outer_divide | 009 ⌥ TEXT [filtered against erik, sorry bro]

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.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

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

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.]

[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?

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

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

By the ship.

I try to avoid going too near the City, in case observers from the Dome spot me and assault us again.

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

Roger that. Give me a couple of hours and I'll find you.

[And she will, too, so shall we timeskip?]

Thing about sides is you can't have them unless you have more than one person who thinks they should be in charge.

So, I'm just curious why you think it should be you instead. He was a little more on the straight-forward side, while you're just offering weapons. Doesn't tell me much.

Because I'll keep us alive.

[But that's not a good answer, is it?]

I don't think it should be me. If there's a better person for the job, by all means take it.

But I haven't seen one yet. So I do what I can, where I can.

[He should really be talking to Kaidan or Liara about this, she's not going to sit here and toot her own horn.]

Do you know where this ally found them?

[The curiousity is almost palpable, even over such an unemotive medium as text.]

Edmund, the trader.

Unfortunate. Although I suppose it would be foolish to expect it to be that easy.

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

["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?

[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.]

[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.

[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.]

Unfortunate's one way to put it.

There might be something in the bunker. Unfortunately, we're not headed that way 'til after the expedition.

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

Can you shoot?

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.]

[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.

Isolationists, then? That explains much.

[Alucard didn't bother to ask about the detaild of the technology, because a lot of that had been visible already. Nor was she particularly polite, especially not in text.]

How powerful are their operatives, compared to a regular human outside the dome?

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.

[Her eyes widen, just slightly, in surprise. Then she nods, her expression grateful in more ways than one.]

Thank you, Shepard.

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