hexarchate_rpg | preparation post

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moves: ooc

preparation post

This post is for out-of-character notes on things you want your character to accomplish before the next move. For continuing players: is your character making something, building something, studying something, or trying to foster a personal connection? For new players: does your character have prior experience with the rebellion, backstory with another character, or a particular skill they like to practice?

We also have a silly character quiz post and a music post, if you'd like to share some things about your character!

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Sasha will coordinate with Reshad to allow Jedao greater access to information and other areas of the ship. In particular, he should acquire access to the gym fairly rapidly, and once he has been informed about the moths, he will be admitted to the common area. (I'm assuming that Remi will coincidentally avoid him until the next move! But we don't want to leave Jedao locked up for weeks, either.)

Yep, Remi will coincidentally avoid Jedao throughout this time. Jedao is going to have Questions about moths but also recognizes that he isn't a scientist, linguist, musician, or otherwise useful in this arena.

I know exactly zero about gyms (and nothing about staying fit unless you count bicycling and fencing warm-ups), even though Jedao would know, so anyone who wants to weigh in on that stuff please feel free. XD

Ione will ask him to fence with her! Ione is a sabreur, which neither of us are, so we should probably handwave how that went, and of course he won, but she's ... not terrible (she is no Olympic fencer but she comes from somewhere where sword duels are an actual way of life and swords are commonly used weapons) and will say she wants to learn from his skills.

... which is true, but she's also trying to keep feeling him out empathically.

Jedao will be happy to fence with Ione! He's going to be particularly interested in stylistic differences and techniques unique to her tradition. He's also happy to teach anything she's interested in learning--he's a good instructor, patient and calm, with a friendly manner.

Empathically, Ione can tell that the calm is a façade; he's thinking very furiously, probably about the obvious questions of why am I here and what did I do, and weighing his options.

I looked up special forces-ish workouts on the train yesterday and learned essentially that they are very boring: lots of running, pushups, pullups, situps, some rucking, and swimming if you can manage it. Jedao's probably spending a ton of time on the treadmill in a weighted vest. I imagine he has a couple of sword forms for variety.

Good to know, thanks!

I am almost glad I'm a marshmallow??? Which reminds me, I need to practice lunges tomorrow...

Jedao is probably one of those strange people who gets a buzz from high-impact cardio ;)

Horrible thought, he's probably related to my dad & sister. XD Dad = ex-jock (ex only because he's 70), sister = runner.

Seyli won't protest Jeado's increased access but they are visibly upset/distressed by the fact. They don't interact with him beyond what's needful but they also keep an eye on him as well.

Jedao does not attempt to sneak around when in the common areas but keeps his distance from Seyli, sort of a "you're in your lane, I'm in mine."

Reshad thinks that with his reputed hacking skills, Jedao is entirely likely to find out about his interrupted career anyway. She's of the opinion that honesty is the best way to handle this - with a big dose of /you did this in one future/ and /that doesn't mean all of them./

She is going to be paying attention to his responses - this is distressing stuff, and she doesn't want to push him into doing himself harm. She's also happy to provide distraction via games or exercise.

She wants to continue to build connection with the existing crew: repair of the difficulty with Sasha, which is likely to be ongoing, and spending time with Ione and the mothlings are also of interest to her.

In case she isn't busy enough, she'll also be working on her hand to hand skills.

Edited 2019-12-30 22:44 (UTC)

At some point in all this, if they cross paths, Jedao will give Reshad a long, considering, I know you're watching look, but keep his distance unless approached. Once cleared, he will spend most of his time either at the gym doing whatever the hell would be a recommended "staying fit for special ops" training regimen, and occasionally showing up with jeng-zai.

Jedao makes a single attempt at hacking, runs into whatever watchdogs that Sasha has set up, and immediately withdraws. He doesn't push matters further in that arena, but he's waiting to be called out on the attempt.

Aside from the mission-related conversation (which she won't pursue without consulting with Sasha!) Reshad gives him some time to learn about the Cantata and his new situation. She'll acknowledge any such look, and then continue treating Jedao like a new teammate.

When jeng-zai appears, she's there. She's a good, if slippery, player, and knows some entertaining variant rules.

Sasha will clear Reshad to discuss Jedao's past with him.

She considers the hacking attempt normal Shuos behavior; if anything, Jedao's lack of persistence is a little boring.

Over one of the jeng-zai games, Jedao finally says to Reshad, "It's not anyone's secret that my past is being withheld from me. I can make certain deductions from that very fact, but I would prefer to know, if it's permitted. I doubt whatever you tell me is worse than my imagination."

Reshad folds her hand up, a measure of respect. "I apologise for the delay. But, yes - would you like to have this conversation here or more privately?"

She'll follow his lead on that. This is...well, she's been rehearsing this or something like it in her head since it was agreed there was a chance of capture.

"Thank you for the option," Jedao says. "More privately, please, wherever you deem suitable. I trust we're being monitored anyway." He smiles sardonically.

"Let's take it to quarters." Neutral ground would be better, but every neutral area aboard is public. She leads the way to hers.

"We may be." The grid, at least, is watching; whether anyone has eyes on it is another question. "Including by Cantata, who usually has a good sense of when things are private." But if he doesn't already know the moth can listen, he needs to.

Once they've arrived, she sits, invites him to sit. "So: you're famous for military skill. That's not different from what you know. You already know you attained immortality. You were present in battles well past even the record lifespan, even with the technology of my time." Her tone is as neutral as she can make it.

"But you were called an arch-traitor after the catastrophe at Hellspin Fortress."

[Sorry for the slow! I had to make sure she's getting it somewhere in the vicinity of useful.]

[No worries! I mean, it's New Year's! XD ]

Jedao sits. He's watching her with an intensity normally reserved for prey.

"Hellspin Fortress means the Lanterners," Jedao says. "Their loyalties have always been precarious. Did I turn coat? Or was it worse than that?"

Despite the calmness of his voice, he's gone very still--too still.

There's a lot of versions of that story, and in preparation, Reshad has been reviewing which are the most likely to be factual. There's no point in belaboring him with ghosts.

"You turned coat," she confirms. He'd told them as much in his interrogation: he planned to, when the time was right. That leaves a lot of missing 'why.'

"There was a massacre." The history books would put every death at his feet. "But I wonder: you were the only person alive on the bridge, and one person doesn't kill a fleet without help."

She's watching him, uncertain how this news will land - near certain that it will come badly.

"Alive on the bridge," Jedao repeats slowly. "But you didn't speak of killing the crew of a moth, but of an entire swarm." His eyes are focused on a point somewhere beyond Reshad's shoulder. "So I went through with it after all. Help wouldn't have been needed, if one enjoyed a high enough rank and a certain level of trust. The kind of trust one builds up through impeccable service over two decades."

He falls silent, then. His eyes have gone blank, unseeing.

Whatever he's seeing, it isn't good. Reshad moves just enough to put a hand on the little table, slow and nonthreatening.

"What you planned, you don't have to do it now." Mindful, careful: Sasha had a point about not tearing the future out from under him when it may be all that's kept him together. "There are other ways to bring it down."

"I must have seen other ways, and ruled them out." Jedao's voice is soft. His eyes are still not focused on her. It's not clear if he even registerd the movement of Reshad's hand. "Tell me--in later times, is there a Kel hivemind? Did they go through with that? There were only rumors, in my time, that it was coming down the line."

"You may have, but there's other options now."

She's worried about him: that his focus has gone so far elsewhere speaks of bad things happening. She lowers her voice to match his, and keeps her tone gentle. Touch can help, sometimes, with things like this - but she doesn't know him, and she doesn't know if it would help or hurt.

"The Kel in my time have composites. Sort of a hive mind, but not of all Kel. They have formation instinct, too, and that didn't come until well after your time."

He could have read about that. Hells, he could have read about composites. She opts to make a quiet space, and see if more words come.

Edited 2020-01-10 01:18 (UTC)

"I always wondered what that would be like," Jedao said. "I didn't dare wait until it was instituted, for the obvious reasons." A soft pause, then his eyes focus back on her. "Formation instinct is a perversion of Kel service. What happened to dissenters? The histories available to me were vague on that point."

[Feel free to invent whatever Reshad knows on the subject. The details would be classified or possibly garbled, but on the other hand, Shuos.]

free foxes

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Jedao's workout routine

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Jedao's History

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