Reunion

[calibrates_big_guns]

Who| Garrus and Shepard
What| Meeting up and talking the whole situation over now that she's no longer twelve.
Where| Whatever the closest thing to a bar is on Legion World. Probably the Mess Hall
When| After Time Ripples.
Warnings/Notes| None that I can think of, but I'll add them as they come up.


[It probably wasn't all that healthy that Garrus had chosen his seat based on how tactically sound it was as a position. Clear line of sight to all the entrances and exits, back to the wall, comfortable distance from the rest of the crowd ...

[Was it paranoid? Sure. He wouldn't deny that. But old habits died hard, and no matter how familiar Legion World was starting to feel, it was still a new place full of new people. It's a lot of variables he couldn't really account for, and that made him uneasy even if the people here seemed genuinely invested in doing the right thing.

[He was hoping seeing Shepard - the Shepard he remembered instead of her twelve year-old self - would ease some of that tension. She was, as far as he knew, the only familiar face around. She'd been around here for longer than he had, long enough to get a good feel for all of it. If things were too good to be true, there's no one else he'd rather have with him.

[If not?

[They managed with Saren and the Collectors, and he'd thought that was damn near impossible. Why couldn't they do the same here?

[Either way, he was posted up and waiting for her, a half-eaten tray of something that looked like a steak and a glass of synthesized brandy in front of him - neither of which tasted quite right.]

Comments

[thebioticwoman]

[Shepard would find like-minded people anywhere--throw the woman in the hardest prison colony in the galaxy and inside a month she'll have set up free and fair elections--but people who've followed her into hell just 'cause she asked them to are something special. After months of radio silence from her friends, which she doesn't hold against them, given that all her communications were being monitored by the Alliance, it's great to hear from Garrus, even if they had to switch universes to do it. (And even if her 12 year old self had found him first. She's not sure she's going to apologize for the grilling she gave him, since if the comm logs are anything to go by, it was hilarious.)]

Garrus!

[She waves from across the room, blowing whatever questionable cover the only turian in the universe had, and heads over to meet him, her own tray featuring a less classy cheeseburger and fries combo.]

Thanks for waiting.

[It's funny because he's halfway through dinner already.]

[calibrates_big_guns]

Sorry. [He apologized, pushing the plate away just a little.] They told me they could synthesize anything, and curiosity got the better of me.

Not sure they have the hang of dextro food yet.

[Or food in general, considering the reaction of some of the other new arrivals to the "meat." But, neither here nor there.]

Good to see you back to your old self, Shepard.

[It is a relief, because as ... interesting, as it was to get a look at her past, he missed her. The Shepard he knew. It'd been a few months since she'd been recalled to Earth, and they hadn't exactly been able to keep touch considering the circumstances.]

[thebioticwoman]

[Hey, they're trying. Beats nutrient paste.

Shepard takes a not-quite-as-ideal seat at Garrus's table. She doesn't like not having clear sightlines on the whole room, but Legion World is reasonably safe territory and Garrus will watch her back.]

Technically, that was my old self you were talking to.

[calibrates_big_guns]

[It does, but the fact that it actually looks like food makes it more disappointing somehow.]

Your older self, then. Though I have to ask, do things like that happen ... often, around here?

[thebioticwoman]

That's the first time anything like it happened to me, but if you go through the old mission logs...Garrus, this place makes our lives look normal. Nobody batted an eyelash when I mentioned coming back from the dead.

[She dips a fry in ketchup, jabs it at him to underscore the point, and takes a bite.]

[calibrates_big_guns]

That's the picture I'm starting to get. [Garrus replies, mandibles fluttering thoughtfully.] Every time I think I'm starting to get the handle on this place, I get hit with another curveball.

[thebioticwoman]

The government seems like a more democratic version of the Citadel.

[Don't try to defend the Council to her Garrus, don't do it. She'll do her duty even if it kills her (again), but none of them are on her Christmas card list.]

And the Legion makes me think of C-Sec crossed with the Spectres.

[So he should feel right at home.]

[calibrates_big_guns]

[Don't worry, Shepard, they're not exactly friends of his either. He was with you for every bit of the pointless stupidity and dismissal. If working on the Citadel hadn't worn off their welcome with him, being aboard the Normandy certainly did.

[As for the Legion ...]

They're a little bit more ... colorful, but I was thinking the same thing. [Garrus nods his agreement.]

[thebioticwoman]

Have you been cornered for your uniform consult yet? It's like they want everyone to dress like color-coded asari commandos.

[Though her biotics and cybernetics protect her quite well, Shepard wants her comfortable old armor and its integrated shielding back in the worst way.]

[calibrates_big_guns]

Not yet. [He shakes his head with a wry chuckle.] Hopefully I can convince them to let me keep something a little closer to home. Call me crazy, but somehow I don't think that bright colors and spandex would work for me.

[Even setting aside his gripes about the practicality of the gear the legion seemed to favor]

You?

[thebioticwoman]

Yeah...I look like a color-coded asari commando.

[Shepard shakes her head and eats another french fry. She chooses her battles.]

Play the cultural sensitivity card. I'm the only one here who could call bullshit on you, after all.

[calibrates_big_guns]

And I'm sure it looks a lot better on you than it would on me.

[Though he might just end up stealing that suggestion, Shepard.]

Though I'm interested in what you think of the Legion beyond their fashion sense. [He leans back in his chair, folding his arms.] They seem like the real deal, but you've spent more time around them than I have.

[And, of the two of them, she's a lot less painfully awkward.]

[thebioticwoman]

[Shepard puts down her cheeseburger. Why'd you have to ask a big question right when she's getting started, Garrus?]

They're legit. Weird, but legit. Real young, though. Kid Q is about the age I was during the Blitz.

[She gets the blank expression that means she's working on a diplomatic way to say something.]

The only thing that's not just a matter of taste is that they let kids in. I don't care what the UP says--fourteen is too young to understand the risks or have the judgment necessary for the field.

[That's the diplomatic version of what she's actually thinking: that fielding child soldiers is a war crime.]

[calibrates_big_guns]

Fourteen?

[His eyes widen. Sure, The turian hierarchy had compulsory civil service from ages fifteen to thirty, and while a lot of people spent those years in the military, no one short of seventeen was allowed to serve even an auxiliary role on a combat op.]

Weird, I can work with, but that ... that doesn't sit right.

[To say the very least, judging by the scowl setting in.]

[thebioticwoman]

Yeah.

[Yeah.]

I can't square it with how concerned they are about fair play everywhere else. I think they just genuinely don't see why it's a problem.

[But she's still wearing the Legion logo on her hoodie, so apparently it's not a dealbreaker.]

[calibrates_big_guns]

They'd have to be oblivious. [He agrees with a nod.] I'm not sure how they could be, but it's the only explanation that makes any sense.

[thebioticwoman]

I don't like it, but... [She trails off with a sigh.] I've had to swallow a lot of stuff I don't like these past few years 'cause the alternative was worse.

[The Legion's got nothing on Cerberus on the "necessity makes strange bedfellows" front.]

[calibrates_big_guns]

[No. No they don't. But, it doesn't necessarily mean that they have to just accept it.]

Maybe. But, maybe we could try to talk some sense into whoever runs this place?

It's probably a long shot considering our track record with authority figures, but they seem a little more reasonable than the Council.

[ a beat ]

Not that that's hard.

[thebioticwoman]

Hey, my actual chain of command follows my recommendations. [Pause.] Usually.

[She's slightly bitter about the house arrest thing.]

Here...we can try Kid Q or Brande, but it's not just a Legion quirk. The whole society accepts fourteen year olds as adults.

[Food forgotten for the moment, Shepard sighs and leans back in her chair.]

Don't make an issue of it publicly. We're both new enough we don't have any goodwill built up.

[Because there are teenagers in the Legion senior to them and why is this her life.]

[calibrates_big_guns]

So just keep our heads down and hope for the best.

[ a beat ]

That's a new one for us.

[ But he sees where she's coming from. They don't have much of a chance at changing people's minds, so the best they can realistically hope for is to make sure everyone's ready, and to watch their backs. He doesn't particularly like that scenario, paranoid as he is, but if it's what'll do the most good, he's willing to roll with it.]

[thebioticwoman]

[Shepard snorts. At home, she won't shut the hell up, but at home she's a decorated war hero owed favors by every government in the galaxy. Here, she's a castaway with no history, her only leverage membership in the Legion.]

I'm not sure if I should refuse to go on ops with kids or demand it so there's someone there to keep an eye on them.

[calibrates_big_guns]

I'm leaning towards the latter. [Garrus replies.] I figure it's probably best they have all the back-up they can just in case they need it.

[thebioticwoman]

I wonder if the kids here listen any better than the ones at home.

[Shepard has a long list of reasons why letting children into the Legion is a terrible idea, but she knows she doesn't need to preach to the choir.]

[calibrates_big_guns]

Hopefully.

[Not that he particularly likes the odds of that.]

Either way, I'm going to hold out hope that the Legion will keep people who aren't ready for it out of the field.

[thebioticwoman]

I think we're in beggars can't be choosers territory. Most of the original Legion went missing and they're taking anyone they can get.

[At long last, she remembers her burger and gets back on that, taking a big bite.]

[calibrates_big_guns]

That's the impression I got too.

[He sighs.]

I guess I'm just hoping things aren't quite that desperate yet.

[Because if everything he's heard is true, they're going to be sooner or later. He's quite for a second, turning that over in his mind, taking a drink and sardonically adding:]

It's almost enough to make you miss the Collectors.

[thebioticwoman]

Hey. They didn't kill you. And you never had to talk to the Illusive Man.

[Screw the Collectors, and screw Cerberus.]

[calibrates_big_guns]

I did say "almost."

[He says, putting his hands up in a placating gesture.]

Believe me, I'll take the Legion over Cerberus any day.

[thebioticwoman]

That's like picking a beer over a sucking chest wound, Garrus.

[calibrates_big_guns]

You know, when I said it was almost enough to make you miss the Collectors, I was talking about the threat. Not the Legion - they seem fine. Chronoblivion.

[thebioticwoman]

Yeah, it's big.

[She's very nonchalant for someone talking about the end of reality.]

But once we mop that one up, I'm asking for an assist with the Reapers. Just saving one galaxy should be a snap in comparison.

[It's amazing how much dry humor resembles insane optimism.]

[calibrates_big_guns]

[If Shepard was anything but nonchalant, he'd actually be worried.]

If anyone can convince them to go a universe out of their way, it'd be you. [A beat] Not that I think it'd be all that hard to convince them to lend a hand. For the most part, they actually seem to live up to the name.