2017-09-02: Not By Choice

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  • Log: Not By Choice
  • Cast: Loren Voss, Lily Keil
  • Where: November City - Market Street
  • Date: September 2nd 2017
  • Summary: Loren, following up on an update from Elly, finds Lily (in order to keep tabs on her). A short conversation is had on recent events, and what Kislev may be planning.

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

In short order, it's back to field work for the medic. With the mass migration of a number of targets and other developments besides -- including the matter of what transpired at the temple -- Gebler's focus in the reason has shifted accordingly.

Earlier, Loren had skimmed over a report in from Elly. Just an update on the movements of the pirates and their activities.

One note in particular had caught his eye. He'd squinted at it.

Considering her abilities, someone like Lily Keil -- noted to be a powerful and controlled ether user and killer of lower-ranking Gebler soldiers -- could become a problem.

Recent areas of operation had been included as well. November City, it seemed...

So now, the medical officer in guise of formerly of Bledavik and more recently fled to this more lawless part of the west -- and looking the part, thanks to the overall faded condition of his clothing, of someone who has learned the size of the desert of late -- walks the November City market.

It's amazing what people can get away with selling out in the open -- or nearly so -- here. He's even seen Gear parts blatantly for sale in a few of the ramshackle stores.

Which he has been looking into, just because the odds might be that much higher of meeting her around here somewhere.

He has to play it more carefully with asking around. There's no telling who people might be talking to around here.

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Developments are in progress, all right; a certain other medic finds herself in the midst of tasks down the line, from her ongoing mission to others that are important enough to pick up along the way... And resupplying and readying for others.

After all, going through the war front was a reminder of times before Drifting.

She's certainly on the way up in terms of being a problem, in more ways than one, not least because of the renewal of her movements, of her actions... and November City is useful to her, being more comparable to Nortune than Adlehyde was. Comparable, without being a city after her--indeed, a city she can disappear in despite her considerable bounty that is surely on its way up now. Nevertheless, while she can disappear in a broad sense, she stands out in a crowd.

Case in point, she is dressed entirely in black, tall, with gloves, showing little skin at all despite the desert heat, in thick clothes. Loose, though; she knows how to dress for the heat despite her choice of colors.

Loren's instincts are good on this one though; Lily pauses beside a stand, looking over a few Gear parts as she moves, which can't mean anything good. As always, she looks around at the crowds around her, keeping an eye out for dangers or unexpected occurences. Which means...

Loren can easily spot the golden-eyed woman looking right at him with a raised eyebrow at this particular stall, from across others.

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

If there's anything, anything in this world that Loren is familiar with...

It's the sensation that someone is staring at you.

Briefly uncomfortable, he shifts where he stands, glancing about himself slowly in search of the gaze he can feel on his body. It brings back unpleasant memories, of Jugend, of Solaris...

It doesn't take him long to find the source.

In silence, the moment treading out a length of perhaps five seconds or so, blue eyes meet her gold.

Loren breaks away, leaving behind the vendor of odd and twisted machine parts to briefly audibly sulk about a departing customer (don't worry, he'll find another person to attempt to cajole into buying his junk soon) to approach the former Kislevi soldier.

"Well," says 'Thomas', looking Lily over as if in appraisal. "Fancy meeting you here."

His luck must be unusually good today.

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily can spot Loren shifting; she doesn't bother announcing herself at first, waiting for him to look her way and notice her in turn. It could be for any number of reasons... But it could as easily just be because she likes making someone squirm.

The ex-soldier is not always particularly nice.

Loren looks her way, and moves in short order. She shifts out of the way of actual customers at this point but not into the walkway, either. She waits... And, well.

When he looks her over, she's different than she's been, and some of that is simply that she looks less tired. Her eyes are as sharp as they were, regardless. "Blackwell," she greets. "You get all kinds out here."

Good luck? It seems so.

"The desert's clearly treated you well. A pity, for an Aveh man." A beat, "But I can't be surprised you'd head back in this direction."

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

She certainly seems sharper. But then, she's been doing well for herself lately, if he goes by van Houten's reports alone. Perhaps that alone might be enough for a change.

Or perhaps not, depending.

He folds his arms over his chest as he regards her in silence.

"Get all kinds? I suppose so." As if to underscore the point he's making, he sighs quietly.

"Hmph. If you consider this well, Keil," 'Thomas' replies, fixing her with that same weary stare as usual. It maintains, even when she makes an interesting comment.

A blond eyebrow lifts, slightly. "Why's that? I assure you, if I had any say in the matter..."

Of course he doesn't. Not in reality. But in this case, it's just another piece in a useful cover story.

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Silence doesn't tend to bother Lily; certainly not now. She is no less severe in those moments. It perhaps pairs well with how weary he looks as he sighs at her.

"Ah, there's the complaint," she says. "You seem in as good of spirits as you always are." Not that she especially minds 'Thomas' being a bit grumpy, or a bit out of sorts. However... He says something useful himself.

"I imagine you'd want to return to finish medical school at some point," Lily answers. "Unless you've given up on that idea." A shrug, "But of course you have no choice. How very military of you."

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

Granted, unhappy or at least displeased appears to be 'Thomas ground state.

And admittedly, it's the ground state for Loren as well. Funny that.

"Hmph," he grunts again, glancing away from her as if her remark clipped a little too close to home. He's had things on his mind of late, things that might only help to sell the alleged medical student's obvious discomfort here and now in November City.

"...It's not an option," he replies, and technically, technically that's true, since it... isn't, any more than any sort of retreat 'home' would be for him. "Not after they figured it out. It's the same for you, isn't it? A place like this is safer."

Without naming the 'problem' specifically -- since they're in a crowd, a few would-be buyers milling around -- there's still only one thing he can really be referring to.

How very military, indeed.

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Funny!

Lily has a different sort of ground state, though it looks similar on the surface. ...Laconic, at least. But for now... Maybe her remark did clip, but this isn't something she was certain about, only something that she could guess at. After all, most medical students don't take long vacations to expose themselves to danger.

'Vacations'.

Again a technical truth helps sell the lie. "Fair enough," Lily agrees. "It's easy to get lost somewhere like this. Particularly while you're figuring out what you're going to do instead."

The problem is obvious enough--what else would it be?

"Though it isn't quite the same for me. ...Close enough." And Gebler being up in Aveh's business...

A shrug, "Being in Aveh is dangerous these days anyway, given what Kislev has uncovered. I don't recommend it."

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

There's really only a handful of answers why someone would leave midway through their studies to travel far east when a war's on and there's no assurance of any way back again. Why they would put themselves in dangerous situations, including the largely fatal career of ruins-delver.

And those reasons thin out to one pointed answer when someone has the sort of powers 'Thomas' apparently has.

He had to assemble this one element on the fly because of an error he made, but so far, it's seemed to have worked out nicely.

He fidgets with his glasses. "Aveh leaves this place alone." Aveh tried once, a long time ago, to muck in the affairs of the cities in the Gunsmoke Desert and it didn't go too well. For Aveh.

His gaze departs hers, as if to silently answer the question of 'what would he do instead'. He doesn't know, any more than he would know the answer to the same if he didn't possess the aim in life he has.

"Guess not."

Silence passes between the two, his gaze averted from her.

And yet, he's not not paying attention to her.

What Kislev dug up. "...That thing on the battlefield?"

Of course he would have noticed, since if he hadn't seen the battlefield -- or the Golem -- passing to the west, it would be strange.

For a completely normal medical student.

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

It's believable. ...It's one of the few reasons that Lily still speaks to 'Thomas' at all, considering how well they get along at all. They have something in common, after all. ...More than she realizes.

"Not by choice," Lily points out about Aveh, remembering the same history, if through a Kislevi lens. ...And a cynical one, for that matter. "That remains true as long as it isn't worth the trouble to try again."

As far as Lily's concerned, that question is worth asking... and reasonable not to have answered. For her part, anyway, she certainly can understand a certain... difference.

Silence is fine. She doesn't mind silence.

"...The Golem," Lily confirms. "With that on the loose, I recommend you make sure to have an escape plan from November City, just in case. I don't trust Kislev any more than I trust Aveh right now."

It may be strange, given her obvious Kislevi accent... But maybe not.

"I don't know what they intend to do with it. But it won't be pretty."

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

"...No, not by choice," 'Thomas' agrees, after a fashion. Ugh, he hopes the Minister doesn't do something else without forewarning them, or they'll really have a difficult time keeping things directed how they should. Damn, you give a man a weapon and all he does is wave it at everything.

Internally, he scowls. If they have half a brain, Aveh will keep its attention north, as they're supposed to.

But for the here and now -- and the woman he's attempting to keep tabs on -- he just shrugs and exhales a sigh. "Ugh," he comments, vocalizing a little of what he's feeling right now because it seems to align with his outward face.

"...That thing."

They'll have to do something about that soon. He's not looking forward to it.

"Why, do you think they'd do it?" Now that would be an interesting turn in Kislev's favor, if they took the Seed Cities. ...Damn, they might, if they don't do something about it.

He might want to mention that one to the Captain.

Pushing his glasses up his nose instead, he regards Lily almost critically for a moment. "...That's unusually kind of you, Keil. And un-patriotic."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily could have said Shakhan would do that, considering that his first act in power was to rekindle a war. ...But then, she is from Kislev, after all. Regardless of what she says...

Loren says ugh, and Lily shrugs lightly, shaking her head. "Yes," she says, "That thing. Three of them taken from Adlehyde and then one entirely separate comes out of Kislev."

Lily already knows what needs to be done about it on her end, and she isn't the mechanic who's going to manage it. However...

"More territory to use against Aveh? Of course they'd do it. With a Golem, it would be hard to stop them from doing whatever they want." She pauses, as Loren regards her, and then chuckles faintly, darkly. "...Kind? Not particularly. We have something in common, like it or not. That's all this is."

A pause. "...See what being framed by your country does for you. Besides, I don't underestimate Kislev. I learned from their best officers. ...Especially Father."

Lily watches Loren for a moment before she adds, "...Those who keep up with Kislev's military would know him as Colonel Keil."

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

"Interesting timing. Not too long after those other golems were lost, either." He's heard 'tipping point' thrown around in regards to wars and engagements before. This one counts -- and they certainly can't leave this one on the gameboard. They'll need to bring what officers can be spared from other operations to attempt to bring this one down.

Which, unfortunately, does include Loren. If only it weren't the sort of operation that wouldn't require a Gear...

No going back now.

"I wasn't aware you believed in fair play. Oh well, I suppose we do have something in common."

In more ways than she realizes, at present.

But he raises an eyebrow as she goes on, explains the situation with her and her country. "Your father?"

Colonel Keil, Colonel Keil...

He searches his memory, and admittedly, it doesn't take long for him to put the name in its proper context. He's not involved with the strategic front against Kislev (not directly, not at the moment), but that doesn't mean he doesn't know some of the major players on Kislev's side of the field. He's a combat medic, and the rule is to know your enemy, even when your place on the field is support. Especially when your role is support.

He pauses a moment, lingering a little longer in the assumption that the role he's playing might not piece the issue together quite as quickly. And then says, "He's your father?"

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"Exactly," Lily answers 'Thomas.' "Very convenient timing. And very concerning." Is it a coincidence that that's when Sado was brought onto the battlefield? Some might imagine so. Lily on the other hand agrees with Loren's assessment about how interesting that timing is.

"I wasn't aware we were playing a game," she points out in return. ...But there is a lot she doesn't realize here, even if there are things she keeps close to the vest herself. Spy and spy and spy...

Lily nods, when Loren asks about her ather, and waits for him to work out the details, such as they are. She is in no particular rush in this conversation, after all. So she waits, and...

"That's correct." A pause. "The great Colonel Dietrich Keil. Like father, like daughter," she says darkly. "I guess we'll see. Regardless... If you've heard of him, you know why I don't underestimate Kislevi intelligence. Nevermind that I was special forces myself."

"Still," she says, "I say this in part because we're both in danger with things as they are. I don't like you. You know I don't like you. ...But if you get in over your head in all this, I'll help you, for that connection."

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

Very little is pure coincidence. Things happen for reasons, good or bad. And on the battlefield, anything can be suspect. Good generals don't bring out a super weapon suddenly for no reason. Sado was there to make a point.

Warning or threat?

"Everything has rules," 'Thomas' replies. "Whether you play by the rules or not, though..."

And it isn't as if he has to be purely pragmatic, not when there are other concerns resting on the line.

The same goes for her, in fact -- as long as other concerns take precedence, he doesn't have to do anything but investigate things for himself.

Which have turned out to be quite interesting. Maybe he should have realized it sooner, but...

"Deitrich Keil. I heard a thing or two. He caused some trouble for Aveh during the offensive last winter." And by corrolary, also trouble for them. He folds his arms over his chest, as if to regard her in a new light.

And then she says something that outright causes him to stare at her, as if she's lost her mind. It's not even partially an act; he's honestly surprised by the gesture. "...You'll help me?" He sure does know she doesn't care for him much, to put it mildly. "Well, that's a surprise. I suppose we'll see, won't we. Whether either side makes a move... and how much our lives end up being worth." He actually laughs, a brief bark of a sound. "Maybe I'll have to turn to you after all."

Move the pieces into place, but don't let anyone guess what the move after will be. Particularly when you can't be sure of their movement, either. Too many parts of the board are veiled.

"Anyway, I suppose if you're here, we could at least talk at a later date. I'm not fond of you either, Keil, but we have..." He pauses, as if fishing for the word. "Mutual interests."

'Not getting killed or caught', per his story, that is.

He glances up at the sky, as if assessing the passage of time. "Right now, I have to get to the clinic. Earning a living out here won't be easy..."

He glances sidelong, then back at her before finally breaking away, heading out without another word or a glance.

Take it slowly. Don't move too fast all at once, keep up the face. There's still time, and he can't be sure of her next step yet. He can't afford her growing too suspicious, particularly since it would jeopardize more missions than his own.

He might resent van Houten, but he's also not a fool.