Commander (the_commander) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-07-04 20:33:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, commander tyra shepard, nathan summers (cable) |
Just never easy, and there’s always a sacrifice.
Who: Nate and Shepard
What: Learning about Graymalkin, making friends
When: A few days ago
Where: Graymalkin
Status: complete
Rating: PG-13 for dark imagery
Nate stood by as he brought the bodyslide device online and smiled. The form shimmered into view and he nodded as it did. “Commander Shepard, welcome aboard Graymalkin. I’m Nathan Summers.” He left his own titles off. They were rubbish here, anyway.
He extended a hand and stepped forward. “How are you, today?”
He had beamed up up facing him, in the grand bay, a huge room far bigger than anything he had ever seen anywhere else. Behind him was a large gray wall and a doorway leading to the rest of the station. To her right was the control area, and a door to his living quarters. To her left, sitting on the deck, were two spaceships. The Starjammer, a sleek midsize attack frigate, and the Starfighter prime, a small, two person fighter bristling with weapons.
And behind her... behind her was the window wall, a wall of force field that kept the air in, and through which one could see space, and Earth, below them.
She took his hand, shaking it, but didn't seem all that surprised about the size. Graymalkin seemed roughly on scale with the Citadel, though without the sprawling city on each of it's spokes.
It was still very impressive, though. "Nice."
She was more impressed by the frigate, which reminded her a bit of the Normandy. If a bit bigger. It was a beautiful ship.
Earth though, and this was the first time she'd seen it from space in this life. That was what caught her eyes the most.
“A beautiful sight, isn’t it? She’s home, and mother, and a sexy damn planet.” His voice was soft as he moved up next to her, looking out at Earth. This is why his dream self was Cable. That world, and the people on it. This is why Graymalkin existed. To protect all that was, all that would be, and all that had been. OR die trying.
Sometimes both.
I watch from here, a lot. Sometimes, it makes the whole damn thing feel more like it makes sense. His mental touch was hesitant, and gentle, and carried the feel of his years, and his dedication with it.
"Yeah. Sometimes though it just hurts." Something that Shepard never shared with anyone, that it was impossible for her to separate the earth and how she looked after the Reapers had hit. She couldn't walk down the street without seeing rubble and bodies superimposed, most days.
Right now, much of Earth was burning to her eyes. And she'd do anything to stop it. Make any deal with any devil. Yet, she had fought to win without comprising the soul of her species. Mercy and compassion and discovery.
Maybe that was why she had won. She'd only been ruthless when she'd had no choice. She tried not to think about sacrificing a colony of three-hundred thousand to buy more time. Or leaving Earth to burn while she gathered allies to save it.
She was faced with the real possibility it could happen again, and she didn't have tens of thousands of ships and tens of millions of troops to stop it.
“I’m sorry.” He stared out at the Earth, remembering it under Apocalypse’s influence and sighed. “We can and will beat this, you know? Our dream universe has faced worse. We’ll face this.” He knew there would be costs, though. He already had Professor backing himself up on Earth, and manufacturing Pac Rats and weapons and Bodyslide devices for the ground as well, just in case. Nate would take this asteroid and slam it into things if he had to.
He’d died before.
“We can. Just never easy, and there’s always a sacrifice.” Shepard rolled her shoulder, and grimaced. “Better me than them.”
“I’ve said those words before, as well. We’ll stand and do what we have to do, and pay the price, when it needs to be paid. And this time, you won't have to do it alone.” He grinned, and there was fierceness in that grin. “I will raise a force, a force of defenders, and we will wash the enemy back, with willpower alone, if necessary.”
Shepard chuckled. “Just hope we never need it, but being prepared, that’s the way to go.” She folded her arms, and looked back at the world. “Have to remember that I’m not alone.”
“It would be good. In the meantime, I’m willing to help in any way I can.” Nate just wanted to be there for people, and to stop bad things from happening when he could.
She held out her fist for a bump. “Thanks Nathan. I’ve got your back if you ever need it, too.”
He bumped hers with his own and nodded. “Thanks. With the way the OC has been, we’ll all need each others’ help before too long.” A grim, but maybe not too grim statement.
The future was weird, but at least it was still there.