voice | ❝ all the bad you've got ❞

[avicula]

( this isn’t subtle, exactly, but sometimes the direct approach is the most effective. her tone, when dutch addresses the network at large, is crisp, pointed. ) I got the welcome speech loud and clear, but here's two questions for you anyway:

One, who here has heard of the J, the Quad, the Company, or Reclamation Agents? ( if they were telling the truth, the answer should be no one, or hardly anyone. dutch isn’t sure what outcome she’s hoping for: that they were telling the truth, or that this is a slaver ship or one of khlyen’s schemes. no, that’s a lie. she knows exactly which outcome she’s hoping for, but it’s a grim kind of hope. ) Two, I’m going to assume some of you know how to fight. I’m looking for sparring partners, so who’s ready to get their arse kicked?

( dutch has some frustration to work off, and there’s only so much a punching bag can do. )

Oh, and lastly? ( it’s a long shot, but still her tone shifts, something chiding that can’t hide the affection underlying her words. ) Johnnyboy, if you’re here, stop drooling over new tech and find me.

Comments

[avicula]

Commander of what? ( is the immediate and obvious question. sometimes, dutch doesn't go for those. sometimes, like now, she does.

dutch's training isn't military; she was trained in dancing and killing at the same time and it shows, her motion to avoid the jab smooth. her response comes almost immediately in form of a quick jab of her own, her right as well. ) I'm Dutch.

[petridish]

[She takes the punch on her forearm, using the proximity to go for a kick at Dutch's stomach.]

Commander in the human Systems Alliance Navy. I had a warship.

[While the first part is only true for the woman she's pretending to be, she did once hold the warship for about twenty minutes before the real Shepard managed to regain control.]

[avicula]

( dutch drops to the floor to evade the kick, and once she's down there, swipes at shepard's legs. )

Impressive. ( while that isn't insincere, her tone implies that she isn't actually all that impressed. )

[petridish]

[On the backswing of her kicking leg, she steps away, retreating a fraction to see what Dutch will do with it.]

It was a while ago. [Casual. She doesn't entirely miss her world.]

[avicula]

Been here long?

( dutch doesn't do anything with it, at least for a moment: she stands again, and with the distance between them it's a natural pause in the fight. a moment later, dutch swings again. )

[petridish]

Nine months. [Which, besides being a long stay in itself, is longer than she'd even been alive before ending up on the Moira.

[Stepping on an angle to Dutch, she punches at the arm Dutch is using to strike.]

[avicula]

Got any useful information to share after all that time?

( dutch sees the punch coming too late to evade, but early enough to tense in preparation of the impact, so it only knocks her punch off course but doesn't hurt as much as it could have. even if it had: dutch learned long ago to master her pain, to ignore it when necessary. she retaliates with an elbow aimed at shepard's solar plexus. )

[petridish]

[Too close for a turn away from the blow to have much effect, she breathes out as Dutch connects, but tries to grab her arm for a throw.]

Depends on what you see as useful.

[Not that she's cagey about sharing - she's all for helping humans, that's why she made some of the MID apps - but one person's useful is another person's pointless.]

[avicula]

( dutch can't avoid the grab, but she twists her body, foreseeing the throw and dropping her weight to counter it. )

Maps, intel, whether the captain and first mate are full of shit or actually legit, how fast this bucket flies, how many people there are on board, that kind of thing.

[petridish]

[She's carried forward by Dutch's movement, but she's smiling as it happens. Nice to have a challenge like this, not to mention someone who knows what they want to know.]

I made the map and positioning system app on the MIDs, but that's just the Moira; haven't managed to get my hands on any star charts, and even if I got some planetary maps, we have yet to visit the same planet twice. [Also, they kind of blew up one planet and are accused of crime on another. Whoops.] Hard to tell about the new captain and first mate. Not sure about flight speed; try navigation or the chief engineer, Tali'Zorah. Crew fluctuates but can be estimated from the directory, also on the MID.

[It's not all her questions, but it's a start, and she'd like to hope she's at least pointed her in the right direction on those she couldn't answer.]

[avicula]

( it's a start, and the way the information is delivered makes dutch decide, even more than the fight, that she likes this woman. )

Give me your take on the captain and first mate, then.