Welcome to Gaia! ::

Eostre watched the other trolls take their seat, unfolding her hands to wave to Sarcel and return Kursha's wave with a smile. Zindel really was the only troll here she wasn't very familiar with, though she did remember his actions at the party. But he must have done something right to be here at the meeting, and he would be useful. Maybe she'd even find out why?

When the Queen started up the meeting, Eostre sat up again in her seat. Any questions, huh? She had learned a lot in the past sweep or so but... one thing did weigh on her thinkpan, since it was the most recent. She politely cleared her throat. "I suppose I can start with a question I bet a few of us have," she said. "I've been wondering... how much of the party's events were by your design? I've obviously gathered by now that you sent out the secret instructions, and that they were planned so something could happen. But quite a few trolls didn't make it out of the hive."

She thought of Tigwyn's death and Awassi's escape/death, which were probably unplanned. And also Eostre and Tamiya getting shot was almost definitely unintended, and the hive burning down. But pretty much the only adult troll to make it out was Puchen, and only barely. Perhaps it was a bit of cleaning the hive, so to speak. Eostre had mostly thought of the party as being a big lure to catch Awassi in the act and hadn't been the best at sleuthing out all the clues (since she was mostly focused on turning off lights and cameras), but maybe the Queen could shed a little light on what exactly had happened. Did she plan the whole thing, and it just went a little wild? "What exactly was supposed to happen at the gala?" Eostre leaned forward on the table, glancing at the others. Surely they all wondered this as well.

amicableAggressor

kind of a double question, but related. eostre wants to know what events at the party regina planned on and was goin for, and what was just s**t Going Down, basically!
(also bc ooc a lot of things happened and it was a long time ago i figure we could use a refresher ilu)

In the silence, Regina grinned. "No? This is it the time for it. Well, we don't got all night." She was pretty sure at least one troll at the table had loaded emotions over the adults on this list. Tapping her copy of the leaflet on the table and thumbing back to where she left off, the empress launched back in to her list of misdeeds.

"Puchen was the blueblood who couldn't handle the simple task of cleaning out the remains of Old Hemisect. What was supposed to be a simple, peaceful operation turned into something where the word body count was used repeatedly. I'm sure you all know the story, and I don't feel there's much to say there. She was only really brought to the party to round out the numbers, and aggravate Schrad into showing her hand." The pages for Mapuye weren't nearly as thick as the ones for the previous trolls, as her 'failing' was the most public and needed the least amount of research. Most of the information consisted of newspaper clippings, and copies of missives and directives sent by the blueblood herself during her fall from grace. A final page in the back contained photocopies of several cards that might be familiar from the party, mysterious anonymous correspondences that no one had managed to tie to any troll there. With them was a photograph of a rather pathetic looking greenblood with freckles and fluffy hair, a small diamond hastily drawn in the corner of the image to show how the troll linked to Puchen.

"Awassi was -- oh I'm sorry." Flipping to the next page, Regina let out a small chagrinned chuckle. Instead of a photo of Awassi, there was a sheet for Epratt Keweri, the deceased seadweller who's culling had triggered the night's events. "I nearly forgot. Keweri. Bribed officials to exceed his quota of orphaning each sweep, in a time when our young trolls are our most vital and important resource. Not only that, but he also mysteriously failed to deliver on his quota of food for my dear loving mother. And I think we're all well aware of the vital importance of keeping her well fed and content. Honestly, I had been overlooking a lot of other corner cutting he had been doing, but really." The following pages for the seadweller contained a lot of covert photos, lists of goods, columns of beetles, and other bits of busywork tying him to various illegal deeds. From blackmail, to bribery, to downright theft, Keweri seemed to have had a finger in all sorts of unsavoury pastimes.

Pausing, Regina flipped back through the pages, an expression of satisfaction on her face. Turning her gaze back to the table she looked around at the teens again. "If you haven't figured out yet, I considered each and every one of these trolls expendable. More than that - I wanted them all out of the way. Tigwyn Ioyana was the one unexpected element that night. I'll cover him right now since we don't have any dossier or information on him. I had, in fact, extended an invitation to his captain, a Rouxez Piccal. If you don't know, they're both from the crew of the spaceship that landed quite unceremoniously in the middle of Four Fronds in a rather disruptive manner." Pulling a large glossy photo out of the stack still sitting beside her, Regina slid it into the middle of the table for all trolls to see. The image was a candid shot of the crew lounging around besides a dry fountain, while fire licked the sky in the background. "Captain, Rouxez Piccal. First mate, Malory Jovian. Helmsman, Tigwyn Ioyana. Master gunner, Loulah Brahck, and navigator Shenso Mellek. They all survived the tragic accident that led to the death of our previous monarch and standing army, and my ascension to the throne. In an odd way, they tie in to Awassi."

Sliding the photo back, Regina turned to the final section in her compiled rogue's gallery. "Erilyn Awassi's crimes are the worst kind, in that most of them happened far enough back for them to slip by unnoticed. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a troll who thinks they've slid past my notice. Awassi had ties to the Phoenix Initiative, the anti-hemospectrum group that I'm sure most of you have heard about or clashed with by now. In their youth they were card carrying member of the same organization. However, they seemingly reformed as they grew older and went on to enjoy a flawless military career. They trained and worked as a member of the communications crew, the trolls responsible for fielding all incoming and outgoing signals to and from the planet. It was one of those trolls who, sweeps ago, sent a false distress signal to lure my predecessor back to the planet, and to her death. That troll was Erilyn Awassi." Sitting back, she swung a hand over to the dossiers each troll had in front of them. Awassi's was the most damning of all, with everything recorded out. The roster for the night in question, indicating they were on duity at the exact time. The list of all other trolls who had been in their squad, along with all their mysterious and sudden deaths afterwards. Awassi's retirement from the military shortly afterwards, with the patronage of Epratt Kewrei. A lot of the copies were obviously pieced together after being shredded, and a few showed burn marks, indicating that a troll had possibly attempted to destroy them in the past.

"I'm not honestly sure what their end game had been, considering that the result was the death of most of the same group as well as our army. Maybe Awassi double-crossed everyone. Either way, they went on to live an opulent life as the belle of the stage, erased from blame by the chaos that followed, and the timely deaths of other trolls who could point fingers. You asked what exactly was supposed to happen at the gala." Leaning forwards, Regina turned her face to smile at Eostre. "You were supposed to enjoy a good meal, get to know your comrade-in-arms, and show me what you were capable of. All in all, I feel the night went off with only minor hitches. Does that answer your question?"


Question answered!

"Ah! Right the kids." Regina hadn't honestly expected Tamiya to bring them up, but looking at the calm and polite gaze of the purpleblood, she felt reassured. There was no stuttering or guilt, though the empress wondered how much of it was due to religious conviction rather than anything else. She always gave clowns a wide berth in general, rather than risk accidentally sticking her foot in the soda, as it was. This one though ... her eyes dipped to the missing fingers, replaced with the metal prosthetics. Aiguma had, as far as the medical reports indicated, been fitted for the new ones after volunteering to smoke out Byakko's little club. And despite the loss of body parts, she seemed to be raring to go again. Regina liked to see that in a troll.

Making eye contact again, the empress treated Tamiya a full view of her incisors with a wide grin. Inwardly, she quickly translated the more labyrinthine parts of the purpleblood's question in her mind. "From what I've been able to gather, they had been sighted around the area a sweep or so ago, stealing food and anything else they could get their hands on. A few trolls were getting ready to mount a hunt, when they abruptly disappeared. At the same time Awassi purchased a large cage. Now." Squinting down at the papers in front of her, she rustled them together and then spread them apart. "I can't say that I know they were connected to the initiative, but, at the same time, I don't know they weren't. From a leadership standpoint, I'd encourage assumption of the latter. It makes things easier. But to talk any more of this would get into tactical, military information. Before I do that, I need to ask you all a few things, so let's just finish up any other questions first."

Answered one of two of Tamiya's questions! Second one is on hold for later- next question please!

Regina's face, already attentive, lit up just a little more as Kursha spoke. Alright Vidari, what hilarious and vaguely insulting questions do you have for me tonight? Of course, the objectives. She wasn't certain if anyone else would dare vocalize that, as many times as she had reassured them that nothing was off-limits. As he laid his curiosity on the table, the empress's face was like a cat. Possibly in possession of all the cream. "Just three? Well alright. Since you asked so nice n' all."

Sitting up, the queen raised one finger, mimmicing the greenblood in posture, although her face was still nothing but earnest enthusiasm. "One. I wanted to see how self-aware you all were of your talents. If what you wrote matched up with your performance of your task, then you were correct in your self-diagnosis. It's important to me that troll realize what they're capable of. A wasted potential is worse than no potential at all. I hope everyone who completed their task learned something new about themselves, or someone else." The wink attached to the end of that could be interpreted however each troll at the table wanted. It was just there.

"Two. I had one spot left at the table, and I don't know much about Piccal or her crew. From their original files when they left the planet, they were all regular, unobtrusive, and unassuming soldiers. I figured I could use that time to observe her in a possibly stressful environment, and feel her out. See if she could be useful." She glanced down at her papers and twisted the corners of her mouth slightly, concealing a frown. "Also, she and her crew have requested a formal military discharge. Unless I can get any dirt on them, then they've completed their mandatory term and I have to release them. I was hoping for one experienced and still-active flight crew to assist with future projects."

Looking back up at the other trolls, Regina cleared her throat and relapsed back into 'excited and friendly'. "Three! Honestly? None of the trolls were an active threat. I could probably have afforded them to stick around for a few more sweeps. I guess you could say I was saving them up for a time where their finales could be ... the most useful. Is that all good?"


3/3 answered! Please let me know via skype/etc if you have any more planned, otherwise I will be wrapping this stage up in a day or two.

Eostre listened intently to Regina's descriptions of the party guests as she shifted through the received papers. Some of the information about their scandalous activity she actually had noted from her clues, but having it clearly spelled out was useful. These were the sort of issues Regina faced with the older members of her royal court trolls, which would mean they could be continuing issues to look for in the future. Also, the mutantbloods. Eostre remembered the way they crawled out from under the table (apparently the reason for her foot game not going as intended during the dinner), and she knew the rebels had a mutant leader. There probably was a connection.

Kursha spoke as well, and Eostre grinned at Regina's reply. She had, of course, been perfectly matched with a task that suited her talents. Covert activity was of great interest to her and she and Kursha had done their task easily and without a single incident, effortlessly communicating. And she certainly learned what an asset the commander was. Surely she'd need to team up with him again, and she'd know they'd work well together. Not to mention what she'd learned about Tamiya and Sarcel...

There wasn't much to say at the info-dump though besides a few quiet hmm's and ahh's, and she wasn't going to mindlessly prod about for information she could get from a pamplet on her own time. The blueblood watched her empress stand and give one more speech. Eostre's pumpbiscuit nearly skipped a beat when she heard her name called. Now, she knew there was a job offer when she came, it was in the invite. Come work for me, it said, with a smiley face. But a written letter was so much different than seeing the Queen herself stand before you and say it out loud, it was more real and more tangible. Here was her chance.

Eostre stood up from her seat, trying to control the excitement in her voice and keep it level. This was important, so she couldn't ruin this moment. "Well, I'd be an idiot to say no after everything I've done in your service," she started, a smile growing on her face. She rested her fingertips on her chest, gesturing to herself. "And to be honest, this is something of a dream come true for me. I'd be delighted to work for you and serve you any way I can, Regina Marian. I'll be a great asset to you." Eostre was confident, and could already see a future this path could lead to, with the power and positions she wanted without all the fuss of doing so much grunt-level work to get there. Now she'd be fast-tracked to anything she wanted, career-wise.

amicableAggressor

eostre is trying not to cry from happiness tbh

[+] Kursha Vidari

So, it was a test after all. While never breaking his grin, Kursha internally seethed. That sort of underhanded ploy made his exoskeleton crawl. It would have been something if their missions had meant actually accomplishing something, but as nothing but a form of assessment...? No. He had cooperated only because an opportunity presented itself. Next time Regina could give him her orders to his face, and not leave him wondering as to their validity.

“Sounds good to me.” Kursha swung one leg over the side of his seat, and kicked his chair around, so that it faced the table more or less. Then, leaning back, he crossed his legs and kicked his feet up onto the table. His head was cushioned in his hands. “But you named off five of us. Excluding yourself, I count six here.” And of those six, there was only one that he was unfamiliar with. Donning an innocent smile, Kursha glanced down the table towards Zindel.

Ah, leave it to Kursha to ask her silent question. She turned to the greenblood as he blatantly pointed out Zindel, and then looked to the redblood in question as he practically shriveled against his chair. It was a little pathetic, but Sarcel couldn't say she didn't sympathize with that fear. Hell, had she been summoned to something like this before the party, she might be in a similarly meek situation, especially if her name hadn't been called. The lack of formal invite was damage enough, though she was quickly rebounding from it.

Zindel said nothing. She wouldn't pry into him about it, because it wasn't her place and it was honestly not worth her trouble. If Regina summoned him here—despite not calling his name—she obviously had a plan for him too. She wouldn't question it, despite being rightfully dubious.

What she was going to question was aforementioned ********> next to her. Seems like, between her inner monologues, Kursha saw it fit to swivel his chair around and kick his feet up on the desk. Yeah, Sarcel felt much more casual in the presence of everyone, but that hardly called for this blatant lack of respect.

"You know, Vidari," her voice was quiet and she was covering her mouth with her hand like it was a secret, but it could easily be heard given the close proximity of everyone at the table, "You should at least look a little professional before you call somebody out. It works a lot better than setting yourself up on the same level as the one you're trying to draw attention to." she smiled tired but wryly, all her attention on him, tone completely polite if not downright cordial, "Besides the fact that I think I'd like to talk to your face rather than your feet."

Which was to say, Sarcel was basically surrounded by fools. And Alifax. And the Queen. And Eostre and Tamiya and alright so she was mostly talking about Zindel and Kursha, but especially Kursha and not so much Zindel.

Green Minuet

:) ;)

quite uneventful

looks @ u