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Post by Izzie McFadden on Dec 30, 2010 7:19:18 GMT -5
Izzie didn't laugh, in fact, she found it endearing, hearing all this stuff about how he'd helped people after leaving R4. It appeared there was a heart under that gruff exterior. He kept it well hidden, but she could see it. And she would do her best to remember that.
"Didn't want to what?" she asked, looking across at him, her eyes curious and sincere. If she wanted to get to know him, then she believed that she wanted to get to know all of him, the good and the bad. No one was perfect, she'd done things that she regretted. Probably not on quite the scale that he had, but all the same, it weighed on her from time to time. Silly things like her and her sister Mia working together to break up Shaun from his High School girlfriend because they thought she was a witch for hogging him all the time.
"You can tell me if you want to."
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Post by Gordon McFadden on Dec 30, 2010 13:40:41 GMT -5
Gordon allowed a few moments of silence to pass between them, his mind conflicted: why should she know? She didn't need to be burdened with these memories of his. No one did. Just him. Me. Exclusively. Me. Only. Me
She wants to share that burden
NO ONE WOULD WANT TO!!!
Are you sure? She saved you
Maybe...maybe you're ri...
You don't have to talk to me anymore. You've found what you're looking for.
What?
"My last op with R4...we went to a planet in the Zeus cluster to take out some refugees who were forming a rebellion against the R4 presence there. We were told to kill em all, take no prisoners, all that garbage. We slaughtered hundreds of people without even THINKING before I saw her...a little...little girl pinned underneath a body. Girl was probably five, six, I dunno. I just saw her and I...wanted to help her. She was injured, leg almost torn off. I was going to pull her out before one of my squadmates killed her...just shot her, spilled her brains all over the other bodies. That's when they dropped the hammer on me too...R4 thought I was getting too soft, had too much of a conscience, so they ordered me dead. Got betrayed by my girl and what I considered to be my best friends." He wouldn't look at Izzie, couldn't...he couldn't bare to look at those beautiful eyes of hers and see what kind of horror they now had within them.
"You see why I got trust issues? Why I don't want people comin close to me? It's rare that I even talk to Anna, let alone someone I've only known for four days. But like I said...you're different. Different from all the other clowns I've met since the day I was born."
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Post by Izzie McFadden on Dec 30, 2010 16:14:42 GMT -5
Quite without realising it, Izzie had moved so close to Gordon, she was practically sitting in his lap, and she'd taken one of his hands in both of hers, staring at him intently.
Again, it was a lot to process. She knew R4 were bad, she'd seen what they'd been doing, going to great lengths to cause pain to millions of innocent people across the Universe, but to have actual human beings do their dirty business, teach them to be unfeeling and brutal, that was... there were no words for how horrible it was.
"I don't blame you," she said, "if I had been in your position, I would have been a gibbering wreck years ago. It shows just how strong you are that you're here now, talking to me. That you go out there, kick ass, and do good is beyond amazing... like I said, Superman."
She smiled up at him, squeezing his hands. This relationship was already beyond anything she had ever experienced before and yet it felt... right.
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Post by Gordon McFadden on Dec 31, 2010 12:31:14 GMT -5
Gordon laughed at the comparison to the ancient comic hero, responding:
"I thought I was. I bossed people around, was always the strongest, was always the best at what I did, like that dude in tights. But after seeing what I've seen, ya start to realize that you're not what you thought you were. Strength isn't the only thing that's keepin people together. It's all that emotional gunk: love, joy, happiness, all that. Superman, with all his swollness, wasn't too happy until he had a girl. Same with all of us." Gordon shook his head before continuing:
"Look at me, sounding like some kinda philosopher. I have gotten soft." But that was a lie: Gordon didn't feel soft or "warm and fuzzy" inside. Rather, he felt strengthened. Strengthened by communicating, lifted up by the ability to actually discuss things with someone who didn't run away from him or judge him for what he had done in the past. And it all started with making out in the gym. How priceless was that?
"Don't know where you got those ears from to listen to me talk, but they sure work well huh?" Gordon now noticed where she was sitting, her positioning. With her face so close to his, he could see the face that he was falling in love with.
Wait...what? Love? After four days? Come on Mcfadden, snap out of it. Yeah she's cute, yeah she's a great gal, but...
Oh just be quiet and kiss her.
Gordon complied with his thinking process and leaned in, kissing Izzie on the lips longingly, as if he had waited for a moment like this to come all his life.
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Post by Izzie McFadden on Jan 1, 2011 4:37:50 GMT -5
"I think I inherited them from my Dad," she said with a wide smile, about her ears, "which is just embarrassing for him, because my ears are tiny."
It seemed like the conversation was over for the moment. Izzie breathed in to his kiss, placing a hand on the side of his head, returning it with a yearning of her own. After a moment or two, she pulled away slightly, stroking his hairline with her thumb, "we don't want you getting too overexcited, Charlie wouldn't never forgive me if you came back in a worse state than when you left," she smirked, teasing him a little.
Truth be told, she also didn't want this relationship to burn out. She'd seen friends from school fall passionately in love with their dance partners, because of all the time they spent together dancing, which was an intensely intimate situation anyway, and their romantic relationship had fizzled out and exploded, destroying their dance relationship. A similar thing had happened to her, only she'd broken her arm, and when she got back, Trey had ditched her for someone 'better'.
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Post by Gordon McFadden on Jan 1, 2011 23:55:02 GMT -5
"Charlie can complain all he wants about me getting 'overexcited'. Ain't my fault you're in my craw." Gordon kissed Izzie once more before he leaned against the back of the wheelchair, his face sinking into a contemplative state. His thoughts swirled around for a few moments before he spoke:
"There's a place...near the limits of known space. A moon in the Horseshoe cluster, I think. They say that there's a colony of biotics, where people with biotic powers have been pushed into this settlement, like cattle. Not much of anything there from what I hear. They just got enough to survive." He locked eyes with Izzie as he continued:
"I'm goin. I want to see them, see what they're going through, maybe even get them some help, I dunno. I just want to know that there are others out there who have suffered, who need someone to step in and give em some kinda break in life. Sound totally crazy? Yeah, I think it is. You know what else is crazy? I want you to come with me. You're the only good thing I got goin right now and I can't...couldn't..face all that angst, all that sorrow without someone tellin me that I was there to help, not wallow with them. You don't have to come with me...in fact, I expect you to tell me I'm straight up insane and wheel me back to Charlie for an injection of happy juice. But I need you Izz...I need you there."
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Post by Izzie McFadden on Jan 2, 2011 16:07:38 GMT -5
As if hypnotised by his blue eyes, she listened in silence as he explained what he wanted to do. She understood why he wanted to, say she was a part of a different alien race and she found out they were being kept like animals, she'd want to do something too. But the idea of going there, somewhere dangerous was sort of daunting. Even if it was only for emotional support.
But the last thing he said caught her attention.
But I need you Izz...I need you there.
Pursing her lips, she thought about it for a moment, but at this point, she didn't think she was going to say no. It was like if any of her brothers or sisters had asked her to do this, she wouldn't have hesitated. Why should it be any different with Gordon?
"All right," she nodded, "I'll go with you. But on one condition, you have to give yourself time to recover first. We're not going anywhere with our only source of protection half dead."
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Post by Gordon McFadden on Jan 2, 2011 19:48:54 GMT -5
Gordon laughed, saying as he got up from his wheelchair:
"Baby, I'm already the.." The biotic fell right back into the chair, grimacing as the painkillers began to wear off and the pain that he had experienced back on Earth caught up with him.
Yeah, he would need two days. Three days at max. Charlie would probably tell him that he needed at least two weeks(Charlie did say something about recovery time, but Gordon wasn't listening at that point) for his ribs to mend. But Gordon knew his own limitations; it was his body after all. No virtual intelligence unit could tell him otherwise.
"Give me three days max and I'll be ready to head out, guaranteed. Don't listen to Charlie about recovery time, he doesn't know what he's talkin about." Gordon paused for a moment before saying:
"Thanks. For coming." Gordon put an arm around Izzie's waist, drawing her slightly closer to him(he was getting a bit warm with her body so close to his, but he had to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. Didn't want to mess this up. At all). Gordon's eyes scanned the roof of the observation deck, noting the illuminating effect of the starlight. They lit the universe, caused it to have some kind of hope, something to tell it's inhabitants that wherever they went, light would be there to guide them.
Gordon smiled at the thought, kissing Izzie's cheek before he told her:
"Hope you like the view, babe. Cause I ain't letting go."
____________________________
(I figured that, going along with the name of the thread, it would be ok to stick their planetary adventure here, seeing as they would be unlocking secrets. Feel free to tell me off so I move it XD)
Three days went by quickly, Gordon's flexibility and strength returning at a rate that even Gordon was surprised at. It was as if he had been stuck in a hyperbaric chamber set on mega-heal. He had even been able to chase off the nightmares with a few sleeping pills(didn't hurt that Izzie and he had been talking a whole lot more). The biotic was now in the process of warming the shuttle up for take-off, his duffel bag sitting in the rear cargo hold(it emanated a greenish tint due to the plasma rifle that was sitting inside of it. More of a precautionary measure than anything). Once all systems registered green, he walked out of the shuttle to the waiting area just outside the airlock leading to their transport. He had told Izzie to meet him here at seven...where was she?
"Hey Iz, get your cute butt here already."
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Post by Izzie McFadden on Jan 3, 2011 9:13:05 GMT -5
As much as Izzie had been right that he needed rest, Gordon's estimates that he would be fighting fit within as little as two to three days had proven to be right as well. She'd been a little dubious at first, but after seeing the proof (scans and several more destroyed tactical bots), she'd agreed that they were ready.
A couple of hours before they were due to set out, Anna had pulled her to one side - seeing as she was the levelheaded one going out there, Anna had wanted her to know what she could face, and what to do in certain situations. If anything went awry, she was to call Anna immediately, no exceptions. Apparently, the woman cared for him too, maybe not as much as Izzie, but enough that she would drop everything and come to help if Izzie called.
"You can't rush perfection, McFadden" she joked and smirked as she walked into the hangar bay. She was dressed down, jeans, an old training t-shirt with a shirt over the top and her leather jacket, and a battered pair of the original style Converse shoes - they were still a commodity, even today - her rucksack slung over her shoulder.
"Sorry I'm late, got caught up chatting to someone," she said, wandering inside the shuttle, dumping her bag down next to his. When she noticed the green glow, she nudged it a little further away with her foot. "I take it your bag isn't radioactive? No kryptonite?"
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Post by Gordon McFadden on Jan 4, 2011 1:31:59 GMT -5
"Plasma rifle. Ain't nothin to worry about unless we get into a fight, which we won't...hopefully." Gordon plopped into the shuttle seat and ignited the engines, the shuttle heaving slightly as it was released from the hangar. Gordon smiled at the familiar feeling of weightlessness that space could provide(even with a gravity field onboard the shuttle), just loving the FEEL of not having restrictions, only freedom.
"Navicomputer is tellin me that it'll take five hours. I didn't sleep much last night, so wake me up once the ship brings us out of lightspeed."
The moon looked desolate, barren, like most of the planets in the Horseshoe cluster(there was only one recognized planet in the cluster, but it was mainly used for refining heavy metals and shipping them out to the nearby Atticus cluster), but Gordon could feel that the moon was definitely inhabited(call it a biotic sixth sense). Gordon flew towards the planets surface, spotting what looked like a landing pad. He took the initiative of parking the shuttle on the granite surface(looked like granite anyway), then grabbing his duffel bag and heading out of the shuttle, only to be greeted by the barrel of a rifle.
"Woah, woah, get that outta of my face, pal." The holder of the rifle was a slightly overweight, middle aged man whose red hair was closely cropped to his head. Not the best lookin guy you could have met, but Gordon could tell he was a soldier. He could see it from his stance. Guy meant business.
"What's your business here?"
"Just wanted to see the colony is all."
"Colony? No colony here, bud. Just a bunch of old fogies trying to live peaceably. I suggest you and your young lady-friend here get packing."
"Ok, ok, relax. I'm a biotic too." The man's face relaxed slightly, asking:
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah." Gordon flicked his wrist to the right, the man's rifle coming free of his grasp and landing a few meters away.
"Then come on in. Lacish will want to meet you."
The colony was embedded within a small crater a quarter mile away, hence Gordon's inability to be able to see it as he landed. It was a small place, but it wasn't as unsophisticated as Gordon had thought. There were houses(albeit small ones) littered on the landscape and what looked like trading posts concentrated in the center of the town. The man who had led them(silently) now stopped, turning to Izzie and saying:
"You...you emanate something. Power. Strength. Are you a biotic?"
"She ain't a biotic." Gordon chipped in, turning to Izzie with a confused look.
"Are you,babe?"
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Post by Izzie McFadden on Jan 13, 2011 13:34:12 GMT -5
Izzie, on the other hand, had slept well, so enjoyed watching their journey quietly through the front view screen, playing music through her comms unit so that it wouldn't wake Gordon from his apparently much needed sleep. It shouldn't have been strange, but it was odd to see him looking so peaceful while he slept. With him being up and about always doing stuff - when he wasn't being confined to his wheelchair by an overzealous droid - it was perculiar and yet interesting to see him resting. She could get used to it. Peace and quiet. It made her smirk.
Izzie honestly couldn't imagine living on a planet like this. She knew she'd grown up in a small apartment in a not so wealthy part of town, but that was nothing in comparison to this.
The exchange between Gordon and the man silenced her, the original thrust of the gun making her jump. Ah, danger, she had a feeling that there was going to be a lot of that on this trip, even if Gordon didn't intend for it. What if the group that sent him back to the Venia beaten to a pulp found out he was alive; would they come for him again to finish the job? She shuddered.
"Huh?" Izzie looked round at both the men, realising they were talking to her, "no, no. But my Dad's a Protarian, human sub-species, that might be it..." Honestly, she wasn't really there was much of a difference between regular humans and any of the sub-species. Differences in looks sometimes, yeah. "I don't know what else it would be." Unless she naturally radiated strength. Ha.
"Who is this Lacish?" she asked, deciding it was about time she got a grip and started her job - why she was here, to help Gordon.
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Post by Gordon McFadden on Jan 13, 2011 18:24:38 GMT -5
"Protarian, huh?" The man's eyes lit up slightly when the word was mentioned, as if he had a personal connection to that concept. Gordon only shook his head, knowing the myths that surrounded human sub-species and how many people bought into them(some said they were super human, others said they were mutants from another dimension, the list went on and on). They, from Gordon had pieced together, were nothing more than variations of the genetic code that humans were naturally imbued with.
"Lacish is our leader, a powerful biotic. Come on then. He's a waitin."
They were led into a small home that lay on the northern point of the settlement, not too far off from the square they had been led to(which, as their guide explained, was where most of the bartering and living took place). Gordon noticed the shift in scenery in this area of the settlement: instead of the barren, rocky topography they had traversed, there were small clusters of trees, with patches of grass in front of the homes. It was as if they had stepped into another world altogether.
"What in the world..."
"This is all powered by Lacish. He can only do so much, but he's working on beautifying the whole settlement."
"Powerful stuff." If a biotic could control climate...that would change a whole lot on the way people perceived biotics(most people thought of them as killing machines that had no place in the galaxy). This...this could be a paradigm shift in the making. Gordon was excited to say the least, and he was even more excited when a tall and lanky looking man confidently strode towards them and put his hand out, saying with a smile that would knock most women out in a heartbeat:
"I'm Lacish Bontanu, founder of this settlement." Gordon could tell this man was a natural leader, confident in his abilities and those around him. No wonder people followed him.
"Gordon."
"And your lady companion? Who is she?"
"Izzie, Izzie Fritz."
"Have you two come to start a new beginning, like all the others have?" Gordon paused for a moment, then shook his head, saying:
"Nah Lacish, I..I wanted to see what this place was for myself. I wanted to see if it was true that there were biotics like me who didn't believe that we were all just cookie cutter killing machines with no personality, no heritage."
"A good starting point, my friend." Lacish turned to Izzie and addressed her:
"My dear, you are Protarian, are you not? I can feel the energy waves coming off of you. Strong potential." Lacish chuckled to himself, as if he had just cracked an inside joke that only he knew. He continued:
"This settlement is just the beginning, my friends. Soon, biotics will have safe havens to go to."
"I love your approach, Lacish, but you know how people are. Once they find out about these places..."
"Nonsense. They will be guided here."
"How?"
"Come."
Lacish led them to the outskirts of the settlement, which held a medium sized building in the shape of a dome. Leading them inside, Lacish pointed to the various holo screens that were projected onto the spherical wall, explaining:
"These screens display lists of all known biotics in known space. I intend to call out to them."
"How?" Lacish pointed to a chair in the center of the room that had a helmet on the chair.
"Biotic projection."
"What is this, a comic book? Didn't some crazy mutant dude use that?"
"No my friend. This is real. This device amplifies my powers to connect with biotics around the universe. So far, I can reach those within two systems."
"How did you..."
"Questions will have to wait, my friend. I must leave and take care of business offworld. Besides, it's getting late, and it gets very cold on the moon surface. Zack will take you to your quarters." Gordon didn't want to argue, so he complied with Lacish's request, but he would make sure to talk more with this man. He was truly extraordinary.
It had been half an hour since they had been led to their quarters, and Gordon was restless, his thoughts churning inside of him. He stood, leaning against the side of the doorway.
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Post by Izzie McFadden on Jan 13, 2011 18:49:20 GMT -5
All this talk about Protarians and power was making Izzie's eyebrows do jumping-jacks. To be honest, outside of the courtroom, her Dad wouldn't say boo to a goose. Izzie was only half Protarian, and while she could admit that she had drive and ambition, she wasn't powerful. As for potential? What was that supposed to mean? Did he mean for her to become like them? That'd be... strange. Honestly, what could she do?
Her questions were mostly irrelevant, not that she could get a word in edgeways with the way Gordon and Lacish were talking back and forth. Gordon was lapping up the information like a cat that had been given up a bowl of milk. She could see he admired Lacish and his confident aura. Hopefully everything would be as it seemed, Izzie would hate for this all to be fake, a hoax. That would crush Gordon.
Izzie was lying splayed out on the bed, tensing and untensing her muscles one by one as they both thought quietly to themselves. Eventually, she lifted her head up, gazing at him over by the window. Shifting up and off the bed, she walked over and eased onto her tip-toes, she wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her chin on his shoulder. "How you doing?" she asked, "is it everything you hoped for?"
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Post by Gordon McFadden on Jan 13, 2011 19:20:20 GMT -5
"It is, Iz. Everything I've ever wanted to hear was what Lacish said. Get the biotics together, get them to understand that they were human and they CAN make a difference in the galaxy." Gordon's usual antipathy towards trusting too soon appeared to have been thrown out the window after their brief excursion with Lacish. It was almost as if he had been changed into another person. But, there was still a lingering sense of doubt, as if that change was not complete as of yet.
"But you...you don't..." Gordon turned around, placing a hand on Izzie's face as he continued:
"You don't understand this, do you? Even though I told you what I want, so desperately want, you don't understand the pain that biotics have to endure because of our status. Most non-biotics don't." Gordon let his hand drop down to the small of Izzie's back as he continued:
"But I still want to see more. Lacish told me so much that I want to believe in so desperately, but this place...it seems all too good to be true, like a pipe dream. And another thing that bugs me: you see any of the people that live here other than Lacish and the guide? There was no one out in the square, no one out even here in the middle of a moonlit paradise. Nothin. Zilch. That raises some red flags in my book. In fact..." Gordon let go of Izzie and went to his bag, retrieving the plasma rifle and strapping onto his back.
"I'm going back to that dome. I want to know if he's really all he's cracked up to be. And you're stayin here. I'm not back in an hour, you hustle your butt out of here and get help. I don't want you followin me either. This is somethin I have to do by myself." To tell the truth, Gordon was apprehensive about leaving Izzie behind. What happened if she was captured? What happened if they held her hostage in exchange for their ship, his services...
Or what if Lacish was telling the truth and all he would engender is mistrust?
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Post by Izzie McFadden on Jan 14, 2011 16:10:46 GMT -5
It appeared Gordon's mind had strayed where Izzie's had gone; it all seemed a little too good to be true. It sucked that when something was good, and seemed nice, that people automatically had to think that there was something wrong with it because of that, why couldn't things just be good for once? Weren't humans allowed to be optimistic anymore? Or were they ever?
She let out a puff of air he walked over to his bag, going for the plasma rifle. She should have known this would be coming.
Looking at him, she raised one eyebrow, folding her arms across her chest. "You do remember why you asked me to come with you, right? When everything got too much, I'm supposed to pull you back out of it, remind you why you're here. How am I supposed to do that from this room, hmm?"
Picking up her jacket, she slipped it on and walked past him to the door, opening it for him. "Ladies first."
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