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 Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 4:14 pm
He sought her out, too long he had forgiven too much, it was starting to reflect poorly on him. He understood that she had a 'Job' a 'grown up' one at that with students and other trivial things like homework and discipline. It was odd to need to speak to someone this way when she could easily have stepped in as his mother.
That thought put quite odd chains in motion in his mind to boot, but he couldn't act on them so they were quickly brushed aside to be reforged at some later time.
"Zircon..." He called softly... his voice was not unkind but it was firm, young and earnest if near monotone at his most serious... like now. "It's been a while..." He did not press or continue but there was a level of unspoken 'more' hanging on the words.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 4:43 pm
With the recent uprising of the Blood Moon Court and other factions that threatened the solidarity of the Negaverse, it had not been often that her General had called on her specifically, except for when she was to give him her energy collections, slim as they were. She did her best to grab energy where she could, mixing her civilian life with her Negaverse duties, but there simply weren't enough hours in the day. She was writing a final for both the Physics and Chemistry departments at Crystal, she was grading lab reports and offering grade recovery and working on an Astronomy Club next year. She was also going on dates with Tony, though, and helping plan her best friend in college for her impending wedding. She couldn't say that all of her time had been spent working, not truthfully, so when she got the summons from General Zinkenite, she knew that she was in trouble.
The Lieutenant knelt before her superior officer, her gaze low and her body stiff. "Yes, General, it has been a while," she responded, formal and tense. It was her fault she was standing there that day, that fact was bitterly true to her. She could blame her weapons, blame a lack of defense, blame the Knight who put such horrid thoughts into her head, but the other lieutenants seemed to manage. Why, then, had she faltered? It was beyond her comprehension, but surely Zinkenite would have something to say about the subject.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 5:11 pm
A small huff of air escaped from behind the dark fabric of his mask and he shook his head, silent for a moment. "I may be short but don't kneel... I want thinkers not grovelers... well intended though it may have been." He offered her a hand back to her booted feet before glancing her over again.
"You've... been lax. That isn't something I say to most of my team." he said almost gently. "Would you like to tell me what is wrong? Have I failed you?"
His words were carefully chosen, take some of the blame but he wouldn't take all of it, there was just enough iron in his words to say as much even if his words might have hinted otherwise.
"I know it can be hard to balance all the aspects of our lives..." he said consoling. "What might I do to help you meet... at least the minimum of our vital services." He doubted very much that she was a woman of 'minimums' either, no more so than he was. There was iron in her making and he prayed all it needed was a little reforging.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 5:22 pm
Zircon didn't deserve any kindnesses, not at this critical point, and so when he outstretched his hand she looked at it like it might have been a second head. Nevertheless, she was nothing if not obedient, and clasping his hand she rose to face him, nodding stiffly. Thinkers. She needed to think in this situation, not beg for mercy like a little girl.
"That I have," she said, her voice quieter than before. She was quick to add, "But you haven't failed me, General, not at all." Zinkenite didn't need to take any of the blame: she knew that her lapse in activity wasn't due to any shortcoming on his part.
"I..." There were a million excuses, but they all led to weakness at their core. "...I have been trying harder, lately," she stammered, producing several bags of small energy pearls from the pockets of her coat. "However, my primary source of energy gathering has been...compromised. Twice."
"Once by a senshi," she said, and then with a sour frown, "Once by a man who claimed to be a Knight of Earth." Clearly, the latter opponent was the one giving her more trouble.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 5:33 pm
His eyes narrowed sharply, calculating, hard ... "Do continue..." He said with a careful nod, he waved his hand indicating that they might wish to walk as they continued, standing in a single location could invite trouble, moving targets, as the saying went, were harder to hit.
"Descrive this... Knight, first...if you don't mind."
He didn't press that if her location had been compromised, she might wish to find another, no he could either feed her suggestions or count on her to find another of her own accord with little trouble. "He sounds as though he bothered you, is it because they are a new...'player' on the field?"
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 5:52 pm
Something seemed to strike a nerve in the General, which made Zircon feel less alone in the way the Knight's presence seemed to irk her. "He was older, dressed vaguely Medieval," she recalled, keeping an even pace beside Zinkenite, "He looked like he could have been a knight without armor. Had a wooden round shield."
Her ribs, in particular, weren't fond of that observation.
"He claims that he's the real protector of the Earth, that we're fighting a battle we shouldn't fight, and his presence felt different. Sickly clean, like a senshi's, and yet not quite so...sparkly." It was difficult to explain auras to other members of the Negaverse, when everyone seemed to have their own way of feeling them out. "Magical, I guess. He didn't feel as magical."
It was then that her frown deepened, and she looked beyond Zinkenite to keep herself from betraying any more dismay. "It's just--...if he is a protector of Earth, then why isn't he on our side? Why would he think that siding with the senshi would help save what was ours?" It was clear by her wary look that she'd already lost sleep pondering these same questions.
"He was powerful, and could be so valuable if he helped our cause...but so blinded by this idea of all-inclusiveness and peace."
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 6:09 pm
"Because their deluded..." there was a bitter twist in his words. "That... is what happens when the senshi get their 'magic' into our own too... that... they did it to my General... Linarite... they -twisted- her."
His fist clenched so tight the fabric of his glove squeaked. "she ...even imagines herself happy that way, almost no questions even about her state in life...just a happy 'sparking' glaze..." His words were bitter, furious... he might have been mature for his age, despite his height but there was still a petty sense of loss there, some feeling shattered that he couldn't find the words for... a want that had been carved out and trampled on by CASTOR and his 'salvation'.
"...perhaps they can still be reasoned with... Linar... Lina, she still wishes the senshi to go home... but still, one must find a way through their blind faith..." He sounded at best Dubious however, careful and frowning. "... if you better your collections, you WILL make a good captain, you will be better armed and better able to defend yourself from these...Zealots."
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 7:03 pm
"Into our own?" Zircon had seen several of the corrupted senshi, but it had never occurred to her that the other faction could perform a corruption of their own, and it filled her with a sick sense of dread. The details of Linarite's betrayal had been few and far between for Zircon, who had never known that particular General beyond recognition, and all of a sudden the fact that she willingly sold herself to the senshi seemed all the more sickening.
She held her chin up to Zinkenite's compliment, and she nodded, a determined look in her eye. "I will try harder, Zinkenite, I'll make it up to you." She handed off the bags of energy she'd been holding before, her glance humbled and yet somehow redeemed.
"So these Knights...should we focus on exterminating them, or on recruitment?" She knew Captain Scheelite was focusing heavily on recruitment himself, and even she had to admit that Camelot would be a valuable addition to the Negaverse family. He had a sense of honor...even if it was twisted.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 7:26 pm
"...I would consider them cautiously hostile." He nodded. "Regardless of however they ended up there, be it lies, treachery, force or...whatever malignant cancer seeps out of the senshi to infect our world they are still, as far as I can tell fighting us...that makes us enemies. If you think you can be diplomatic, be careful... I will not loose another to them... the fact CASTOR took Lina from us was enough."
Clearly, regardless of the sketchy details surrounding her betrayal it was a very touchy subject for him. "My personal recommendation is gather what information you can, whatever you can find report back to me, you don't have to fight to gather information or energy... would you be willing to accept that as a calling, at the least for the time being?" He asked her tilting his head to gaze up at her, the question was laden with promises of deeper things.
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 2:13 pm
Zircon nodded, keeping further curiosities about the Knights to herself. Even if she didn't know much about the situation, she could tell that the betrayal of General Linarite was still a sore subject and didn't want to put the General through any more pain than he'd already suffered. She certainly had subjects of her own that she wouldn't want breached.
"I can do that," she said, her expression perking up. "This Camelot...he didn't want to fight, wanted to preach about peace and whatnot. Maybe he'll tell me a little more about his 'way of life' if I find him again. And there will be others, I'm sure, who maybe aren't so zealous and would be just as curious to hear our point of view..." Like Zinkenite, her voice also bore the promises of deeper things, of knowledge and understanding, and then destruction.
"I'll be on the lookout for Knights from this point forward, and I'll let you know what I find."
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 2:19 pm
"I think I may have to pay a visit to this...Camelot myself." he said sounding deeply interested and nodding. He tapped his chin for a moment, considering.
"Zircon, would you take similar notations for any senshi you meet? Detailed notes... costuming, accessories, power, angles of their attack, nature... anything you can -think- of... I can't remember if I have asked before, but I think you have the skills... I know you have them. I want that information as an aide to our officers as a whole... an... analysis of them."
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 2:45 pm
"I found him in the library, you could probably find him there, too," Zircon offered, trying to be even the slightest bit helpful. She knew that she'd failed her general in the past few weeks, and she would do everything in her power to ensure that she never slipped up again. General Zinkenite deserved that much, at the very least.
"Senshi, Knights...I'll get information on them all." Somehow, having a specific purpose in the Negaverse seemed to strengthen her resolve, and already she began formulating ideas in her head on how to gather what she needed. "Is there anything else you would have of me?"
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 3:01 pm
"I would see you grow and prosper..." He replied with a more enigmatic smile than perhaps was strictly leader-like. "I have every faith you can go beyond the ...basic requirements of any assignment given you, I anticipate bringing such a report to the General Queen... "
There, expectations of a sort spoken as a dangerous kind of 'hope', both for her and for him. "I have a great team.... wonderful captains and Lieutenants... is there anything I might do for you in turn? Do you need more training, assistance with a target..." he left it hanging and open ended to her needs.
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 5:18 pm
Growth and being prosperous? A report to the General-Queen? Now that was the sort of talk to make a lady smile.
"No, sir, I think I have a direction now," she said with a bow of her head. Something in her eyes seemed to let her guard down, just the slightest, and when she smiled, this time it truly seemed sincere.
"Thank you...I can't thank you enough." She bent to one knee, her head bowed, and awaited the sick sensation of being transported. Even that thought didn't seem to dim her mood as her apartment lurched into view--she had a plan now, and better yet, a means to enact it. She had a direction, a purpose.
She would find her place in this project, she just knew it.
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 5:35 pm
“The only person you have need to thank is yourself officer.” He gave a small bow, a nod of respect, and the conversation was over. Brief, but satisfying, pleasing even.
He had work to do though, and time waited for no man.
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