lifetothefullest | [IC Inbox]

what do you know about a guy named armitage hux?

[Well this can't be great.]

Do you want the short version or the long one?

[Crap. This is about the reaction Nick had.]

so i should come over for this talk, huh

That's probably the best idea, yeah.

5 minutes

[The only delay is caused by Nate retrieving his sketchbook, which he intends to use for notes - and Hell, maybe cartoons of shitty people - for now.

He lets himself in.]

How long is the long version?

[Sandy barely looks up from where she's sleeping on the carpet--whatever, it's Nate, who cares--but Lance gets up from the couch, offering a small smile of greeting.]

Not that long, just depends how much detail I go into and how much context you might need filled in.

[He shuts the door behind him, shuffling over to Sandy and stooping to rub between her ears, garnering little attention but satisfying his need to pet her. Nate looks up at Lance with a vague grimace.]

That bad, huh?

[Lance sits back on the arm of the couch while Nate's petting Sandy, mentally going over how to lay out the facts and what to ask in return, and nods at the question and the expression.]

Yeah. He's easier to handle than some others since he isn't an idiot, but he's one of the worst people I've ever met in terms of morality.

[And that said--]

Why are you asking about him, though?

[Lance hasn't noticed the return of a particular name on the network, although he's got a guess now that there might be one.]

[Yeah, he knew this question was coming.

Lance is nothing if not perceptive - Hell, it's his job to be - and they're at a point in their friendship where Nate doesn't have the protection of anonymity and general mysteriousness to hide his shoddy attempts at lying. He sucks in a breath, getting to his feet, hands on his hips. The portrait of a man wrestling with honesty over interpersonal safety.]

A while back, I asked Nick if there was anything I could do for him off the books.

[Even knowing the Guard isn't a police force in the traditional sense, it never sat well with Nate to volunteer in that regard. Lance knows enough about him to understand why.]

He asked me to start looking into people. List of folks to keep an eye on, who're more likely to trust me than someone in an "official" position. Added this Hux guy to my roster yesterday.

[Lance watches him carefully, noting the hesitation but just waiting to see whatever answer he might give. When he does, it's a reasonable one, if slightly unexpected; he's not totally sure how he feels about it, honestly, though it certainly makes sense.

So he nods at that, chewing on his lip a moment.]

It's with good reason that he would be concerned about Hux; he's from the same world as Maketh was, and they were working together to cause the situation that got Maketh kicked out of the Guard.

[Bits of this are what he gathered from Nick, though that explanation was considerably more Maketh-heavy. The implication that Hux was capable of pulling someone back into the Empire fold suggests that he's either a great manipulator, or an excellent public speaker. Probably both, since the two aren't mutually exclusive.]

Right, some kind of weapon. [Nate snaps at the information, nodding along.] You ever meet him? What's he like?

Yeah, a god-killing weapon; Maketh basically covered for him while he killed someone for it.

[He shrugs, glancing off to the side and thinking a moment before looking back at Nate.]

I've met him several times, yeah. He pulled his gun on me enough times that I realized he didn't have any intention of actually using it.

[But that should say something about his personality on its own.]

He's not inherently charismatic or anything, but he's manipulative in a logical way that makes it difficult for people to argue with him. If you're not at odds with him he can actually be a pretty interesting conversation partner, and we played chess together a few times out of boredom.

[So basically, really dangerous but in a completely different way than a lot of those here; it's purposeful danger, not loose-canon danger.]

[It lines up with what Nick told him about Hux killing a child, with what Maketh did to justify it. Sacrifice one for the many, right? Could be justified somehow, by some twisted means of logic, except nobody gave enough of a shit to put out a poll on whether they should murder kids to acquire a weapon of immense power.

Nate has the feeling it wouldn't have gone well, and he certainly would have been on the front lines of challenging bullshit that extreme.

Hux postures more than does - or maybe he expects others to do his work for him. Nate hums, taking it in as he leans up against Lance's kitchen counter. Folding his hands on the tile he furrows his brow for a long moment, quiet.]

What does he do? Back in his home, I mean. Do you know?

He's in their military, which is a huge organization; I think he's a General.

[It's been awhile; Lance needs to look over his old notes. But he does remember one thing very clearly--]

He told me he destroyed five planets, and he was... Very proud of it.

[If the implicit what the fuck wasn't apparent, Nate's facial expression definitely is. It's an impressive resume for somebody to be a general in any army, let alone some interplanetary one where you can blow up other people's equivalent of Earth without batting an eyelash.]

Okay, so, remorseless God complex with a cause.

[Does he sound humorous? Because he's not joking.]

I've known my fair share of paramilitary psychos, but that's not even genocide, that's just...complete eradication.

Yeah. He has no moral compass to appeal to, but unlike many of the others he doesn't seem to kill out of boredom either. Everything is very logical and reasonable for him.

['Logical' and 'reasonable' being relative, obviously, but he thinks Nate will get the idea. It's more like dealing with someone who thinks they know best and are immune to emotional influence rather than someone who's bloodthirsty for the sake of it.]

If you're going to talk to him and try to get anything, know that he's not going to be easily tricked into revealing anything inadvertently; he'll know what you're up to. However, that might actually give you an advantage, because you don't have to play games. Just make it worth his while--or make him think it's worth his while--to tell you what you want to know anyway.

[It had worked for Lance in a few key instances last time Hux was here.]

[Someone more quiet, more subtly clever than Lazarevic sounds a whole lot like Rafe Adler. Above emotions, justifying actions with practicality based on a very specific brand of logic - not that Rafe ever wiped out an entire planet of people, but the personality sounds agonizingly familiar and Nate hopes they aren't as similar as Lance is painting Hux to be.]

More like make him think you're worth his while.

[Nate mumbles with mild sarcasm, because being a useful asset to people who like control is a road he's been down before.]

I can't play chess, but I'll find something to appeal to.

[Lance is quiet several seconds, watching Nate's expression.]

I'd offer to just deal with him myself, but I'm not sure I'd be as successful after the whole thing with Maketh and the godkiller.

[It had been completely worth it at the time to show his hand, since there's no point in trying to get important information if you miss the correct time to reveal it, but it does make any future attempts more difficult.]

[All it takes is one minor suggestion from Lance that he assist and Nate is shaking his head. It isn't the sliver between rock and hard place that Nate wants to put him in, and won't unless they have no other choice.]

Don't worry about it. I'll figure something out.

[He cracks a cocky grin, hands in his pockets.]

I'm adaptable.

[Lance rolls his eyes at that grin, but he smiles a little himself anyway. But then he suddenly remembers something important to mention, going serious again--]

You should know that Hux's gun won't shoot unless he's holding it without his gloves on; I think it's fingerprint linked or something. So if he's wearing his gloves while he's waving it at you, it's for show.

[Which might be something Nate can use to his advantage if it ever comes up.]

[This is the kind of information that Nate both wants and needs. His eyebrows climb into his hairline while he listens, because while the technology exists in his own world it is predominantly linked to the uber-rich or weird sects of the military.

Good to know in the event that Hux ever threatens him or Nate has to wrestle a gun away. The split second it would take to pull a trigger and have it not work is time in which he could be compromised.]

Huh.

[Comes the eloquent reply, and Nate nods quietly.]

Thanks, that's...actually really useful. I'll remember that for when I need to hit him instead of taking a shot.

If I think of anything else like that I'll let you know, and I'll check my notes. I don't actually remember all that much from the first few months I was here.

[He makes a bit of a face as he says it, although it's probably a good thing. He'd had way too many broken bones and assorted other injuries to be doing as much running around as he did, and ended up just kind of blocking out a whole lot of non-important activities and conversations.]

Yeah, no rush.

[Nate waves a hand - more agreeable than dismissive - and files the information away accordingly. Lance's statement should concern him, and it kind of does, but Nate was similarly drifting in a strange, distracted haze when he first arrived in the city and doesn't remember too much about his first few months.]

You've given me a lot to work with for now, I'll just keep an eye out for him.

[He has the feeling that someone with a reputation like this will look oddly nondescript.]

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