Rll'Toal'Dius - Bloody thou art, bloody will be thy end
Jania Nis
(( Observation Lounge, Deck 1, USS Octavia E. Butler ))
(OOC: I was granted permission to do the horrible things that I do in this sim)
In traditional Zet negotiations, the arrival of one’s chief opponent was a glorious moment. Before the guildmasters had stunted all the Zet rituals, entrances to contractual negotiations could last a half hour or more. Or at least Rll’Toal’Dius had seen something like that in a TidBitter video; he was pretty sure it was true.
But this was a more practical situation, and there was less time for drama. He would have to accept the rather simple intrusion of his enemy into his space.
Dius: Ah, Queen Rou’i’an’Cet. I’d wondered when you would make it up here.
Lahl: Queen? There’s no queens here.
Varik: He might be referring to the ship's captain.
Dius barely glanced at them. He knew the powers of a ship’s captain. This one had more than that. No Zet ship’s captain would speak for their people on a foreign world. She was a ruler.
Rouiancet: (disdainful) You don't look familiar to me, not at all.
He narrowed his eyes.
Dius: What you see before you is the shadow of the once-king Toal’Dius
Varik: I arrived not too long before you all.
The ensign was, perhaps, trying to get to his fellows, but Dius raised the phaser.
Dius: One more step and I bring fire upon you.
Lahl: Whoa. Let’s not get hasty.
Varik: (stopping, palms out; a shrug) You did say step further into the room.
Yes, it was true, he was finally in the room enough to be in the shot. But he hardly mattered anymore; the drama was between Dius and Cet.
Rouiancet: You have no leverage here. Make no mistake, you are under our power, but you will be treated well and subject to due process. But, again, what are you doing on my ship?
Dius ran his three sharp claws on the control panel on his chair. He lowered his chin and stared at her.
Dius: It is no longer your ship.
Varik: Responses
Rouiancet: Then I see no reason not to have you escorted to the brig posthaste, unless--
At this, Dius’s patience was gone. He snarled and whipped the phaser around to fire at the ensign he’d used as a footrest.
He hadn’t seen any indication that this Cet was a fighter. A conniving sneak who wormed her way out of his prison, yes, but a fighter? He had not thought it was the case. Yet she sprung at him, slamming against him.
Lahl: Captain?!
Varik: Response
Although he tried to grab her, she slipped out of his claws. Even still, he whipped around to stare into her eyes.
Dius: :: whispering :: Realize I have the moment under my control. For I’ve already set the autopilot, and the journey to my homeworld is nearly begun.
His chitin was thick. His claws were razors. He needed to get a hold on her, to pin her, but she was small and fast. If he could get the nails into the meat of her flesh, she would be done for. But this grotesque body of his was not made for sportive tricks; he lacked the grace of his old form.
Lahl: By the Caves…
Varik: Response
The threat was heard well enough. Dius fired in the direction of Varik, but the blast instead slammed into a computer, provoking a white, hot spray of sparks.
Rouiancet: Response
Dius: :: laughing :: Oh my lady, do not be so full of yourself. You are but a tool here. As is the ship; as, in the end, am I, for we are all but tools for fate.
Lahl: Don’t you guys every get tired of ads?
But he barely noticed ads anymore. The sound of ads had long ago disappeared beneath the swirling, whistling wind which hissed through the spiracles of this corrupted host.
Varik/Rouiancet: Response
Others on the bridge had moved in to help their ruler. They had been bitter to him since the beginning, and they would suffer when he had control of the ship again.
Lahl: You locked in the autopilot? Are you mad? Did you check the calculations? We could run into a random star or other gravitational field!
Ehths most certainly had checked that; Dius trusted him to do that. The ephemeral reeve had always done as he was told.
Varik/Rouiancet: Response
Dius: If you wish, you can stand down and I can explain my strategy rationally.
Varik/Lahl/Rouiancet: Response
The ship suddenly lurched as it turned, the startup procedures for warp drive kicking on. A dozen beeping warning lights flashed around the smoking consoles. He hoped these ships were as good as their former Dominion contacts always claimed they were; hopefully a few smoking consoles wouldn’t inhibit the warp.
But the lurch worked to his disadvantage; he was caught as off-guard as anyone else. Anyone except Cet. She seemed to be expecting it, and leaped forward once more. She knocked the phaser from his hand, and it clattered to the ground next to him.
Varik/Lahl/Rouiancet: Response
For an instant, she had him pinned. A human, pinning the Supreme Director of Koreli IV. Fear and disgrace filled his mind, but it wouldn’t be like this. It wouldn’t. She did not understand how strong the Zet were. He grabbed her with one hand, pulling her head hard to the side and exposing her neck. Then, with his other hand, he slashed. She fell back, and Dius grabbed the phaser. He stood, staring down at her. The queen’s blood was warm on his claws.
Dius: You still speak of ‘if’s and choices? You are mine now, and as mine, I condemn you to death. As was said in the days of legends. :: grinning and aiming the phaser at her :: Off with her head!
Varik/Lahl/Rouiancet: Response
Rll'Toal'Dius
Supreme Director
O240108JN2