Victory or death. It applies to so much of the Galra and their actions that Shiro understands it, even if he thinks following it as they do is unnecessary at best. How many good commanders died because of such a saying? How many wars were fought unnecessarily? Then again, it wasn't as if Zarkon seemed to care. From Shiro's limited dealings with him, it was perhaps for the best, though this is not much better than the arena.
What Shiro's effectively doing is training someone on how best to kill him. They've tired of using him and now he's to be used one last time before being discarded. It's the way the empire works; it's why the empire is going to fail. Victory or death with the person he's supposed to train. It's a better ending than the one he would get in the arena and it means there's a chance for escape; that has to be worth something.
He's survived everything else. He'll survive this too. ]
They don't normally send the human gladiator in to train princes, is all. [ Shiro's lips twist up into a lopsided smile, shoulders rising and falling. ] Did they tell you that's what this is?
[ In it, a clue: no, they haven't told him what this is. And yes, he knows exactly what this is anyway. It's a test -- if Keith passes, if he kills this man in the course of their training, then that will be that. If this man kills him, then it would be a humiliating end for the prince, denounced, his legacy as weak forever known. It would be a culling, either way you cut it.
It's what he detests about these games -- not what they do to him, he's accepted that long ago, but using other races as fodder and sport. It is unbefitting of a warrior, beneath his dignity, and Keith studies the man before him curiously, his words holding no trace of hostility. ]
It's a culling. [ He explains, matter-of-factly. ] They don't usually send human gladiators to train princes, but you're not just anyone, are you? [ He pauses. ] I've seen you fight.
[ Full of life, full of vigor -- Keith would let him go, if he had a choice. Or perhaps he does, after all. A man like this doesn't deserve to die in the arena, or meet his end in Galra's sporting venues. No one does. Bread and circuses always turn out this way, don't they? He looks to the door, locked, before he offers his next comment simply. ]
[ From what he's gathered, neither prince is the Galran ideal of a leader but it also doesn't seem to matter. They're borderline cultist about their treatment and following of Zarkon and Shiro has a feeling he doesn't intend on passing his throne down to whoever will inherit it easily. The best he can probably hope for outside of escaping is that he trains Keith well enough that he is able to take Zarkon down himself, but even that is unlikely at best.
No, the best choice here is that he does this as long as humanly possible, and tries to use it as an escape. Maybe he can access the prince's terminals and find out where Sam and Matt are hidden, too. ]
I know. [ Keith's grown into himself since the last time they met and truthfully, Shiro hasn't expected to live or last this long, certainly not long enough to see him now. To train him like this. ]
We were on an expedition collecting samples for scientists on our planet. Just happened to pick a moon the Galra were on.
[ That is tremendously terrible luck. Of all the places to mount an expedition on, it had to be where the Galra are. Keith only nods, unable to help the smallest twinge of sympathy, even if his neutral expression gives nothing away. Compassion is weakness, he has been told; had been punished for it often, but somehow it just refuses to die.
So Keith lets it be what it is, and regards him with renewed purpose. There's no way he'll let Shiro die here -- he'll still have use to the Blade, and perhaps hold the key to taking down the Empire he despises so much. Keith might be prince, but he detests the current state of affairs; not that he'll tell Shiro as much, not when he doesn't know if it'll be used as leverage against him.
He'll continue to observe, to watch. But what he says next makes him tilt his head. ]
[ Not every Galra is bloodthirsty and a tyrant and Shiro knows that, but it doesn't make it any easier to decide what steps to take next, either. He has to do as he's instructed and if he doesn't do it well, then there will be punishment. He's taken punishment before, certainly, but the punishment very likely wouldn't be directed at him but at Keith, too. That he can't allow. It means that for the time being, he plays by the rules, makes sure neither of them die in the process and Sam and Matt aren't collateral damage.
The mention of 'we' instead of 'I' is intentional; Shiro isn't sure yet if it means Keith has no idea about the other people in his group or if he's fishing, but either way Shiro cuts him a long, considering look, arms crossed. ]
The two other humans with me at the time. Scientists, not fighters. They were captured and taken separately from me.
[ Bare bones; he's not sure how much information Keith has access to, but he'll need to figure that out. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Victory or death. It applies to so much of the Galra and their actions that Shiro understands it, even if he thinks following it as they do is unnecessary at best. How many good commanders died because of such a saying? How many wars were fought unnecessarily? Then again, it wasn't as if Zarkon seemed to care. From Shiro's limited dealings with him, it was perhaps for the best, though this is not much better than the arena.
What Shiro's effectively doing is training someone on how best to kill him. They've tired of using him and now he's to be used one last time before being discarded. It's the way the empire works; it's why the empire is going to fail. Victory or death with the person he's supposed to train. It's a better ending than the one he would get in the arena and it means there's a chance for escape; that has to be worth something.
He's survived everything else. He'll survive this too. ]
They don't normally send the human gladiator in to train princes, is all. [ Shiro's lips twist up into a lopsided smile, shoulders rising and falling. ] Did they tell you that's what this is?
no subject
[ In it, a clue: no, they haven't told him what this is. And yes, he knows exactly what this is anyway. It's a test -- if Keith passes, if he kills this man in the course of their training, then that will be that. If this man kills him, then it would be a humiliating end for the prince, denounced, his legacy as weak forever known. It would be a culling, either way you cut it.
It's what he detests about these games -- not what they do to him, he's accepted that long ago, but using other races as fodder and sport. It is unbefitting of a warrior, beneath his dignity, and Keith studies the man before him curiously, his words holding no trace of hostility. ]
It's a culling. [ He explains, matter-of-factly. ] They don't usually send human gladiators to train princes, but you're not just anyone, are you? [ He pauses. ] I've seen you fight.
[ Full of life, full of vigor -- Keith would let him go, if he had a choice. Or perhaps he does, after all. A man like this doesn't deserve to die in the arena, or meet his end in Galra's sporting venues. No one does. Bread and circuses always turn out this way, don't they? He looks to the door, locked, before he offers his next comment simply. ]
You're very good. How did they capture you?
no subject
No, the best choice here is that he does this as long as humanly possible, and tries to use it as an escape. Maybe he can access the prince's terminals and find out where Sam and Matt are hidden, too. ]
I know. [ Keith's grown into himself since the last time they met and truthfully, Shiro hasn't expected to live or last this long, certainly not long enough to see him now. To train him like this. ]
We were on an expedition collecting samples for scientists on our planet. Just happened to pick a moon the Galra were on.
[ His luck isn't the best. ]
no subject
So Keith lets it be what it is, and regards him with renewed purpose. There's no way he'll let Shiro die here -- he'll still have use to the Blade, and perhaps hold the key to taking down the Empire he despises so much. Keith might be prince, but he detests the current state of affairs; not that he'll tell Shiro as much, not when he doesn't know if it'll be used as leverage against him.
He'll continue to observe, to watch. But what he says next makes him tilt his head. ]
'We'?
no subject
The mention of 'we' instead of 'I' is intentional; Shiro isn't sure yet if it means Keith has no idea about the other people in his group or if he's fishing, but either way Shiro cuts him a long, considering look, arms crossed. ]
The two other humans with me at the time. Scientists, not fighters. They were captured and taken separately from me.
[ Bare bones; he's not sure how much information Keith has access to, but he'll need to figure that out. ]