Cannon fodder (fantasy superpower rp) (closed, started)

[hiei82]

Claire remained focused on the Trent, awaiting his response, but responded to Rias. "By your logic, then we are all as "foolish and reckless as Fromanzio" for being on this suicidal mission. Would you feel the same were the victim William? What if it were Karen, or Mr. Bom. What if it were you? Would you not seek justice? I'll be the first to admit Fromanzio was no saint, but in his death he was wrongfully punished. All that aside, Fromanzio was an asset; we and humanity as a whole stood a better chance in this war with him alive. How many people will die because of the Trent and the life he took without the right to do so?" Claire said, affirming her position.

Steeling her gaze against the Trent, she finished her statement. "No; this foul Trent broke his word of honor, took a life that was not his to judge, and our friends and families will be the ones to pay for it. For being one so old and wise, he thought nothing of the consequences of his action and must pay for it." she finished without a second thought.

 

[Lunar Templar]

"of course I'd be pissed, with the exception of Karen, whom we just met, and i still need to get to know better, sorry" Rias started, directing that last bit at Karen, whom just nodded "it's fine, I'm still forming opinions of you guys my self" "your all friends to me, but the difference there is i know the lot of you better then that, i don't have to worry about William picking a fight with what amounts to a god, out of pure, unrelenting stupidity."

Rias took a deep breath and walked up to Claire, keeping her self between the Trent and Claire, not that it truly mattered with these two "look, i get this isn't really about 'who' it was, and more what it 'means' to you as a diplomat, mostly, I'm just an entertainer when all is said and done but, now is not the time for this, you have to see that." Rias paused a moment, partly to take another deep breath, her wounds where starting to catch up to her again, and the added stress wasn't helping. "we need to be taking stock of our situation, resupplying, finding out our next objective, and NOT weakening our ranks anymore then they already are. we where lucky Karen was sent to us, but we can not count on another blessing from Morrighan like that." Rias said her tone still very much calm, if not some what tired sounding.

 

[hiei82]

"If not now; when." Claire said, her eyes still focused on the Trent behind her. Despite her close proximity, she was unable to hide the entirety of the Trent. She let the question sit for a moment; letting the words sink in, before continuing. "If I just back away, this fiend will escape without so much as a slap on the wrist. What happens to the next person he "deems evil." How many has he killed in HIS long years under that same justification. If someone like Fromanzio is enough to convince him to kill, then I can only imagine a thousand others have lost their lives to the Trent. In any event; I cannot allow him to go so easy as this." she said, once again letting the words stir.

After a few minutes of staring at the Trent, she sighed and added. "I understand your point; we have more important objectives - but until this monster has paid his price, and for as long as he's within my ability to deal out the punishment, I cannot just ALLOW him to leave; he has broken the laws on which the relations between our nations stand, defiled the sanctity of life, and harmed not just Fromanzio or our group, but every human that exists or has yet to exist all in a time of war; it is unforgivable and is akin to declaring war."

Claire took another breath, then continued, explaining why she in particular could not; could never back down. "I have sworn to uphold the law - that is the cost of being born a noble; the price we pay. Many nobles may have forgotten this simple fact; but not I or my family. I know that to lead means to do what is right every time, no matter how difficult it might be, to set the example for those to follow. That is my duty; my burden. I have no choice Rias; nor do I need it." she said, fixing her stance.

"For I have my duty."

 

[Lunar Templar]

Rias didn't readily have an answer for Claire's question, but it was the 'we' bit that really stuck with her " are you suggesting, that because i am technically a noble my self, that i should also be demanding it's head? out of 'duty'? to what? there's no point in my life, even had my parents not died, that i would have been groomed to be a 'noble woman', it's ether 'The Crimson Princess' I'm know as now, or 'Shop Keepers Daughter', had mom and dad lived, or 'dead', had Marcus not found me"

 

[nuba km]

[HEADING=2]'Do feel that strongly about a man who was hired to kill one of your own?'[/HEADING]
the trent said while pointing at william.
[HEADING=2]'A man who I exiled and in response decided to attempt to murder me twice, a man who has killed many people of many nations, a man your own nation wants dead, a man who had a death sentence of this mission. If you believe I have wronged your nation, then tell your nation what I have done, and I will accept their chosen response.'[/HEADING]

 

[hiei82]

Claire had no real answer for Rias; aside from one. "No. You never received the boons of nobility, despite your rights to them. You haven't sworn to uphold the laws as I have." It lacked her earlier eloquence, because of the simplicity of the statement. She wished she had a better way to say it, but none came to mind.

Then, the Trent finally spoke. She waited for him to finish, then began her rebuttal. "I feel as strongly for Fromanzio as any of my comrades-in-arms. Though we did not see eye to eye, he was still here to stop the mages; whatever his reasons." Again, it was a simple response; cutting straight to the point.

Then came the 'fun' part. "Oh, so if I bring in my nation, you will accept their punishment then? After you have disappeared into the wilds of your nation where no human alive today will find you? HOW CONVENIENT!" she said, letting sarcasm roll from her tongue. "How can I trust your words when you have already broken them once. Not a word you have said today can be taken as truth, not without proof! Even now you lie! You approached Fromanzio first; you initiated the conflict that ended his life. No matter your reasoning, you took a mans life. The law is clear; you are now, most certainly, a murderer."

Brandishing her sword, she continued, "Unless you have more of your fickle words, that clearly hold no meaning to you and certainly nothing to me, take action - the only thing you can do I can possibly trust." she finished; driven by her duty.

 

[nuba km]

[HEADING=2]'I sentenced him to exile and he then attacked me, you saw it happen with your own eyes. Would you say a criminal shouldn't receive a further punishment if he tried to kill the judge that just sentenced him to jail? I also tried to restrain him like a city guard would, or do you consider a guard catching a thief as the guard starting the struggle?[/HEADING]

the trent sat down, even thought he lowered himself slowly to the ground a massive thud could still be heard.

[HEADING=2]'You are not thinking straight, you have been through a lot in a short time. You may attempt to strike me but I will not harm you.'[/HEADING]

 

[Lunar Templar]

Rias sat down as well, mostly cause she needed to at this point, but turned and faced the Trent, she had one more thing she wanted to try

"Great Trent,you said Fromanzio had been hired to kill William, now i know that your people can speak to the trees over great distances, and that your not restricted to the trees of just this country, but can you provide proof of this? also, when was he hired?" she said after getting comfortable. if she was going to stop Claire then she would have go after Fromanzio, try and paint him was just as big a threat as any other enemy they would face

 

[hiei82]

"I hopped to make your death quick and up to chance, I have not seen a man survive being crushed, but many survive being thrown." Claire said, retaining her stance. "Do those words seem familiar? They should; they're what you said before you moved toward him. No "city guard" would start with a death threat before trying to "arrest" someone. Your actions led to his act of self defense. What I 'saw with my own eyes' was you approach him As violent as Fromanzio was, in this event he was not the aggressor." she said, keeping her eyes on the Trent for, though he was sitting, she knew his powers allowed him to remain on guard no matter how he moved.

"And you may believe I'm being irrational, but my duty is clear; you attacked and killed our ally, you worsened the state of my home, worsened the already distant odds of our survival, and violated the law; both human and your own. Even your words spit on the law - you "hoped his death would be quick and up to chance"; if those words are to be believed, you never intended to allow Fromanzio to leave this nation." she said, not backing down.

"You know everything the trees of the world know; correct? If so, you know what the laws say I must do and you know me well enough to know I cannot back away from this course; not without just cause. I no more want to kill you then I do anyone; but you are giving me little choice; you have broken what oaths exist between our nations without remorse and threaten the stability both sides enjoy." she said, trying to make her point as clear as possible.

"Even should you live this day, I am honor bound to try to kill you for the rest of my life; even so far as to make war between our peoples. With all your knowledge, you must know how easy it would be to start such a war; you know how people think, how even now politicians throughout humanity are already considering such a war - if only for more land and resources. You must know much unneeded death will result from that. You have been around long enough to know that should a war befall our nations, lives will be lost - many of them innocent of all crimes. Even if you and the rest of your kind use all your powers, you cannot hope to stop such a war from costing lives on both sides - your forests and our cities will burn despite the strength of both sides. This needs to be resolved today, and I cannot see another way." she continued, explaining how bleak a future this would create and just how rationally she was thinking, as she tried to avoid war. "This may not be the spark of the war, but it will be fuel for it." she finished, hoping to make the point crystal clear.

The thoughts war with the Trents was not an appealing one. It would be long and bloody for both sides. Trents were many things, but common was not one of them. Their powers would protect vast swaths of the forest, but even they could not hope to protect against the technologically superior armies of humanity forever - eventually humans would learn to make weapons even their magic could not stop. Either the Trents would destroy them utterly or human progress would eclipse them and the reverse would be true. This needed to be resolved quickly else who knew how far the plague-like destruction would spread.

Remembering one of the Trent's earlier statements, she made a small aside. "Incidentally; impossible odds or not, sometime the impossible must be done for the good of all."

 

[maninahat]

Bom listened to Claire. Something stuck out in his mind.

"Ms, Claire, if I may. You uh, have a problem with the Trent unjustly killing Fromanzio, yes? Why does that make it fine for you to kill the Trent? If it is wrong for the Trent to carry out whatever justice he sees fit, then isn't it wrong for you to carry out your own? We are talking about another life at stake here, and as much authority as your name deserves, I don't think you are entitled to be judge, jury and elocutioner, any more than he is."

Bom wasn't entirely convinced by his own words, but rather than risk another disaster, he thought he might as well try to find some sense in all of this.

 

[Floris2123]

'I hope this teaches you what happens against the impossible odds.' William looked at Fromanzio's lifeless body. He felt relived, he felt sick for feeling that way but he was actually glad that he was dead. "i'm not sure. doesn't William report in and we go from there?" William only vaguely heard his companions, he slowly walked over to them. He heard Claire screaming about war and such. William felt like he should say something, but the words just seemed lost to him for some reason. "Would you feel the same were the victim William?" William wondered if she would feel differently, he decided to remain quiet for a little while longer. "your all friends to me." William smiled as he finally reached the 2 women.

'Do feel that strongly about a man who was hired to kill one of your own?' William's face turned white. "Hired to kill me?" He said to himself, looking confused. "Even should you live this day, I am honor bound to try to kill you for the rest of my life; even so far as to make war between our peoples." William stepped forward. "No you are not!" He looked at Claire "It was my duty to protect him, and I failed! So if it is anyone?s duty to avenge him, it would be mine. Also for the sake of our home I won't allow you to fight this Trent. What does your honor mean if it gets us all killed? Doesn't your duty of protecting your home, outweigh the duty of avenging your ally?" He looked at her with a questioning look.

 

[hiei82]

Claire lowered her sword slightly, looking between Mr. Bom and William. They both made good arguments, but they appeared to be misunderstanding her point. "Fromanzio's death isn't the problem; at least not directly. When we get back to Embla, I will be expected to make a diplomatic report. This... incident will need to be included. How do you think Embla will respond to a report of an Ethsich leader violating international law, human rights, and - from their perspective - aligning themselves with the mages? I can name a dozen political families who will use this knowledge to push for war if only for their own gain." she said, then turned to address each individually.

"Mr. Bom; the difference is that the Trent BROKE his own law. He isn't an executioner; he's a murderer. The murder itself doesn't even require his death; exile from Embla would be enough; save for the aforementioned implications of the act." she said, trying to explain the difference; she would readily admit international agreements were a complex idea.

Then she turned to William. "Very well; I will leave the matter of Fromanzio's death to you; commander." she said. She didn't like it, but it was well within in his rights as her CO. "but regardless, we must deal with his breach of the pacts between our nations. I cannot allow such a breach of trust to go; and should I it will only bring more death when we return home." she continued, her gaze still steeled against the Trent.

"You are unfit to lead." she said to the Trent, unwilling to back down on the matter; she would uphold the law.

 

[maninahat]

"You are unfit to lead."

The conviction of those words made Bom stare. He gulped and turned to the Trent. The Trent was sitting upright, much like a human. It was perhaps the first time Bom ever regarded the Trent as anything but a "creature".

"If I may ask Trent," Bom asked slowly "what is your name? In case we need to know later."

 

[nuba km]

The trent seemed puzzled by boms question and in fact took a moment to think about it

[HEADING=2]'We trents act as one, we all have experienced the same things, we don't have names as calling apun one of us is calling any and all of us.[/HEADING]

The trent look back at clair
[HEADING=2]'Us trents are the law makers, I have broken non of our laws, the sophornius are not aloud to take lives as they must show how it is possible to live without doing so. Us trents are hear to protect them, which means taking the lives of those who are willing to take it from others. Also how would you government react to a squad not restraining a squad member from two attempted assassinations of a leader of ethsich? I don't fear your nation attempting to start a war as they are fellow peace keepers and know that it would not end well for them.[/HEADING]

 

[Lunar Templar]

Rias giggled at Bom's question as well, but yet the Trent answer for him self

"Mr.Bom is merely looking for something to call you, a side 'creature' or something of that nature"

Rias then turned her attention back to Claire " he's got you there, for all you arguments, we, the group as a whole, failed to stop Fromanzio from attacking the head of a nation. I'm not up on international law, but the penalty for that is death no? not only that, he not only could hold Embla accountable for the attack as an act of war on it's part, but execute the rest of us as assassin's as well"
Rias said, still sitting down.

"anyway, can we go now? there's a healer down the road I'd love to met and I'd like to not hurt for a little while if it's all the same to you all"

 

[hiei82]

Claire listened to the Trent, letting him speak. "If what you say is true; what crimes did Fromanzio commit between your tossing him and his death; what warranted his death? You cannot claim the confrontation that resulted in his death as an assassination attempt, for YOU initiated that conflict. Between the time we met him again and his death, Fromanzio committed no crimes I am aware of, unless the death of Shamans and Raptor-Monkeys in self defense counts - in which case we are all guilty. There was no second assassination attempt unless you met him in the forest where we were not. Every crime he committed under your jurisdiction was judged by YOU to be worthy of exile, not execution. in what way was his death just under the code of law?" she asked, expecting no worthwhile answer would come. She hoped one would; if Fromanzio had committed some crime in the period she mentioned, their would be justification, and she would be able to let the issue rest.

"Also, I think you overestimate the good sense and peace-loving nature of humans." she added as an aside.

 

[Floris2123]

"Very well; I will leave the matter of Fromanzio's death to you; commander." William sighed relived. He was scared that Claire was going to attack the trent, but it seemed like that wasn't the case. "Thank you Claire."

"anyway, can we go now? there's a healer down the road I'd love to met and I'd like to not hurt for a little while if it's all the same to you all" William agreed, while Claire wanted to hear something so she could let the issue rest. The rest of the party seemed anxious to move on. William turned to Claire "Claire like we just agreed, the matter of Fromanzio's death is my duty. There is no reason for you to keep asking questions about it. Now lets go, Formanzio is dead but we also have a wounded comrade. I think her well being is more important, then asking questions about someone who is dead." William walked over to Rias. He turned to the rest of the group. "Let's go people, there is nothing left for us to do here."

 

[Lunar Templar]

Rias held out a hand to William who helped her back up, she kept to it to her, but she really thought Fromanzio brought this all on him self "i know this sounds morbid, but, should we get the bombs off Fromanzio's body before we go? i know there's the chest still, but I'd kinda rather not leave good gear behind" she asked, as Karen had taken it upon her self to get the clown down, and by this time had lay him on the ground

 

[maninahat]

"i know this sounds morbid, but, should we get the bombs off Fromanzio's body before we go?"

Bom shook his head.

"Loot the body for whatever you like, but those bombs are trouble. I don't fancy being blown apart."

He turned away from the grisly sight of Fromanzio's corpse.

"I suppose I should collect the horses. Mr Trent, where do we go to meet this healing Shaman?"

 

[hiei82]

"...Now lets go, Formanzio is dead but we also have a wounded comrade. I think her well being is more important, then asking questions about someone who is dead."

Claire turned to William, then looked at Rias. She wasn't in great shape; that much was obvious. There was no disagreeing with William on that matter. "Yes Commander." she said, only a little hesitantly, then began the task of packing up. Before she left however, she turned once more to the Trent.

"Know you have made no friend of me this day; If I ever see you again the discussion will be far less peaceful." She mounted her horse and said no more as she began riding toward where she knew the healing shaman to be.