And then what? You couldn't pass up the opportunity for a friendly chat?" Miranda doesn't need to ask why. Leng has the advantage in approaching and ruffling her, but she won't give him more than that.

"I doubt you came here for show and tell." They both know it isn't that simple. Her business is her own, and she keeps it close for reasons exactly like this.

Her grasp on the railing tightens. She is loathed to look away, not trusting his proximity, and so she doesn't, regarding him with cautious appraisal. She won't allow him to derail her stay if she can help it. Leng is good at his work, but so is she.

#ourobori #[team sassy]#thread: scenic route

Scenic Route

He spies her from afar, a confident, familiar figure resting easily against the balcony. Instinctively, his fingers curl to make for the weapon he keeps hidden on himself. She’s close enough that it would be quick and simple, but with so many witnesses it could prove disastrous. Miranda could easily slip away.

Kai Leng instead settles for approaching her. He’s dressed nondescriptly, his attire fitting in perfectly for the situation, yet not so flashy to draw unwanted attention to himself. His eyes don’t skim the art, but instead the surrounding area. He’s planned his escape routes if they’re needed. Kai Leng remains wary to reinforcements all the same.

He comes to a stop near her, close enough to reach out if he wanted. But his hands remain to himself, resting against the railing.

"I didn’t expect to find you here, Lawson.”

His shape cuts through the light and casts over her before he's recognized as a presence at her side. It takes only moments for the color to drain from everything else and narrow to where he stands, an electric crackle along her skin that is instinct more than conscious reaction. Miranda quickly assesses and reins in her initial surprise. There is a spark of energy behind her eyes, which turn to him, and then it's gone.

She has considered this, that they'll cross paths, but these aren't the terms she usually imagines.

Miranda's weight shifts between her feet again, subtly away from him, but she stands her ground. She isn't someone cornered; there's always another option. She's here on business, and Leng doesn't change that.

"Yet here you are," she remarks, a cool eyebrow raising at him. "I don't typically believe in coincidences. Should I make an exception this once?" Leng could have walked away. In his position, Miranda isn't certain she'd do the same, but it does give her some vague idea that while she isn't his primary goal for traveling to the Citadel, she remains an opportunity. Taking cover in plain sight -- here, on the balcony, visible as another patron -- isn't a random occurence. It's a purposeful location all its own.

#ourobori #[team sassy]#thread: scenic route

Scenic Route

The metal railing under her hand is sturdy. Miranda lends it enough weight to shift her feet beneath herself, gazing at what she has always thought was a scenic area. The seats that line art displays and fountains alike still draw their share of admirers. Miranda isn't quite one of them, her mind too preoccupied, but she plays the part in between sending out communications to contacts.

It is as good a place as any, really, but it's only as secure she lets it be.

Her fingers dance over the interface, and eventually, the golden cast of the omni-tool extinguishes. The silent invitation to weave among the crowds and sit closer to the fountains' edges goes against her better instincts.

Instead, Miranda remains on the balcony.

#ic post #open rp

Well, that’s unspecific. Tell ya what, I’ll let you pick whatever meeting place you like and you won’t hear a complaint.

A compromise. One of the facilities you own on the planet you mentioned -- Pandora.

"I miss you."

"I’d ask what brought this on, but I think know. I— Well— I miss you, too."

It feels strange to say what she has tried to all these years with funneled credits and watchful eyes. She realizes the moment for pride and uncertainty is past.

#imperfectsister

winteredcommander

But only part, hm?

I hear skepticism is healthy.

#winteredcommander

No. It doesn’t.

Simply because you said it doesn't? Hardly.

#ourobori #[team sassy]

winteredcommander

I appreciate the concern, but I am aware of my limits. I’m sure you know about the sleep deprivation that was common for N7 training, with how thorough you are. It’s nothing unheard of for me.

And ah, it’s not a common occurrence anyways. I’m not one to push anyone’s limits without good reason—even my own.

Of course, Shepard. For what it's worth, I believe at least part of that.

#cdrwintershepard

winteredcommander

Am I supposed to feel flattered or insulted in this instance?

I’m sure we’ve all had those days, no?

Neither, really. An observation if anything.

Circumstances being what they are, I think we've all been pushed to our limits, but a reminder that there are limits can't hurt. At any rate, that's what I've been led to believe before.

#cdrwintershepard

winteredcommander

Hah. Clearly you haven’t been on the receiving end of the Miranda Lawson glare.

I slept a little, but was more concerned with catching up on the reports regarding Ferris Fields. Lost track of time, is all.

It's a reliable weapon. I reserve it for only the best. Or the most stubborn.

Lost track of time, indeed -- and found it again in the afternoon cycle.

#cdrwintershepard #((are you sure?))

winteredcommander

… I feel like this is a trap, and either answer’s going to result in a look of disapproval from you.

If you've prepared yourself for the inevitable, there's no harm in answering.

#cdrwintershepard #((don't make Miranda go over there.))

I could say the same for you, Lawson.

Hypothetical assessment noted. My point still stands.

#ourobori #[team sassy]

winteredcommander

Good morning.

Ah… Afternoon. Good afternoon.

I dread to ask if you've only just woken up or if you haven't slept at all, but I tend to have a curious mind. Consider me asking.

#cdrwintershepard #((replying when you least think I will.))#((that's how I roll.))

Global Networking

A contract. Well, that was promising. As much as he would have a hard job enforcing it, should worst come to worst, he at least had something. Besides, something in his gut told him that Rawling’s safety was more compromised amongst the increasingly desperate Alliance hospitals than with a specialist research corporation like Somatix.

Miranda’s confidence alone was also a reassurance in itself, and even Coats - suspicious and wary as he was - found it hard to find anything to distrust from this exchange. She was clear, frank and to the point - traits that he very much appreciated and respected.

Still, he wouldn’t get his hopes up until he saw her price on paper. He’d was determined to find a way to meet it, somehow, whatever it was, but that didn’t mean it would be easy. ”Will any of it be negotiable, or will that be your final offer?” He probably wouldn’t negotiate. She probably already knew that. But his stubbornness had to ask the question - just in case.

Miranda doesn't expect him to do anything less than talk terms, even when it's all in print. It's the smart thing to do; it's certainly what she'd do if this were Oriana. But it isn't, and Miranda has a company to maintain. That company is currently assisting during the rebuilding effort on Earth.

"I have an eye for a bargain," she considers, moving her eyes to the image the major cut in the QEC grids, "but our resources, like yours, are limited. That goes without saying for our time. I won't give more than I can allow."

She doesn't anticipate he'll demand more than that, however. Coats doesn't seem like the irrational type.

#mjrcoats #timeline: post mass effect 3 #thread: global networking

Could’ve fooled me. But I’m just checking in. Wouldn’t want you to die before we get to you.

Of course. [dryly] You know how I live to impress you.

Your delusion is intact, then. It's good to see that hasn't changed.

#ourobori #[team sassy]

ourobori replied to your post:Still alive, Lawson?

What gives you that idea?

Highly developed common sense.

To what do I owe the honor of you menacing my comm channel?

#ourobori #[team sassy]

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