redshiftlogs | the posse

Entry tags:

the posse

Who: Qubit, Peter, Ben, Genji, Garrus, and Creepy Joe
What: Creepy Joe returns to Anchor. Qubit wants to try and capture him.
When: Right after Joe's post goes up.
Where: Agricultural Zone.
Warnings: there might be fighting and it might end badly. this is fine.

[ The way Qubit sees it, "Creepy Joe" has a lot of damn gall showing his face in Anchor right now. Technically, the evidence linking him to the camera incident is circumstantial, but it's enough to convince Qubit he was at least involved. There are other reasons to apprehend him, of course, but - on at least one level, this is personal.

So, shortly after Joe's post appears on the network, Qubit puts out an audio message to a select handful of people. The few who he trusts not to strike first, but who he knows can strike back, if it comes to that. ]

This is Qubit. I need you all to meet me at the Agricultural Zone, sector three entrance, immediately. Consider this an emergency.

"Creepy Joe" has returned to Anchor.

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[So while he's also playing phone tag with Creepy Joe, he's also going to be texting Qubit because bbbBBRROOOOOOOO]

I'll be there but I'd really like to know what you're intending to do with this.

I intend to apprehend him.

Apprehend him and then put him where?

Secure quarantine facility, surface level, near the Porter. I don't know that it'll hold him indefinitely, but it should do the job for long enough.

Okay, that's a good starting point, now here's what we're going to do. I'll convince him to voluntarily stay in the quarantine facility until we know that he's clean, and then we'll move him to a permanent residence.

What?! Absolutely not!

He's not a criminal, Qubit. He's trying to help us.

So you've forgotten about the cameras? Or how he's already tried to kill you?

He didn't try to kill me, the freaky mutant tentacle thing inside of him did. And I haven't forgotten the cameras, I'm talking to him about them right now.

[ ??? Hang on a sec, Qubit's just gonna go look at that conversa-

oh, shit. ]

Peter, where are you right now?

I told you I was gonna meet you here, did't I?

[Of course he's going to be a smartass about it!!]

He's not going to do anything to me. It seems like he has more control over his weirdness now that he's inside away from the radiation and stuff.

[ Goddamnit Parker why do you always do this.

Okay. Peter's already with him. Shit. Now what? ... Well, hang on, actually. If Joe's relatively in control right now, if he's not getting violent, then maybe this can still work out. Just so long as Peter doesn't get any more bright ideas. ]

... Fine. In that case, keep him talking for a few minutes. But at the first sign of trouble, I want you out of there, understand?

[Sorry Qubit, Peter's just full of bright ideas :)))]

I've got this under control, Qubit! Why can't you just trust me to handle it?

That's what I'm doing. It's him I don't trust.

[ Peter can handle himself, Qubit knows that. But he has no idea what Joe's capable of. It'll have to be up to Peter to decide what constitutes "trouble." ]

Fine, you don't trust him. He doesn't trust us, either. He's scared, Qubit, you can't just barge in here and start making demands. We have to be delicate about this.

[ Well, yeah, he can't barge in now. But frankly, he's surprised Joe hasn't already lashed out or bolted. Did Qubit overestimate the guy's volatility, or is it just Peter's legendary charisma at work? ]

Can you convince him to go into quarantine?

[He has a 20 in charisma BABY. Also in dex and strength he's very talented.]

I think I can. He said he trusts me. He said he'd trust me to look for a way to cure him, too. Making sure he's not contagious is pretty much just step one of that.

A cure? Don't overpromise, Peter, we don't even know what's wrong with him yet.

[ And yeah, of course finding that out is the first step, but there's a strong chance they won't be able to fix it, that's what he's getting at. ]

I didn't tell him I'd find one for sure, just that I'm gonna try.

Look, I'll meet you outside, we can talk about it in person, okay?

With or without him?

[ Neither option's great - "without" means Joe's going to be unattended, but "with" means Ben will need to leave in a hurry. ]

I'm shooting for without him, but he wants to meet you guys outside. I'm gonna try to get him to wait a minute so we can talk before he comes out.

Edited (A THING CHANGED SLIGHTLY) 2020-01-04 06:50 (UTC)

[ He... wants to meet them? Just like that? PETER WHAT DID YOU DO. ]

Acknowledged. We're on our way.

[MADE A FRIEND]

See you there.

[And peter finishes up chatting with Joe and goes outside to wait, WOOSH.]

Who?

I am on my way but I'm unaware what is going on?

He's a former resident of Anchor, from long before any of us arrived. But he's been warped by the Redshift, physically and mentally. He's already attacked several of our people, and spied on us via hidden cameras for months.

We're going to apprehend him before he does anything worse.

Is that wise? If he's making himself known there must be a reason.

Counterpoint: is it wise to just let him come and go as he pleases? We don't know who he is, or what he wants, or who else he might be talking to.

I see.

I'm good at extraction missions. I'll be there shortly.

[ Ben does consider it an emergency. And he is quick to respond to emergencies. Nonetheless, there is a delay of a few minutes before he sends his reply. He needed a bit of clarity from Cole, first. Now that he has that, he's on his way. ]

I'm on my way now.

But listen, Qubit.
I don't think I should get near him.
Not unless shit gets really bad. Like life or death bad.

Noted, but why?

[ How to phrase it so he doesn't sound like he's just cowardly and chickening out, but also so Qubit doesn't get the impression he's a danger to people or not in control of his powers? ]

You know how it's a bad idea to just throw two cats that don't know each other into a room together without supervision?
Especially if one or both of them might be kind of territorial and/or nervous about the other?
I'm worried my guys might not like his guys.

And by guys I mean the creatures on the other side of my portal.
And by I'm worried I mean I can feel how much they don't want to be anywhere near him, and if I get too close, shit might hit the fan.
I've always been able to control them before but I've never been in a situation like this before.
Seems better to be safe than sorry.
Especially since you're probably not just planning on killing the guy.
Right?

[ Qubit doesn't want that, right? ]

Edited 2020-01-04 03:52 (UTC)

Correct. We're not murdering anyone.

[ Wording it that way does leave some wiggle room for, say, self-defense or manslaughter, but shhhh. In the meantime, that's interesting - he didn't realize Ben's bond with the creatures allowed him to pick up on their... feelings, I guess? Is "feelings" the right word here? ]

They can sense him? Is that all they're telling you? Do they have any idea what he is, exactly?

Okay, good. That's good news.

Kind of, maybe?
It's sort of hard for me to tell if he freaks me out and they're reacting to that, wanting to protect me from a threat.
Or if they can sense whatever is making him like that and it's freaking them out and I'm the one getting the bleedthrough?

And it's not like that. It's not like a language thing.
I can only pick up on a tiny bit of their emotions or urges or whatever, and only very basic stuff.
Fear, anger, hunger, stuff like that.
They're more like animals than people, I guess is how I would explain it.
Like wild animals from a dimension way way different to this one.

So I have no idea what he is.

[ Qubit wasn't the first to arrive at the rendezvous point, and he came unarmed, even though he'd initially expected a fight, and he's still not sure there won't be one. But the situation has picked up some complications in the last few minutes, because of course it has. Peter's already at the breach with Joe - we'll call it negotiating, how's that sound. Ben's opted to keep his distance, to minimize the risk of his extradimensional life partners taking matters into their own tentacles. But Genji and Garrus are on board, so if anything does go horribly wrong, at least they won't be caught unprepared.

Will something go horribly wrong? Impossible to say. The idea of Peter somehow winning over this raving, incoherent husk of a man is just - unfathomable. Qubit's been caught in an active Redshift only once, but the experience is burned into his memory. An unstoppable torrent of jumbled sensation and incongruous synesthesia, interspersed with occasional mirages of the familiar that dissipate before you can cling to them... Can you even imagine letting that seep into your mind? You'd never have a moment's peace again. Anyone would go mad.

But perhaps there's still a reasoning human being in there, amid all the mutated flesh and psychotic rambling. Maybe he doesn't "crave his hurts" as much as Cole thought.

... Or perhaps it's all a trap. Who knows, really.

He alerts Peter they're en route, and they arrive at the breach a few minutes later... ]

[Peter's alone when the squad rolls up, stood on front of the breach with his arms crossed as though he's guarding the place. He kind of is, truthfully. He doesn't know Garrus or Genji that well, and while he trusts Ben with basically everything, he's not honestly sure what to expect from Qubit in this situation. He'd been pretty gung-ho about just locking Joe up, and if Peter really had to stop that he could, but the last thing he wants is for this to turn into a fight.]

He's still inside. I figured we oughta hash out some sort of game plan before I bring him out.

[Great, this situation is already starting off awkward. Which is marginally better than the last extraction/rescue mission he'd gone on that had ended awkwardly. At least he knows to expect it the whole way through now.

Maybe if he's lucky he won't get hit in the head with a blow dryer.]

That is wise, so we do not say or do things to put him more on edge than needed. I do not truly understand what is happening, I've never met him before.

But there is something about cameras?

[ Meanwhile Garrus has just been around the block several times. Since when do things ever go to plan? Not once in most recent memory can he recall things going smoothly and not requiring some sort of plan B.

And, frankly speaking, he doesn't trust people that are out of their mind. Call the Turian paranoid, but he's expecting some sort of fight. Or attack. Or something going horribly wrong. ]

The guy's not in his right mind and those are the sort that usually are unpredictable.

[ Qubit folds his arms, too, but nods curtly, in agreement with all three of them. Upsetting the man unnecessarily could undo whatever miracle Peter's gone and worked with him. Qubit decides to start with their goals and work backward. ]

The goal is to get him into secure quarantine. There's one such facility connected to the intake room, up at surface level. If you [ Peter ] can convince him to go voluntarily, we'll escort him together. But he has to go, willing or otherwise. If he slips through our fingers now, we may never find him again.

[Peter addresses Genji first,] There was a thing a little while ago where we were finding hidden cameras in our rooms. Joe confirmed that it was his doing, he put them in the rooms before any of us ever arrived here. It wasn't to spy on us, he was monitoring for something dangerous. We'll tackle this one later,

[he looks between Garrus and Qubit, and as much as he wants to argue with them, he really can't. Garrus is absolutely right, and Qubit is too, as much as Peter hates to admit it.]

We'll get him there. Just-- don't have any weapons out. He's unstable and he's afraid, treating him like a prisoner is the worst thing we can do right now.

[Tackling that one later isn't exactly reassuring Peter. But okay, he'll let it go for now.]

Can we simply ask him? Surely he doesn't want to live in the flooded basement. If we tell him we are locking him in containment it will certainly seem that we are taking him prisoner.

Perhaps the medical bay instead?

"Something dangerous" doesn't really sell me on trusting the guy, kid. Even less so when you want to address the issue later.

[ So Garrus is with Genji on this one. If it really is "dangerous" why not let the group know? Why not warn ahead of time? Yeah... Doesn't inspire confidence, really.

But that isn't really the reason they are here so the Turian will also let it go. ]

As for medical? Not so sure that's a good alternative. It's not exactly a secure quarantine zone. If the kid thinks it is best to ask first, then go ahead. I will just reserve the right to take out my gun if it looks like he won't be compliant.

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the posse

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at the breach

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oof sorry for the holdup

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