… yeah … I kind of ran out of words, too.
Sometimes Mr. Nauplius seems like someone who can’t possibly really exist. Only … it’s not too hard to come up with people out of history who’re maybe comparable.
A funny thing: I’m still pretty sure he’s not actually a psychopath. A few months ago, I thought that was important.
Are you referring to the former(now dead) Chamberlain Kasaroth? Because I think that is a fitting comparison.
I was more thinking one of those (typically) bronze- or iron-age figures from most cultures who’d maybe eaten a little too much ergot in their grain or swigged a little too much wine from lead flagons, or maybe had some tangled branches in their family tree, and/or got some strange idea and just couldn’t let go.
Like: really, the proper way to serve one’s people is diced and stir-fried with noodles and fresh veggies.
So, essentially he’s fully self-aware of his actions, the effects said actions are having on other people, and it’s because he cares about these reactions that he continues despite having empathy.
If that’s what you’re saying, and it’s true, that makes his deeds even more monstrous. He’s choosing to be this way despite intrinsically knowing it’s wrong.
I have been informed that Nauplius has offered unconditional surrender.
We will accept his surrender only upon verified surrender of all slaves in his possession. These slaves, under humanitarian practice, will be turned over to an appropriate and capable party for medical and psychological treatment.
Following acceptance of the surrender, we expect surrender of the facility for investigation by an appropriate party.
If none object, Ms. Del’thul may designate an appropriate party for the first contingency, and I will designate an appropriate party for the second?
I really hope I heard him correctly! You know us subhumans…
I can have personnel and resources for initial treatment and processing in place in Mehatoor within hours, and once everyone are stable, further and more permanent treatment can be provided anywhere in the four nations depending on their individual needs and preferences.
I would however recommend routing this through someone else rather than directly to me, in order to ensure full transparency for all sides involved.
My recommendation in this regard would be Samira Kernher. She has in the past proven herself in this regard, and I suspect is one of the few people trusted by all sides. She could take initial custody, document the victims and so on, and then transfer the victims into my custody and follow their treatment and confirm that by the time they leave my custody no one has slipped through the cracks or otherwise been harmed.
I also know Literia has facilities available and she is now with SFRIM.
I wasn’t sure an Amarrian transfer would be suitable, but I think all involved can accept that solution.
Excellent.
Samira Kernher is a bit of a special case, having earned the trust in the past, and has experience with these particular situations. This allows for both sides to be somewhat satisfied with the solution, since I suspect there’d be quite a lot of antipathy towards me taking initial custody as a very biased party.
I’ll have the treatment personnel, assets and so on made available to her in Mehatoor, 24thIC Station.
The likelihood of Nauplius’ unconditional surrender to ARC is slim to nil.
Let me put it this way, his exact words were: “My terms are unconditional surrender,” basically meaning ARC would surrender to him.
Apologies for our dry sense of humor.
Our sense of humor? Who exactly is making a joke and mockery of this?
Ms. Raske, I was under the impression the wording was ambiguous. Which, when it gets down to it, means the only reasonable interpretation is Nauplius’s surrender, because why would we conceivably surrender to such a toothless monster as this?
Hmm, you actually could be right there. He didn’t elaborate…
Then please do pursue this with him privately. If we have a diplomatic coup, lovely. If we don’t, more cruise missiles until the situation is resolved.
But let’s not make pronouncements until we have something worth pronouncing.
Very well. I will speak to him further tonight.
Well that’s more in line with expectations I suppose. Pity. The personnel and assets will remain available in Mehatoor, ready to be transferred to Samira Kernher and her authority should it prove necessary, but it looks like this is rather unlikely.
I am still curious as to who was joking and about what.
Ms. Del’thul, at the very least those personnel will be useful either way. In the worst case, survivors recovered from the citadel will still be handled in the appropriate humanitarian fashion. In the best case, we may turn out to have need for the personnel sooner than we’d otherwise expect.
Citadel survivors will remain in his custody. Upwell has very solid recovery and transport protocols. There is no way to take anything registered to him as his property by destroying his citadels.
If there were, I’d have ensured every last clown tent he’s ever erected would have fallen at the first possible timer. Only way to get them from his hands is if he hands them over willingly.
F*** Upwell.
Edit: Meant that as a general reply, not specifically Makoto, but whatever.