2021-10-31: Her Aims and His Own
- Log: Her Aims and His Own
- Cast: Citan Uzuki, Lily Keil
- Where: Aphel Aura - Residential District
- Date: October 31, 2021
- Summary: Lily arrives in Shevat and is promptly sent a request by Citan to meet with him, should she be able. He has some things he would like to relate to her about Wec Stann, after all.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Life in Shevat continues as it has for centuries. Adrift in the sky, the residents live a paradoxical life: many conveniences far from the grasp of those who live on the surface are available to them and yet they lack in the same breath many of the amenities that those of the surface possess. The bounties of even Filgaia's dying soil; the experience of lake, sea, and river; the ability to travel without boundaries or limitation... The people of Shevat may enjoy unparalleled safety from Solaris' grasp and even fly through the skies, but they are hardly free in this world, not when they have Solaris as their opponents.
In a sense, they're not unlike the small flightless birds that are perched atop a planter set in the stonework. A few scraggly green plants trail from the planter, but it looks very much as if it has seen better days.
It's this particular tableau that has Citan's attention as he stands a fair distance from planter and birds alike; arms folded over his chest, he waits for a particular individual with which he is to meet.
It may have been a coincidence: he had been alerted of her arrival in Shevat, perhaps, and had sent a request for her to meet with him in the city. He won't be difficult to find, standing here, near one of the great bridges that connect the various parts of the floating city.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily Keil has made her way to Shevat more than once, and this time her purposes here are largely for research--and perhaps a hope that she can confer with their intelligence apparatus somewhat. ...Getting away from most of the rest of the world, in a place relatively secure against Solaris, is also good for the moment, because Lily has a lot of thinking she wants to do, and she doesn't want to be interrupted.
She notices the way they aren't really free--trapped by the fear of Solaris, in some respects. She can sympathize.
Lily looks over that planter as she examines the area she's approaching, her attention moving to each of the exits, to the tables where people could hide under... The usual.
But she spots Citan and approaches once she's certain of the lack of ambush, at a bridge. "Doctor," she greets him, stepping up towards Citan and the bridge, glancing down to the sky thoughtfully. "It's good to see you. ...And convenient, considering."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
He watches her as she approaches, all the while maintaining the sort of placid remove with which he had regarded the flightless birds. "Lily, I am glad that you had the time. I have only been in Shevat a few days, myself, and had not known you were heading in as well. I trust that I will not be keeping you from anything urgent?" It's mere formality -- she would have said if she were in a hurry. As it stands--
This earns her a raised eyebrow. "Oh, is it now? As a matter of fact... I had hoped to speak with you about a particular matter. ...Specifically, the analysis I conducted within Wec Stann." He pauses for a moment, only to shake his head. "It is not anything extensive, precisely, but I had thought, perhaps, it may have been best to discuss what we had uncovered with you, first."
Implying perhaps that he wants to get her take on things before he runs it past Leon.
"While the rest of you had been dealing with, ah, the complication," he says, neatly eliding the incident with Leon's old Gear and the wizard, "Noeline, Riesenlied, and myself investigated the 'cold sleep chamber'. I can confirm that, to our best knowledge and determination, none of the beds were ever in use."
Which means Leon and Leon alone made the long jump to the modern era.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"I decided on it fairly last-minute," Lily answers. But it is a formality--she'd certainly have said if she were busy, but she isn't at the moment. "It is. I'm looking for some data, and you might be able to help me find it. ...But it can wait." She regards him seriously. "I'm more interested in the analysis right now. ...Even if it's nothing extensive, I'd appreciate knowing what you found."
It might be wise to get her take first--and even if it isn't, it's not a problem to. So, after the matter of the complication...
"So, Leon and I didn't come from that facility," Lily confirms. "...At least, not in one of the cryobeds." She can account for both of them that way... maybe.
"What else did you find? And did you have a chance to investigate any of those mechanical guardians?"
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"I see. Then I am grateful to have become a part of your 'last-minute plans'!" remarks the doctor, a slight smile on his lips. "But all of that aside... how might I assist you? I have some familiarity with the library here of course... and I may be able to assist with the digital archives as well." Though whether he means he would assist directly or through his obvious family connection remains a bit of a mystery.
Still, even this is something that may need to wait. What he has to tell her may be of more immediate importance.
"Leon and yourself? Hm... It is possible," he muses, as if on the subject of something slightly to the left of what they are currently discussing. "There are places within the facility which were not necessarily safe to explore. It is possible that he, or possibly both of you?" he phrases it like a question, tilting his head slightly to the left as he regards her, "had 'slept' somewhere else within. But I can only speculate at this point. It is not possible to explore further, at least, not without a larger group. As it was, I was able to 'backtrack' through Wec Stann with a few of the others."
Citan regards her again for a long moment. "...The mechanical guardians? Do you mean the machine? Or--" Realization appears to strike him in a flash. "...As a matter of fact, yes. I was able to determine with some analysis two things of note: the temperature control mechanisms appear to have failed a few thousand years ago, which means that if the footprints also date to that event, no one has entered since..." He shakes his head. "But I am not certain of that. It is possible the entrance could be far more recent but 'when' is difficult to determine. Indeed, from the evidence within, I am somewhat more in favor of a recent 'intrusion' before our entry." He smiles, briefly, the expression that favored by a weary scholar. "...In a historical sense of the word, that is!"
He is silent as if to collect his thoughts before he continues.
"And as for the other... well, I did conduct something of a 'postmortem' on one of the mechanical guardians, as you've named them. From what I can determine they were living beings after a fashion while remaining... hmm..." He has trailed off, frowning as if trying to happen upon the correct word for what he found. "...artificial. They are, or were, a fusion of machine and flesh. Without having seem them while they lived, I am afraid I can say little else. The temperature prevented any significant analysis, and I do not think it would be easy to remove one of their bodies from Wec Stann. ...Or, for that matter, wise."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"Heh." Lily will accept that. The matter of how he can assist her--"I'm hoping to confer with some of Shevat's intelligence apparatus," she explains. "But it can wait a bit."
Slightly to the left... Hmm. A question--it is a question. "That's true. So we can't completely rule it out... but it would only be speculation to suggest any more." A pause.
She does not mean the machine. She means--yes. "It's possible the Colonel has been here before, but it seems unlikely--just because there was relatively little taken from the place. It's possible he couldn't operate it without Leon, but..." That didn't stop him before. That isn't the full extent though. Citan has more to say. And Lily listens.
"You can imagine why I'm interested," she says, not quite bluntly but close to. "With their abilities, and the similar markings... Well, I know that my 'other self' created weapons. I don't know why I have the powers I have." She pauses, and nods. "...Yes. Much as I'd like to investigate them further myself... There's numerous reasons not to. Potential pathogens, to say nothing of one re-awakening outside--and if their power is anything like mine..." Lily shakes her head.
"That's... at the same time it cuts off a lead, it's kind of reassuring in another way. A part of me is concerned. Leon was set to be given numerous weapons, armies... and it just so happens that with ties to the same facilities, I have these abilities that are so destructive." Pause. "...But the only mechanical components I have so far as I know are the markings. I'm hardly a fusion."
"Still, if we can get back in there, encounter more of them... I'm willing to risk that much, when we're in a more stable place. For now, I think messing with it would only draw attention to the facility, and we don't want that."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"In that case... yes, I believe I will be able to help you," Citan tells Lily. "Though it may not be immediately. My apologies, but I will need to confer with someone else regarding your request, first. But I do not think they will be unsympathetic." He does not elaborate further at this time.
"Yes," he says, nodding. "I enjoy speculation as much as any other... but I do not think it would do us much good to end up on a 'wild goose chase'. In any case, there are clear signs of prior infiltration, but it is difficult, due to the ice, to get an exact read. It is a pity," he admits, smiling wryly. "In Solaris, there are machines with which it is possible to take samples of ice. It may be possible then in a temperature-controlled laboratory... but there is nothing like that left in Shevat. Simply put, Shevat has long been concerned with its own survival, against Solaris and its nature as a wandering nation both. Beyond what is necessary to defend and sustain themselves..." Citan shakes his head.
Birds in the nearby planter chirp then, tussling amonst each other as if in some sort of avian disagreement. Shevat is no lifeless, joyless place. But their survival still comes at a cost -- there is no time to sample and measure the accumulation of ice over the centuries, and certainly no tools or labs that would be equipped to accomplish this task.
"...But I digress. We may only be able to know for certain if the Colonel is willing to tell us," Citan finishes.
So she had noticed as well.
"Yes," he agrees. "To say nothing of what might happen if various, ah, parties were to discover their bodies."
He's watching her, she may notice. There's no sign of interest, or concern, or anything like that in his expression -- it's instead the sort of cool reserve one might find if they turned about in a forest to find that they had been under watch all along by a fox.
"Indeed," is what he says, unfolding his arms at last.
"Perhaps so, if we were to return at another time," he repeats.
And then after a moment's consideration -- here, like ripples on the water, his expression does give way to what may be a mild sort of thoughtfulness, his forehead creasing as if he were thinking something over.
"...Forgive me, but how old are you now, Lily?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"That's fine--a little time now won't make the difference. If it helps your inquiries, I'm specifically looking to find Colonel Keil. So any knowledge of Odessa bases or activity would be useful. ...It's time for Leon and I to finish this. I hope you and the others will be with us."
But the matter at hand can dominate their attention well enough, and she finds that despite her reluctance to let it go, she agrees with him--he has concerns that she hadn't even considered to the same degree. And the samples, well... "And we aren't in a position to commandeer any Solarian labs," she points out grimly. She nods, after a moment. That she can understand. Shevat does what it needs to.
"We'll see what he can learn from him."
"True. We don't need anyone figuring out how they tick."
She does notice he's watching, but she can't place what he's watching for. Despite her empathic abilities, she can often not read Citan, can't quite tell what he's thinking. There's something unsettling about that, even if she has learned to paper over that emotion in his case, to trust him. ...But there are reasons for him to be watchful.
She would be watchful, if she were him. So it's fine.
"Another time," she agrees, and then pauses. Thoughtfulness--and a question. Many women would find it rude, impertinent, but in the context of Citan being her doctor, it doesn't bug her.
"I'll be 26 in a few months. ...Roundabout, anyway--the Colonel's assessment of my age was always a guess, according to him and Mother. ...Still. 26 is good enough."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
He is silent a moment, as if in thought regarding her statement. "Yes... I see. In that case, I believe it is likely that Shevat would be willing to provide you with this information." He glances away, towards the birds in the planter box. "Odessa is no friend of Shevat. This was true even before their attempted invasion, but it is even more true now. Ptolomea had once been their hero, and now he is their enemy. His knowledge of their defenses alone..." Citan shakes his head and looks back towards Lily. "If he is in conversation with Colonel Keil, then Shevat is not safe."
He says this matter-of-factly.
"Of course I will be at your side as well."
And this as well.
"Indeed. Even with Shevat's advanced technology, we are hamstrung in certain regards. You are no doubt aware that they are often lacking in certain resources. What they do have are their weapons, their defenses, their information and their knowledge. And of course, their tenacity. Shevat may be a bird condemned to wander, but they will fight to the very last to defend what they have." A slight knowing smile has crept its way onto his face, as if there were something about that statement that he found almost pleasing.
"It may be that we shall need to approach the Colonel with our questions and then see if he will deign to answer," Citan says then, shaking his head. "Well. I suppose that we will see what happens."
In spite of his general friendliness, in spite of the fact that he's more than willing to talk over this or that for some time, despite the fact that he's been in their midst for years, Citan Uzuki is in many ways a closed book to most of the world. Then again, perhaps, judging from some of what he's let slip about his past...
But for her, he has a particular question.
He would likely be aware of that fact himself, being a married man. But she answers him without reserve, and so in response he nods, seemingly unsurprised that she doesn't know her exact age, given the conditions of her adoption. "Yes... I had thought you were few years older than Fei, but I could not remember how many," he replies. "It seems as if it were only yesterday that we had met. It is funny how time flies. It is shocking to realize but I will be thirty-five myself in the coming year!" Sighing, Citan shakes his head. "How quickly youth becomes a distant memory..."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"That's good," Lily says--of the information. Her expression is grim at the matter of Ptolomea. "It seems Odessa attracts a lot of traitors," she says darkly, and then thinks of one in particular and feels a little worse.
"...Thanks." She will be relying on her friends in the Wolves, when that confrontation comes. He'll certainly have backup of his own.
"Yes... I admire that much--a willingness to put it on the line if you have to. Civilians like most of Shevat shouldn't have to, but they do, and they've held on a long time now."
The Colonel... It may be. They'll see what happens. And Lily will continue to find Citan to be a closed book, for the most part. His question, though...
"That's right," she answers at the comparison to Fei. "...Doesn't it?" she says. "It seems like everything's happened all at once, sometimes." A laugh, then, good-natured. "We'll get you a cane when you need one," she quips, and then takes a step to the side. "...I'll let you be for now--You probably have things you want to do, and I should get something to eat after that trip."
She prepares to go... though she can be stopped.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Lily remarks that Odessa is in the habit of attracting traitors, and perhaps, it isn't hard to guess where her thoughts may have led her. But Citan looks a touch thoughtful on the subject, reaching up to briefly rub at his chin. "I wonder," he says at last. "If that is the correct way of interrogating the subject. If we reverse the direction, does it not become instead a question of what it is about these people that finds in Odessa an answer they cannot locate anywhere else?" Still, he shakes his head, as if he were not willing to linger too long on the subject.
"Yes," he answers her. "Perhaps, too long. Even now there are many of their number -- even those who descend from people born on the world's surface, in fact -- who wonder if they are not to blame for the condition of the world now. ...It is true that Shevat does not have 'clean hands'. But that does not mean that their efforts are in vain." He has glanced away again, regarding the birds that have once more settled down, living in peace perhaps in their plant pot. It's the sort of metaphor that is almost too on the nose.
"...I feel that the same is true for 'Captain Albus'. The outcome matters, regardless of the means. Perhaps someday there may indeed be a sort of reckoning, but..."
He has turned his attention back on Lily and sighs, his smile crooked. "Forgive me. I do tend to ramble. But I feel it is best not to deal in absolutes, whether in morality or in other arenas."
Lily remarks that it feels as if it's happened all at once -- all of this, since the start. "Time has an unfortunate habit of slipping away from you," he says, and though he smiles, his gaze tells another story.
But Lily tells him she'll bring him a cane when the time comes. "Oh my...! I do hope that is still many years off." And then she moves, as if to head off, telling him he likely has things he wants to do. And besides...
"Yes, you should go and get something to eat, at once!" he tells her, waving her off with both hands as if to indicate that she should go and do just that. "In the meantime, I believe I will go and speak about that request you had."
She won't be the only one heading off: Citan starts to head in the opposite direction.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"...What they can't find anything else, hm?" Lily wonders about that. "...I don't know what it would be. Maybe I'll hae to think about it." Or brood about it, more likely. ...It might be nice to be brooding about something other than their findings in Wec Stann, though.
Too long... yes. "I think I agree there. Granted, it's easy for me to forgive crimes long before I was..." She pauses. She trails off there, and doesn't finish the sentence, instead shaking her head. "...It's as you say. It's not a problem."
"The way I see it... People like us can do the things that others can't. And that might be our duty."
Lily notices that feeling in his gaze. She doesn't comment on it. Instead, she grins faintly at his hope--and at his direction. Yes, he would encourage the healthy thing.
"Thanks," she says in passing as he mentions his intention, and then walks off towards the eateries.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"I think it may be worth considering. In fact, it may be the key to resolving some of our recent woes," he tells her. He does not offer his own opinions on the matter, but then, perhaps the doctor is of the opinion that some answers need to be unwound by oneself.
"Yes," he answers here, and here he looks nothing less than sober regarding her statement. "That may indeed be our duty."
And thus, the two of them head in opposite directions.
Citan pauses a few moments after he crosses the bridge, turning to glance behind him once, off towards Lily as she approaches one of Aphel Aura's restaurants.
"It has been five years," he muses, "and still she looks as if she were no older than twenty." He furrows his brow, then glances once up towards the sky. "...Neither did they. Those markings... and those powers. Without question, it is the same..."
He lingers no longer after that. He had agreed to ask for Shevat's assistance against Colonel Keil, and he knows just the person with whom to start.
In fact, he is married to her.