WIP Discussion (Part 1!)

[dragoongfa]

Marines on ships aren't just foot soldiers that just happen to be on a ship. Even today marines aren't there just for boarding operations, they are there to provide internal security which means that they are in essence the ship's police force. If a crew member shows unacceptable/violent behavior the marines will be the ones who will be ordered to restrain him and escort him to the brig. The brig's guards will be marines and several key areas will be guarded by armed marines. Traditionally marine officers also mediate official disputes (about procedures and course of action) between naval officers of equal rank.

Fireblade is the highest ranking Teidar of Tempest, a ship with a crew of 800. She isn't just a marine, she is the chief security officer of Tempest, a front line warship and the flagship of a strike group.

[dfacto]

On the ship: Bunch of professional soldiers, overseen by other professional security officers, overseen by the Queen Bitch of the Steppes.
On the shuttle: An unknown entity who is perhaps the greatest threat the Empire has ever faced.

There is literally no argument for having her stay on Tempest that isn't strictly bureaucratic in nature. "Sorry Fireblade, gotta stay on-board to fill out those reports! Your unparalleled telekenesis and warrior skills are needed here!"

[Logannion]

I'm going to have to agree with dfacto here. Although it is true that in normal circumstance Fireblade should remain on the ship, it makes sense that she's part of escort.

Reasons:
1) Since the Loroi still have a strong warrior culture, taking personal charge of the escort might be seen as her duty (since Alex is still under suspicion). Delegating such an important task may be viewed badly by the Loroi upper echelon.

2) In case Alex does turn out to be genuine, then he deserves to be treated with respect due to his station as an ambassador. I.e: Being protected by the top marine officer of the ship.

3) Finally, Stillstorm either also dislikes Fireblade, and has thus sent her away along with Tempo and Beryl, or she believes that that she is neutral enough to be counted on to watch over the 'trouble' officers as well as Alex during the trip (perhaps reporting on it when she gets back). It also makes sense the Fireblade is holding this mission since it reeks of politics and internal power-plays -- better for fireblade to handle whatever trouble that might come up since she personally knows the officers and tempo can't simply pull rank on her.

[icekatze]

hi hi

Tact is not something that the Loroi are particularly well known for. Separating people before disagreements can come to a boil may be a common procedure, although I imagine they would be expected to cool off and resume working together after some time.

Fireblade almost certainly has uses on board the Tempest, but those are likely to be the kind of things that someone else can also accomplish in her absence, and do a good enough job for the time being.

[dragoongfa]

There is also the interrogation incident to consider; Alex has more than adequate grounds to be antagonistic to Fireblade because of it. Orders or no orders from Stillstorm she did waterboard him.

[Razor One]

Classic good cop bad cop. Beryl is the good cop, Fireblade is the bad cop. There truly is nothing new in the universe.

[NuclearIceCream]

Classic good cop bad cop. Beryl is the good cop, Fireblade is the bad cop. There truly is nothing new in the universe.

Wait a minute, if Beryl is the good cop, and Fireblade the bad cop. Then who is Tempo?

[Sweforce]

Classic good cop bad cop. Beryl is the good cop, Fireblade is the bad cop. There truly is nothing new in the universe.

Wait a minute, if Beryl is the good cop, and Fireblade the bad cop. Then who is Tempo?

Their boss, standing outside looking thru the one way window directing the show. And this is the boss who tell them who is to be good and who is to be bad one. Just imagine how the comic would have looked like if Fireblade been ordered to be the nice one and Beryl the bad one.

[bunnyboy]

Just imagine how the comic would have looked like if Fireblade been ordered to be the nice one and Beryl the bad one.

Have you ever seen Shirley Henderson in taming of the Shrew? I'm sure Beryl could be really terrifying one.

[GeoModder]

If there must be a "good cop - bad cop" situation, and considering that the Loroi think of speech as a way of being insultive and challenging, then who's the bad cop here?

[NuclearIceCream]

If there must be a "good cop - bad cop" situation, and considering that the Loroi think of speech as a way of being insultive and challenging, then who's the bad cop here?

Wait a minute guys. This is a good point. The bad cop isnt talking therefore this must be a different strategy. An alien strategy.... Im thinking sneaky cop adorable cop.

[novius]

I did elaborate a bit on that in http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 0&start=50, for me it looks a bit less like "good cop, bad cop" but more like "nerdy but adorable and cute girl" (Beryl) and "mysterious, alluring woman" (Tempo), though, judging from Beryl's expression that latter part had not been planned. At least from her point of view.

[Razor One]

If there must be a "good cop - bad cop" situation, and considering that the Loroi think of speech as a way of being insultive and challenging, then who's the bad cop here?

Wait a minute guys. This is a good point. The bad cop isnt talking therefore this must be a different strategy. An alien strategy.... Im thinking sneaky cop adorable cop.

All cops are sneaky. Even the adorable ones. Especially the adorable ones. Never trust law enforcement, even when they're being cordial.

I did elaborate a bit on that in http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 0&start=50, for me it looks a bit less like "good cop, bad cop" but more like "nerdy but adorable and cute girl" (Beryl) and "mysterious, alluring woman" (Tempo), though, judging from Beryl's expression that latter part had not been planned. At least from her point of view.

I think that viewpoint is essentially wrong, since its viewed with a human cultural lens towards women trying to attract a man by adopting various traits. Loroi society doesn't work that way, since none of them really have to 'work' to attract a man's attention nor necessarily want to outside wanting children, in which case they take what they can get. It's not a wrong opinion though, since both we and Alex are intended to view things through a human perspective and so we see the Loroi as Alex sees them, not as they see themselves.

I think that what's going on here is more intellectual. Beryl is the intellectual type who bombards you with information and questions and gets you to reveal things without thinking, while Tempo is more of a puzzle master, using both her words, her wit and her body language to illicit specific responses in her prey so as to get at the inner workings of her victim and reveal the truth of things, whether that's a clever ruse or the truth as we the reader know it.

Fireblade, in contrast to Tempo or Beryl, is the strong, silent type.

[novius]

Guess we cannot know at this point. Of course, Alex (and by extension, we) see 'their' actions through the human lens, but the other way around would work as well. If (granted, that's a big if) Tempo has no idea about Beryl's 'biological inquiry' she may assume that human males work on the same principles Loroi males do. As in, not being able to go through extended lengths of time 'without'.

Not that she would actually follow through with anything that might be considered 'suggestive', but I think of her to be ruthless enough to resort to means which could be deemed questionable. She is actually working in intelligence, right? And she did try picking him for information with intimidation and a bit of congeniality later on. During the scene on the bridge, she did play him like a violin, no other words about that. Thus, appealing to a male's baser instincts may just be another weapon in the arsenal.

Of course, if that line of thinking holds true, it could make for quite a hilarious moment when she sees Alex not reacting to her and Beryl's presence during the long flight.

[Razor One]

Definitely a possibility. It's likely that Beryl passed on her information to Tempo in the interim, so she likely knows everything that Alex and Beryl talked about.

There's a saying in the spook community; "Trust but verify". Tempo trusts Alex enough to take some of what he says at his word, so there may be some needling and prodding to verify if what Alex was saying about being able to go without for extended periods is indeed true.

It fits in with Tempo's knifelike intellect. Verify claims of extended periods without mating encounters by attempting to illicit one. See how long it takes for him to give in. Wait until he requests a mating encounter to sate his biological needs. Compare and contrast with Loroi males to see if claims are true or false.

Cue dull surprise where instead of arousal Alex gets increasingly more uncomfortable the more Tempo puts the moves on him. Cue supposition on Beryl's part that with such a high number of males, it may be that some proportion of Humaniti that prefers the company of other males. Cue collective wat followed by blushing as they all picture what that would look like, followed by cold showers for all involved, while one holdout holds her head in her hands screaming how males cannot love males.

[novius]

Aaaaand.... cue in Fireblade's growing distaste about things going out of control that fast. I just imagine her sending, something like

"<Oh, do you really want to verify Beryl's claim about humaniti males being larger? Bleh, thanks for the image, I'd rather have lived without it.>"

I'd rather believe that Beryl's comment simply meant that Loroi males have less body height and/or muscle mass. And nothing else implied.

[dragoongfa]

Unless Alex swings the other way there would be some obvious interest from his part but self preservation instincts, coupled with the interrogation by the Teidars would make sure that he didn't fall in such a trap.

If Zap Brannigan got one thing right is this: Man always wanted to make out with a Hot Alien Babe.

EDIT: Queue 'oversized' human machinery jokes sometime in the future.
EDIT 2: Also death by snu snu.

[novius]

Unless Alex swings the other way there would be some obvious interest from his part but self preservation instincts, coupled with the interrogation by the Teidars would make sure that he didn't fall in such a trap.

Yep, being mind raped would be somewhat of a turn down. So Fireblade would be right out, especially after her telekinetic "don't touch me" stunt in the lift, and Tempo... well, he might be a bit wary at that point.

Then enter Beryl. Fun, cute, questions coming a mile a minute, embarrassing or not. He actually specifically asked why she herself didn't come to see him (cue in a drawn-out "Awwwww" http://www.well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider101.html)... Might be that Loroi have no idea about the concept of 'puppy eyes', but Beryl's expression could have fooled me... so, unless Alex pulls a James Bond and goes for the more dangerous women (unlikely), she would be a safe bet if he would ever show any inclination for such a sort of thing, right....?

...and there'd be the real danger.

[RedDwarfIV]

Unless Alex swings the other way there would be some obvious interest from his part but self preservation instincts, coupled with the interrogation by the Teidars would make sure that he didn't fall in such a trap.

If Zap Brannigan got one thing right is this: Man always wanted to make out with a Hot Alien Babe.

EDIT: Queue 'oversized' human machinery jokes sometime in the future.
EDIT 2: Also death by snu snu.

There's also a little thing called "professionalism". And it goes something like this:

"Well, I'm an ambassador and leader of the Bellarmine's mission now. I probably shouldn't put that at risk by sleeping with every hot alien chick at first opportunity."

Not to mention that some people can feel uncomfortable being hit on by women even if they are straight.

[Razor One]

Unless Alex swings the other way there would be some obvious interest from his part but self preservation instincts, coupled with the interrogation by the Teidars would make sure that he didn't fall in such a trap.

If Zap Brannigan got one thing right is this: Man always wanted to make out with a Hot Alien Babe.

EDIT: Queue 'oversized' human machinery jokes sometime in the future.
EDIT 2: Also death by snu snu.

There's also a little thing called "professionalism". And it goes something like this:

"Well, I'm an ambassador and leader of the Bellarmine's mission now. I probably shouldn't put that at risk by sleeping with every hot alien chick at first opportunity."

Not to mention that some people can feel uncomfortable being hit on by women even if they are straight.

Professionalism was what I had in mind when I wrote about Alex feeling uncomfortable which the Loroi may misinterpret since they've never met a male, at least a male who so closely resembles their species, that wasn't in the mood.

Alternatively, Alex can go for the Benjamin Franklin route of diplomacy... though admittedly it was Franklin hitting on all the French women...