You’re not wrong. Though in my delicate old age, I’ve become less tolerant of alcohol in general.
[ Old age? What.
November follows him up to the teleporter pad, stepping on without much aplomb. ]
The CDC giving us a heads up about something? Now that will be the day. For some reason I don’t put too much stake in that route happening, as much as I don’t mind my employment here.
[ Well. “Employment”. Still, his point stands. He has a feeling the instructors will at least live up to the expectations of granting him what he’d asked for. Beyond that, he doesn’t think they’ll bend too far over backwards to be accommodating. The teleporter takes the two of them to a separate part of the ship, away from the black boxes (out of sight, hopefully out of mind). ]
Besides, they could also be driving home that we can’t account for everything.
[ Which is something he hates. He’s used to calling the shots and making the plans (and the backup plans. And the backups for the backups). But what is he going to do about it? There’s not much use in complaining. ]
How old even are you? Can't say I'm an expert at telling human ages, but I had you pegged as near my age, at most. Though I'll give you the other. They don't really find informing people to be important.
[Which makes it hard to know what's to come as a Unit Lead.]
Even when we were level 1. You get anything from them, back then?
Now, now, a gentleman never gives away his age. It breaks the illusion.
[ Of what??? ]
In all seriousness– I'm woefully close to 30. I try not to think about it.
[ Vain. ]
They really don't. I believe I've gotten more from just interacting with the instructors on a one on one basis. It's certainly not much, but it's better than taking full stabs in the dark. Instead, it's taking stabs in the dark with pinhole lights.
[ An improvement, maybe. ]
I'll at least give them some slack. Some of the information should be filtered; it's not an uncommon practice in any organisation like this.
[Because he knows that for some reason you're not supposed to ask human women their ages, but human men? Never heard of there being an issue there before and he's pretty sure November's messing with them. But it doesn't bother Garrus. Quite the opposite; he likes joking around with the guy.]
If you're nearly thirty, than you're younger than me. So I don't want to hear about delicate old age. And... Yeah.
[He has to concede the point about information needing to be filtered, even if he doesn't like it.]
But it does mean that there's stuff they're hiding for a reason, stuff they know people aren't gonna like. Maybe they've been through enough crews where they found out telling people upfront would backfire. Makes me wonder how long it'll be before we get to know, though. Never been great at operating in the dark.
[ He's not even going to defend himself on that. After all, it's a small bit of amusement. ]
I'm quite a bit younger than a decent amount of people here, so I've noticed. If it helps any, I wouldn't have pegged you as someone in their delicate old age. [ A compliment??? ]
Who knows. [ A noncommittal shrug. ] Judging from the context clues, they've definitely been through plenty of crews in the past to have learned from their mistakes. Of course, every crew operates differently, but I think they've found there are some things that overlap that they just can't talk about.
[ He's run into this sort of thing before. Fortunately, because of his nature, he's usually the one being told not to tell things to other people. MI6 had trusted him not to lose his head. ]
I dislike it as much as you, but all we can really do is be prepared. As much as the Black Box isn't the most positive experience, it is working on weaknesses.
One day you're gonna regret the delicate old age comment.
[It's a joke, not a threat.]
Some mission's gonna come up where we gotta haul Reds out all over again, and you'll be relying on me not being delicate.
[And relying on Dagger not wanting more to die, again, too. That definitely hadn't been encouraging to find out, that Dagger had wanted more to die than did. That more were meant to die than did.]
Anyway. We can be prepared, and we can dig. Because I'm sure they don't expect people to sit back and not ask questions. Not when they promoted a group in the past to a level where they had more info.
[ It wouldn't be the first time his mouth has gotten him in trouble. Oops. ]
I know I will be. I've no illusions otherwise.
[ Dagger wants to kill his team always. Sometimes it's out of a strange form of affection. Like when he wanted November to try and kill Hei. Or was that just to see who came out on top? He's still not sure. ]
We'll just have to be careful where we strike our shovels. [ The phrasing is lighthearted, but the sentiment isn't. Digging in the wrong places can get them in trouble. ] And who we choose to ask.
[Everything takes care here, something Garrus is still working on. He can be discrete, but knowing what questions to ask isn't something he's figured out yet. Thankfully others seem to be better at that. He looks at November.]
And careful with choosing who to talk to. More than one head on a problem helps.
Well, alright, maybe it isn't. But it isn't just his good looks that have gotten him this far. A healthy (or perhaps, unhealthy) dose of paranoia has kept him alive. And that bleeds into his words, his mannerisms, his choices. MI6 had trained him to be careful of what he said, who he said it to, and how it was said. Words are powerful, and choosing the wrong ones for the right target can end up disastrous.
He's gotten very, very good at picking things to say and who to say them to. ]
Most assuredly; though that does fall into my skillset, Mr. Vakarian. I'll lean on your power and you're free to lean on my diplomatic heart. [ His silver tongue, more like. ]
[He's feeling a lot better by the time they reach the bar. No, he doesn't have the Black Box figured out, and it's not likely that he will for some time, but November being his regular slippery self helps, somehow. This is why they need downtime - connections. With connections, friends, most things are easier. And while he doesn't quite trust November enough to call him friend just yet, he likes the guy and that's close enough.]
And maybe I can get some lessons in diplomacy one of these days.
[ His response is equally amused, head tilted slightly as he glances over at Garrus. ]
I don't doubt that you will. [ Because he's on Green and he's a lead– that amounts for something, doesn't it? Getting to his position isn't easy. But now, getting this far for either of them hasn't been what he'd call simple. November has had a less difficult time of it, due to his powers and being a Contractor overall; both enormous advantages working for a company that destroys worlds.
Even so, he's seen similar people come and go (not for the last time he thinks of Hei and is reminded of his mortality). He's stuck it out this far, as has the lead next to him. They have their worries with the Black Box, what it means, how they're to conquer it– but neither of them are going to bend to it. ]
My friend, I am at your beck and call. [ Kinda. ] I'd ask for lessons in how to be a tank of a person, but I don't think that's a teachable aspect.
[Only November had been speaking for Red, after all, instead of five or six or so. Garrus has no doubts that there are units in Red as well, separate teams, but as every attempt to carefully get details has been rebuffed he also has no doubt that they're gag ordered. And he's seen what happens when a Red violates a gag order. He's not going to press. Especially not when he likes November, for all of the obvious experience he's got with dodging around answers.]
But yeah. You're pretty good at diplomacy and words, and I'm gonna take you up on that later. When we've got time and haven't just been through that.
[Garrus jerks his thumb back in the direction they'd come.]
And I think you've got the field figured out, pretty well, but if there's any specific sort of combat I can help with, you've got it. For now, though, [he gives the bartender a nod,] for now I'm gonna have a beer and forget some stuff, I think.
I do try my best. It'd be a welcome change, really. [ He hasn't had to teach someone diplomacy in a long while. How strange that it's coming up now. Of course, it makes sense– a bit of balance can only help them. ]
I appreciate it. If I have questions, you'll be sure to know. [ November passes on the bartender's look, he's sticking to what he'd initially gone with. Alcohol and post-Black Box don't mix. Actually, alcohol and MI6 didn't mix much either. ] That was certainly an adventure. Part of me is half-tempted to go back in, though.
[His mandibles draw close to his face as he takes a drink, and Garrus shrugs once he's swallowed.]
We'll go in until we beat it. If you're feeling up to it again, then I'd say go for it. Me...
[He breathes out and shakes his head. As much as he wants to beat the black box and be done with this particular scenario, Garrus isn't going to push it too hard. There's enough on their plates already.]
Tomorrow. I'll die again tomorrow. For now I'm gonna have my beer and unwind.
[ Leaning one arm on the bar, he lets himself relax a bit (at least in posture, his mind is still running). Bringing physical tension into the conversation seems impolite. ]
I'll pass on it for today. It's more exhausting than I imagined.
[ In what way, he hasn't completely figured out. ]
Brave soul. If I were dying in mine... well, I suppose it would be karma.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ Old age? What.
November follows him up to the teleporter pad, stepping on without much aplomb. ]
The CDC giving us a heads up about something? Now that will be the day. For some reason I don’t put too much stake in that route happening, as much as I don’t mind my employment here.
[ Well. “Employment”. Still, his point stands. He has a feeling the instructors will at least live up to the expectations of granting him what he’d asked for. Beyond that, he doesn’t think they’ll bend too far over backwards to be accommodating. The teleporter takes the two of them to a separate part of the ship, away from the black boxes (out of sight, hopefully out of mind). ]
Besides, they could also be driving home that we can’t account for everything.
[ Which is something he hates. He’s used to calling the shots and making the plans (and the backup plans. And the backups for the backups). But what is he going to do about it? There’s not much use in complaining. ]
no subject
[That gets a snort.]
How old even are you? Can't say I'm an expert at telling human ages, but I had you pegged as near my age, at most. Though I'll give you the other. They don't really find informing people to be important.
[Which makes it hard to know what's to come as a Unit Lead.]
Even when we were level 1. You get anything from them, back then?
no subject
[ Of what??? ]
In all seriousness– I'm woefully close to 30. I try not to think about it.
[ Vain. ]
They really don't. I believe I've gotten more from just interacting with the instructors on a one on one basis. It's certainly not much, but it's better than taking full stabs in the dark. Instead, it's taking stabs in the dark with pinhole lights.
[ An improvement, maybe. ]
I'll at least give them some slack. Some of the information should be filtered; it's not an uncommon practice in any organisation like this.
no subject
[Because he knows that for some reason you're not supposed to ask human women their ages, but human men? Never heard of there being an issue there before and he's pretty sure November's messing with them. But it doesn't bother Garrus. Quite the opposite; he likes joking around with the guy.]
If you're nearly thirty, than you're younger than me. So I don't want to hear about delicate old age. And... Yeah.
[He has to concede the point about information needing to be filtered, even if he doesn't like it.]
But it does mean that there's stuff they're hiding for a reason, stuff they know people aren't gonna like. Maybe they've been through enough crews where they found out telling people upfront would backfire. Makes me wonder how long it'll be before we get to know, though. Never been great at operating in the dark.
no subject
[ He's not even going to defend himself on that. After all, it's a small bit of amusement. ]
I'm quite a bit younger than a decent amount of people here, so I've noticed. If it helps any, I wouldn't have pegged you as someone in their delicate old age. [ A compliment??? ]
Who knows. [ A noncommittal shrug. ] Judging from the context clues, they've definitely been through plenty of crews in the past to have learned from their mistakes. Of course, every crew operates differently, but I think they've found there are some things that overlap that they just can't talk about.
[ He's run into this sort of thing before. Fortunately, because of his nature, he's usually the one being told not to tell things to other people. MI6 had trusted him not to lose his head. ]
I dislike it as much as you, but all we can really do is be prepared. As much as the Black Box isn't the most positive experience, it is working on weaknesses.
no subject
[It's a joke, not a threat.]
Some mission's gonna come up where we gotta haul Reds out all over again, and you'll be relying on me not being delicate.
[And relying on Dagger not wanting more to die, again, too. That definitely hadn't been encouraging to find out, that Dagger had wanted more to die than did. That more were meant to die than did.]
Anyway. We can be prepared, and we can dig. Because I'm sure they don't expect people to sit back and not ask questions. Not when they promoted a group in the past to a level where they had more info.
no subject
[ It wouldn't be the first time his mouth has gotten him in trouble. Oops. ]
I know I will be. I've no illusions otherwise.
[ Dagger wants to kill his team always. Sometimes it's out of a strange form of affection. Like when he wanted November to try and kill Hei. Or was that just to see who came out on top? He's still not sure. ]
We'll just have to be careful where we strike our shovels. [ The phrasing is lighthearted, but the sentiment isn't. Digging in the wrong places can get them in trouble. ] And who we choose to ask.
no subject
[Everything takes care here, something Garrus is still working on. He can be discrete, but knowing what questions to ask isn't something he's figured out yet. Thankfully others seem to be better at that. He looks at November.]
And careful with choosing who to talk to. More than one head on a problem helps.
no subject
Well, alright, maybe it isn't. But it isn't just his good looks that have gotten him this far. A healthy (or perhaps, unhealthy) dose of paranoia has kept him alive. And that bleeds into his words, his mannerisms, his choices. MI6 had trained him to be careful of what he said, who he said it to, and how it was said. Words are powerful, and choosing the wrong ones for the right target can end up disastrous.
He's gotten very, very good at picking things to say and who to say them to. ]
Most assuredly; though that does fall into my skillset, Mr. Vakarian. I'll lean on your power and you're free to lean on my diplomatic heart. [ His silver tongue, more like. ]
no subject
Diplomatic heart. All right. We'll go with that.
[It's said teasingly, not malevolently.]
I'll do my best with protecting.
[He's feeling a lot better by the time they reach the bar. No, he doesn't have the Black Box figured out, and it's not likely that he will for some time, but November being his regular slippery self helps, somehow. This is why they need downtime - connections. With connections, friends, most things are easier. And while he doesn't quite trust November enough to call him friend just yet, he likes the guy and that's close enough.]
And maybe I can get some lessons in diplomacy one of these days.
no subject
[ His response is equally amused, head tilted slightly as he glances over at Garrus. ]
I don't doubt that you will. [ Because he's on Green and he's a lead– that amounts for something, doesn't it? Getting to his position isn't easy. But now, getting this far for either of them hasn't been what he'd call simple. November has had a less difficult time of it, due to his powers and being a Contractor overall; both enormous advantages working for a company that destroys worlds.
Even so, he's seen similar people come and go (not for the last time he thinks of Hei and is reminded of his mortality). He's stuck it out this far, as has the lead next to him. They have their worries with the Black Box, what it means, how they're to conquer it– but neither of them are going to bend to it. ]
My friend, I am at your beck and call. [ Kinda. ] I'd ask for lessons in how to be a tank of a person, but I don't think that's a teachable aspect.
no subject
[Only November had been speaking for Red, after all, instead of five or six or so. Garrus has no doubts that there are units in Red as well, separate teams, but as every attempt to carefully get details has been rebuffed he also has no doubt that they're gag ordered. And he's seen what happens when a Red violates a gag order. He's not going to press. Especially not when he likes November, for all of the obvious experience he's got with dodging around answers.]
But yeah. You're pretty good at diplomacy and words, and I'm gonna take you up on that later. When we've got time and haven't just been through that.
[Garrus jerks his thumb back in the direction they'd come.]
And I think you've got the field figured out, pretty well, but if there's any specific sort of combat I can help with, you've got it. For now, though, [he gives the bartender a nod,] for now I'm gonna have a beer and forget some stuff, I think.
no subject
[ Or something like that. ]
I do try my best. It'd be a welcome change, really. [ He hasn't had to teach someone diplomacy in a long while. How strange that it's coming up now. Of course, it makes sense– a bit of balance can only help them. ]
I appreciate it. If I have questions, you'll be sure to know. [ November passes on the bartender's look, he's sticking to what he'd initially gone with. Alcohol and post-Black Box don't mix. Actually, alcohol and MI6 didn't mix much either. ] That was certainly an adventure. Part of me is half-tempted to go back in, though.
no subject
We'll go in until we beat it. If you're feeling up to it again, then I'd say go for it. Me...
[He breathes out and shakes his head. As much as he wants to beat the black box and be done with this particular scenario, Garrus isn't going to push it too hard. There's enough on their plates already.]
Tomorrow. I'll die again tomorrow. For now I'm gonna have my beer and unwind.
no subject
I'll pass on it for today. It's more exhausting than I imagined.
[ In what way, he hasn't completely figured out. ]
Brave soul. If I were dying in mine... well, I suppose it would be karma.