>>FROM:@STORMBORN | >>TO:@ALL

[dorzalta]

I ask that you use caution if encountering Yhych in the courts. Or at least carry with you an anti-toxin.

[ dot dot dot . . . ]

Is anyone a weapon-maker here?



>>FROM:@STORMBORN
>>TO:@BURGERKING, @PONYTAIL, @MODERATUS, @POINTANDKICK, @DIEDHARD, @BOARING, @AEGONNER, @PERSONALSTAFF

Ignore my next message until you are alone or are able to control your reaction.

[ There will be a pause, one which seems to tick away as an eternity for her. And then: ]

I'm told Kebechet is here.

Comments

@DIEDHARD

[mylawn]

You're 'told'? Do you trust this intel?

[dorzalta]

Enough to have trusted him with the life of my intended in Gallipoli.

[mylawn]

Means nothing if his source is bad.

That said, it's worth looking into. Where's Kebechet now?

[dorzalta]

Or it can mean everything if his source is good.

[ Which is why she's telling someone like 76. He's efficient. Focused. Strong, from all she's gathered. They need that and so much more in this place. ]

As you've said, certainly worth investigating. With a measure of caution and discretion.

She's posing as the secretary to a Regency agent. Do you recall Mary Smythe whilst we were in the nurses station in Gallipoli?

[mylawn]

We don't want to tip our hand too soon. The doctor, right? The one who killed the ANZAC soldiers on her way out.

[dorzalta]

Agreed. Not all of those I've contacted will practice caution, but they're reliable and strong. We'll want them there if any confrontation is to occur in the future.

[ And until then, she would need to find a way to reel them in. ]

Yes, the head nurse who slit their throats. Mhic Nathair is her real name, a Regency agent walking about. She, however, is not Kebechet. The shabti is.

[mylawn]

I don't know why you'd tell anyone who can't manage a little discretion.

[WHO IS GOING TO BLOW THIS OPEN]

Hiding in plain sight, huh?

[dorzalta]

A kidnapping by Kebechet is enough of a reason. I will handle her.

[ And by I, she means herself and Chiron and perhaps Mordred's master. ]

And likely laughing at our ignorance all the while. Let her feel smug. She'll regret that soon enough.

[mylawn]

What's your endgame, here?

[dorzalta]

[ Fire and blood. ]

Information.

[mylawn]

You don't want to kill her?

[dorzalta]

What I want and what needs to be done will not always align. If her death comes as a result? I would be satisfied.

And what of you?

[mylawn]

I don't really want to kill anybody.

She's more valuable alive, provided we can extract information from her. We just have to wait for the right time to make our move.

[dorzalta]

What if we cannot extract information from her?

[mylawn]

I said I don't want to kill anybody, not that I wouldn't.

But if that's the case then we should expose her to the Queen.

[dorzalta]

It's an important distinction to make.

[ Meaning they can rely on him to help complete this task--not that she'd doubted that. ]

I wonder how much of a benefit that would be. The Queen could easily read that exposure as a weakness. Why could COST not destroy its enemies? Are they too weak? Should we ally with them?

[mylawn]

I'm a physical match for Regency soldiers. I can do it if that's what it comes down to.

I think it's more likely the Regency wipes her out as soon as we capture her, like they did with Xici. We might not even get that far.

[dorzalta]

Mordred could not fight her during our capture. She spins illusions, draws from memories, though she'd made a note about the room she took me to playing a part in what I'd seen.

She seems a far more important operative than Xici was. I don't know how much I believe of what she said, but it sounds far worse than how it was explained to us.

[mylawn]

What'd she do to you?

If she's important, all the more reason for the Regency to keep her information from falling into the wrong hands. She might kill herself if they don't.

[dorzalta]

While I was held captive? She conversed with me, explained some of the contingents within the Regency, and when I refused to offer my kingdom's aid, I was swallowed alive by the ground and left in a fiery lair.

[ With her father, a decrepit corpse. ]

We'll have to ensure that doesn't happen, then. A man of your worldliness is aware of what methods she may resort to, no?

[mylawn]

Could be any manner of things. In less high-tech days, you'd carry a poison capsule. Someone light Kebechet might have cybernetics that do the job.

[dorzalta]

How do we beat cybernetics?

[ What are cybernetics, exactly? ]

[mylawn]

Depends. If they're deeply integrated, shutting them down or otherwise disabling them might kill her anyway.

[dorzalta]

A loss to us only if her death creates a barrier to the success of our mission.

[mylawn]

If her death happens at the wrong time, I'd say it's pretty bad news for us.