IC Contact
Jan. 21st, 1990 04:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pluggedintheoverlord
"Hey, this is Joker. Leave a message and I might get back to you. Unless you're trying to sell me something or I really just don't feel like talking to you-- in that case, take a hint and quit calling me."
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-28 05:14 am (UTC)[Who knew what his father was thinking at the time; maybe he thought that Tiptree was too unimportant to ever be invaded, like Joker had. Maybe he thought that the safest place for his daughter was with him.]
When the reapers invaded, she said there were some asari commandos that came by the farm. While they were there, one of them went berserk, she was probably indoctrinated. The other took my sister and ran. Gunny got hurt when they had to double-back for the radio to call for an evac.
[His voice had been steady up until that point, but it was starting to crack. His hands were shaking around the glass, so he had to let go and clench his hands to hide it.]
They hid in the barn, but Gunny said her leg was broke and she couldn't stop crying. The asari tried to keep her quiet, and when she couldn't-- [He had to stop, clear his throat, because his voice had really cracked.] --when she couldn't, that bitch killed her.
[Joker was a vindictive son of a bitch, but he couldn't say that there was a whole lot of people that he actively wanted dead. This Aeian asari? He would have done it himself and not lost a moment of sleep over it.]
None of it would've happened if I'd told Shepard. I know she would've gone down to evac them if I'd've just opened my damn mouth, but I-- [He cleared his throat again.] --I thought it was too much to ask her to go into a hot zone for a colony that wasn't strategically important and didn't have any resources. Hell, I don't even know why the reapers cared to invade it, not when there's Eden Prime and Terra Nova and fucking Sur'Kesh right in the same area. If I hadn't decided that my fucking duty was more important than Gunny, she wouldn't have died.
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-28 05:27 am (UTC)[So Garrus settled for putting an arm around the pilot's shoulders instead, not making a sound and allowing him all the time he needed. If Joker wanted to talk, he'd listen, if he wanted Garrus to speak instead, he'd comply. Until he gave any notion towards a preference, however, he remained silent]
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-28 05:42 am (UTC)[There was a brittle edge to his voice when he spoke again.]
...did I make the right call?
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-28 05:49 am (UTC)But as your friend? Seeing you like this now? I can understand the call, but I can't say it was the right one.
[Which sucks, but, them's the facts]
I'm sorry.
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-28 05:54 am (UTC)[The wrong call. You make the wrong call, and people die. He should have told Shepard and let her decide.]
Guess it doesn't matter now.
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-28 06:05 am (UTC)Where is she?
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-28 06:09 am (UTC)Sleeping in the crew quarters.
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-28 06:15 am (UTC)[The 'about the call' is implied]
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-28 06:17 am (UTC)[He couldn't risk losing her by telling her he'd basically abandoned her because of something as stupid as duty.]
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-28 06:18 am (UTC)All right.
I'll make sure it stays that way.
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-28 06:27 am (UTC)[Garrus was probably the only person on the Normandy that he would've trusted with this information. Use it wisely.]
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-28 06:31 am (UTC)[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-28 06:38 am (UTC)[If his sister was alive here, he should take advantage of it as much as possible. Spend time with her, more than just flight lessons or yelling about her not going to class.]
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-28 06:44 am (UTC)It's pretty much cleaned out already, except for the cat and my own stuff. Modifying it for the two of you would be easy, too.
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-29 03:00 am (UTC)[He wasn't looking forward to their next conversation, because it was going to be so many different kinds of weird. Just thinking about it made him need to knock back another swig of alcohol.]
Thanks.
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-29 05:03 am (UTC)You're welcome.
Let me know if there's anything else you need from me, all right?
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-31 01:55 am (UTC)[Well. They'd already started doing the uncomfortable sharing thing, so what the hell. Might as well go for broke, right?]
Hey, Garrus?
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-31 02:00 am (UTC)[If you ask where babies come from, not even the spirits will be able to stop him]
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-31 02:01 am (UTC)Does it ever seem like the war's never over, even when it is? Or, y'know, is that just me?
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-31 02:20 am (UTC)Fighting, negotiations, tactics... those are all just one part of war-- that's the part we're supposed to find glorious.
They don't mention the aftermath. Dealing with the losses, cleaning up the mess, rebuilding lost ties, watching families try to put themselves back together.
[He shrugs]
Turians, we're ah, we're sort of built for that kind of thing. We go through the training most of our lives, and we're supposed to be able to handle it. I honestly don't think anyone-- species or individual, ever really can.
But that's why we do what we can. We rely on one another, pick ourselves up and keep marching on.
So it may not feel like it's over just yet, but it does end. Eventually everything goes back to being that imperfect balance that tries so hard just to be decent.
Re: [ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-31 03:13 am (UTC)Just seems like we've been going from one war to another, and... I dunno. I probably sound like an idiot.
[ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-31 03:18 am (UTC)[Garrus shot him another look-- a kinder, softer one than the ones he'd given his human friend before, but still with enough of a sharp edge to make his point clear: he was being honest]
If you think about it, that's how these things go. One war trails off and explodes into another one. Sure there's a stretch of time, centuries if you take a look at the galaxy as a whole, but the fact of the matter is, old wounds are gonna run deep and they're gonna be reopened one way or another.
[He took a swig of his drink with a huff]
It's good job security if nothing else.
Re: [ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-31 03:35 am (UTC)Yeah, well, I don't know about you, but I'd appreciate a breather. I think I could use a few weeks without a bomb being dropped on my head. Might be nice.
Re: [ACTION]
Date: 2013-01-31 03:52 am (UTC)The universe owes us one hell of a vacation.
Re: [ACTION]
Date: 2013-02-01 05:16 pm (UTC)And, hey, with a little luck, it might not even be on fire by the time we leave.
[What is his life that not having a place catch fire is lucky]
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