mental link, day 32

[headinjuries]

[ Sam crashed hard after the vigil, because between all the lies making him feel like he was going to puke and trying to pick them apart giving him one mother of a headache, staying awake felt like something you only do if you really hate yourself.

Do all newfound psychic powers suck this bad? He was fine with just flying and blowing things up, thanks. ]

( By the way, just figured everybody should know: Seong-Hye Ngazi is full of crap, the Public Safety Commission isn't half as gung-ho about bringing the bomber to justice as she makes it sound, and I'm like ninety percent she actually knows who did it, but that part I'm not quite positive about.

So, you know. In case anybody wanted to break into her office or stalk her or something. I hear some of you guys are actually good at the cloak and dagger stuff.

You're welcome. )

[ He can be found in the common area of the Bearings, scrolling through news reports and radiating pure frustration, if anyone would rather comment to his face instead of over the link. ]

Comments

[adamance]

( Even with the evidence, it will likely prove prudent that she will need to be compelled to move forward with the hidden information.

Are you prepared for that outcome? )

[Her trust is based on results, so she won't fault him for that. Without those results, she would never, in a million years, trust Ren or Petre with this.]

[batmotif]

(Compelling meaning what, exactly? It all depends on exactly what everyone's powers entail, and how they're going to be utilized. I'm not signing off on torture.)

[If he were to be truthful, saying this is a little hypocritical of him. The last man he "interrogated", he hung the man upside down and broke his arm, fractured a couple of his ribs. Landed him in the hospital.

But that was, as Alfred had been quick to tell him, going too far. In retrospect, that's not the kind of thing he wants to rely on, the kind of person he wants to become. Force and intimidation is one thing, cruelty is something else altogether. He still struggles with it, but being so far from home, Bruce tries to his best to remember the wisdom from that night.]

[adamance]

( We will test and train whoever we utilize to plant suggestions without breaking the person in question. That would be a poor tactic. Ren has reason to find whoever we seek. Petre wouldn't have offered if he didn't want to. ) [It's hard not to hold it over Bruce that she knows these people better than he does. She has done a great deal of the legwork, keeping an eye on things, and has put plans in motion to improve their tactical advantage so they don't fail yet again.]

( I used a harsh word. "Rip." I believe that's where you got lost. We are fighting a war. This world is just a casualty of it. )

[batmotif]

[He won't argue that she knows these hosts better than he does. He's still new to this war, still relatively new to the Nest itself. And he often has a hard time reconciling the fact that he wants to have control over the situation at hand, and his tendency to believe that he simply works better alone.

He'd be taking a risk, and he hates doing that, but he'll just have to trust Lexa on this matter. If it really just ends up being nothing more than planting suggestions, then it would be fine, even advantageous. But if she's misjudged these people, well, that would lead to more problems than necessary.]

(If that's all you plan to do, then it's fine. I don't see anything wrong with it in this case.)

[But as for this world being a casualty of war...] (Don't forget that this world is still inhabited by people. I'm sure they wouldn't agree with you calling their world collateral.)

[adamance]

( They've already suffered losses because of the catalyst. The world itself isn't lost yet, and I've rarely lost a war myself. )

[There's a sense, at least, that her drive has balanced out, and that her forcefulness has been curbed. Now, she will just have to focus on finding the means to keep Ren and Petre under control.

Well, at least she knows how to bait Petre.]

( I believe you've received an offer for help, but if you think you can find physical evidence that can help us, feel free. If we could turn up things on the extranet, we would have been able to already. ) [This is less of a judgment of Pidge's skills and more of her own preference for both Sam Anders and Angel's abilities. She trusts them despite herself, and she also knows that Sam especially has worked hard to prevent the worst end for this world.]

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[inflori]

( I could just make him let us do what we want, too. )

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[adamance]

( The Nest may hinder you. It's better not to risk it. )

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[inflori]

( I could try it on you first. )

[ <: ]

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[adamance]

( No, but it would be helpful to know if it can work. We may be able to find a willing volunteer. )

[But ha ha ha not in a million years nope.]

[inflori]

( Hah! So much for acting as a leader. How are people supposed to trust you if you won't do it yourself? )

[adamance]

( A leader doesn't drink poison to prove it works. )

[inflori]

( But you're willing to give it to your followers? Wow, Lexa, I don't think they're gonna like to hear that. )

[adamance]

( You speak as if my men haven't drank poison for me before. )

[inflori]

[ He laughs. ]

( Cool. Literally nobody here would do that for you. )

[adamance]

( I didn't expect them to. It's not the "for me" that matters here. )

[But she's pretty sure she could train Bellamy up.]

[batmotif]

[If he were a more suspicious man, he'd be quick to tell Lexa to not jinx herself so willingly. As it stands, Bruce tries to see it as proof of her competence, though it's difficult to not let it all bounce off of his outer wall of tenacity. That willful nature of his that keeps reminding him he shouldn't be so quick to trust in someone's skills, regardless of how capable they seem.

Her relenting eases this, if only a little. Truthfully, he did not need her blessing -- he keeps this to himself for now, though the doggedness defining his mental link may have already given it away.]

(I'll let you know if I find anything important.)

[adamance]

[Fortunately, they aren't in the same brood, and Lexa is careful to withhold just as much as she's unwilling to pry into someone's mind unless she's driven toward seeking out an answer. She doesn't get that indication, though she'll undoubtedly realize at another time that both she and Bruce are the type of people who see themselves as the final word on matters.

Likely sooner than later, really.]

( I look forward to it. )

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[frakkincylons]

( Kylo Ren is on the team for digging through this woman's head? )

[ And no one saw this as a bad idea? ]

( If he finds out she did anything to protect the people who killed Anakin, she'll be dead. And then we have a murder to cover up for. ) [ It took freaking everything from their brood just to stop him from massacring a building full of people when he didn't so much as have a guess at who was responsible. They can't really think it's a good idea to put him inside the mind of someone who might be holding some ounce of guilt for it. ] ( Don't send him alone. Petre doesn't frakkin' count either. )

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[adamance]

( He has access to what Sam said as much as any of us. How do you think he'll react to knowing we didn't utilize him in seeking out information? )

[There is a balance and counterbalance. It isn't that she disagrees: she just thinks it's a little more nuanced than leaving him out of everything.]

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[frakkincylons]

( He'll react like a superpowered toddler throwing a fit, but it'll be a fit at us, and he's not willing to kill any of us. )

[ not in the face of what it risks, at least. but Lexa seems to have made up her mind on it and he isn't going to fight about it. It is what it is, and she's right in that they can't keep him out of all of this. ]

( Just. Don't send him with just Petre, okay? And don't send him with anyone who hasn't handled him before. )

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[adamance]

( I would never choose to send him and Petre together. They are both far too risky. It would be one or the other, but it has to be one of them. We've been too cautious when it comes to this. )

[But that is agreement all the same. What she doesn't mention is that she's trying to figure out how to direct Ren better, and withholding opportunities seems like a ripe away of ruining the foundation she's begun to build.]

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[frakkincylons]

( In that case, I'd say Ren over Petre. He's at least less likely to act like a moron. )

[ sorry, petre, but you're a brat and you act like a brat. ren's at least somewhat predictable, and won't offend people just by opening his mouth. ]

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[adamance]

[Ren offends Lexa every time he opens his mouth, but it's less because of his social skills and more because he offends her specific sensibilities. She can at least admit that it's personal there.]

( We'll need to have Petre do something eventually. Otherwise, he may act like a moron to show us that he can do something. )

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[frakkincylons]

( You know, if they'd put 'babysitting petulant demon children' in the sales pitch for this thing, I might've told them to frak right off. )

[ there's a feeling of exasperation teamed with it, but also something of humor. yes, they have to manage petre, do damage control, etc etc. he's too old for this shit. ]

( Maybe something that involves a little bit less delicacy on his part. )

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[adamance]

( Angel will be up to the task when she awakens. ) [Blind faith, as always. But she worries less about Petre than Kylo Ren.

The latter is far more powerful and is in a brood that seems to have a loose hold on him. Petre can be redirected.]

( I'll think up something. We do have a number of plans in motion. We can make him feel important soon enough. )