We can't be certain. But, we strongly suspect it had something to do with the death in Minte and Kylo Ren's-- [a thoughtful hum] --less than diplomatic approach to trade.
[She draws another card. Unlucky, she thinks, then sighs and begins to sweep up the rows of face up cards. Scratch. She sorts them back into the shape of a deck and begins to shuffle.]
Let us be clear: we aren't disappointed in you. We are pleased with the results of this mission. [In more than one sense - Adam Parker was a disease waiting to be unleashed in the Station, but she can't say such a thing to anyone except perhaps The Prince. It would be an unwelcome sentiment to most others for any number of reasons, but mostly it would be dangerous to say aloud given the temperament of so many of the young hosts presently. Perhaps someone would take it as an excuse to do some judicious pruning of their own.] But we would also prefer if no one died next time. Call us sentimental, but it is--... difficult.
[ Steve didn't know Parker all that well, only that the guy had been determined to go home more than anything.
His mouth snaps shut and he goes inward for a minute, verbally silent. Behind his young mental walls is a different story. The guardians' disappointment, had it been that way, wouldn't matter. He was the one that was there, he should have been able to stop Ren. Anger at his broodmate flares again, along with his own shared blame. But he doesn't wallow in either emotion. Steve's a well-oiled machine when it comes to using loss and defeat to move forward. It's part of how he's lived this long.
And, more than that, he doesn't want to see anyone else die either.
He shifts, finally breaking his silence: ]
He doesn't think he did anything wrong. [ Played it as protecting them, to a degree. A shake of his head. ] But he cares what you think.
[ It was only when Hux mentioned Cathaway that Ren stopped his chase. ]
[It's like observing fish eddying under cloudied water: the silver scale flash of his anger or frustration, the dark shape of something sobering like guilt there and then invisible again to the naked eye. She is patience, quiet, and for the length of time that he says nothing she does nothing but resort and shuffle the deck of oddly shaped cards. There is the hiss of their thin plastic backing moving against one another, the faint chime of the charms at her wrists, and little else.
The Station is so still.]
Yes. We are aware and have plans to make our expectations more clear to him. We worry more about what will happen when we aren't present to remind him of his duty, or when The Prince isn't there to stay the hand of certain young hosts who don't know any better. [She cuts the deck. Shuffles. Regards him thoughtfully.] What of Ilde?
[ Getting Ren to respect him is going to be an uphill battle. That alone isn't enough to deter Steve. He just needs a better plan, and right now he's coming up blank.
At the mention of Ilde his expression goes guarded. ]
We are concerned she feels no obligation to anything but her brood.
[Not an inherently bad thing, everything considered, but clearly it could develop into problematic situations. She cuts the deck and shuffles once more for the sake of being thorough, then squares the deck in it's entirety. A pause.]
Perhaps it will change in time, but there will be places where you go that violence - even justified kinds - will be dangerous. Untenable, even.
[ Ilde had admitted almost the same thing. He doesn't believe it.
His eyes follow the cards again. ]
How's it decided when we'll be sent out? [ To places like that. Real missions. Was it her and the Prince, other guardians deeper in the Nest? The parts of him that need to keep moving and fighting are partially tempered by their loss, the reminder that they're not nearly ready to face the creatures that chased them here. ]
[She blinks and seems surprised by the question. Strange; it's not one she would've predicted. That said in a moment the startled look has slipped from her features, sublimated into whatever great thing moves behind them. She draws her first card.]
We are informed. It's difficult to explain, but we feel it at the appropriate time and junction. Then we use the Station's systems to parse the information. It comes from somewhere deeper, but we aren't close enough to name its source for certain.
[There's something...uncomfortable in it, something about the lack of data that disturbs her. But that's the way it is; it's the way it always has been; if she wished to know an answer to such a question, it would require more of her than she can give if her place here is to be maintained.]
We know that it is part of us. [She shakes her head and places the first card face up, then draws another.] But whether host or symbiote or something beyond, we can't say for certain. We realize this is unsettling, just as we know there is a possibility for...
[A hesitation. Cathaway frowns; she draws a second card and makes a small course correction.]
[ Unsettling is a word for it. He watches her, eyes narrowing, and settles his hand palm down over the cards she's drawn, to stop her from placing another. ]
People fighting on the same side shouldn't have to hide from each other in the shadows. [ Fact. ] And there's always another alternative.
[ If it's necessary. He believes that in the same way he believes Ilde can be better. ]
[It's sentiment she's heard before. A thought she's had, a consideration of the Prince's too. Cathaway gives his hand on the deck of cards a flat look, her mouth thinning, and then she raises her eyes back to him.]
If you have a better strategy, we aren't against pursuing it. We are not a commander, we are a guiding hand. This is merely what we know and understand.
[ He doesn't have a better strategy yet. He doesn't even know yet if this is the wrong one. That's the trouble with not knowing who you're working for. All he knows is he doesn't like it.
He holds her gaze and lets his hand falls away from the deck. ]
We'll be available to you for the duration of your time on the Station, but the next time you leave here it will be in the name of real service. Avera 9 was merely an outing organized by The Prince and us for your benefit; when you go to do proper work, we will have to stay here.
[There is a hum from her, a crawling sensation across the link between them. It is an unpleasant reality - though traveling with them might mean superior numbers, better mission results simply due to hers and the Prince's experience, the consensus can't deny the danger of it. As they are the only ones capable of operating the Station at this time, of overseeing the hatch of new hosts, to accompany them would be a ludicrous risk - utterly unjustifiable.]
We hope it won't be for many cycles yet, but can guarantee nothing. However, it's unlikely you'll be wholly alone wherever you go. If it's a difficult situation, it may come to pass that there are other agents on the ground with you.
[There, a small barrier in him. She feels it like a gauzy cloth stretched between them, all the light of him coming through the weft of it but a layer of remove nonetheless.]
We believe so. This is, after all, Station number seventy-two.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[She draws another card. Unlucky, she thinks, then sighs and begins to sweep up the rows of face up cards. Scratch. She sorts them back into the shape of a deck and begins to shuffle.]
Let us be clear: we aren't disappointed in you. We are pleased with the results of this mission. [In more than one sense - Adam Parker was a disease waiting to be unleashed in the Station, but she can't say such a thing to anyone except perhaps The Prince. It would be an unwelcome sentiment to most others for any number of reasons, but mostly it would be dangerous to say aloud given the temperament of so many of the young hosts presently. Perhaps someone would take it as an excuse to do some judicious pruning of their own.] But we would also prefer if no one died next time. Call us sentimental, but it is--... difficult.
[She means that too, strangely enough.]
no subject
His mouth snaps shut and he goes inward for a minute, verbally silent. Behind his young mental walls is a different story. The guardians' disappointment, had it been that way, wouldn't matter. He was the one that was there, he should have been able to stop Ren. Anger at his broodmate flares again, along with his own shared blame. But he doesn't wallow in either emotion. Steve's a well-oiled machine when it comes to using loss and defeat to move forward. It's part of how he's lived this long.
And, more than that, he doesn't want to see anyone else die either.
He shifts, finally breaking his silence: ]
He doesn't think he did anything wrong. [ Played it as protecting them, to a degree. A shake of his head. ] But he cares what you think.
[ It was only when Hux mentioned Cathaway that Ren stopped his chase. ]
no subject
The Station is so still.]
Yes. We are aware and have plans to make our expectations more clear to him. We worry more about what will happen when we aren't present to remind him of his duty, or when The Prince isn't there to stay the hand of certain young hosts who don't know any better. [She cuts the deck. Shuffles. Regards him thoughtfully.] What of Ilde?
no subject
At the mention of Ilde his expression goes guarded. ]
What about her?
[ He knows what she did. ]
no subject
[Not an inherently bad thing, everything considered, but clearly it could develop into problematic situations. She cuts the deck and shuffles once more for the sake of being thorough, then squares the deck in it's entirety. A pause.]
Perhaps it will change in time, but there will be places where you go that violence - even justified kinds - will be dangerous. Untenable, even.
no subject
His eyes follow the cards again. ]
How's it decided when we'll be sent out? [ To places like that. Real missions. Was it her and the Prince, other guardians deeper in the Nest? The parts of him that need to keep moving and fighting are partially tempered by their loss, the reminder that they're not nearly ready to face the creatures that chased them here. ]
no subject
We are informed. It's difficult to explain, but we feel it at the appropriate time and junction. Then we use the Station's systems to parse the information. It comes from somewhere deeper, but we aren't close enough to name its source for certain.
[There's something...uncomfortable in it, something about the lack of data that disturbs her. But that's the way it is; it's the way it always has been; if she wished to know an answer to such a question, it would require more of her than she can give if her place here is to be maintained.]
no subject
You really don't know where your orders come down from?
[ From who? ]
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[A hesitation. Cathaway frowns; she draws a second card and makes a small course correction.]
To be misguided. But we see no alternative.
no subject
People fighting on the same side shouldn't have to hide from each other in the shadows. [ Fact. ] And there's always another alternative.
[ If it's necessary. He believes that in the same way he believes Ilde can be better. ]
no subject
If you have a better strategy, we aren't against pursuing it. We are not a commander, we are a guiding hand. This is merely what we know and understand.
no subject
He holds her gaze and lets his hand falls away from the deck. ]
How long will we have you both here to guide us?
no subject
[There is a hum from her, a crawling sensation across the link between them. It is an unpleasant reality - though traveling with them might mean superior numbers, better mission results simply due to hers and the Prince's experience, the consensus can't deny the danger of it. As they are the only ones capable of operating the Station at this time, of overseeing the hatch of new hosts, to accompany them would be a ludicrous risk - utterly unjustifiable.]
We hope it won't be for many cycles yet, but can guarantee nothing. However, it's unlikely you'll be wholly alone wherever you go. If it's a difficult situation, it may come to pass that there are other agents on the ground with you.
no subject
Other agents, from other Stations? [ Has she been to other Stations? ]
no subject
We believe so. This is, after all, Station number seventy-two.