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Tempo does seem to have the ability to challenge Stillstorm in some areas of authority. I'm not sure if the transfer is 'hush hush' especially given the way telepathy makes it hard to keep a secret, but I would not be surprised if Tempo pulled some strings to get away with it.

(To be fair, traveling anywhere through interstellar space is likely to take many days. However, since they're going in opposite directions, I will be interested to see how the Tempest manages to meet up with Alex again later. Perhaps emergency orders from central command?)

Since we are again seeing Tempo and Beryl in their on duty (protective) ??? body uniform..

And Since FireBlade and her two fellow officers appeals to be wearing full Protective Combat Uniforms...

What are the chances that the Lorei will create one for Alec just in case there is an 'incident' and there is a threat of decompression on the ship..

By the bye... are those uniforms that Beryl and Tempo wearing allow them to survive in the vacuum of space if their starship is either wreck and they are thrown clear and can they put on some emergency helmet from their personal gear or not??

Arioch has referred to the crewsuit of the Loroi as very similar to the Bioplas Skin suits of GURPS Ultratech... so in short yes... its possible the crew suits could be pressurized for very short periods of time to vacuum in emergencies, with a proper helmet, sealed gloves and respirator.

Carl Miller wrote:

dragoongfa wrote:Careful Beryl, you may replace Fireblade as my favorite out of the holy trinity of FBT.

Heresy. Tempo is clearly first among equals.

You speak truth.

dragoongfa wrote:All joking aside, why do I have the distinct feeling the this transfer is very 'hush hush' and that Stillstorm hasn't authorized it?

I mean I can't imagine that Stillstorm would allow three of her most senior officers go on a trip to Seren to escort an Alien who may be an enemy agent. Fireblade is probably the lead Teidar of Tempest, Tempo is the intelligence and diplomatic officer while Beryl is a high ranking Listel as well. Beryl alone I can understand been allowed to leave because the other Listel we saw at the bridge also had gold colored insignia; but bot Fireblade and Tempo added to the mix? And on a mission that will take 'many days' just to go to Seren?

I doubt that Stillstorm would allow so much talent leaving at the same time.

Then there is Alex's incarceration; someone would expect that he would be 'detained' in a way for the duration of the trip until he would be transferred to more appropriate authorities but why at the brig? Putting him under guard in an empty storage that would be quickly accommodated with some furnishings would serve the same purpose while showing some respect to someone who is a potential ally (even if heavily suspected to be an enemy agent). However the Brig offers something that a storage room doesn't and that is a heavily monitored and easily defensible position.

I have a feeling that even if Stillstorm didn't openly approve of such actions, some other Loroi openly voiced support for doing something drastic to Alex and that someone (Tempo with Fireblade's support) made sure that Alex was at the one and only place where crew access was heavily restricted and the guards were allowed to shoot anyone not authorized to be there.

I wonder if that's the case (or something similar) if Alex will apologize to Fireblade for his rudeness earlier.

On the other hand, Stillstorm might not mind being rid of Tempo, even if only briefly. Tempo appears to have significant say when it comes to diplomatic matters and first contact situations. When it comes to the Tempest and her Strike Group, Stillstorm would have the final word, but Alex, despite their suspicions, falls squarely in Tempo's purview.

In lieu of spacing him, letting him go with Tempo, someone who can question her and get away with it, is probably the next best thing for Stillstorm. Letting Fireblade go, though, that might be Tempo pulling some political chicanery. I also can't see Stillstorm willingly letting her go.

As for the brig, I think it likely it was politics in some combination with what you posited, dragoongfa. Stillstorm would have been glad to see Alex dead, but Tempo has an interest in him (for whatever reason). The brig does offer what you say, but an unused room can be made to offer similar functionality. It could be cordoned off, physically isolated and orders could be issued to the guards to shoot unauthorized personnel. I think that the brig was Tempo's concession to Stillstorm: Tempo flouted Stillstorm's authority on the bridge, so to keep things somewhat smooth between them (i.e., save face for Stillstorm), Alex had an unpleasant stay in the brig.

This would dovetail nicely with an explanation for why Tempo could be allowed to leave with Alex despite being a command-level officer on active war front. As for Beryl, I don't see her being as important to the chain of command or direct fighting; letting her go as Alex's handler was probably almost a given.

These two pictures side by side bode ill tidings for my heart, with Beryl being both cute and intelligent and Tempo being alluring with a sharp mind.

That being said...

I think their actions don't bode for underhanded or sneaky tactics at this point in time. Let's go through their motivations.

Stillstorm: Doesn't trust Alex as far as she can throw him. Thinks he's a shell trick.
Tempo: Doesn't trust Alex either, but is willing to play ball for the betterment of the Empire.
Beryl: New! Exciting! Knowledge! Yay!
Fireblade: Does not get paid enough to deal with this shit.

A basic and simplistic rundown since I don't want to waffle too much. Tempo is at the top of Stillstorms shit list right now, as is Alex. She's more or less convinced he's a Shell trick and is all to happy to give Tempo enough rope to hang herself with. Beryl is there for info gathering, she's neutral in this affair.

Fireblade is probably in Stillstorms camp more out of wariness and distrust than out of a genuine dislike of Alex and everything he represents. She's along for both damage control and as a trusted subordinate to keep an eye on Tempo and Alex and keep Stillstorm in the loop so that when the shit hits the fan she's ready to clean up and take Tempo down a peg or two.

As for why the senior officers are along, they're in friendly territory and their ship needs rearmament and resupply. The most they'll have to do is paperwork, and given their circumstances, delegating that task to others in favour of the more interesting and potentially more troublesome Humaniti in their presence takes precedence.

So, in short:

Beryl is there for info. Tempo is there for the glory of the empire. Fireblade is there to keep an eye on both the Shell trick and on Tempo. Tempo is being allowed to play her hand because Stillstorm is convinced it will backfire, take Tempo down a peg, and they have little else to do during rearmament and resupply.

Stillstorm is willing to give Tempo enough rope to hang herself with for when things go south. Tempo is willing to give Alex enough rope to hang himself with if he is indeed a Shell trick. Alex is left wondering what to do with all this rope. Fireblade sighs to herself moodily at this coffee and cake run. Beryl is happily recounting all the novel and frankly embarrassing uses for rope in the hope of provoking a novel response out of Alex, which is working.

The only disagreement I have is that Fireblade strikes me more as honorable, duty bound and stubborn than wary and distrustful. I can see her being someone caught between Stillstorm and Tempo and choosing to do what is right in regards to this situation.

dragoongfa: what part of that precludes 'I'm not getting paid enough for this shit.'? and besides, if you are to pick someone for a sensitive surveillance and protection job, who better then a 'honorable, duty bound and stubborn' person that you can trust.

discord wrote:dragoongfa: what part of that precludes 'I'm not getting paid enough for this shit.'? and besides, if you are to pick someone for a sensitive surveillance and protection job, who better then a 'honorable, duty bound and stubborn' person that you can trust.

The one who thinks like: 'I'm not getting paid enough for this shit.' Is always bored of the assignment and thinks of it as beneath them; their demeanor always shows as such. The glances we got out of Fireblade make me believe that she is indeed annoyed of the assignment but she does take it seriously. Someone who is honorable and stubborn would prefer to stay at the front lines (hence the annoyance) but a duty bound officer would complete the assignment to the best of their abilities no matter their personal feelings (see full combat armor and the blaster rifles, she does take it seriously enough to have that kind of equipment equipped on a damn Flagship).

I didn't disagree that Fireblade is there to make sure that things go smoothly but if I was Stillstorm I would have kept her at Tempest and send an other Teidar; unless Fireblade has something that other Teidar don't have, like a reputation of 'don't fuck with Fireblade' that will make other Loroi think twice from blocking her way.

Character opinions can and do evolve. She strikes me as being wary and distrustful of Alex at this point and thus swings towards Stillstorms camp at the moment, but will probably evolve on the matter and swing towards Tempo, or at least Alex's camp.

As for "I'm not getting paid enough for this shit", different strokes for different folks. I certainly hold that opinion of my own job but that doesn't stop me from being professional about it, since if you're going to be stuck with a shit job it may as well be done right.

I'm not seeing why Stillstorm would need to keep Fireblade on her ship though. As I understand it, Fireblade does have a reputation considering her past on Seren, but even disregarding that, there are reasons to keep Fireblade close to Alex. She was one of the Teidar present for his telepathic interrogation and has the most experience in escorting him about. It's possible the two other armored Teidar present were also at his interrogation. It may be that Stillstorm or perhaps Tempo is trying to limit how many Loroi meet Alex... containing information and the situation at hand essentially.

Actually, that's probably one of the most important reasons right there. They're trying to keep things on a need to know basis. Fireblade and the other Teidar are already in the know, so they get stuck with escort duty, rather than someone new who would have to be briefed. The less people in the know, the more likely the situation stays contained.

Razor One wrote:Character opinions can and do evolve. She strikes me as being wary and distrustful of Alex at this point and thus swings towards Stillstorms camp at the moment, but will probably evolve on the matter and swing towards Tempo, or at least Alex's camp.

As for "I'm not getting paid enough for this shit", different strokes for different folks. I certainly hold that opinion of my own job but that doesn't stop me from being professional about it, since if you're going to be stuck with a shit job it may as well be done right.

I'm not seeing why Stillstorm would need to keep Fireblade on her ship though. As I understand it, Fireblade does have a reputation considering her past on Seren, but even disregarding that, there are reasons to keep Fireblade close to Alex. She was one of the Teidar present for his telepathic interrogation and has the most experience in escorting him about. It's possible the two other armored Teidar present were also at his interrogation. It may be that Stillstorm or perhaps Tempo is trying to limit how many Loroi meet Alex... containing information and the situation at hand essentially.

Actually, that's probably one of the most important reasons right there. They're trying to keep things on a need to know basis. Fireblade and the other Teidar are already in the know, so they get stuck with escort duty, rather than someone new who would have to be briefed. The less people in the know, the more likely the situation stays contained.

I think that the other two escorting him are not Teidar but Soroin; not only does one of them speak to Alex but she has Blue hair and the other two Teidar we have seen at the interrogation didn't have blue hair. It also makes sense since Teidar are essentially Marine officers leading Soroin troops; at least that's what I understand from the way their ranks work from the insider page about ranks.

I notice that Tempo appears to be talking in a cellphone or the equivalent therof. To whom are she talking? Time will tell. Anyway the fact that we see a picture of her does not necessarily mean she will come with them on the trip. She may be making that phonecall from her quarters on Tempest or something. She could also be on the shuttle for a quick breafing before taking of. Personally I hope she are calling Stillstorm from outside sanzai range to inform her how much she suck and that she are leaving. Preferably with the call going out to everyone on the bridge!. Joke aside she is talking to someone.

Sweforce wrote:I notice that Tempo appears to be talking in a cellphone or the equivalent therof. To whom are she talking? Time will tell. Anyway the fact that we see a picture of her does not necessarily mean she will come with them on the trip. She may be making that phonecall from her quarters on Tempest or something. She could also be on the shuttle for a quick breafing before taking of. Personally I hope she are calling Stillstorm from outside sanzai range to inform her how much she suck and that she are leaving. Preferably with the call going out to everyone on the bridge!. Joke aside she is talking to someone.

Looking at the door on the background of Tempo's picture and comparing to the door at the back of the shuttle makes me think she's probably right there with them rather than back on the ship talking to them via telepathy or technology. To me it seems like her gesture suggest concentration, and her focus at the viewer (which presumably is Alex) suggest she's trying to read him. Meeting humanity is a big deal for the Loroi, both because of the species similarities, the unexpected nature of the encounter (Humanity being off Loroi's long range radar), and simply because it's a new species to deal with. It seems natural to me that for a diplomat/spy like Tempo, coming along with Alex is much more important than whatever function she may perform on the Tempest.

LoL, speaking of cellphones I noticed this little thing with Tempo when on mine. Due to the small screen it definitely looked like a cellphone in her hand. Now back home at my large TV set that I use as a computer screen I see that it is just her hair after all. The pose is perfect for a phone call thou.

edit: grammar

Beryl: Ah, one thing. Nothing alarming, but Tempo do have interesting concept of... humor.


Tempo: Do not mind me. I'm only watching you. (And waiting that you drop your guard.)

bunnyboy wrote:
Beryl: Ah, one thing. Nothing alarming, but Tempo do have interesting concept of... humor.


Tempo: Do not mind me. I'm only watching you. (And waiting that you drop your guard.)

If Lady Tempo isn't really listening to her version of a cellphone..
Maybe she was merely just using her fingers to place her loose hair behind her ear to become more presentable...

unless the next pic shows otherwise...

Oh Gods.. be still my heart! To bad~ er... I mean, I'm glad I'm not in Alex's shoes... I'd be to busy drooling and walking funny to be any good representative of mankind to the sexy space elf-women batting eyes at me! lol!

Cat's Eyes!

Glad they can't read human minds.. my thoughts would not be... er chaste!

sunphoenix wrote:Oh Gods.. be still my heart! To bad~ er... I mean, I'm glad I'm not in Alex's shoes... I'd be to busy drooling and walking funny to be any good representative of mankind to the sexy space elf-women batting eyes at me!

@beryl
At our discussion on page 47, I would like to add that human males arent driven into mating by time but opportunity. Ass you loroi are great example of healthy human females with some minor differences, I would like to ask what are these accomodations before I break any diplomatic or social protocol by acting by human instincts.

Wait a sec... adorable Beryl wasn't welcome within Stillstorm's sight anymore? How would that come?

GeoModder wrote:Wait a sec... adorable Beryl wasn't welcome within Stillstorm's sight anymore? How would that come?

She talks a lot.

Stillstorm likes her stormy ship to be silent.

Some of you seem to be making a big deal of Fireblade being there, but there's literally nowhere else she should be. She's a footsoldier on a spaceship; she's basically dead weight. Alex represents the biggest threat possible on that ship, and he will be sent off on a shuttle with a high level officer onboard. She should be on him like white on rice, both out of initiative and by order.