Spillin' on the Villain, Closed: Xira, Memory

[Xira Stone]

The Grand Admiral had been delighted when she'd heard that First Lieutenant Memory Liles was on no current active duty. Apparently, her superiours on Onderon had thought it best that she be allowed some down time after her arduous mission on Denon alongside one General Lelouch Villa. While Xira felt that such rest and relaxations were only warranted for completely successful missions but she understood the necessity considering the Theelin's condition. Why such a diseased alien was in the employ of the Confederation in the first place was beyond her, but that was all beside the point. Today was not directly about Lieutenant Liles' performance, decent as it was, but rather about her opinions about her superiour.

While there had been many vocal complaints about Villa and his tendencies, Xira had found it strange that no official complaints had been filed against the General. Especially from any of his subordinates whom she'd heard were not so fond of the man. This was particularly interesting to her, especially since she was sending Villa on a dangerous operation...It was prudent that she gather as much information about him as she could before his departure, just in case she found some skeletons that would most certainly spell out failure for his mission. What better way to find out about a person's true nature than to get the account of it from a personal player in it?

Liles' had experience and history with Villa, and if there was anyone who could give an accurate assessment of the man, it would be her. There was, however, the chance that the Theelin was afraid of Villa and, thus, would be loathe to speak out against him but there were ways around that depending on what she was willing to tell her about him. Xira could offer her a transfer to a different group under a new commanding officer if necessary. Though, as the record showed, Liles' had been doing her best work beneath Villa which certainly had to count for something on the General's behalf.

Xira kept all the needed files in front of her and also activated a small recording device to keep track of all that was said in the meeting lest she be unable to note important details. The Theelin would be forthcoming with her, she would see to it. This mission that she was sending Villa on was very pertinent, and if there was a way to prevent him from screwing up...she was more than willing to access all available resources and utilize any routes as necessary.

Now all that was left was to wait for the good Lieutenant to show up.

[Memory Liles]

You have permission to board. Please follow en route to deck 04.

Memory zipped up her jacket as she flew her unnamed Light Interceptor to the Confederation Base on Dolomar. Though she hated to admit it, she was nervous about meeting the admiral. After thinking about it, though, she didn’t see why Xira Stone would have her fly clear out to Dolomar only to tell her to go home.

Right?

She landed her ship and headed towards the admiral’s office. She knew the place well—she had been stationed on Dolomar for a long time before ever transferring to Onderon. One would think that after 11 years in service she would have met Stone, but she never had.

As Memory traced the familiar hallways, she kept her face straight ahead. She did pay attention to faces that passed her, to see if she recognized anyone. Yes, she had left because she had gotten into a rut on Dolomar, but it was nothing to hide her face from. She left with dignity, she returned with dignity.

She got a lot of looks—not because she was familiar, but because, well… she always got second glances. Very few Theelin could get by without them. In all honesty, she was surprised no one in the Confederation had ever forced her to dye her hair, though it had been recommended on several occasions. In an organization comprised mostly of run-of-the-mill humans, she stood out… but only in color.

As expected, there were guards outside the door. Memory stated her name and purpose, and one led her inside, where she had to get her prints and retina scanned—further reason as to why she had to be so careful with her present to General Villa earlier.

After the basics had been done, She was directed to the Admiral’s office.

“Lieutenant Memory Liles, M’am.”

The soldier moved out and Memory stepped in, saluting her respect in perfect posture.

Corellia Conference meeting, F-Wing… She thought. She had seen the Grand Admiral’s face before, six years ago in the hallway at the present station. It had only been in passing, but Memory recognized her. She never forgot a face.

“You requested my presence, Grand Admiral?” The words were spoken as a soldier’s statement, not a question.

[Xira Stone]

As soon as the door slid open, Xira looked up from her folder at the Theelin standing in the doorway. She certainly presented quite the contrast with her fiery red hair and pitch black uniform, not to mention the blue splotches dotting her forehead. The Dolomarian native had not met many Theelins in her lifetime, and had liked even less. But Liles had a decent track record but, more importantly, had information that Xira would like to acquire. And for that, she'd have the Grand Admiral's respect for the duration of the meeting as long as she proved herself useful. With aliens, it was always hard to tell how far their helpfulness would go...such strange creatures, the lot of them.

“You requested my presence, Grand Admiral?”

"At ease, Lieutenant," Xira said in response to her rigid salute. "Please, take a seat so we may begin."

She waited for Liles to situate herself as appropriate, returning her gaze to the folders and papers in front of her. Xira had taken the initiative to familiarize herself with all of Liles' history, including her bizarre disease. Comparatively speaking, it was a testament of endurance at how she managed to continue working for the Confederation while being so sickly. However, Xira had never commended a soldier for just doing their job and she was not about to start now. Doing their job exceptionally well was worthy of such commendations but that was beside the point. This meeting was not about Liles' mission record, after all.

Xira regarded Liles' with her atypical cold expression. "I've summoned you here on account of your familiarity, shall we say, with General Villa," she began. She paused, sifting through her papers until she found the one that she'd been looking for. "It says here that you were transfered to his command approximately six months ago but, more importantly, accompanied him on a mission to Denon recently. I believe that would be an appropriate place to start as things apparently didn't go according to plan. I would like to hear the details of what took place during the mission and what problems occurred from your perspective, if you will."

The Grand Admiral had more than enough information on Denon as supplied from Villa's debriefs but she wanted to hear what Liles' had to say about the mission since it had been just shy of complete failure.

"I'll be blunt with you, Lieutenant. I've heard more than enough rumours of the General's behaviour. Yet, there's never been any official report filed on the subject. I would very much like to hear your side of the story, as it were," she finished, prepared to hear what the Lieutenant had to say about her superiour's actions on Denon, before and thereafter.

[Memory Liles]

"At ease, Lieutenant. Please, take a seat so we may begin."

The funny thing about being “at ease” in the military was that no one ever was. Memory dropped her hands and relaxed her stance, but she was hardly “at ease”. With a firm nod, Memory stepped forward and took a chair in front of the long table Xira sat at.

Her expression wasn’t exactly chipper.

"I've summoned you here on account of your familiarity, shall we say, with General Villa.”

Ah, the Piss ant… Memory thought. She wondered at the way Xira emphasized “familiarity”, and her mind immediately rushed back to security on Denon, the talkative guard, and her hand-holding venture with the sadist.

She worked hard to keep her face straight—it was something that came easy after so many years in the confederacy. Oh please don’t let her think I’m shagging him….

She felt a little sick.

"It says here that you were transfered to his command approximately six months ago but, more importantly, accompanied him on a mission to Denon recently. I believe that would be an appropriate place to start as things apparently didn't go according to plan. I would like to hear the details of what took place during the mission and what problems occurred from your perspective, if you will."


Maybe she was being paranoid. She tried to flip that switch off.

She wanted details on their mission? Their… well, failed mission?

She had the layout of the base stored in her memory as well as on a holo-device back on Onderon, awaiting delivery to Le-Douche himself.

"I'll be blunt with you, Lieutenant. I've heard more than enough rumours of the General's behaviour. Yet, there's never been any official report filed on the subject. I would very much like to hear your side of the story, as it were."

Ah, she understood now. This meeting had nothing to do with herself, but was rather a tattle-party for the General. (Perhaps that was why she had to fly to Dolomar…?) Despite the often abusive tendencies she had seen of Lelouch Villa over the last six months, she never had filed a report against him. It wasn’t her style—no, her style was installed in his ship and awaiting deployment. She knew one who was to file report… perhaps the log never made it in.

But could Villa really have gone this long without stated complaint from his subordinates?

By all means, Memory would never try to protect Villa from any reprimand he rightfully deserved, but what was Stone hoping to find? Or perhaps the judgement was on her and her voice more than on her superior. The Confederation could be tricky like that.

She hadn’t been told to speak freely—perhaps they were trying to find mistakes in the Generals (and possibly her’s) actions.

Memory could dish out the details—she remembered every last one. But did Stone want that?

“If I may, Grand Admiral, how detailed of a summary would you prefer?” Aka, How much time do you want to dedicate to this? “Are you hoping to find more information on our strategy, or more information on General Villa’s personal character?”

She had to ask, had to clarify—by all means, she wouldn’t make a fool of herself by assuming anything.

[Xira Stone]

“Are you hoping to find more information on our strategy, or more information on General Villa’s personal character?”

The Grand Admiral maintained an even gaze on the Lieutenant as she answered. "General Villa's character has been called into question,"--ironically enough by her, since she did not know the man nearly as well as she'd like to before sending him on his mission--"so perhaps you could shed a bit more light on the subject for me."

While it may have been helpful to inform Liles' on just why this evaluation was taking place now, of all times, it certainly wouldn't be prudent nor allowed. Liles' was just a First Lieutenant, unlikely to ever surpass that rank either due to her disease so her superiours had told Xira...One didn't simply go around giving out the details of a classified mission to subordinates. It just wasn't done. Liles' didn't need to know any specifics about Villa's operation, she only needed to know that the Grand Admiral of the Confederation of Dolomar wanted more information on the General. In theory, that should be enough in and of itself.

"You see, it is of the utmost importance that any character flaws of the General's be made apparent sooner rather than later, so that perhaps we can avoid certain mistakes in the field in the future," Xira explained evasively. It was more or less a polite way of saying that if Villa was really screwed up in the head, that she be made aware of this before she sent him into potentially life-threatening and Confederation-threatening situations. Since Villa was still stationed on Dolomar for a few more days, there was still time to replace him if the need arose. "So, please, take your time. There's no rush."

Liles' was sharp, so her file praised her on. Of all Villa's subordinates, it was she who would most likely remember the most pertinent details of missions and of him as well. Xira was counting on this and would be severely disappointed if the Lieutenant let her down in that regard.

[Memory Liles]

"General Villa's character has been called into question, so perhaps you could shed a bit more light on the subject for me."

Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh. Called into question? It really took this long? The guy was a pyromancer!

"So, please, take your time. There's no rush."

Sorry Villa, but she outranks even you.

Memory would have to tell the story in a strictly professional manor, or course, but she would tell it as any third-person-unbiased narrator would. By all means, Denon was hardly a true show of Villa’s character. There wouldn’t be a lot of real dirt there.

Unless she included the ship flight after they had left planet… but did Memory really want to confess her own weaknesses?

“We departed Onderon at roughly 0932 hours Galactic standard time on a direct course to Denon,” Memory started, recalling even the most minute details—most of which Xira Stone could care less about, she was sure. “The travel there was relatively ordinary. I piloted our shuttle while Lelouch Villa rested in the co-pilot chair. He informed me to wake him when we dropped out of hyperspace. He informed me of the need to remain clandestine, but I did not receive further instruction than that.

“We arrived at Denon and I woke General Villa. He seemed unpleased, but I imagine anyone would in a similar situation. We dressed fully in our civilian clothing and prepared for landing. Upon permission to speak freely, I asked if I could receive more details on our mission—to better prepare—at which point the General told me to use my imagination.”

Memory proceeded to discuss the landing and the security in detail, recalling even the names on the tags the guards wore. She managed even to keep a straight face when mentioning she and Villa’s guise as lovers to get by without fault. She spoke of the rather dull span of time where she and Villa had waited out nightfall, then how they had approached the rebel base.

She went into rather vivid detail of their taking of the base—The cameras, doors, guards. She spoke of Villa’s waiting of the camera, then destroying it when the soldier she had jumped set off a blaster bolt. She recited the keys on the key-card of the guard, the numbers that had been taken down by their blasters. She mentioned Lelouch’s ingenius use of the doors as a shield, and how they had wrapped around the structure to enter into a different door, hoping to throw the rebels off. She spoke of every shot that came from Lelouch’s gun—his positioning, his risks, everything.

She went into detail on the second door, how she had fired off shots as a distraction and Lelouch had run in to finish off the guards, getting shot in the meantime. She wondered if Xira had known about the general’s injuries or not—well, she did now. She gave a body count, even mentioned the use of her inhaler on the man’s gut wound. She spoke without bias as to how Lelouch had refused leverage from her, despite barely able to stand, and had continued into the fortress.

She described the weapons room, the soldiers, the glass.

“Then I asked him to abort the mission,” she said, her tone just slightly softer. “He was injured and we were outnumbered. I told him I couldn’t get either of us out… alive and free, that is… without an order from my superior officer. Her said, ‘Get us out of here, Liles, but commit the damn building layout to memory.’.”

Then she went into further detail as to how she had thrown the detonation pack, gotten Lelouch over her shoulder, and ran. Regardless of what Stone would think of that, it was not a coward’s run. Memory didn’t regret the decision. She explained how the pack had detonated, how exactly they managed to escape.

~ “Stand up. This pathetic display is intolerable.” ~

Memory’s story stopped when they got to the ship. She took a deep breath. “Would you also like to hear about the return flight, Grand Admiral?”

She’d tell that story if she needed to, even if it hurt herself… though she didn’t know just how detailed she would get.

[Xira Stone]

With a silent patience reserved just for these kind of meetings, the Grand Admiral listened to all the Lieutenant had to say. Her face remained impassive for the duration, her gaze the only thing betraying her curiousity. As Liles spoke, Xira committed all she had to say to memory in case her recording device failed or some error occurred. She typed in some notes into a datapad as well, just to help organize her thoughts as she listened intently to all Liles had to say. As she had gambled, the Theelin's remembrance of details and events was incredibly accurate...and Xira might even go on to say that it was impressive. Operatives were trained to memorize things very quickly lest their sometimes clandestine missions go sour...but Liles' ability to remember went beyond the training basics, it seemed.

It was also interesting to Xira how Liles reported every minute detail about all that occurred on Denon...even the certain actions that put Villa in a good light. From what she'd heard, Xira gathered how determined (that was putting it nicely) a man that the General was, though his personality and attitude left more than a little to be desired. But no person or soldier was perfect, the Grand Admiral supposed, though they should strive to be at every available opportunity. Liles herself was proof of the attempt since she continued serving the Confederation even with her health as compromised as it was.

"...I told him I couldn’t get either of us out… alive and free, that is… without an order from my superior officer. He said, ‘Get us out of here, Liles, but commit the damn building layout to memory.’.”

Then the Lieutenant proceeded to explain just how they'd managed to escape and Xira had to admit that she was impressed by the alien's actions. Considering how frail the Theelin was, to carry a man as large as General Villa and manage to outrun Alliance soldiers as well...That certainly spoke volumes of her endurance and strength. It was truly a pity that she was a sickly Theelin and not healthy Human, as Lieutenant Liles would surely be moving up the ranks in the Confederation much faster than her fellows through such ingenuity and bravery...especially under the command of someone like Lelouch Villa who, apparently, demanded the very best of his subordinates. While his leadership tactics deviated from the customary ones, there was still enough authority and intelligence there to force his subordinates to rise to the task given them, or die trying. Brutal, but effective.

When it was apparent that the Theelin had finished relaying her story on the events that took place during their mission to Denon, Xira finally interjected.

"Thank you," she said, jotting down a few more notes on her datapad. "That was a lot more detailed than the report I received. I have one question, however.

"Throughout this mission, were there any times in which you felt that General Villa could have done something different that would have effected the outcome of the mission in a more positive way?" she asked. In other words, did the Lieutenant feel that his leadership was up to par and that he was a capable General and Confederation operative?

“Would you also like to hear about the return flight, Grand Admiral?”

There was something about the Theelin's hesitation, something in her manner, which gave Xira the impression that yes, she definitely wanted to hear about the return flight.

Motioning with her hand, she instructed the Lieutenant to finish her story. "Do continue, Lieutenant."

[Memory Liles]

"Throughout this mission, were there any times in which you felt that General Villa could have done something different that would have effected the outcome of the mission in a more positive way?"

Memory took a few seconds to mull that question over in her head. It was a nice way of asking if the general was up-to-par, wasn’t it?

“General Villa leads for himself,” Memory finally said, finding the words she was looking for. “I hope these words do not get used against me in the future, Grand Admiral, but it is in my personal opinion that General Lelouch Villa leads for his own gain, not for the gain of his peers, subordinates, or the Confederacy. That’s why he rubs so many the wrong way—but he leads well, which is why no one ever says anything, M’am.”

"Do continue, Lieutenant."

Something alerted inside Memory’s chest—not her illness, but… she wasn’t really sure. She didn’t have the time to analyze it. She knew that reciting exactly what had happened on the ship ride back [despite the fact that the post had yet to be finished!] would hurt Lelouch, and possibly hurt herself as well.

But this was the Grand Admiral, and, however nicely it was said, the request was an order.

“After we boarded the ship… the General was injured badly and had to take seat. I took the pilot’s controls,” she began. “I’m sure one of those screens in front of you has my file on it, Grand Admiral, so it wouldn’t be any surprise to you that I currently suffer from a condition referred to as Lilmem’s Disease.” Memory didn’t have to dive in any further than that, the rest was on medical record for any official to view when necessary. There were very few secrets kept in the Confederacy.

“I managed to get the ship out of orbit and switched onto auto pilot. Because of the… excursion, my symptoms became rather violent.” Don’t pity me, Her eyes said, speaking words so different from those that came from her lips. “I left the pilot chair, but blacked out. I was unconscious for about fifteen to twenty minutes.”

Moving on… Memory, with little hesitation, let out a sigh and robotically repeated the remaining dialogue that took place aboard ship.

“Stand up. This pathetic display is intolerable.”

“What did you think you were doing back there?”

“I never gave you permission for such ridiculous behaviour.”

“You are treading on thin ice, Lieutenant, and crawling on all fours isn’t going to get you out of this dangerous patch. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Her brow twitched. Replaying it in her head—perfectly in her head… no details were left out for herself—it made her…. angry. She was mad when it happened, but the anger was so much more intense now.

That selfish bastard! She thought. Her hands wanted to clenched into fists, but she relaxed them. She wanted to stand up, throw a tantrum, but she remained seated, cool and complacent, an obedient soldier.

Oh, what a great actress she was!

“Then we returned to Onderon.”

She had never felt more insulted in her life than she did sitting there in the Grand Admiral’s office.

[Xira Stone]

"...That’s why he rubs so many the wrong way—but he leads well, which is why no one ever says anything, Ma’am.”

That was certainly an interesting way of looking at it, she conceded. The Theelin seemed far more observational and analytical than she would have pegged her as; it was one thing to remember details, a completely different thing to understand what those details represented in the larger picture. The way she'd presented the "evidence", as it could be called, was also quite impressive given that it seemed to be accounted in an unbiased fashion. It was obvious that Liles was not fond of Villa, yet she hadn't spared the facts of the matter to protect herself or damn him further. It took someone in possession of a considerable amount of good judgment to deliver the truth as it should be delivered...which is what Xira felt that Liles did.

"Indeed," she said, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Liles' analysis of General Villa. Xira hadn't gotten to work with him enough to have formulated any solid opinion of the man; his actions would be far more telling than his words, after all. Whether he came back in one piece from his mission, for example, would reveal his worth in her eyes. She was convinced now that he was more than capable for it (especially combined with an assassin droid such as 4D) so there would be no excuse should he fail.

“...I left the pilot chair, but blacked out. I was unconscious for about fifteen to twenty minutes.”

Xira contemplated this. "Am I to assume that the General did not render you any assistance due to his own wounds?"

“...Then we returned to Onderon.”

There was a fine line between a superiour and a subordinate, one side holding more power than the other being the significant difference. However, if that power was abused...then the line tended to grow deep and wide and cause innumerable problems in the chain of command. Power had a hefty price and that often was the responsibility that came with it. If what Liles had told her was the truth--and Xira had no doubt that it was since it didn't cast her in the most positive light either--then Villa was most definitely pushing his luck with his current position. Punishment for failure was something Xira could understand, but what Villa had done had been on an entirely different level, far surpassing what would have been appropriate should he have felt the need to punish her for something.

Furthermore, the Theelin could not be blame for her sickness; if it was anyone's fault that the mission was a failure...It was the General's. He was in command, he chose Liles with prior knowledge of her ailment. Whether it played a factor during or after was of no consequence as it wasn't something that she could very well control. The General's behaviour was nothing short of abhorrent. Xira considered disciplinary action but knew that with men like Villa, that'd only make him bite back harder. His crime could be considered severe enough for a demotion but that wasn't really Xira's call--it would be the Grand Marshal's--so the point was truly moot. All the Grand Admiral could truly do was give him a verbal reprimand and suggest some sort of action to be taken against him to the Grand Marshal. All of which would have to take place after his mission.

And there was still the overriding factor that Villa was good at what he did; with the dwindling supply of good recruits, the Confederation needed strong, able men like him...though it could do without his personality quirks. Regardless of whatever character flaws that he was in possession of, he got the job done. In Xira's book, that was all that counted these days. The end justified the means, one could say.

"I see," was all she gave by way of a reply, though her displeasure was apparent. She jotted several more notes down on her datapad before sliding it away from her and to the side. Then she fixed Liles with an even look. "I believe that will do then, Lieutenant. Unless you have anything further to say...?"

This would be Liles' last chance to confess anything further about Villa, or request a transfer. If she had nothing else more to say, than she would be dismissed.

[Memory Liles]

"Am I to assume that the General did not render you any assistance due to his own wounds?"

“Due to his own ego,” Memory said, not thinking of the words before they slipped out of her mouth. Her own, building anger was started to wear on her well-placed filter. “I apologize,” she swiftly tagged on, “that was an unprofessional comment.”

Memory watched Xira jot down further comments on her datapad. If she had paid close enough attention, perhaps she would have been able to tell just what they were. Would this meeting come back to haunt her? Would Lelouch know about it? Part of her doubted it, though he could always find out. Not that he could really get any worse, anyway.

She imagined their talk was being recorded, too. At least Memory would know that she had spoken as a true bi-partisan.

She breathed deeply through her nose. You’re almost done, just bite down until you get out. It had been a long time since Memory had last felt that angry.

"I believe that will do then, Lieutenant. Unless you have anything further to say...?"

“No, Ma’m.” She could honestly go on about Lelouch and his bigoted tactics for days, but she couldn’t do that here, for multiple reasons.

For once she wished she had a weaker mind—her memories were burning like acid in her ears. There had been a few moments where Memory considered asking for another transfer, but she was no quitter, and whether he liked it or not, Lelouch Villa was going to see that.