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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Sept 24, 2012 13:53:53 GMT -8
Having settled himself into one of the pilots chairs while Kryseis and her pet varren had vacated the the cockpit, Elam ran a few systems diagnostic scans out of sheer boredom alone. Though far from a professional pilot, he knew what to do and when to do it to survive. While some of the indicator markings blinking lights were a bit new or unfamiliar, the controls to the Balrog were basic enough.
No matter how much training he had gone through to prevent it, the adrenaline rush of combat was slowly waning from the former Marine's mind and body, and he found himself drifting into a state of mild lethargy. His eyelids fluttered, then closed.
It was good to sleep. He hadn't been able to do so comfortably and without much concern for quite some time. Safe in the cocoon of the pilot's chair, he could at last relax. The Captain was off doing whatever it was he did, and until notified otherwise, didn't need his second-in-command to snidely bark commands at.
Elam, much unlike his tough, no-nonsense exterior, looked as peaceful as a child in his sleep. His breathing was low and easy, his brow unclenched and free.
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Sept 24, 2012 14:19:44 GMT -8
Kryseis returned from her shower to find a sleeping Elam. She gazed at him for a few seconds, amazed at how the gruffness of his usual demeanor seemed to have melted off him in his sleep. He actually looked rather adorable like this. She was tempted to walk back out and leave him alone...Except then Pistachio jumped on Elam's lap, happily licking his face.
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Sept 24, 2012 14:26:42 GMT -8
" The only way I'll sleep is if I'm down here anyway," Wyn said, " I need noise to sleep. I was sleeping when the engine decided to be an ass, and it was like having an alarm go off."
She sighed, " I wouldn't want to be any other race. Even if I belong to the most shat on race in the galaxy, I'm still proud to call myself a Quarian." she laughed at Bryci's last sentence. Bryci made her laugh a lot. It was good for the soul, but not for her sore throat, " Okay maybe not. Forget I said that."
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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Sept 24, 2012 14:34:49 GMT -8
Elam's eyes snapped open when he felt the weight of something foreign by his torso, preparing himself to deal with whatever sneak attack this unknown foe might have had in store for him. Such thoughts were subverted, however, by the feeling of a rather wet, slimy tongue lapped the side of his face, leaving a sticky residue that made him shudder. It was Pistachio, Kryseis' varren, apparently oh-so-happy to see him. With hesitance, Elam slowly moved to pet the alien creature, giving him a few strokes as one would with any other house pet.
As the varren hopped off, Elam swiveled around in the pilot's chair to acknowledge Kryseis with a smile. "I think with any other member of his species, my sorry ass would've been mauled," he half-joked lightly.
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Sept 24, 2012 14:39:16 GMT -8
"Sorry about that...I was going to leave you be but Pistachio decided he'd rather say hi instead."
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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Sept 24, 2012 14:55:23 GMT -8
"No problem, I shouldn't have been sleeping on the job," Elam replied, waving off the Asari pilot's apology. "If you want me out, that's totally fine. I'm sure the Captain's got some odd job for me to do, anyways."
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Sept 24, 2012 15:02:10 GMT -8
"Eh, no need. I don't really need to be here right now, so carry on." Kryseis replied as she left the cockpit again, though Pistachio elected to stay behind and keep him company.
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lovely corte
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Post by lovely corte on Sept 24, 2012 15:32:32 GMT -8
"Yeah, hey mom. Yeah, my friend is trained to shoot people in the dicks, whaddaya' think 'bout that?" Bryci joked, her thumb and pinky poked out to indicate that she was talking into some fucked up phone.
Seriously, who still used phones nowdays?
"Me, I get the exact opposite." Bryci said, "I need to be all cozy, get all up in my bed, wrap the blankets around me like the arms of some fat one night stand I'd rather not roll over and look at."
The girl wrapped her arms around herself, and visibly shuddered before she let herself go.
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Sept 24, 2012 16:25:41 GMT -8
"Yeah that wouldn't go over well.. Mama's also a psychologist. And she's never seen a human before, she finished her Pilgramage around the time of the war you guys had with the Turians. So she'd probably ask you all kinds of awkward questions."
She broke out into a big grin, though it was obviously invisible to Bryci, "Oh god, please tell me that hasn't happened to you a lot. I've never had a one night stand. Sex is so risky, I'd rather not die because some stranger fucked me. And I've never really... liked a Quarian that way... And with other races I um..."
She felt her face grow hot when she realized how that came out. She hastily turned away from Bryci, and focused on the engine.
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lovely corte
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Post by lovely corte on Sept 24, 2012 17:09:27 GMT -8
"Never seen a Human?" Bryci asked, a bit shocked, "Pro-tip: We're made out of floating chunks of Krogan penis. Tell her that in full detail, word-for-word. Just trust me. I'd never lie."
"Well, you see, after the well... 'war', I did have a couple. Like, two or three." Bryci said, unashamed, not even a hint of red on her cheeks, "It's a normal thing. In this day and age, sex is as simple as brushing your teeth."
She looked at Wyn, "Oh my god, are we actually having this talk? Wyn you sly dog cunt you!" She reached out and gently nudged the girl, giggling, more than what was necessary for the former commando.
"Are you for real, never passed a glance at some Turian with those weird angular face blade things that apparently are meant to be really hot, or y'know... looked at a Drell with a good, blue and green skin-tone." Bryci said, laughing and wrapping an arm over Wyn's shoulder.
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Sept 24, 2012 17:33:07 GMT -8
Wyn raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, "Yeah I'll be sure to tell her that.
She blushed even more as Bryci teased her and wrapped her arm around her, "There was a human I kind of liked..." she muttered. "But um..." How was she going to explain this...
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lovely corte
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Post by lovely corte on Sept 24, 2012 17:37:17 GMT -8
"Wow, we're having girl talk." Bryci realized, "It's been a while." She hadn't really had much communication with anyone on the crew, and was usually just the kinda' girl whom would just sit at the table, eat her food and listen to others. Talking to Wyn was a refreshing change.
"Ooooooooh-hoo-hooo," Bryci said, giggling and shaking Wyn slightly, "Who was it? Who was it?"
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Sept 24, 2012 17:58:31 GMT -8
"His name was Asher. He was a sniper that the Captain hired. When he saw that I had trouble with close combat because of how small I am, he taught me how to snipe. We became really close friends... but he just kind of dissapeared when we were on port at Omega a year ago. He was just gone. The Captain refused to talk about it. You know how it is," she shrugged, " I felt like shit after that. I remember I drank a lot. I'm okay now though. At least I didn't see him get vaporized in front of my eyes, like we did Bateman,"
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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Sept 24, 2012 18:16:39 GMT -8
((Firefly, you are absolutely terrifying. I love you.))
Elam, shrugging off Kryseis' newest disappearance from the cockpit, slouched down in the pilot's chair again, tentatively stroking Pistachio's head as he watched the systems and constellations dance by.
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lovely corte
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Post by lovely corte on Sept 24, 2012 18:16:48 GMT -8
"Asher, ooooh. Sounds rugged." Bryci teased, fixing up her hood and pushing her hair out of her face. She listened intently, her face twinging and lips contorting as she attempted to not remain as awkward as she was throughout the situation.
She gave the girl a gentle squeeze on the shoulder, and she kept herself from feeling a bit of social nausea and some awkward tension. "Hey, he could still be alive. Shit, he could still be on Omega, we all know how hard it is to get off that rock."
And then Wyn had to bring up Bateman. She couldn't blame the girl, that image was burned into her memory like the laser into Bateman. She'd never liked watching people die, especially people she knew the name of. That added the personal touch to it that burned it into her memory.
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Sept 24, 2012 18:33:01 GMT -8
(You're not the first person to tell me that Adlai, but I think your the first one to say it as a compliment)
"Yeah it is a nice name..." Wyn said, " I don't know much about human names, but I always liked the sound of it. His surname ruined it though. It was Woodcock. And yes the Captain referred to him as ' Mr. Woodcock'" Wyn snorted with laughter over the innuendo, like an immature teenager.
"Yeah I guess he could still be around," she said, "It's a big galaxy. I still like to think if he left on his own free will, that he'd at least bothered to say goodbye."
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lovely corte
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Post by lovely corte on Sept 24, 2012 18:41:17 GMT -8
"Wait, you said the Captain never told you?" Bryci said, letting her hand fall away, "Why not just confront him about it? We could go up now, or maybe see Elam or something."
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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Sept 24, 2012 18:52:13 GMT -8
((In all seriousness, it's a bit of a spooky coincidence. The character Elam is now was going to originally be a sniper named Asher Kibbutz. Nice going, Firefly. xD))
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Sept 24, 2012 18:57:31 GMT -8
( Holy shit. I just chose a random name. This sorta thing actually happens to me a lot when I write. I'm a "freaky coincedence" magnet.)
" The Captain blew me off everytime. It's probably one of three things 1. He has no idea what happened. 2. He's the reason why Asher dissapeared. or 3. He knew how close I was to him, and was just being an ass by not telling me. I just stopped bringing it up. I would probably have an easier time having a Geth cooperate with me, than the Captain. I guess we could go ask Elam. He's... a bit easier to talk to."
Wyn turned back to the engine and said to it, "You better be good while I'm gone." She proceeded to give it the "I'm watching you" gesture with her two fingers.
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lovely corte
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Post by lovely corte on Sept 24, 2012 19:02:05 GMT -8
"Oooh, gettin' sassy with the engine. Nice, yeah, that'll make the ship run." Bryci said, hopping after Wyn and pulling her hood off her head. She fixed up her baggy shorts, and followed the girl.
"We should probably go check with Elam first. He usually isn't locked away in his solitude fortress masturbating on the network, wastin' all the downloads 'n' shit." Bryci said.
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Sept 24, 2012 19:21:40 GMT -8
"The engine was the one who got sassy first." she jokingly retorted, "And oh god, I did not need that image in my head."
The two of them navigated through the ship, until finding Elam lounging in the pilot's chair with Pistachio. "Um... Elam... mind if I ask you something?"
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lovely corte
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Post by lovely corte on Sept 24, 2012 20:14:04 GMT -8
"What? You getting all your suit simulators intermingled with the engine room? Aww yeah, hot as shit." Bryci sighed, following the girl with a grin on her face, crossing her arms as she looked at Elam.
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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Sept 25, 2012 4:13:09 GMT -8
Elam once again turned in his seat, this time to look to Wyn and Bryci.
"What can I do for you guys?" he inquired casually.
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lovely corte
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Post by lovely corte on Sept 25, 2012 4:18:24 GMT -8
Bryci cocked an eyebrow, keeping her arms crossed and turned to look at Wyn, before resting a hand on the girl's shoulder. It wasn't really that traumatic of a situation, but shit, sometimes it just got awkward and you needed a hand.
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Sept 25, 2012 8:06:46 GMT -8
" Me and Bryci were talking, and i told her about Asher... the Captain never bothered to tell me what happened to him. If anyone who isn't the Captain knows, it's you. Do you know what happened?"
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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Sept 27, 2012 4:36:53 GMT -8
Elam's brow furrowed at that. Asher. Goddamn, he hadn't heard that space cowboy's name in what felt like ages. A tinge of nostalgic reverence flickered in the back of his head, but his thoughtful stare relaxed into a bitter sigh. He knew what did, and he knew what he had planned on doing. They were better off without him, especially Wyn . . . as bad as it had to hurt her . . . as bad as it did hurt her.
"He . . ." Elam, began, trailing off. How could the Captain have not told her, of all people on this ship? ". . . Wyn, Asher was a nice guy. He had that down-home, southern thing goin' on for him. Hell of a shot, too. But . . . Wyn, I ever tell you what I was doing, before I worked for Val?"
Elam was standing now, leaning up against the instrumentation of the pilot console. This was gonna sting . . .
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lovely corte
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Post by lovely corte on Sept 27, 2012 6:10:24 GMT -8
Bryci decided to take a seat on another pilot's chair, and leave the conversation between the two, and make it so that it appeared more as a conversation between the two. Since, really, it was.
This was all about Asher, and that related to both Elam and Wyn, since the Captain was being a reclusive cunt. Most likely licking his wounds after the fact that he quivered in a pile of his own shit in the firefight.
He talked a big game and he was deadly in a social situation, but in that firefight. Bryci mused that Elam appeared in more of a leadership role than the Captain, given the fact that he lead most of the charge in the firefight, and even he appeared to get everyone into gear when they got back onto the ship.
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Sept 27, 2012 6:44:57 GMT -8
" No you never did, no one really ever does... Oh Keelah this is bad isn't it?"
She took a deep breath and tried to think straight. Finally she said in the most confident voice she could, "What happened, Elam? What happened to Asher? I can handle whatever it is. Don't ww-worry..." Her voice trembled.
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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Sept 28, 2012 6:20:43 GMT -8
It pained Elam to see Wyn like this, it really did. And it would probably pain her even more when he told her of what had happened. But, what Asher had done was too much to put everyone on board in jeopardy. He was glad it happened as it happened, and not in the bloodier ways he could have imagined.
Looking into Wyn's face mask with sincere somberness, Elam sighed, and began to speak.
"Wyn, before Val found me, I was . . . I was angry. I was angry 'cause I got kicked out of the Corps, I was angry 'cause my dad disowned me as a son, and I was angry 'cause I had no place else to go. And the drinking . . . well, that made me even angrier. I was pissed at the whole galaxy, pissed at myself. So I joined up with the first gang of spacers I could find and left. Fuckin' gone. I was in some . . . interesting company, since these spacers . . ." Elam trailed off, breaking eye contact with Wyn. ". . . these guys were Batarian slavers. We killed people, smuggled people, sold people . . . Jesus H. Christ, did we fuckin' drink. I just . . . eventually, it got so bad that I left. Screwed off, ended up on Omega. That's where the Captain found me. And I've been here ever since."
Elam took a breath, in through the mouth, out through the nose. God, he needed a drink right now . . .
"As you can probably remember, Asher and the Captain didn't particularly care for one another, especially around those last few weeks. I mean, the Captain's a fuckin' jackass sometimes, but it was a bit much, even for Asher. I wanted to figure out why - I was his friend too, y'know - so we got to talking. And he got to spilling."
Elam's regretful face had a twinge of contempt upon it as he gathered himself. "Turns out, he'd been in contact with a rival crew. Batarian slavers. Said they'd give him all the credits and security he'd need if he killed all of us guys and sold the ladies into slavery . . . I got to him before the Captain did, luckily. God knows how pissed he was, but by then it was too late. So, I went with him to Omega, to some greasy-ass bar, and we talked it out. I told him to take his fucking act and go. Don't even think of comin' back. We drank, and we talked, and we drank, and we talked some more. By then it was clear to him, probably. He said something along the lines of 'don't take it personally' and . . . that was it. I got back to the ship, slept off a three day hangover, and assumed - wrongly, now that I know this - that the Captain would tell you."
Elam stood quietly, his eyes back to Wyn and his expression the most guilty she'd probably ever seen it. His arms attempted to raise, but only amounted to a limp shrug. "Wyn, I am so sorry. I know, comin' from me, it don't mean shit, but . . . I'm so sorry, Wyn. I really am."
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lovely corte
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Post by lovely corte on Sept 28, 2012 6:53:19 GMT -8
Bryci bit into her finger as she listened, carefully making sure she made no noise or distracted either of them as she sat in her chair, listening quietly.
She hadn't been on the ship for that long, not even long enough to catch wind of that whole event but this ship had some serious drama issues and some bullshit going on.
She stood up, and took a place net to Wyn, gently rubbing at her armoured shoulders, sighing. "You 'lright?" Bryci asked, in a low gentle voice.
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