mental link

[adamance]

WISDOM passing on her legacy, her knowledge, and showing a willingness for more	COMPASSION looking upon her people with care, with hope, and understanding a different layer of strength
STRENGTH strength is more than just mere words or mere actions—it is everything	PURPOSE being born for this

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[adamance]

( Yes? )

[Not that Lexa minds the nudge before the communication, but there's always a hint of impatience at not knowing why a conversation is occurring.]

[deployed]

( I need to talk to you. Where are you? )

[ Not that he's even going to verbalize the entirety of his conversation in the library, but he wants to discuss it aloud rather than via the links in their minds. ]

[adamance]

( My quarters. There's no one around. )

[Lexa assumes that's all he needs to hear, withdrawing just enough to wait for him to arrive physically.]

[deployed]

( Good. )

[ And Bellamy arrives on the heels of that statement, moments after. He'd either been on his way back to his own room and Murphy, or just moving to check the places he had thought most likely to find either of them. ]

I just spoke with Rhan, in the library.

[ There's a vibration of impatience in his voice, which ends in a faint sense of concern. When did speaking start feeling like an impediment? ]

Did you speak with either of them after the briefing?

[adamance]

No, though it seems you did. I assume that what you have to share doesn't involve leaving us behind if we fail? [The conversation with Sam has clearly taken place, though Lexa is less concerned about this than she should be. Then again, she also doesn't mind taking choices out of people's hands if they don't seem trustworthy with that choice in question.]

[deployed]

Not explicitly.

[ Though nothing in Bellamy's impression of Rhan made him think she'd hesitate to leave them behind if events necessitated it. He holds out a hand to Lexa, shaking his head. ]

See for yourself.

[adamance]

["Not explicitly." The words hang in the air long enough for her to consider them, and then Lexa extends her hand into his own. There is a part of her that remains wary, like the fact that she may trust Bellamy, but knows that there is always a tinge around his view that will never match hers.

It doesn't keep her from acting, from meeting his eyes as she waits for the memory to pass.]

[deployed]

[ They've done this before. And it's easier to settle the memory of his discussion with Rhan into Lexa's mind than it had to share the destruction of Polis with her. This is information that can be used and acted on here, rather than something neither of them could change. ]

[adamance]

[When the memory is over, she absorbs it silently. She also doesn't let go of his hand, as if she's trying to determine whether there is anything more to glean from the situation. It's clear, thanks to the contact, that a number of things are passing through her mind. The past Nests, for one thing. How are they able to save so many of them, if they didn't before? What's changed?

And why the curiosity, the uncertainty, or could a year really have left someone in the dark?

What's the end result of that?]

I'd like to hear your thoughts.

[deployed]

[ Whispering in the back of Bellamy's mind is Murphy; splitting his attention is less of an impossibility now than it once had been. Lexa's questions add to the chorus, though Bellamy isn't certain they'll have another chance at Siva'co or Rhan to have them answered. Time seems like it will become an issue very quickly on this mission. ]

I don't trust her.

[ Though that's possibly obvious; Bellamy wouldn't have contacted her or Murphy with such urgency if that hadn't been the case. ]

But I don't think she's the one who could answer your questions. Maybe Cathaway or Prince, but I'm not sure even they know.

[ The impression Bellamy's gotten is of a large organization with too many moving parts for any one cog to keep track of the rest. The answers they seek might be simply out of reach. ]

[adamance]

Seventy one other Stations. That's her allusion. [Lexa has her doubts, however. The way they function is too haphazard to be thrown to the wind like this. They would be more successful, rather than individuals left to feel like they're desperately seeking something else.]

You might be right. I'll pursue the matter when we return. But it sounds as if we're not the first to consider defecting.

[Still, she wonders if that could be the case here. Wouldn't they be dead already? She's certain that they could have led them back somehow. There must be something else to it, or some other third party aside from the Enemy.]

[deployed]

[ They might not all still exist; Bellamy understands the implication. There was no way of knowing, though Bellamy assumes Cathaway or Prince would have to be in contact with whatever was left. But that seems less important than the consideration of their collective role here. ]

I didn't think we were. But Cathaway told me we could leave, if we wanted.

[ Just that they'd die if they did, which hadn't seemed implausible. ]

I think Rhan's been a host long enough to lie convincingly. Or omit without revealing something she doesn't want to.

[ And that's oddly inconvenient, though it isn't any different from how things were before he arrived. ]

[adamance]

The truth of the matter is that she differs from the other Hosts we've encountered. Her approach to the Nest itself is different. [Carata and Nirad had been different in their mannerisms. It's one thing to have mannerisms that vary, but it's another to have an entirely different perspective. Carata spoke as if this was their life from now on. She had lost track of years, and that sentiment had been what unsettled Bellamy and Lexa when they were in Concordia.

Now, Rhan speaks as if their existence is malleable, ready to shift and change. She speaks as if they might be lost quickly.]

We do need to consider another factor. It's one thing to defect as Murphy intended to. [To free himself of this, as it might simply be a route to death.] It's another to defect and continue to act as a Host and agent of a Nest. The control required would likely be almost impossible to exhibit. [Almost, but not entirely.]

[deployed]

It doesn't seem like she's given as much of herself away, but she knows plenty. If she's right about the Hatch then...

[ Bellamy is skeptical, but he won't rule out the idea that someone could connect to the Station enough to sense it's rhythms. But Lexa's right. Rhan is incredibly different from both Carata and Nirad. In a way, Bellamy takes hope from the idea that she could live so long and not lose herself. The idea that Carata wasn't an inevitability will be a relief, after this mission is through. Assuming they survive it. ]

If that's the case, she might be waiting for an opportunity the same way Murphy did. But if she has that kind of discipline, how would we know?

[ Shattering mental barriers is something Bellamy's only done on accident. ]

[adamance]

We have no way of knowing, because we're still young. But we are being led into a mission by someone who isn't trustworthy. I predict that we'll be better served by approaching the mission on our own merits. Not hers. [Lexa thinks (and allows Bellamy to consider) of when she referred to the Enemy's goals, and how they could determine more of the Enemy's aims by who they align themselves with. The fact that each group is the "same" struck her as odd.

It's odder now, considering. It's not a matter of morals. They need to play their role effectively.]

[deployed]

I don't think she and her brood need to know anything else about our merits.

[ They've shared enough, and Bellamy can't keep the others from sharing more. But he worries about what they've given up already. In hindsight, they should have played their cards closer to the chest rather than spilling out their perceptions and opinions so freely. ]

Murphy's worried about the new hatch she mentioned.

[ Unspoken: Bellamy is also worried about it, now that it's been so clearly pointed out to him. ]

[adamance]

Worried why? We get newcomers all the time.

[This is a measure of how much she trusts Bellamy: she wants to know his perspective, rather than simply deciding upon it herself. There has to be a reason for why there is an odd emphasis placed on this group by Bellamy and Murphy.

(Though there is no trust devoted toward the latter, for obvious reasons.)]

[deployed]

[ That she solicits his opinion at all is something Bellamy notes. It's a marked enough change from when he'd first arrived. He sits instead, rubbing a hand over his face while he chooses his words. The unease he feels doesn't translate easily into words. ]

We don't know what's going to hatch. And this missions doesn't feel like Concordia or Waypoint. There's not as much room for us to make mistakes.

[ Bellamy's thinking of Kylo Ren and the Bout It Out parlor, how public that had been. ]

[adamance]

There are those among us who already pose a danger to us. [Like it or not, there will always be wild cards.] But you are right, it will be difficult to contain the more ... capricious of them. [Lexa wishes that they could be kept out of the mission. That they'll be introduced to it is a bigger problem than it needs to be.]

Perhaps something can be made of it. There are those among us who believe that we were tricked to join, that the threat we faced is nothing more than an illusion. That fear may drive them moving forward.

start wrappin' this?

[deployed]

[ If the other hosts couldn't be adequately motivated, they'd have to resort to more extreme methods. Bellamy wasn't going to consider them, but he couldn't ignore that there may be a need for them. ]

We can evaluate once we're on the ground.

[ At least give everyone the benefit of the doubt, though Bellamy's apprehension is obvious. ]

I wanted you to be on guard.

[ They don't have to take any concrete action now. But Bellamy had wanted to be prepared, to share what he knew. ]

[adamance]

I will be. If any other concerns arise, please tell me.

[Whether it be something Bellamy himself finds out or if Murphy learns something.]