[FROM ISTHUL]

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

[VIDEO]

Guys, the General's revolution is a sham! He's not interested in stabilizing his country or making things better, he just wants to grab power for himself! He just tried to kill me, and that was AFTER I told him about the bill that passed! If it wasn't for Enforcer Mao, Agent Kirby, Agent Lockon and Captain Grimms of the Isthul Army, who knows what would've happened?! This is a major problem -- if we don't do something about the General, we're boned no matter what approach we take!

I don't care what happens, we can't let that guy stay in power, or else Isthul itself is going to suffer! No guy who's willing to shoot an unarmed diplomat to silence the truth can be trusted to rule a country!

EDIT 1: [VIDEO]

Hey Mao? By any chance, did you note the information of that reporter you, uh, borrowed the identify of? I think we may have a way to apologize to her that'll work well for all of us.

Comments

[kyonko-narrates.livejournal.com]

So that makes three leaders making grabs for power on all three worlds?!

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

It's just ever so slightly suspicious, isn't it? The General said something interesting just before he tried to shoot me, though. He said "if it had been five, or even two years earlier, it would've worked." Maybe I'm overanalyzing, but I think we may have a second time frame to investigate. I'm going to dig into this, since it's obvious diplomacy isn't going to work here; I'll leave derailing the campaign properly to others.

[kyonko-narrates.livejournal.com]

To be honest? Part of me is wondering if all three are collaborating, since a lot of people--including us--have been calling these things being connected from the get go.

I'll start researching, too. I have a friend on the Council looking up stuff about Erhas. I can check news reports and stuff from a year ago.

'why am I doing this again?'

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

Right. Thanks. Let me know if you find anything pertinent.

[Video]

[king-of-flames.livejournal.com]

Leave it to me. It's situations like this that the STFU exists for. I'll throw together a plan in no time.

Re: [Video]

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

Gotcha, thanks. If you want, we ended up with an unexpected ally you might want to talk to.

...and, uh, a kidnapping victim -- look, that one wasn't me!

[Video]

[king-of-flames.livejournal.com]

Let me guess -- the captain you referred to? I'll do that.

...Hey, that part's not my area.

[Besides, it's not like Roy is above kidnapping in the right situations.]

Re: [Video]

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

Thanks. He may be our best asset if we want any chance at all of salvaging this situation.

[demon-hacker.livejournal.com]

Oh, geez. Are you alright?

It's going from bad to worse... If we overthrow him, we'll still be the bad guys if he has the popular support.

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

Which is why we have to swing the popular support pronto. We may have a way in on that front, actually.

[demon-hacker.livejournal.com]

I heard the name 'Captain Grimm of the Isthul Army'. Is he willing to vouch for you guys?

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

I think so. He was willing to disobey orders to help us out. I think we've convinced him what the General is doing is wrong.

[demon-hacker.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking the top priority is keeping him alive so he can do what he needs to do, then. The General will probably do anything he can to silence him - No one would believe the CO ambassadors, but a Captain... That holds a lot of sway.

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

Definitely. He had the soldiers stand down briefly, and they all listened to him. I think if we can support him, we might be able to undermine the General.

...to be honest, I'm not sure I care what happens after that. I just don't think General Mikhaylov should be the one to lead Isthul.

[demon-hacker.livejournal.com]

Er. We can't just leave Isthul in the middle of an uprising without strong leadership, either. Whether it's getting the old government back or having Captain Grimm take over the militia or whatever, we have to stay to the end.

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

Well, yes. What I meant was that we've got to be sure getting them steady leadership is our PRIMARY goal, not getting everything Confuto Ordinatio could ever want ever, know what I mean? Otherwise we're not much better than the Confuto Ordinatio they've gotten to hate.

[demon-hacker.livejournal.com]

I think the reason they've got this uprising going in the first place is because of CO getting everything it wants ever. The Bill that Councilor Midna passed earlier should do something to alleviate that...

[not-that-shady.livejournal.com]

"...Uuuughn..."

The Twili rubs her temples through the hood on the video screen.

"--It figures. First thing's first; are you and the others all right? And how in the world did Captain Grimm come back with you?"

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

"Rattled, but I'll live. I'm still not sure how we all got out of that alive, but I'm not questioning it."

Phoenix sighs, still coming down from the high of the chase.

"As for the Captain, it didn't take much. He just needed a little, well, nudge in the right direction. I think he may be a better judge of what's best for his people, to be honest."

[not-that-shady.livejournal.com]

"Hkmmmm, well then... Maybe we should help him into a position where he can put that good judgement to better use."

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

"It's like you read my mind."

He sighs. "I just... hope he doesn't think we're just doing this to use him."

[not-that-shady.livejournal.com]

"Whyyyy, whatever do you mean Phoenix? All we'll be doing is advocating a much better alternative to the current administration! Besides, the trick is to give him the suggestion in a way seems like it was his idea all along."

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

"...Er, right."

[ihu2carl.livejournal.com]

This is terrible! We have to stop him, but killing him won't do anybody any good.

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

Agreed. Right now it's a war of hearts and minds; if we touch a hair on his head before we've swayed popular opinion, he'll just look that much better. We have to be very careful about this, but we also don't have a lot of time. I wouldn't be surprised if he pushes his timetable up after this.

[ihu2carl.livejournal.com]

If talking to him doesn't work, can we talk to the people around him?

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

Pretty much everyone around him. Quickly.

[ihu2carl.livejournal.com]

I see. We're going to need a plan and a way to get there as soon as we can without being trapped again.

[exmarineexbride.livejournal.com]

Well, I DID copy her ID with my CO badge.

[Yes, CO badges for the infiltration squad can do that...]

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

See if you can get in contact back with her. Tell her we have the scoop of the century that goes even beyond "Reporter Gets Kidnapped, Becomes Passenger in High Speed Chase."

[exmarineexbride.livejournal.com]

Well, I can get you her contact info, but it might be better if I don't talk to her. Last time we met I basically mugged her.

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

Er, right. I probably have better cred with her anyway since I'm the one that had to untie her.

Did you have to use such tight knots, by the way?

[exmarineexbride.livejournal.com]

Don't complain. Unless you wanted your backup to get arrested.

[uberlikehermama.livejournal.com]

... Of course. It couldn't be just straightforward or easy with one of these worlds.

Are you okay?

[wright-idea.livejournal.com]

I'm... rattled, but I'll live, I guess.



I think I might've accidentally pushed up the timeline, though.

[uberlikehermama.livejournal.com]

It's alright. I mean, it's not like you wanted to do that.

We should be able to do alright though. I mean, we have to.