exhuxperation | 04. mental link

[ Speaking from within her own mind, still remains oddly more comfortable than handling people face to face. So when she speaks there's a directness as she reaches out. As polite, as can be. Is there a mental equivalent to brushing someone's shoulder? ]

( General Hux, ) [ shifts, pause, the crackle of energy and then - she continues. ] ( I was hoping I could enlist your help, if you find yourself free at all. )

[Tick, tick, tick. The Station is quiet until it isn't: a low hum, a vibration that builds and then flattens: a voice in the back of Hux's head that's both distant and far too intimate.]

( Would you like to discuss your results with us? )

[ In a way, he's been waiting for this. He hasn't spoken to Cathaway since he first got onto the station, for various reasons. Unfortunately, there's no avoiding her forever. ]

( Mission report? )

Edited (html...) 2016-04-24 23:14 (UTC)

( In a sense. )

[Expectation. Tick, tick, tick.]

[ Communicating mind to mind is odd. Even with all of his time spent around Kylo Ren, he's not used to being able to be so direct. At least, not in the way that can betray his inner thoughts in the process. However, there are some in the nest that are more conscientious. Angel being one of them– he can tell it's her immediately, the presence of her mind is unmistakeable. ]

( Angel. What do you need assistance with? )

( What is it you expect, then? )

[ Frustration, just at the edge of his consciousness. He doesn't like this, nor the possibility he's being toyed with. ]

[ There's a pause, the crackle of static and blue light and then she presses on. ]

( I was hoping you might know a thing or two about ship repairs. )

[ The mild surprise he feels is hard to miss over a mental network. ]

( It depends on the ship, but I do have a decent knowledge. Is there something broken? )

[ IS SHE STRANDED SOMEWHERE..... ]

( Yes, it's a little complicated to explain, but we're trying to help out some people here. Their ship is damaged.

If you're not opposed, of course. )

[ He has to think about it for a moment but no, he supposes he isn't opposed. If they're trying to leave the planet, he really can't blame them.

Though, it does sort of beg the question where she garnered the inkling he'd be halfway decent at getting things done in this manner. ]

( I don't mind lending my service. Where are you? )

[The frustration is like a breath of wind ghosting across a hanging ribbon: it twists over, gentle and easy, the irritation sliding from it like a glancing blow. Patient. Somewhere small chains stir against one another, a small rasping sound.]

( We would like your assessment, General. Would you care to meet face to face, or do you prefer this? )

[There is, evidently, no third option that involves neither.]

( I'll come to you. )

[ As much as he dislikes talking to Cathaway in any capacity, it's better than this. Even though he's fairly sure she'll be able to dig around in his head, regardless.

In any case, he ends up at the bridge, considering it to be the logical point where she'd be. Ignoring that she could potentially be anywhere else in the nest. And that oddly, she's where he thought she would be. ]

Cathaway.

[Strange, isn't it? That she could be anywhere in the Station, and yet here she is: exactly where he expects to find her.

The bridge is quiet, as empty today as the day of his hatching. She is waiting for him at its center, the toe of her left boot consciously at the very nexus of the room. There's a pleasure to that - the exactness of it. She smiles when he arrives.]

Hello, General. Thank you for coming.

[ He isn't going to think about the oddity of her being here. ]

Of course. What is this assessment you require?

[ Hux keeps his poise as always. Straight back, hands loosely behind him. In a way, his own mirror of her exactness. ]

We would like to hear your estimation of the mission, General. We hear there is plenty of consider.

[The set of her boot's toe doesn't waver and neither does her attention on him. Hers is a direct, unambiguous focus - pale eyes bright with reflected light, the gentle curve of her mouth a pretense more than it is genuine. She is interested in what he has to say, both for himself and for those who he'd worked alongside while on the planet.]

[ An odd request. But maybe not. Maybe it's something they're gathering from everyone. It would make sense, to neatly slot together the whole picture. ]

Quite frankly, it was disastrous in places. [ The whole affair in Tari town, triggered by someone else's lack of judgment. He frowns at the thought– being caught so unaware was one of his least favorite things. ]

It could've gone worse, naturally. [ Everything always had a shittier option. ] However, it's rather evident cooperation is sorely lacking overall.

[ Even though they're all stuck in each other's heads. ]

[For a long beat she's silent, still: studies him quietly, his answer floating in the empty space between them like oil on water.]

How unfortunate.

[Said crisply, consonants and syllables snapped without either reservation or resentment.]

How will you proceed next time?

[ Hux frowns at her, turning the question over. Of course it matters what he'll do next time. He's part of this, even if he doesn't want to be. Though, why he's being asked this... well, it's strange. ]

I'll readily admit my own control was wanting. [ This time around. Hopefully, to keep the other parts clear. ] That aside, I don't think I can answer you in any full capacity, knowing so little on how some members of the group operate.

A fair assessment.

[Her gaze doesn't waver, still enough that not even the pin straight sheet of her hair shifts - no small chime from any single charm at the fine chains wound through her clothes or at her wrists.]

Now, how will you prepare for the next time everyone is to leave the Station?

If this is some sort of exercise in trying to get me to understand that I need more knowledge, Cathaway, I already understood that.

[ Just what is she getting at here? He knows he has to ask questions. Talk to everyone. While these people aren't his troops, it's essential to any group effort to know strengths and weaknesses. ]

Then we wonder how it is that you're not more efficient at utilizing what you already understand, General.

[The toe of her boot turns from the center of the floor. There's a rattle of fine things: small chains and metallic charms, the quiet of the bridge undercut by a barely perceptible hum.]

We are here, you are there. In the future, The Prince and I will be unable to accompany you and the other young hosts on missions. That leaves certain parties vulnerable, particularly when certain other individuals decide to murder their way through the mission locale. No General, you are not responsible for the actions of any other host - but a guiding hand would not be remiss.

[And evidently there are so few of those present.]

We admit it's an imperfect system. Unfortunately, we must enlist help where we're able. If you're unwilling to assist, we will find someone else to take up the task and hope that next time we don't have to collect any host bodies on the way out.

[ She is about to chatter back that she'll upload the location to his HUD, but -- well. ]

( I'm just looking for the parts we'll need at the moment. I'm here -- )

[ And there's an image of a location where she is on a street in Minte Port. ]

[ Answering the first part is going to be damning in every way, so he elects to let it pass. Something to think about and strategize around, as much as it's caving to a system he has no love for. ]

Kylo Ren's outburst was something I mistakenly let run longer than I should have. [ Even in the moment, he should've seen it coming. Felt it, even, having been around the man for so long he could sense when his temper changed on a pin. He'll be making corrections there, he can tell. Because Snoke is no longer is here. And while Ren's re-dedicated himself to Cathaway, the structures aren't the same. ]

I see. [ It's not that he's totally unwilling. Just. Mentally unwilling. All of the shared everything is still incredibly uncomfortable. ]

I don't have qualms about assisting where I can. [ That only helps his survival, after all. Though– ]

I have concerns about how far that assistance will be able to run. [ Someone in the nest killed someone on planet for no apparent reason. Chaos in a true form. ]

Enlighten us. What are these concerns? What shape do you anticipate them taking?

[In a way, it's an honest question. There are so many variables, so many ways a thing can go wrong or be perceived as incorrect, that the consensus had difficulty pinning down exactly what the General - or what someone very like him - thinks is the hard part of this task. Better to know and address is directly than to fire blindly.

As for the rest, she has no further comment. He isn't incorrect in his assessment - whatever quarrel he has with Ren is a limitation to them both, but at least he seems the understand some piece of that.]

The shape they took during the mission was someone in the nest killing without seeming reason.

[ Though, even with reason, there wasn't any notification that it was done. Communication being their downfall once more– he supposes that's what happens when people come together in a disjointed mess. ]

I don't know who it was, but it's a fairly narrow list of who it could be. [ A rogue variable for now. Not one he enjoys dealing in, considering his options. ] If the issues on planet can be traced back to anything, it's that.

COMMAND over oneself and others	AMBITION nothing will stand in my way
ORDER chaos will not be tolerated	MANY over the individual

04. mental link

D162

the station

no subject

god your layout is killing me

no subject

those stars represent his dokis for the republic's destruction uwu*

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject