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[extendedbrutalpipemurder]

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[extendedbrutalpipemurder]

Who, exactly, would have been doing the beating?

[atowncalledtreffy]

Plenty of people. My bet would have been on Envy, but since that's not happening, no need for guesswork.

[He takes a sip...and takes another sip]

[extendedbrutalpipemurder]

Envy.

[ he needs a moment just to process the idea. ]

Rest assured that I am physically well and entirely unthreatened by the various malcontents on board.

[atowncalledtreffy]

Good.

[A beat, then;]

Your warden is a piece of shit. Never thought I'd find anyone more annoying than Adrian.

[extendedbrutalpipemurder]

[ elias doesn't choke on his tea in surprise, but it's a near thing ]

Eiffel? What's he done to you then?

[atowncalledtreffy]

[Such a shit-eating grin at Elias' expression]

Nothing. Well, nothing yet. But I have to fight to mute my network machine whenever one of his entries comes up.

[extendedbrutalpipemurder]

[ with exaggerated dryness ]

He does rather have a problem with not ever closing his mouth.

[atowncalledtreffy]

So I've noticed.

You getting along with him?

[extendedbrutalpipemurder]

I haven't thrown him over the railing yet, no.

[ that's the same thing, right? ]

[atowncalledtreffy]

Well, no murder is about the bare minimum I could have asked for.

This doesn’t taste like tea.

[extendedbrutalpipemurder]

Tea, I'm delighted to tell you, tastes like a great many different things depending on how it's prepared.

[ is he sitting up a little smugger in his chair? he might be sitting a little smugger in his chair ]

And it's hardly murder when he'd just come back.

[atowncalledtreffy]

Well, whatever's been done to it. It's not the most horrible thing I've ever tasted. Which is usually my thing with tea.

[He huffs, just a little]

Still murder. Weren't you killed here, once?

[extendedbrutalpipemurder]

[ smuuuuuuuggggg ]

Twice, actually.

[atowncalledtreffy]

Twice. And it's not - there has to be a better way to describe it. Because it's not murder in the way we know it. But it's still violating.

What's that look on your face for?

[extendedbrutalpipemurder]

I'm simply pleased you're enjoying the drink.

[ it really does seem to have put him in a much more relaxed mood ]

I made sure that both the men who were the cause of it understood that I will not tolerate anything like it from them again. But I don't hold it against-- well. Norton I don't hold anything against.

[atowncalledtreffy]

'Enjoying' might be too strong a word. I'm tolerating it.

[oho throwing your words back at you]

Either way. Seems there's no getting rid of us, is there?

[extendedbrutalpipemurder]

[ he's going to get you to enjoy tea one way or another ]

Not that way.

[ he pauses, sips his own cup of tea. ]

It would be very difficult, but likely it's possible to make life on the Barge so miserable for an individual that they would ask the Admiral simply to send away.

[atowncalledtreffy]

Only if you're a warden.

[Believe him, he's tried]

And if you're a warden, you can just leave. Provided you aren't dead or your world's not destroyed.

I was thinking more of a permanent coma. Brain-death. But you'd have to make it so no one could mercy-kill you.

[extendedbrutalpipemurder]

[ that gets a quiet snort ]

Our resident Dracula aside, I rate very highly the odds that the Admiral has the miraculous ability to cure any kind of illness or disease which afflicted anyone on board.

[ elias hates it, actually ]

[atowncalledtreffy]

The warden has to request it, though. Or risk demotion.

[extendedbrutalpipemurder]

It's a formality, then. We can assume wardens will ensure their inmates are returned to health, so long as they're on board.

[atowncalledtreffy]

You could take them out as a pair. Warden and inmate. Although I think the Admiral probably brings the warden back.

[extendedbrutalpipemurder]

Yes, I expect so.

[ why are things so hard, trevor? it's very unfair. ]

Driving someone to ask to leave is really the only option that I can see for anything more permanent.

[atowncalledtreffy]

Mmn. That, or wait until the warden leaves to go check on their world, or whatever.

You hear this ship is stolen?

[extendedbrutalpipemurder]

I'd heard the rumour floating about.

[ he's read through the entire network as far as he's able ]

Is it true after all? Is our fearless Admiral some rogue element?