On Fallen Things (Nexus_Crossings)
May. 2nd, 2019 02:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bigmagnetbiologistThere's a small house near the Wilds, the only inhabitants an elderly man and his pet dog. As is often the case in the Nexus, neither are entirely what they seem to be. Visitors are rare, and the man has the time to think, which he likes.
Blair's a little surprised when he defended the Fallen at Loki's inpromptu meeting. On one side, he wasn't around to see the aftermath of their attacks on the Nexus, and he doesn't know anybody they killed, so sympathy is easy for him. He knows Kinner, who was attacked, but Kinner's still alive and surly as ever. However, the Fallen killed innocent people, tried to keep food from starving civilians that they had no use for, are holding Ghost and Blaze by extension hostage, and offered no explanation or apology for their actions. Territory that used to belong to everyone is now guarded by aggressive, unapologetically warlike aliens who made it clear that they'll kill trespassers. Blair should be as angry as Kinner and Van Wall were.
And yet. The image Loki presented at the meeting of a desperate people who trust no one, and a leader who for her faults guards her own, hit a personal chord with Blair. He's fallen, too, in a way. The madman locked in a shed in Antarctica was a far cry from the proud, even arrogant scientist Blair once was. The arrogance is gone from him. Madness and death taught Blair humility. He doesn't like the Eliksni, they make themselves hard to like, but he respects them. He respects their struggle and respects their loss.
He's taken to calling the Fallen by their proper name, as a sign of that respect. He isn't sure if "Fallen" is an insult or not, but it carries implications that these beings weren't always the raiding, territorial, violently paranoid scavengers they seem to have become. Something made them this way, and if they're fleeing worse horrors Blair sees a case for giving them a shelter, even if the Guardians don't see things the same way.
Blair is a biologist, not a diplomat and not a politician. He won't lie and say the Eliksni don't interest him as a scientist, but of course he knows better than to stray onto their territory to study them. He relies on descriptions from Bob and Kinner, who did see the creatures. Kinner fought them, and while Bob wandered the Wilds he observed a few from a distance.
Of his old team, Van Wall seems the most skeptical, and Blair's behavior didn't help. Blair's reputation among his old teammates is deservedly mud. Kinner was resistant at first, but slowly came around, probably because of Loki's persuasion and Kinner's own distaste for pointless war. The cook has a clear dislike for the Fallen and distaste with their methods, but he's no fool. Blair's privately relieved McReady wasn't at the meeting. Van's interested in contacting the meteorologist, but Blair's worried McReady's hotheaded, take-charge personality would cause issues in an already delicate situation.
McReady is useful in a situation with a clear enemy, like the Thing at Big Magnet. The Eliksni represent a different, more delicate kind of threat, one that doesn't have to be killed to be dealt with. Unfortunately, the Guardians are here, and while Blair knows he should feel comforted by their presence - Ulysses said Guardians exist to protect humanity and all innocent species, and Blair is human - he isn't. Blair could see McReady offering his services to fight the invaders, which would only make things worse.
However, Bob isn't human, and Bob fears the Guardians. Blair is reluctant to trust anyone who would harm his friend. A Thing, his friend. But Bob wouldn't hurt anyone, and if the Guardians hurt him for fear of what he could be that wouldn't be protecting the innocent. What people are and what they're capable of are totally different things. Bob is a potential threat as a Thing, but he hasn't harmed anyone. Even the Eliksni.
If the Guardians hurt Bob, they're no allies of Blair. He instinctively pats the alien dog's side. As a Thing, Bob is the stronger and more intelligent of the duo. Bob is fully capable of handling threats, and he's no pet, but Blair is protective. He will do his part to keep the fact that the seemingly benign Malamute is secretly a powerful, dangerous alien a secret.
Blair was also responsible for telling Loki that the Guardians were going to attack the House of Eliksni in the Nexus, another decision he doesn't regret. He's fairly sure the Guardians wouldn't approve of him blurting their plans to somebody who was in contact with the Eliksni leader and had spoken with her. However, Blair doesn't give a damn. The meeting was about the possibility of a truce with the Fallen and retrieving Blaze and Ghost, both allies of the Nexus and Guardians themselves.
Blair isn't completely sure what to make of the Guardian he met. Ulysses didn't seem happy about chasing out or killing the Baroness and her House, but he seemed to think that the Fallen couldn't be negotiated or reasoned with. Maybe that was the case in Blaze's world, but these Eliksni seem willing to negotiate, even if in a more brutal fashion than Blair is used to. That gives them something to work with. If Blair was asked what he thought of the situation, he doesn't think the Eliksni or Guardians come off particularly well - the Eliksni for violently making assumptions about strangers and the Guardians for jumping to attack plans before getting full knowledge of the situation. Not even getting into the lack of communication between the various parties involved.
Granted, Blair knows very little about Blaze's world and its politics, but some pieces aren't fitting together. If the Fallen have historically refused to contact or negotiate with humans, why are they offering to now? Why not just destroy Blaze's Ghost and kill two birds with one stone? It isn't as if the Nexusers are really able to stop them. The Eliksni have numbers, training, and weaponry on their side, even if the fight isn't as lopsided as it was in winter. For all the words tossed around at the meeting, Blair doubts anyone is reckless or stupid enough to wander over to Fallen territory and provoke them.
Blair is on whichever side will prevent the outbreak of another battle and more lost lives. The Guardians are enemies of the Baroness. Professor Blair will try his best not to be.
If the Guardians attack before the truce is sealed, they would be risking the deaths of Blaze and Ghost, two of their own. If they attack after Blaze and Ghost are returned, assuming the Fallen keep their word, they would make the Nexusers' deal look like a farce, with a justified reason. They would shatter an already delicate peace.
Slipping into old ways or not, Blair can't let that happen.
Blair's a little surprised when he defended the Fallen at Loki's inpromptu meeting. On one side, he wasn't around to see the aftermath of their attacks on the Nexus, and he doesn't know anybody they killed, so sympathy is easy for him. He knows Kinner, who was attacked, but Kinner's still alive and surly as ever. However, the Fallen killed innocent people, tried to keep food from starving civilians that they had no use for, are holding Ghost and Blaze by extension hostage, and offered no explanation or apology for their actions. Territory that used to belong to everyone is now guarded by aggressive, unapologetically warlike aliens who made it clear that they'll kill trespassers. Blair should be as angry as Kinner and Van Wall were.
And yet. The image Loki presented at the meeting of a desperate people who trust no one, and a leader who for her faults guards her own, hit a personal chord with Blair. He's fallen, too, in a way. The madman locked in a shed in Antarctica was a far cry from the proud, even arrogant scientist Blair once was. The arrogance is gone from him. Madness and death taught Blair humility. He doesn't like the Eliksni, they make themselves hard to like, but he respects them. He respects their struggle and respects their loss.
He's taken to calling the Fallen by their proper name, as a sign of that respect. He isn't sure if "Fallen" is an insult or not, but it carries implications that these beings weren't always the raiding, territorial, violently paranoid scavengers they seem to have become. Something made them this way, and if they're fleeing worse horrors Blair sees a case for giving them a shelter, even if the Guardians don't see things the same way.
Blair is a biologist, not a diplomat and not a politician. He won't lie and say the Eliksni don't interest him as a scientist, but of course he knows better than to stray onto their territory to study them. He relies on descriptions from Bob and Kinner, who did see the creatures. Kinner fought them, and while Bob wandered the Wilds he observed a few from a distance.
Of his old team, Van Wall seems the most skeptical, and Blair's behavior didn't help. Blair's reputation among his old teammates is deservedly mud. Kinner was resistant at first, but slowly came around, probably because of Loki's persuasion and Kinner's own distaste for pointless war. The cook has a clear dislike for the Fallen and distaste with their methods, but he's no fool. Blair's privately relieved McReady wasn't at the meeting. Van's interested in contacting the meteorologist, but Blair's worried McReady's hotheaded, take-charge personality would cause issues in an already delicate situation.
McReady is useful in a situation with a clear enemy, like the Thing at Big Magnet. The Eliksni represent a different, more delicate kind of threat, one that doesn't have to be killed to be dealt with. Unfortunately, the Guardians are here, and while Blair knows he should feel comforted by their presence - Ulysses said Guardians exist to protect humanity and all innocent species, and Blair is human - he isn't. Blair could see McReady offering his services to fight the invaders, which would only make things worse.
However, Bob isn't human, and Bob fears the Guardians. Blair is reluctant to trust anyone who would harm his friend. A Thing, his friend. But Bob wouldn't hurt anyone, and if the Guardians hurt him for fear of what he could be that wouldn't be protecting the innocent. What people are and what they're capable of are totally different things. Bob is a potential threat as a Thing, but he hasn't harmed anyone. Even the Eliksni.
If the Guardians hurt Bob, they're no allies of Blair. He instinctively pats the alien dog's side. As a Thing, Bob is the stronger and more intelligent of the duo. Bob is fully capable of handling threats, and he's no pet, but Blair is protective. He will do his part to keep the fact that the seemingly benign Malamute is secretly a powerful, dangerous alien a secret.
Blair was also responsible for telling Loki that the Guardians were going to attack the House of Eliksni in the Nexus, another decision he doesn't regret. He's fairly sure the Guardians wouldn't approve of him blurting their plans to somebody who was in contact with the Eliksni leader and had spoken with her. However, Blair doesn't give a damn. The meeting was about the possibility of a truce with the Fallen and retrieving Blaze and Ghost, both allies of the Nexus and Guardians themselves.
Blair isn't completely sure what to make of the Guardian he met. Ulysses didn't seem happy about chasing out or killing the Baroness and her House, but he seemed to think that the Fallen couldn't be negotiated or reasoned with. Maybe that was the case in Blaze's world, but these Eliksni seem willing to negotiate, even if in a more brutal fashion than Blair is used to. That gives them something to work with. If Blair was asked what he thought of the situation, he doesn't think the Eliksni or Guardians come off particularly well - the Eliksni for violently making assumptions about strangers and the Guardians for jumping to attack plans before getting full knowledge of the situation. Not even getting into the lack of communication between the various parties involved.
Granted, Blair knows very little about Blaze's world and its politics, but some pieces aren't fitting together. If the Fallen have historically refused to contact or negotiate with humans, why are they offering to now? Why not just destroy Blaze's Ghost and kill two birds with one stone? It isn't as if the Nexusers are really able to stop them. The Eliksni have numbers, training, and weaponry on their side, even if the fight isn't as lopsided as it was in winter. For all the words tossed around at the meeting, Blair doubts anyone is reckless or stupid enough to wander over to Fallen territory and provoke them.
Blair is on whichever side will prevent the outbreak of another battle and more lost lives. The Guardians are enemies of the Baroness. Professor Blair will try his best not to be.
If the Guardians attack before the truce is sealed, they would be risking the deaths of Blaze and Ghost, two of their own. If they attack after Blaze and Ghost are returned, assuming the Fallen keep their word, they would make the Nexusers' deal look like a farce, with a justified reason. They would shatter an already delicate peace.
Slipping into old ways or not, Blair can't let that happen.
