legionmissions | THE NINTH GATE

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THE NINTH GATE - [modplot]

Who| Anyone who signed up
What| "The Ninth Gate" plot
Where| It starts on Rimbor, moves to Earth
When| The same time as "Gone-Away World" and "Total Eclipso the Heart"
Warnings/Notes| Lots of really fucked up suicide cult stuff.

It's not that difficult to get a lead on where the Catastrophists are recruiting, but so far the survival rate of undercover Scicops is...bad. As in, none of the undercover cops that have been sent in have come back. So with the rise in Catastrophist activity and losing several of their top undercover officers, the Science Police has actually asked for the Legion's help for once. A few tips from their contacts have made it clear that something big is coming, a terrorist attack of sometime, and time is running out. They need to get someone on the inside that actually survives, and they're hoping the Legion can do what they couldn't.

Fortunately, there's an easy in to at least start the undercover op.

The Science Police has long since determined that the Universal Brotherhood is just a front for the Catastrophists, largely due to the references to Apokolips and Darkseid they keep dropping. Science Police specialists and Legion intelligence officers handle the initial contacts, creating fake personas that they chat out as getting duped into embracing the Catastrophists' cause. They even donate enough credits to make it seem like the personas are emptying out their modest bank accounts to support the cause.

The next step is a very thorough briefing given to the Legionnaires going undercover on this mission, so they know every possible detail about their fake personas, and have access to all the chats they need to pretend to remember having.

Then, they're armed with very advanced technology to use to infiltrate the group. Super advanced subdermal hard-light hologram generators, sensor emulators that give off biosigns that fit their personas, advanced psi-blockers that even allow them to project surface thoughts that fit their cover. They have all the knowledge they need to infiltrate the group - now they just have to survive initiation.

They're sent in three pairs to sign up for recruitment in a shady bar on Rimbor, at separate times so them showing up together doesn't seem suspicious. Rimbor is an urban world that's just layers and layers of city on top of older cities. They're all led underground, to abandoned under-levels that used to be on the top levels of the cities only a few hundred years before, but are now that are deemed uninhabitable even by the lowest dregs of Rimborian society.

Once they're in, there are only two ways out: through surviving initiation or in body bags dropped in Rimbor's massive trash incinerators.

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To explain why they come in together, their fake backstory is that they're two widows from the planet Turabeau that found friendship and solace in each other after losing their original spouses to the horrific pain plague that wiped out most of the population. After seeing them suffer and die while begging for death, they lived their days in quiet despair... until meeting each other and finding a like-minded individual with a nihilistic outlook.

They've now decided to join the Catastrophists hand in hand to pursue the oblivion they know was always inevitable. Together.

They're handed brown robes because apparently this cult wants to be a giant stereotype and are led through the dimly lit hallways to a cultist with purple skin, a shaved head, and a glowing eye on his forehead.

The cultist gestures for them to sit in front of him. Armed cultists with blasters stand to the left of the Legionnaires. The wall opposing them, on the right, is blackened with blaster fire and rutted with holes, making it clear that the price of failing this test is high.

"You'll have to speak to Brother Maynard first. He's an empath. We've found telepathic screening isn't the most reliable, due to the Scipos sending undercover officers that are stronger telepaths than the ones we had working for us. But empaths can sense emotions, they can check to make sure our initiates aren't lying about what they feel, that they feel the misery and nihilistic emptiness that that we know is the ultimate truth."

They're urged to sit.

"You must open your hearts to me," says Brother Maynard. "Tell me why you've come to us. Let yourself feel why you've come to us."

Edited 2017-09-23 04:53 (UTC)

Being partnered with Widow after their last few talks is ... strange. Not uncomfortable despite knowing a little bit more about who she is and how she operates, but uneasy. He can trust her to get the job done, that much he's certain of, but they might have some fairly irreconcilable differences considering methodology.

He can't worry about it too much right now. He's made his feelings on the matter clear, and they'll cross that bridge whenever they get to it. At the moment, he's got bigger things to worry about. His disguise may be holding up, but he's not whether or not the psi-blockers are going to cover an empath probing his surface thoughts instead of a telepath.

Knowing his luck, it probably won't. He's not the greatest actor in the world - or someone who can lie worth a damn, so he tries to build his response around the truth, and hope that makes it a little more convincing than it would be otherwise.

"I just don't know where else to go." Garrus says. It was strange hearing his disguised voice - it was higher, more musical than he'd probably ever sounded in his life. Fortunately, the bitter, tired edge he was hoping for is there. "I've lost almost everything that matters to me," he glances over to the Widowmaker's disguised form, and then back to Maynard, "Being here - being with all of you - is the only thing that makes sense to me anymore."

It sounds good to his ear, but he may not be the best judge of that. It's only half the battle either way. The real test is what Maynard feels in his mind.

So he thinks back to Omega, when he found his team dead and butchered. He thinks back to the Normandy burning and falling apart around him, knowing that Shepard went down with the ship, and having Sidonis in the sights of his rifle. Everything that makes him feel worthless, and stupid, and empty inside.

Hopefully it works.

Then mission was Widowmaker's focus. She didn't care about anything else right then but getting it done and keeping her eyes on everything. It was a little harder without her visor, but by the time they were lead down to the lower level, she'd already spread her Environmental Awareness over the compound - Rimbor was a piece of shit - mapped it and had an escape route planned if all went to hell.

Which it very well might with an empath questioning them. Between Widowmaker's dulled emotions and her Apathy power, she couldn't even try to fake emotions at the man. Nothing she could say would matter if it didn't fit the void the man would find when he searched her feelings. With that being the case, she had very few options at her fingertips. So, she drew from a place she rarely went these days.

"We were happy, my husband and I," she began, eyes (disguised a light green) staring at Maynard. "Thinking about starting a family in a few years when the worse happened. His death was horrible and weighed heavy upon me. How could something so terrible happen to good people? I asked myself, what did we do to deserve this? I had been unable to stop it and I hated myself for the weakness it brought out in me."

She drew in a measured breath, mind circling about that fatal night with Gerard. She didn't remember everything that happened that night, but she recalled enough. And though she knew what it felt like, she didn't feel it any more. She couldn't, even if she wanted to.

"When he was gone, I wanted to follow him. I wanted to end it and join him. Just fade away and be granted release from the pain and the helplessness. And then one day, I realized that if this happened to me, happened to the people I knew, then there was no hope left. With that came a clarity I did not have before. Our universe has become poisoned and the only cure is to bleed it dry." She leaned a bit forward on her forearms.

"You want to know how I feel? I feel nothing. Not any more. And I would rather be here with like-minded sentients, pursuing the last remnants of a purpose than shuffling through life as an empty husk pretending everything was alright."

"I feel it yes," says Brother Maynard, holding up a hand towards Garrus, his third eye glowing bright. "You feel worthless and helpless in the face of it all. You watched the one you love die and could do nothing. You understand the bliss that nonexistence will bring."

He turns to Widowmaker and shakes his head slightly, looking at her with his jaw hanging open slightly, like a museum curator marveling over finding a lost masterpiece.

"And you - you truly do feel nothing. Such purity of thought and purpose. There are very few that I know of that have walked in through our doors already possessing such an in depth understanding of the universal truth. Your mind is already completely open to the void. It's marvelous. You're a marvel, my dear."

He stands up and nods to the guide. I need to speak with my superiors and let them know the results of your tests. We'll be back momentarily.

They're left with the two guards and this...this is part of the test, too. They'll be left there with the guards a few minutes and watched for their reactions, to see if they get nervous. Fortunately, their telepathic ear plugs and the psiblockers mean they can communicate nonverbally without being heard. Anything they say aloud is being listened to.

Garrus ... he expected the response that he got, but there goes that word 'love' again.

What surprises him more is Brother Maynard's reaction to Widowmaker. He was aware of Widowmaker's profile, her claims to being free of emotion ... but he's seen her smile, take satisfaction in things, and laugh. She hardly wore her emotion on her sleeves, but she didn't seem as hollow as she might have wanted you to believe - at least not to him.

Up until Brother Maynard looked at her like she was ready to teach the next class of Catastrophist trainees, he'd always just figured she kept a tight lid on her emotions. Now, he wasn't sure what to think. He didn't doubt that they were on the same side, but once again, his opinion of her had shifted.

Maynard exits, and they're left alone with the guards. Garrus stays relaxed in his seat, but his eyes clock the guards, their weapons.

++I figure they're going to keep us waiting for a little while. Let us sweat.++ He sent across the telepathic earpiece.

++What's our next move?++

Edited 2017-09-24 04:44 (UTC)

It seemed, for the moment, that her decision to access the depths of her Apathy and some truths from Gerard's death was going to work. She couldn't fool an empath, so she stopped pretending to have emotion, stopped putting on the facade she tended to use to make others more comfortable around her. It was just not particularly easy on her visiting those places again. Or coming back from them.

Typically, terrorist cells put their potential recruits through several trials to test their resolve. The weak, the ignorant and the plants are weeded out through this process, she telepathically thought to Garrus. Given the method of communication, her thoughts reflected her emotionless state, far far more than she ever seemed while talking. We will complete their trials and gain their confidence. One way or another.

++Should be fun.++ He doesn't do it physically, but the telepathic echo of his voice gives the impression that he'd be rolling his eyes.

A little casual given the situation? Sure, but humor was how he dealt with such things.

For one of us, she telepathically quipped back, not specifying which one of them. It was meant to be humorous, but the cold, emptiness of her thoughts obscured that.

Widowmaker glanced at the door the empath had gone through, wondering how long they were going to keep them waiting. She turned over the section of the map through that doorway in her head, just to occupy herself.

Oh, I have an extraction route already planned if needed, she thought to Garrus. It was probably appreciated information.

The guide and Brother Maynard return.

"Come," says the guide. "You're ready to move onto the next phase."

He gestures for them to follow and leads them into a room that has two hooded cultists.

"The next step is an offering of pain. To serve us and to serve the one true way of the universe you must be willing to give up everything, and that may mean giving up your lives. It may entail untold suffering. But this price is one that will bring us all closer to the oblivion we rightly deserve."

He gestures to each cultist. Both of them are wearing alarming black masks.

"Sister Ellora is a Rezmutan. She has the ability to call forth your most painful memories and bring you to the absolute heights of emotional pain and despair. Brother Rellick is a Triilk, capable of using his powers to tap into the pain centers of the brain of most sentients."

Each of the cultists nod in greeting.

"You may each choose the nature of the pain you're willing to endure, physical or mental, but you still must choose. Those who can't endure aren't fit to join our ranks."

++Good to know. Hopefully it doesn't come to that, but a back-up never hurts.++

He was about to ask for specifics when the door creaks open and Maynard re-enters and ushers them into the next room. As Brother Maynard explains the next step, he does his best to appear raptly attentive.

If they'd placed a bet, he'd owe Widowmaker a few credits.

After a moment's deliberation, he takes a step towards Sister Ellora.

"I'm ready. To prove myself."

And, for whatever it's worth, he believes that. All of his most painful memories - every failure and loss - stuck with him. They came to him in quiet moments and made him doubt himself. But, he'd had time to reflect on them. To make his peace. Some of the pain might still be fresh thanks to the Legacy dredging all of it back up, but some of his teammates had helped put things in perspective and help him be just a little less hard on himself.

And if that didn't work, whatever Ellora pulled to the front of his mind would be something he'd lived through over and over again. Nothing he could say to himself would be new.

No one should ever bet with Widowmaker. She wasn't the risk taker of Talon, being fine tuned into a weapon, and her cold logic allowed her to properly assess situations without the rush of emotion making her think she can do something she couldn't. Of course, she was an arrogant woman with a very high level of confidence.

It influenced her in this next trial as the cultists gave them a choice as to how to suffer. Widowmaker wasn't above cheating and, really, was it cheating if she used her own powers to her advantage? It was impossible to feel emotional pain when one was immune to emotional manipulation. She may as well ride that as long as she could.

She, too, nodded to Sister Ellora. "The body is but a shell. The true test is with you, Sister."

"You will go one at a time," says the guide. "You may comfort one another during the ritual, if you choose. Our paths to the end of days are not something we'll all face alone. We'll all walk together hand in hand to the peace of oblivion. "

He gestures for one of them to lay down on a soft mat in front of Sister Ellora.

Garrus nods and, in the interest of maintaining their cover, reaches out and brushes his fingers over the back of Widowmaker's hand. Then, he steps forward and eases down onto the mat. He draws in a breath, lets his eyes drift shut, and nods.

Widowmaker made herself soften her eyes a bit at that touch, a conscious effort when with someone she didn't have any attachment to, even,if she generally liked Garrus. As he laid down, she moved to kneel beside him, lightly laying a cool hand upon what was appeared to be an ankle. Turians had such odd legs, so she couldn't really equivocatr what part of his leg she was actually touching, but it worked to convey the comfort her persona was meant to give.

Sister Ellora starts and her power doesn't just draw the memories to the surface of his mind. She makes him experience them all over again, and the feelings he felt while they happened - and any negative feelings he felt after, in reflection - all pile up on each other, heightened, worse even than what he originally felt at the time.

Her powers allow her to make people experience their worst memories but also to feel their pain and life's regrets that came later, the pain of the past and present all rolled up into one.

Edited 2017-10-01 07:46 (UTC)

Sister Ellora begins and Garrus shudders.

He sees Dr. Saleon's ship escaping, captive employees in tow. He's angry, furious at the fact that this monster gets to walk away free. Saleon could change his name, work the fringes of the galaxy, and it would take years to find him again - provided anyone even cared enough to look. He felt powerless, weighed down by the badge he carried to the point that he was utterly useless. People would die because his hands were tied.

He sees the Normandy burning, and again, he feels powerless. The Normandy's weapons had been knocked out in the opening salvo - no chance to even squeeze off a single shot in retaliation. Maybe if he had been faster, he could have made a difference. Probably not - he knew that - 'what if' are the two most dangerous words in any language. What if he'd gotten that shot off? What if he'd gone with Shepard? Would she have made it out?

He sees his squadmates lying on the ground in his safehouse on Omega, their blood pooling on the ground. They were dead because of him. He knew that. If it weren't for him and his stupid crusade, they'd still be alive. He could get even. He could make the mercenaries who did it bleed. But he could never fix it. Their blood was on his hands, and he'd never be able to make things right.

He saw Sidonis down the scope of his rifle - head hung, dead inside. He'd wanted to kill this broken, pathetic man. He'd wanted it more than almost anything, but seeing him there ...? Garrus saw the truth and he knew how blinded he'd been with his own anger. Sidonis wasn't innocent, but he wasn't the traitor that Garrus had built in his mind. He didn't deserve to die, but Garrus had almost put him to death.

What was wrong with him?

Widowmaker kept her hand on Garrus when he shuddered and the play of emotions moved over the face his disguise gave him. She remained silent for a long moment before she squeezed his leg a little.

"Just let it roll off you; it is in the past and matters not. You can bear anything once you let go and stare into the void of what is to come." Her voice was quiet, perhaps not even heard in the midst of his emotional torment, but it didn't matter; she was doing her job.

She was. And he may not have heard her voice, but he felt the touch. It gave him something to focus on, and step-by-step he was able to clear his mind, finding calm in the pain. The agitated twitching stops.

"There now. There are some who would break under the weight of their past hardships. But it isn't yet time for that. We must carry on at least long enough to bring about a proper ending," says Sister Ellora. "After facing the past, are you ready, recruit, to face the end that lies in your future?"

Edited 2017-10-02 09:43 (UTC)

"I'm ready." Garrus says, sounding steadier than he probably feels as he sits up.

Widowmaker rose to her feet and offered a hand to help Garrus up. She watched the cult members out of the corner of her eye to assess their reaction as her companion recovered. It would help her calculate how much they liked the reaction Garrus gave. She was going to need to present something similar, as the emotional pain wouldn't affect her when it was her turn.

"Yes, you understand," says the guide. "Your suffering helped you see the truth, that there is only one way to end all suffering. What we ask of you is to take conviction from that truth as you join the fight beside us."

They clearly have heard and seen what they wanted to see and hear with Garrus. Their expectations from this ritual are both that their conscripts can survive hardship and that their suffering makes them further believe in the cause.

Sister Ellora gestures for Widowmaker to lay down next.

There's a part of Garrus that wants to make something resembling a witty remark - some pithy quip about how there's only one way this ends that would come off as agreement rather than the veiled threat it was ... but Sister Ellora poking around in his memories had drained him. It was an almost physical exhaustion that left him just a little slow to get to his feet and shift out of the way.

Not far though. He was sticking close to Widowmaker, playing his part and offering moral support that Amélie probably didn't need.

But then again, maybe she did. He'd never really thought that she was as completely devoid of feeling as she tried to project. The empath's read of her had put a dent in that theory, but if anything was going to get under her skin, it'd be Ellora.

Widowmaker was of the opinion she didn't need any support, but their cover was important. She held Garrus' eyes a brief moment - to check that he was mentally present - before she settled down to receive the 'pain' from Sister Ellora. She curled her hands in and then relaxed them, making herself look just the slightest bit nervous.

She wasn't. "I am ready, Sister."

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THE NINTH GATE - [modplot]

Widomaker and Garrus

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a chance for them to talk, cue an npc tag back in with a note in a comment subject when you're ready

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npcs come to us!

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Re: npcs come to us!

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