2024-06-25: Needs
- Log: Needs
- Cast: Eight Orlodhari, Rena Lancaster
- Where: Hotel, Magallanica
- OOC - IC Date: June 25, 2024 (0099)
- Summary: Rena Lancaster makes it to Magallanica for a date with Eight Orlodhari. But as they talk, the subject turns to serious matters, and Rena reminds Eight of the dream that started them on this path in the first place.
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
Eight's apartment is a little small, so she's met Rena at a hotel room she got for her. It's just them; the kids are at home with Lavhi, and Eight is done with work so she's changed out of her uniform into a nice red dress. She has a pair of drinks in her hand from the minibar, and sets them down on the table as she comes over to smile at Rena.
"Hey," she says. "Sorry I can't welcome you at the house just yet..."
"But I'm happy to see you in any case. How was the trip over?"
They've just had the chance to meet back up. There's quite a bit to catch up on.
It's a suite, as it happens. Of course it is. Eight insisted.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena has a black button-up shirt on, with a collar, and a nice dark blue skirt. It's fairly classy-but-classic date attire for Rena, and it is important to get dressed and go out sometimes. She sits at the table.
Her carry-on is tucked away in the corner, and she looks up -- tilting her head, then she smiles.
"Don't worry about it!" Rena says. "I bet there's a lot going on with the twins and Lahvi and everything."
And the Yorks; Rena is planning to drop by while she is here.
"It was good. Long shuttle flight, but..." She shakes her head. "It all worked out fine. How've things been up here?"
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
Eight's in great makeup and heels; it's a date night, after all. She doesn't get to dress up like this very often anymore, and Rena knows how much she likes to. She likes Rena's look, too; she complimented her when she came to the door.
"That's true," Eight says of a lot going on. "The twins are a handful as ever. Lavhi's had some more free time for them, which gives me a little more free time for work."
The Yorks are still here, though they no longer live next door to Eight; they have their own lives to live.... But it's better that they don't go back to Winter Wonderland.
"I'm glad," Eight says of 'good'. "I bet it was. I'm looking forward to going to Orb next. The beach..." A smile, and then a shake of her head. "Busy," Eight reflects. "...Since the raid on the factory, I've been fielding a lot of disgruntled allies who don't like defending an institution that does things like they tried to do to those scientists--and frankly, I agree with them."
"So it's a matter of smoothing ruffled feathers and planning our next move. Unfortunately... I think we can no longer treat NUNE as operating in good faith."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"That's a relief," Rena says, with a smile. "They're getting big. And more talkative..." Whether they really can talk or not. Rena grins, a little, and tilts her head to the side. It is good that the Yorks are here, even if they don't live next door; the ability to help with the twins is a big relief.
"The beach is a big plus. You should bring the twins, at some point, too!" Rena says. "I bet they'd like it. If... well, depending how safe it is."
Which, after recent events, is more of a question.
Then, Rena nods her head. "I'm worried about that, too," she admits. "I don't think they are. They're clearly hiding things we'd not like... and I know Leina's worked hard, but..."
She looks down. "...It's the same thing they've always done. The same Federation, just a new coat of paint."
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
"They are! Aarmi has been pretty vocal about what she wants lately," Eight says with a smile and a fond laugh. "Zaress of course just wants to greet everybody. Over, and over, and over."
They love their grandparents! ...The Orlodharis might move here eventually, too, considering.
"As long as we supervise them, it's safe. ...Apparently a little roughhousing is good for them too," she sighs. She wants to protect them, but the needs of half-Zentradi...
Oh, that kind of safe? Well, Orb is fine, isn't it?
"Leina's worked hard, and I won't dismiss Cathedra's efforts yet. But we can't afford to wait for the wheels of bureaucracy to work. NUNE isn't going to."
Eight reaches across the table for a hand. "It is. But that means we're ready. We've prepared for this; we have a fleet now, if not a big one. And two nations to support us."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena laughs, then she nods. "Yeah... that sounds like both of them. Won't be too long before they start pre-school, I bet." She heard kids start young; it's something she only looked up. After all, her own interest in children isn't quite Eight's.
She scratches at the back of her head, and blinks. Then, she nods. "It'll be okay! And, um, I bet Lahvi knows that well, too."
She quiets down for a moment, and then she nods her head. Her hand reaches out -- taking Eight's, and squeezing. "They're not," she agrees. "And sooner or later, we'll have to strike against them, I think. But... you're right. We've made preparations for this."
She frowns. "And we might be able to find more allies, too. I think... it's worth looking into."
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
"Yes... It's going to be hard to let them go off for so many hours," Eight admits with a fond, distant smile. "But it's good for them. I'm sure of that. I talked it over with Leina, when I was thinking of trying to raise them on the ship, before my job took me here all the time. They need that socialization with others. They need friends and teachers, not just private tutors."
But, "Yes," Eight agrees. "His parents have helped me out on that front."
Eight squeezes back, before she picks up her drink andd has a sip. "Sooner or later, I agree. And they'll come after us, if we don't. So far, SAL has limited itself to economic pressure on Magallanica. I don't know how long they'll keep that up."
"...Yes. We need all the allies we can get. But not this 'Dawn of Fold'," she says. "I won't work with Angelo Sauper again. I know better, now. What he wants for this world... is incompatible with our goals."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Mm. Yeah. School is good for them... and it'll be okay. Besides, you'll still be involved," Rena says, with a smile. "All of the after school activities and that sort of thing, right?"
She nods. She looks thoughtful, before she takes her drink -- having a longer drink of it, before she sighs.
"We'll have to be ready for them to try something," Rena says. "But... I think we can be ready. We've prepared a lot, in that regard. And... no. Not this Dawn of Fold. We saw what they'll resort to, from the start."
She frowns. "We'll need to look out. And--we've got... those aliens, who showed up. That 'Company.' Al was sure their designs are extraterrestrial. They're not allies, but..."
Rena glances out the window. "...I don't know. I think we've gotten the attention of things beyond the Earth Sphere, too. Maybe even the Solar System."
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
"True. The bright side of not being in the field is that I'll have time to get involved in that kind of thing. And I want to! Looking after the next generation, even beyond just my kids, is important work!"
Rena might remember that Eight has been conflicted about her work--but has stuck with it because she can do so much good... in theory.
"We did. Innocents just aren't their priority. 'Satellicon' seems more suitable, but if they're willing to work with Dawn of Fold, we might not be able to see eye-to-eye."
But the aliens. Eight takes her hand back and leans against the back of her chair. "The company... Enba told me all about them. About how their big dangerous pilot had 'three hours' in the simulator, was it?"
"I think you're right. I'm fine dealing with corporations, even extrasolar corporations. We're used to that. But we can't know what differences there will be... or what they'll want from us."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena laughs, but she nods. "It is! And... you know, it's important to make time to do stuff like that," she says. "Even if our day jobs are really important, too."
Rena understands that conflict. She may not have the same one, but she has her own similar ones.
"We'll need to be careful," she says. "Still... reaching out to Satellicon might be worthwhile, after we know more. They did seem more reserved."
She hesitates for a second, then, and nods. "...Yeah. That's the one," she says. "I'm not sure either. We can try to find out. But... it's clear we'll have our hands full, too." She frowns. "And NUNE... we'll need to see how they respond. Do you plan to take action against them, if they keep like this?"
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
"Yes," Eight says, and thinks back to other conversations. "We have to make sure to live the lives we're fighting for, or what's the point?"
"Yes," Eight agrees. "We're working on intel about them now. We're going to check them out as much as is possible."
"...And about this 'Company', too."
Eight auses. "...I don't have specific plans yet," she says, but there's an obvious caveat. "But I'm having our operatives draw up information about bases nearby our protected zones, and on projections of what NUNE could try so we can get out ahead of it."
"We can't just go to war with them outright to try to conquer the whole world," she explains. "We're going to have to do it to overcome specific excesses."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Yeah," Rena says, with a nod of her head. "That's a good idea. Hopefully, we'll have a better idea of what they're all about soon."
She looks thoughtful for a moment, her brow furrowed. "No, we can't," she admits. "It'd be good to have an idea on how we can respond. But if they do something like that again..."
She frowns. "I think we should be ready to try to stop it," she says. "I know that's complicated. But... it's why we made the Three Ships Alliance."
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
"Hopefully we can get that idea without too many more 'demonstrations', too. I'm concerned about how powerful their weapons are."
Eight sets down her drink again, and looks to the window too. A flourishing colony...
It's a nice view. This is a good hotel.
"I agree entirely," Eight says. "We have to be ready. And that means our intellligence operations are even more important. ...But that is why we made the Alliance. It's just... also why we disbanded it."
"I don't know entirely how we're going to solve it," she admits. "Taking on a problem at a time is the only way I can see right now, without more allies, without more public support."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"That's what I'm hoping, too," Rena says, before she takes a sip of her drink. "But... be ready for anything, right?"
She looks sideways at Eight -- then she hesitates for a second. She nods, though, after a moment's thought. "Yeah. We can't really take them head-on. At least... not easily, and not without a cost."
She shakes her head.
"But... we can get to the point we can," Rena says. "Even if I hope it doesn't come to that. And be ready to step in against Dawn of Fold, too, when we need to. If they're putting civilians at risk..."
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
"Right," Eight says. "We have to be ready."
She looks back at Rena and puts on a small smile. Despite the heavy topics, she's glad to see Rena--and she values her input, too.
"The problem is," Eight says, "Let's say we do. What then? Do we govern? ...So I suppose we're best off trying to change NUNE through our operations--which might mean working wih some of their internal factions. It's meddling with peoples' lives, but I don't see a way around it."
"...Still, it's not hopeless. We can take it a step at a time, and if we have to deal with politics, then I'll do that. I can't say I thought I would end up here, but..."
She did.
"For sure. We have at least two adversaries now. We can't allow them to sacrifice innocents for their grudges. Otherwise, the cycle of war will never end."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Mm... yeah. Maybe we can change NUNE from within," Rena says. "But... I don't know. This is a lot like what we tried with the Federation three years ago, and that mission felt familiar in a way I don't like."
She frowns, looking down for a moment. "I'm a little skeptical. I think we should try to make it work... but I don't want to repeat the mistakes we made before either, either."
She looks up, then she nods again. "We've gotta keep innocent people safe. And keep wars from spinning out of control. But it's not -- it's never been -- about just that."
She hesitates. "If we can't change NUNE from within -- and I'm not saying we shouldn't try..." She sighs. "...We need to think about what that means and what the Earth Sphere needs us to be."
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
"It's similar... But different. We have more tools available to us than we used to have. Political levers that we couldn't have dreamed of back then."
"All the same, you're right. It could end up being just he same as before." Keep people safe, keep wars under control, and...
"I've been reluctant to do that," Eight admits. "...NUNE, SAL, they expect us to expand our 'domain'. To fight for control."
"...We'll have to think about what we have to be, down the line. But I don't know that I'm ready to be what I worry we might need."
"...Well," she says, "...That's grim, isn't it? I guess we just take it a step at a time, for now."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"We do. We could stand to have some more levers," Rena admits. "But... we can put pressure on them in ways we couldn't when it was just a few ships. Much less a few disaffected officers."
She frowns, then glances downward. "I think we can't be defending NUNE's interests, though, or we're doing what we did in the past," Rena says. "It felt too close to that, back there. We saved the scientists, but... it felt like all the times I said, 'The Federation will listen, if we just help out.'"
She shakes her head, then looks up. "But, that's... not what I mean. I'm not talking about conquest."
She's quiet, for a moment.
"'A kinder, fairer Federation,'" Rena says. "Remember when I said I want that? I still do. If that's what they need from us..."
She smiles a little. "...I don't think that's grim. We can take it step by step. But... let's make sure those steps are going towards a dream we can make reality."
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
"I think I can get more, now that I know we need to. We have money we didn't have before, for instance. With Nergal's help..." She grimaces. Nergal, who bought a child. It's what they need, though.
Then she looks to Rena. "I agree. No more of that. It reminds me of the same--I don't like how it feels. It felt like what Londo Bell became."
Rena, though, explains.
"...I do," she says.
"I'm so caught up in the realities of the moment..."
She smiles. "Thanks, Rena."
"You're right. I remember our dream."
"I'm glad I have you to remind me. I always thought it would be you who'd be in my shoes..."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena smiles back at Eight. She squeezes her hand once, as she thinks about it for a moment more -- then she nods.
"It's okay," she says. "And... besides. You're an admiral."
She leans back in her chair. "I always had a different idea in mind," she says. "And... I need a good track record -- and maybe some grey hairs -- before I can pull off the poll numbers."
She winks. She is only half-kidding.
"We don't need to shout it loud. Just... we need to get the right people,good people, smart people, to get systems in place. And, next time, when things are falling apart..." She trails off. "...We give people a future they can all want, not one stolen from them by the rich and the powerful."
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
Eight squeezes back, her hand having come back across the table. But she laughs a little, at the gray hairs--but it doesn't conceal her smile for long. She listens, and considers. She doesn't think of it as a joke at all, even though Rena is kidding a little bit. "You could really do it," she muses.
"Yes," Eight says. "Because it will fall apart again, won't it? What they're doing... it's not sustainable."
"Yes. We'll get it set up. We'll put it in place. And we'll be ready."
"Though..."
She grins, in that teasing kind of way. "Maybe if I help wear you out you'll grow your grays a little sooner."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena hesitates for a second -- there's a distant look. "I... don't know, sometimes, but... it's nice to hear it, and I want to be the sort of person who could," she admits. Rena smiles, before she looks up.
"Yeah," she agrees. "At least... I have to believe that. That--that it's built on corporate greed, hiding its crimes, and forcing people to fall in line. I have to believe that can't last."
She is quiet for a moment.
"We just need things designed -- and maybe working on Magallanica, so we know they'll work." Rena nods. "But... there's time to figure that out. And--"
Eight says that.
Rena's face reddens. She huffs. "O-Octo!"
But it's not a no.