veilbreak | tverin 001

It's been a long day, so I'll keep this brief. Dust is clearing on the ground, and this is what we know:

1. 2 of the 3 large drones dispatched for the Sterilisation event has been shot down, along with numerous patrol drones. Instead of the total eradication of Xitang, it's only been partially leveled. This is a win.

2. There were no fatalities, although we had 90 injured. I want to commend our ground teams (Ground Forces, Espionage, volunteers) for your efficiency. The Veiled are being taken to and integrated into surrounding Pres Cities courtesy of Recruitment agents stationed in the area.

3. We have commandeered an additional freight plane which will be vital in future relocation efforts.

We still do not know what triggered this, but I want to stress how big of a win this is. We prevented a devastating loss. We've been a nuisance to the Architects, but this changes things.

Take this win. Celebrate it. And then get ready to double down. We're showing them we're a major player, and I can't imagine them taking this lying down.

LEADERSHIP.

Kudos on the rapid coordination. Expect blowback.

[...] Aldana, Payne. Present your case. I need you to get everyone on board before we go to the rest of the resistance with this.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Is that the only method you know for persuasion?

I'm a veritable negotiator and I got nowhere with her.

And if you are, I'll stop trying to get her in bed.

Maybe she likes me more than you because I don't have untoward intentions towards her.

Please. I have more class than that. I'm subtle.

I think I caught her in a good mood. But she hasn't approved the request yet, and I doubt "a light case of death" is going to persuade anyone else. Not that you should be sugar-coating it. I just wouldn't get my hopes up yet if I were you.

Convincing the rest of them is an easier order than convincing Verin.

Maybe everyone's in a good mood.

Are any of us truly ever in good moods?

Except when Niko sees himself in a mirror.

Apparently not.

That hasn't been true since he lost his esthetician.

That was a dark day for him. Even I don't bring that up.

For the record, I already knew this was going to be a hard sell.

Maybe Verin knew we'd get shot down in the roundtable.

Calculated clinical risks are always more abhorrent to moral sensibilities than heroic risks in the field.

Human experimentation is one of those things that's generally frowned upon, I fear.

Here's where being heartless comes in handy.

Don't say that where the naysayers can hear you, my love.

I don't have to. Ishaan has all but said it for me.

Ishaan is incredibly talented, incredibly ambitious, and fundamentally good-hearted. All qualities that make him an excellent agent, but he's prone to looking for third options where none exist.

I don't think the fact that you've accepted the reality of our position means you're inherently more hard-hearted than anyone else. You're just adapting to survive.

There's no progression without risk. I find it hard to reconcile how we find the surety of tens of hundreds of deaths more acceptable than the risk of one simply because one is more 'heroic' or 'palatable.'

You know I agree with you. If you end up killing anyone we can have a memorial statue made in their likeness.

Gold plated.

But I have no intention of killing anyone.

You know, I really thought the number would be higher than 7%.

They have a higher likelihood of the side effects Dom experiences than death. If I was attempting to remove the implant, then it skyrockets.

We can round up when we ask for volunteers, if it comes to that. 10% chance of death, 60% chance of serious complications. It conveys the gravity of the decision and nobody can argue we're downplaying the risks.

That's an acceptable compromise. People rarely want the breakdowns, so generalizing shouldn't offend anyone.

I'm beginning to think there may be a solution to be found here. Nicky wants full psych panels on all the volunteers and it seems everyone would prefer volunteers from the ground, but I suppose that's a matter of security and logistics. Everyone seems to begrudgingly accept there's practicality in the idea, though.

I'm buying you a drink this time. You'll need it.

Taryn/Adrian

adrii - 2026-02-01 03:11 (UTC) - Expand