Compiling. [OPEN *]

[cmdr_renegade]

who ; Open to anyone supposed to be in the building or has been invited.*
what ; Sitting, planning, maintenance.
where ; Garrus's Apartment: Base, R01-Kurzweil.
when ; Early evening.
warning(s) ; None so far

Comments

[savor_last_shot]

As strange as it might sound, Garrus felt comfortable. Which was bad. He shouldn't feel comfortable. He was on an alien space station with a crazy AI in charge. But Shepard was here. And if Shepard was here, then this was just another day in the life of the Normandy crew. He still hated the fact that it felt comfortable. Comfortable meant he was going to get complacent. The last time he'd gotten complacent, a lot of good men and women had ended up dead. So he drilled himself.

He'd just finished another perimeter sweep. Still nothing - which was both reassuring and rather disturbing at the same time. He slipped back into the main apartment, rifle slung over one shoulder. He gave Shepard a nod and settled down into his seat near one of the windows - far enough back so that a sniper wouldn't pick him off and close enough to get him a decent view without exposing himself.

"Perimeter's clear. Still, just wanted to make sure. You know how it is."

[cmdr_renegade]

"Tell me about it," she agreed without looking up from her work. It was strange how easy it was to identify Garrus by sound alone, or conspicuous lack thereof, she hadn't even tensed when he entered the room. Maybe she was losing her touch, though the residue in her gun casing argued otherwise.

The omnitool was still chewing through the tasks she'd set to it. It beeped a few times and the bar actually moved back a tick before progressing again. Hell, it was going to take all night at this rate.

"Hard to believe this place is this empty," she added as she started cleaning the clip feed. "Half expect a swarm of Collectors are going to drop down on us."

[savor_last_shot]

"I know what you mean. It's like Horizon - except here it's like no one even lived in any of these buildings," he replied, watching her work for a moment. Then he shifted his attention outside again. He'd seen her break down the pistol before. He'd done it himself. He could probably do it in his sleep at this point.

Garrus looked thoughtful for a moment. "So, potentially crazy AI and a whole bunch of people from all over the galaxy. How do we get out of this one? I doubt Joker is just going to swing by in the Normandy and pick us up. It's never that easy."

[cmdr_renegade]

"Not a lot of intel floating around here," Shepard replied dryly. "I think our best bet at real information, unless one of us guesses an admin passcode, is going to be Lev."

She didn't like it. He smacked all over of the same kind of bullshit that all covert operators did. He was smooth, self important, and, more irritating, he was self-righteous. She hadn't pegged his game yet, but that didn't rule out his usefulness.

She turned in her chair, idly polishing the interior of the case as she did. "If we can get outside, we could get a location fix, send out a signal."

It wasn't anything near a whole plan, but it was a start.

[savor_last_shot]

"We'll probably have to scrounge up a transmitter. I doubt our suit radios can boost a signal outside of the solar system," he started fiddling with his omnitool. He wished Tali were here - she could probably tell them what they needed for that without even thinking about it. For now, he'd have to run a few simulations with his omnitool. He was decent with tech, but he was no wizard like Tali.

"I take it actually getting outside is the problem. And then getting back in if we have to."

[cmdr_renegade]

"Maybe, maybe not," Shepard answered and turned back as Garrus fiddled with his omnitool. "Apparently the AI needs some repairs done on the outside, manual assistance required."

She'd looked over the local extranet carefully, but it was far too tight for her to crack into, even at a high capacity maintenance terminal. Looking had lead her across all the request sites, though, even the local AI's personal listings. While she wouldn't have trusted it to keep time, this was a decided opportunity.

Gamble was just another word for that.

Her hands were working automatically, reassembling the heat-sink cradle and replacing it to the stock. She hardly paid any attention.

"If we can find a transmitter, setting it up might be the hardest part."

[savor_last_shot]

"Huh. You'd think it'd have it's own drones for that kind of thing..." Garrus was wary of the station's AI. He didn't trust it and he certainly didn't trust the reassurances offered that they'd be fine if they just went along quietly. He scratched at a mandible.

"Well... we're rated for vacuum. Might as well try it out and see what we can find. And if we're lucky, maybe we can sneak some salvage." His omnitool wasn't helping much - mostly because he had no idea how large the system actually was.

[cmdr_renegade]

"Sounds like an assignment," Shepard replied as she snapped the case back onto her pistol. Re-affixing it took small tools, it was probably the most impressive engineering she knew. At least the AI didn't know as much.

"I'll answer the request when the maps finish paralleling," she continued as she leaned over the table and slid the small bolts back in place. "Didn't spot much that would outclass our radios for transmit capability, not in this section. Might need a trip to the radiation yard."

[savor_last_shot]

"I can do a quick sweep through there this afternoon," Garrus responded thoughtfully. "Somehow I doubt the resident AI is just going to let us keep whatever we get our hands on, though. Especially if we plan on using it to get out of here - which, knowing us, will probably involve explosions and exposing certain areas of the station to cold vacuum."

He chuckled softly. Leave it to Garrus to be amused by the prospect of a fight. "Otherwise... I guess we're going to stay quiet?"

[cmdr_renegade]

"Well," Shepard answered as she snapped her thermal clip back into the cleaned pistol and activated it. It chambered a round easily and she set it back down. "As quiet as we ever are."

She turned in her chair, after a pause, and propped her elbow up on the back of it.

"If the AI has a problem with salvaging, we can deal with it. Probably via explosives and exposing areas to cold vacuum," she added wryly and drummed her fingers against the back of the prefab chair. "The local AI is uppity, but I'm not quite sold on crazy yet."

[savor_last_shot]

"We can do quiet if we need to," chided Garrus, "...you just don't like it."

He swung his rifle off of his back and double-checked the scope. Still just as good as the last time he'd checked it. It always was. he rarely (if ever) let his equipment lapse.

"I still have some explosives left, even after the booby traps. Probably enough to rip a chunk out of the hull if we need to. Or blow in some hatches if we place them strategically enough. Just tell me where to go," he chuckled softly, "One way or another, it'll be a hell of a ride."

[cmdr_renegade]

"Nothing quite like a zero-G explosion in the morning, aye, Garrus?" Shepard replied, a short smirk pulling at her face. "And you think I'm the one who doesn't like quiet."

The omnitool on the table made a series of pings as it completed its calculations. The maps popped up, overlayed, discrepancies included. She glanced across the holo and pulled it aside as she opened the extranet browser. It wasn't hard to locate the job--still open.

"Looks like we're taking a stroll outside Garden Zone 15." She pulled up the data and accepted the task. "You find the transmitter, and I'll bring the charges."

[savor_last_shot]

"Got it, Shepard. I'll see what I can dig up," he replied as he paused to eye the maps. He lifted his omnitool and with a few keystrokes, requested a file transfer - having a copy of those for himself would be useful. He stowed his rifle again and took a moment to let his omnitool work. After a moment of thought (and brief hesitation), he stepped over and placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder. His head dipped and he brushed his forehead against her own.

It was a small quick gesture, but it was the most overt display of affection he'd shown since they'd arrived. There hadn't really been time or thought to it before now. He'd just been content to be working alongside her again. To have her solid, anchoring presence.

[cmdr_renegade]

The copy pinged over to Garrus much more quickly than it had taken to compile. It flashed a notification across her open screen, but she was hardly paying attention to it.

"I'm sure you'll find something," Shepard answered, a mild but honest smile on her face. Turians really didn't get the whole hand on hand thing, probably had to do with having talons, but she set hers on his anyway, even as he stood back up. It was equal parts fortune and misfortune that Garrus was here. Selfishly, she was pretty fucking glad for it.

"The map includes Thane's assessment of the ventilation systems," she commented casually. She was reluctant to pull back her hand, but she needed it to navigate the menu. She swept her palm across her face as she withdrew her hand, pressed her fingers to her eyes before examining the holo.

Going point by point sounded like the worst task in the world, at this moment. It could wait until later.

"You mind taking first watch?" She asked as she closed out the menus.

[savor_last_shot]

He examined his omnitool as the data started to compile itself, the hologram forming and shaping. It was a decent map. Probably mostly accurate, too. He followed her lead and reluctantly pulled his hand from her shoulder, tapping at his omnitool as he examined the information closely. He nodded, looking a bit absent-minded. "Sure, Shepard. Don't mind at all."

His glance slides up to meet her's and he cocked his head for a moment. "Get some rest."

[cmdr_renegade]

"Thanks, Garrus," Shepard answered. "Wake me in a few cycles and I'll take over."

She nodded, a short motion as she pulled herself up out of the chair. Her pistol clipped back into place, easily. As she moved to pass Garrus and head to the couch, she offered him a short, silent smile.

She wasn't sure if Thane was still in the bed, but she knew his proclivities. That, and startling an assassin awake by wandering into the room seemed like a bad call, even if he was probably gone. The couch was comfortable enough anyway, probably more than it should have been, even in full gear.

It was almost embarrassing how fast she fell asleep. She'd blame it on the hiking around Kurzweil, even if it wasn't entirely true.