[ Adrien helped himself to a piece of bread, though rather than eat it, he stood and plucked at it in a pensive manner. His expression turned inwards in a way he hadn't worn it for a long while.
After a moment, he began to speak. ]
HQ had a checklist for destroying planets. Part of that checklist, in the final stages was the complete annihilation of the apex predator of the planet.
[ He looked down, blinking at the bread that was now in pieces and purposefully set down the remainder, leaning his hands on the counter. ]
Macha, along with being a living planet, was populated by a species known as the Neraki. They were humanoid, though more insect based than mammalian. There were multiple tribes, they were sentient in the sense of having family, religion, sense of governance.
I understood that when the time came for the crew to enter the final stages of the mission, it would be ... difficult for many. A man I worked in medical with, he was a medicinal healer and whenever we landed planet-side he would pursue making medicines, poultices, and the like from local flora and fauna. It was a smart thing to do because we often ran out of supplies; HQ loved to mess with us.
[ Get to the point doctor. ]
There was a significant seismic event, not us actually ... or maybe us, the planet fought us from the start. Don't blame it. But it caused damage to the Neraki villages. Missions were organized to leverage this situation, including one of a diplomatic nature to the village closest to base camp and one of the hardest hit.
I volunteered, because I suspected that being able to lead with the offer of medical assistance, might be a good first contact. But ... I also volunteered because I had taken many of my co-workers native medicines and ... weaponized them.
[ He looked up at Nate as he said this. ]
I knew that in order to test the potential effectiveness of what I had weaponized, I could use the actual medicines as a ... litmus test, baseline results of effectiveness.
[ Again, Adrien's eyes became distant. ]
I walked into that village and I was one of the first to gain their trust, through their need of medical assistance.
[ He dug into his pocket and withdrew something, which he looked at and then set down on the counter and pushed towards Nate so he could see it. It was a wooden coin, with two snake like creatures entwined. ]
That was one of the gifts they offered me ... us, just before we went back to base camp.
[ For a moment he was quiet, there was more to the memories but he wrestled those back into their various mental boxes before he looked back up at Nate. ]
These biologic organisms that many travelers were infected with? The physiological systems most affected in those who carried the parasites, they are systems that could later be leveraged in a number of ways to either incapacitate many of us, or weaponize us under someone else's control.
It is the sort of covert set up, I would use as a means to incapacitate or leverage to advantage, an entrenched population where I was not in the most powerful position to try to reach an objective. Use our own systems against us.
no subject
After a moment, he began to speak. ]
HQ had a checklist for destroying planets. Part of that checklist, in the final stages was the complete annihilation of the apex predator of the planet.
[ He looked down, blinking at the bread that was now in pieces and purposefully set down the remainder, leaning his hands on the counter. ]
Macha, along with being a living planet, was populated by a species known as the Neraki. They were humanoid, though more insect based than mammalian. There were multiple tribes, they were sentient in the sense of having family, religion, sense of governance.
I understood that when the time came for the crew to enter the final stages of the mission, it would be ... difficult for many. A man I worked in medical with, he was a medicinal healer and whenever we landed planet-side he would pursue making medicines, poultices, and the like from local flora and fauna. It was a smart thing to do because we often ran out of supplies; HQ loved to mess with us.
[ Get to the point doctor. ]
There was a significant seismic event, not us actually ... or maybe us, the planet fought us from the start. Don't blame it. But it caused damage to the Neraki villages. Missions were organized to leverage this situation, including one of a diplomatic nature to the village closest to base camp and one of the hardest hit.
I volunteered, because I suspected that being able to lead with the offer of medical assistance, might be a good first contact. But ... I also volunteered because I had taken many of my co-workers native medicines and ... weaponized them.
[ He looked up at Nate as he said this. ]
I knew that in order to test the potential effectiveness of what I had weaponized, I could use the actual medicines as a ... litmus test, baseline results of effectiveness.
[ Again, Adrien's eyes became distant. ]
I walked into that village and I was one of the first to gain their trust, through their need of medical assistance.
[ He dug into his pocket and withdrew something, which he looked at and then set down on the counter and pushed towards Nate so he could see it. It was a wooden coin, with two snake like creatures entwined. ]
That was one of the gifts they offered me ... us, just before we went back to base camp.
[ For a moment he was quiet, there was more to the memories but he wrestled those back into their various mental boxes before he looked back up at Nate. ]
These biologic organisms that many travelers were infected with? The physiological systems most affected in those who carried the parasites, they are systems that could later be leveraged in a number of ways to either incapacitate many of us, or weaponize us under someone else's control.
It is the sort of covert set up, I would use as a means to incapacitate or leverage to advantage, an entrenched population where I was not in the most powerful position to try to reach an objective. Use our own systems against us.
Like ... taking control of the Ingress.