[Nexus] GLoG 85

[FireFox]

[Infirmary]

The brown-haired youth scratches his elbow awkwardly. Umm... Yes ma'am. Tobias said he'll teach me Druidic magic while my father is getting used to his new job.

[Morcleon]

[Infirmary]

"She should be," Quinn confirms, smiling as Pearl hums. "And we need to figure out who put hot sauce in the stuff you were drinking. That's not nice at all."

[Infirmary]

Sayuri nods to Quinn, scowling slightly. "Indeed... and when I catch that little rat..." She trails off muttering darkly to herself.

The appearance of Kevin catches her a bit off-guard, and she simply stares at him warily until his name is mentioned in connection with Jamie. Then she smirks, calling out to the boy. "So then... you're Kevin, hm?"

[The Bushranger]

[Infirmary]

Judging by Quinn's expression, the amount of time Tobias spends on the couch tonight will be at least an hour.

Maybe two!

"Well, just don't let him push you around, alright? Ah. I think there's a spare room in the main cabin that's open, if you're alright with that?" the paladin asks, looking up at Kevin.

[FireFox]

[Infirmary]

Yes, ma'am. Then he turns to talk to Sayuri. He looks about 16 years old with brown hair and eyes. He has the physique of a blacksmith and the tan of a farmer. His accent is a little on the rustic side. Hi there, yeah, I'm Kevin Sciano.

[The Bushranger]

[Infirmary]

Quinn nods, and the timeline unsnarls. A little. Well, at least it returns to normal bowl-of-spaghettiism.

Tobias might get a chill down his spine though.
As she decides to head for the living quarters and have a few words with her husband.
And she knocks on the door.
Three times.

[Lex-Kat]

[Infirmary]

Sayuri watches the onion-lady roll away before turning her attention back to the onion-girl and Quinn. She shrugs, muttering blithely. "Eh, he seems like an interesting enough person..."

With a concerned look toward Pearl, she smiles. "Anyway, will Pearl be alright?"

"She should be," Quinn confirms, smiling as Pearl hums. "And we need to figure out who put hot sauce in the stuff you were drinking. That's not nice at all."

Pearl sits up with a sigh. Where do we go now, Sayuri? I am all better now. Thank you Champion Quinn. she says, nodding to Quinn.

Cherry Cabin

"... All right ma'am." The door opens to reveal Butler! Though his fur is just a little puffier than usual.

Vidalia falls back into the doorway, and is looking up at Butler from the floor. Are you sure, Butler? she says, pouting her lips. I never meant to hurt you.

[FireFox]

[Infirmary]

The doctor would only be worried if she had knocked four times.
She doesn't even need to knock, of course, as Toby is just reading Hadrian a bedtime story.

Spoiler

Show

"Since all information and assumptions are open to doubt, and with chance at work everywhere, the commander continually finds that things are not as he expected. This is bound to influence his plans, or at least the assumptions underlying them. If this influence is sufficiently powerful to cause a change in his plans, he must usually work out new ones; but for these the necessary information may not be immediately available. During an operation decisions have usually to be made at once: there may be no time to review the situation or even to think it through. Usually, of course, new information and reevaluation are not enough to make us give up our intentions: they only call them in question. We now know more, but this makes us more, not less uncertain. The latest reports do not arrive all at once: they merely trickle in. They continually impinge on our decisions, and our mind must be permanently armed, so to speak, to deal with them.
If the mind is to emerge unscathed from this relentless struggle with the unforeseen, two qualities are indispensable: first, an intellect that, even in the darkest hour, retains some glimmerings of the inner light which leads to truth; and second, the courage to follow this faint light wherever it may lead. The first of these qualities is described by the French term, coup d'oeil; the second is determination.
The aspect of war that has always attracted the greatest attention is the engagement. Because time and space are important elements of the engagement, and were particularly significant in the days when the cavalry attack was the decisive factor, the idea of a rapid and accurate decision was first based on an evaluation of time and space, and consequently received a name which refers to visual estimates only. Many theorists of war have employed the term in that limited sense. But soon it was also used of any sound decision taken in the midst of action - such as recognizing the right point to attack, etc. Coup d'oeil therefore refers not alone to the physical but, more commonly, to the inward eye. The expression, like the quality itself, has certainly always been more applicable to tactics, but it must also have its place in strategy, since here as well quick decisions are often needed. Stripped of metaphor and of the restrictions imposed on it by the phrase, the concept merely refers to the quick recognition of a truth that the mind would ordinarily miss or would perceive only after long study and reflection."

Yup. Just an ordinary bedtime story. Nothing unusual to see here. Toby certainly isn't reading von Clausewitz to his prepubescent son.

[The Bushranger]

[Infirmary]

Quinn gives Pearl a reassuring smile!


[Quarters]

...the smile Toby gets is less reassuring, of course.
"You know, somehow I'd think The Little Prince would be more suitable bedtime reading than The Prince. And don't look innocent, you know you were thinking about it even if you haven't already."

Yeah, Quinn! You tell him!

[FireFox]

[Quarters]

Toby chooses to look affronted instead. Come on, dear, of course I wouldn't do that. You need to understand the context before you can properly understand Machiavelli. I don't have the time to teach him decades of Florentine history, not that it would even matter here. von Clausewitz is much more important and useful.

[The Bushranger]

[Quarters]

"Of course, dear."
Quinn's tone of voice as she says that is exactly how you imagine it being.
"Even more useful would have been telling me Kevin was going to be spending the summer here."
So she could have shipped Jamie off to boarding school, of course!

[FireFox]

[Quarters]

... Oops. He stands and puts his personally annotated copy of On War back in his satchel. It completely slipped my mind. Still, there's plenty of empty cabins around, yeah?

[The Bushranger]

[Quarters]

"Yes, but some warning would have been nice so I'd have known what he was talking about when he assumed I knew he was coming," Quinn points out, shaking her head at her husband. "It was rather embarassing."

[FireFox]

[Quarters]

Next time try pretending you know what he's talking about and act like he's the one who doesn't know what he's talking about. It's what I do with most people. Toby gives his wife a charming grin. So he's here now, then? ... Does Jamie know?

[The Bushranger]

[Quarters]

Quinn decides to ignore Toby's advice on account of he doesn't know what he's talking about!
"No. Well, if she does, she's being remarkably discreet."
She pauses.
"...well, either that or she's stalking him."

[FireFox]

[Quarters]

Huh. Maybe I'll go tell him that you can't concentrate on Druidic magic if your mind is full of impure thoughts. And that if he touches Jamie I'll cut his hands off. That should be funny. Toby smirks at the mental image of a terrified Kevin being chased through the camp by the redheaded princess.

[The Bushranger]

[Quarters]

"It's not his thoughts I'm worried about..."
Quinn can't help but giggle, though.
As she's having the exact same mental images.
"Kevin is too meek to hurt a fly."

[FireFox]

[Quarters]

Oh, I know that. But it's not like we can force Jamie to do anything she doesn't want to. So we have to discourage the boy. He chuckles quietly. It's for his own good, really. Who knows what awful things she'd do to him.

[The Bushranger]

[Quarters]

"Terrible, mentally scarring things," Quinn agrees, somehow managing to keep a straight face as she nods solemnly.

[Morty]

[Infirmary]

"That sounds resonable." Andy responds with a nod. "You have someone in mind?"

"I think I will be one of those people," Reelshka says. "He seems to treat me somewhat seriously."

[The Bushranger]

[Outside]

"Well, in those dreams I was a monster that a scary King drew from the ground and sent to fight giants. Bika told me that goblins and hobgoblins and orcs used to be those monsters before they left the King," Brinika explains.

"Oh." Jamie blinks in surprise, then goes to hug Brinika! "You're too cute to be a monster," she declares with a giggle.

[FireFox]

[Quarters]

Right... Well, I'll go get Kevin settled in somewhere. Toby starts to walk out, then stops, hesitating for a moment. Ah... The... other me is here. He's in my office. With his wife.

[Morty]

[Outside]

Brinika is hugged and giggles as well.

"I know! I was really creeped out by those dreams but now I know what they meant so it's okay."

[The Bushranger]

[Quarters]

"Does that mean I should avoid the office, or invite them over to dinner?" Quinn asks, not batting an eye. Although she does have a playful smirk now...


[Outside]

"And that's all good!" Jamie declares, nodding...
...then gets a crafty look.
"Hey. Wanna help me sneak up on somebody?"

[Morty]

[Outside]

Brinika's ears twitch and she grins.

"Sneak up? On whom?"

[FireFox]

[Quarters]

I'm not sure how to handle this. Maybe you could go over to find out what they're up to? If they're here for METIS or the viruses we won't be able to stop them. He knows everything that I know and then a decade or two more. He's got plans to deal with everyone here because I have plans to deal with everyone here. Our best bet is to run to Trog's and invite all the adventurers and mercenaries there to fight them. And then find Rein and use whatever plans he's prepared to kill the older me. It's a little worrisome than Toby doesn't even trust himself.

[The Bushranger]

[Quarters]

"And if they already know everything you know," Quinn can't help but point out, "why would he be here to steal your stuff?" Shaking her head in bemusement, she walks over to Toby and leans in to kiss him on the cheek. "I'll go and have a few words with him. If he gives me any guff I'll remind him about the time I staked him..."

===

[Outside]

"On Kevin, of course!"
Jamie grins back, jumping to her feet and looking around for her prey the future druid.

[Morty]

[Outside]

Brinika giggles.

"Sounds cool! What do we do?"

[FireFox]

[Quarters]

Because he doesn't have a powerful AI or incredibly lethal bioweapons. And since he knows all the passwords and spells he could walk in and take them effortlessly. Toby sighs, knowing he's being a bit alarmist. But there's something about his older self that greatly and profoundly disturbs him. All right. Be careful. And then he goes to talk to the Sciano kid.

[The Bushranger]

[Quarters]

Quinn decides not to point out that if old!Tobias knows all the passwords then he probably doesn't need what they protect. Instead just smiling at Toby disarmingly before heading in the direction of Tobster's Labratory.



[Outside]

"Well, first we find him, then we sneak up on him. Then...I dunno. Tickle him maybe!" Jamie declares, deciding that the Main Cabin looks to be the best place to start searching. "Let's go!"

[Morty]

[Outside]

Brinika follows Jamie eagerly. However, now she actually makes something of an effort to stay stealthy.