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+--- Thread: The Captain and the Doctor (RP with Thunderer) (/showthread.php?tid=173864)
The Captain and the Doctor (RP with Thunderer) - Doc Holliday - 09-30-2019
BPA Headquarters, New London
A full pardon. It sounded pretty sweet even if he never pulled the trigger. Still, it was better than rotting in Newgate. Dressed in his robes, his guns in a vault on his shuttle, he made his way into police headquarters to report to Captain Elizabeth Hall. Much was to be discussed. Still, he disliked Bretonia. It had never been kind to him and now he had to work with the government.
Walking into the building, he kept his words simple. He really didn't want to talk to anyone as he felt Bretonians to be arrogant.
"Dr. John Holliday here to meet with Captain Elizabeth Hall," was all he said to the desk sergeant.
Looking up at Doc, the desk sergeant just indicated a direction and instructed two officers to escort him after he was frisked. The sergeant watched as they frisked.
"Murderer," he said.
Doc just turned to him, "Superbus spumae." He often spoke Latin when he felt superior to some. The frisking complete, he made his way to the designated room, the sergeant making another barb.
"Give me a reason to shoot you, Holliday!" he hollered.
"Suus ' vestri funus si velis," Doc responded over his shoulder before disappearing into the room.
Now, he waited.
RE: The Captain and the Doctor (RP with Thunderer) - Thunderer - 10-01-2019
"Scanned him for weapons twice?"
Holliday and his escort had come into Elizabeth's office, a spacious and ornate room, having in mind Chateau d'Or used to be almost a palace, though already full of various files and documentation. She said it nonchalantly, as if "him" referred to no more than a head with a number. A habit, since she had been receiving so many guests and clients every day, nothing intentional. There was so much bad and so much good that Elizabeth had done unintentionally, and she wasn't even aware of it.
The officers nodded.
"You may go then, thank you."
As the officers bowed their heads slightly in a short salute and left, Elizabeth left the pen and rose from the chair. One of her hands, her right, with which she had just been signing a document, was bare and reflected the sunlight with its tender whiteness. The other was gloved, and it was a deeply black glove, so dark that it emanated a certain sense of uneasiness, as if suggesting that, while the other was used to sign official documents and charm, and of course, distract attention, the left was for holding a dagger. Elizabeth removed the glove, revealing a somewhat disfigured hand, to a doctor clearly from burns. She extended it for a handshake.
"Murderer, I've heard them judge you. Then I suppose you wouldn't mind shaking hands with a serial killer?"
RE: The Captain and the Doctor (RP with Thunderer) - Doc Holliday - 10-01-2019
He gently took the fingers of the burned hand that was offered, looking at it as a doctor would. He then looked up into her face, still holding the hand. Under the uniform was a very attractive woman. He gave a light smile and kissed the hand before releasing it. "Such a beautiful woman with such scars. It would appear we both keep a skeleton or two in our closet."
He then looked around the office. "A nice office but, hardly a place for a meeting."
"I really do not care what your men here think of me," he continued, "fact is, I have walked both sides of the law and the lives taken are overshadowed thousands of times by the number I have saved."
He paused a moment, "I guess that is why I am here."
RE: The Captain and the Doctor (RP with Thunderer) - Thunderer - 10-01-2019
"Hardly a place for a meeting? What do you think we do in offices all day, sign documents? This is a military, not your standard nine to five job."
There was a closet behind Elizabeth, and when she opened it, its contents flashed the naked truth: there was a whole shelf of alcoholic drinks. Certainly not Elizabeth's, she knew Admiral Redmond liked a drink every now and then but hadn't completed moving his office yet, and Holliday, too, according to the rumours from her neighbours he had treated. She took a bottle of scotch, two glasses from the shelf below with her other hand, and extended them to Holliday for choosing.
"As you doctors say, in uino ueritas? Still think it's hardly a place for a meeting, Sir?"
RE: The Captain and the Doctor (RP with Thunderer) - Doc Holliday - 10-02-2019
"Ego operor meus optimus bibens" he replied taking the bottle. He opened it, pouring it's contents first into one glass and then the other, pushing one in front of his host.
"Admiral Redmond has good taste," he continued. "Good drinks and an attractive and educated woman to take his office." He then held his glass out, "to a successful partnership."
After they toasted, he consumed the contents and poured himself another, topping off hers as well before sitting back in his chair.
"So, we have some medical business to discuss. Have you a plan made or is that something we are about to figure out?"
RE: The Captain and the Doctor (RP with Thunderer) - Thunderer - 10-02-2019
"Medical business? Ah, right. We have a planet to mend. Let me find my concept..."
The device on Elizabeth's desk sprung up from power saving mode as she went through documents and files. She only took one sip of the scotch -- it was somewhat of an annoyance to her that everyone was always offering her a drink on diplomatic meetings, as if the aim was to speak merrily and naively, under the influence, and not clearly and precisely. It was more likely just alcoholism and no purposeful intention, but Elizabeth's proneness to overthinking did turn it into one -- if she got Holliday drunk, he would be more likely to accept less happy proposals.
While she was skim-reading through her notes, the time was filled with silence and sunlight. It reminded Holliday of the time he used to consider the planet a refuge from the wicked world, but now, ironically, it was a reminder to the world's wickedness. The scotch was doing well to brighten him up and forget about this, though. It was good scotch. It belonged to an admiral, it had to be.
"Here it is. In short, there would be a census to determine who identifies as a Zoner, and who doesn't. After that, a piece of land proportional to the Zoner population will be divided from the rest of the surface, Anyone will be able to move in, but the elections for its government will be conducted only among the Zoner population. Likewise, the Zoner population will not be eligible to vote in the elections to determine the government that will administer the rest of the planet. However, the Zoner, er... let's call it the Zoner state, it will be a dominion of the Bretonian Crown. Its citizens will pay taxes to the Royal Exchequer same as everyone else, they will be eligible for military service, etc... However, they will also be able to plead for a budget should their state suffer a natural disaster, or, well, be bombarded by Corsairs, or should they merely intend to work on a large project. In essence, still part of the Realm, but with its own culture, education, local institutions, which includes the ministry of internal affairs -- part of the Realm, but with internal autonomy. I've foreseen a flaw to this concept, and that is the possibility that someone promises everyone who identifies as a Zoner some benefit, which will lead to many identifying as such on paper, but not in reality. It would, of course, be shortsighted to do this, as I believe a kingdom of over 16 billion citizens can easily outspend any Zoner. As well, it is not guaranteed that the people who have identified as Zoners officially, but are not so, will vote for the representatives whoever paid them to do so wants them to. The chosen nationalities will be public, but the voting for representatives will be protected.
Any issues with this? Would you like me to repeat anything?"
RE: The Captain and the Doctor (RP with Thunderer) - Doc Holliday - 10-03-2019
He listened and went through the notes provided. He sipped his Scotch as he read.
"Its citizens will pay taxes to the Royal Exchequer same as everyone else" he said in a low tone to himself. He then looked at Elizabeth and gave a chuckle. "I wish you luck with that." He took another sip of his Scotch. "If the Crown seriously thinks that people who were on that planet long before Bretonia learned of it or even the Cretans who migrated there, the Queen is delusional." He then sat up a bit. "And a Zoner state, a piece of land proportional to the Zoner population? How nice. At least when the Crown brokered a deal with the Zoners for a refugee camp, it was just that, a negotiation. What is being offered now is a dictation."
He took a deep breath. "I would like to remind you who built much of the infrastructure on that planet. All of the medical facilities are Zoner made by..." He took a light bow from his chair. "......yours truly. My home is on a base deep in Baffin, Med Force One or Planet Erie. I have not been to Gran Canaria since the threatened takeover."
He sipped his Scotch again, realizing he needed a refill. He leaned forward and did so before sinking back into his seat. "You know, I would think that after a long fought war with Gallia and Kusari before that, the Crown would enjoy some time of peace, at least with the houses anyway. Time to rebuild, time to heal. When the Zoners ran the planet, there were times when things were tense but peace prevailed. I have dined with the most evil, as you would call them, of Corsairs. Miguel Sephardi was a friend as we often worked out differences. Not once did I ever hear something negative come from his mouth about Bretonia. I have worked with Mollies, Hessians and the Coalition." He held up his glass, pausing in thought before finishing. "A voice of reason yields better results than any gun does."
He sipped his Scotch. "The Crown would be wise to think about that."
RE: The Captain and the Doctor (RP with Thunderer) - Thunderer - 10-03-2019
"Yes, I see." Elizabeth pretended to think for a few moments, doing everything to stretch time and let the alcohol set in. "Do you have any ideas of how the Zoner state could be made useful to Bretonia? Because if I demand no taxes, I'll be laughed out of the Parliament."
"Oh!", she abruptly cut Holliday off before he could speak, "You do have some appetite for this, your glass is almost empty. Good whiskey, no? Want some more?"
RE: The Captain and the Doctor (RP with Thunderer) - Doc Holliday - 10-03-2019
"The alternative to being laughed out of Parliament is more conflict," replied Doc. "While I will not call for it, you can bet your bottom credit that the Zoner population will reach out to anyone who will listen and those someones could be Corsairs, Coalition or even Mollies. Trust me when I say that long ago I spent a lot of time keeping the peace there. Those non-Bretonians on the planet surface see the Crown as a hostile invader. Guerilla troops have done well against the Crown as I understand it."
"You do have some appetite for this, your glass is almost empty. Good whiskey, no? Want some more?"
"Please, Captain," replied Doc, holding his glass out. He was starting to feel....comfortable.
"I would say that the ball is in the Queen's court right now," Doc continued. "Bretonia WAS the aggressor. Bretonia DID occupy Gran Canaria did they not? Bretonia DID rename things to their liking. Bretonia DID take infrastructure built by Zoners and Cretans alike and Bretonia DID disturb a long brokered peace."
He sipped his Scotch. "Resident Canarians will not pay Bretonian taxes. It is not the Zoner's clean-up from a war that was not theirs. If the Queen is wise, she will listen." He paused a moment, "Or will arrogance and foolish pride get in the way of that?"
RE: The Captain and the Doctor (RP with Thunderer) - The Kingdom of Bretonia - 10-04-2019
Having taken just one sip, so not to seem she does not dare drink what she had given to her guest, and so not to inebriate herself, Elizabeth takes another look at her concept and speaks: "Do you think the Parliament would swallow it if I called it a reservation instead of a state? Mind you, the territory will have to be very limited in that case."
// Thunderer here. Lost my account password, waiting for an email.