Sime~Gen Roleplaying on IRC: Snake River Dam Scenario
Episode #65: Edka's Reprise (11/5/00)
Edka and his second-in-command make their way through the camp towards the site of the Narosian construction.
Edka has been a bit troubled at the increased distrust his small group has been receiving since the boiler incident.
HT follows his Sargeant. These In-T (sheez, now they got me sayin' it) types are easy to get excited. That business with the boiler was at least funny. Shows what happens when you let amateurs play with the pipes.
Edka has decided that a show of conciliation is in order.
Edka has, of course, left the armament behind today.
Edka looks around as he nears the Narosian bathhouse, trying to locate his quarry.
Riyyh is standing gazing thoughtfully at the outlines of the building.
Edka is somewhat handicapped in that he suspects that this Sectuib Riyyh will no longer be half dressed, covered with soot, and with uncombed hair.
Riyyh has just finished talking with the entire group about their various ideas on how they might build most of the structure without any glass until some can be obtained.
Riyyh is trying to decide what his opinion is, so he can offer it if they get bogged down in making the decision.
Riyyh decides that he definitely favors using tent-canvas over leaving it open-air. Beyond that, he will have to think on it some more.
Riyyh is dressed in a warm cloak of gray and yellow, a white (really!) scarf and a somewhat wind-tossed hair do. He looks amazingly clean.
Edka spots a distinguished-looking older Sime inspecting the partially-built structure.
Edka has to look twice, and then again, to recognize the half-naked, soot-covered figure from two nights before.
Edka might not have been able to make the connection at all, except that there are very few persons in the camp of any larity who have silvered hair.
Riyyh is also pondering one members' suggestion that a laundry be added once the bath house is complete.
Riyyh can see his point that a lot of the infrastructure could be shared and that it would be a valuable service, but thinks that they will have enough trouble completing the bath house itself before weather conditions become difficult.
Edka approaches his quarry a bit hesitantly.
Riyyh zlins Edka coming toward him and turns quickly, surprised.
Edka: Sectuib Riyyh, I am glad to see that you were not burned as badly as I'd feared..
Riyyh easily recognizes both Gens from the other night. His hands dither as he tries to decide whether to simply slip away, or to meet them... but it's too late.
Riyyh smiles unhappily.
Riyyh: Thank you. I am recovering quite nicely.
Riyyh tries to look glad to see them, without his customary success.
Riyyh: We are sorry to have caused you so much trouble.
HT hasn't seen anything as fancy as Riyyh since his last visit to a cathouse.
Edka does not look or zlin half as formidable in daylight, and without his armed followers.
Edka surveys the (currently open-air) bathhouse.
Riyyh wonders what they want.
Riyyh suspects it is not unlikely they know he has gone to Arat with his concerns.
Edka: Have your people gotten the boiler working properly? If they are having more problems with installation, there are plenty of engineers around who would be happy to assist you.
Riyyh: Why, it is progressing nicely, thank you.
Riyyh notices that Edka's question was phrased as a demand for information, rather than an offer to help.
Edka smiles in genuine relief.
Riyyh in fact, as has been stated before, has several construction industry professionals volunteering on the construction of the bath house, and of course the "problem" the other night was mainly caused by Racknie starting up the boiler without performing any of the standard checks and tweaks.
Riyyh has had a very sincere talk with Racknie about impetuousness. Not the first, and probably not the last either alas.
Riyyh consoles himself with the thought that at least Racknie is still alive to be available for those additional chats.
Edka: I'm glad to hear that. I saw a boiler explode once, and it wasn't pretty.
Riyyh: I'm sure it wasn't. [in an attempt to be nice]
Edka: This bathhouse idea of yours was brilliant. Half the camp is talking about how nice it will be to be clean and warm.
HT stands silently listening to the higher ups converse. He finds himself staring at Riyyh's hair. He notes how long and full it is. He has been losing his lately and not just because the new recruits are making him pull it out by the roots.
Riyyh: Are they? [cautiously]
Riyyh always likes praise, of course, and it's good to hear it coming from an objective or negatively inclined source. He is wary of Edka though, and that tempers his response.
Riyyh: We do hope it will be a success.
Edka: Yes. Cold showers are well enough in the summer, but in winter?
Edka: I've been very glad that our posting here is strictly temporary.
HT is equally glad.
Riyyh can't help but notice HT is staring at him. He pushes back his hair self-consciously.
Riyyh ordinarily likes being stared at, but being stared at by a soldier makes him feel like an elderly deer being eyed by a large cat.
Edka shoots HT a "behave yourself" look.
HT realizes he is staring and looks away. He tells himself he is not envious.
Riyyh: Well. I had intended to leave before winter myself, although it's still uncertain whether that will be possible.
Riyyh still wonders what they are here for. Maybe nothing too drastic, if they are taking the time to make small talk.
Riyyh zlins surreptitiously to make sure there are still other Narosians within range of a shout or a nageric alarm: yes.
Edka can't help noticing Riyyh's nervousness, which fits in well with what he has heard about a complaint being lodged with Controller Arat.
Edka: It took some doing, but I managed to convince Mr. Birch that my orders involved only cliff blasting, and that we must return to base when that is no longer possible.
Riyyh is sure that this is true. What he is not sure of is what is left unsaid.
Edka: We won't be here to see your bathhouse complete, I'm afraid.
Riyyh thinks that can be interpreted a number of ways as well!
Riyyh smiles apologetically. He is sorry he cannot trust the man. He doesn't like to feel this way.
HT would like nothing better than to get back to civilization. Rough and ready he might be, but this place is a bit more rough than he would like.
Edka sees that he has failed to reassure, and decides to take a more direct approach.
Edka: I'm told that you went to talk with Controller Arat yesterday, something that you would normally avoid.
Edka: My source speculated that it was our actions that prompted the visit.
Riyyh would like to avoid answering that, but it is a bit difficult when asked about it so directly.
Riyyh: Oh, dear.
Riyyh's tentacles flutter in consternation.
Riyyh: It is true that I spoke to Controller Arat about some... concerns I had.
Riyyh sounds apologetic once again.
Riyyh fights the impulse to glance uneasily over his shoulder.
Edka: Perhaps I might be able to reassure you on some of those concerns?
Riyyh doubts it.
Riyyh: Oh...?
Edka: Just what has gotten you so jumpy that you've been looking over your shoulder for reinforcements the entire time we've been talking?
Edka sounds concerned about it, rather than angry.
HT becomes more alert. Did the Sarge say something about reinforcements?
HT sort of got distracted trying not to stare at the Sime's hair.
Riyyh looks guilty. He hadn't realized Edka could tell where he was zlinning.
Riyyh resolutely shakes the feeling off.
Riyyh: It is your presence here, to be perfectly honest. [admits]
Edka sighs.
Riyyh: I apologize if it makes you uncomfortable, but I cannot feel safe when you are here.
Riyyh: I saw the members of my Householding ride to their deaths. I saw our homes and crops burned. I zlinned the wounded dying. It is difficult to erase that, even now. I am sorry.
Edka nods in understanding.
Edka: It must be as difficult for you to forget that, as it is for me to forget that time the Raider band got too close, and six of my buddies were killed inside of a minute.
Edka: That's how I ended up in the Demolitions unit actually: there wasn't enough of my troop left to fight, so they broke us up and reassigned us elsewhere.
Riyyh's eyes take on a keen, hard expression most of his Householding members are too young to remember.
HT can remember some rather grim things himself. He has tried not to the whole time he has been here.
HT: I guess we all got bad memories and bad blood between us.
Riyyh: But the difference is that you were the aggressors.
Edka: How could we have survived, if we'd stopped chasing the Raiders at the Border?
Riyyh: You fired cannon against our walls. A peaceful Householding that had done no worse than to take your renSime children and disjunct them.
Edka blinks at the personal nature of the accusation.
HT: Scuse me for sayin' so but you all look alike to us.
Riyyh casts a queer look at HT, somewhere between tears and unaccustomed fury.
Riyyh: And all guns look alike to me.
Riyyh: When Gens come onto Sime Territory and point a rifle at my chest, I cannot but protest.
Various Narosians and other volunteers have started to come out of the shell of the building, and the surrounding tents, to see what has caused the change in the ambient.
Edka: Wait a moment. You said walls. I remember one place--where is your Householding, anyway?
Riyyh looks at Edka.
Riyyh: You were there.
Riyyh had figured out that much a few hours after the encounter in the bath house.
HT is getting a very bad feeling about the direction the conversation just took.
People drift in around them, zlinning and listening with natural Narosian curiosity and a bit of something else.
People whisper to each other.
Edka: That was a Householding? Our maps and Intelligence had it marked as a supply depot.
Edka zlins genuinely ~~ upset ~~ at the revelation.
HT becomes aware of being surrounded.
Riyyh: Did you not wonder why there were no troops to defend it? [acidly] Did you not wonder why we used such primitive resources in the end?
Riyyh thinks that it was just blind military bloodlust that had kept them at the attack until a more dangerous target presented itself.
HT has seen crowds suddenly turn ugly. He reaches for his sidearm and comes up empty.
Edka: I was a private, Sectuib Riyyh. The only information a private gets is where to march and which direction to shoot in.
Riyyh realizes he is losing control of his anger. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He wishes Ali were present. He is glad Racknie isn't, however.
Riyyh: That was then.
Riyyh: Now, you are the one who decides.
Riyyh: And that night, you decided to bring weapons onto our private land, in the middle of the night, on the wrong side of the border.
Riyyh can say "private land" with some justification as Naros had filed for ownership of the unclaimed land the bath house will occupy once the site was chosen. Of course, it will take weeks for the paperwork to go through if it is accepted.
HT is not happy by any means. He is very glad that the Sarge has to deal with this and not him. He keeps a wary eye on the increasing crowd.
Edka is also aware of the precarious nature of their situation: he has seen gathering mobs before.
HT turns and puts his back against Edka's.
HT has a better view of the gathering mob this way. For all the good it will do them.
Edka: Sectuib Riyyh, since our arrival here, I have been aware of a steady stream of threats directed towards my men, Mr. Birch, the construction equipment, and anything else that moves the Dam construction effort forward.
Edka: And the loss of three of my men shows that those determined to destroy this effort are willing to do more than issue anonymous threats.
Edka: I am glad that the problem with your boiler turned out to be a genuine accident--but I had to assume that it was someone else who had determined to turn threat into action.
Riyyh: Justify it to yourself all you like. But it won't be long before every renSime on this site knows how you handled it, and not all of the rumors will be accurate.
Riyyh knows how pernicious gossip can be, and he knows how negative the workers' views of Edka and his men already are.
Riyyh: There is more at stake here than whether I believe your protestations of good intent.
Riyyh: And as for me, it is not your intent that alarmed me, but the way in which you carried it out.
Riyyh: Look at you now, braced as if for an attack.
Riyyh: Who do you think surrounds you? These are people of Naros, pacifists.
Riyyh: These are construction workers, who have joined in building something as a gift to the poor.
HT mutters under his breath "These are still Simes and we are still Gens."
Edka: Your "pacifists" didn't do a bad job attacking, forty years ago.
Edka: Truth to tell, they proved more formidable than the Raiders did, when we finally caught up with them.
Edka: ~~ wry ~~
Riyyh simply gives Edka a look. The look is part tragic, part angry.
Riyyh does not feel it is necessary to defend what his people did at great sacrifice, out of a final desperation in the face of sure death at the hands of a trained army.
Edka: But that's neither here nor there. I am sorry if our actions upset you, but as I said earlier, we will not be here much longer to trouble you.
Riyyh can see that Edka has totally disregarded his warning about how the renSimes of the greater work force might respond to the incident.
Riyyh: For the sake of all of us, I hope that is true.
HT says a fervent "amen" to that.
Go on to Episode #66: With Rest Like This, Who Needs Excitement?
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