trans_9 | For the birds [Open]

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For the birds [Open]

Hydroponics was an area that Zouichi had become somewhat fond of. It wasn't as though it particularly reminded him of home, though in some respects the plant and animal life here did resemble that of Earth.

But it was quiet here. Or, at least, far quieter than the cities he was used to. There was the occasional carnivorous plant or other surprise, of course, but nothing seriously hazardous so far. Today he was sitting in the soft grass under the shade of an alien tree. He'd been watching the wildlife carefully for the last few days, observing the behavior of the small avian creatures that inhabited the area, gathering up a collection of the seeds they seemed to especially relish.

This was the second day he was attempting this. Zouichi opened the small packet in which he'd stored the seeds, spreading out a handful on one palm. He held them out, then waited, keeping absolutely still.

A small, red-plumaged bird eventually fluttered down from one of the nearby trees, alighting on a branch not far from him. Tiny, but apparently bold, it deliberated for a moment before taking wing again, setting down on the ground below his hand, where some of the seeds had spilled. It pecked at them, keeping one bright, beady eye on him all the while.

Without warning, it hopped up to perch on his wrist, pecking delicately at the food there.

He smiled.

[ooc: Feel free to come feed 'em, scare 'em off, whatever :)]

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So she didn't have any Plan B, either. Zouichi refrained from rolling his eyes; it was a bad habit he'd picked up from Howard. "If you continue to experience difficulty in seeing a clear future, will it not interfere with your duties as a Farseer?"

He was also curious about what specific 'trials' the Eldar had supposedly needed to overcome... but maybe some other time. "The people aboard the ship appear to keep themselves busy, one way or another. In fact, the sentiment I hear most often is that we should be grateful for the respite."

Too much respite made him itchy.

"Yes, but that is one of the difficulties I am prepared to experience. The portents are not always clear and the best way forward not always immediately apparent." Roll his eyes he might, but Eldar society was molded around the paths and discipline and dedication. It was no shame to say otherwise.

"Perhaps. We will have to see how long this war takes."

"What do you do if the way forward is not apparent?" He was guessing 'improvise'.

"I suppose." Zouichi looked none too pleased with the idea; the longer this war took, the longer it would take before he was able to return home. "It appears to have already taken up quite a number of years. Apparently not a particularly swift conflict."

Not that he really had a problem with long struggles. He was built to last, after all.

"You do your best to find a way that will not end in unnecessary death or suffering for your people," she replied. So, yeah. Improvise.

"You do not necessarily need to read the future to be a good leader, but it certainly helps." She lifted a hand to pluck a runestone of the air idly and examined it.

"No, not swift in the least. I imagine it could go on for quite a while, at our current rate. Perhaps decades."

Not that she minded that. She was going to live for at least another five centuries.

"I wonder how long the members of the crew will stand for being kept in this situation," Zouichi said thoughtfully. "Before they choose to abandon the war. I haven't heard of anyone staying behind on the planetside missions, but I understand it can happen. On the other hand, if they choose to stay, they may live and die here. Perhaps that's why there are so many pod chambers, and why crew members are released in batches."

"They are replacing losses," she replied. Call her a cynic or a realist. "More warm buddies for the war effort. Nothing more, nothing less. We are resources to these Dalgig, our so-called benefactors. Make no mistake about that."

He nodded slowly. "We certainly do seem like acceptable losses to them. I understand that there are some in every war. However, I am not so used to the concept of kidnapping civilians and forcing them to serve. Some of the crew have no idea how to fight and possess little other skills of use."

"They are probably hoping that enough of us do and that we make enough of a difference before dying to win the war for them," she replied. Cynical, perhaps, but she'd do the same thing.

Zouichi snorted at that one. "If they have the power to pluck us out of our worlds and send us on a wild chase across the dimensions, you'd think they'd have the power to win their own war."

The Daligig hadn't asked him before removing him from Earth, he'd never spoken to any of them face-to-face, and they'd essentially trapped all of them on a decrepit prison ship. As far as he was concerned, he owed them little, if anything.

Ildraniath smiled, tight and thin-lipped. "From what I understand, they are desperate and facing extinction should they lose. That could be another lie, of course, but desperate people do many things that do not seem wise at first glance."

Like diverting hive fleets into human worlds.

"In other words, it comes back to the fact that we can't really be sure what is going on." Yet again.

"Currently, it seems there is only one choice: playing along. For me, at least -- I am unable to traverse dimensions on my own power. And if I stay aboard the ship, I will likely have to face the Ohm. Which, of course, is what the Daligig wish." He was assuming Ildraniath was in the same boat, since she hadn't left the ship as soon as she'd recovered her things.

"We cannot be sure of anything. Not these Dalgig, not the Ohm and at times, even our own crew." How typical.

"If I had access to the webway, I might try and depart, but then I would be abandoning who knows how many of my kin to a strange and unwished for fate. So I will remain, for the moment, and direct events as I may."

"You must take your duties to your people very seriously, to bind yourself to this place in order to look after them. ...Or is it that you don't trust the crew with their lives?" Because if Ildraniath had proved anything so far, it was that she was suspicious of everyone. Or at least anyone who wasn't Eldar.

"At any rate, I will be relieved when we're able to set down planetside again. As long as the mission isn't... isn't like last time."

"Both," she replied coolly and evenly, "I take my duty very seriously and neither do I trust a mostly human crew to look after the fate of aliens."

She glanced at him curiously. What could've happened last time? Some horrific disaster? "What happened on your last mission?"

Well, fair enough; it sounded like the humans Ildraniath was used to weren't on particularly cordial terms with other species.

"...the crew was required to participate in an alien marriage ritual in order to obtain access to the map artifact I spoke of earlier."

"Nothing untoward, of course," he hastened to add. "Just... not quite the mission I was expecting."

"...how interesting," she replied, tone dry, "If that is the sort of thing that will win us the war... I suppose I cannot complain."

He could. He could complain plenty.

"If they were going to give us the artifact anyway, I don't see why we had to take part in their charade. I doubt it would have been of use to anyone else."

It was like some kind of vast cosmic joke.

"And I suppose the ship would not simply let us take it?"

Back home, that would've meant a quick jaunt through the webway, a running firefight, extraction and then back to Ulthwe.

"No. Though I believe part of it had to do with the planet's defense network. Apparently, it was powerful enough to blow this ship out of the sky." Which was, admittedly, pretty impressive -- it was a big ship.

Zouichi would have preferred a stealth grab, actually, since they hadn't had access to any such warping technology at the time.

"Impressive. Well, I suppose our ship is not a pragmatist, by any stretch of the imagination..."

He shook his head. "If the evidence from the past few months is anything to judge by, it is old, damaged, and either malfunctioning or irrational. In fact, I believe it was repurposed from duty as a prison ship. Which is the reason for the... overzealous Punishments, no doubt.

"I hope that future missions require more of a hands-on approach. Ritual and diplomacy are not my strong suit."

"Diplomacy has its place in war, but it is generally not my strength, either."

Well. Not strictly true. She was rather manipulative and could smooth talk when she wanted to.

"I would prefer to find allies and to smash these Ohm. Or take the ship for ourselves and not the Dalgig. What do we know about its inner workings?"

Ildraniath? Manipulative? Noooo.

"Not very much, honestly. It's vast, old; it was once taken over by pirates wishing to sell off the crew members in stasis. Its main AI personality has reverted to a less hostile version of itself, yet pieces of its warden persona still persist."

"Some of the supplementary AIs, such as the Doctor, are helpful. Others are not; one routinely kidnaps crew members to run 'tests' on them. The staff of Neuropathy would probably be able to supply more specifics about the ship's navigational and other essential systems, if that is what you seek."

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For the birds [Open]

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