video; un: majortom

[winscenario]

[ Unlike certain pointy-eared aliens out there, Jim appears on the broadcast looking perfectly normal and wearing no funny hats or accessories. His shirt and hair are maybe slightly rumpled, but that's to be expected. Given the nature of the announcement, he looks serious too. ]

For those of you who I haven't met yet, I'm Captain James T. Kirk. [ Yes, the T. is important. ] Recently I was part of a group who visited the Concord, and I personally got to talk to her Captain, Maximilian Hawk.

He shared a few things, though I don't know how much of it really will be news by now. Long story short, the Company wants to get their hands on some rare item, something that's either been lost for a long time or is only mentioned in myth. They discovered Samuel Vane, or Quicksilver Sam, was already looking for said item, so they hired him to find it for them. They gave him the ship, the crew, a set of coordinates and a fragment inside a small box that supposedly reacts when close to aforementioned item.

The so-called 'gifts' we were sent to deliver were half of that coordinate, and the empty box. Which leads me to believe that the gesture was meant as anything but a peace offering.

Considering Vane's mental state at the moment, it also makes me wonder if he was the one sending those gifts, or if Kreil is the one behind the gesture.

[ He takes a slow breath. ]

Now, regarding the rest of our conversation. I managed to avoid a conflict in the moment by explaining we were refugees here, and not part of either crew. He believed me. He also offered a deal for us: we take the fragment and the coordinates and we find the item ourselves, effectively taking up the job what was given to Vane, and we'd be rewarded with supplies and funds to carry on with our trip or find somewhere to settle, as Hawk put it. Part of his conditions is that we hand over Vane as well— and the remainder of the crew, I imagine.

I am not in favor of this, just to be clear. I have no interest in handing over Vane, but I'm not on my ship, and you aren't my crew, and I can't make that kind of choice for the group at large. As much as it goes against what I believe in, I thought that it was necessary that I share this with you all, so that everyone can weigh in on what they think we should do.

That said, I'll take no part in a plot to capture and deliver Vane, not when we have so little idea of what's the story behind all this. Hawk has shared what is convenient to him, what makes him look like the one in the right, the one who was tricked and lied to, but there's a lot we don't know too.

Anyway, I figured I'd open this up to a vote. At the very least we'll get some idea on where most of us stand regarding this.

That's all. Kirk out.

((ooc: for the sake of organization, I ask that everyone go to this comment and vote on what your character would want to do (plus with any wild plots/ideas they might have suggested). Please hop over there and vote, even if you don't want to or don't have the time to reply to this post!))

Comments

Private; voice; @whitewolf

[northerndragon]

I would contact the Merchant and ask what he thinks of Hawk’s offer, though I don’t think we are in good favor with him. Maybe better now than we were a few moons back — but maybe not.

[winscenario]

I was told we shouldn't trust the Merchant, but honestly so far it seems we can't really trust anyone here. Makes it a little hard to know where to turn, or what to do from here.

[northerndragon]

Who told you that?

He’s not telling us everything, that’s certain, but he has arranged our passage through this world. Losing what favor is left to us could cost us. I don’t know if changing plans in this way would help matters, or make them worse. I don’t know if he’d admit to a preference before the choice is made, either.

un: Black Prince; text

[blackscales]

How good or bad an idea this is seems hard to judge without knowing what the item is. 

[winscenario]

Yes, I know. Unfortunately this is all he would tell me. Whether he wouldn't tell me more because he didn't want me to know or he didn't know more himself, that's anyone's guess.

[blackscales]

Anything he did tell us would be likely selective anyway, shaped to gain support. There are too many variables. Perhaps Vane simply wants the item for himself, perhaps he discovered it was dangerous and did not want it to fall into the wrong hands, perhaps he took a deal to get it for someone else.

Without more information from your new friend or Vane we risk choosing poorly. Naturally I assume we will not be allowed time to try and make an informed decision.  

voice; un: dr.mccoy

[biomed]

We don't know enough to make that kind of call.

[winscenario]

Even if we did, we still wouldn't be in a place to make that kind of call. We have no place, no authority here. It's not our duty to get involved and go around taking prisoners.

[ He sighs. ]

Wasn't expecting to get tangled up in this kind of mess so soon after getting here.

[biomed]

Asking us to–

( he quiets, and there's the sound of shuffling, and of a sudden gust of wind. )

Asking us to mutiny for him. Are any of the other Outworlders even sailors? We'd be dead within a week. Where are you?

un : dappled peals of the parted seas (voice)

[beitangmoran]

Something that's either been lost for a long time or is only mentioned in myth, and whose fragment will react when in close proximity with the thing...

Add that we most probably have a mirror on board, and this is getting more suspicious by the minute.

[winscenario]

A mirror? Sorry, you've lost me. Do you mean a mirror as in, the object? Or am I missing something?

un: white pawn; video

[chosenbylight]

We have been theorizing about a mirror on board the ship, but now I cannot help but wonder if it is but a fragment of one. The dead spoke of the feeling of something drawing them to the Pariah, similar to whatever holds them to the bottom of the ocean. It could be that he holds only a fragment of one such an item, the rest of the mirror being what they seek, with the dead at the bottom of the sea.

Jon Snow recently spoke of his encounters with one such mirrors, and what happened to him when he pieced it back together. It is not only dangerous for those who undertake such a task, but also a too-powerful tool, should such an item fall into the wrong hands...

[The thought is troubling, TO SAY THE LEAST...]

[winscenario]

[ ... ah. ]

You're the second person to mention this mirror. I assume I'm missing some key piece of information I haven't run into yet. What's the deal with these mirrors?

private ► un: girl on top

[unas]

I have an idea.

[winscenario]

Well, don't leave me hanging. Do share.

private un: spock

[intermingled]

I believe that Quicksilver Sam as you call him is the man who said I should be dead under the sea, so I might suggest being particularly wary of him, Captain. I do not believe he is well.

[winscenario]

Yes, I'm aware he's not well at all. Hence my guess that he wasn't the one who sent those gifts, or if he did he wasn't quite in his right mind.

[ The gifts served more like a taunt than a peacekeeping gesture, which has led him to think of Kreil instead. ]

@taken for granite | audio

[rumorate]

Could we give him Kreil instead?

[Because Kreil is a dick and she would feel less bad about that one. But she's not one hundred percent serious.]

[winscenario]

I've heard Kreil isn't the most pleasant of people, but honestly, I'm against handing anyone over to Hawk. But that's just me, I can't speak for the whole group.

[ Punch him, though?? He's fine with that. Mostly. ]

un: workstormit | audio

[bravelyrunsaway]

The captain claims to have reason to break one contract for not having it completed to his satisfaction, then to hand it to refugees.

( he sighs, long and low. )

Truly, love, taken practically, he's hoping for those he has even more at his mercy to complete a task the first group he thought he had under his control proved less tractable than he anticipated.

[winscenario]

He did seem like a pretty desperate man, admittedly. I mean, I told him we weren't from around here, that we were refugees on these ships, and he still thought that us taking up the mission would be a good idea.

It's also made me wonder why he and his crew didn't go looking for the object themselves. He boasted a little about them being adventurers, so why sit back and send someone else in on this one?

un: eclipse | audio

[soloritur]

I think we're going to be involved more than we want to, no matter what we decide. If we get the Concord off our backs, we'd still be on the hook for a suicide mission.

[ There are no good options here. ]

I didn't think Vane would turn on his own crew, but that might change if Kreil takes over. They set us up with those gifts, so I don't think they've got much stake in what happens to us.

[winscenario]

That's undoubtedly the case. I'd say we're already more involved than what would be ideal. But then, from all that I've heard so far, that seems par for the course with the situations you've found yourselves in the past, here.

Kreil is dangerous. More so than Vane. If he does take control of the Pariah, which I think is only a matter of time, I worry about what might happen to us, as well as anyone on that crew who tries to oppose him.

un: absterge

[downswing]

You return unharmed?


( Why is everyone else so uncaringly rude. )

[winscenario]

We do, thankfully. I expect Hawk didn't want to cause a bad impression on the people he's potentially roped into doing his bidding for him.