009 ⌥ TEXT [filtered against erik, sorry bro]

[femshep]

1. If you join him, you're a fool. A public call to arms is what the enemy's been waiting for. They'll kill you where you stand. No hesitation, no remorse.

[Yes, Shepard has a plan. No, she isn't letting on that she has one here. If Erik wants to be a big flaming distraction, more power to him, but she isn't letting him take anyone else down with him.]

2. My offer for weaponry's still open. No compensation necessary, I got what I needed. If you can't shoot, I'll teach you. He was right on one thing: Defense is crucial.

3. Eliot, a word? Later tonight, unless you want in goring range of a ten-ton reptile. Let me know where to find you.

4. Kaidan--I'm on my way.

[She thinks. She and the triceratops are doing a bit of sizing up as she types this, so it's all up in the air how well this'll end up working.

MEANWHILE, anyone on the main road will see a single triceratops making haste more-or-less toward the pen Kaidan mentioned. It has two or three ropes tied near the ends of each of the two primary horns, the other ends of which are in her hands as she straddles its shoulders, just barely too far back for any potential injuries from the dinosaur's crest. The aforementioned hands are glowing a faint blue--she's strong, but not quite strong enough to steer a triceratops. Not without her biotics, anyway.]

Comments

[Text; Private]

[relicrebellion]

Did you find any body armour when you found the weapons? It may be beneficial to equip the trade expedition, if so.

[Text; Private; assuming she got this before she hopped on the bronco]

[femshep]

Didn't find them. An old ally traded for them. Gave them to me last time I tried to pull things together.

[She probably mentioned having attempted a meeting to Liara before, but just to be safe, she isn't giving the OA any details to latch onto.]

If you need it, you can borrow mine. I'm staying pretty local while the expedition's gone.

[Someone has to, so it might as well be Shepard.]

[video]

[knightoflight]

[Wing had been on the fence about Erik's offer. Someone needs to take charge, but, Commander Shepard is right: this might gain a response they're not looking for.]

What can we do to protect the ship? In case Erik and his allies do provoke an attack?

[video, pre-dino-wrangling]

[femshep]

Where are you? [The topic's better in person.]

text;

[1811k]

Oh, this place is fun. Picking sides is my favorite.

text;

[femshep]

There shouldn't be sides to start with. Only reason there are is because he's putting the whole damn group on the line.

video

[newguy]

I think I missed the offer for weaponry the first time around, but Ms. Potts said I ought to talk to you?

video

[femshep]

[For the briefest of seconds, she's sizing Steve up, but not much time is wasted there.]

Can you shoot?

TEXT

[furhat]

["They"? This message interests Alucard, who of course is still new to this place and would therefore like some more details about them.]

They? 'The enemy'? Who are they? Those that were shooting at the reptiles from afar, I take it?

TEXT

[femshep]

Yes.

The Outer Authorities. They're from inside the dome and aren't too fond of us out here. Advanced technology, no concept of mercy.

[She can give more details if they're wanted, but that's the gist of it.]

Video

[abetterway]

[The conflict and hesitation are clear on her face, and when she speaks she does it reluctantly, quietly.]

I can shoot.

[She refuses to be a liability if the Outer Authorities attack the caravan.]

Video

[femshep]

[Oh, she sees it. Hears it. And she's silent for a moment, assessing.

Then:]

I'll get you an SMG, it's light and easy to use. [No use giving a heavy gun to a woman who can't stand to kill. It'd weigh on her mind as heavily as it does across her back.] But with any kind of luck, you won't have to.

Audio

[thecricketer]

[He sounds less argumentative and more...tired.] I really would rather we didn't divide ourselves.

I may be able to help you teach, if you receive a lot of students.

Audio

[femshep]

Trust me, so would I.

[To his offer, she manages not to sound skeptical or amused.] I'll keep the offer in mind. Seems like most everyone I'm hearing from has some kind of skill already.

[Action]

[professorwolf]

[The triceratops is hard to miss, and Randolph Lyall, walking down the road into town, has to stop and stare to make sure he's seeing it right. He only barely keeps himself together enough to not drop his dispatch case, but that's pretty much it. He's outright staring, and hang how rude it is to stare.

What in the name of all that's holy is that....

The fact that the beast has a rider doesn't escape his notice, either, but he's staring more at it than her, at least.]

[Action]

[femshep]

[And she's spotting Randolph, not quite in the path but close enough to warrant a bit of a squint, then a call of:]

Thought I warned you off the main stretch.

[Sorry, Randolph, she thinks you're someone else. Especially with most of her focus on the dinosaur rather than your face. At least she sounds a bit amused rather than irritated?]

[Private - aren't you proud of him?]

[calmyourmind]

While your concern is flattering, your consistent attempts to dissuade people from coming together through the only true means of communication available, shy of those you have made your disapproval of quite clear, is becoming a hindrance in gaining cohesiveness among the people here.

I know you believe yourself to be helping, however the fact remains that they do not require these devices to spy on us, as you yourself have pointed out.

I urge you to cease this constant aggressive paranoia toward any public attempt to bring people together. I know it is well founded, and that you distrust both the network, and many of the other people stranded here, but your actions are only aiding in continuing to keep these people too divided and too afraid to do anything about the danger at hand.

[Private]

[femshep]

[She chuckles a bit.] Almost forgot he had a watchdog.

[But okay, time to get serious:]

Nothing I say will make a damn bit of difference to you, so I'll keep it short and sweet: You're naive, Charles, and I sincerely hope that naivety doesn't get you killed.

[Action]

[standsentinel]

[True to his promise, Kaidan has the gate unbarred. (Or, rather, the repurposed I-bars that he's sunk into the ground have been biotically lifted away to leave a triceratops-sized gap at the top of the ramp. An actual gate will take some further doing.)

He's settled into a lean against the stack of them, steadily massaging his temple as if that might dislodge the building migraine that he's going to end up making worse by sealing the dino back in when he sees the dust cloud.]

"You're riding it? Seriousl--"

[He sighs, The temple-massaging redoubles after both hands scrub across the silvering of his hair.]

"Of course you're riding it."

[Action]

[femshep]

[Even from afar, Shepard knows that telltale rubbing of his fingertips on his temple, though she keeps that to herself for now, instead focusing her attention on sizing up the gate and carefully aiming the triceratops toward the gap.

She calls:] Stay clear. [Not that he needs warned. After a second, it's followed by:] Think I might have something for that migraine of yours. [But that's all she'll say on that topic, because now, just about all of her attention's focused on steering. Threading the needle, so to speak.

And it was significantly more okay with this before she started to micromanage. Now it's headed the right direction, but doing so with huffy exhale and a displeased shake of its head--sitting clear of the crest was a very good idea.]

[text; private]

[hackreality]

re: 1, is he bad news?

[text; private]

[femshep]

Means well, but reckless and misled.

[text, locked]

[asecondfaster]

1. Even I'm smarter than that.

2. The only shooting I've ever done is in video games or paintball, but it might be useful to learn.

[text, locked]

[femshep]

1. Good. I hoped so.

2. Weapon of choice?

[1. She's a bit proud of him, not gonna lie.

2. Yes, she is taking him seriously. Choose wisely, Ian. 'Bazooka' is not a viable answer.]

Perma Audio || Private

[golden_retriever]

Hey. I'm not in the city limits. Headin' south to intercept the trade delegation.

I'll can give ya a call when I'm back if you want to talk. Might take up your offer of weapons then too.

Perma Audio || Private

[femshep]

Roger.

I'll keep it short and sweet--yes, it is 'that kind of organization', and don't let him tell you a damn word otherwise.

The rest can wait. Let me know when you're on your way back in.