animus_network | [Text] [Locked selectively (see OOC text) and Hackable]

[Text] [Locked selectively (see OOC text) and Hackable]

[OOC: This post is locked to each individual that Signless has ever met or spoken to, even for a short time. He also has locked it to each of the rest of the trolls, and anyone he's ever seen talking on networks. Basically, while it is locked, if you want your character to see it, you can assume Signless has seen you posting around. Or you're welcome to hack it, because Signless is pretty shitty with computers, anyway.

He's trying to make it open to as many of the prisoners as possible in the tower, without leaving it open to the administrators of the tower - though with his current paranoia, he's pretty sure that they'll find out, from the spies who will certainly see it]

ALL RIGHT, ALL OF YOU FUCKASSES LISTEN UP.
TODAY WE GOT OUR MISSING FRIENDS AND COMRADES BACK, AND FOUND THEM HORRIBLY CHANGED.
OUR FRIENDS WERE TORTURED AND EXPERIMENTED ON BY EVIL PEOPLE, AND TURNED INTO MONSTERS. DON'T SAY IT ISN'T TRUE, BECAUSE YOU ALL KNOW THAT IT IS.
NOT ONLY THAT, BUT WE RECEIVED NOTES TODAY INFORMING US THAT IT ISN'T JUST THESE UNFORTUNATE *FIRST VICTIMS* BUT ALL OF US WHO ARE PART OF THIS EXPERIMENT.
AS IF WE DIDN'T ALREADY KNOW THAT.

THE TIME HAS COME TO TO ACCEPT THAT THIS IS NO REFUGEE CAMP.
MAYBE OUR WORLDS ARE DESTROYED, MAYBE NOT, BUT THAT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER, ANYMORE.
ARE WE GOING TO SIT BY AND WAIT WHILE WE'RE TAKEN ONE BY ONE, HAVE OUR HORNS SHORN OFF AND OUR BODIES CORRUPTED FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT OF A BUNCH OF PSYCHOTIC SCIENTISTS?
I SAY, NO.

THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE HERE, WITH DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES - MAGICAL AND OTHERWISE.
WE NEED TO COME TOGETHER, PUT ASIDE OUR DIFFERENCES, AND WORK TO FIND THE PEOPLE WHO'VE BROUGHT US HERE AND DESTROY THEM.
IF WE HAVE TO STAY IN THE TOWER FOREVER BECAUSE THERE'S NOWHERE FOR US TO GO, SO BE IT.
BUT WE WON'T BE PUPPETS, DANCING AND SHAKING OUR PLUSH RUMPS FOR THEIR AMUSEMENT.
I KNOW THIS POST WILL PROBABLY ATTRACT THEIR ATTENTION TOWARDS ME, BUT I'M WILLING TO ACCEPT THAT RISK.
IF THEY TAKE ME NEXT, PLEASE, ALL I ASK IS THAT YOU MEET WITH ONE ANOTHER, IN PERSON, IN SECRET IF YOU CAN, AND TRY TO FIND A WAY TO FIND ME.
LET'S WORK TOGETHER, ALL OF US, ALIEN AND TROLL, LOWBLOOD AND HIGH, TO STOP THESE PEOPLE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And what would I have to fear exactly? That's quite presumptuous of you.

[Now she's just arguing for the sake of arguing, but his attitude causes her to tilt her head a bit in curiosity.]

At least you acknowledge that much.

[He knows she's trolling, and he's sick of it.]

So all that being said. If you stopped fucking around, you said I would have to humble myself. So what is it you want from me?

Nothing.

If my rule is what you want, then I'll give it to you.

[Well, when you put it like that, he hates the idea. But he can't help thinking that he needs help.]

And I'm second in command.

[She can't hold in the laugh this time, sorry Signless. It's actually a rather feminine giggle, completely uncontrolled.]

[He can't say he didn't expect it. He only stares at her]

Listen to me, Condesce. You have the blood and the experience, but I have the army. You have Dualscar, and maybe one wriggler. No one else here, that I'm aware of, has any reason to follow you.

[The comment on her blood actually gives her pause, glancing at him a bit suspiciously. Her answer is plain and dry -- fact, rather than insult.]

You won't have my best warrior if you're going to try and seat yourself higher than him.

He'll do whatever you order him to do, and you know it. [And oh fuck is he going to love seeing Dualscar's face. He takes a step towards her, drawing a little too close.] I'll follow you, Condesce, so long as I believe our interests are aligned and that doing so is likely to save more lives than not doing it.

But I am not bowing to your barkbeast, too. Go ahead and tell him we're equals. Your two advisers. Whatever you have to fucking tell him, this is the deal.

[Rolling her eyes, and then wrinkling her nose when he steps into her personal bubble before waving him off arrogantly.]

I'm not mediating between the two of you, so if that's what you'd like, you're going to deal with whatever tantrum he decides to throw. Other than that, I can't say I care.

[Now it's Signless' turn to laugh, and he doesn't back off.] I couldn't be less interested in pailing your pet fish. Do we have a deal or not?

[Sneering.]

For now.

[He smiles and steps back, but not because he's backing off. He bows, a little too theatrically - he's never done it before, what the fuck does he know how you greet a real Empress? - and then straightens]

Thank you, Your Highness.

[This could have gone a lot worse. He was prepared to give up something more than this, but he's glad. She's probably scared, too, he figures. Really, she was just waiting for an excuse]

Edited 2011-10-12 04:42 (UTC)

[She watches the gesture impassively, eyelids lowering slightly. Well, he made an effort, that's something, but she's still pretty unamused by the whole thing.]

I suggest you save your thanks. This is only temporary.

[He flashes her a grin]

That's the way I want it.

[So he shifts now, moving to sit in a chair at a nearby console and bringing up the conversations he's been having on the screen]

We've got a couple of ideas going so far. One is to try to find how they're watching us. Another is to try to figure out what it is about that big open level with no walls that cancels out flying powers. The third is to try to rappel down, either below the service elevator we can't use, or outside the tower. My theory is that our captors use levels in the tower below the cafeteria level.

A couple of people have offered various skills to the cause. The one I see as being most useful right now is a kid who claims to be an alchemist. He can apparently create any object, using other objects, through some kind of magic, instantly.

If you're going to rappel down, I'd suggest someone who is accustomed to climbing without assistance, should something go wrong.

[She turns to stare at the monitor, speaking in a low monotone.]

Are any of the latest victims aware of where their surgery took place? They all seemed to be awake through it.

Problem is, they have the ability to turn off powers. Psi said he was awake during the surgery, but he couldn't fight back, from the moment they came to take him. So being able to fly could result in a quick, messy death if you rely on it.

[Headshake] They don't know where. They were knocked out and transported. It could be a few feet below the cafeteria, or an entirely different building. The surgery was done by robotic drones. No interaction with our captors at all, for the whole thing.

Perhaps just a good climber, then. Assuming there are windows that low.

[Her brow furrows in thought.]

I would be at loathe to leave this in the hands of a wriggler, but perhaps they can stow themselves away with one of the native staff wandering about the Tower. I'm not entirely certain they make use of the inaccessible elevator.

And I do so doubt that ... [There's a long pause. She can't quite bring herself to call Psiioniic by his calling, so she simply shakes her head and continues with her statement using different words.] ... anyone with measurable psychic ability could pry the doors open.

Unless nobody has truly attempted yet, to which I would cry stupidity.

Yeah, a good climber. [He's thinking hard and sort of getting excited. He grins up at her] There's someone who can walk through walls. Think we can make use of that?

You've seen staff wandering the tower? Living people? Maybe we should start by talking to them.

I know for a fact they've tried and failed. Force won't do it, though I don't think Psi's tried himself.

[She's still not smiling, though whether its because she's working with Signless or its because she's thinking is unclear.]

Perhaps they should try walking through the elevator, first.

They don't talk very much. That would be far too easy.

Yeah, I was thinking we could organize a small strike team. Some good climbers, with harnesses, and some other skills. Get some cutting tools and other useful things from the alchemist, and try to get into the elevator, then either operate it or sabotage it and climb the shaft. The one who can walk through walls could try to get in and open it from the inside.

[The part of him that's really pissed off about Psiioniic wants to say "maybe they'll talk if we make them" but he doesn't advocate torture, so he thinks a little harder]

Yeah, it would be too easy. I wonder what they'd do if we held one of them captive for a bit, maybe made noises about hurting them. Their staff could be more important than their prisoners, even if death isn't permanent.

That doesn't sound all that far-fetched.

[Now she's grinning.]

If it were a manner of making them talk, that wouldn't be difficult, but speaking from personal experience, conversational speech seems to be physically beyond them.

Conditioned, even.

Glad you agree. [He's still grinning. This is almost fun] I'll put a team together.

[He sobers, but isn't surprised by her words. Maybe she's trying to hurt him with them, but he's thinking about those people, not about Psi and what she did to his moirail.]

Even if they're just slaves to these assholes, maybe they won't want them captured and held. It could prompt a response from their handlers.

[She looks at him down the bridge of her nose, in her typical condescending fashion. She didn't get that title from nowhere, after all.]

Your own beliefs are clouding your judgment, boy. They'll take a handful of their so-called refugees and dismember or disfigure them, and you think they would lose sleep over a couple of mindless peons with not an original thought in their pan.

Use your own thinkpan, will you?

[He scowls] I know that. But we don't know for sure. For all we know, they think of us as animals, because we're not one of THEM. But if the rat in the cage kidnaps one of your interns and holds him hostage, you'll start wondering what's going on with the rat, even if you don't give two shits about the intern.

All I'm saying is, kidnapping a few of the staff might tell us something about their attitude, regardless of whether they react or not. If we kidnap enough of them, maybe they'll take notice.

[Her expression hardens a bit. She knew this was a bad idea.]

And it will also be a waste of time, not to mention the possibility of damage to our own forces if they decide to retaliate once they take notice of what's been done. We do not have the element of surprise. They do.

They know very well what we're capable of. That is why they didn't take chances and halted their victims from striking back in terms of psionics, strength, and confidence. They simply proceeded.

[She pauses for a minute and folds her arms, looking at Signless a little more plainly.]

I recall you asking for my leadership, did you not?

[Text] [Locked selectively (see OOC text) and Hackable]

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[Action] WOW, somehow this tag ended up at the bottom of the entry???

[Action] Weird!

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