A Feeling Reed - RP Fragment about the Division Collab

A Feeling Reed

(A bit of an RP fragment containing my character Commander Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Figured I'd post it here on the very very slight off-chance anyone would want to read it. And apologies if I got the flair wrong. Spoilers for the ongoing event.)

The Commander's room was in an absolute uproar. The Division game gave its audience a shocking twist straight out of a tv show: sudden betrayal! UMP45 had, when pressed with enemies surrounding her and 416, betrayed her comrade and left her to fight--and likely die--alone. Last-minute bets for UMP45's "team"--now consisting of UMP45 alone--were flying in, much to the woman's delight. It seemed the game was set. But, the one among them who knew most about the traitor in question--and the one who had been following her exploits with frankly a little too much interest--was solemn. He looked the picture of the Thinker statue, but standing up, eyes fixated and drilling into the livestream before them.

Springfield, flanked by her recently-eliminated team, sidled up curiously next to Commander Solzhenitsyn. After a few soft mentions of his title failed to reclaim his consciousness from the world within, she settled for softly poking his cheek.

"Ah!" Aleksandr just about jumped out of his skin. "Ah..." To his credit, he recovered well enough. "I'm sorry, Springfield... May I help you?"

"Oh, it's nothing major..." Springfield waved off with a soft laugh. "Sorry for making you jump, Commander. You just seemed to be thinking awfully hardly. I was wondering what about."

"Mmm..." Solzhenitsyn mumbled, and fixed his eyes back on the livestream. He hesitated, gathering his thoughts, before he fished his wallet from his back pocket. "Kalin! Put everything on Vivianne!" He lobbed it at the shocked logistics officer, who barely managed to keep the leatherbound treasure chest from smacking her straight in the face. To her credit, she recovered well enough and instantly worked it into her spiel, provoking even more betting from dolls buoyed by the Commander's confidence.

"Whoa!" Type97 exclaimed, her eyes sparkling in excitement. "That's our Commander!"

"I'm surprised," Springfield remarked, though even such a level-headed doll couldn't suppress the grin that claimed her features at such a theatrical flourish. "I didn't take you for a betting man."

"I'm not..." Solzhenitsyn rubbed his chin and went back to studying the livestream footage. "...But Fox will lose. I'm sure of it, beyond any doubt whatsoever now. And if I'm wrong, I need to ensure I pay a huge personal price so I learn my lesson...so I don't actually get someone killed with that type of thinking."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Fox..." Aleksandr scratched the back of his head. Talking about her always made him feel strangely self-conscious and frantic. "...Fox is the smartest person I know. Have ever known. I don't think anyone is capable of outsmarting her."

"Wow!" Type97 exclaimed. "Even you?!"

Aleks hesitated a moment...but nodded. "Yes. Even me. But intellect and cunning are not all that make a battle. Like Lucifer..." Aleksandr idly gripped the Orthodox cross that hung from his neck, "...intellect is the highest star in God's heaven, and its rightful place is at the forefront of any endeavor. But, intellect always loves to assume that it is a sun, not a star, and is capable of lighting the way alone... Man is far more than a thinking reed, and dolls were made in man's image."

"Wh-...what? This is kinda...going over my head..." Type97 moaned.

Aleks gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry. My point is: Fox has, with that act, betrayed her humanity in favor of pure and solitary intellect, reason. She did the cunning thing, but not the right thing. It will fail her, because there's far more than cunning involved in any battle. It's why I try to keep my bonds with all of you so strong..." Aleksandr patted Type97's head, earning a delighted "Heehee!" from her, "...and why I try to accumulate all of the little advantages I can. Because someday I'll be outsmarted, but I hope the other things will help us pull through.

"Fox will get to the end, but I think she will fall against Vivianne, who is not lacking cunning and has more importantly alloyed reason with a resolve based in love for her comrades to achieve victory. Or perhaps, if Hekate survives this her fiery vengeance will see her through.

"Fox, however, will fall. I'm sure of it."