riverview | audio

[ There's a moment of dead air first. Very brief, just long enough for a breath (a hesitation, possibly, it's all relative). Then: ]

Riverview Quarantine, this is Dr. Elizabeth Weir speaking. Now, you might be thinking that you don't know me. [ Her tone warms. ] Don't worry; the feeling's mutual. Since I've been very generously offered the position of public representative to the government of Riverview, making some introductions felt pretty prudent.

[ There's the slightest bit of emphasis on generously: not quite sarcastic, not entirely sincere. She pauses briefly. ]

I'll be honest and say I really don't plan on being in this city long-term. If they make the right calibrations to send me home, I'm gonna take that opportunity. But for however long I am here? My job is to make sure we're all heard and that our needs are met. I'll be representing all of you. And I don't intend to take that responsibility lightly.

So, you can-- consider my door open. [ Elizabeth seems pretty optimistic about that, at least? ] Unless the paperwork was misleading, that should be half the point of the job.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A pleasure to meet our representative so quickly.

[Voice makes it easy enough to hide her wariness and modulate her tone to something polite without having to worry about expression, which Breq takes immediate advantage of.]

I'm sure you've expected questions about this, but I'll still ask about your qualifications for the position.

I could offer to show you my resume, but I get the feeling it's a long trip back to the galaxy my usual office is in.

[ You did it Elizabeth. This is clearly the perfect time to joke. She clears her throat. ]

Politics are something of a specialty of mine. Brokering international treaties, mostly. I've been the head of a large-scale expedition for going on three years now. I'm afraid the details require a certain level of security clearance. But I can assure you that I'm very used to looking out for the needs of people I'm responsible for.

[No obvious reaction to the joke, but if Elizabeth listens closely she might here a huff of a breath, nearly the beginning of a laugh. Maybe a good start after all.]

Three years?

Ah. The expedition is not your first experience with that line of work, I assume. Three years is fast for multiple treaty negotiations, in my experience.

If I could've squeezed a few dozen treaties into three years, I think it would qualify me as de facto leader of my home planet. [ The speed wouldn't have hurt, honestly. It's nice when it feels like the people calling the shots all agree on basic human decency. ]

The expedition is my first experience heading an expedition. The years of international diplomacy just-- funneled into it.

Classified details or not, the years of diplomacy seem more relevant. Unless the particulars of how this expedition adds to your experience in this realm are also classified.

Not especially, no. The diplomacy's gonna do me a lot more good.

Well, that and the stubbornness. Have to play with a full hand, after all.

Stubbornness, I've heard, is the only way to get anything done in government.

You've heard right. Come to the table with all the reason and common sense in the world and get ready to spend at least a week defending it.

Hm. I'm in favor of acting where needed and explaining later, which is likely why I'm not in government.

[Not entirely true, but she's lifelong military, and while she can live with some red tape, she's never much liked inefficiency.]

You sound like a few of my people. Action isn't always a bad thing when you're in the middle of a situation. It's saved my life more than a few times, and the lives of people I care about. What I've learned lately is that there are some things you can only understand by being there.

So the paperwork turns out to be hell. Trying to explain why you needed to act is its own three-ring circus.

I don't envy you it.

[The days since she's had to do the busywork of filing reports are long since past, and now she can't say she particularly minds.]

Believe me, I appreciate the sentiment. [ She sounds dryly amused. ] Sorry, I don't think I've asked your name yet.

I hadn't offered it. [Which was rude of her. Technically it's in her username, but she's also seen the apparent liberties individuals like to take with theirs. It's not a reliable indicator.]

My apologies. I'm Breq.

No need to apologize, Breq. I'm still glad to learn it. Have you been in the Quarantine for very long?

Not at all. No more than a few weeks.

Did you ever spend much time away from home before that?

[It's amazing, how many seemingly innocent conversations open up awkward pitfalls for Breq. She can't rely on her 'uncivilized foreigner' affectation here, so instead she goes for a sliver of the truth.]

I've never spent much time in one place.

No? [ Her thought process sort of boils down to "oh, boy" on that. ] The Quarantine's giving you one hell of an opportunity to try it out.

It is.

[She at least doesn't sound concerned by it.]

I'm told that after a few years we're given the chance to leave the quarantine for the rest of this universe. That isn't such a burden.

Sounds like a worthwhile investment when you put it that way. [ And that's an approach that she can admire. ] Would you stay for this universe if they gave you a door back home?

That would vary greatly depending on the where and how of the door. [No use tossing her back into space to die as she had been before the portal pulled her in. And, if she thinks about it, what else could she do? She has accomplished her mission. Aside from killing more of Anaander Mianaai... what is there left for her?

Then again, what is there left for her here? The thought leaves her quiet for almost two entire seconds.]

I imagine I'll have time to determine the answer to that question.

[ Fair enough, really. ]

Then I'll wish you the best of luck in determining it. And in the meantime, I can admit it's not a bad city to have time in.

audio | @e.weir

audio; @breq

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