outer_divide | Audio/Action | The ship | Monday before the riots

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Audio/Action | The ship | Monday before the riots

[Currently a petite strawberry-blonde teen is clutching the pendant hanging from a ribbon around her neck as she scuttles between hiding places in the ship and stares with wide-eyed curiosity mixed with finite fear at the names located on the other pods located all around her. Yes, she is looking for specific names and is both dreading and hoping she might come across one she recognizes. There are thousands of pods here, however, and the fingers of her other hand begins to clutch more firmly at the small device she found with her clothing where she had first awoken. After a short hesitation, Chloe presses a button and brings the device to her lips.]

H-hello?

[A hesitating pause, then Chloe seems to find her courage--and outrage.]

Wh-whoever is in charge here, I really don't appreciate being left in the dark. Where am I, and why am I here? Wh-where is my Aunt Lauren, Derek, and the others? Haven't you done enough? Just l-leave us alone!

[If she was thinking clearly, she would realize the Edison Group never would have left Chloe her Swiss Army knife or can of mace... But she was kind of freaking out after waking up naked and without her pendant around her neck.]

Or else.

[Those two words sounded almost like a growl--something Chloe may have loosely picked up from her werewolf boyfriend. Despite the threat, her panicked mind silently taunted her: 'Or else what, Chloe?']

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[Though his communicator chimes with notification of a new transmission opening, when Garrus hears Chloe's voice, it's from down the hall. None of the ship's usual crew is in immediate view, so he turns toward the pod chamber, footfalls faint despite the armour he customarily wears up here, away from the city and all too near to large, meat-eating wildlife that doesn't seem likely to realize that turians are not terribly edible.

He pauses in the doorway, head canting slightly in amusement that is, perhaps, just a little bit impressed by the human girl's spirit, if not necessarily by her sense.]

Or else what?

[The words are in English, but the flanged voice is distinctly inhuman, and Garrus himself - well. Nearly seven feet tall, digitigrade, with tridactyl hands tipped with sharp claws, and a face that looks like it belongs to an unholy cross between a hawk, a cheetah, and a preying mantis, he'd be unnerving looking even without the heavy armour and the weaponry mag-clipped to his back.]

Not that I'm in charge, but I am curious.

[The words echoing the taunting voice in Chloe's head doesn't come from the handheld device like Chloe was expecting--oh, no. It comes from much closer--and in person--causing the teenaged girl to yelp, body jumping before she whirls around to face--something or someone that did not look remotely human. Eyes wide and face paling, Chloe moves back a step as her hand relinquishes the death grip it has on her pendant and moves to the blade in her pocket--though she doesn't pull it out.]

Wh-wh-who are you?

[Apparently that mattered more than answering his question about her ill-made threat. Her mind blanks as she tries to rationalize what it is she's seeing. Ghosts, sure. Aliens and possibly being abducted on some kind of space ship? So not what Chloe wanted to experience in her young life. The odd looking being before her didn't mind chatting, however, and if he was talking, he wasn't killing, so maybe she'd get through this alive.]

[Garrus's mandibles twitch slightly, affording a glimpse of narrow, needle-sharp teeth. He steps in out of the doorway, hands lifting as though to show they're empty, though unarmed doesn't, strictly speaking, apply. He can only hope that the gesture's as universal as it's so far seemed to be.]

Easy, I'm not planning to hurt you. My name's Garrus. What's yours?

[She jumped again when his hands moved--Chloe couldn't help it. She is jumpy. His gesture didn't go unnoticed, however, and Chloe nearly breathed a sigh of relief as she relaxed partially. She wouldn't relax completely--he was a stranger and this was an unknown place. But her hand relaxed around the knife in her pocket. Not that it would do much good, anyway.]

I--I'm Chloe. Where am I and--

[And what are you? She wanted to ask it, but even through her fears she didn't want to be rude. She had so many questions. Was she really so far away from home? Were the people in these pods being experimented on? What was going on here? Taking a deep, steadying breath, Chloe attempted to push all her fears aside and focus on what was most important. Obviously someone here would have answers.]

Why did I just wake up on a space ship when I don't remember ever getting on in the first place?

[With a sweeping gesture, Chloe motioned to all the pods around them.]

And what's going to happen to all these people?

Edited 2014-04-07 06:15 (UTC)

That's the thousand-credit question, isn't it?

[Garrus sighs, lifting one hand to scrape a knuckle over the silvery scars along the right side of his face. The gesture's almost unconscious, like a bad habit he hasn't quite shed.]

The prevailing theory is that this is a rescue ship. Something happened to knock you out of phase with your reality, and Salvation retrieved you. The same thing happened to everyone here. Those pods are medical stasis bays - they're all live, so the people inside are fine. The ship isn't - we've crash-landed on a human colony world. So far, the people here have been happy to let us stay.

[Seeing Garrus's unconscious gesture towards his silvery scarring, Chloe feels an odd compassion fill her. Sidling a couple steps toward him, she wonders what he must have gone through to get those wounds. His words--being in a place so far from home-- finally starts to really settle in.]

Everyone? So that means you were picked up by this ship, too? Salvation?

[Sounds more like a setting to a sci-fi movie to Chloe, but if she's learned anything this past year, it's that things aren't always as black and white as one may think. And he did say human colony. Did that mean almost everyone here was human? Did it make Garrus feel ostracized at all, if he was a minority? That didn't sit well with her.]

I--I'm sorry. You probably have dozens of people asking all kinds of questions and threatening all kinds of things when they 'wake up.' It's not your fault we're all here. It's going to take some getting used to, though. I still have over a hundred questions.

[Suddenly her throat closed up, and her vision began to blur. Taking a deep breath, Chloe fiercely attempted to keep any and all tears at bay as thoughts about her family, Derek, and the others flooded her mind. They were okay. Had to be okay. She'd search for their names here one by one--however long it took--even if it was just to come to terms with the fact that they...might not be here. Her eyes darted to the pods near her, but she couldn't read the names through her blurred vision.]

Hey.

[Garrus lopes forward, crossing the distance from the chamber's door to rest his hands on Chloe's shoulders, as much so that he can catch her if she collapses as to offer what scant comfort a stranger from an entirely different species can. He'd seen the reaction often enough during the Reaper War, and while the circumstances may be drastically different, losing your world is still losing your world.]

It's going to be okay. Once this ship's spaceworthy again, we can work on getting everyone back where they belong.