Continuation.

[shimmermods]

CONFRONTATION

rules

faq

hiatus/drop

application

taken

profiles

Vitali doesn't seem inclined to come much closer to any of you; there's a wall of glass between her and you, and she appears to want to keep it that way. Any attempts to breach it are likely a terrible idea; just because there aren't any soldiers with them doesn't mean that they're unarmed, after all.

"So you've decided to act up," she says, her hands folded behind her back, her posture formal and stiff in a way that doesn't suit her; her gaze remains as icy as her words, though she's refraining from making direct eye contact with any one of you in particular. She's still audible, despite the glass; it isn't as all-encompassing as the Shimmer seemed to be whenever it spoke to you within the boundary, but it's sharp, commanding. "If that's what you want to do, then fine. We can talk about that. You guys haven't wanted to settle since you got back; maybe this will make you actually sit down for a moment.

"If you're going to talk, get it out of your system before we throw you back in quarantine and figure out what to do with you. And try to keep from launching at the glass or doing anything stupid to yourselves in the meantime. We'd hate to have a reason to classify any of you as a threat."

code by vuvuzela

Comments

[notjustawriter]

...huh.

[Yeah he’s got nothing.]

[notjustawriter]

[Drag her, Grace.]

[blunders]

[Mmm. Felicia nods her head at that; she supposes that much is understandable, even if she's not sure what sort of news that's going to mean for them.]

I see. I understand that much; I don't think anyone would want a repeat of what the Shimmer did before to happen again.

[...]

...How long have those people been in here, on those machines? Have their conditions improved at all in the time they've been down here?

[me_underfire]

[(ʘ‿ʘ)ノ✿ HOLD MY FLOWER]

[shimmermods]

That's better.

I'm not interested in hating you. I don't have the time to make enemies, and I acknowledge your contributions to my world. I'm not saying I'm not grateful. But am I yelling at you? Because I don't recall yelling at you.

You want to talk, fine, we can do that. Cool it with the yelling and we'll see if we can get somewhere.

[shimmermods]

You're going to try to use doing exactly what you volunteered to do as leverage. Really.

[instrumentalized]

[ Okay. Okay, he can do that. Not disgrace himself. Because he's a Zabi. And because that doesn't mean anything here. Garma takes a deep breath. ]

I'd like to reiterate my question. When can we expect results of our examinations?

[shimmermods]

I've made it clear from the beginning that I'm not anyone's mom, and I'm not anyone's friend. I'm here to make sure this thing remains as purged from the world as possible, and what isn't purged is reasonably contained and doesn't spread. That's what I've been doing.

[pr159]

I think there was a reasonable assumption when we agreed to this that we would at least be given some information about things that were directly relevant to us.

[aokisouhei]

[ He's bristling. ]

You know we're going to 'get' this shit out of our system faster if you don't treat us like a piece of crap, right?

[ Lancer's never been good at asking questions; some people have already asked about their fates and stuff, so he'll come back to that if that's not answered soon enough. He's been wondering about something else. ]

So. Movin' straight along here...what do you plan on doing with that other group if or when they do wake up?

[shimmermods]

Most of the last group didn't finish the interview process. A few did, and they were useful. That thing - [Her gaze flicks toward N] - proceeded to use his own blood as a projectile about a third of the way through his. Nearly choked on it, almost died on the floor. We brought him down here to stabilize him after his organs started shutting down.

The rest followed pretty shortly after that.

[planetary_bonds]

You're not required to be any of those. But it'd be appreciated if you acted like the responsible boss you're supposed to be. And that includes communication with your subordinates.

[Seriously, this need-to-know stuff? They're directly involved with this Shimmer stuff. They need to know.]

[shimmermods]

They've been here since pretty shortly after they came back. Most of them didn't even finish the interview process.

They've been showing some increased activity since the Shimmer was destroyed, however. It's promising.

[me_underfire]

We agreed to help you, not be your damn guinea pigs. And this is hardly the first time you've withheld information from us.

[skelkro]

[Emma sighs when Vitali shows up, and at some point says--]

This is almost worst than trying to talk to the Shimmer: at least there had been plants nearby to look at while everyone stood around arguing with the vague "holier than thou" person that time.

[can't believe we miss the shimmer already just for this reason]

[shimmermods]

You can keep trying to sass me all you want, kid. See how far it gets you. I'm doing what I'm under orders to do; I'm a military commander by trade, and trust me, if I could be doing anything but this unpleasant business, I would be.

[blunders]

[Ah...that actually gets Felicia to smile the slightest bit.]

...I'm glad for that much. I can't imagine how they must be feeling right now, but...if they can still improve even from something like this, it's good news for anything affected by this.

[Hm...]

...Was that group in there for as long as we were, out of curiosity?

[notjustawriter]

She’s right.

There’s a point where it becomes lying by omission.

[bornandbread]

[Jean looks pretty settled here, actually, even if his posture is alert; he's half-watching N still and half-watching the newcomers, evaluating how all of them are engaging (or not engaging) with the group and each other. It's fine to let the yelling proceed for a little bit.

Better yelling than blows, right now. He shoves his hands into his pockets because otherwise it'd be nice to get a cigarette in these circumstances.

Eventually:]

How long have we been down here now?

[shimmermods]

We've put a lot of effort into keeping them alive. It would be more than a bit pointless to kill or otherwise dispose of them because they had the audacity to wake up.

[atrueheroine]

[Show them some basic respect and explain why you're doing it, rather than going straight for sedatives if they're understandably unsettled?! She knows this is the military but my god-]

Easy to say when you're not the one who went through six weeks of hell, on half the information available. Forgive me if I'm not thinking critically.

[Right....right, speaking of which, Page can at least recognise that getting into an insult match with their captor isn't the smartest course of action, if she wants to get home any time soon, but god does she wish she still had her weapons.]

When does this end, then? Despite what you might think, I'm not stupid, so I'm assuming you plan on throwing us back down there once we're done chatting.

[abysstery]

[Ah.]

I'll have you know that "not being forthcoming" and "not having the opportunity to answer due to their bodies shutting down" are two very different things.

[He gets why it was phrased that way, but man? Man.]

Much of our unrest stems from uncertainty. We would simply like to know your plans for us, and for these people. [Emphasis on "people" because must you call N a "thing", Vitali...] We understand the desire to not let the Shimmer spread once more after we managed to destroy it, but what does that entail beyond keeping us down here in the metaphorical dark?

[planetary_bonds]

Under orders...

[Yusei frowns, the statement jogging some part of his memory. He remembers her attitude from back when they first started the mission.]

You weren't in charge before. [Maybe not when they first left, although Yusei can't really know for sure. But according to N, if his words can be trusted...]

What changed?

[shimmermods]

Once we get them. There are a lot of variables to figure for, and I won't claim to know all of them. Med staff is taking care of that.

You guys don't seem to be dying any harder than you were when you were in there, at least. Which is promising.

[shimmermods]

Which is moving the goalposts. If that's the argument she's making, then let her make it. My point is that she's over there claiming that she did exactly what she signed up to do, ergo she's entitled to scream as much as she wants and be rewarded for it. Am I screaming at you? Because I don't recall screaming at you.

Basic courtesy. Figure it out and we'll talk.