open audience; the alderwood emperor

[alderwood]

Characters: The Alderwood Emperor and anyone who seek to speak with him
Date: January 8th
Location: The Palace of Landed Sky
Situation: The expected holding of an audience for any that care to speak with the newly appointed Alderwood Emperor.
Warnings/Rating: N/A; to be updated if necessary

The hall is stark and black, lit with softly glowing lanterns that are strung up high beyond reach. Outside, the sun is at its zenith, and it filters down through the cloudy glass roof to warm the dark room.

The floor is marble, inlaid with mother-of-pearl and ruby quartz. It catches the light, and casts strange patterns on the walls.

There is beauty to it, but the room has been repurposed to function moreso than form. Weapons racks line the walls and there are officers stationed at regular intervals to ensure the safety of their assets and, of course, the Emperor himself. It is but one sign of heightened security, another being that all attendees must be escorted in with the attendance of a pair of armed guards. The rein of Alderwood begins in caution and will not be made victim of as Ironwood's did in its end.

The Emperor himself is seated at a broad table and working his way through cleaning a variety of firearms that range from elegant handguns to heavy muskets. He works with swift precision, dismantling each in turn before proceeding with cleaning and reassembling, then he moves to the next. Like the weapons upon the racks, these vary in age from rudimentary to advanced technology reminiscent of the spectre weapons. He knows each of them as spoils of war gathered over the centuries and now he seeks to repurpose them. To use them against the enemy that had him fight in the first place.

He is dressed in his familiar military cut, having no mind or pleasure in anything of ornamentation or to further denote his rank, and greets each attendee with the curt statement: "Speak to your purpose."

[Actionspam or prose are both acceptable!

Characters will only be admitted into the hall one by one, so there won't be anyone present for anyone else's conversations, and there won't be any 'mingling' in the chamber itself.

By popular demand, we will continue to allow mingling for those waiting for an audience in an antechamber. There is a thread header below to allow for that!]

Audience | Canon Updates | Antechamber

Comments

[alderwood]

"No," comes quick and flat, establishing that he possesses a different plan. "Trust, Costigan. The kedan are loyal, but still too simple to be trusted with such decisions." He sets the parts and brush down, crossing his arms. "You are not that simple."

There is risk, certainly, in the offer he just made, but the three realms are rife with risk now that Malicant has been freed from Death. Evandau is ready to take those risks, unlike the risky peace they've endured since the sealing.

[lostundercover]

"No, I'm-" Costigan begins, before the weight of Evandau's words hit him and he suddenly realizes what the man means. Confusion, anger, and concern pass in turns over the undercover's expression before his posture straightens and he stares at the man. He pulls his hands from his pockets and crosses his own arms, unconsciously mirroring.

"You're fucking kidding me," he says finally, forcing a smile as if he's trying to be in on the joke while still worried it's not a joke at all. "There are plenty of other complicated people here."

[alderwood]

"None that I trust."

Evandau does not retract that intimation, instead confirming it with that clearer statement. "That is the key part, Costigan. I cannot give authority where it may be abused, neither as Emperor nor Commander. Permitting the Foreigners a council of justice to oversee even petty crimes would calm them while freeing my hand for more. However, they must only act in a manner compliant with Keeliai law and my policies. That is why there must be someone I trust to control them."

[lostundercover]

The smile vanishes with the man's elaboration. Costigan's brow furrows as he thinks on the subject, shifting his weight. His arms fall away and then return to his pockets again. Part of his mind immediately calls for the reassurance of his medication. Now is not the time to look weak, however, and so he dismisses the idea and tries instead to focus. At the last line, the undercover laughs at the ludicrous nature of the man's offer.

"You want me in charge?" When Evandau very clearly doesn't seem to share his humor, the amusement immediately disappears.

"Do you understand what that means?" His hands again fall from his pockets, this time to allow Costigan to lean forward on the table. His volume lowers. "You're talking about exposing me- us. About making our- our arrangement public, telling them I betrayed their trust, and then turning around and asking them to trust me because you're giving me a title?"

[alderwood]

"Whether you hold reins from the shadows or by full name and title doesn't matter to me," is the consolation that Evandau offers. It is a midground, offering Costigan the chance to still work as an operative without the full impact of his previous activities coming to light.

He has, however, accepted the idea of such impacts. The risks are many, but Keeliai is sinking fast into a state of war where risks will be commonplace. "They'll adapt. They must, to survive. But I must make the decision that will be best for Keeliai. It is best to have one familiar with a double role so that he could recognise it in others."

[lostundercover]

"I'm not a leader," he replies with a frown. Costigan shifts his weight and, in that, leans forward more. Dropping his head for a beat, he sighs. It's clear from his tone that he's actually considering the offer, even as he argues it at every step. It's overwhelming, the idea of being trusted so deeply by anyone. Something akin to finding out Costello left him the man's collection of tapes and evidence.

His gaze lifts to the guns just in front of him, still thinking, and sighs again. "If I do this from the shadows, what does that mean? I don't know or trust anyone to have a fuckin' figurehead. That mean I keep to what I'm doing and you put Lin in charge? Maybe that's for the best."

[alderwood]

"That means you sit on the council, but she leads it. You listen and report, as we have done, but you accept some role in it." Evandau sets the brush down, content with that work for the moment. "Your record will be reviewed and cleared, but," and here he pauses before continuing wryly, "your experience with the detention system here will be the value you bring to the table, if they ask."

[lostundercover]

Costigan drops his head again, his face paling slightly with this sudden bout of extreme stress. At least his hands never shake. The undercover squeezes his eyes closed to try to focus. Think, asshole. What do you want? Too many thoughts come at a rush and he has to sort through each of them, remaining quiet for some time.

He hopes the man will recognize his need for time. Evandau has weapons to clean to keep him busy. A few minutes extra shouldn't cost him too much. Focus. What do you want? A family? Abigail. No, that's not right. Work. He needs to bury himself in work.

He wanted to be a cop, originally. He wanted something different for himself than working with his cokehead cousins and pedophile uncle. He wanted to be better. Queenan and Dignam had forced him into the undercover racket, preying on his having nothing left after his mom's departure. Jail, drug deals, French, Costello. It was a blur sometimes. He wanted to be done, but Sullivan got in the way.

Here, he created it for himself. Some part of him wanted that again, something familiar and an excuse to hit people and know things. Being a criminal could do that. Maybe he really did want to help people. Catty said he was a good person. Costigan wanted to believe that.

"They won't have any reason to listen to me. If they think I'm a criminal, they won't trust me. They might lose respect for you, too, thinking you don't get it or that maybe you went soft on them." He shakes his head, eyes still closed, thinking aloud. "If we're admitting our connection to some of the foreigners, it might as well be all of them. Things have a way of traveling here."

Not everything, but enough to worry him. The wrong people finding out before he can tell them himself, for example. Costigan opens his eyes again and looks up at Evandau, more calm but still clearly agitated. "I'm not a leader. You know that. I'm also not about to sit on a council and play show pony."

He wants to be buried in work, but he doesn't trust himself with the responsibility of leadership and he's not willing to work for a woman he's never met. He doesn't want to play criminal-turned-consultant or any of that bullshit. Truth be told, he's getting tired of the lies again, of playing the villain.

He takes a deep breath. "Maybe it's best we quit while we're ahead."

[alderwood]

The time is given, with other weapons needing his attention indeed; there many, many ones that still need repair, clearing, or restoration after centuries without use, though they will give him something to arm them with when the time comes to fight -- a time that he intends to make come sooner rather than later.

The reply, when it comes, is as complicated as he has come to expect from this man and it's initial interpretation is disappointing. Evandau has come to rely on him and to hear words that sound as though he would resign from this service would be troubling to his intent to move forwards.

"You mean to drop everything and live as a civilian?" he asks, not taking his attention from a rusted out musket. There is little chance it can be salvaged, but it was his first spoil of war. Sentimentality has created an unexpected attachment.

[lostundercover]

Costigan sighs. He straightens, in an unconscious gesture of defiance, crossing his arms. Evandau's question sounds like a clarification. The undercover hears it as an accusation, one he has to fight again. Of course, there's a part of him that knows it's because he feels guilty for it, that Evandau's question mirrors his own doubts back at him.

Then his arms fall away and return to his pockets instead, the momentary desire for conflict passing. He shrugs his jacket open in a vague motion of metaphorical surrender, his anxiety no longer threatening to overwhelm and yet remaining his constant companion. "I don't see a better option. Do you?"

[alderwood]

"I gave you the better option, Costigan," he replies, working carefully at the rust to test whether the strength of the casting has been compromised by it. Evandau perceives his time for preparation limited and, in these actions, intends to convey readiness. Capability. Action. Things that Costigan is now suggestion that he be allowed to abandon for the sake of allowing Foreigners their own sense of justice.

"You would not have returned to the prison had you wanted a civilian life," he continues, a reference to their very first interaction. "You would not be here now if you did not seek some purpose. Yet you argue to the execution of that purpose. You speak lowly of yourself and the capacity of others to trust you when an Emperor holds you in trust." He stops and sets the musket down, knowing it shall take much more delicate work to render presentable, much less combat-ready, than he can currently provide it. "I see that you must not confuse yourself further with this. You either seek purpose or peace. Tell me which and that will be the end of it."

[lostundercover]

Costigan listens with the discomfort of someone having their embarrassing moments laid out before him. He remains where he is, brow pulling together and shifting his weight, listening to the man and giving him all the respect Evandau deserves - all the respect he has earned through their interactions together, even before the title of Emperor.

Peace, he wants to say. He wants peace. He wants to settle down and raise a family, not be plagued by choices, demands, and lies - betrayals coming to collect on the consequences of his own deceptions. And yet, he can't bring himself to say it. He knows there is no peace here and that asking for it for himself would be selfish at best. His parents, both of them, would be ashamed of him for stepping down when the going got tough, whatever the reasons.

"Purpose," he replies finally. Though the undercover remains anxious, the word is unflinching.

[alderwood]

Evandau nods. The gesture may seem short, abrupt even, but it is acceptance of what Costigan has accepted, in turn, about himself. "Good." And it is good, for that means their alliance may continue onwards. Had the Foreigner chosen peace, then Evandau would have had no cause to continue confiding with him, or conversing with him entirely. Purpose is the very definition of his existence and he cannot afford a wasted breath.

"The structure has not been implemented, but you will be advised once it is," he continues, as though he expected this answer. "In the interim, you may have time to accept the conclusion you have come to."

[lostundercover]

The undercover isn't certain how he feels about that. It's both a huge relief and a growing tension. He chose it for himself and yet he still doubts his own mind and choices, accepting the choice on instinct as much or more than emotional reasoning.

"Public leadership?" Costigan asks, wanting to clarify whether he'll be expected to lie from the shadows again or have his deceptions brought to light. Either option isn't particularly pleasant. Both have to be handled in different ways, however, and that's his concern. He has to use the time he has wisely, not waste breath.

[alderwood]

"Yes," comes the simple confirmation. "The council will share it, but I would have you part of that." That should, in its execution, ease mistrust with the idea that others may also hold influence and sway in this project, but he still wants Costigan there as a voice and influence.

[lostundercover]

"Who else?" Costigan can learn to accept a position he doesn't want if he feels it's the right thing, but there are certain people he can't work with- won't. People who will make the endeavor worse off by their involvement in it.

[alderwood]

Evandau does not have a roster ready, having learned the hard way that not all Foreigners are eager to be assigned a role for all that many cry for them. "Those that step up. I will recruit them via the consoles, if I must, but I will have the willing and not the reluctant."

[lostundercover]

He gives a nod. Then the undercover crosses her arms tightly, a subtle and unconscious gesture that what he's about to say makes him uncomfortable, but he looks straight at the other man to meet his gaze, trying to portray the confidence he doesn't feel for his thoughts right now.

"Look, I'm fuckin' in, alright? Name me Commander or.. whatever it is you want to call the position. I'll help you find people, train them, and get a foreigner division prepared. You and me, we'll get this place ready for a god damn war." It isn't meant to exclude the rest of the world. Costigan's only trying to speak to the bond between them, the trust and respect. "And I can't guarantee a win, but I can guarantee we'll sure as fuck do everything in our power to try."

[alderwood]

"Good." Evandau nods, his sold indicator of approval for this decision. It is not an easy one for Costigan, that much he has learned with time, but it is a critical one. "Then you shall be part of it and we shall fight. That is all that we can do, if we are to survive."

[lostundercover]

"Sure, yeah. Good." He half-mumbles the response, a generic sort of agreement and acceptance of the other man's words. Then Costigan gives a delayed nod and straightens, taking a half step back from the table. "That it for now?"

[alderwood]

Evandau looks at him, seeing in Costigan the differences from the man that turned himself back into custody long ago. There remains much of the same man that sought to give information and gain some in return, but there are differences also. That man would not have accepted so public a role, though his comfort is still too minuscule to measure. A detail of note, but not address.

"That is. Unless you have some other issue to discuss?"

[lostundercover]

The undercover thinks for a moment and then shakes his head. This isn't the conversation he expected, certainly, and he's already updated the new Emperor enough. Costigan prefers to return to work, to continue his pursuit of the old Emperor's killer so they can both move forward from this in some small way.

"I'll be in touch." And with that, and a respectful nod, he turns and begins making his way back towards the entrance where the angry kedan guards will no doubt be waiting with an 'accidental' blow and halfhearted apology for any injury.