Comments | damned: Day 58: Lieutenant General Charles Berg's Office (Fourth Shift)

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Day 58: Lieutenant General Charles Berg's Office (Fourth Shift)

Aug 30, 2011 14:00

As his eyes combed over the latest mission reports, Berg let out a small breath in frustration. While mission #57-1 had been a success, the data delivered during #57-2 had mysteriously disappeared. There was no reason that should have happened -- the base radioed a messaged confirming the case's safe retrieval, but now it seemed like no one could ( Read more... )

lelouch, utena, berg

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roseoverture August 31 2011, 02:48:57 UTC

It had been a quiet day thus far, which Utena had actually been a little glad for. After the night previous, a day with no tough conversations or strange things happening was probably what she'd needed. Just as Utena had been getting up for a much-desired shower, however, she was approached by two men in uniform. They led her out of the Sun Room and into the hall, and upon demanding to know what they wanted her for, she was informed that some commanding officer wanted to speak with her. This might not have been so bad if the very next thing hadn't been the soldiers stuffing a blindfold over her eyes before she could even get a word in ( ... )

das_berg August 31 2011, 03:08:45 UTC

The moment Utena Tenjou appeared in the room, Berg finished swallowing a sip of his coffee and placed his pocket watch down onto his desk. Just in time, as always. At the very least, he didn't have to worry about anyone arriving too early and catching him in the middle of reviewing some paperwork.

"Hello, Miss Tenjou," he greeted with a cordial smile, apparently unruffled by her displeasure. "I apologize for springing this on you at the last moment. We have security measures, you see, and so my people couldn't give you much warning."

Regardless, she'd asked for his name, and he agreed it was only polite that he introduce himself. "I'm Lieutenant General Charles Berg," he answered. "I recently decided to meet with some of you face-to-face. This isn't an interrogation or anything nasty like that, so don't be alarmed." Gesturing toward the empty chair in front of his seat, he politely inclined his head in invitation. "Please, why don't you have a seat?"

roseoverture August 31 2011, 04:13:49 UTC

The officer was being... nice to her? Utena hadn't expected that, but tried not to let it throw her for long. She knew plenty of people (coughTougacoughNanamicough) who acted plenty nice, but later showed their true, nasty colours under the right circumstances. If this Lieutenant General Charles Berg was working to keep the Institute running as it was, he definitely couldn't be all that "nice" at the core, Utena figured.

"Thanks, but I prefer to stand," Utena answered carefully, crossing her arms and not moving another step forward just yet. "And what made you decide that, huh? And why me? Does this have something to do with last night?"

If it did have something to do with the drugs, then Utena was going to have a lot more questions for him. Specifically what the hell made the Institute think it was okay to test out drugs on patients that caused people to become monstrous or murderous.

das_berg August 31 2011, 18:46:15 UTC

She was the first person to refuse his invitation to sit. Really, there wasn't anything to be gained in being so difficult about it, but Berg saw no reason to pressure her. "Well, if that's more comfortable for you, then by all means," he said with a small shrug.

When Miss Tenjou demanded more answers, specifically in regards to whether her activities last night brought her here, Berg shook his head.

"No, no, nothing like that," he assured her. "I just wanted to talk to some of you personally in an effort to better understand your situation. A file doesn't really say everything about a person, wouldn't you agree?"

roseoverture September 4 2011, 07:20:58 UTC

Truth be told, Utena did prefer to stand, even outside situations like this; she got restless just sitting in one place for too long. That said, the situation wasn't doing much to convince her that she ought to sway from her preferences just yet ( ... )

das_berg September 4 2011, 18:42:24 UTC

"To be honest, I'd rather you mostly direct the conversation." Berg leaned back in his seat, resting his hands against the chair's arm rests. "I said that I'm not interested in turning this into an interrogation, and I meant it."

Sometimes a person could learn more by simply listening, rather than trying to pry and dig. Of course, that didn't mean Berg wanted to do away with questions altogether, but he didn't want them to become the focus of their conversation, either.

"There is one thing I'd like to ask, but you're free to not answer," he added. "Mainly, I'm curious to hear what you may know about the man named Marc."

roseoverture September 5 2011, 09:35:10 UTC

Utena couldn't help the slight tense of her body at the mention of Marc's name ( ... )

das_berg September 6 2011, 20:13:01 UTC

The way she'd ignored the question wasn't lost on Berg. That was fine, though. He didn't acknowledge her silence on the issue, either. It was unfortunate that she didn't feel the need to use the situation to her advantage, but the officer didn't see any point in forcing the issue.

"I'd say that she was outside the institute, alive, safe and healthy," Berg replied. "Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to give you her personal information beyond that, but I can promise you she's not locked up or being held prisoner anywhere now." Given Ms. Tenjou's records, it wasn't so surprising that she'd ask after that particular subject, and so Berg had been prepared for it.

"In other words," he added as he reached for his mug, "I'll answer whatever questions you have to the best of my ability, but specific details may be too confidential to discuss. Rather than lying about anything, though, I'll just tell you if there's something I can't talk about."

roseoverture September 6 2011, 23:45:42 UTC

Utena listened intently, watching as well as she could for any sign that he might be lying. Truth be told, though, she had no idea what she was looking for. It wasn't like she was some savant at reading people. She had to convince herself that she was doing something, though, and not just accepting whatever the military man said without question. Himemiya deserved more than just quiet acceptance, damn it.

Still, despite her efforts, she couldn't tell a thing about what Berg may or may not have been thinking. He didn't seem to be lying, anyway. He wasn't showing much emotion, but he was polite enough; if he hadn't been wearing that uniform, he might even have come off as pleasant in certain moments. She might have suspected an act, but Berg hadn't slipped out of his persona even for a second. Either he really was that good, or he really was telling the truth. And as much as Utena hated to admit it, it was easier to believe that Berg was telling the truth over believing that anyone was that good an actor ( ... )

das_berg September 10 2011, 23:50:38 UTC

Berg patiently listened to Miss Tenjou's heated response. Her concern for the other young girl was quite touching. Unfortunately, it would do her little good in this place -- except, perhaps, give her extra incentive to cling onto her identity and prolong her stay here for as long as possible. That was difficult to say for sure, though. Every individual was different in his or her own way ( ... )

roseoverture September 14 2011, 17:37:10 UTC

Oh that did it.

Utena slammed her hands down on the desk. "Don't talk about her like you know what she'd want!" I don't even know what she'd want, and I'm her friend! a voice chimed inside Utena's mind, livid that Berg would even pretend to know. "It's not like I want her here or being the Rose Bride or something either, but that doesn't make stripping out everything else about her okay! How hard is that to see? Why can't she just be a normal girl called Himemiya Anthy for once in her life?!"

A sharp sense of deja vu pricked at the back of Utena's thoughts at that, but she ignored it in favour of righteous indignation.

das_berg September 30 2011, 19:10:46 UTC

Berg didn't find Miss Tenjou's outburst particularly amusing. Perhaps, if he had been drunk on his own power, it might have been an entertaining few minutes out of his day of endless red tape and bureaucracy. Of course, he wasn't that sort of officer, and so he found the girl's words more wearisome than anything else.

These sorts of youthful tirades were never pleasant -- not only because they rarely accomplished anything productive, but also because Berg knew he didn't have anything that would satisfy them. Naturally, that wasn't his problem, but he still didn't enjoy dealing with it. It reminded him too much of how he might have reacted many years ago if he'd known he'd eventually wind up helping command such a project ( ... )

roseoverture September 30 2011, 22:42:06 UTC

Oh well that was just great then, wasn't it? Life wasn't fair, and Berg "understood" her feelings. Obviously that meant it was okay to just dismiss Himemiya's identity without batting an eye. Was Berg kidding her ( ... )

das_berg October 5 2011, 20:56:09 UTC

Miss Tenjou was understandably still upset about her friend's predicament, but at least she didn't require the presence of other soldiers. Berg didn't avert his gaze, instead looking at her head on as she asked her question ( ... )

roseoverture October 16 2011, 07:55:42 UTC

Utena didn't back down when Berg looked her in the eye, or when he countered with how he hadn't designed any of this. It didn't matter if he hadn't been part of this at the start. He was participating in it now, wasn't he? He'd had a choice to back away from it and he hadn't. That's how Utena saw it. Just because Berg hadn't decided which tortures went into which spots, that didn't mean he wasn't one of the torturers.

That Berg admitted as much didn't do much for his position. What did, however, was the question that came next. Utena did waver some as the sadistic choice was presented to her. A horrible fate...? she thought, blue eyes blinking in uncertainty. Was she hearing that right ( ... )

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