#ed || smokedanced ( shepard )

[anderwhohn]

A pained whimper is all she manages when the weight is lifted off her legs before she can even begin to think about trying to tell him to stop. Hopefully all those upgrades to her cybernetics were worth the expense and forced downtime if they help ensure that any damage done isn't permanent. For now, getting out of the way of the debris while it's off of her sounds like a brilliant idea…

Instinct takes over as she forces herself to move, an aura of dark energy wrapping itself around her, smaller bits of debris briefly floating as its caught in the altered gravity as she manages to shove herself far enough away into a clear patch of ground before collapsing onto her back once more, exhausted from even that much as she stares dazedly up at the nearly too blue sky overhead.

"Salopri," she swears again, taking a moment to reassess her injuries. She can at least feel her legs, so that's a good sign, even though with the sheer amount of pain she's in, she almost wishes she couldn't.

Despite her pain, she turns her gaze onto the man, blinking at him in confusion for a moment as she takes in the full sight of him. His manner of dress is beyond strange, but a small smirk twists her lips as she takes note and offers a genuine "nice beard" at the sight of the full face of hair that's so rare among humans in her experience now, unless they were typically set on staying on one planet.

It takes her another moment before she tries to push herself upright, groaning in pain as everything hurts and makes itself known in the process. "Thanks for the assist. I don't imagine you have any spare medigel on you? Pretty sure mine got evaporated, even if the dispensers weren't fried."

Destroying the Reapers is all that matters…

That's what she said, repeatedly, through the course of the war - both to others and to herself when more and more of the galaxy looked solely to the 'Great Commander Shepard' to save them all from extinction.

Only those closest to her - mostly those who had been there with her through everything in this fight - saw how much carrying the hope of an entire galaxy single-handedly weighted on her, even as she cured the genophage, established alliances between the turians and krogans, brought peace to the quarians and geth, and fought to retake every homeworld and colony the Reapers sought to destroy.

It had been those final moments, after finally putting a bullet through the Illusive Man's brain, and watching Anderson die as the Crucible docked with the Citadel, that Isabela Shepard thought that maybe, just maybe, the fight was over.

She had shared that hope with a select few aboard the Normandy, while in transit between worlds, that she and Javik and so many others might finally be able to lay down their weapons and just… be, perhaps for the first time in their entire lives.

So of fucking course the Crucible - a weapon that no one truly knew what it was even capable of that were throwing all their credits and hopes into it in a desperate attempt to destroy the Reapers - had to pull some weird ass bullshit in the end.

Her armour is burned, nearly completely destroyed in some spots, as she lays in the pile of rubble of what appears to be the fragmented remains of the Crucible and perhaps some debris from the Citadel knocked off by the weapon's blast as it released the unknown energy throughout the galaxy.

Weakened from exhaustion and numerous injuries sustained in the final push, each breath is painful even as she wearily blinks open emerald green eyes to take in her surroundings and access the damage as she glances down at the piece of debris her legs are pinned under.

"Shit," she groans, letting her head drop back to the ground as she closes her eyes, running a mental check through her limbs to ensure she can still feel them properly before she can even begin to try to think about getting herself up off the ground and figure out where the hell she even is…

[solheimisms]

@smokedanced asked:

"You’re brave, I’ll give you that” / from ed

"Is it bravery, or stupidity? I'm still trying to figure that one out." Perhaps it would have been smarter now, to stay by the Illusive Man. Perhaps she could've done something about how Cerberus was right now, talked him out of some of the decisions he was making. Every move the Illusive Man made was questionable at best, ever since the Collector Base. Nevertheless... the things that Shepard had found on Mars only made her further question the idea of staying with Cerberus.

Now, she'd made an even bolder move. Shepard, somehow, had convinced the Alliance to hand her a pardon. She'd helped with the Collectors, and despite her former allegiance to Cerberus, she was a valuable asset. Granted, Hackett had met her once after the Alpha Relay Incident, but the meeting had been brief, hardly a conversation worth remembering.

"I ran away from one of the most powerful and rich organizations in the galaxy. I ran from Cerberus. I'm still on the run from one of the richest men in the galaxy--my own damned father, Henry Lawson--and by whatever grace Shepard managed to pull off, I'm finally not wanted by the Alliance, though I might as well be; with communications down, I practically need to be seen with her to not be just about shot on sight." Was she a fool, making so many enemies in the galaxy?

She glanced back over at Ed, one eyebrow raised. "How are you here, anyway? She convince the Alliance to pardon you, too? Or are you just along for the ride as usual?"

[anderwhohn]

@smokedanced asked: [ defend ] your muse defending mine’s reputation , dignity , or safety for them . / ed for izzy

Dark energy ripples in a faint aura around Isabela as she struggles to maintain control over her biotics during the back and forth shouting match between herself and Kaidan Alenko, emerald eyes darkening with a fury rapidly turning toward deadly hatred as he continues to spew accusations about her, many of which were clearly spoonfed to him by the Alliance Brass, and all of them enough to severely test what little patience she has left.

"You saw it yourself!" she snarls, gesturing sharply at the surrounding colony. "The Collectors are targeting human colonies, and they're working with the Reapers!"

"I want to believe you, Shepard, but I don't trust Cerberus!" Kaidan retorts sharply. "They could be using the threat of a reaper to manipulate you. What if they're behind it? What if they're working with the Collectors?"

"Oh, fuck you, Alenko!" Izzy snaps, the last of her patience strained to the breaking point just as Ed steps past her and punches the Alliance soldier square in the jaw, knocking the biotic off his feet.

A surprised, bitter laugh escapes her before she can bite it back, even as she moves to Ed's side, casually draping her arm around his shoulders to hold him back from continuing his assault. Unable to bring herself to reprimand him, given the circumstances, she glares down at Alenko where he lays stunned and prone on the ground before turning them away.

"Ed," she murmurs softly, glancing up at the man at her side. "You're my new favourite person in the galaxy. Just don't tell the others."

[anderwhohn]

Izzy breathes a quiet huff of a laugh, shaking her head as a wry smirk tugs at her lips. "I'm pretty sure he took the Alliance regs book and shoved it up his own ass at some point," she notes with a mischievous sparkle in her emerald gaze, even as she keeps a careful ear out for movement behind them as they head toward the shuttle. She knows turning her back on a sentinel is dangerous, but right now, she'd almost welcome the fight to work off some of the excess aggression she's had clinging to her ever since she first woke up in Cerberus's clutches.

"The only regs he's not dead set on are apparently the ones regarding fraternization, given how hard he tried to get into my pants in the past. Otherwise, he's always been the Alliance's Poster Boy as long as I've known him, and not in a flattering sense. The bastard had the gall to question me when I chose to defend the bomb on Virmire rather than rescuing Chief Gunnery Williams. Alenko was the one arming the bomb, so of course my squad and I saved him in the process…"

With a weary sigh, she admits, "Sometimes, I still wonder if the wiser choice would have been to simply leave him there, too. Spirits know once I had Garrus, Wrex, and Tali on hand, I rarely brought Alenko or Williams on any ground missions. Not because they were human, but fucking hell… There's only so much 'by the book' Alliance protocols I can tolerate. There's a reason my disciplinary records are as thick as they are. If I weren't 'too valuable of an asset', I'd have been Cat 6'ed years ago."

anderwhohn.​

@smokedanced asked: [ defend ] your muse defending mine’s reputation , dignity , or safety for them . / ed for izzy

Dark energy ripples in a faint aura around Isabela as she struggles to maintain control over her biotics during the back and forth shouting match between herself and Kaidan Alenko, emerald eyes darkening with a fury rapidly turning toward deadly hatred as he continues to spew accusations about her, many of which were clearly spoonfed to him by the Alliance Brass, and all of them enough to severely test what little patience she has left.

“You saw it yourself!” she snarls, gesturing sharply at the surrounding colony. “The Collectors are targeting human colonies, and they’re working with the Reapers!”

“I want to believe you, Shepard, but I don’t trust Cerberus!” Kaidan retorts sharply. “They could be using the threat of a reaper to manipulate you. What if they’re behind it? What if they’re working with the Collectors?”

“Oh, fuck you, Alenko!” Izzy snaps, the last of her patience strained to the breaking point just as Ed steps past her and punches the Alliance soldier square in the jaw, knocking the biotic off his feet.

A surprised, bitter laugh escapes her before she can bite it back, even as she moves to Ed’s side, casually draping her arm around his shoulders to hold him back from continuing his assault. Unable to bring herself to reprimand him, given the circumstances, she glares down at Alenko where he lays stunned and prone on the ground before turning them away.

“Ed,” she murmurs softly, glancing up at the man at her side. “You’re my new favourite person in the galaxy. Just don’t tell the others.”

Edward, honestly, is trying to just be  in for a ride.  The short while he’s spent on board the Normandy has definitely proven he made the right choice, tagging along with Commander Isabela Shepard  ⸺  Izzy, the nickname some of the crew use for her, still amuses him greatly, if only because his own first mate would fucking  hate it.

Seeing the devastated colony, though, it’s made it just a bit more real. It’s not that Ed hasn’t seen terrible things before. Hell, he’s been the cause of terrible things. But there’s something fucking eerie about the Collectors, and what they do. It’s been a good fight  ⸺  got a little worried there for a second, to be honest, but that’d only been some extra adrenaline, all good.

But this, this Alenko spewing his bullshit? Maybe it’s that Ed’s battle weary, maybe it simply irks him, the way Alenko’s treating Shepard, maybe he even wants to protect her, a little. Whatever his motives, he finds himself stepping forward and landing a punch on the motherfucker’s jaw. Hard.

It’s not a smart thing to do. He’s gotten himself in trouble countless of times before, attacking people who then turn out to be powerful biotics and turn the tables on him. He hasn’t got Israel or his crew, here, to rely on for defenses. And this is an Alliance soldier. It’s not smart. But he doesn’t fucking care. He’s done listening to this crap he doesn’t fully understand the context of, and Shepard seems pretty fucking done with it, too, so he figures, what the hell.

Alenko collapses with a satisfying whack. Edward readies himself, in case the guy gets up. He’s stopped, though, as Shepard drapes an arm round his shoulders, and he gets her message.

Quite honestly, he wouldn’t hold it against her if she’d yell at him about it. He tries to respect her authority, he does. She’s the only person out here  doing anything;  he doesn’t want to fuck up her chances. But for fuck’s sake, this guy.

He makes a little pfffft noise at her comment, lets her lead him away.    ❝ Sorry, Captain, ❞    he replies, the corners of his eyes crinkling in a smile as he glances at her.    ❝ But seriously  ⸺  what a fucking dick. ❞

[smokedanced]

anderwhohn.​

@smokedanced asked: [ defend ] your muse defending mine’s reputation , dignity , or safety for them . / ed for izzy

Dark energy ripples in a faint aura around Isabela as she struggles to maintain control over her biotics during the back and forth shouting match between herself and Kaidan Alenko, emerald eyes darkening with a fury rapidly turning toward deadly hatred as he continues to spew accusations about her, many of which were clearly spoonfed to him by the Alliance Brass, and all of them enough to severely test what little patience she has left.

"You saw it yourself!" she snarls, gesturing sharply at the surrounding colony. "The Collectors are targeting human colonies, and they're working with the Reapers!"

"I want to believe you, Shepard, but I don't trust Cerberus!" Kaidan retorts sharply. "They could be using the threat of a reaper to manipulate you. What if they're behind it? What if they're working with the Collectors?"

"Oh, fuck you, Alenko!" Izzy snaps, the last of her patience strained to the breaking point just as Ed steps past her and punches the Alliance soldier square in the jaw, knocking the biotic off his feet.

A surprised, bitter laugh escapes her before she can bite it back, even as she moves to Ed's side, casually draping her arm around his shoulders to hold him back from continuing his assault. Unable to bring herself to reprimand him, given the circumstances, she glares down at Alenko where he lays stunned and prone on the ground before turning them away.

"Ed," she murmurs softly, glancing up at the man at her side. "You're my new favourite person in the galaxy. Just don't tell the others."

Edward, honestly, is trying to just be  in for a ride.  The short while he’s spent on board the Normandy has definitely proven he made the right choice, tagging along with Commander Isabela Shepard  ⸺  Izzy, the nickname some of the crew use for her, still amuses him greatly, if only because his own first mate would fucking  hate it.

Seeing the devastated colony, though, it’s made it just a bit more real. It’s not that Ed hasn’t seen terrible things before. Hell, he’s been the cause of terrible things. But there’s something fucking eerie about the Collectors, and what they do. It’s been a good fight  ⸺  got a little worried there for a second, to be honest, but that’d only been some extra adrenaline, all good.

But this, this Alenko spewing his bullshit? Maybe it’s that Ed’s battle weary, maybe it simply irks him, the way Alenko’s treating Shepard, maybe he even wants to protect her, a little. Whatever his motives, he finds himself stepping forward and landing a punch on the motherfucker’s jaw. Hard.

It’s not a smart thing to do. He’s gotten himself in trouble countless of times before, attacking people who then turn out to be powerful biotics and turn the tables on him. He hasn’t got Israel or his crew, here, to rely on for defenses. And this is an Alliance soldier. It’s not smart. But he doesn’t fucking care. He’s done listening to this crap he doesn’t fully understand the context of, and Shepard seems pretty fucking done with it, too, so he figures, what the hell.

Alenko collapses with a satisfying whack. Edward readies himself, in case the guy gets up. He’s stopped, though, as Shepard drapes an arm round his shoulders, and he gets her message.

Quite honestly, he wouldn’t hold it against her if she’d yell at him about it. He tries to respect her authority, he does. She’s the only person out here  doing anything;  he doesn’t want to fuck up her chances. But for fuck’s sake, this guy.

He makes a little pfffft noise at her comment, lets her lead him away.    ❝ Sorry, Captain, ❞    he replies, the corners of his eyes crinkling in a smile as he glances at her.    ❝ But seriously  ⸺  what a fucking dick. ❞