the cave is too small to hide them for long. really, it’s more of a carved sort of hideaway than an actual cavern, but james still grips romelle tight, one-armed, his body shielding hers from the outside. his gun digs into his side, uncomfortable, but reassuring. at least he has it, should the need to use it arise.
in hindsight he really should’ve brought back up, but the mission had been stupidly easy – one of the garrison’s long range sensors out in the desert hadn’t been broadcasting any data for the last couple of days, probably overturned so the solar panel powering it couldn’t get any light, or one of the cables had come loose, chewed by a curious desert-dweller. naturally, someone had to fix it.
you’re not busy right, griffin? it had been a while since he’d been called on to do busywork, but he’s never been one to disregard orders. romelle had practically begged iverson to tag along, and he’s sure the commander only agreed to get her to stop asking. maybe a simple recon mission would tone down her enthusiasm.
or a couple rogue galra sentries could do the trick.
“i count two, maybe three hostiles.” he doesn’t know why he mutters it to romelle, there isn’t much she can do, but it feels better saying it out loud, helps him regroup. his comms unit crackles unhelpfully in his ear. “we have to wait them out and hope they move on to a different sector so we can get back to the cruiser.” outside the sun begins its slow dip into the horizon. griffin has a feeling night won’t work to their advantage.
he shifts to regard romelle seriously, eyes slate behind the glass of his helmet. “i need you to listen to me no matter what i tell you, alright? this isn’t a game. if i tell you to follow me, or to hide, or to run i need to know that you’ll listen. no questions asked.” add giving a pep talk to a civilian alien something he never thought he’d do. james quirks a brow at her, his hand squeezing her shoulder, something he hopes is reassuring, warm. “i need you to trust me, romelle. we’re gonna get out of this. i promise.” // @romelletean