Page 104 discussion.

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novius
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Re: Page 104 discussion.

Post by novius »

Well, I'm pretty sure Tempo engineered her own egress from the very start, as seen in http://www.well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider062.html. Frankly, why would someone schooled in the arts of diplomacy make a statement in the CO's earshot which can be counted as insubordination? Definitely a career limiting move.

Second, she establishes his diplomatic credentials in front of witnesses. Still-Storm might already have had a low esteem of him, but a move like this would nix any idea of hers to silently interrogate and get rid of him. Though I'm not quite sure on the 'interrogate' part since it seems they were all at the end of their wits when their telepathy failed.

Third, she's already seen limiting Alex's access ot information (http://www.well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider065.html), so her plan might be to continue acting as a watchdog and a filter, to ensure others (especially Beryl) don't blab in his presence about things better left unsaid.

It might be a 'good elf, bad elf' routine on a different level. Here there is Tempo who actually came through with the promises she made (or at least it looks that way to Alex), then there is Still-Storm who wouldn't like better for him to get off the ship... or worse.

For Tempo, it would be a win-win situation: Were Alex to be an enemy spy/plant, she could misdirect him if needed, were he not, she could continue to establish bona fides and maybe pick him for some intel about humans. Beryl may do so as well, but she isn't trained to ask the right questions or in the right tone.

Yet, her posture in the last panel is something I find more curious, and I'd loved to see that scene in motion. She has her left hand lifted up to her ear, yet it doesn't look much like she's holding something in it. So it could be that either she's fiddling with some concealed device, akin to a bluetooth earplug, for whatever reason, or...

she was about to do something like raking her hand through her hair. Definitely possible, since we have already reason to believe that
  • Loroi do have about the same range of expressions as humans. For example, they express mirth the same way humans do, by laughing.
  • Tempo herself has undergone training in diplomacy and interrogation, and it would be safe to assume it includes a whole range of interpreting and using nonverbal expressions. As seen in http://www.well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider066.html she does consciously intrude Alex's personal space, to coax a reaction out of him. (And in the following panel, one can see that it actually worked.)
So, yes, I'd peg Tempo to be the type of woman to use female wiles to coax information out of Alex, pretty much assuming that human men have the same buttons to push, compared to Loroi.

Either case, she does seem to have her own agenda concerning Alex.

Or maybe a cigar is just a cigar. But when it comes to politics and intelligence, things rarely are what they seem to be on the first glance.

Nemo
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Re: Page 104 discussion.

Post by Nemo »

novius wrote:Well, I'm pretty sure Tempo engineered her own egress from the very start, as seen in http://www.well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider062.html. Frankly, why would someone schooled in the arts of diplomacy make a statement in the CO's earshot which can be counted as insubordination? Definitely a career limiting move.

Again, I have to point out that this is projecting human decorum onto an alien culture. Humans bite their tongue and refrain from saying impertinent and disrespectful things for the sake of smoothing over social ties. Loroi notedly, pointedly, do not do so on account of Sanzai. Speech allows one to hide ones feelings but it is considered inherently dishonest. I have no expectation that speaking without holding back ones feelings would earn one demerits when using Sanzai to convey the same would not.

novius
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Re: Page 104 discussion.

Post by novius »

Still there's the proverb "If you have nothing good to say, say nothing."...

Tempo could have conveyed that tidbit about sanzai and speech without that final jab, and little would have been lost from the message. She as a trained wordsmith would know the effect of her final comment, and before and after her demeanor was purely professional.

So either it was a bit of pettiness (which would favor your "Loroi being straightforward to the point of rudeness" argument) on Tempo's side or she did lay the groundworks of being able to leave the ship with little fuss (which would be in line with "words are used as tools of deception").

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icekatze
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Re: Page 104 discussion.

Post by icekatze »

hi hi

I would wager that Tempo's statement about diplomacy was not a slip up, nor was it even a move that would limit her career. She was putting Stillstorm in her place, because when it comes to negotiations, Tempo apparently has the authority to tell Stillstorm to shut up and make it stick.

I mean seriously, Tempo stares down Stillstorm, and it is Stillstorm who flinches.

Tempo isn't just a diplomat, she's also sort of the ship's political officer.
Mizol are also prohibited from taking direct command of a vessel, but the senior Mizol usually fills a role (in addition to that of diplomat) across between an intelligence officer and a political officer, and is often in a position to deliver Admiralty-level commands to the ship's captain (sometimes through Farseer contact).
- insider

I would not be out of the realm of possibility that her stare was accompanied by a telepathic message somewhere along the lines of: "The admiralty supports this position, and if you cross me on this, you will lose."

(Note: Tempo conspicuously does not specify who decided she would come along.)

rewik
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Re: Page 104 discussion.

Post by rewik »

Once I found that Outsider was updated with not one, but two pages since I've last visited surprise was no longer adequate and I had to resort to astonishment (apologies to late Douglas Adams for stealing his line).
Awesome. I'm eagerly awaiting further updates.

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dragoongfa
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Re: Page 104 discussion.

Post by dragoongfa »

@icekatze

It should also be of note that the Mizol have gotten higher than they used to be with the ascension of Greywind to the throne; she is a former Mizol after all. I wonder how such things would resolve before that event, it is no stretch of the imagination to think that the diplomatic officer would be the one to flinch.

Also Tempo's stare; it looks like a 'you owe me one' stare to me. Perhaps for the interrogation earlier.

novius
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Re: Page 104 discussion.

Post by novius »

Yet, Tempo's influence seems to go only that far... http://www.well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider090.html and http://www.well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider091.html show us that things seemingly went downhill pretty much fast. We never know if Still-Storm issued orders via open sending (thus, being 'heard' by Beryl and Tempo) or not. But Tempo's sidelong glance suggests she picked something up that had her a bit concerned.

Especially with Beryl and Fireblade actually urging him to leave as quickly as they can.

More and more I'm thinking that Alex had been dropped into a situation which had been rather tense already, especially with Still-Storm and Tempo clashing, and maybe both Tempo and Beryl having own designs on the knowledge gained from the wreckage and, by extension, Alex himself.

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dragoongfa
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Re: Page 104 discussion.

Post by dragoongfa »

If Loroi politics are as Byzantine as I think they are then there are a lot of factions in the arena and the Mizol are just the strongest by a very small margin. Distrust and hidden hostility surely lurk and them overstretching their muscle could be their downfall. I think that the Loroi Emperor isn't like our past Emperors, I don't think that Greywind has the absolute power that we imagine Emperors to have; I think that the true power lies in the Diadem and the power struggles within the assembly.

I believe that the Mizol got where they are, with an Emperor on the throne, by covert actions, backroom dealings and vocal opposition to the previous emperor. If the vocal opposition touched subjects that ended up being true, such as my supposition that 'Eighth Dawn' was the one who stopped the Mizol from starting covert investigations in the Hierarchy, then it would further expand their influence.

Stillstorm strikes me as a Fury, someone who wants to win the war and avenge everything. I believe that she is willing to ally with any faction in Loroi politics to do so, whether that faction are the Mizol or Loroi nationalists is down to the circumstances of the time.

Internal power struggles at their finest and one of the key reasons that the Loroi haven't won the war yet.

novius
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Re: Page 104 discussion.

Post by novius »

Ouch. Enter the alien with just the appearance similar enough to shake the foundations of Loroi dogma or propaganda (see Mozin's comments), representing a completely unknown power and danger in this part of the galaxy.

Pretty much sure everyone would want a part of Alex and 'humaniti' in general (not what you think, get your minds out of the gutter :) ) to gain any advantage in such a sort of power struggle. Whoever would have Alex's ear would have an inroads into human politics. Or so they think. Tempo acted quickly enough to stake first claims on any resources Alex may represent, perhaps thinking a live alien - representative or not - is of bigger value than any debris they might have salvaged and could turn out to be worthless.

If Loroi politics are really that much of a quagmire, I expect infighting to break out pretty soon.

Michael
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Re: Page 104 discussion.

Post by Michael »

OMG NEW PAGE YYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

:)
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ed_montague
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Re: Page 104 discussion.

Post by ed_montague »

I'm alive, and so is this comic!

Seriously glad to be back, sometime I'll go and read through all the threads I've missed. And--two updates! Whoa!

My personal interpretation of Beryl's sudden apprehension upon seeing Tempo is that, well, she'd just told Alex all about the drama between the Loroi crew, and now has realized that one of the arguable higher-ups has overheard her (either with her ears or her mind) basically telling this strange alien that the captain is prone to the occasional hissy fit. Talk about foot in mouth.
Ensign Jardin is my name
And Terra is my nation
Deep space is my dwelling-place
The stars my destination

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Count Casimir
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Re: Page 104 discussion.

Post by Count Casimir »

fredgiblet wrote:
Sweforce wrote:The background fluff have info about Talon (former fighter pilot) turned shuttle pilot so I guess she will be flying them. Also Ashrain is the only ship commander beside Stillstorm that are mentioned there. Why is that and why does she alone wear an amplifier on her head? My guess she are not done with this story yet.
Ashrain is related to the Emperor and is likely to be important to the story later.
There's also the fact that she's simply the best Loroi of all time forever.

New pages! New story! New mystery!

Beryl's probably gonna be upset that her shiny new responsibility is going to be somewhat lessened by Tempo's presence.
Ashrain is best rain.

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Hālian
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Re: Page 104 discussion.

Post by Hālian »

Bad Sedel. No stealing shinies. :(
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Karst45
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Re: Page 104 discussion.

Post by Karst45 »

Carl Miller wrote:Bad Sedel. No stealing shinies. :(
Beryl: *stroke Alex hair* My preciousss!

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