psychic thread

[agentlenpc]

[The gentle brush against the Strangers' minds comes in early evening. It is, as all mental touches are from Fayura, soft and unassuming, much like a polite knock at a door. Once as many minds are connected as she thinks will open the door to her, she speaks.]

I am curious, Strangers, what you would do with the young man who shot and killed Councilwoman Vera.

Many of you come from worlds where there are laws against murder. While we have no such laws here, when a Blood male in a Queen's Territory kills another without cause, she may demand a price from him. Sometimes, that is his own life if he was negligent enough with his temper and sometimes, it's something less.

My trouble is this: if I execute him according to the laws of the Blood, of which he is not one, the Guilds will rouse their people into a furor and attack not only me, but the people of Draega. If I turn him over to the Ebon Council, the Guilds will do much the same, and that will incite the Council to strike back. And if I return him to the Guilds for accolades instead of punishment for taking a life, the Ebon Council will have cause to rip apart the Guilds and anyone in their way to extract from him the price for murdering one of their own.

Were you me, what course would you take? And please try not to shout over each other; this is as many of you as I could reach.

Comments

[unwieldy]

[ Wow, Daylight, that is extremely... moving. And those words might have worked on anyone else if they weren't Haein. His stubborn nature is going to send him straight to the pits one of these days. ]

He's already a dead man. He forfeited his life the moment he took someone else's.

[ He's so disconcertingly casual about it. ]

Someone just has to deal the final blow.

[agentlenpc]

He went to the Last Meal to cause trouble. [ Allairavar says seriously and with consideration. ] Now, the young man has caused trouble and found it.

[ There is the distinct impression that Allairavar says this for someone else's benefit other than Haein's. ]

[sunborne]

But-

[ daylight can almost feel the weight of dialup's servo on his shoulder, asking him to calm himself before he says something dumb and reckless when his emotions get the better of him.

it's a struggle and then some but he just barely keeps himself in check. ]

He did. He- He caused trouble and lots of it. A lot of people are hurting as a result and he'll have to answer for what he did for their sake. I know that.

But... I don't like the idea of using retaliation against retaliation. Especially if the person is already at the mercies of others. He's going to face what he did down the line and it's got to be done right.

To prove that what he did isn't the answer.

[agentlenpc]

It is not precisely retaliation. [ Allairavar pauses. ] In the most generous interpretation, what he did was stupid at the very least. He and those with him purposefully rendered Lady Vera next to helpless and then turned weapons upon her.

Have you been in a position, [ He struggles for a moment, attempting to figure out exactly how to address Daylight. ] Lord Daylight, where your best protection has been taken from you and you are left vulnerable to those who wish your humiliation or worse? To cut off a Blood from their Jewel is to take their arm. Their leg. Their heart. That is what the landens did when they used muters and breakers on Lady Vera and part of why the Blood find it so abhorrent.

He is fortunate that the Lady Fayura seeks to speak with all of you and to try to find a different path for I can tell you without pause that had these landens tried the same with Lady Fayura, none of them would still draw breath.

[sunborne]

... Yes.

[ he remembers the fear he felt when datashock’s device activated when he confronted the mech for framing nightbreak for the murder they committed. feeling his arc core gradually shrink over time as the two fought— that’s not a fun memory to remember. that’s something he’d like to avoid doing for a long, long while.

and that’s something someone else experienced before they actually died.

he rubs his chassis while he tries to think of something to say, biting his glossa to keep himself from speaking out immediately. it’s amazing how quickly his emotions are shifting but he tries to sort through them first. ]

It’s a good thing she's seeking advice from other folks and stuff, yeah. This is a really messy situation for everyone.

I'm glad we can help her and you guys. I- I don't knows what's going on exactly but I do want to help out somehow.

[agentlenpc]

You are helping. Lady Fayura asked and you've answered. You've spoken your heart and there is value in that. [ He replies sincerely. ] You aided those trapped at the power plant and you sought to help in the city.

[sunborne]

It's the least I could have done for you guys when I heard about what happened at the power plant. I mean- I promised to help you guys.

[ it's why he's here. and while he does get something out of this arrangement- daylight isn't one to simply coast on by and do minimum effort. not when others are relying on him and lots it at stake. ]

It's just- Well- [ hrrrrm. ] Do you mind me asking a question?

[agentlenpc]

Ask what you will. [ He's sincere, but Allairavar's tone implies that he also reserves the right to not answer.]

[sunborne]

[ daylight is quick to pick up on that and y i k e s. let's hope the question won't be fall under that category. ]

Um- If the decision is made to go through with the trial- [ he's trying his best to not imply a trial could happen, since he doesn't want to sound, like, presumptuous or anything. it's the queen's decision. ] -than what are the guy's options in terms of punishment?

[ he now knows - thanks to some folks here /stares at haein - that death is an option hanging over the guy and the preferred one at that. but daylight is now left wondering about what else could happen to him. ]

[agentlenpc]

It will depend, I think, on what the group can agree to. However, there are some commonalities. If his actions are found to be malicious, death is usually the punishment. If not, then exile is a possibility. [ One that Allairavar doesn't sound like he agrees with. Exiling someone from Draega is, in reality, a death sentence. ] The other option would be restitution to Lady Vera's family.

[unwieldy]

[ How are you his only support in these times, Allairavar. ]

A precedent is about to be set here. When the next assassination is plotted out, [ and it will, because that's how much Haein believes in people ] they'll look to see how he was punished.

[agentlenpc]

Or they will look at the Blood with further resentment. [ If that's even possible. ] The fallout is impossible to measure in these volatile times nor do I believe the potential should weigh as heavily as the act he committed.

[unwieldy]

It's going to be bad, that much is obvious.

[ Then, dryly: ]

But I guess that's what we're here for.

[agentlenpc]

[ Allairavar chuckles softly. The sound ripples through the psychic thread, but it is not unkind. ]

Lady Fayura hopes that you can help her bring good out of the bad.

[unwieldy]

[ Maybe some of these other people, but Haein is just here to point at bad things and say they're bad. ]

In my experience, things that go bad only end up becoming worse. I'm keeping my expectations low.

[agentlenpc]

It's a sound life choice in my experience as well.

[unwieldy]

I'm guessing you tried to talk to her, too.

[ Clearly he means the Queen but why address her by title or name when he can just be Haein. ]

[sunborne]

[ (is the introspection referring to haein or referring to daylight? it could go either way.)

daylight does falter a bit because he got hit in the face with a nasty case of the truth, losing his momentum and righteousness because he can't deny nor soften that cold hard fact:

the guy killed someone and killed someone on purpose. that needs to be answered too and if it ends up being an eye for an eye situation... ]

Only if- [ he tries to figure out what he wants to say, his mind a bit jumbled now. ] But only if it's called for in the end. When he's put through trial or judgement or whatever it's going to be called and that's the verdict. Not through 'accidents' or 'surprises' or things like that.

[unwieldy]

[ There's no hesitation on Haein's end. He says what he wants to say. ]

Why afford him the courtesy of a trial? We know he's guilty. Plenty of people were there to witness the murder, and I'm sure the councilwoman would consider her death a surprise. That her murderer might be offered this chance to explain himself must have her rolling in her grave.

[sunborne]

Because it's- [ he's going to sound like a broken clock now, but he's got to say it. ] -the right thing to do. It isn't fair. It isn't easy. But it's right.

My mom said- My mom said, 'Fine then. Take all the eyes you want. Satisfy your need. And, when you're all blind, tell others where to go now.' [ it's from an old speech she once made during her tenure as the main representative for earth on the council. something about the phrase stuck with him. ] I want to help everyone here in this place. It's why I agreed to this. That includes him.

[unwieldy]

[ An eye for an eye. Haein is well aware of the principle. In fact, he might possibly live his life by it.

Let the whole world go blind for all he cares. ]

It's a pretty speech, but that's all it is. [ His cynicism is really jumping out. ] You might think that way, but you can't change or help human nature. They're drowned by their egos and selfishness. It's been that way for as long as they've existed and it'll continue being that way after you and I are gone.

[sunborne]

[ daylight puffs out his cheek for a brief second, really annoyed now. he shakes his helm and takes a deep breath-

-only to let out a deep and heavy sigh, the sound causing feedback and static to come up hard on poor haein's end. ]

I have a feeling we're going to keep arguing about this if we keep going, huh?

[ it almost reminds him of the earlier fights he had with nightbreak. when they had clashed a lot about things when they had been first assigned as roommates. only, you know, there are less attempts to stab him in this first talk of theirs.

(he wonders if this is because they're only talking to each other through a voice call.) ]

You really think there's no helping human nature? [ it doesn't sound like daylight is looking to debate anymore. rather, it sounds like daylight is trying to figure something out. ] Are you applying that to everyone or to these circumstances right now...?

[unwieldy]

[ What the heck, Haein didn't ask for this feedback!!

After some wincing, he thinks they're at the end of their conversation, only for something else entirely to be brought up.

These are questions that could lead down to a potentially dangerous and personal path. Haein clams up immediately, drawing up his walls and going on the defensive. He can discuss broad topics and generalizations with relative ease, but as soon as his own issues get put on the spot, it's curtains. ]

We're not talking about this.

[sunborne]

Why can't we discuss it?

[ can haein tell daylight is an eighteen-year-old? can he? this poor man.

since this is a physic link, daylight allows himself to cross his arms and slump against the wall he's been resting on since the start of this chat. but since this is a physic link and he's not like the other more considerate individuals here, day's thread does not shy away from his emotions.

right now his side is certainly 'flavoured' with something sharp and warm - determination or plain old stubbornness? it can be two sides of the same coin on a good day.

buuuut... it softens, because he remembers how auntie laura could be disappointed in him if he ignored someone's explicit refusal. it may have been almost over fifty years since her passing but he can feel her gaze burning the back of his helm right now. ]

Fine. [ it's with a 'whuff' and everything. a gentle 'whuff' but a 'whuff' all the same. ] What do you want to talk about then if that's a no go?

[unwieldy]

[ Kind of wild how Haein is only a few years older than Daylight, yet he acts as if he's a bitter, old man.

While Daylight's emotions are an open book, Haein makes sure to reinforce the barricades on his own. If he wasn't already ridiculously guarded before, he's definitely more cautious now from those few questions. He's done a great job of keeping his personal matters his own for as long as he can remember, and he'd like to keep it that way until he ends up in his grave.

Anyway, thank goodness for Auntie Laura, because he absolutely needed this subject to be dropped instantly. ]

I don't... want to talk about anything?

[ It's phrased like a question because Haein is truly puzzled by the question. If they're done arguing, so they can just part ways now, right? ]