(( Oh. Wow.
You keep defying expectations. Just added the mechanical muse to the list of 'Ask Piecewise for ER ruleset when this all is over'.
And also, I meant the Doctor part more as 'can he be trusted to serve the humanity and higher purpose', but finding out myself is a fine idea too. First thing back on the ship.))
Overcome with the prophetic fever and ragged pieces of dreams, Maurice shook slightly, and staggered.
What... How... Why...
He slowly closed his eyes, and nodded to himself.
Now this is up to me. Alea iacta est, as Simus would have said, the die is cast. I have the answers, and now I must interpret them right and act upon it, for the good of the humanity and the ARM. His lips curled slightly. And especially for the good of the poor, bloody 'Corps.
His eyes steeled again. Yet one thing is clear, with dazzling, stunning clarity in its simplicity. Whether or not the Doctor can be trusted, whether he is an abomination or a saint, whether he does serve the higher purpose and the humanity or only self - I can answer that for myself.
And, I believe, I can just ask him.
Recover from stun!
Stun recovered!
((Phlegm-y as in with many H?))
Ugh. I think there must be some sort of typographical error here because I don't think I'll be able to pronounce most of these things. Or understand them for that matter.
I'll just have to hope they talk slowly.
Well, if we do things right, they won't have any reason to start talking quickly.
How about phrases like "Surrender your weapons, your alien trinkets, your booze and your prostitutes"?
See if I can find the phrase they use for greeting and introduction. Something that would allow me to greet someone important and introduce myself to them as a soldier of ARM. And maybe a phrase for farewell or for sealing a deal.
FAKEEDIT: Oh, let's check something: "Hey, Steve, do they make alcohol here? I know water is rare and all, but my homeworld was probably even worse on that front and we still made some distilled crap that made you feel like your stomach was on fire."
Greeting you can find; polite greeting you can find. Extremely polite greeting is there too. Those are easy. Introducing yourself as a soldier is a bit more complex and about the best you can do is string together the words and hazard a guess at the grammar. The farewell and the deal sealing are easy enough though.
>Alcohol exists across the entirety of mankind's domain. I dare say you'll not find a planet without it. Lars faced the advisor. "This is what we have brought with us as samples. We have data on several other items that we can transfer as needed. Shall we move on?"
Diplomancy
The adviser nods seemingly more to himself then to you.
"Next comes a meal with our minister of domestic affairs. He will be talking with you about your plans for this planet, should we come to some agreement." the adviser says, already leading you away from the firing range and into the palace proper. Despite an architecture that imitates the ancient, the palace is clearly made of modern materials, very robust ones in fact. The long, high gabled hallways and open rooms coated in Lapis and Chrysoberyl tile over reenforced supercrete and, doubtless, metal supports as thick as redwood trunks. The place, despite aping the the designs and feel of the great middle and far east structures, was more fortress then palace; a fallout shelter fashioned after Angkor Wat.
The room which the adviser eventually leads you to is long, high ceilinged and rectangular, enclosing a low, but similarly long and rectangular wooden table. There are several men at the table already, seated on cushions on the floor, rather then chairs. The table is far too large and long for the small amount of food laid out before the men in yellow and turquoise ceramic bowls. The men themselves are quite similar to the adviser already with you; dark skinned, older men with faces deeply creased by worry and intellectual toil. The adviser doesn't introduce any of them, he merely walks around to the other side of the table and takes his place beside them. He does, however, gesture at the cushions on your side of the table.