[handmaiden of unsheathed swords] voice posted:

[darkeststars]

This is Darth Imperius. I will be brief.

By now you've presumably all heard the details of Karsa's proposal. I don't have her ability to block out extra ears, so if you haven't, take it up directly with her.

I intend to organize our half of this operation. Some of you have already told me you're coming, but I would like a count of heads to know the size of our force and what skills we'll have at our disposal. We will likely be taking point on the more dangerous part of this op, so if you cannot fight, stay home. I will speak with you all about the schedule in person and deliver a full briefing on the day of.

Any actionable details or useful intelligence are welcome, preferably not over the quartz. Bai Mingyu or Eleven generally know where to find me.


[ Anyone is welcome. If you already signed up OOCly to participate, feel free to assume your character volunteered offscreen rather than replying here. Arche will be delivering info about scheduling and operational plans to everybody offscreen for players' convenience.

I will have to pause tags on this at some point but I'll be back tomorrow (Sunday)! ]

Comments

un: anglicized

[descendency]

You're really upset about the boat name.

[darkeststars]

Hilarious.

I presume the defenseless courtesan is staying home.

[descendency]

I'm just saying. You didn't start throwing the dramatic title around until the boat edged in on your territory.

I intend to be there, so please do keep an eye out for us helpless civilians aiding your efforts Darth Imperious.

[darkeststars]

[ there's a long silence from the other end of the line that cuts through their usual bickering. ]

...........you do?

[descendency]

Have you some protest to my presence?

action;

[bearshermark]

[Per Archeval's request, Eleven elects to seek him out rather than chat through the quartz. He brings with him a pair of mugs filled with warm broth, and holds one out for Archeval]

So ah, I likely should have asked before now, but I know you can heal yourself. ..Can you also heal others?

[darkeststars]

[ he's at Mingyu's a lot right at the moment, so -- mind if he waves a guest into the corner of your quarters, Mingyu? No? Yes? Too bad, he's doing it anyway. He'll courteously make sure he's not walking in on any of your clients, though. Arche will find them both seats to plop down in, accepting the mug with a look of vague surprise. From the pink in his cheeks and his wind-mussed hair, he's certainly spent some time out in the cold today. ]

How long did you carry these around looking for me?...

I can, though, yes. I would even call it something of a specialty. [ giving a wry sort of frown ] I would guess it's probably not as pleasant as what you can do, but I know a great deal about knitting injuries and extending life. For most common galactic species, anyway. [ stopping to give a thoughtful hum for a second as he raises the mug to his lips ] From what I've seen the majority of our number seem to be humans, so with any luck that won't be an issue.

[bearshermark]

[He smiles, a touch guilty that he doesn't have a third. Although, neither does he have three hands]

Well, it's still a little warm anyway.

[He takes a sip while Archeval explains and nods. He'd expected as much- the unpleasantness- and offers a silent prayer that he'll never be so injured as to need to find out what it feels like]

That's good, then. We don't know how well the captives will have been treated, but I'm sure at least some of them will need healed. We're the only ones I know of so far..

[darkeststars]

Mm. Just make sure you prioritize, yes? [ giving El a pointed look ] We do what we must to keep everyone on their feet, and the rest we deal with after we're all out. Can't have you running yourself ragged and collapsing because you squeezed too much out of that bleeding heart of yours.

[ he takes a long sip of his own mug, giving a brief, contented little sigh as the still pleasantly-warm broth goes down. Seems like maybe he's let his guard down, just a little. ]

un: dulcet dove of sighed surrender

[topoiran]

I perhaps could be of some assistance, but I would prefer to tell how in person.

Just in case.

[darkeststars]

[ oh, a new voice. ]

Only wise.

Can you meet me out and about in the city, or should I find you at our gathering place?

[topoiran]

I can find you in the city, yes.

[darkeststars]

Perfect. Please speak to Eleven, he can tell you a spot to find me in. I will be waiting.

[ for expediency, though: Eleven will almost certainly direct Xunxian to a wide alleyway near a common tavern, not the most pleasant but relatively inconspicuous. Likely not the sort of place Xunxian would normally be caught dead in, but then again, who knows (certainly not the person writing this tag, whoops).

Right at the spot where the shadow of the neighboring building falls over the tavern wall, there's a fairly skinny boy dressed in black leaned against it, examining some papers. ]

un: heart-fluttering hummingbird

[downswing]

You have me.


( Very forward from a pseudo-married man, he knows.. )

voice

[darkeststars]

[ Scandalous. Luckily, he's taken twice over. ]

Roger that.

audio

[downswing]

( Given the man's penchant for irritation, best to suit and mirror him as much as one can: )

You trust our instructors?

[darkeststars]

[ gosh, Wangji, how accommodating of you. Arche doesn't say anything one way or another about it, but is certainly noting the sound of your voice and will continue sharing his for future reference. ]

Karsa and her crew? Not particularly. [ dryly ] But she's been honest enough in her general disdain for us, so I can work with that. I trust at least in her desire to have the foreigners out of her city, so betraying us to those who would likely send us all back to be slaughtered by the warlord is not in her best interest.

un: Taste of twilight’s trickled honeydew

[pinkxeno]

I'm going too. [ she's certain about that ]

[darkeststars]

[ ah yes, the 'hero'. He got a bit caught up in surprise about her appearance last time they spoke and didn't quite get as much information as he should have, but she mentioned that she fights, at least. ]

Roger that, Ashido. You're capable on stealth missions? Seems we're going in quiet to start, though who knows what conditions we'll find when we're actually in there.

[pinkxeno]

Yeah, I've been taught those. [ despite how excited she always seems, she can quiet down ]

I can do it. [ she wants to save people ]

[darkeststars]

Excellent. If you've had specific training -- some of us will certainly need to scout ahead to check conditions on the ground, so it would be very useful if you could help take point alongside me. [ dryly ] I'm more useful once things get a little more rowdy. I suppose a 'hero' probably does quite a lot of rescuing sentients, hm? [ don't mind him, the closest thing they have to superheroes back home are a bunch of boring sticks in the mud compared to you, okay. ]

un: drenched kitten of heated purrs

[jeoha]

[ Oh boy, this is going to take some getting used to. The Crown Prince doesn't take orders well, but, well--

Well, he's not Crown Prince anymore. And as he has said to everyone else so far, cooperation is integral to their survival. So. ]

I will be there. I will be collecting information, and I shall put it at your disposal.

[ His voice is surprisingly even. Good job, buddy. ]

[darkeststars]

[ at least if the crown prince has to take orders from anybody, it's a high councilor of a cosmos-spanning empire. Not that Lee Chang knows that. And maybe in practice, he's actually a little more rankled about taking orders from the 'competition'...? ]

Roger that, Lee Chang. Appreciated. I'd wondered if this group could truly be organized into a fighting unit on short notice, but thankfully I think we'll be more than adequate to the task.

[ he hears you being weird at him again over there, though. The Dark Lord is nothing if not very acutely attuned to people who don't like him. More important business to take care of right now, but guess he's going to have to do something about that when this job is over. ]

[jeoha]

[ Oh don't worry about that, Archeval, he plans to Extremely Awkwardly inquire about your - uh - competition status when they're out on the tundra. ]

I fear we will have to become more accustomed to it than not, in the coming weeks.

[darkeststars]

[ oh boy, Lee Chang has certainly set himself up a very interesting hunt. ]

Hn. Well, not that I wish the pursuit on us, but getting out of here and openly fending off our foes as we head east would at least be preferable to more of this skulking and hiding. Exhausting, frankly.

[ the Prince may have guessed from their other recent conversation that subtle infiltration is not usually the Dark Lord's thing. ]