SERGEANT NPC CONTACT

[cartesio]

The Lodge is located on the hills near the town, large and strange. It contrasts a lot when compared to the rest of the town -- its gray and white walls are quite the change from the vibrant and colorful Cartesio, the plants and bushes that are planted on the lower levels of the Lodge only make the contrast more obvious. There are many windows, but no matter how much you look you don't see anyone passing behind them. If you didn't know better you'd think it was completely empty.

But it isn't empty. The Sergeant is there.

You won't get too far into the Lodge before you encounter the Sergeant. There he is in the lobby, standing in front of a door that leads deeper into the building. No matter at what time you come or what you do, he'll always be there, reading self-help books, or with a mirror, practicing his next speech/confrontation. When he's not facing all of you at once, he seems to be easier to talk with.

Want to bother him?

Comments

[cartesio]

I'm not coldhearted enough to watch you all and not have a certain modicum of empathy.

[The truth is that he's rather empathic, even if he doesn't want to be. He simply doesn't let that stray him from what needs to be done]

[marmoron]

You --

[Excuse him while he starts laughing??]

A modicum of empathy. Great. You should really do something with that otherwise it's like the same thing as not having any.

[cartesio]

No. Orders are orders.

[And feeeeelings don't lead towards orders being completed, you know]

[marmoron]

And if you didn't have your orders, you'd let us go?

[Doubt.]

[cartesio]

I guess so. I'm only here because it's my job.

[It's not like commonly he'd have woken up one day and thought 'you know what would be hella cool? set up a bunch of strangers to kill each other in a random town']

[marmoron]

Sarge is getting a skeptical look. At the end of the day, it's not that Keith has a hard time believing that there's a shred of humanity in the Sergeant, it's that he can't accept that the Sergeant hasn't turned his back on a set of vile orders in the face of knowing how fucked up they are.]

And you didn't get any kind of clue from the job application what kind of job you were applying for?

[cartesio]

Can't say I did. I was with them before this particular task started, but it's not like I was told I'd be overseeing this someday.

[It's not like he has any qualms with this, either. Empathy or not, a job is a job, as far as he's concerned]

[marmoron]

How did this job even become necessary then?

[Does he expect an answer? No. But it's a bit difficult to think this job just became necessary out of left field for a "sociology" major. He's still pretty skeptical over hearing that tidbit of information from Natalie.]

[cartesio]

I don't know. You'll have to ask my superior about that if you ever see him.

[Looks like you have hit a dead end because not even the Sergeant has any info about this]

[marmoron]

What's your superior like?

[cartesio]

He's a good man, a genius. It's a honor to be employed by him. [The Sergeant sounds truly earnest] He's the kind of guy that when he decides to do something, he won't stop until he succeeds!

[marmoron]

[So that's the Sarge's definition of being a "good" person is it? Someone who won't give up on their goals, someone who'll keep looking for ways to get what they want regardless of the cost?]

Victory or death.

[The way Galra live and die. The words are said thoughtfully.]

What other accomplishments does he have to his name?

[cartesio]

It's his technology what allowed me to bring you all here.

[And that's an amazing accomplishment, no doubt]

[marmoron]

Sounds like a real master of Altean alchemy.

[Not that he's convinced that these guys are in anyway related to the Alteans because surely that would be way too much coincidence.]

Did he invent it specifically to bring us here or did it have a different purpose before?

[cartesio]

He invented it specifically for these plans. He prepared everything, and ensured the technology would work no matter what. I'm sure he also did other stuff I'm not aware of -- my superior's clever to extents you can't imagine.

[So. Proud. Of his employer]

[marmoron]

I know a few geniuses who'd probably give your boss a run for his money.

[Pidge + Holt clan he's thinking about you.]

But if he's as clever as you say, why does this plan rely on us. Why not create a better plan that doesn't rest on the backs of a bunch of unpredictable strangers who would take all of you out if given the opportunity?

[cartesio]

Because unpredictable strangers is all we have.

[It's not like they have better options, yeah]

[marmoron]

You could've picked a group of obedient idiots. People that do exactly as told without any questions asked.

[cartesio]

Not just any random obedient idiot works, you know.

[marmoron]

Why not?