[ As Carlisle speaks, the cool rationality drains from Qubit's face, replaced with... pity. He knew the man's situation was bad, but it's beginning to dawn on him just how bad.
He hadn't realized Carlisle was considering suicide. And seriously, by the sound of it. Perhaps the fear of it making things worse is all that's stopped him attempting it. But that's not a strategy, damn it. And it's not a solution Qubit will accept. Not now, not ever.
... Until all other options are exhausted.
NO. Not ever. There's another way. There's always another way. (But not always. What if there isn't? What if, to save the innocents of Anchor, you have no choice but to put him down? You could do it. You could be the one to pull the trigger, Qubit, you've done it before-)
He notices, abruptly, how tightly his jaw has clenched, how painfully he's gripping his own arm. He forces those to relax, but his forehead remains knitted with determination. Carlisle is his friend. A good man who's been dealt an unspeakably terrible hand. He'll find another way. That's what he does. ]
Of course. There are plenty of things that could work. We could - [ he unfolds his arms to start gesturing with them ] we could try dampening your mental influence with a - a modified psionic resonator, perhaps devise something that can alert you when your power's active - it might even be possible to nullify them completely, on a temporary basis - although that might be more of a last resort, if your eksth'alva is what's keeping you together -
[ You're rambling again, get to the point. ]
- but of course I'll help you, Carlisle. Ending yourself isn't the answer. We'll find another way. I swear this to you.
[ He shouldn't swear it. Don't make promises you can't keep, Qubit.
But - he has to try.
There must be some way to save Carlisle Longinmouth. ]
cw: suicide & murder talk
He hadn't realized Carlisle was considering suicide. And seriously, by the sound of it. Perhaps the fear of it making things worse is all that's stopped him attempting it. But that's not a strategy, damn it. And it's not a solution Qubit will accept. Not now, not ever.
... Until all other options are exhausted.
NO. Not ever. There's another way. There's always another way. (But not always. What if there isn't? What if, to save the innocents of Anchor, you have no choice but to put him down? You could do it. You could be the one to pull the trigger, Qubit, you've done it before-)
He notices, abruptly, how tightly his jaw has clenched, how painfully he's gripping his own arm. He forces those to relax, but his forehead remains knitted with determination. Carlisle is his friend. A good man who's been dealt an unspeakably terrible hand. He'll find another way. That's what he does. ]
Of course. There are plenty of things that could work. We could - [ he unfolds his arms to start gesturing with them ] we could try dampening your mental influence with a - a modified psionic resonator, perhaps devise something that can alert you when your power's active - it might even be possible to nullify them completely, on a temporary basis - although that might be more of a last resort, if your eksth'alva is what's keeping you together -
[ You're rambling again, get to the point. ]
- but of course I'll help you, Carlisle. Ending yourself isn't the answer. We'll find another way. I swear this to you.
[ He shouldn't swear it. Don't make promises you can't keep, Qubit.
But - he has to try.
There must be some way to save Carlisle Longinmouth. ]