The Galactic War: Rogue Element ~The Beginning

[Terenia]

"You're not alone," Keslin says, as firmly as he can, swallowing back the lump of emotion. "You don't have to do this alone, alright? The pirates are more likely to listen to me anyhow, no offense. I just...I need to see Tess. And...and James." He swallows again, his eyes misting over. "We'll meet," he says. "Let me get some sleep, and then we'll meet."


Efaen watches the ship's various holoscreens, waiting until it appears as though all of the systems have come online. Then she sends the order for the lift-off sequence to begin, letting her hands find the manual control sticks. They feel strange in her Andalite hands, even though they are clearly built for them.

<Like this?> she asks, looking to him for approval. Her thoughts are interrupted by those of Claxter, invading the ship. Her small smile fades, expression shifting to one of curiosity and vague annoyance. She returns her attention to the viewscreen. her frown deepens as Eleric exits the ship, but she says nothing, focusing on learning to control the simulated ship.


"I'm talking about both of you," Terenia says gruffly, dropping her eyes to her knees. "I don't give a **** if you're a Yeerk or not. You tried to kill me. You tried to kill people I care about, and more than once." Her eyebrows raise a little as she lifts her gaze to Keshin's. "And you look like you can barely stand up straight. You're a liability."

[Chad32]

<Higher? You know I thought about joking that we'd have to put you on there all the time since you kind of passed, but i didn't want to stress you out, and you wonder if there's a higher one? You're a wild one, aren't you?> Claxter said. He was glad Aetheas had stuck around.

He waited for Eleric to respond. Hopefully he understood and wouldn't have questions, but just giving an order and walking off was a bit rude.

[Shenmue654]

Keshin and Joanne, as if for the first time, notice exactly how ill they really look. They're used to simply plugging on through this state regardless of how they feel---it's the life of a turelek. Yet they've been leaning on various surfaces with Joanne's arm and their posture is sagging.

<Hey, Kess. It's time. There's no way we can do this forever.>

<Yeah, I know. Unfortunate.>

Keshin then rifles around in Joanne's jumpsuit pockets with some consternation and retrieves a peculiar colorless liquid inside a syringe. There isn't much there at all. Keshin rolls up Joanne's jumpsuit sleeve to reveal an admittedly pockmarked left arm and hunts for a vein to use, which he then inserts the syringe into expertly. They have the poise of an old-school diabetic and barely flinch.

When finished, Keshin looks at Terenia again and states, "....satisfied now? When it takes effect, that'll give us about four days to a week of competency for you. The Rebellion does not have the option right now of picking and choosing who fights for it, Terenia. I am one of the only Yeerks on the entire ship right now who isn't compromised by grief. If you won't work with us, you can stay behind---- but I would rather you grew up."

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Eleric's expression shifts from neutral to confused as Claxter mentions disarming the fighter's Z-Drive capabilities.  <Why would she...?  I'm teaching her because she's interested in re-learning how to pilot after what those over-zealous Yeerks did, and I'm one of the best pilots in the military.  Prince Commander Enorryma is much too busy at the moment to be giving lessons, so I'm overwhelmingly the best choice to teach her.>

Another look of confusion crosses his face as Claxter speaks of "inappropriate physical contact" before the light of understanding sparks behind his eyes.  So, Command Warrior Claxter had his sights on pretty Efaen as well.  <I doubt Prince Ossanlin would approve of an external training exercise, but If I manage to convince him, I will do as you say.  I suppose we can't be too careful.>  He pauses and smiles a bit wryly before speaking up again.  <And don't worry about physical contact, Command Warrior...she doesn't seem all that interested....yet.>  He barely contains his smirk, instead passing it off as a respectfully-joking smile.  He performs a tail-salute, giving Claxter a slight upper bow as well before commanding the simulator open and walking back in.  He doesn't wait to be dismissed.

The simulation phases him back in and he walks up behind Efaen, smiling apologetically.  <Forgive me for having to step out, but it seems that Claxter is keeping an eye on you.>  He looks around the simulation and widens his eyes a bit.  <Well how about that?  You don't even need me here...most pilot-trainees take weeks to reach this level of proficiency.  It seems you were born to pilot a Tail-Fighter, Efaen.  Keep it up and you could even join Lightningstrike!  I'd feel safer with another skilled pilot on my wing.>  He smiles broadly, taking a risk and patting Efaen on the shoulder in a casual, friendly manner before removing his hand and giving her a bit more space.  He doesn't want to push too much after all.

[Chad32]

<Good.> Claxter said. He didn't like that yet that Eleric included, or the little smirk. He kind of expected that to go differently, but at least if the Warrior did what he was told, Efaen wouldn't be going anywhere far. He left the hall, back into the dome. He should probably find Varekil, but he didn't really want to speak openly about Efaen's chip in front of Aetheas. Nor did he want to have a long private conversation with him just hanging around getting bored. He supposed he'd put it off a little bit longer.

He recalled the conversation with Keshin, regarding the Escafil Device. He should probably talk to Ossanlin about it. He thought maybe he should have run it past his superior before talking to Keshin, but he had wanted to give her a spark of hope. It was already general knowledge that Dome Ships typically carried the boxes, wasn't it?

<I'm going to see if Prince Ossanlin has a free moment to talk about something I mentioned to the bounty hunter. You want to come?> He asked Aetheas.

[Aluminator (Kit)]

Aetheas turns a stalk eye to Claxter, a bit surprised, as he always is when someone wants to see him who isn't required to.
He hesitates-- he really would like to just run off and spend time on his own, but then, Claxter wasn't going to allow him to do that anyway. If accompanying Claxter to see Ossanlin can be counted as 'social,' it's preferable to the alternative, which is attempting to 'mingle' with other members of the crew.

<Okay,> he says tentatively, turning towards the bridge. It still feels strange to be setting out for the bridge at all, let alone so soon after his shift there has ended.

[Chad32]

<Thanks> Claxter said, and headed towards the bridge, where he believed Ossanlin was. Once he entered, he found Ossanlin, and did a small tail salute. It was something he didn't really do back at the Bar, but was starting to pick up on as he spent time with other Andalites that did it.

<Prince Ossanlin, do you have a minute? I would like to speak with you about a possible solution to Joanne's illness problem.>

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin takes a break from poring over ship status reports and glances at Claxter with his main eyes.  <Joanne's illness?  It's not a terribly pressing concern, and you certainly don't need to be worrying about it, though I must say I'm glad to hear that you're concerned with the rebels' plight.>  He pauses, glancing at Aetheas with a stalk-eye.  Apparently Claxter had taken the training long.  <But I do have a little time at the moment.  Share your insights.>  He gestures to Claxter with a hand, giving the Command Warrior his full attention.

[Aluminator (Kit)]

Aetheas follows Claxter to the bridge. Upon arrival, he stands to the side, out of the way of the current bridge crew, not far from the station he'd been assigned for his recent shift, and gives his best tail-salute when Ossanlin glances his way, but other than that, he remains silent, curiously listening to whatever it is Claxter has to say.

[Chad32]

<She told me she was getting to the point where the medicine wouldn't help much longer, and this was after the news of the child's death. It occurred to me that she may use the morphing power to become a nothlit, and use the frolis maneuver to make her own body. I have already spoken to her about it, and if she gets a couple of rebels to volunteer, it will be her best chance to begin anew.> Claxter said. <I will, of course, volunteer to personally ensure she remains in form for over two hours. Would this be alright with you?>

He really got the feeling he should have done this part before talking to Joanne. If she got the rebels to volunteer some DNA, and got hopeful, but Ossanlin said no, that could make her seriously resent him. If she felt like she was about to die anyway, she may decide to take Ossanlin with her? Hopefully he was overthinking this, though.

They did actually have a box on board, right?

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin narrows his main eyes, glancing around the bridge with a stalk eye.  <What you suggest might work, Command Warrior, but it sets a dangerous precedent.  There are many pitfalls.  For example, what if Joanne does not remain in morph for the full two hours?  What if she refuses to do so after being granted the morphing capability?  What would you do, Command Warrior?  Would you execute Joanne?  I'm not about to gift morphing to such an untrustworthy and...disreputable pair as Joanne and Keshin.  It would be as bad, if not worse, than giving the morphing capability to an Imperial.>

He pauses, allowing that to sink in before continuing on.  <And what of the others?  Would the other rebels start asking to receive morphing capabilities once they learn for certain that the Escafil device is onboard?  Would they resent Keshin for being given the chance?  Would they resent us for withholding the technology in such a time of need?  I only trust one of those rebels, Claxter, and that's Myitt.  And even though I would trust her with my life, I am not convinced that giving her the morphing capabilities would be a good idea.  She has...surprised me recently, in an unsettling and questionable manner.  I'm not willing to grant morphing to any of the rebels, so what would we tell them if they asked?  'We don't trust you.'  That is not the goal we need to be working toward.>

Ossanlin pauses again, glancing at Aetheas with his main eyes before returning his gaze to Claxter.  <That is not to say that your idea would not solve Joanne's medical issues once and for all.  I merely need you to contemplate these issues before going any further with your idea.  Out of curiosity, what would you do in a situation where Joanne had been infused with the morphing technology, but then refused to nothlitize?>

[Chad32]

<If you are worried about her refusing to nothlitize, we could separate her from Keshin, and not return her until the two hour period is over. I assume she would also be confined to a room, and would not be released if she didn't. As for the others, they are not cripplingly sick. If they happened to get injured...I'm not sure. I would not want to hand over morphing power to other species unless there was a dire need. I'm sure we can come up with good reasons to not hand technology over to controllers to use however they want.>

Ossanlin was bringing up uncertainties he hadn't thought of. The more he thought about it, the less certain he was that it was a great idea. <We can't control every scenario. We just have to do what we think is correct, take reasonable precautions, and cross bridges into the unknown when we arrive.>

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

<There is some merit in that mode of thinking, Claxter, but a good officer must temper that attitude with a measure of caution.  Wild leaps into the unknown cost lives.  Lives that could've been saved if precautions had merely been implemented.  We cannot hold a prisoner forever...we do not have the resources, and such an individual would cause a constant internal threat.  Of course it goes without saying that Keshin would not be present during the morphing and nothlitization process.  I would need to be certain of Joanne's personal desires before going through with such a procedure, and each step would have to be done by her own will.  Keshin is capable of nearly anything, and I wouldn't put it past him to exert his will over Joanne if she ever disagreed with him.>

Ossanlin gazes at Claxter intently with his main eyes.  <And there is control to think about.  The medicine...as much as I might dislike saying or even thinking this, the medicine is a leash.  A shackle to which we hold the key.  Keshin could do a lot of damage to us with the knowledge he already has, and he's escaped more secure locations than the Tyrennian to be sure.  The promise of a potential steady supply of serum binds Joanne to us.  If we cure her illness...>  Ossanlin grimaces, looking over at Aetheas again before continuing.  <Now is not the time to take risks.  Joanne and Keshin will keep for a while.  Perhaps once the situation has stabilized, it will be a possibility.>  Ossanlin nods as if making up his mind.  <Yes, it will be a possibility if Joanne and Keshin prove loyal.  We will offer them the option once I deem it to be suitably safe to do so.  Our first priority beyond sustaining the Tyrennian remains the rendezvous with and recovery of living rebel survivors.>

[Chad32]

<I apologize for letting my emotions guide my actions, sir. Using the medicine to ensure loyalty would be a viable check, but only as long as it works. Perhaps Keshin will prove his loyalty before it stops working altogether. Thank you for your time, Prince Ossanlin. That is all I needed.> He gave a slight bow, and excused himself.

That was a disappointing venture. Now how would Keshin and Joanne be able to prove themselves loyal enough to be worthy of a new body? They really didn't seem like horrible people. He walked through the hall, towards the dome to find them and tell them the news. <What do you think you would do, Aetheas? Keshin and Joanne are bounty hunters who do what they do because she needs medicine. at least to my knowledge.>

[Aluminator (Kit)]

Aetheas follows Claxter from the bridge, eying the Captain with a stalk eye. This kind of thought-out decision making isn't something he's used to seeing in his superiors-- normally, around an aristh, most Andalite officers would pretend to have all the answers already, even if they were wrong, or if they were the result of hasty decisions. Aetheas feels his respect for Claxter and Ossanlin grudgingly climb a notch. He begins speaking before they reach the exit from the bridge-- still well within thoughtshot of Ossanlin.

<I am not sure,> he answers Claxter honestly as he struggles to absorb all the information he's just heard. <They are dangerous bounty hunters, you said. And the host... Joanne... one of the human rebels? The host is sick or dying, and we hold all of the keys to her survival.> He ponders for a moment, <In this circumstance, there is no course for this 'Keshin' except for loyalty to us, but...> He pauses and again glances towards Ossanlin with a stalk eye, <Wouldn't holding this 'leash' breed resentment? It's a viable check only so long as this 'Keshin' doesn't find another supply of medicine. And nothlitizing the host as another human... may cause them to feel gratitude, and lead to some sense of true loyalty, or at least indebtedness, but at the same time it would cut our leash, our check on them.> He looks uncertainly at Claxter, <Do I have it so far?>