12-30-2014, 10:43 AM
As they walked, Ascendancy receiving his report from Director Stephenson, Marcus noted the way the underground facility's facade changed. If the initial bunker had been built during the Cold War, with its cold, utilitarian veneer, it was clear that these areas were newer. Or perhaps it was that it was important to project austerity as a first impression before allowing one into the inner recesses. And if that was the case, that left the question as to why.
From the Director's words, pieces of the puzzle continued to fall into place. It was a gamble of course, but one that was made necessary. You couldn't ignore the appearance of Force-enabled humans- Ascendancy would call them ascendant, and it wasn't a bad term, not really- and the potential threat they posed. Harness them, though, and you had something.
But as he said, he couldn't save the world. He needed allies. Marcus' eyes flicked to Ascendancy as he spoke. For the man, he was sure it was at best, a painful admission. Especially given the subtle dynamic between the two. He kept silent and listened.
Marcus didn't react as many of his suspicions were confirmed. Ascendancy was as coldly efficient as he'd always expected. People might call it callous but he knew it was simply the way things were, for now. Resources were finite, as was time. He had no doubt that efforts would continued to be made to preserve as many people as possible. But you had to prioritize. A sad but inevitable reality.
And the idea that had come to him at the GUM also seemed verified. There were indeed female Force users. But as he suspected, there was something different about them. He wondered what it was. Was there a way, perhaps, to detect female users? He thought about Vellas' spirit detection weave and the modifications he'd made to it. Perhaps there was more he could do with it. He'd need a test subject for that though.
And of course, Vellas- Commander Vellas he amended- was going to take charge of these new 'weapons'. It stood to reason.
In the end, though, the field was going to get thicker with people like him. Malik smiled to himself. Well, not quite like him. He felt a slight rush of excitement at the thought of the inevitable conflict that meant. He remembered his sessions with Andre. He had held back and so had Andre. The goal had been to train. But here, if push came to shove, that would not always be the case.
From the Director's words, pieces of the puzzle continued to fall into place. It was a gamble of course, but one that was made necessary. You couldn't ignore the appearance of Force-enabled humans- Ascendancy would call them ascendant, and it wasn't a bad term, not really- and the potential threat they posed. Harness them, though, and you had something.
But as he said, he couldn't save the world. He needed allies. Marcus' eyes flicked to Ascendancy as he spoke. For the man, he was sure it was at best, a painful admission. Especially given the subtle dynamic between the two. He kept silent and listened.
Marcus didn't react as many of his suspicions were confirmed. Ascendancy was as coldly efficient as he'd always expected. People might call it callous but he knew it was simply the way things were, for now. Resources were finite, as was time. He had no doubt that efforts would continued to be made to preserve as many people as possible. But you had to prioritize. A sad but inevitable reality.
And the idea that had come to him at the GUM also seemed verified. There were indeed female Force users. But as he suspected, there was something different about them. He wondered what it was. Was there a way, perhaps, to detect female users? He thought about Vellas' spirit detection weave and the modifications he'd made to it. Perhaps there was more he could do with it. He'd need a test subject for that though.
And of course, Vellas- Commander Vellas he amended- was going to take charge of these new 'weapons'. It stood to reason.
In the end, though, the field was going to get thicker with people like him. Malik smiled to himself. Well, not quite like him. He felt a slight rush of excitement at the thought of the inevitable conflict that meant. He remembered his sessions with Andre. He had held back and so had Andre. The goal had been to train. But here, if push came to shove, that would not always be the case.