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May. 15th, 2015 01:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aaaaaaaagh_skyThe Blood Prince leaned back in his chair. His knuckles were pressed together; he steepled his index fingers and the tips of his thumbs. "Lemme see if I've got this straight," he said. "A bunch of foreigners show up out of nowhere and start poking around my city, then come back here and tell me they want permanent access to a chunk of it that nobody survives visiting, and I'm supposed to think letting them go for it isn't supposed to come back and bite me in the ass?"
Ellen willed herself not to fidget. The Knights had warned her about the disclosure approach. "Sir," she said, "we're willing to trade-"
"No offense or nothing, Paladin, but 'trade' means you got something I want and I got something you want." He fixed her with a flat look. "I ain't all that sure you can make good on your end of that. You're a long way from home, you got two men in armor and one man in a dress-"
"It's robes. And they're armored."
The Prince ignored him. "-one of my own people keepin' you from walking into the river, a cow, and some kind of freak-ass robot. That's not a whole lot compared to what you want."
"Sir-"
"I'm not a stupid man, Paladin. You got in and out of GA and your man didn't die. I let you keep trying, I'm gonna wake up one morning and find out you got the robots to join your team. Next thing I know you start drafting my people out from under my nose, and I wind up having to round up everyone who's left and fall back to my auntie and uncle's compound in Bel Air."
"…. That's kind of an impressive series of leaps of logic," Ellen said after some stunned blinking. "Um."
"Hey, I may not be what you're used to dealing with, but I know what history looks like," said the Prince. "I got a season pass to the House of Franklin. I can read."
"I see," Ellen said. "In that case I should probably tell you that there's at least one group intending to force your hand on its way…"
He'd listened. He'd said some words Ellen didn't understand, although she probably didn't need to. He'd said he'd give it some thought, and then sent her away. It… wasn't what she had hoped, but was probably better than she could have expected. One of the Flyers, a tall, sallow man whose orange and black armor was held together with more straps than Ellen would've thought possible, led them back through the halls of the former prison. "We'll come find you when he decides," he said. "Don't do anything stupid in the meantime."
Ellen chose not to answer that.
When the Pen's gates closed behind them Ellen didn't say anything, but let Painless take the lead. As they started back towards the House of Franklin, Kang quietly said, "Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"
"Go ahead, Knight."
"This isn't Evergreen Mills, ma'am,' said Kang. "This is a whole city. You're not going to be able to sweep in here with a couple of extra Paladins and a couple of extra mole people and expect to take the factory and hold it. Factories need parts and resources, and if the city turns against us…"
"He doesn't have to fight us to get us out. I know," said Ellen. "All he has to do is choke off our supply lines. This place is in better shape than the old RobCo plant, but it'll still take us a long time to get it back up to full function, assuming we can secure it in the first place."
Kang nodded. "We're gonna have to get on his good side," he said, his helmet-muffled voice taking on a gloom-tinged tone. "Just to have a chance."
"I dunno, you guys," said Painless carefully. "There might be a couple other ways."
Ellen blinked, and glanced at their guide. "What do you mean?"
Painless shrugged. "Seems to me you need the city on your side, more than the Prince, specifically," he said. "Now, understand, I'm not saying anything against him, and frankly I think he's the best thing to happen to this city in a long time, but he's not the only force in this city. Not everybody loves the Flyers. You get some of the other ice gangs on your side, and you might not have to worry that much. Frankly, you probably want to do that anyway. The Flyers've won the City Cup fifteen years running, but streaks have to end sometime, and then you're gonna have this argument all over again."
Conklin, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly let out a low, hoarse laugh. "Unless we take this Cup ourselves," he said. "Didn't you win some kind of fight tournament in the Pitt, Paladin?"
"That wasn't on ice!" Ellen snapped. "And all Elder Lyons wants is secure access, not a whole city!"
"Didn't you just have orders to investigate Evergreen Mills, El?" Jerald said innocently. "Bring back an intel report? Something like that?"
"Shut up, Jerald," Ellen said. "Look, let's just- let's just get back to base, okay? I need to find out more about this city and everything going on here before I see the Prince again. Nothing good ever happens when you get caught flat footed."
Ellen willed herself not to fidget. The Knights had warned her about the disclosure approach. "Sir," she said, "we're willing to trade-"
"No offense or nothing, Paladin, but 'trade' means you got something I want and I got something you want." He fixed her with a flat look. "I ain't all that sure you can make good on your end of that. You're a long way from home, you got two men in armor and one man in a dress-"
"It's robes. And they're armored."
The Prince ignored him. "-one of my own people keepin' you from walking into the river, a cow, and some kind of freak-ass robot. That's not a whole lot compared to what you want."
"Sir-"
"I'm not a stupid man, Paladin. You got in and out of GA and your man didn't die. I let you keep trying, I'm gonna wake up one morning and find out you got the robots to join your team. Next thing I know you start drafting my people out from under my nose, and I wind up having to round up everyone who's left and fall back to my auntie and uncle's compound in Bel Air."
"…. That's kind of an impressive series of leaps of logic," Ellen said after some stunned blinking. "Um."
"Hey, I may not be what you're used to dealing with, but I know what history looks like," said the Prince. "I got a season pass to the House of Franklin. I can read."
"I see," Ellen said. "In that case I should probably tell you that there's at least one group intending to force your hand on its way…"
He'd listened. He'd said some words Ellen didn't understand, although she probably didn't need to. He'd said he'd give it some thought, and then sent her away. It… wasn't what she had hoped, but was probably better than she could have expected. One of the Flyers, a tall, sallow man whose orange and black armor was held together with more straps than Ellen would've thought possible, led them back through the halls of the former prison. "We'll come find you when he decides," he said. "Don't do anything stupid in the meantime."
Ellen chose not to answer that.
When the Pen's gates closed behind them Ellen didn't say anything, but let Painless take the lead. As they started back towards the House of Franklin, Kang quietly said, "Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"
"Go ahead, Knight."
"This isn't Evergreen Mills, ma'am,' said Kang. "This is a whole city. You're not going to be able to sweep in here with a couple of extra Paladins and a couple of extra mole people and expect to take the factory and hold it. Factories need parts and resources, and if the city turns against us…"
"He doesn't have to fight us to get us out. I know," said Ellen. "All he has to do is choke off our supply lines. This place is in better shape than the old RobCo plant, but it'll still take us a long time to get it back up to full function, assuming we can secure it in the first place."
Kang nodded. "We're gonna have to get on his good side," he said, his helmet-muffled voice taking on a gloom-tinged tone. "Just to have a chance."
"I dunno, you guys," said Painless carefully. "There might be a couple other ways."
Ellen blinked, and glanced at their guide. "What do you mean?"
Painless shrugged. "Seems to me you need the city on your side, more than the Prince, specifically," he said. "Now, understand, I'm not saying anything against him, and frankly I think he's the best thing to happen to this city in a long time, but he's not the only force in this city. Not everybody loves the Flyers. You get some of the other ice gangs on your side, and you might not have to worry that much. Frankly, you probably want to do that anyway. The Flyers've won the City Cup fifteen years running, but streaks have to end sometime, and then you're gonna have this argument all over again."
Conklin, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly let out a low, hoarse laugh. "Unless we take this Cup ourselves," he said. "Didn't you win some kind of fight tournament in the Pitt, Paladin?"
"That wasn't on ice!" Ellen snapped. "And all Elder Lyons wants is secure access, not a whole city!"
"Didn't you just have orders to investigate Evergreen Mills, El?" Jerald said innocently. "Bring back an intel report? Something like that?"
"Shut up, Jerald," Ellen said. "Look, let's just- let's just get back to base, okay? I need to find out more about this city and everything going on here before I see the Prince again. Nothing good ever happens when you get caught flat footed."