going fishing [ open ]
who ; Lev, the Underworld and YOU (remember to tag in!)
what ; Lev has invited a couple of Sacrosanct's residents to meet in confidence with him. He may be getting more than he expected.
where ; Asphodel - Underworld shadow market, equatorial tunnel section
when ; after his transmission
warning(s) ; TBD. Please see event notes.
( Now collect your courage and collect your horse. )
what ; Lev has invited a couple of Sacrosanct's residents to meet in confidence with him. He may be getting more than he expected.
where ; Asphodel - Underworld shadow market, equatorial tunnel section
when ; after his transmission
warning(s) ; TBD. Please see event notes.
( Now collect your courage and collect your horse. )
But before you can get a good glimpse of it, a massive figure with a gun almost as large as he is steps in to block your path. ]
All right, that's far enough!
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[ sliding in past him, and taking mental note of everything around, mapping out potential escape routes maybe. ]
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From the landing site on, Asphodel was a myriad of half cracked tunnels and breached bulkheads. It was just voluminous enough to hold atmosphere, but everything tasted dimly wrong, too much of something in the air. The way the flavor of it came and went in patches spoke of terra-forming, leaks along shielding and broken seals to the dirt outside. It was almost irritating enough to merit breathers, but Shepard passed. It faded, more and more, the deeper they traveled ( ... )
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"Lev's not all that big on tea, sis. Now what's the password."
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The password was a mash of letters, something akin to KKV 41:1. It didn't really matter, this guy didn't look particularly interested in hearing a trail of letters and stories from anyone. If he was here to keep her from getting in, Lev was an idiot, and from what she could tell, he wasn't. That meant the big guy with the gun, had an alternate job.
He was either here to weed out unwanted guests, a task which didn't expressly require that particular caliber of weapon, or keep something else out.
At any rate, he was no more her concern than she was his, and Shepard didn't like wasting time ( ... )
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And just like that, it wasn't not just him anymore. And apart from his human backup, there was a ceiling-mounted cannon aimed straight at her head.
So was a small camera. But that was always there, winking its lens in the dim market lights.
"We ain't here to play games, princess, and we don't care about whatever fancy-ass conversation you say you had with Lev. You better turn back around and come back with an invitation."
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"You really going to waste this ordinance on us?" Shepard asked evenly. She wasn't particularly comfortable looking down this many long, large barrels, but they didn't need to know that. "Risk us putting more than a dent in your security just so you can hear me jabber back the stupid job-code he passed out?"
A good, old-fashioned stand-off. It had been a while, and she really didn't miss them.
"Or is one of you going to run back there and tell Lev we've arrived?"
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"Are you done?" she demanded. "You don't know what the fuck you've walked into, do you? This isn't a fucking socialite gathering, bitch. You've got three fucking seconds--"
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The voice cuts clear across the market, and the effect is instantaneous. Beyond Shepard, a wall of people suddenly parts, receding to either side of the pathway into the shadows of the tents. The guards, including both grunts which spoke before, lower their weapons to their ribs and step immediately aside.
The ceiling cannon stayed fixed where it was.
Lev had a presence to him, even in person. It was something hyperreal, you might even think holographic, except he was very much solid, in the way he moved, muscles tight in his neck, to the entrance way.
One thing, perhaps, was that he wasn't as tall. 5'11" or so, really, but quite muscular for all that.
"Maybe you should study up on your ancient literature, Commander Shepard."
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So this was Lev.
Lev, who apparently handed out job codes that were references to ancient literature. Ancient literature that was, apparently, the actual pass-code. It was circuitous in a way she neither appreciated, nor regularly dealt with. It hadn't even occurred to her to cross reference their pass-code, and given the distinct lack of Humans currently on deck with her, it wasn't surprising that no one had suggested it.
She, very briefly, wondered if any of their home planets even used a system of catalog like humans, then she remembered that this was a very recently diffused situation, and she was thinking about libraries of all things ( ... )
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Besides, this Lev looked like he had some serious help. Not to mention loyal, even if Garrus was sure Shepard's team could carve through them like a hot knife through a hanar's tentacle. Not particularly eager to find out, of course, but if it came down to it....
Human literature? He'd never heard of it. Maybe Legion would've been better for that kind of thing. "And here I thought we were finally finished with having guns pointed at us."
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It's easier to move without the bloodshed, though.
Slowly, his gun is lowered. At least this Lev character kept true to his word, more or less. He glances to Garrus, answering wryly, "Would it be Shepard's crew if there was a lack of hostility from others?"
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It wasn't disappointment, per se, but maybe slight exasperation. There were certain skills he would expect any of his allies to know and how to search for keywords was one of them. He couldn't waste time on some ridiculous cadre from another universe that had somehow advanced to the space age without Google. If nothing else, he didn't consider himself a very good fucking teacher for that kind of thing.
Well. His opinion of Shepard's intellect had taken a hit, but he couldn't knock her bravery. He wasn't sure how he'd deal with that many guns in his face. Probably faster, but that was him.
That could still make her useful, at any rate.
"Come up to the control tent as soon as you're situated, Commander. Try not to agitate my men too much in the mean time."
That said, he strode off, leaving her in the company of the guards once again as the crowd pressed in.
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"That doesn't come in," the female guard said firmly, pointing to Legion. "Or you're putting it in autistic mode, one or the other."
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She lifted a hand and motioned into the camp with a quick flick of the wrist. They'd get a reading of the locale first, then she'd have a chat with Lev.
"Problem with that?" Shepard followed up. "I'd hate to agitate you unnecessarily."
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"Autistic mode," she repeated, stressing it. "And don't take it near any electronics."
The matter was over, though, that was pretty clear. They would enforce Lev's rules to a T, but he'd given them permission and everyone in the camp just had to work with it. She stepped aside, likewise the big guy.
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