Buy a Little Mercy [Open; Potentially Graphic Material]

[cityship]

Less than an hour after the ship leaves Agrestic's orbit, an announcement is broadcast throughout Stacy.

|| Attention, crew. Your crewmates, Howard Bassem and Charles Merriman, have been apprehended attempting to desert. They will now be given Punishment. According to established guidelines, you are all requested to report to the Observation to witness the Punishment. Attendance is not mandatory, but highly suggested. This will serve as a reminder of the consequences of treason and desertion. ||

On the observation deck, Archon Yavek, Archite Rekkti, two other Daligig and a handful of Kessek soldiers stand outside a spherical force field. Inside the bubble, Orc and Howard are suspended by tentacles looping around their wrists. Orc's ceased thrashing around and struggling against his restraints; rust-colored fissures have developed around his shoulders and forearms from the strain, but now he simply hangs there, looking defeated. Howard's nose is bleeding, and every time a drop falls to the bottom of the forcefield there's a small sizzle. He's weeping and begging the Daligig with every plea possible, but they act as if they aren't listening. Instead, they wait for an audience.

Comments

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"No kidding." The book snorted. "That's what happens when the government doesn't have any POWER. Security answers to Command, Command doesn't do anything, and all I can do is go, 'hey, quit being idiots.'"

He looked purposefully from the two awaiting Punishment, to the increasingly hostile around them. "And then look what you get. A bunch of maniacs who want to throw away the entire war for the sake of rebelling." Zetta sighed. "You guys at least can DO things like tell the ship to detain this guy or that guy. All we've got is our ability to talk sense to them. Guess how well THAT's going."

[futureisclear]

"I knew you were an idiot, Zetta, but a coward?" Ildraniath piped up from her vantage point.

"And you call yourself a leader."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about," Zetta said to Yavek.

[futureisclear]

Ildraniath was making a mental note: when the revolution comes, Zetta will be tossed out of an airlock.

"If you think that placating them is going to help you in any way, you're sorely mistaken."

[meat_mooks]

"Command answers to me, like anyone else on this ship," Yavek says with a sniff. "A military structure needs a single localized force of power, rather than being spread through these many departments. I've seen your farce of a constitution. It's pathetic."

Subtlety, Yavek has none.

"Go, talk sense to them, then. Control your civilians, Councillor."

He gestures at Ildraniath with a toss of his head, but she is pointedly ignored.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"FINALLY some permission!" His minion turned to face Ildraniath, as the book smiled. "You heard the man. Stand down. I finally have the authority to put you whiners down for good."

She was totally in on the plan, right? She would put up a good fight but lose, bolstering the facade of the crew playing along so that they could gain further power, right? Rhiow had told her the plan at her meeting, right? If not that, she'd at least figured it out from his message on the omincomms, right?

This would go perfectly with no complications whatsoever!

[futureisclear]

"Don't make me crush your puny little mind," Ildraniath warned with a snort, "If you think you can control me, you're sorely mistaken."

As as she knew, there was no plan from the Council.