2020-03-04: Turn The Wheel

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  • Log: Turn The Wheel
  • Cast: Loren Voss, Leah Sadalbari
  • Where: Damzena Desert
  • Date: March 04, 2020
  • Summary: Leah drops in and speaks with Loren about recent orders. He receives some potentially much-needed advice on what he should do next.

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    In the end, Loren had been in a good mood for perhaps a few hours after returning to base from patrol with Anaitis.

    Then he'd started to worry about all of this.
    For one thing, Anaitis is a Second Class citizen -- that's what they had really meant when they had said 'it may end up poorly'. No matter what happens, there'll be a point when--
    And that's not even getting started on the rest of it. Does Anaitis really like him, or is this just all some sort of... placating? He's a captain, after all-- and no matter what everyone else thinks about him, he's still First Class.
    And, and, what should he do now, anyway? What do you do when you're... together?
    Other than the obvious thing, that is.

    And into all of this, orders had been handed down.
    A full week has passed, and someone might have to squint to realize there's anything at all different about the young captain, now well back into his usual routine.

    He's in his office, such that it is; papers are strewn about and organized into a series of piles on the floor.

    "Paperless, my ass," he mutters, grabbing another file folder out of the unit on the wall. "This is why we can't find anything in the damn system around here--"

    The papers, of course, slide out, leaving a deeply furious Loren holding the empty folder. Among them are a single feather and a well-tied piece of string.

    "...Reports from last year? But I filed these digitally. ...Wait, wasn't this from..."

    He picks up the feather, a single token from Xibalba. It radiates the power of Wing, almost as if in resonance with something else.

<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.

Indeed, there are orders. Technically, of course, Leah Sadalbari is no longer a part of the special exploratory group as such. But she remains First Class. And she has gone over these orders with some interest.

There's a knock against the door, before it opens. The knock doesn't quite have the meaty thunk of hand against door, though; it's more like someone hit the door with something. Which, naturally, means that--

"I see that you're benefitting from the greatest of efficiency," Leah says wryly as she looks over Loren, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. ....More specifically, though--she looks at the feather token, too.

"That's very interesting," she says. "It didn't do that originally in your report." Since obviously she recalls the reports in question. She tilts her head, thoughtfully. "Hmmm..."

Naturally, Leah is sensitive to the magical energies associated with what the surfacers call 'Wing', it being one of the elements she can manifest and control.

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    There's a knock at the door, just as Loren manages to dump ancient reports (comparatively) all over his lap and the floor. He looks up just in time to see Leah enter.

    "Major--" he starts, then stops, pausing as he regards her for a long silent moment.

    "...Leah," he finishes, at last, still holding the feather. "Sorry. I didn't hear your knock. I was trying to find a report on those Metal Demons from a couple years back but it wasn't in the system." Which is all the more frustrating because he's pretty sure he was the one who filed it. "They're among the targets. So--"

    He pauses here, looking at the feather in his hand.

    "...No, it didn't." Even he can feel it now, pulsing from the feather. "I thought this had gotten sent to the labs, but I guess it didn't. It's stuck in with the Elru reports, though."

    He glances down at the pile on the floor and finally lets go of the useless folder, picking up the length of string before rising.
    Had been with the Elru reports, paper copies of which are now decorating the floor. He makes a token attempt at prodding them into some semblence of a pile with a booted foot before approaching her, palming the cord in the same hand as the feather.

    "Is something going on?"

    Other than that mission, soon.

<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.

"I didn't wait for you to hear it, either," Leah says, waving a mechanical hand as if to dismiss the problem entirely. She does however listen to what he was doing. "Did you find them, then?" He clearly found something. Something that might be interesting in itself. "Don't worry about it for now," she says after that, to forestall Loren spending the next few moments picking up papers instead of noticing the anomaly or--whatever else it is she seems to want him to notice.

"And have you put those two items together before?" she asks. But, he does ask a question...

"No, though I could ask you that. You certainly have been preoccupied." She has an amused sort of look at that, though she does expect her other question answered, naturally.

Leah leans on the door, regarding Loren.

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    "...Oh," he says, allowing his shoulders to sag as if under a terrible weight. Though his gaze does track her hand for a moment, lingering on it.

    It's clear as day. He's still not used to her body being like that.

    He starts to shake his head at her question, only to, once he's risen, regard a moment the two items in his hand. "Huh? No. They're from two different sites. Fereshte, in Elru. And Xibalba, in Ignas."

    Both Baskar sites.

    He turns the two items over in his hands, though, as if to consider then anew.
    The feather certainly likes the cord. Or perhaps, Loren himself.

    "Huh?"

    That, when she says he seemed preoccupied. "What do you mean like that?"

    In his own way, he's sort of dense.

    "And what do you think about the orders? 'Subverting' the targets in order to neutralize them."

    He pauses a moment more, as if considering something. "And they didn't even list Van Houten."
    He's got his own thoughts about why that is the case.

<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.

"Hmmmm, is it that bad?" she wonders, and then she spots him tracking her hand again, and doesn't repeat that particular tone for the moment. She doesn't draw attention to his issue. But once he starts rising...

Both Baskar sites, that these were from. Loren is considering them anew. "It seems there's an intersting reaction."

...He is a little. "Oh, a certain question about engineering, I think." She's totally willing to stay cryptic for the moment. For... reasons. She might be enjoying the question game.

"I think it's good that they're finally considering alternative options. Are you uncomfortable with the idea?" A beat, "And as for Van Houten... No, they didn't. I can think of a number of reasons that they'd avoid it. It's very bad public relations if something like that leaks, for one thing." And Leah's family has long been in the PR business. ...If Loren remembers that.

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    "Yeah... that's kind of weird. Maybe I should ask her about that." Lan, that is.
    Or maybe he should just see what happens for himself. After all, when you have a cord and a feather, a natural progression of materials presents itself.

    Leah remarks on engineering of all things, then. Loren's first reaction is to blink.
    Then, he tenses. Slightly, but still visibly so.

    ...She couldn't know. Could she? It's not like I've been careless.

    "I, er... Schiehallion is fine, last I heard. Are we going to need Gears readied?"

    Funny that Gears are where his mind goes when talking about engineering.

    "No, just..." He frowns, briefly. "Commander Ramses said something similar, a year or so ago. About turning people into assets instead of obstacles. But..." He shakes his head. "I'm a medical officer. I'm not used to thinking like that." Comparatively, medical and support work is straightforward. Even intelligence is straightforward.
    The gathering part, that is.
    Putting it into action is another thing altogether.

    "...I figured," he replies, a touch flatly, clearly displeased. Can't have word getting out that the golden girl was a turncoat.
    She's still listed as MIA. He checked.
    "So we're going to let other people find out for themselves, just because of PR?" He remembers that was her family's business.

    Some things, he thinks then, even PR can't fix. Like when you kill some of your own classmates in training. His expression darkens.

    "...Forget it. Command has their reasons," he settles on, then.
    And he doesn't want to catch trouble for raising the issue.

    "What are your suggestions? For handling the targets," Loren clarifies.

<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.

"Experiment a little. It's good for you."

That's not exactly the safest advice, but Leah is an expert on found artifacts and so obviously it's good. ...When he tenses, though--Leah laughs. It's not a hard laugh, but it's clear amusement at something.

"Actually," Leah answers, "Yes, you will. Not immediately, but soon. Do another check."

Very, very funny.

"Then he was right. The times we're in will require a great deal of thinking that we're not used to. This is one of the ways in which that's true."

This isn't specific on its own, but then, there is the matter of Van Houten, still. But he does say forget it. Leah considers this, for a few moments. "Bear in mind that we may be able to leverage that as well, is my first piece of advice. The lack of resolution cuts both ways; you can consider it a liability... or an opportunity."

"In general, the rest of my advice is not to limit yourself to a single approach, direct or otherwise. Sure, you can disguise yourself, infiltrate the ranks, and adjust matters that way... But that doesn't suit you much."

"Friendship is only one way to influence someone. Desire is the root of influence. Desire to avoid something... desire to bring something about."

"Understand what your targets want, and don't want. Be the person who can make that happen. It's one of the simpler methods."

"...The 'Caravan Kinship'; it is a business, but not wholly concerned with profit. The Hyadeans under Riesenlied and Noeline and their Outreach desire peace, and have people to look after. These 'Black Wolves' know of us, and that makes them dangerous but also easier to work with or against in some respects. And ARMS must answer to its public. Think of these traits as spokes upon a wheel."

"...And turn the wheel by them as you need. Things are always in motion, Loren. You need to be prepared to move, and find the right place to stand."

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    Perhaps in several regards it's not necessarily the safest advice, but if anything, Loren could stand to be a little less safe.

    Speaking of:

    "Another? O... okay." He has the distinct sense that she's getting at a certain something here, and similarly isn't terribly pleased about that realization of his. But so long as there's no direct statement of his own matters of the heart...

    The conversation soon shifts to the more immediate matter at hand. The orders. The various threats on the board. And what must be done.

    Van Houten's status among them.

    "Leverage it?" He's a smart boy -- but his intelligence has its borders. This may as well be a directive from a foreign country. "How?"

    And he's not used to thinking like a spiral. In straight lines and circles, he is unparalleled, but...

    He shakes his head. "They know who I am now, anyway. It wouldn't work." He'd always been middling at intelligence anyway -- the kind that fell outside of 'investigate site and report back', that is. It's impressive that his cover persisted as long as it did.

    Find out what someone wants.
    What they don't want.

    Make it happen. Or don't let it happen. ...He can get the theory of it but--

    There's a division between praxis and theory.

    Even he knows that one.

    "So... how does that work? Where do I 'stand'? Surely I don't go to the, the Caravan Kinship and tell them what's the best way for them to make honest money."

<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.

No direct statement... for now.

Leah waits this time until Loren finishes to show what she means; a spiral, in multiple dimensions. His cover did last some time, as it turns out. But this...

"If you were particularly talented at commerce or economics, it might be, just like I can work with people based on my understanding of history and surface religion."

"...But take the Black Wolves, for example. They know you as an agent of Gebler. They know what Gebler is, and are wary of it... And for that reason they know that they're on our radar. You can treat with them as you are. Now, you probably won't get much done in direct negotiation, but you could feed them leads on information it would be useful for us for them to know, for instance. They won't trust you, but if you know that, you can act accordingly."

"It's better to look as you go. For now, just remember the lessons of Aqua; flexibility. Flow around obstacles, change your path as you need to. If an approach isn't working, try another. And to know what to try, start paying more attention to what people around you want and need... And what they fear. Until then, you'll be well-served just by keeping in mind that your cover being blown doesn't mean you have no influence--it just means that you have to understand where you are now."

"So where you 'stand' is where you are strong, and they are weak. You have to know yourself and your target. That's what I mean. And while you're figuring it out, you'll be watching your targets, and learning more about them."

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    Some of it might be inexperience, in a sense. Even at this point in his career, as he heads into his twenties proper, he is excellent when it comes to protocol, dedicated to the cause, and determined to make amends for what has gone wrong. But he's still young, and there are gaps in his practical education -- gaps that he might make up for in time, in the school of hard knocks.

    Assuming, of course, that he survives.

    "..." He's quiet at first, as if turning over what she's said in his mind.

    "Huh. It seems... easy." Not for him, of course, mind--

    "And... what, just tell them that? Direct them down some..."

    Dawn, as they say, breaks over marblehead.

    "Oh."

    Misdirect. Or outright lie. Or with the truth, lead them along towards some aim of Solaris' own.
    Loren outright grimaces. Distaste, or...?

    "...Being flexible, huh." He has an affinity for water, even if one might be surprised to learn that, after seeing how he acts at times. That's always been the popular psychology of Ether among Jugend students -- that your affinity is guided by your personality. He's always professed an outward skepticism towards it but internally...
    Well, just look at this moment, contrast him with Leah.
    Or him with...

    It takes him longer than he'd like to think of his brother. Of Engil's flame.

    His mind... it's coming apart. Little by little. He's running out of time. And he can't tell them--
    He thinks, again, of the statement in the latest orders on mental health.
    --because then that will be the end of it. His last chance to...
    To?

    He shakes his head, to clear the fuzz from his mind as much as anything. "...I get it." Even here, his mind seems slower than it should be, almost sluggish. "So the key is watching and acting as the situation requires as well as what I know. ...I guess I had better find those reports." Without them, his ability to know where to stand is going to be hindered.

<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.

The Major sees potential here; she has said as much. But he is still young, that's true.

'Oh.' "Indeed." Leah has no problem with misdirections, it would seem. After all, given her position...

It's funny, though. Ether and personality. How well would it apply to Leah herself? Water, and secondary wind. Water, mixing with Fire.

Leah watches Loren as he has that moment. She cannot, so far as anyone knows, read minds. Nevertheless she is watching him closely enough that she almost might be, with her single eye. Still, he answers.

"Exactly. Watch, and act. ...I'll leave you to the reports."

"...I'm sure they're somewhere in this system," she comments wryly, as she pushes off of the door, opens the door, and makes to leave.

With her back turned, though, the Watcher frowns as she walks down the hall.