Ruminations Continue...

The thinking about the situation continues on my end. I had a couple of responses to my last post that I though I would address in "main item text" as I have other thoughts that will probably spin off from my responses, and it is easier to keep things as transparent as possible...

Delf said...

I'm not sure I have anything worth contributing here, but I'll try. First, the game. As a frequent GM, I'm sure you've had to deal with your share of disruptive party members, so you know what a pain they are. You say your character has been helpful in spite of being a jerk, but maybe the GM doesn't see it that way. One of the best ways to try and resolve a conflict is to get different perspectives on the situation. Maybe try making a pro/con list of your character's behaviour. Other players might be able to help; get their opinions if you can.

As for out of game, if the GM really blind-sided you, he definitely mishandled the situation and owes you a conversation on how to resolve this. This isn't something to sweep under the rug. However, brooding on how you've been wronged instead of focusing on how to make it right won't help, and a game is not something to lose a friend over.

To Delf: You're right, a game is not something to lose a friend over. A lack of respect, however, is, and that is the angle I am coming from with this. I had witnessed problems in his game from his end. I held my tongue instead of calling him on his BS in front of the other players. Once we were relatively alone is when I brought the issues up to address them.

If my character and my play were an absolute issue, why could he not come to me from the same angle of respect? He had that opportunity and chose not to use it. Instead, he cut the legs out from underneath the character in the game, and it was an embarrassing situation for me personally as I felt I could not defend myself without looking like an ass in front of friends and customers.

His actions felt willful, spiteful, and vindictive in addressing what he ultimately saw as an out of game problem within the game.

Within the context of the game, my character has been more than helpful. There has been more than one instance where his out-of-the-box approach to obstacles/problems/impending doom pretty much saved not only the party, but our little corner of the universe in which we exist. Conversely, the character has done some things which has endangered said universe, but he's also done his best to right those things. In my eyes, he has earned more than a little grace and leeway from those around him, and most have given him that.

However, from a story perspective, I do completely and totally understand the reasons for what transpired to the character. It is from a friend and GM/Player standpoint that I do not agree with how it was approached.

Anonymous/Tom said...

I hope that I didn't exacerbate the episode. I was approached by one of the other characters before the game, in character, who asked how your character was put in charge, and why no one has done anything about it. I said that I would set up a meeting to talk about the situation and see if anything could be done to calm some people down. If I had know that the "council" was going to use this as an opportunity to oust you I would have tried talking to you in private. I think that your off the wall thinking has got us out of some situations that the rest of us could not have. I am too much of a thinker, and that can get us killed for overthinking. I hope everything works out.

To A/T: Let me state up front, I am not angry at you, or any of the other players. None of you set this situation up. Ling is somewhat angry at Yuri for trying to talk to him how and when he did. From a character standpoint, it felt a touch insulting, like Yuri was throwing Ling a bone in hopes that Ling would not do something obscenely drastic (which is, truthfully, a viable concern from Yuri's part).

Overall, Ling's point of view was "well, if they say they do not need me, then we'll see how that goes for them." Vindictive, yes, but given what we have done for this movement and cause, and how we had put ourselves on the line repeatedly only to be thrown under the bus, it's a flawed but perfectly human reason.

Now, once the ship (and, by extension, Yuri, Zack, Jason, and Lopez) was in danger, Ling was moved to act. Ling, by his count, has lost four homes in around a year's time. He lost Terra when he was forced to leave (due to his own dubious actions). Ling then lost Terra *again* with the Terracide, finalizing that he could never go home. Ling lost the Little Bear due to hostile/extenuating circumstances. Finally, he has lost Omicron for the foreseeable future. Ling is not about to lose another if he has anything to say about it.

As it stands, taking away Ling's command, while understandable, is probably the *WORST* thing they could have done to keep him in line. While in command, the higher-ups at least had some way of keeping tabs on him. Now that they've bumped him down, they given him less responsibility and made him a bit more autonomous. They've turned Ling into a wild card, and that makes him more dangerous to everyone he perceives as a threat to him and those he has chosen to protect.

Looking at the entire situation, given what we know, the higher-ups have absolutely bungled it.

The rest of the council should not have stayed on Omicron. It shouldn't have even been an option on the table. Rabindra has her reasons. She wants to protect her life's work, but she is fooling herself if she thinks she is the only one who can complete it. Xavier thinks he can work with the invaders. Hmmm... perhaps, but it's not something Ling would count on if Ling were in his position. The sheriff and Iron Rose? If I were an invading power, those would be the first two bullets I would fire once things had calmed down. Sheriff O'Neil and IR think they can hide indefinitely while they run a guerrilla movement/resistance, but they have failed to understand that they are in the finite space that is Omicron Station. It's not that big. The third and fourth bullets would be into Rabindra and Xavier. Xavier, because his loyalties are like a pancake. They're flip-floppity. They cannot trust him, and they know it. Rabindra? Well, she's kind of a driven fanatic, and fanatics are not entirely controllable (case in point, Ling). She's also not above dying if it removes one more problem from the table for the invaders.

Finally, they sent the one crew that has proven they can operate in a guerrilla situation (us, the crew of the Sovereign) off on a babysitting mission that any of the other, more stable crews would have been better suited for.

No, the more I think about it and the more I type, the more I wonder if we were sent away on purpose to make the takeover easier for the Junta. It is just a hunch at this point, but the pieces do fit. It might bear more contemplation once we have rousted our saboteur from the ship.

-- GopherDave