voice, un: endsoftheearth

[earthy]

[It takes Terra a little while to report to the network. He knows he needs to — he can't just keep this information to himself — but he's not really eager to talk about what happened.

He finally just forces himself to sit down and turn on the device.]

... Hello. I'm Terra. I've never put up one of these messages before. If I do something wrong, let me know.

[With a deep, steadying breath, he gets on with it.]

I tracked down another one of the... 'M' people. She told me a couple things that I think might be important.

Uh... For starters, this 'M' group is apparently pretty big. She claimed my catching her wasn't going to stop anything, that there are too many of them... out there somewhere, I guess, carrying on doing whatever it is they're trying to do. Maybe she was just bluffing. Or maybe we're going to be dealing with these people for a while...

Anyway, then she went on to mention their leader. 'The guy at the top of all this.' I thought it was that Shady Man... S-8, but no, it's someone else. She didn't know his name. Said he's really into birds, though? And that he looks like a... normal person.

She told me that this leader has a hideout but that it moves around a lot. Moves around constantly... is what she said. It was in the Theatre District here in Olympia last, but she was sure it had already been moved again...

[He trails off at that and keeps quiet a moment.]

That's about it. All she would tell me.

[Another pause, this one a bit longer than the last.]

Her name was Gnome.

Comments

[wondie]

I will.

Have you heard something I should keep in mind?

[earthy]

No. Or... not exactly.

Gnome was a different person before and after I told her I was taking her to Ashti and the Guard. Confident before, terrified to the point of madness after. And some of the locals seem to act kind of funny when Ashti's name comes up. They've never said anything while I've been around, but they do seem... bothered in some way.

Maybe it's all nothing, but I figure it can't hurt to pay a little more attention to her.

[wondie]

To frighten someone to madness is not a promising feature of a leader, it would be foolish to ignore the implications.

If there is something to learn, then I will keep my eyes open.

[earthy]

Yeah... Thanks again. If I ever catch the locals saying anything, I'll be sure to pass it on to you, too.

[wondie]

Thank you.

And thank you for sharing what you learned with us. Do not blame yourself for things you had no ability to control.

( she's watched a man kill himself with cyanide over answering her questions. it is true that she is regretful over his death yet she knows she couldn't have stopped him unless she'd known his intention in advance. Diana suspects it is much the same here. )

[earthy]

I'll... try not to.

[Diana's suspicion is correct, but Terra will keep her words with him as he works on coming to terms with what happened. She's probably right, after all.]

[wondie]

A task easier said than done, I know.

( she wishes she had a better reassurance for him. )

[earthy]

Easier said than done, but... necessary sometimes, right?

[wondie]

Yes.

There is more good you can do. Do not let your guilt deprive the world of that.

[earthy]

I won't. I promise I won't.

[wondie]

Good.

( she nods, before offering him a sad but sympathetic smile. )

I am glad to hear it.