IC Contact Post [Hadriel]

[mismanagement]

This is Maketh Tua. State your business.

Comments

[lifetothefullest]

{He stares back at her, eyes narrowing just slightly as he tries to gauge how much of her response is posturing and how much is actual threat, but decides to move onto the other subject and avoid pressing the first one any further.]

Have you made the reports available somewhere besides on paper at the Guardpost?

[He's pretty sure he's made it clear why he doesn't read the reports, if not. Besides--]

It's also difficult to ask a piece of paper questions.

[mismanagement]

The network is compromised. Coded copies have been hidden in case the Guardpost is compromised as well.

[She stares back at him, unwilling to back down.]

And what questions do you have?

[lifetothefullest]

[He decides not to mention that if she doesn't trust the network then she should really make more of her conversations on it private, instead trying to keep his focus on the subject at hand.]

The Guard, as I understand, is a peacekeeping operation and not some sort of law enforcement, correct? Especially as there are no laws here to keep.

[mismanagement]

We break up fights.

[She says it bluntly.]

So long as the people here don't kill each other, the Guard doesn't interfere.

[lifetothefullest]

What if they do kill each other?

[Because that's very relevant to the matter at hand.]

[mismanagement]

[Ah. So that's what this is about.

Maketh leans back.]

We settle it.

[lifetothefullest]

In what manner?

[He get to the issue of 'with what authority' in a bit.]

[mismanagement]

Community service.

[Her eye twitches a bit.]

It was not my decision.

[lifetothefullest]

[So far this lines up with what Mello said, and why is he not surprised Maketh doesn't approve of community service?]

Whose decision was it? Henry's?

[Since he's the other leader, although he's... Not sure he could see Henry making the suggestion either. Maybe Nick. Also--]

Is it the same penalty for everyone who commits a murder here?

[mismanagement]

We voted. Nick suggested it.

[She grimaces, not bothering to hide it. She doesn't like the current system.]

Yes. Not much of a deterrent. But we do not have the resources to maintain a prison and my methods were considered a line too far.

[lifetothefullest]

[Hey, score one on guessing. Also wow, not surprised that Maketh's methods would be considered too far.]

How many people have you actually dealt with who've committed a murder here? I know there was one just recently.

[Although he's more interested--in terms of this particular subject, not in general--in the one Mello had mentioned them ignoring. It seemed Mello thought they did it on purpose, but Lance wants to be sure of if they were even aware of it.]

[mismanagement]

Two.

[Maketh exhales slowly.]

I'm aware of the recent ones as well. Will and Sharon. We haven't been able to determine the culprits yet. I take responsibility for the failure.

[lifetothefullest]

[Hm, that's one more than he knows about.]

Who were they?

[As far as Will and Sharon go, he's pretty sure Sharon knows who killed her and isn't telling so it's not like that can be held against Maketh, and Lance doesn't know anything about the situation with Will. They haven't spoken in some time.]

[mismanagement]

Mello and Bianca. Mello killed Sharon and Bianca took offense to that.

[Maketh thins her mouth into a tight line. That was a mess all around and it hadn't ended cleanly.]

That girl has not fared well here. At any rate, we were concerned with preventing further retaliation.

[lifetothefullest]

[Hm. Mello seemed to be under the impression Bianca had gotten away with things without penalty, so Lance wants to make sure--]

And they both just agreed to community service?

[Lance didn't really know Bianca, but he did have the impression she wasn't exactly the type. And Mello definitely isn't, although Lance understands why he agreed in this instance.]

[mismanagement]

To my great surprise, yes.

[Maketh grimaces.]

We had them watched, of course. I liked Bianca, but I wasn't foolish enough to trust her. There were no further incidents with those two.

[lifetothefullest]

[Interesting. Lance will just file that away mentally for now, moving onto the logical next question and a more pressing concern.]

What happens if someone doesn't agree? The Guard doesn't have any real authority to enforce such sentences.

[It's neutral, as a statement of fact instead of a particular point. He'll get into that issue more depending on how Maketh responds.]

[mismanagement]

[Ah. That's the real question he's pushing at, isn't it? Maketh just shrugs. She waves for another drink. A shot of whiskey this time.]

It hasn't come to that.

[Not yet. She downs the shot without a word.]

[lifetothefullest]

[That is not at all a satisfactory answer, and he doesn't like the dismissiveness of it either. But he considers for a moment how to answer, taking a sip of his own drink again before responding lightly.]

It's a precarious position to be in. It's not as though letting murderers run around to do whatever they want is a good option, but you also really can't enforce laws that don't exist even if you did have the authority to do so.

[So a conundrum. And general 'you' in this instance.]

[mismanagement]

Your grasp of the obvious astounds me, Doctor Sweets.

[Maketh is well aware of the situation and resents the implication that she's somehow not.]

[lifetothefullest]

[He really wants to tell her that her grasp of subtlety is not quite as astounding, but refrains. Instead--]

Sometimes the obvious needs restating.

[He didn't really get the answers he wanted on that last subject, but the lack of them is an answer in itself and he decides to move on; he's discussed what he considered most important, so if the next subject goes poorly he isn't losing anything.]

I saw that you met Dr. Brennan.

[mismanagement]

Your colleague. Yes.

[She eyes him suspiciously. This conversation is veering off in directions she's having trouble predicting and thus Maketh dislikes it.]

What of it?

[lifetothefullest]

I found it interesting. You seemed to get along well enough.

[At least for the most part, until the end of the conversation.]

[mismanagement]

I appreciated her logic. It was an enlightening conversation.

[She pauses.]

Why do you care?

[lifetothefullest]

She's incredibly intelligent.

[But she also has a strong sense of morality, and so things balance out. The last question earns a raised eyebrow, though.]

I care because she's one of my closest friends.

[He stares at Maketh intently as he says it, underlying meaning clear; he doesn't trust Maketh in the slightest, and so he cares because he's looking out for Brennan. She's not the best at social interaction, and he's heard more than enough about Maketh's world and her way of handling things to be concerned about her trying to use Brennan in some way.]