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<blockquote data-quote="Davies" data-source="post: 8405529" data-attributes="member: 30538">InterludeBy the finale of the third match, Shaitan Topaz has reached the limits of her patience -- which has never really numbered among her qualities, in any event. &quot;I need to use the lavatory,&quot; she says, rising from her chair.&quot;There's one at the back of the box,&quot; Thunder Dragon says in return, not taking his eyes off the screen he's observing, which presents a replay of that last bout in slow motion.She holds back from expressing her frustration verbally. &quot;And having used that, I need to get some fresh air.&quot;Now the monster who has declared her to be under his protection looks up. &quot;I am truly curious -- do hostages normally get to ask for fresh air, in the Imperium?&quot; he asks, something like a grin animating his features.Shaitan simply glares at him in silence.&quot;Please yourself,&quot; he says with a shrug, returning to his studies. &quot;I take no responsibility if your wanderings through my arena inspire one or another of our guests to attempt to make you their hostage.&quot;&quot;I am not without resources,&quot; she says, hand going to the hilt attached to her skirt's waistline. He'd returned it to her when they arrived, said it would be expected that she have it. She hasn't tested it for functionality yet. If it has been sabotaged, she doesn't really want to know.Regardless, he doesn't answer her last words, and she turns to walk out of the box's rear entry. Despite what he said, the passages beyond are largely empty, with only a few people passing through on the sort of errand in which she is supposedly engaged, often in small groups who babble animatedly about the wonders that they've seen. None of them approach her.&quot;Hello,&quot; says a voice from behind her. It is distinctive in that it addresses her in a proper language.None who are sane, she amends her earlier thought, and turns to regard her nemesis. Logan Stormstrider, ironically, has changed his usual white toga and trousers for a black blouse and pants. She doesn't answer his greeting, just glares at him.&quot;Are you all right?&quot; he asks.&quot;Dispense with such pleasantries, caitiff,&quot; she says at last. &quot;Why are you here?&quot;&quot;Everyone has to be somewhere.&quot;&quot;I am not making philosophical inquiries, dolt,&quot; says Shaitan, finally raising her voice a bit. &quot;Why are you taking part in this absurdity? No, on second thought, let me save you the trouble of answering. You plan to ask him to make me your prisoner, instead of his, or instead of that deserter Marine's.&quot;&quot;No,&quot; he says, patiently. &quot;If I manage to win this, I'm going to ask him to give you your freedom.&quot;She stares at him, then lets out what she fears might sound a bit like hysterical laughter. &quot;You ... you utter varlet,&quot; she says when she calms down slightly. &quot;Lest you forget, 'Stormstrider', I have seen your notions of 'freedom'. I have walked through the ruins of Gelesh.&quot; She sees him flinch, and takes pleasure in the sight. &quot;None of your supposed friends know about that, do they? None know that their dear compatriot helped to author the death of thirty thousand civilians --&quot; She plans to give the full litany.Logan interrupts. &quot;Six thousand,&quot; he says. &quot;Six thousand, one hundred and forty-seven civilians on Gelesh.&quot;She stares at him in silence. &quot;What nonsense and tomfoolery are you spouting?&quot; she finally asks.&quot;That's the number we weren't able to save,&quot; he says. &quot;The rest we got out of the city before the reactor exploded. We even broadcast, on all frequencies, that it was going to explode, so any military assets who stayed there chose to do so.&quot;&quot;You're lying,&quot; she says. &quot;You would say anything --&quot;&quot;You are a mind reader,&quot; he says, raising his own voice. &quot;Read my mind and tell me if I speak the truth.&quot;Shaitan starts to back away, not really realizing that's what she does. &quot;I won't be tricked like this. I won't. Even if you are revealing some sort of truth, it doesn't matter, saving them from a disaster you helped to cause, you killed my master --&quot;&quot;The Grand Inquisitor set the reactor to go critical.&quot;Words fail her. In an instant, she seizes his mind and rips through it, preparing to tear it to shreds when she's done. And in that instant, she knows all that is Logan Williams.&quot;You are not lying,&quot; she says, when she can speak.&quot;No,&quot; he says. &quot;I am not.&quot; He takes a step towards her.&quot;Stay away from me!&quot; Shaitan shrieks, and flees.&quot;What the frack are you doing?&quot; demands someone from behind Logan. He turns to regard Khezar Lansam, who has also adopted Bhutanese dress as disguise, and is staring at him in stupefaction.&quot;I'm glad you like that TV show, but could you maybe think twice about adopting its idioms?&quot; he asks, mildly. It doesn't help matters that she looks quite a bit like its heroine.She ignores that. &quot;You just told the Insurgency's biggest secret to one of its worst enemies! What are you thinking -- no, with what are you thinking?&quot;&quot;I think this is what the Source wants me to do,&quot; he says, still mildly.&quot;The Source doesn't want things! That's not how the Source works! If you really think that the Source is talking to you, boyo, you've got bigger problems than a crazy woman you want to help for whatever stupid --&quot;&quot;Probably,&quot; says Logan, nodding sadly. &quot;Probably.&quot;Both of them are focused enough on their own conversation that they do not notice that they are being observed by another party.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Davies, post: 8405529, member: 30538"] [b]Interlude[/b] By the finale of the third match, Shaitan Topaz has reached the limits of her patience -- which has never really numbered among her qualities, in any event. "I need to use the lavatory," she says, rising from her chair. "There's one at the back of the box," Thunder Dragon says in return, not taking his eyes off the screen he's observing, which presents a replay of that last bout in slow motion. She holds back from expressing her frustration verbally. "And having used that, I need to get some fresh air." [i]Now[/i] the monster who has declared her to be under his protection looks up. "I am truly curious -- do hostages [i]normally[/i] get to ask for fresh air, in the Imperium?" he asks, something like a grin animating his features. Shaitan simply glares at him in silence. "Please yourself," he says with a shrug, returning to his studies. "I take no responsibility if your wanderings through my arena inspire one or another of our guests to attempt to make you [i]their[/i] hostage." "I am not without resources," she says, hand going to the hilt attached to her skirt's waistline. He'd returned it to her when they arrived, said it would be expected that she have it. She hasn't tested it for functionality yet. If it has been sabotaged, she doesn't really want to know. Regardless, he doesn't answer her last words, and she turns to walk out of the box's rear entry. Despite what he said, the passages beyond are largely empty, with only a few people passing through on the sort of errand in which she is supposedly engaged, often in small groups who babble animatedly about the wonders that they've seen. None of them approach her. "Hello," says a voice from behind her. It is distinctive in that it addresses her in a proper language. [i]None who are sane,[/i] she amends her earlier thought, and turns to regard her nemesis. Logan Stormstrider, ironically, has changed his usual white toga and trousers for a black blouse and pants. She doesn't answer his greeting, just glares at him. "Are you all right?" he asks. "Dispense with such pleasantries, caitiff," she says at last. "Why are you here?" "Everyone has to be somewhere." "I am not making philosophical inquiries, dolt," says Shaitan, finally raising her voice a bit. "Why are you taking part in this absurdity? No, on second thought, let me save you the trouble of answering. You plan to ask [i]him[/i] to make me your prisoner, instead of his, or instead of that deserter Marine's." "No," he says, patiently. "If I manage to win this, I'm going to ask him to give you your freedom." She stares at him, then lets out what she fears might sound a bit like hysterical laughter. "You ... you utter varlet," she says when she calms down slightly. "Lest you forget, 'Stormstrider', I have seen your notions of 'freedom'. I have walked through the ruins of Gelesh." She sees him flinch, and takes pleasure in the sight. "None of your supposed friends know about that, do they? None know that their dear compatriot helped to author the death of [i]thirty thousand[/i] civilians --" She plans to give the full litany. Logan interrupts. "Six thousand," he says. "Six thousand, one hundred and forty-seven civilians on Gelesh." She stares at him in silence. "What nonsense and tomfoolery are you spouting?" she finally asks. "That's the number we weren't able to save," he says. "The rest we got out of the city before the reactor exploded. We even broadcast, on all frequencies, that it was going to explode, so any military assets who stayed there chose to do so." "You're lying," she says. "You would say anything --" "You are a mind reader," he says, raising his own voice. "Read my mind and tell me if I speak the truth." Shaitan starts to back away, not really realizing that's what she does. "I won't be tricked like this. I won't. Even if you are revealing some sort of truth, it doesn't matter, saving them from a disaster you helped to cause, you killed my master --" "The Grand Inquisitor set the reactor to go critical." Words fail her. In an instant, she seizes his mind and rips through it, preparing to tear it to shreds when she's done. And in that instant, she knows all that is Logan Williams. "You are not lying," she says, when she can speak. "No," he says. "I am not." He takes a step towards her. "[i]Stay away from me![/i]" Shaitan shrieks, and flees. "What the [b]frack[/b] are you doing?" demands someone from behind Logan. He turns to regard Khezar Lansam, who has also adopted Bhutanese dress as disguise, and is staring at him in stupefaction. "I'm glad you like that TV show, but could you maybe think twice about adopting its idioms?" he asks, mildly. It doesn't help matters that she looks quite a bit like its heroine. She ignores that. "You just told the Insurgency's biggest secret to one of its worst enemies! What are you thinking -- no, with [i]what[/i] are you thinking?" "I think this is what the Source wants me to do," he says, still mildly. "The Source doesn't [i]want[/i] things! That's not how the Source works! If you really think that the Source is talking to you, boyo, you've got bigger problems than a crazy woman you want to help for whatever stupid --" "Probably," says Logan, nodding sadly. "Probably." Both of them are focused enough on their own conversation that they do not notice that they are being observed by another party. [/QUOTE]

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