caughtinanetwork

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Attention citizens.

You havve made the stupendous mistake of kidnappin one Commander Orphaner Dualscar, destroyer a wworlds an' scourge a the stars.

In light a your obvvious ignorance, and the admittedly pleasant surroundins, I'll be generous. You havve half an hour to explain wwhere I am, howw I got here, and wwhy, and to showw me the exit. It's the ocean, I can make my owwn wway from there.

I'm wwaiting. Don't fuckin disappoint me.

One last wwarnin: I'm not a vvery patient troll.

[OOC: I'm happy to do action tags/prose in the comments, too. Anyone who wants to run into him in person can find him wandering the main thoroughfare around the Lamufao, using his starfish phone thingy to monitor the network]

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D --> Correct

[He doesn't respond, but thinks about that as he waits for the engineer to arrive]

[It doesn't take long. Darkleer knows better than to keep the seadweller waiting. Soon enough, there's a heavy knock on the door. Just one- Darkleer doesn't want to break the thing down, even if he is being careful as usual.]

[There's a rather long pause before Dualscar recalls that no one will answer the door if he doesn't do it. He gets up and strides to the door, and pulls it open.

And blinks. Then snarls.]

You.

[Darkleer doesn't smirk, or snarl back, or any such thing. Perfectly emotionless, that's him.]

[Even his voice is perfectly submissive and polite.]

[But for some reason... There's still something impossibly subtle that seems to imply a nice hearty fuck you.]

Sir.

[He's honestly not sure how to handle this. He knows the face of this troll from sweeps ago, the Executioner who allowed traitors to escape and was banished for it. He had thought the blue blood was an ally and invited him to his new home, but now he's here, and it's not at all what he thought.

He grits his teeth, but steps back, inviting the troll in with a curt gesture.]

I wwasn't expecting you. You'vve been wworking on the Helmsman?

Of course. As the highest blooded adult troll that was in Vatheon at the time, I was also the first to contact him and take him in. No one else was or is qualified to deal with such sensitive equipment, nor do they possess the proper blood color.

[Stepping inside, he bows his head just slightly towards Dualscar. Ever polite and obedient; he's hard sweeps to practice this game.]

I assume that you have no objections in consideration of these facts?

[Well, despite his history, the Expatriote is saying all the right things and doing them, as well. Dualscar watches him closely, but leads him back towards the sitting area.]

I havve no objections. Wwe must do wwhat wwe must wwith the resources wwe havve. These are strange times.

[He sits down in the big leather armchair, leaving the sofa for the blueblood.]

I'll be havving it come to me on a daily basis to do some wwork for me. I presume it is wwell enough for that. [His tone is flat. If the Expatriot has a problem with it, he'd better have a good, technical justification]

I believe you have not yet seen how strange it can become, Commander.

[Darkleer follows, but he does not sit. Instead, he stands at attention like any soldier, looking down at the other.]

Well, I would have to know what work you have in mind before I can truly say, sir. Recently, there have been quite a string of incidents which have caused some technical concerns.

Just a little light hivvewwork, nothin' strenuous. I notice it can't wwalk, wwhich I assume is on account a the time it's spent in the console. But its psychic abilities make up for it.

[He gives a shrug, as if you say 'you can't expect me to do that kind of thing myself. Do YOU want to do it? Because I can arrange that'.]

Wwhat incidents?

[...Excuse you.]

I apologize, but are you quite sincere in that you wish to use a first-class Helmsman chosen by none other than Her Imperious Condescension herself for your personal household chores?

[Wow, that... really quite angers him! Particularly as he knows the lower troll would not be able to resist even the most ridiculous of requests from a troll of this bloodcolor. Fortunately, Darkleer keeps his voice level, if not extremely incredulous.]

[This also means he is totally ignoring that other question.]

Chosen by Her Imperious Condescension herself, an trained an broken by me. An givven there aren't any drones here, an it's a provven heretic wwith a rebellious past, currently continuin' to livve wwith the Signless himself, it seems to me that keepin the Helmsman in the habit a obeyin' highbloods is a wworthy goal.

If you'vve got another suggestion for someone wwho wwould be more appropriate, I'm listenin'.

[He is smirking, Expatriot. And he has noticed both the incredulity, and the lapse it caused.]

Noww, answwer my question.

As a matter of fact, I do.

[Exasperated!]

It's called a robot and I am quite capable of constructing one for you within the day. Whether or not you had a hand in ensuring the Helmsman's disobedience, a robotic construct would be considerably more suited for such mundane tasks. Honestly, what would the Condesce think...

[Yes, he went there. Sighing, he gets to the final point.]

Has anyone told you of the experiments- also referred to as 'curses'- that are done here?

[He nods, suppressing his surprise at the offer. The jab about the Condesce makes him roll his eyes.] Vvery wwell, then get me one a those. It'll wwork better in the long run.

But I'll still be requirin' it to report in to me. I wwant to monitor it, givven its close association wwith the Signless. [You don't have a problem with that, do you Darkleer? No? Good]

People havve mentioned the curses, but havven't gone into detail.

[This works excellently to Darkleer's benefit as well. Not only will the Helmsman be free of such trivial servitude, but one of Darkleer's own creations will be able to keep an eye on Dualscar.]

[Oh, highblood politics.]

That has already been done, sir. All Alternian rebels have been watched closely. [Not that it's hard, considering that they won't stop pestering him...]

As for the curses... [A breath.] On occasion, this place has been known to make strange events occur. They are temporary, lasting only for a week or two, and are preceded by the coral in the plaza and tattoos on all of us glowing. There is no way to predict what will occur. I believe I heard one week saw the individuals of this place changing race and their abilities.

The most recent experiment forced individuals to confess secrets- or occasionally false ones. Considering the Helmsman knows classified information, this distressed him considerably and has caused havoc for his programming. I have been meeting with him regularly to address this.

[His eyes narrow a bit] So you say, Expatriate. Excuse me if I perform my owwn survveillance, givven your track record wwhen it comes to those exact rebels is not exactly unblemished.

[His eyes widen a little at this explanation] And wwe havve no idea wwhy this occurs or howw to stop it?

[Darkleer's jaw tightens at that.]

One mistake in that entire campaign, and only after I had accomplished the chosen task of executing the Signless. I am well aware of what I am doing.

And no. [He shrugs.] There have been individuals here for two years who have still not been able to discover the cause.

You wwere banished for that one mistake. But provvidin that you provve yourself to me, wwe have no problems, Darkleer. You can't blame me for bein' cautious, givven the number a rebels here. From wwhat I can see, you an the Helmsman are the only twwo I can rely on, an the Helmsman hardly counts as it is.

[He nods] Wwe'll havve to keep tryin, then. Anythin' else I need to knoww?

[It takes work to keep his mouth shut like that, but work is what he is used to. Darkleer simply gives a stiff nod.]

[Anything else he needs to know? Well, for Darkleer's purposes...]

I believe not, Commander, save that I will have the mechanical servant sent to you in the next day.

[He inclines his head] Vvery good, then. I expect you to report to me anythin a note that you think I'd wwant to knoww, understood?

Understood perfectly, sir.

[So the bare minimum, then.]

Is there anything else you want, sir, or is that all?

[Sigh, his life is so hard. He flicks a hand]

No, that wwill be all for now. You're dismissed.

Thank you, sir.

[As he turns to leave, Darkleer feels a sense of smug satisfaction rise inside him.]

[This meeting could not have gone any better.]

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