reach the residents

[ximilian]

● ● ● REACH THE RESIDENTS

For any questions you want to ask Viveca or Degar and receive an IC response, please direct them here. Please indicate in the subject line who you are trying to contact.

// VIVECA

Hi, what can I help you with?

// DEGAR

Today was gonna be the day, but they'll never throw it back to you. And by now, you should've somehow realized what you're not to do.

▶ NAV

Comments

audio; backdate to pre-sleeper mission

[kovach]

[ kovacs has already spent a good degree of time considering the deal he's made, trying to decide the right he has in even trying to change the course of events that led to the battle of stronghold. changing it would mean holding a power to no one should ever have and if he goes through it, he'll betray the envoys on the very thing they fought and died to prevent.

it's when he learns about someone else's fate, someone else on the station he's come to care about, that he considers a second option, something he isn't even sure is possible. ]

You're Viveca, right? [ of course he knows her by now, but he hasn't had a direct conversation with her yet, having had most of his questions answered by others. what he needs to ask now, though, seems like something only she'd be able to tell him. ]

Listen — this deal we've all made, it all has to do with changing something in our own past, right? I need to know if ... is it possible to change my deal to help someone else here on the station?

[vivecai]

That's me.

[ the response that comes is the voice of a young woman, speaking with a bone-dry voice — as if there's a who else, idiot tagged on there somewhere but unsaid.

as she listens to his question, though, her tone turns into something far more serious. ]

... yes. It is. [ then, softer, ] You can do that if you want to... but changing a regret always comes with a price.

[kovach]

[ hearing a bit of personality in an ai isn't necessarily surprising; one of his closest acquaintances back in his world right now is poe, an ai who pretends he's the poet and cares more about being human than any actual human cares to be.

maybe he'd be interested to know more about viveca herself sometime, but right now, he's got some vital things on his mind. ]

Doesn't matter. Whatever it is. [ his answer's quick, no hesitation. ] Tell me what I gotta do to save Clara Oswald.

[ a beat, before he adds, ]

On the condition that the price is on me. She doesn't give up a thing.

[vivecai]

... you'd like to save Clara.

[ the softness remains in her voice — it almost sounds like she might be smiling, just a little, were she a human. ]

If you're really determined... then, you need to speak to the Orb. I'm not the one who decides what you pay as your price. It's the Orb.

[kovach]

Okay.

[ his reply is quiet, understanding. he's not surprised that it isn't up to her, but at the very least she's given him the answer to know that it's possible. if he needs to speak to the orb, that's exactly what he'll do.

he's quiet for a moment before speaking again. ]

Is there ... anything you can do to keep Clara from speaking to the Orb before I get a chance to?

[ probably not, but it's worth asking. not that he plans to waste much time on his end. ]

[vivecai]

If I could make it easier for you... I would.

[ but it's not up to her, and all she can do is watch when yet another team member gives up on something more. ]

... no. She's already spoken to me about it. But you could try and bargain with the orb — to take the cost upon yourself. I can't guarantee it'll work, but... [ if he's truly determined, maybe he'll find a way. if not make sure she pays nothing, then at least to lessen the cost for her. ]

[kovach]

Then, that's what I'll do.

[ he's determined enough for it, and after seeing clara break down in tears at the prospect of what she might have to give up, he wants to protect her from that at all costs.

on the other hand, he's used to his own losses, his own sacrifices. if he gives up his own happy ending to guarantee someone else's, it'll be worth it. ]

Last thing, uh — not sure what your stance is on confidentiality amongst the team and all of that. But this whole thing with Clara — could you avoid saying anything to the Doctor? Either one of them. She doesn't want them to know.

[ if kovacs would do anything to save her, he knows there's likely nothing the doctor wouldn't do. ]

[vivecai]

... good luck, Takeshi.

[ there's absolute sincerity in her tone — an attitude she may have, sometimes, but she does want to see the team succeed... and for them to be okay. she hopes he doesn't have to give up anything he's not prepared to give. seeing bucky make the deal again had been bad enough, now she's dealing with two new ones. ]

I'm not a doctor, but I do have something like patient confidentiality. I don't talk about the private matters of others on the team, not unless it's vital to someone's survival. So I won't tell them a thing, not unless Clara tells me to.

[kovach]

[ whatever kind of ai she is, she already does remind him of poe, of honesty and sincerity that should typically come from a human made of flesh and blood. but sometimes it's those very living, breathing beings that can lack the sort of humanity that some like poe and viveca may hold.

she wishes him luck and he believes in the offer. hopefully neither of them will be disappointed. ]

... Thanks, Viveca. [ he means that too, quiet and almost modest from someone who never gives off the impression that he could be.

but he knows what he needs to do now, so he should get to it before clara complicates it by making her own move. ] Then I'll be seeing you.