driftfleet | 003 | AUDIO, fleetwide

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003 | AUDIO, fleetwide

Who: Jove Lavellan
Broadcast: fleetwide audio
Action: on that weirdass bug ship
When: NOW!!

I don't know how many of us have all been through this ship so far, but it looks as though there's still a lot of it in working order. Or it could be in working order, if we were to put forth the effort to get it that way. I think if enough of us were to work together, we might be able to see to at least turning some lights on, if not getting the thing running properly again.

The bugs are dangerous, of course, so if there are any security officers who could spare the time to come with us engineers when the time comes, I'm sure we'd all appreciate a little extra fire power. I suppose you could say this is less of a call to arms and more of a call to discussing who is willing to come along and repair a very strange alien ship. So... who's with me?

[There's a pause after that, and it could be because the audio has ended just there, until...]

And if anyone has seen a slightly grumpy bald elf, could you send him my direction?

(ooc: info on the updated bug plot can be found here!)

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That's step one, of course. Removing the bugs comes next, but it won't hurt to see who is willing and capable of trying to get the ship working.

But I get the sense you don't approve.

[There's a brief pause as he tries to sort out what he wants to say]

The bug creatures...the doctor on my ship has been researching them, and their neurological system- the system that determines a species's intelligence level? It's...far more complex than their current behaviours would suggest. It's different, but it's possibly on the same level as humans or elves in complexity. That means they should be sentient. So why are they acting like mindless drones? And then there's the part where the outside of the ship looks like a bug's cocoon....

How do we know the bugs creatures aren't the ones who sent out the distress signal?

If they did, based on the way they've attacked I don't think it's a leap to say the sent the distress signal with the intention of luring people here for less than honorable reasons. If the bugs needed help, why would they attack the people who came to rescue them?

[These are more general questions, not things she expects him to have the answers to, but they're important enough that voicing them outweighs any worry he'll take offense.]

It may be possible that if we show we are here to help they'll stop attacking whenever we get close.

But it is a leap. If they intended to ambush with a false distress signal, why would the ship be in actual disrepair? Why does the ship have no weapons? Why haven't they tried to board or attack our ships while we're in range? When the patrol groups attack, their strategy is always the same - attack, attack attack. And the ones who don't attack- they don't seem to notice your presence at all as long as you don't interfere with their work. And they certainly don't respond to any attempts to communicate.

They...don't act like a group that ambushes. They act more like they're programmed. Which doesn't make sense for a group that, biologically, should have the same level of intelligence as us.

Something's wrong here.

When put that way it almost sounds as though another party is at work here, but the scans only picked up the life signs of the bugs, didn't they? Perhaps something else was here to sabotage and send the signals, or...

[Or anything, really. At this point there's little that Jove would say Atroma wouldn't put them through for ratings, so an ambush seems just as plausible as saving this poor collection of bugs from whatever has gone wrong here.

With a sigh, she rubs at her temples.]

Using the ship at all would be something that would have to come only after we've made sure it's safe, with or without the bugs. If we can find the reason for the bugs changing their behavior, it might be possible to stop it. Either way, fixing the ship is the important priority here.

No, the important priority is figuring out the meaning of the distress signal! That's why we're here. But you're interested in is getting a new, bigger ship, aren't you?

[Which honestly, incenses Allen enough to actually get pissed off]

You can't just keep ignoring facts to suit your liking! First you got a necklace from a necromancer without crossing your mind it might be using a spirit. Which I was willing to believe it was an honest mistake- but then you killed a dragon in the very same month. Which tell me, was that an actual feral dragon or a member of the fleet? Did you even bother to check?

And now this! You're trying to find any excuse to let you steal another crew's ship! As despicable as that is morally, has it even occurred to you that if whatever went wrong could very easily go wrong again if we take that ship? Fixing that ship up to be usable won't mean a damn thing if we don't figure out why that distress signal was sent!

Tell me, how many things are you going to hurt just so you can have things to your liking?

Edited 2015-06-25 04:12 (UTC)

[Well that... certainly is a lot. And not very much of it is even wrong, if a little seen from the wrong angle. Jove is silent as Allen speaks and by the time he's finished, she's turned the video feed on so they can have this conversation face to face.

He deserves that much, after all.]

The business with Tek [His name, Tek, and not the dragon because he is a person and someone she considers a friend, even if their relationship is a strange one. But she uses his name, doesn't shrink away from how wrong she got that.] was a mistake, and it's one I admit to. I was stupid and I acted too rashly. I've spoken with him since then and he's come back to the ship, so-

[She falters a little there, because so what, exactly? It's all better because she apologized and Tek accepted it? It's not like that makes it any better in the long run. She's starting to get frustrated now, but the way she looks away for a moment should make it clear it's not Allen she's frustrated with. That's all internalized, baby.

She takes a breath and looks at him again, tries again.]

His forgiveness doesn't change the fact that I was wrong, I know that. And I'm not going to apologize for the pendant when my mistake there was trusting someone I consider to be blood, but I do regret that it ever happened.

I do think you've misunderstood me, however. It was never my intention to take this ship. I thought it would be for the best to investigate and see if we could learn what happened to the ship and how to fix it, and that we would all work together to figure out what's gone on here. It could give us a better understanding of our own ships or what Atroma has planned for us, for example. It seems foolish to not take the opportunity to learn more.

[And that last bit stings, but she's not going to respond to it when it's either an attempt to bait her or just one last stab to make her feel worse. It's worked and that's enough for her.]

[ She's been watching this the whole time, and ... hm. She's just not sure she trusts Jove's instincts as far as what to do here, both because of her own reservations in regard to the state of the ship ... and because she just seems to have a record for making bad decisions. She doesn't know what this "pendant" business is, but it sounds like there's quite a few marks that aren't in Jove's favor.

Also, you know, the last time they fucked around with creepy space ships full of nasty creatures it was probably the least fun Ino has had in her entire life.

So she'll be stepping in to back up Allen ]

Information is always plenty important, but here's the thing. If something caused the bugs to act so strangely, it was most likely an external source. Something that could affect us too, especially if we start getting involved with the actual ship. Trust me when I say it's not a good idea to screw around with that stuff.

[Allen listens to her, trying to judge how much what she says is true. Allen was an empathetic fellow, but he wasn't a trusting one. It was clear, at least, what she was saying about Tek (Tek was the dragon? Jeez. Did anyone tell the truth on their medical forms?) seems to be quite sincere]

[As for the latter part...well, he's glad Ino chimes in when she does. It gives him something to focus on. A direction to go instead of heading into the land of distrust. Sure, maybe he'll address the Tek portion in the moment, but for now...]

Ino's right. We've both seen firsthand how these situations can go very badly. Any information that this could give us about Atroma or our ships wouldn't be worth that. [And honestly, he's not sure he completely believes it's just information she wants. But he chooses not to voice that doubt]

We should look into the bug creatures first. There are several gifted medical personnel examining dead specimen as we speak. If there is evidence of something affecting them, we should look into what is doing it and make sure it won't has a chance of affecting us. If there isn't evidence of something changed, we look for the source of the distress signal and see if it is a fake, or if there's still something we could do to help.

Then you can look into information about Atroma.

Edited 2015-06-25 12:44 (UTC)

[Any information that this could give us about Atroma or our ships wouldn't be worth that. She doesn't agree, disagrees entirely in fact, because that seems grossly wasteful to her. What if inspecting the ships gave them locations, ways to break free of the pull of the Marsiva, a way to return to their own worlds? That would be worth the attempt, wouldn't it? It seems foolish to see that possibility and let it slide past because of uncertainty.

But it isn't as though the both of them have no valid points. There may be a time frame they're working on, it's entirely likely they'll lose the chance to do anything of worth with the ship if they don't do it now, but if so many are so fearful ignoring them would only be worse in the long run.

And it isn't only her decision, she never wanted it to be, if these two think she's the only one listening she can't just let their suggestions go unanswered.]

I am sorry for the things you've suffered to give you this knowledge, both of you. I can promise that, for my part, what you've said will be heeded. There are others who may not agree, of course, but I suppose we'll deal with that if it comes up.

[She feels very much like the Inquisitor now, less Jove than she has been in months, but perhaps that's the way to do things here if she expects to make headway. And if she is going to operate as the Inquisitor, perhaps she needs more advisors.]

Both of you have a great deal of knowledge that the time I come from simply hasn't gotten to yet. I would be grateful if you would continue helping like this. If we work together things will go much faster.

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003 | AUDIO, fleetwide

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