Inwardly Jane cursed, following the blond head in front of her. Of course she had landed on a planet that was living in the dark ages, because ending up somewhere normal would simply be too much to ask for, wouldn't it? Alistair was apparently the genuine article when it came to stupid knights in shining armor. Normally, if someone had told her they hadn't a clue what an Omni-tool was, Jane would have called their bullshit and introduced them to the choice end of her shotgun. But when Alistair had stared up at her, his brown eyes wide… She shook her head in annoyance, leaping nimbly around a fallen log. Well, she had believed him to say the least. Could such a thing even be possible? A planet so cut off from Earth after colonization to have reverted this much, or maybe this had once been one of those extremist colonies found in outlying systems? Jane remembered clearly news stories of "purest" colonists setting off into the depths of space, determined to live as humans "should". She snorted incredulously. If fighting giant horned creatures with sticks was the trade off, these people may have wanted to pick a different spot.
Well, she reflected, at least its inhabitants were easy to figure out. She regarded Alistair's shield and sword as they swung on his back, the strength of his shoulders beneath the heavy silver plate. Most people wouldn't have stayed with someone who threatened them bodily harm, especially when they were spouting apparently crazy things. Jane had been sure her savior had been about to abandon her in the woods, but she had simpered and batted her eyelashes, and suddenly she was on her way to his camp. Inwardly she cringed. She hadn't had to play that particular game since she'd signed on with the Alliance. It left a bad taste in her mouth, playing the helpless damsel.
"How far away are we Alistair?" she asked. Since their little confrontation in the woods, he had been completely focused on pressing forward. He alternated between staring at her, and muttering under his breath, dodging and hacking through bushes in quick strides. Jane was pretty sure she'd caught the words "demon" and "apostate" quite a few times in his musings, and something about someone named Aiden taking his head off.
"Oh, um, not too far now." He halted next to her. "See that rise straight ahead?" he pointed through the trees to a small hill some distance away. "It's just behind there." Nervously he shifted next to her, staring down at her armor with trepidation.
Jane followed his gaze from where it rested on her shotgun, noting the way he twitched when she turned to face him. Reaching up she rested her hand on his shoulder, trying to bring out her "comforting commander voice" as Tali called it. "Listen, thank you for doing this." Jane tilted her head, lowering her voice slightly. "I really am out of the loop here, and I know you have no reason to trust me."
"Yes well, as long as you keep your word about the whole, let's not attack people thing, no problem." He shrugged, abruptly grinning at her, "Aiden is always going on about how we need help defeating this Blight." Alistair lifted a hand ticking off on his fingers. "Let's see, he's recruited a murderous golem, a rude witch, a crazy qunari, an assassin who tried to kill us…" He regarded her in mock inquiry. "Compared to them, you seem like a normal walk in the park my dear." Jane quirked an eyebrow at him. "Not to say that I think you're particularly murderous or rude!" He shook his head vehemently, waving his hands around jerkily. "I just meant we have weirder people around, not that you aren't strange with the whole flying thing! And strange can be good! Not bad! Ummmm." He abruptly slammed his mouth shut, staring at her in embarrassment. "Right." They stared at each other awkwardly, his face slowly turning an alarming shade of red. "Anyway, let press on, shall we? I think I'm quite tired of the taste of my own foot." Alistair spun around, ears flaming and quickly trudged through the tree line.
Jane chuckled, racing after him. Flying thing? So descriptive. "You said you needed help?"
Alistair paused glancing at her in confusion.
"You mentioned a Blight? Does that have something to do with those creatures we encountered?"
"Ah, yes, that." He stared up at the sky, raking a hand through his hair. "I think it's best to discuss that once we're nice and settled in at camp." He leaned forward, "You can explain the whole strange armor thing, and I'll tell you every sordid detail about darkspawn you could ever hope to know!"
Jane smiled slightly and nodded, gesturing for him to take the lead.
The two of them moved quickly through the remainder of the forest, cresting over the hills peak. Below them stretched a dirt road, winding along the country side, a single stone bridge branching across the valley beside it. Off to the side a plume of smoke rose into the air, concealed by a circle of trees. With a swing of his arm Alistair gestured gallantly, "The Imperial Highway, and that over there is camp, milady."
With a gentle tug he guided her through the remaining trees towards the circle of smoke and light, stopping occasionally to move around certain areas. At Jane's inquisitive look he flushed slightly. "We set up traps around the perimeter of the camp at night. Gives us a nice bit of extra security." He grinned, "I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've managed to set the damn things off when making my way in the dark. Its horribly embarrassing having people come running to find you trapped, swinging under a tree in your small clothes."
"You seem to end up in traps a lot, don't you Alistair?" A new voice called out. Jane whipped around, biotics flaring across her skin, lighting the surrounding area in a ripple of blue.
Alistair quickly reached out, snagging the collar of her armor in a firm grip. "Whoa there!" he rumbled. She turned to stare up at him questioningly. "Aiden, maybe it would be best if you came and introduced yourself to the lady instead of lurking in the bushes." he called out.
With a huff a man slowly made his way around the tree in front of them, holding a bow aimed directly for her head. He regarded her quietly, with blue eyes the color of ice, hair so dark it blended with the encroaching shadows of night. His finely tooled armor stretched across his broad shoulders and narrow waist, highlighting the quiver and daggers strapped to his back. It was styled the same as Alistair's, silver plates intersecting the blue and white stripped material of his tunic, a griffon etched across his breastplate. "Made a friend Alistair? She puts on quite the light show, doesn't she?" Jane glared, dampening the buzz of the eezo nodes in her skin.
Next to her Alistair chuckled nervously, "You have no idea." With a cough he drew himself to his full height. "Aiden, this is Jane. She helped me out of a tight spot back in the forest, flew in and plucked me from harm's way, quite literally." He smiled down at her.
Aiden straightened from his defensive position, lowering his bow. "You had us worried, running off into the forest with all those darkspawn on your tail." He turned to stare at Jane. "I've never seen clothing such as yours milady." He moved closer, his hand fingering the arrow notched in his bow. "Or that insignia." He gestured to the N7 badge on her breastplate. "Mercenary's mark?"
"Military." She turned and regarded him coolly. Unlike Alistair, who fell for sweet charms and helpless damsels, this Aiden was far more suspicious. His eyes were devoid of any of Alistair's trusting warmth, they were blank ice chips, set against the dark circles ringing his eyes.
"Military?" He raised his bow again. "Loghains kind?"
Alistair was between the two of them in a flash, pushing Jane behind him. "Not Loghains, Aiden. In fact, I don't really think she's from around here at all, but I believe she can help us. And we can't really turn down allies at the moment can we?"
Aiden's face twisted in a snarl, the weapon in his hand shaking slightly. "Can we really risk such speculation Alistair?" He stared the big warrior down, fingers curling around the shaft of his notched arrow.
Jane subtly reached up and looped her hand around Alistair's belt, prepared to fling him out line of fire should she need to. Her shields could take a hit far more than his unprotected head.
"She's no spy, Aiden." Alistair held his hands out beseechingly, "I swear."
Aiden straightened, staring at his fellow companion. "Fine, she can come if you're so sure." He holstered his weapon, slinging the bow over his shoulder. "But should she prove false, the blame lies with you." With that he turned, trudging into the trees he'd come from.
Alistair released his breath slowly, body relaxing beneath his armor. "Well, that actually went better than I expected." He turned to smile at her shakily.
Jane stared up at him aghast. "Is he your commanding officer?" Silently she unclenched her fingers from their death grip against his waist.
"Ah, that's kind of complicated."
"Complicated?"
He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Very." He started forward after Aiden, "Come Jane, we have passed his approval for now. I promise I'll explain everything as soon as we get settled."
