maskormenace | [002] Video

[ Rick appears plain exhausted on the video. He's had a hell of a time recovering from the whole LACKEY ordeal and it shows. For a moment, he stares into the camera and debates turning it off. But instead, he rubs his face with his hand and goes forward. ]

I got a few things to say. You ain't gonna like 'em. But I think you need to hear 'em.

[ There's a pause as he mulls over which one to start with. ]

First off, I was a part of the team that put LACKEY in a human body back in Lithuania. 'Cause of that choice, the Soviet Union was able to have their porter here an' put us through hell. Maybe we didn't make the right call, but I still felt responsible for the him. So much so that I wound up gettin' imprisoned alongside LACKEY for the duration of the Soviet occupation.

When you people came up with your plan to extract LACKEY, no one came to me. Shouldn't have been hard to find out that I was there. To communicate with me. But I promised LACKEY I'd protect him an' that's what I did until I was killed by someone I thought was on my side.

[ A beat. ]

An' that wouldn't've been so much of a problem except for one thing. I got a virus inside of me. A virus that when I die, I revive an' turn into a....guess the term most of you I talked to have called it is a 'zombie.' But we call 'em walkers. They're jus' walkin' corpses, no life left to 'em except to eat living flesh. No one put me down in that room for good. An' it coulda been a disaster. This virus is in every single person from my world. So if ever there comes a time where you have to kill any of us or one of us dies, make sure you destroy the brain. If you don't, well -- it don't take long for the virus to spread through a single bite.

[ He lets out a prolonged sigh. ]

I get it. Why you did what you did an' took me out. Which also leads to the other thing I wanna say:

I come from a world where the dead outnumber the livin'. Every day is a struggle to survive. Food is scarce, resources even moreso. I understand war better than many of you can imagine. I understand the horrible things you have to do in order to survive. Hell. I did 'em myself.

People died in Debrecen. That's the reality. There ain't a damn thing we can do to change it. It's just the way war goes. I've lost a lot of people along the way. Good people. People who didn't deserve the die jus' like those civilians. But it ain't realistic to think it won't happen in war. Gettin' angry about it ain't gonna change things. And doin' somethin' stupid definitely ain't gonna change things. What it all boils down to when you're in a war, what you gotta remember is: there are no good guys, no bad guys. There're jus' people, tryin' to fight to protect themselves an' their own, doin' whatever it takes to do that. The Russians wouldn't've done it any different if the situations were reversed.

[ He rubs at one of his temples as though he can sense the indignation he's about to stir up. ]

Guess what I'm ultimately gettin' at is we have to live here. Don't go on an' do somethin' stupid that reflects on us all. 'cause trust me on this much: when you go on an' do somethin' stupid, it only leads to way more people bein' killed. That is a reality, the only reality, you have in your hands to control.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Carl said his piece to Jesse. He was going to keep quiet to everyone else about Dad, because what the hell do they care? They don't. They think because people can come back, that death is something they can just wake up from, like it's some nap. What do they know about the agony Carl has felt for two weeks, knowing Dad being tortured and forced into additional brainwashing sessions, suffering over learning Carl's injury? What do they know the dread of the virus within them?

They don't care about that. They care about being right.

But this? This presumption of speaking for Carl's sake? Is too much. ]

I don't need you to speak for me.

[ What would d'Artagnan know, about losing his father?

Absolutely everything. There's a reason he's furious at the risk Rick took. ]

No? You spoke to my man, blamed him for this. Blamed him, when what he did was take your father out of the fight.

No import was targeted, Carl. Those were my orders. We didn't put him in harm's way. I understand your anger more than you know, but Jesse does not deserve it.

[ And just like that, it happened. For a lack of a better word, Carl just exploded. His single-minded fury distorts his face. With his one eye and the rage he is showing, he looks a lot older than a teenager. ]

You don't get it, don't you?!

Jesse was my friend! He protected me! I trusted him! And I trusted you guys! I fought along you, I worked on the sabotage missions, I trusted you! I trusted all of you! After the battle and I find out what you guys did - and you don't even care to look at what you have done! You guys are acting like you just knocked my dad out. But you killed him! Just because we come back doesn't mean that death is some fucking nap you just wake up from!

And you know what's the worst thing about this whole thing? I was thinking during the occupation I should maybe join RISE after we kicked the Russians out. That is what makes this so sick.

[ And if they hadn't killed Dad, they would've had an additional member. One who knows the importance of keeping people safe. imPorts are in this together. They have to be.

Or at least, that what Carl was rationalizing for the idea of joining RISE before they killed Dad. ]

So, no, you don't get the right to speak for me. I'm not your man to speak for, and you'll never get that chance. So fuck you.

Edited 2016-03-13 20:00 (UTC)

[ D'Artagnan lets out a breath. It's anger that's so familiar, he knows he won't break through it. No one could ever have broken him from that mood, not until he felt that justice was done.

And that won't happen. There's no justice to gain here. There's no body to bury, no one to avenge. If Carl hurt Jesse, he'd be killing the person who saved his father as well as the one who killed him.

There's no answer to that emotion. He'll just have to feel it. ]

We did what we had to do. If Jesse had not acted when he did, we might have lost your father entirely. Our mission could have failed. That could not have happened.

I don't expect that to change how you feel. The fact is we're soldiers. We can't put one man above four cities. Not even one of our own. I'm sorry, Carl. There are few easy choices when it comes to war.

[ Carl has listen half of that. They still don't get it. After D'Artagnan is done talking, Carl is still tense. But he's no longer shouting. He's speaking in a low tone of voice now. ]

Dad is willing to let this go. Even he's going on your side of this, even though you people don't deserve to breathe the same air as he does. I'm not going to let this go, but I'm not going after anyone. It's what he wants.

[ But his expression darkens even more. ]

But the next time someone even tries to kill Dad, I'll put a bullet in their skull. And I don't care what their reasoning is.

[ Carl's done. He's not going on this post again. He said his piece, in public, for everyone to hear. ]

I don't blame you.

[ He really doesn't. In Carl's position, he'd be likely to do and say the exact same thing.

It's just that none of that changes anything, and never will, because it doesn't make what he said any less true. ]

We all protect our families.The Resistance thought beyond that, and so does RISE. That's how it has to be.