PT 015.5 Xho Rahab Duo Grax

USS Adventure07/08/2020

((Ok))

[2:44 PM]

As you're on your way, you hear Duo's voice call out to you.  "Commander."

[2:45 PM]

Coming up is both Duo and Viktor.

[2:45 PM]

Viktor has his mask on.

Xho07/08/2020

Yes? ... you did recognize me. Excellent.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Duo: "Sage told me who you were."

[2:45 PM]

Duo: "I...alright, I'm getting to it."

[2:46 PM]

Viktor: "This remains a bad id--Let him take this.  You agreed."

[2:46 PM]

Duo: "...we need to talk...in private...please."

Xho07/08/2020

... yes, of course. We'll go to my room.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Duo seems...incredibly anxious.  Viktor's not readable with the mask on.

Xho07/08/2020

... are you all right, Duo?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Duo: "I'm not really Duo.  We can explain in a moment."

Xho07/08/2020

... very well.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

As you all enter the room, Viktor takes a seat.

Xho07/08/2020

does too.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Duo: "I'm Viktor.  Well...I'm half Viktor.  The...whatever only jumped me and Dalarei, not One.  So now we're...confused and conflicted."

[2:49 PM]

Duo (to Viktor): Can you help me out here?

[2:49 PM]

Viktor: "I remain against this.  You are the one listening to them."

Xho07/08/2020

looks at the Viktor body. "... so you're Dalarei?"

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor: "...sort of."

Xho07/08/2020

... no, clearly not.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Duo: "...before we continue...I need you to understand that we had no intentions of harming anyone and we realize that...mistakes have been made.  Also...who you are about to meet is...he's not a threat."

Xho07/08/2020

... that is not reassuring.

[2:50 PM]

Where is Dalarei?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor: "I am here, ma'am.  I'm just...not alone.  ...I think you should show her."

[2:52 PM]

Viktor nods to himself...and then he begins to glow red.  And then a burst of red energy shoots out above him.

Xho07/08/2020

tenses up, but doesn't move.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

The energy takes a form roughly similar to a human male, but remains featureless.  Just a being of red electricity.

[2:53 PM]

Duo: "...Commander Xho...this is Rahab.  ...I...Viktor....rescued him from the Bureaucracy."

[2:53 PM]

Viktor: "...whoa...whoa..."

[2:53 PM]

Viktor removes his mask to reveal...well, normal Viktor.

Xho07/08/2020

Ah?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Dalarei: "Full control...that's...sorry.  Commander, this is um...hello."

[2:54 PM]

Viktor/Duo: "...there's a lot to explain.  ...I'm not sure where you want us to begin."

Xho07/08/2020

When did you rescue him? Who is he? Why is this relevant?

[2:55 PM]

Why, and how, is he here?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Duo/Viktor: "...ok...that's...a lot.  Um...in order.  I rescued him not long before I jumped onto the Adventure the first time.  He's...I supposed you'd consider him a One but...it's a bit more complicated than that.  It's relevant because Duo, like...the two sides of Duo, felt that keeping it a secret from you was a mistake as it has already spread now since...well...they know.  He's here because my superiors were hoping he could help trade information for supplies and resources from your Federation, as well as a more secure hiding place for Tang.  And he's here by...um...I guess he kind of bonded with me, but not like how you'd imagine it.  It was less the sort of Joining Duo did and more like...hitching a ride."

Xho07/08/2020

... Duo was correct. Are you telling me you have had a One with you as long as you have been here and did not bother to tell us?

[2:59 PM]

... you have not been suppressing it, have you?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor/Duo: "...wait...have you?!?  That's horrify--No!  ...maybe.  I don't think so.  I don't know how it works.  He was like...kind of there, but I had full control of my body and personality."

[3:01 PM]

Viktor/Duo: "But yes.  I have had him here sicne we met."

Xho07/08/2020

And you chose to conceal this because?

[3:01 PM]

is audibly annoyed.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor/Duo: "...a few reasons.  Firstly, my superiors in the Oni wanted me to for at least our initial time together.  They were concerned how Rahab would be greeted, and they were still uncertain what relationship the crew would develop with the Bureaucracy while we were aboard.  Or what the Federation might do if meeting them before our return."

[3:03 PM]

Viktor/Duo: "The initial reaction you had to the Joined was...also disconcerting to Rahab and he wanted to remain secret afterwards."

Xho07/08/2020

I suppose simply asking would have been out of the question.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor/Duo: "My orders were my orders, Commander.  I had wanted to after a time had passed, but by then it seemed like it'd be harder to do so amicably."

Xho07/08/2020

Do you know, there is considerable jurisprudence regarding whether "I was just following orders" is an adequate legal defense for anything, and that it is very nearly universally agreed-upon that it is not? And that in any case, legality and morality are not the same?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor/Duo: "Perhaps not.  But I think you can at least understand the position I was in."

[3:09 PM]

Rahab, for his part, remains just floating.

Xho07/08/2020

Yes. Your people deceived us into going to a plane we were technically at war with, at a time when we did not have a qualified diplomatic team nor any supplies or defensive support from our people. Your leadership then placed a spy capable of mind-controlling anyone undetectably aboard our ship.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Dalarei: "...I wouldn't call my relationship as Duo to be mind-control, Commander."

Xho07/08/2020

Yours is not, no, but Belos might think differently. If he could ask. If he even still exists, in any meaningful way.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor/Duo: "My people did not deceive you into going to the Joined's plane.  That was Ava.  She is...Ava does as Ava will do."

Xho07/08/2020

I think that is very likely true, but I would like to point out we have only your word for that. Or for any of your relations with the Joined plane. It is entirely possible the Oni is a paramilitary and espionage organization entirely financed and run by them, for example.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor/Duo: "Well, now that I've been forcibly bonded to One, he can tell you we are not."

Xho07/08/2020

That is another can of annelids. Are you going to be able to separate? Will you be in a similar situation as Duo when separated?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor/Duo has a look of worry on his face.  "...I don't know."

Xho07/08/2020

... we may need to delay changing back until we are sure.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor/Duo: "...for what it's worth Commander...I do wish I had done things differently...and I am sorry.  ...if it is you and your captain's desire, I can return to the Oni.  Either we can jump there...or I can make my way back from the next plane we land on."

Xho07/08/2020

Or we could throw you in the brig.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab leaps back into Viktor's body.  "Do I get to speak at any point?"

Xho07/08/2020

Eventually.

[3:23 PM]

Would you like something to drink? I have... ginger ale, pineapple-orange juice, grapefruit soda and water.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab/Dalarei: "...May I have a ginger ale please, ma'am?"

Xho07/08/2020

nods, and looks to the other body. "And you?"

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor/Duo: "...I kind of want a soda, but am scared to ask.  ...ugh, it's so much harder to make decisions like this.  ...I miss being Duo."

Xho07/08/2020

Ginger ale or grapefruit?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor/Duo: "...ginger ale."

Xho07/08/2020

nods, and pours three ginger ales, and distributes them, leaving one for herself.

[3:27 PM]

eyes the Viktor body. "Go ahead."

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor/Duo takes it and drinks.  Rahab/Dalarei sips it quietly.  "I suppose I should remain for the swapping back.  Afterwards, perhaps I can settle for just leaving.  I am more than capable of surviving in Void Space."

[3:29 PM]

Rahab: "And frankly...there doesn't seem to be much reason left for me not to.  I was correct, organics are complicated.  We shouldn't bother with you."

Xho07/08/2020

It is good to know that rank snobbery does not require a body. You will pardon me for being blunt, but you do not seem to be extremely diplomatic, so what was your intended purpose in all this.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab: "I was hoping people of your technology capabilities would be able to undo the damage the Bureaucracy had done to my being.  This is seeming less likely."

Xho07/08/2020

... I apologize. I was not aware you were hurt. What happened?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab: "The specifics of the experiments are not fully known to me.  According to Viktor, the Bureaucracy was attempting to use my people's abilities to create drones and spies, which I am sure does not make you any more comfortable with my presence.  However, they were not happy that my people have wills of their own and attempted to use their own organics to circumvent that."

[3:35 PM]

Viktor/Duo: "They were killing their own subjects and trying to bind their souls to Ones.  Make precisely what you were afraid of, apparitions loyal to them that could take over the minds of others."

Xho07/08/2020

And you were damaged by this? ... I am not an arcanist, you will need to explain.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab: "I have lost the collective memory of my people and do not believe I can bond as your One can anymore.  Not with organics, machines, or my own.  My connection to all the ethers of the universe has been severed, I am detatched and lost."

Xho07/08/2020

... that sounds extremely traumatic.

[3:42 PM]

You have my sympathy.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab: "Noted.  Your concern is logical."

Xho07/08/2020

Next time, I suggest leading with that rather than smugness, which is off-putting.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab: "...was I being smug?  Apologies.  Is there a better term than organics.  This form of language is not great for truly articulating emotion as I understand it."

[3:45 PM]

Rahab: "...your officer seems distressed in here."

Xho07/08/2020

... you need to let him speak, if he wishes to speak.

[3:45 PM]

If you have not already noticed, volition is extremely important to us.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Dalarei: "Oh, this is not at all like Duo.  I see why Rahab hates it."

[3:46 PM]

Viktor: "You get used to it."

Xho07/08/2020

That can work in your favor as well, as you previously saw when I was concerned that Viktor was suppressing you.

[3:47 PM]

Everyone must allow everyone to speak.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab: "Understood.  For what it is worth, I was not suppressed.  I had preferred not interacting."

Xho07/08/2020

I feel that is a mistake. I am aware it is not remotely the same as joining, but it is psychologically harmful to people to be alone.

[3:50 PM]

For extended periods of time.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab: "...I see."

Xho07/08/2020

However, I am not a counselor; I would recommend speaking with Aevarnis about it.

[3:50 PM]

Is there anything else I should know?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor: "Well, if he's free to, Rahab can leave my body and travel around.  He needs a mouthpiece to communicate, though.  Also, he can't hold anything."

[3:52 PM]

Rahab: "Thank you for the reduction to function, Viktor."

[3:52 PM]

Dalarei: "...are we going to tell the Captain?"

Xho07/08/2020

He is trying to be helpful.

[3:53 PM]

eyes Rahab. "We are in similar situations. I am not sure if you were present for my conversation with Viktor or not; if you were, you already know what I am speaking about."

[3:54 PM]

Yes, we are going to tell the captain, but we will finish this conversation first.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab nods.

Xho07/08/2020

That would have been an appropriate time to speak up.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab: "...I did...sort of.  I simply let Viktor communicate my knowledge."

Xho07/08/2020

I would have then been able to tell you that this ship is the first plane-hopper, a design pioneered by Prometheus Forgewight who is currently serving aboard as its chief engineer. As the first plane-hopper this posting was extremely competitive. There were hundreds of candidates and only a comparative few positions for them. As a result we have quite literally some of the best magico-technologists in the Federation here on this ship, some of whom would at least have been able to begin analysis of your problem. Forgewight and Williamson in particular.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab: "...what do you ask for in return?"

Xho07/08/2020

I am not authorized to make that decision, but the answer is, likely nothing beyond access to the products of the research involved.

[3:59 PM]

It would have been a simple question had you simply been honest from the beginning.

[4:01 PM]

This is not a high-society party, nor a Drow political body. The Federation is not in the habit of assuming every new contact is deceiving them. Our charter clearly states that we are not an imperialist power, nor do we seek to seize and hold territory, and its origin lies in an attempt to reduce friction between peoples, reduce war and solve conflicts in productive ways.

[4:02 PM]

There was no need to deliberately deceive the people who had quite literally just finished rescuing you, at the risk of starting an interplanar war.

[4:03 PM]

For which you have not even apologized.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor: "...we are sorry.  But...for both Rahab and I...we had not dealt with such an organization before.  The Oni is a rebel alliance against and imperialist power and Rahab was part of a Legion before being captured by the same imperialist power."

Xho07/08/2020

You had ample time to read the charter, mission statement and bylaws, all of which are freely available. ... no one reads the charter, mission statement and bylaws. Why does no one read the charter, mission statement and bylaws.

[4:05 PM]

And I would like to hear it from Rahab.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab: "...I do not feel apologetic for the actions, as I still feel I was reacting in a manner best fitting my survival at the time with the information and experience I was given.  ...also, emotions as a singular entity are...alien to me and I am not sure I have them.  I will accept responsibility for the fallout and acknowledge that I was acting against your potential interest, which was detrimental to both our situations, given the circumstances."

Xho07/08/2020

That is not going to be good enough. And it is very clear that you have emotions as a singular entity. That feeling you are having right now is called annoyance.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab: "I do not like it.  Very well, I apologize.  I am regretful.  I see the means by which a better understanding could've been had by both of us and my actions did not allow it, which I view as a loss."

[4:11 PM]

Dalarei: "...do you condense anything you say?"

Xho07/08/2020

Why should he? ... would you prefer to be indicated as he, she or some other pronoun?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab: "He works best for me.  I do not identify with the written accounts I have been exposed to from women of varying races."

Xho07/08/2020

nods.

[4:13 PM]

Now we have to decide how we are going to approach the captain.

[4:14 PM]

... I would advise holding nothing back and being apologetic. He does not trust the Joined, and while his feelings about the Legion are potentially positive, they are also likely somewhat fraught, as we very nearly lost a crewman in our initial encounter, through no fault of theirs.

[4:14 PM]

eyes the Dalarei body.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

One: "...I'm really sorry about that."

[4:15 PM]

Rahab: "...do you have a preferred outcome?"

Xho07/08/2020

It was not your fault, One. You are still a child and it was an accident in any case. And it resulted in a very positive outcome for all concerned. However, at the time it was very worrisome and the captain and I are both responsible for your well-being.

[4:17 PM]

Personally or professionally?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor: "Either.  Let's start with professional, though.  I feel that'll be less harsh."

Xho07/08/2020

Clearly you do not know me.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor/Duo nods.

Xho07/08/2020

... apologies. I am also extremely annoyed.

[4:22 PM]

At a professional level, I would hope that you would stay. If you are willing to exchange information we would greatly appreciate it--the Bureaucracy, the Oni, the Legion are all areas where we need more knowledge and expertise. Even if you do not, however, most likely, you will be helped. I would also recommend you avail yourself of Dr. Aevarnis, as a very large part of the damage you have experienced is psychological in nature, though you seem to lack awareness of that. She could also likely recommend reading material on the subject so that you can better understand what you are experiencing. ... it does not always help stop the pain, but it at least allows you to identify the origin and better assess the possibilities.

[4:23 PM]

I feel we could benefit from your knowledge and you from ours. That is the basis of the Federation and of Planefleet.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab: "...on a personal level you likely feel betrayed."

[4:24 PM]

Rahab: "That is understandable.  The Oni, what I've seen of them, would treat such a reveal with great paranoia and fear."

Xho07/08/2020

On a personal level... do you speak any other languages besides Common?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor: "I know elven."

[4:25 PM]

Rahab: "I know a few other languages, yes."

Xho07/08/2020

Does everyone here speak Elven?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

All nod

Xho07/08/2020

Excellent. My common is... poor.

[4:26 PM]

switches to elven.

[4:29 PM]

On a personal level, I'm really fucking angry with you, Viktor, and really fucking pissed off at Rahab. Mostly, though, I'm really angry at myself. I feel really stupid for trusting you so easily, and putting the entire Federation at risk of being infiltrated and occupied with no one even noticing. It was a very fucking Drow thing to do, fucking over the people who just risked millions of deaths to help you. And that is not a fucking compliment.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Dalarei: "Commander...no one saw it.  No one knows how the Ones work.  Even Duo didn't, and we're the only one who could've."

Xho07/08/2020

You have no fucking idea how little I care about that. Have you even considered how upset and guilty the captain will feel? We allowed Viktor nearly the full run of the ship. Expect to have your movements severely limited at best.

[4:35 PM]

Also on a personal level, I'd like to spend time with Rahab. If we can get you a physical presence you might enjoy spending some time in the chimera chamber glassing illusion-people in the face. If you're going to spend time around us you need to develop some social skills. You have less fucking tact than me.
USS Adventure07/08/2020

Both of them nod.

[4:35 PM]

Rahab: "I find your physicality disquieting, but I can attempt to adjust."

Xho07/08/2020

It's a good way to dissipate some anger without hurting real people.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor: "...I will accept whatever the captain deems fit for your safety."(edited)

Xho07/08/2020

Yes. Should I call him now? He is in Duma's body, I am afraid.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor: "...I think you know better than us what the best time to confront the captain would be."

Xho07/08/2020

The best time would have been fucking never, as the best thing to do would have been to not bullshit us in the first place.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor/Duo is looking very much like the kid being chewed out by the Principal.

[4:42 PM]

Rahab: "Earlier strikes me as better than later."

Xho07/08/2020

Agreed. I will hail him now.

[4:42 PM]

switches back to common.

[4:42 PM]

tries the communicator first.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "Commander.  We still have some time before our switch back window opens up.  Hope everything's fine."

Xho07/08/2020

... everything is fine, but I do have some news you will likely find aggravating. Would you meet us in my room, sir?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "....yeah, be there momentarily."

[4:48 PM]

Grax appears a few minutes later.  Back in uniform, looking...concerned.

[4:48 PM]

Grax: "Commander...Officer...Ambassador.  ...odd party you have going on in here."

Xho07/08/2020

Unfortunately, it is not a party.

[4:49 PM]

... there is no immediate risk to the crew or the ship, sir, so there is that.

[4:49 PM]

Would you like something to drink? I have ginger ale, pineapple-orange juice, grapefruit soda and water.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "...I'll take some pineapple-orange juice, I guess.  ...someone care to fill me in?"

Xho07/08/2020

We have a stowaway of sorts.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab will exit Viktor's body again.

Xho07/08/2020

This is Rahab. He is an energy being originally, I think, from the Legion, who was tortured by the Bureaucracy and had hoped to request our aid.

[4:54 PM]

His ability to Join, either with organics or with fellow Ones or Clusters, has been removed in experiments intended to force Ones to be subservient to their physical aspects. I am sure you can imagine the Bureaucracy's intent.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax nods and frowns.

Xho07/08/2020

He came aboard... hitchhiking, I think, is the word? with Viktor, who was ordered by his Oni superiors to bring him and to conceal his presence from us. An order which he stupidly obeyed, and for which he is very sorry.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Viktor nods.

[4:56 PM]

Grax: "...what are Rahab's capabilities?"

Xho07/08/2020

Rahab has not socialized extensively with organics, and he is slightly less tactful than Dr. Forgewight. ... slightly.

[4:57 PM]

... very slightly.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab leaps into Grax's body.

Xho07/08/2020

Picard-facepalms.

[4:58 PM]

mutters in Undercommon: And we were doing so well.

[4:58 PM]

Yes, that would be an example of lacking tact.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "WHA--This struck me as a much simpler means to share the information.  One moment, please."

Xho07/08/2020

Do not suppress him. Regardless of what he wishes to say or do.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Rahab leaves the body.  "I at no point assumed full control.  He had maintained his agency as you said it was valued."

[5:00 PM]

Grax: "............ok......ok.....ok...."

Xho07/08/2020

... yes. Thank you.

[5:00 PM]

It is greatly appreciated.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "...........Viktor....you are, as of right now, confined to quarters until otherwise informed."

Xho07/08/2020

For future reference, Rahab, that can be viewed as a hostile action.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "Which leads me to my next point.  Rahab...whatever you are...you will not inhabit that body so long as an officer of this ship is in it.  You will, in fact, not in habit any bodies of any crewmen.  And if I find you have...I will find a well to expel you from this ship...permanently."

Xho07/08/2020

Forgewight has likely been working on it.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "...there will be stricter responses...as soon as I have the time to think of them."

[5:06 PM]

Grax: "...everyone below the rank of Commander...leave...NOW!"

[5:06 PM]

They do so.

Xho07/08/2020

... I do have scotch, sir.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "Thank you, commander.  That would be most appreciated."

Xho07/08/2020

pours two, one for each of them, and hands one to the captain.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "...as soon as we can, I want to talk to Dr. Forgewight about upgrading that homunculus body he constructed."

Xho07/08/2020

Perhaps something more sophisticated would be helpful. The doctor's mother is.... impressive.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "It can be a tin can for all I care, I just want to know that that specter can't escape when we shove it in."

Xho07/08/2020

I am also extremely angry with the situation. Perhaps I made the wrong choice when I opted to conceal Viktor's presence. ... though I cannot think cooperation with the Bureaucracy was the right option either.

[5:12 PM]

And you must remember... that "specter," as you call him, was maimed and crippled by a common enemy. He has been in forced isolation for an unknown period of time..

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "So he says."

Xho07/08/2020

All the information we have from the Joined world indicates that their Ones regard joining as the most critical way to share knowledge and communicate. All the information we have from the Legion indicates they regard clustering as the most critical way to share knowledge and communicate. This One can do neither, and additionally, has no understanding of how to otherwise communicate in a positive fashion with other types of beings.

[5:15 PM]

... it would be an incalculable loss, of what one had regarded as the most essential part of oneself.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax drinks from the glass and nods.  He seems not just angry, but extremely hurt.  "He is also able to move between rooms, between people possibly completely without detection.  That's a threat.  That's a BIG threat."

Xho07/08/2020

Yes. The Bureaucracy has created a formidable weapon... by crippling people, potentially irrevocably.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "...the more we learn about these guys, the more I'm not sure who to fear more.  The Bureaucracy, or this Kymal Industries."

Xho07/08/2020

... they may also have had something to do with my state of... dubious vitality. Apparently the Bureaucracy had experimented with creating undead soldiery as well.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "...that has several horrifying implications in and of itself, Commander."

Xho07/08/2020

It does. Rahab shared that information through Viktor previously. As it was conjecture, I did not add it to my file, but perhaps I should.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "...I feel like we've been slammed eight ways in the past three hours and I am not sure I can take anymore."

[5:23 PM]

Grax: "...I am sorry.  I...I hope that if they are behind your condition, it isn't...I hope it can be fixed.  Or not.  ...whatever works best for you, Commander."

Xho07/08/2020

... I am no longer certain I ought to be fixed. Physically, this... is quite bearable, but not comfortable. It is the other dimension that concerns me. Do you feel that I'm cold, sir?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "...are you asking for a hug, Commander?  Cause that's extremely against protocol."

Xho07/08/2020

Not at this time, sir. I meant emotionally cold. Viktor... Rahab said that the experiments resulted in bodies frozen in their emotional state at the time of their death. Enraged, mournful and cold.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "Well, you certainly don't strike me as enraged or mournful.  But...honestly...you don't strike me as cold so much as...stoic.  You feel, clearly, and you care even more clearly...but you seem to want to handle social interactions like everything else.  A system to work through."

Xho07/08/2020

... what would an alternative look like?

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "...my mother taught me that telling a woman how to emote better to their liking is always a trap."

[5:31 PM]

He smirks.

Xho07/08/2020

Not in this case.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "If you're asking how to make friends...I think that's just gonna just be who you find clicks with you.  If you're asking from a diplomacy stand point...cliche and smug as it may sound, smile more.  It helps.  Let others lead the conversation, gently nudge them where you want to go and try and stay playful enough that you can always laugh off anything said that lands badly."

[5:35 PM]

Grax: "It gets easier with practice."

Xho07/08/2020

nods.

[5:37 PM]

I will try. ... I don't feel cold. But I can hardly trust my own judgement on the matter. I have no way of knowing if I was different before.

[5:39 PM]

It is like trying to look at one's own eye. A mirror is required.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax: "For what it's worth, I like talking to you.  You can see the parts I get cloudy too or just...don't want to see."

Xho07/08/2020

probably gets that weird look on her face again at this point.

[5:42 PM]

That is what I'm here for, sir.

USS Adventure07/08/2020

Grax leaves.