voice; un: eliasainsworth

[thornydisposition]

I believe I have some information that might be of use, or at least to consider.

[The voice is low and very even, having only the barest hint of a conversational cadence.]

My companion, Shuyi, and I managed to locate and capture Miz Poppy. We captured her and two of her Deemer companions, and as we began to take them back to Perdition's Rest, she had some very interesting things to say.

She reaffirmed that there was no way to safely separate a Taraxa from its host without the destruction of the latter. What is more troubling, however, was that she insisted that hers and her compatriots' mission of destruction was something which the TIMELINE.EXE asked of them.

Before we could deliver her back here, one of the other captured Deemers sacrificed himself so that she may escape in the confusion.

It is not my intention to offer this information in order to incite mass confusion or doubt, as it is quite possible she was lying. But I do not think we can completely discount that she might be telling the truth—or that she and her fellows are somehow deluded enough to believe that they are. It is, as I originally said, something to at the very least keep in mind.

Comments

[predomination]

Killing them is a mercy, really. They'll just die slowly otherwise.

[he at least has the decency to sound unhappy about it- not so much the murder part, but the fact that they're that broken.]

[steler]

The best we can do is make sure more don't get infected.

[predomination]

We've captured as many host-free Taraxa and assorted Deemers as I think will be necessary to bring back, so there's no excuse for anything less than extreme prejudice.

Hopefully, the more squeamish will understand we did what we could.

[steler]

We're going to need a better plan than a few of us indiscriminately killing Deemers.

[predomination]

[chipper] It would do something about all the aggression around here.

[he says like he really cares about coming up with another plan. he's BUSY with STUFF. and if letting a bunch of assholes go around popping Deemers keeps everyone out of his face, then awesome.]

[steler]

Or cause more of it.

[he's irritated though they'd had a better conversation last time]

[predomination]

[yeah welcome to the most frustrating aspect of Urahara- his general inconsistency with how he approaches problems that don't immediately concern him. he can stop and start a lot of things, but he can't stop a bunch of violent assholes from being violent assholes.

"protect our own" only works when half the lot isn't looking for trouble.]

What do you suggest? We're working on a solution to the Qorral's agrecite problem, so I don't know how much longer we'll even be on this planet, and if we leave any Deemers alive beyond the ones we can see, we risk them becoming a problem later.

Which might be a problem anyway if they ever got word back to Zymandis.

[steler]

[wait he managed to say something really important]

Is it a viable solution?

[predomination]

It does look like it could be. We have people here who have a lot of experience with this, and it wasn't difficult to get the equipment together.

[steler]

The subject of the Deemers might stop being important, then.

[predomination]

Which is why I'm content to just let everyone tire themselves out before we head back to Oska. If the Deemers are going to report back to Zymandis, it's probably already been done by now. The best we can do is make sure we're not here when that call is answered.

[steler]

Right.

[unless they fail the mission after the fact because zymandis comes after they bounce]

Have you heard anything more about Zymandis since your last post? We may need to be prepared if they show before we've left.

[predomination]

Only confirmation that they are exactly what Elias-san says- a rival organization bent on destroying the timeline. The Taraxa are their loyal infiltration agents.

[thornydisposition]

(ooc: adding into this here because i got mod confirmation that [unfortunately!!] changes a few things)

I am unsure they believe they are bent upon destroying the timeline.

From what I remember Miz Poppy telling my companion and I, they are intent upon seeing this planet fall, but they do this because their version of the TIMELINE.exe directs them to. She insisted that theirs was a superior version to ALASTAIR's.

This is, at least, what I remember her saying.

[predomination]

[this just gets better and better]

This is going to take some investigating then. It might be they're using an outdated version or it might be that we're using an outdated version or... It might be that whoever programmed the file intentionally pitted us against each other.

[thornydisposition]

[A short sigh.]

My, I dislike being used as a pawn.

[This is about as close to angry as Elias gets without extraneous circumstances.]

You are correct, though. Once we return to Oska, we should probably get some of our more technologically-adept members to attempt to get a closer look at the program in question.

[Assuming... that's possible... hell, Elias doesn't know.]

[predomination]

And they found such easy ones in us. [Urahara's tone actively sounds... well snide, as opposed to cheerfully irreverent or that low casual baritone that denotes him dropping the act. it's as close as he might get to sounding actively annoyed by something.]

It can't be helped right now, but I have no interest in allowing it to continue on this way. If Oska has no answers for us then we'll just have to take precautions to avoid being caught like this again.

[thornydisposition]

Only because we are left with no other options.

[If Elias could open a rift through space-time and return home (with a pit-stop in Oska to pick up Chise), he would.]

I agree with you, however. If we are to be used in this way, we might as well have full understanding of what it is we are to do and why. Keeping us in the dark will only further endanger the missions we are assigned.

[predomination]

[he makes a noncommittal noise- he's not happy about this. not by a longshot, but that only makes him even more inclined to stick it out and show them how a true chessmaster does it.]

And if they don't know anything at all about Zymandis, then I'd hope they'll start looking into it after this. No one will be happy if we get ambushed like this again due to a lack of information.

[not that Urahara isn't going to be taking precautions to anticipate that kind of attack. it's no good being aggressively prepared if he doesn't know the extent of the mess they're in.]

[thornydisposition]

If they have no knowledge of this group or how they managed to secure another version of this Timeline program, it will be dire news indeed.

[So far, from what he had heard, the Audentes group hadn't faced true opposition from a force that wasn't of the planet they landed on. Now they would face opposition on two fronts. Troublesome.]

We will have to change our tactics if we seek to gain any advantage. We cannot afford to field assaults from natives and Zymandis without loss.

audio | un: Sasaki

[ex_adept136]

Sorry to interrupt, but how are you approaching the situation with the Qorral diet?

[It's rude to jump right in here, but he is encouraged to see someone with (hopefully) more ability to act on it might have a lead. Obviously, the Qorral's current pattern of mining planets hollow is parasitic and not sustainable.

And it'd be something positive amid the rest if it turns out that they can at least end that cycle of destruction]

[predomination]

It's primarily Knock-Out-san's project, but he has some experience in this field. Essentially, we're going to make a substitute form of agrecite that's simple to manufacture, so they no longer have to rely on fracking to get what they need.

[ex_adept136]

That's good to hear. Keith and I once discussed that notion, but neither of us had the experience or skill with which to pursue it. The diversity of our team really can be very fortunate.

[And this is one solace to come out of all of this]

If either of you end up needing any supplies or assistance, please let me know. While I may not be useful for research and development, I can at least handle mundane tasks if it saves you time.

[predomination]

There's always more to do. All of us have had to cobble together a lot of scrap to get anything at all done in a place like this, and it'll be easier if we have someone to fetch things we need than having to go ourselves.

[he respects you more than as a gopher, Haise, but... well, if SOMEONE IS OFFERING HE'LL DEFINITELY JUMP ON THE EXCUSE TO BE A LAZY ASS.]

[ex_adept136]

Then by all means, if you have specifics, I can give you a hand.

[What's superhuman strength and speed for anyway?

He might be book-smart but darned if he'd be useful for the actual Science part...]