#gravityeternity

[binaryblast]

The Science of Gods

@gravity-eternity, @apocalypticmadman

They’d managed to dock without notice, due to Carol flying in and putting a fist through the security system. Thankfully for them, it seemed security was more or less completely automated.

Carol peeked around a corner, waiting as a security drone finished its sweep and moved to the next hall. But she had to spin around and duck back behind the corner as several scientists emerged from a door further down, carrying a glass case that held what looked like a mummified hand.

Her eyes narrowed.

Once they also left, she slipped around the corner, one fist glowing at the ready, the other hand gesturing for Crow to follow. Lowly, she asked, “Can you tell where he is?”

[bleedingflames-archive]

Food Fight

@gravity-eternity

Roxy knew that the relationship she had had with Crow would never be the same as it had been before they had been separated.  Five years had changed them both.  But there were some things that remained the same.  

It would be one evening that she walked through the door, carrying a few bags.  She had made a stop or two on her way home, picking up what supplies she needed.   An idea for an evening in had formed in her mind during the day and she hoped that Crow was home. 

“Crow?  Y’around?”   If not, well, she’d have to come up with something else. 

[telekinetichands]

@gravity-eternity

“You’re back...!” And not a fucking mess, like he was last time Eneko saw him.

[bouquet-ardent-de-muses]

Coming To

@gravity-eternity

Rylan let Crow go off to bed without comment, though his eyes were just as sad as Crow’s had been.

He had so many thoughts running through his head, so many conflicting emotions that he didn’t know which to give credence to.

So, it would be a few hours later before he moved from where he’d still been sitting on the couch, staring off into space as he let those thoughts and emotions take over and war with one another.

And then Crow would hear the click of the door opening and then a breath taken in before a warm body slid in behind him in bed.

And he waited until Crow turned around to face him before he spoke, his voice soft, unsure...

“I don’t know who I am without the Church, but um... Maybe I want to find out. With you.”

[revengecircuit]

Never Send a Zombie to do a Cyborg’s Job

@gravity-eternity

Eve had absolutely no idea why she’d been asked to visit a potential recruit. Persuasion wasn’t her forte. Nor was anything social, outside of the strict confines of the clinical.

Yet there she was, checking the dossier Suit had sent to her tablet. Mainly because the signal she’d been assigned to track -- apparently something that came directly from hardware in his brain -- was coming from...

...the dumpster in front of her.

Hopefully he wasn’t dead inside it.

Sighing quietly to herself, she ‘knocked’ on the side of the dumpster with her foot.

[cheerfulpartycoordinator]

@gravity-eternity

MC might have spent the last leg of the trip pacing in their room and hugging her KissKiss Tako-chan plush to her chest.

It had quickly become apparent that it wasn’t due to Crow. Well, not directly, at any rate.

“...oh my gosh what if he c-can’t understand my accent? W-What if I blank and f-forget English words and it d-doesn’t sound right and then neither of us can understand what the other is saying a-and then it’ll just be so awkward that we’ll just s-s-stare at each other and wonder why we even met and he’ll be d-disappointed and...”

MC turned about-face and thunked her forehead lightly against the wall with a suffering sigh.

“...d-d-d-do you think h-he’ll like me?”

[butterfliesareforchasing]

@gravity-eternity

World traveling was something normal for her.  Even meeting strange creatures was fairly common.  The space scene was new...and so was running into a tall blue man and getting knocked over.  

“Ow!” 

[revengecircuit]

gravity-eternity‌:

@revengecircuit

“Mom! I’m back!”

Eve nearly choked on her coffee at the sound of that voice. She whirled around quickly to find that, yes, there he was -- Crow, wearing a hood, as if that would make him look more intimidating.

“Crow,” she finally managed, stepping forwards to put a hand on his arm as she immediately scanned him for injuries. “What happened? Are you alright?”

@revengecircuit

"Mom! I'm back!"

[mantis-scope-moved]

Garrus Vakarian’s No Good Very Bad Week: Monday

No, Garrus didn’t trust some stranger from Old Town that was apparently good with tech and might have been some ancient voodoo creature. Not at all. Of course he was paranoid, but wisely so.

He did trust Tali’Zorah however, and she had pointed him in this direction, so it was where Garrus would tread next.

In a warehouse in one of the lower quarters, an open neutral ground for a meeting with somebody hopefully neutral, out of Ark Sec and YOHRA’s reach. Of course it was shady, but at least Garrus had the backup of a communicator with an open line to Tali. No backup from Ark Sec-- not here. 

“...Are you the Turian officer?” Came a low, soft voice.

There were big blue eyes, cutting through the darkness behind one of the racks of crates. Tall, lean, clearly alien but not entirely beyond human. Garrus was immediately unfamiliar, concerned, mostly from the dim glow of biotics. This one was on the defensive.

So Garrus didn’t reach for his rifle. He held his hands out at his sides. “Well, I’m definitely a Turian Officer. Hopefully the one you’re looking for.”

The Celestial’s head cocked at the chiding. He remained clinging to the shadows. “Vakarian, right?”

“Yep.”

“Related to Primarch Vakarian.”

“...That’s... not relevant here.”

“Hmm.” Crow kept his hands at his sides, relaxed slightly, though he didn’t come closer. “What do you want me to do? You don’t need my name or anything else. Just give me the job, and I’ll give you a number.”

Well, straight to the point. Garrus could respect that, at least. So he shifted his weight, trying to see through the dark to get a look at the Celestial. Keen Turian eyes could pick up quite a bit, though probably not enough. “...I need you to look into the Board of YOHRA, Director Eve, and any credit trail between them and General Tiberus Cormus of Ark Sec.”

“...Who?!”

Garrus had expected some surprise, but not like this. Not the kind of surprise that made the air lighter. Despite himself, one hand moved closer to the pistol on his hip. “What? What’s wrong?”

“T-Tiberus. Warden Tiberus Cormus?” Crow went rigid, cold, his legs almost faltering as he took a step back. “He’s alive? He’s here-? He’s in charge at Ark Sec?”

“Stop. Calm down, hold on. What do you--”

“I can’t do this. I can’t trust you, I have to go...” It was all Crow offered before he was turning to leave, his heart suddenly swollen up in his throat.

He was stopped by a talon closing around his forearm, vastly stronger. Crow spun to face Garrus, wide eyes starting to glow. “Let me go-”

“Celestial, I need you. We need you. This guy is potentially endangering this whole station, and he has to go down for it. He’s the connection on how to free those androids, he’s the connection--”

“He’s a slave trader,” Crow choked out, staring up at the Turian. “He’s a slave trader and a monster, and I’m not coming across him again.”

“What do you mean?!”

“I have to go,” Crow snapped. He tugged his arm free; thankfully Garrus wasn’t holding it too tightly. He was trying to make the Celestial hesitate, not to hold him against his will. And Garrus let him go, if only for a moment, and if only for one reason.

He heard a step on the roof. 

Those big blue Celestial eyes widened as he looked back to Garrus. “...Were you followed?”

“I--”

“Get behind me-!”

They only had a moment before there was a loud sound of glass breaking, the windows of the warehouse shattering suddenly. The bullets that rained down didn’t hit either of them, though, instead impacting a shimmering blue-hued bubble that had formed around them.

Crow had his hands out, holding it still even as a few armored men entered the building; unmarked with any organization, helmets on, guns ready. 

Garrus ducked for cover, sliding behind one of the crates. His rifle was out a moment later, piercing through the protective shield to take out the first guard. He only had a few shots before that shield broke, and the Celestial was floating up to a higher crate, looking for cover himself.

He’d been followed. And now, he was terribly outmatched. Garrus lifted a finger up to the communicator in his visor, opening the channel to Tali. “Tali’Zorah, this is Garrus Vakarian, it was a trap-! Do you copy? Do you--”

Nothing. Static. They were jamming the signal.

They didn’t want anyone to know what was happening. If that wasn’t the biggest confirmation of who was behind it, nothing else would be. 

“Take the biotic alive,” came a distant, gruff voice of a commanding officer. “Kill the Turian. Open fire!”

[apocalypticmadman]

@gravity-eternity

Oh look, someone is actually calling as requested.  As usual it was hard for Sephiroth reach out to anybody.  It was bad enough where he was now.  

“Crow.”

[bleedingflames-archive]

@gravity-eternity

“I brought you something~” 

[bouquet-ardent-de-muses]

@gravity-eternity

It admittedly took Rylan a couple of days to secure safe passage for Crow from the abbey to his small studio apartment a few blocks away, though the priest was thankful he’d managed it without any sort of fuss or by garnering any attention from the other priests.

He still had too many questions himself, and he was certainly in no position to answer any that they might have as well.

But the night was cool and clear as he snuck Crow into his apartment, unlocking the door quickly and helping the Celestial inside before he moved to turn on a few low-level lights.

The apartment wasn’t much - not that Rylan needed much - but it was home and he turned to Crow with a small smile as he threw a hand out in invitation.

“It’s not much, but it’s home. Feel free to look around. I’m going to put the kettle on.”

[zoolinguistics]

(( @gravity-eternity sent me that ask when I was at work, and now here it is over 12 hours later and I still couldn’t resist scribbling it. Even if it’s 1 in the morning.

Crow you’re too damn tall.))

[paintthestarrysky]

@gravity-eternity

"You're looking better."

[telekinetichands]

"Yikes..." The fact Crow was implying it happened more than once was still concerning. First this incident, then the bridge... who knew of any more in between.

"Glad you made it out all right... The last time... really scared everyone..."

telekinetichands‌:

“Wait, what?” Dumplings? Even for what little the world knew of him before, that seemed a little… odd… Eneko raised an eyebrow, not really having much nerve to ask for context before Crow was suddenly bringing up the next point

“You nearly drowned? M-more than once, even?”

“Well… alright, maybe ‘nearly drowning’ was a little dramatic, but I definitely fell in, and I was definitely very upset when I got out of the water, and needed some help.”

“And tea. Great tea.”

[apocalypticmadman]

The Arrival

@gravity-eternity

Much of the return trip was silent.  Sephiroth wasn’t particularly interested in small talk and his refusal to take down the EMP field probably wasn’t reassuring for his captive. He didn’t plan on double crossing the young man in his ship but he wasn’t about to put himself in any unnecessary danger either.

Or the situation where he would have to put in more effort. 

Not wanting any more attention than he had already been getting, he guided the ship into the atmosphere as stealthily as he could.  He didn’t need any news coverage to mark his return to disprove the lie he had already started weaving as a metaphorical shield. 

He knew people would flock to wherever a strange ship might land on this world and then his cover to return Crow would be shot.  Why couldn’t people just leave their curiosity behind for an hour or two?

“We’re almost there.”