[backdated to day 44: mental link]

[adamance]

[Withholding information had not been Lexa's goal, but she had wanted to thoroughly research what she could before she brought it to the rest of the Nest. For that reason, Lexa has been busy, but has been careful not to reveal what she has in hand until she's ready. Even as she prepares to speak to the Nest, she's not completely prepared, and there's a sense of agitation over this.

By now, she already knows the results of them following Ven, but they haven't yet received the information they require. Why they didn't take the opportunity is bothersome in and of itself, but there is little that she can change about that. It's about moving forward, and it's not as if she has the fullest degree of faith in the Nest. Nothing changes that.]

( Today, I'd like to speak to you all about the results of our meeting with Mind Life. The conversations we had prior to this meeting with the hacker group that privately contacted us may have been accurate on this front. ) [She deliberates revealing what she told them about their goals, but decides against it: Mind Life's desperation to remain stagnant and inactive is worrisome, to say the least.] ( They have their hearts in the right place, but not their minds. I'd say it's ironic given the name of their organization, but not surprising. They prefer passive communication over action. Their idealism may be worthwhile, but they have little help to offer because they refuse to make a show of any aggression.

As a result, our only boon from them is a list of people who they deem trustworthy. Or untrustworthy. Unsurprisingly, Saffit is on the list of unsavory individuals. She doubts that even the untrustworthy men could be behind the bombings, but we may come to see her perspective as one of denial given her unwillingness to act.

I've done the beginning search into many of the other individuals named, but I cannot be as thorough as any of our technical people. Trust that I will not be handing over this list lightly, and that the contents of it will not be available to everyone in the Nest. I would rather prevent any reactionary behavior as a result of what Sheena Frey chose to write down. ) [If anything, she refuses to share everything on the list with the Nest. She may give names, or an idea of whether or not someone is on the list, but she doesn't want any of the Hosts to set out on a crusade.

Especially when she can barely trust Sheena's judgment.]

Comments

[nirsighted]

[No words filter through - not new ones anyway. Under the garbled, crumbling footing sense of fear there's an echo of a not so distant memory: that first real conversation they'd had in the low light of the late night common room, the glitter of some holographic game device between them. They'd talked about this before, hadn't they? About how keeping information secret could be dangerous.

It makes him nervous.]

[adamance]

[There is a sense that she disagrees—that this is different, with different machinations. Not meant to be widespread, but limited, turned into something else because of the responses of those at hand. She can't conclude much else, only what she can see for now.

And what she sees may be through a tunnel, blind to everything around her, but she's not so blind to the consequences of her actions here.]

[nirsighted]

[A matched sense, sharp like a fish hook's barb slashing into tender, young flesh: a distant memory of being a boy and standing in the belly of a small boat, hauling net end over end and feeling the bodies of animals wriggling like a mass under the knots of the rope. Fingers coming away from the effort bloody.

She's very young, isn't she? She'll learn. That scares him.]

[adamance]

[The image is one that reminds her of Luna and her society, of her pacifistic ideal, of a distant world that is both allied with hers and not (because there is an agreement to make no attempt to attack).

Lexa still views it as different, as toeing a line that is only reasonable, and that they are giving too much deference to those who need less. But she doesn't push, doesn't shove at the metaphor, because she has a scar across the inside of her hand from a fight fought not long ago, of grabbing a literal sword by the blade and coming away bloody.

She knows the dangers of pushing her agenda, but that is why she is reluctant to relent.]

[nirsighted]

[Blood on his fingers. Blood on her fingers. Blood spreading. A cut - maybe scar on her hand opening then growing larger and larger and larger.

The red hot buzz of Nirad's mental link withdraws with a snap.]