Just like old times.

I'm not saying you don't know how to handle a gun. I'm just saying some of us know how to make it dance. Independent RP Blog for Garrus Vakarian.

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queencfthegirlscouts:

       eyes narrow at the turian and she mirrors his posture, crossing her own arms and attempting to stare him down. shepard’s not STUPID, and as a member of the alliance she’s had at least basic scientific training, but the intricacies of the normandy weapons array isn’t EXACTLY within her purview.

       but she’ll be damned if she tells garrus that.

       ❝ CMON GARRUS. i know what the word callibration means. you’re not calling me an IDIOT, are you ? ❞

Thus begins the thousand yard stare off between two grizzled veterans. Mandibles fidget on an otherwise stony expression and threaten to form a wry smile; no, he’d never call her an idiot, not in a million years-- but that look in his eye is meant to suggest that he just might. “Well...” No chance. His eyes will drop first; discreetly, tilting his head aside to overview schematics.

“You’d never get this problem on a turian ship. That’s all I’m saying.”

“--and wasn’t the original Normandy a collaboration effort? I can’t imagine why Cerberus wouldn’t stay faithful to that. The SR-2′s guns needed a lot of work done by the time I arrived-- and then I went and replaced them with something better anyway.”

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gossipingthief:

Kasumi passed a not so subtle glare in his direction after his little remark, taking it as a direct hit after refusing to join in to help the Crucible. The woman was a thief, a hacker, a criminal – not a scientist who was going to work with the organization that had be turn to Cerberus for aid. “And some of us are doing what we can to help the little people trying to get by.” She was quick to rebuttal before pursing her lips together in order to allow him to speak more.

There was a nagging voice telling her to keep her work in the wards below silent given that even Shepard would not be happy with her involvement. However, Garrus would be the one person who could talk sense into the Commander, right?

“I may or may not be completely aware of the situation. I help a few families get into the systems, smuggle them in – but don’t go thinking I am contributing to the rationing problem. All of those that I bring forth to safety are being cared for by myself.” Dainty fingers tighten around the railing, taking in a steady deep breath. “I bring in the credits. Anonymous funding. Getting some food and things off planet where people have more than they ever need. The rich never help the poor, so they may need a little PUSH.” 

“Why do you ask? Is there something new goin’ on?”

‘Helping the little people get by.’ As keen as he is to drop the subject that’s something that sticks in the back of his mind. A very human sentiment, not one he disagreed with necessarily-- he’s had long enough for a lot of human sentimentality to rub off on him-- but this still boiled down to war. A damn great big one. There’s nothing a turian understands better. If their mission out there fails, the ‘little guys’ are going to fall on a lot more than hard times. 

“Not new, not exactly. Something’s been going on for a while now and it’s taken this long to notice it. The numbers coming off the Palaven refugee effort aren’t adding up. The ships we send out are all coming back but we’re seeing whole scores of evacuees that aren’t showing up on our system. We don’t know who we’re saving or where they are on the station and I don’t think that’s an accident. I can’t even say if they’re safe.”

“Ransoming off the details on survivors to make a profit; does that sound plausible to you? If you’re able to use to some channels to slip through, maybe there’s others out there who can do the same.”

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ofrannoch:

Said marine looks up from his omni-tool, a tilt of his head as the question was thought over, easily followed by a shake from side to side. “Can’t say I’ve ever felt the need to. One less of them is one less someone else has to deal with, there isn’t much of a need to keep a running tally.” The display on his arm is shut down, Reegar comfortably leaning forward elbows on knees. “You keep track of how many geth you’ve killed, Vakarian? How many people?” There’s a squint to his eyes now. “I’m not expecting an answer, just stating that I’m not a fan of the question.” Kal holds the pose for a few moments before sitting up, resuming whatever it was he was doing beforehand.

“At least four hundred,” he replies, again turning off the omni-tool. “I was commended for it. Ancestors only know who’s keeping track of that.”

His mouth hangs open, because of course, he had an answer; he’d started with an exact number coming out of Ilos that got a little hazier over the past two years. People, though? He’s back to keeping his jaw shut. Not the right crowd for boasting. Noted. Four hundred was damned impressive, although he wouldn’t feel great saying that now.

“You know, there’s some people out there that consider geth good game, usually the rich and wealthy; they’ll go out to the Terminus in grand hunting parties. Hardly ever goes well for them, but you’ve got morons that’d risk it all for sport—while every shot you take is for the sake of saving a life.”

“That’s damned impressive.” When turbulence rocks the shuttle his hand snaps out to steady the gear propped beside him; a part of the probe they were hauling out this far, turian-made—all part of the arrangement—neither party would be happy with him breaking it on arrival.  

“I suppose that’s what these are for. Strategically, setting up shop on one of these moons is a smart move. Getting more trouble than usual?”

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Looks like @vcga has got some climbing to do...

If there’s one planet that wouldn’t look a shred different during Reaper invasion, it would be Tuchanka; the whole damn rock was already such a smouldered heap of debris, something as big and volatile as a Reaper would fit right in here—and now it seemed Cerberus had made another unscheduled appearance.

It’s safe to say Garrus wasn’t pleased to see war-torn Tuchanka again so soon, he wasn’t pleased to admit that in such a small time frame Palaven was starting to look a little similar in comparison. Not the sort of thing he needs to think about right now, scrambling over mounds of dust and rubble with the new guy. “Vantage point’s not far, just a bit further up.”

“Name’s Vega, right? Lieutenant Vega?” He already knew, of course. Had the name memorized from the very beginning on Menae, it’s been a good practice to keep with everyone the Normandy pulls onboard. He just needed something easy to break the ice. Not the best time to be making new acquaintances either but there wasn’t a whole lot of good going around right now.

“So does Shepard have a special kind of a club back on Earth? I heard you were a bit of a fan.”      

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OOC: Slow Responses this week

Just a quick thing. I’ve got a stomach condition that flares up now and then and really puts a damper on my work flow; it usually takes a week to pass and I’m getting it sorted quickly so no harm done.

All my drafts and owed replies are near enough finished, I’d just prefer to get them all out there when I’ve pulled myself back together.

IM and inbox are always open if you want to step in and have chat or send Garrus some spam mail asks, I’ll still be lingering in the shadows like the mysterious rogue I think I am. 

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✂ FOR TALI

✂ for a worried text about the receiver                

To: Tali’Zorah vas Neema vas Normandy

Subject: None

[Broker’s Additional Notes: Alternatedseveral times between ‘vas Neema’ and ‘vas Normandy’ before settling on thelatter.]

Hey, Tali.

I’m sorry.

I know it must be

After what happened on the Alarei, I can’timagine what you’re going through. I’m just glad you had Shepard backing yourcorner and they didn’t throw you out with the rest of the trial. I know thesearen’t the best times to grieve but I hope you find

thing’ll get better over

[Message was saved to drafts and reopened frequently in a thirty minute time-frame before finally completing.]

If you ever want to talk, if you need anything. Just say the word. You know where to find me.

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What was your mother like?

“Strong. Enduring. Completely resolute in what she believed in. You can throw those words around with almost any turian but I promise you, she was different.”

“I always think about how Dad went ‘by the book’ page-for-page, while Mom could cut a path right through it. Never broke a law, never defiled a regulation; she just knew how to get things done right. Always drove Dad crazy– and then she could talk rings around him.”

“Never worked much when I tried. Somehow, it just seemed to piss him off. For all our grievances she still believed we’d all be together as a family in the end. On that she was adamant. That was all I could think about before hitting the Collectors; the fact that I could die out there and have the audacity to prove her wrong. Putting out credits for medical bills wasn’t good enough, I had to be there on Palaven. It just took me several suicide missions and near-death experiences to wake up and realize it.”

“I’m not going to say that first time in the hospital wasn’t emotional, but she never sounded surprised. She was just glad; glad to see me, glad to be right, glad to have the three of us there with her again. Just like old times.”

“She left our world peacefully and among family; before she could see it all turn inside out and burn. I don’t get many things that ‘go right’ for me but... for what it’s worth, I’m grateful that the universe was merciful there. I’ll pull what’s left of my family-- our world back together if it’s the last thing I do.”

[queenschoice]

Built in the mined-out husk of a metallic asteroid, Omega has been a haven for criminals, terrorists, and malcontents for thousands of years. At times the station has lain idle and abandoned for centuries, only to be reactivated by a new group of outlaws seeking a fresh start. The space station’s original elegant design has given way to haphazard expansion by scrabbling factions of every species. There is no central government or unifying authority on Omega, and nobody can recall a time there ever was one.

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Sharing one awkward shuttle ride with @ofrannoch

   Working with the quarian marines, now that’s a new one. A joke way back in basic was that a ‘quarian marine’ was something of an oxymoron. Garrus had learned better since then, he’d fought alongside one tougher than half the soldiers he’d trained with—and she was an engineer.

   Kal’Reegar didn’t seem too bad. He wasn’t Tali but—he knew it was too optimistic to expect her to be a part of this volunteer mission. Haestrom was too brief (and too damn hot) for a proper introduction but at least he’d already seen Reegar in action. Their shuttle was closing in on the drop-point now and they’d hardly said a word between them. Maybe he should change that?

   “So--” He can’t hear his throat clear above the thrum of the engines. Bad time to realize he didn’t have a good opener for conversation; he only has a few instinctual topics to fall back on and most—if not all of them involve guns. “You keep track of how many geth you’ve shot down?”

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rosurogue:

“You expect me to sit with you?” 

He snorts, turning back to the door to guide the freshly-brewed point of his tool into line with the seam of the exit. 

“Between the two of us, I’m hardly the one that needs ‘supervising’. But I’m sure even you can look after yourself for thirty minutes.”

   “I expect you to realize you can’t run off and do this solo.”

   But that was a glaring curiosity he’d noted from the very beginning. Two Spectres aboard one ship and command is hardly equal-- in fact it’s the newcomer doing most of the leading. Why was he here to give the seasoned Spectre back-up on a scouting mission? “--I don’t think you’re allowed to, are you? Wherever you go, I'm supposed to follow.”

   “Thirty minutes is a long time in the middle of nowhere. What are you hoping to find out there?”

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queencfthegirlscouts:

       ❝ uh…only because you bring them up a whole lot, buddy. it’s like your GO TO deflection mechanism. bring up an uncomfortable topic ? ‘i’m in the middle of some CALIBRATIONS’. someone starts fighting on the bridge ? ‘better go work on those calibrations’. i’m just wondering if they’re ACTUALLY useful or if you just come down here and pretend to know what you’re doing. ❞

       ❝ as your CO i think i have a right to know. ❞

   “Er, sorry? ‘Pretend?’ ‘Actually useful?‘” Oh. That did it. He was just going to dismantle this M-97 Viper for kicks but no, you know what? This was more important. The sniper’s dropped back to the workbench with one hell of a clutter as he turns around.”I agree, my CO deserves to know.”

   He leans back against the bench and crosses his arms over. Yeah, there was a slight challenge coming. “If she’ll care to answer my question first and tell me what she thinks calibrations are.”

   “Time’s ticking, Shepard. I’ve just decided I have important guns to mod.”

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rosurogue:

“I tried it because it should have worked, genius.” And it really should have – on the route Nihlus can recall (through head pain and Garrus’s continued and oh-so welcome commentary), short-range would have been perfectly sufficient, albeit weighed down in the event of a storm. Here, it wasn’t just slow – he was outright breaking the connection. 

Something isn’t right.

He needs to get that door open.

“Listen,” he says. “Go ahead and run diagnostics on the main frame yourself. If it’s still up, you can find your ‘jump-start’. If not, get an omni-cable going and interface it with the life support directly. Won’t buy as much time on its own, but its a start.”

 He, on the other hand, is gearing up his own tool for manual labor; a nice, clean cut to the seals should do it.

“I’m taking a walk.”

Finally, they’re starting to talk some practical sense-- and it was all definitely what he was already planning to do, definitely. His omni-tool is brought up with a few sparks and a sluggish delay, from the look of his arm he may have bashed it in the crash-- or on Nihlus one of the many times shortly after. Regardless, it’s still fit for running diagnostics.

“Alright, shouldn’t take to long to--”

No. That’s the first thought to come to mind; a frustrated sigh and just ‘no.’ It’s the kind of behaviour from them he’d been ready to expect since coming aboard-- and here he was without a Commander to keep Nihlus playing along.

“The hell you are.” The tool is minimized with the diagnostic still running in the background, hopefully. “I’m not sitting around doing maintenance so you can run off unsupervised.”

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queencfthegirlscouts:

       ❝ but i’m not everybody. I’M ME. so suck it up, buddy, you’re getting affection and you’re gonna have to deal with it. ❞ a smile peeked onto her face. ❝ BESIDES, who says i needed to thank you ? i wanted to, GARRUS. you deserve it. ❞

       ❝ now how are those CALIBRATIONS going ? are you ever going to tell me what they actually DO ? ❞

Well, he tried taking the noble route there but he can’t seem to stop his mandibles from parting into a wry grin. “So there are a few exceptions where I will accept thanks.” However, nothing catches his attention better than gun-talk; he breaks away from the weapon battery and back towards his workbench to keep the conversation in view.

 “-- and I could, but maybe you should go ahead and tell me what you think calibrations are first. Between you, Joker and... come to think of it, a few others-- they seem to be brought up a whole lot.”

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gossipingthief:

     “I am sure your intentions are pure, but to pick the Citadel of all places? The vague message after all this time? It raises some questions, but I trust you.” The latter of which a little white lie, but she was trying to put more faith into others. If she didn’t COMPLETELY trust him, would she had bothered to even reply to his message?        She turned to face the Presidium before them, gloved hands holding onto the railing as she rocked on the balls of her heels. “So, what’s going on? Get yourself in some sort of trouble and need your file eradicated? Because as much as I could help in that, you could have asked T’Soni for that one. I doubt you’re trying to get your hands on something, as much as a rebel you are – you are a vigilante so still law abiding.. Which leaves me, confused. Just cough it up already.”

Well, he can’t fault her for being cautious. If there’s one thing this war’s made him, it’s paranoid-- or at least more so. “Citadel’s the only stop I get, you should know that.” He kicks his heel and turns to face the view. “Some of us are still out there trying to save a galaxy.” He can’t help let one passive remark slip, it’s practically automatic. What he can do is quickly follow up with something to avoid digging a hole.

“I know it’s quiet up here. People are spooked after what happened with Cerberus but given there’s a war going on, it’s still abnormally quiet.” It wasn’t too long ago he was running somewhere within view of here, trying to chase a new kind of maniac with a damn sword. To see a now battle-scarred Presidium go back to feigning normalcy is irritating to say the least; especially knowing the chaos going on a ward below.

“How much do you know on the refugee problem? I’ve already had ‘smuggling’ come up more than once from our ‘reliable source’.”

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commandershxpard:

If it weren’t for the fact that the two of them had the crap kicked out of them, and their lives were still at risk, she’d probably laugh at this all. She might even laugh about it later, given time. The two of them trying to MacGyver their way out of a space-aged cell with nothing but a couple of bobby pins, a blade and their wits was like something out of a bad vid. Hell, maybe she could pitch this idea for the next Blasto movie.

“You might have a better shot at it right now than I do,” she said with a nod. “I’ll keep watch though.” 

“Right, good idea. Keep an eye out.” Poor choice of words. Now he just needs to remember how to do it-- Well, recall it from a second-hand source. “So the general idea is; if you pushed on the right spot and managed to get the mechanism inside lifted. . .” Tracing one talon along the fringe of the door, he thinks he may have found said spot. “-- you can trick the door into thinking it’s time to open.”

“Then...” He huffs, prying the pins into the space and coming to a quick conclusion that the right spot is actually on the right side... “Then we just need to do some lifting of our own.” Alright, now he’s found it; he also finds he does a better job leaving his weight and subsequently some of his blood against the cell wall.

“Help yourself to the uh, knife, by the way. Square patch taped right on the back, looks like a standard stitch-up on the field. Shouldn’t miss it.”

[queencfthegirlscouts-blog]

       ❝ you know…i don’t think i’ve THANKED YOU yet…for sticking by me. you, tali, and joker, you’re pretty much the only ones who kept TRUSTING ME, even through all the cerberus stuff. i just want you to know i appreciate it. ❞

               { @scopedxdropped liked for a starter }

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“Thanked me?”

Now for an opening, that was a curious one. Enough to dislodge his arms from between the gun batteries and lean back until Shepard came into view. “You know how long we’d be standing around if everybody aboard this ship lined up to show thanks back?”

“Long enough to win two Reaper wars. You don’t need to thank me.”

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rosurogue:

That thump is nearly enough for him to turn a gun on the cockpit as he turns to look; what in the world is he doing up there? Is he trying to reach the controls? The controls hanging a whole head above him? Nihlus rubs his face, biting down on a sigh.

“You’re not going to freeze to death in the time it’ll take you to punch in a few coordinates, I promise. But if you just want me to do it instead – ” And, irritably, that’s what he does. 

Or, at least, that is what he tries to do. 

“Ah.” Nihlus frowned deeply at his tool. “Hmm.”

Sure, he can connect. He can even send a signal; it’s just taking it’s time going through.  

It’s sweet, sweet time.

“I don’t suppose,” he says (and for some reason, he sounds a bit more patient), “you managed to get anything working – ?”

“What? On the low power I just mentioned?”

“No. I didn’t.” He glances off towards their omni-tool with a mildly-irked snort of air. “--and you’re trying short-range communications. In these conditions?” Oh that was rich. Beloved ‘Team Player’ and Spectre Nihlus Kryik probably hasn’t had to call in for help throughout his entire career. Where would he even begin?

“How about we use the omni-tool for what it’s good for-- like checking up on how exactly we go about jump-starting power. I don’t think this is going to be as easy as a C-Sec cruiser.”

“Just one example.”