Oh so many ways, DLK. More than we can even guess at. We don't know all the pieces, let alone where they all are at this second. So anything we postulate is subject to an absurd amount of uncertainty.
Not that it will stop or even slow down such speculation. Just that I don't expect it to be particularly accurate. :-)-
Well, without any indication that they have a viable plan to subvert their assassination order the Cassians assigned are supposed to assassinate Maxus and witnesses. As it is, making Maxus stop and go quietly means going gentle into that long, good night.
Obviously, the diffused energy from the plasma shots have to go somewhere, so that's why the room is heating up. But Protocol Casca ? Maybe it's an old Aeneas protocol ... that could change everything, possibly even the Cassians loyalty, they are after all children of Aeneas.
And I'm super excited to see Malati not killing Irene outright, methinks the Cassians may just have found a way out of this.
There might be some confusion here. To clarify, the Cassians aren't the New Roman equivalent of Cent's Black Angels. They were built to be the royal family's black-ops/wetworks team during Aurelian's reign, and were never under Aeneas's control.
Similarly, Naos has no connection to Aeneas; Maxus commissioned it years after Aeneas's "death".
They have in a relitive sense .. but yeah a Cassian is NOT a black angel.. they are more akin to Teedee and Ada than anything else.. Or Ray with NTPD ..
Interesting. Fortunately the Cassians know what will happen if they actually harm Irene.
The Diffusion field explains why Ma is not taking damage from the plasma packets being sent his way. Though I would imagine that it acts like an energy drain so that if he is close enough when he gets hit it will still cause a major owie.
Now it is a waiting game to see what happens next as we really do not know what course of action the Cassians have chosen here.
Yeah, they do know: Maxus will have been emotionally disrupted by the death of someone whose injury has motivated him to kill in the past. They'd also be done one part of drekhead's orders, killing the only (currently surviving) witness. There are no guarantees what that would do but Maxus is someone whose longest, earliest and bitterest training was to perform physical violence: If I had to guess the most likely result is him not giving a shit about defense and focusing on destroying Malati.
Oh, I'm sure Maxus has killed quite a few in his past. Gladiatorial combat is not nice at all.
At the same time, he also seems balanced enough to come up with another plan than just charging straight at Malati. And she's probably banking on that.
Besides, there are easier ways to get to the juicy center of Malati ... like so !
Singing a two-person vocal chorus using loop-tracking to bulk up the parts? I ask that because it at least makes more sense than Maxus even considering romancing a girl-bot with a knife at his wife's throat. I don't quite see how singing gets either of them out of this one, congratulations on presenting me with a puzzle I didn't solve inside of a minute.
With any luck Mata just holds her til Maxus is finished with the blue guys. Then they can talk about getting Max and his lady out of the palace. Course if Irene gets hurt, their won't be many functioning forms left in the palace by daybreak.
I dont know if Malati is on the same side as Max. She has Irene by the throat with that blade, and acting psycho. Not exactly a good sign. Maybe she is going to get her out of harms way, but putting a blade to the throat...thats kind of a fucked up way of helping.
It seems more likely Mal will just threaten her life if Max doesnt stand down.
Malati is pretty malicious in how she treats prisoners, so Im going to wait and see.
Yeah, Draginbeard I agree. Though Irene isn't being used... YET! She is a curvaceous handle that can definitely move Maxus around. He'll move Heaven and Earth for her.
Several pages ago when Kali relayed the Prince's orders to deal with Maxus, one of her subordinates (I forget which) complained loudly at the order - almost to the point of insubordination.
Then one of them (I forget) implied that if they followed their orders literally, then they could get away with more than they should. It suggested that Kali knew how to fulfill the requirements of Deck's orders while at the same time break the spirit of those orders.
My point? Maybe we're supposed to still "wait for it..." But, so far, it seems they're doing exactly what Prince Dufus wanted them to do. If there is an unspoken plan within the plan... I still don't see it.
So far, Maxus has eliminated the independent observers from the equation (possibly as hoped for), and seems able to take out the two Cassians on his own in close in combat.
Their only check in this situation is their hostage. Actually hurting Irene would result in their destruction and Maxus's survival, mission failure. Failure not being an option, we have a stalemate.
Having Maxus eliminate witnesses for them is not the best of plans. Yes, it is better than having him start with the Cassians. But it's hardly ideal for either Maxus or the Cassians. It would have better if the Cassians started by killing the blue suits.
For that matter, the Cassians seem surprised that Maxus is doing as well as he is. Meaning, they expected him to die rather easily. Meaning, they -do- actually want Maxus dead. So, they must not have had an unspoken secondary objective, unlike what was hinted earlier. Red herring, I guess?
Holding Irene hostage is not a stalemate for the Cassians. If anything, it would be checkmate for Maxus as he'd sooner surrender than cause Irene harm. They may know that hurting Irene would infuriate Maxus and have him throw caution to the wind. But while threatening Irene's life may be unwise, it hardly ensures a mission failure. Quite the contrary.
"Having Maxus eliminate witnesses for them is not the best of plans." Actually if the Cassians wish to do anything BUT kill Max and Irene, this is exactly what they NEED Max to do. As the little blue biddies will be the first ones to go tattling on them to Deci otherwise.
The one currently holding the blade to Irene's throat was the one arguing xpace. To me it sounded like the Cassians were going to play for time. The fact they are attacking now tells me something or someone altered their orders.
Granted, this is not what I expected. And, so, the story continues to surprise instead of being predictable.
I had expected the Cassians to follow Kali's orders TO THE LETTER. That is, they would have announced to Maxus that they were arresting him on charges of treason and say "Please stand there while we kill all witnesses" - at which point they would kill everyone else, starting with Deck's blue-suits. That would let Maxus know the shit hit the fan while giving him time to flee (with Irene). He'd run to gather his troops and march straight to Deck's location. That, or make some calls among his contacts to rouse support for Acantha and push for an overthrow. Meanwhile, the Cassians would continue to kill "potential witnesses" while taking their sweet time tracking down Maxus.
The blue guards are immune to the witness clause because Decimus ordered them, so the cassians cannot kill them for that.
And since the casians don't have actual free will, they might not be able to not attack Maxus, though Malati seems to have found a way to not actively attack and observe instead.
I could see this whole "Let Max kill the blues" plan being part of a bigger step. I honestly hope the Casians are still planning on helping over throw Douchemus.
Reinterpretation of what's going on in light of demonstrated behaviour:
Likely the Cassians don't have as much wiggle room to reinterpret Decimus' orders as is required to murder his troops without explicit orders to do so. Indeed, they would have understood that to his thinking his own troops would not be considered 'witnesses' for such an assassination so much as co-participants. Perhaps they also do not have the wiggle room to directly defy the order to murder Maxus and the witnesses either. That means that their options to subvert the orders are slim pickings and require contextual, "I used my best judgment," plausible deniability against the charge that they meant to wreck Decimus' plan.
I don't know if they're trying to throw the fight or not, I'd guess not if Malati attempted a spinal strike but it remains questionable. I don't know if they're trying to move the fight or not, but trying to lead the fight somewhere their other orders conflict with this assassination order might be the best they can do. They could just be playing for time until Maxus' loyal forces show up and disable the Cassians: Turning the assassination into a botched assassination intentionally could be suicide to avoid carrying out the order.
" The blue guards are immune to the witness clause because Decimus ordered them, so the cassians cannot kill them for that. "
Did Decimus or Kali EXPLICITLY forbid from killing these guards? Does their programming prevent them from killing Decimus' guards - even if they have orders from Decimus to do so? If the answer to both is no, then I can't fathom a reason why they can't kill them. Keep in mind, a few chapters ago Kali killed one of Maxus' guards for FOLLOWING Decimus' orders and vacating their post without first reporting to either Maxus or herself. Kali did not even need permission to do so. She must have had enough wiggle room in her programming and priorities.
Perhaps killing one of Deci's guards would carry consequences. But Kali did similar without anyone even questioning it. And the existence of consequences is not the same as being physically unable to do something.
" And since the casians don't have actual free will, they might not be able to not attack Maxus, though Malati seems to have found a way to not actively attack and observe instead. "
There's a big difference between outright refusing to follow an order and taking one's sweet time to go about doing it. Since Malati chose to take a hostage instead of engage Maxus directly, it seems she was able to do the latter.
" Indeed, they would have understood that to his thinking his own troops would not be considered 'witnesses'... "
Doesn't matter. What you describe, interpreting what Decimus meant by "witnesses", should be irrelevant if they are able to follow the LETTER of their orders, rather than the SPIRIT. Even a very advanced, very human-like android such as Star Trek's Data should have a tendency to be far more literal than a human. In fact, if they are hard-wired to follow orders, they should be FORCED to follow their orders to the letter, without much room for interpretation.
" Perhaps they also do not have the wiggle room to directly defy the order to murder Maxus and the witnesses either. That means that their options to subvert the orders are slim pickings and require contextual, "I used my best judgment," plausible deniability against the charge that they meant to wreck Decimus' plan. "
Plausible deniability is all about avoiding consequences. But from what readers are suggesting, it sounds like Kali's plan is to give Maxus a fighting chance by a poor team choice, attacking him in Irene's home, and giving him advanced warning (instead of assassination). This suggests that the Cassians HOPE they fail to kill him, meaning that they are likely sacrificing themselves to give Maxus a chance to bring down Decimus.
Sacrificing oneself is the opposite of avoiding consequences. So why would they give a darn if they get in trouble for killing Deck's guards? Either way, they loose. Might as well go out with a bang.
So, it is canon. Though, I wish Cent had explained WHY the Royal Pretarians are immune. (Programming?)
As for punishment: I think some of them (Malati in particular) would risk any sort of punishment if there was a good chance of ridding themselves of Douchebag.
As for being reloaded: Nova Roma is technologically backwards compared to other city-states. While New Troy has the best cutting-edge technology, especially with androids. And even in New Troy, flashing a dying android has a high failure rate. (I forget... 10%? 20%?) Also, there's a very narrow time window to flash them.
Who's going to flash these Cassians as they lay dying on the floor? Certainly not Maxus or Irene. And this mission was top secret...
I was thinking Maxus would want the captured Cassians around as proof of Decimus' treachery. You know, evidence, that thing reasonable people want before they start even considering believing any wild accusations?
Red armor is for general military, gold armor is for elites, and blue armor is for Decimus's personal guards, who are only nominally subject to the military hierarchy. The guy that Kali killed was a literal redshirt. The Cassians do indeed have explicit standing orders to refrain from interfering with Decimus's pet psychos, except where doing so would contravene orders that have higher priority--if a Royal Praetorian attacks Acantha or Decimus, any nearby Cassian would be able to kill the offender (a welcome opportunity, since the Cassians, by and large, don't appreciate the fact that the little blue bastards are permitted to commit atrocities for their own amusement).
Normally the cassians are exterminating those bastards rather than saluting them.. not that a cassian ever salutes anyone ( in reference to the blue psychos )
Just the smoking hole that was Nova Roma after Maxus is done, Rash. I think CentComm would have to censor HOW he did it though. Some things would be TOO graphic to present.
For discussions sake consider these points.
The Cassians are probably well aware of what Maxus's capabilities are (if not just HOW GOOD he is at them). They are the ones who have chosen this plan of attack, not Decimus or his guards. Their plan seems to have been chosen to provide Maxus the greatest possible advantages without being TOO obvious about it. (His own quarters, close combat, no initial stunning or incapacitation).
They are also aware of just how capable and intelligent he is. So it is well with in their mental framework to have devised an assassination plan that they are certain will fail even with their best efforts (no loyalty conflict) while hoping that Maxus will realize they've set themselves up to fail on purpose and will thus restrain himself from permanently eliminating them.
I’m not a lawyer, I just watch them on TV. Nevertheless, I believe that there’s the LETTER of the law /order, then there’s the SPIRIT of same. “Your orders are to eliminate the target and any witnesses, correct?” (http://datachasers.webcomic.ws/comics/1248)
Let’s assume* that “eliminate” could be accurately construed as “kill”. Let’s also assume in those after-action reports, there are actions that served the “greater good of Nova Roma” MORE than serving Decimus.
By the LETTER of the order, I think Malati and Hrist could kill the blue-suits. Yes, they were ordered to be there, but by being there, they are now “witness” to the events. Granted, Maxus may save them the trouble…
By taking Irene hostage, Malati may have given Maxus enough incentive to listen briefly. That may give enough time for Malati to remind Max of those prior after-action reports, and how all they have to do is “temporarily” kill Maxus and Irene. I dunno, maybe an electrical jolt to stop Irene’s heart for 10 - 20 seconds or so, then defib her & do the same to Max.
The Cassians can leave with a wink and a nod, the LETTER of the order is fulfilled (not the spirit), and the greater good of Nova Roma is served by keeping the general in the fray. Maybe?? I hope so. Anyway, them’s my two cents… If you can't break a nickel, keep the change.
(*Writer is fully aware of what can be made when you assume. A guy can dream, right?)
So maybe the debriefing later goes something like…
Noctis: So, Malati… you followed orders?
Malati: Yup! No witnesses, killed the target, no sweat! Hrist is getting patched up, but she’ll be ok.
Kali: I… um… okay. Why, then, do I see Irene resting safely in Sertiorus’ chambers, and Maxus throttling the prince?
Malati (smirking): You said kill ‘em. Didn’t say it had to take, now did’ya?
Those are good points. And that's an interesting theory. I hope you're right.
I have a problem with the theory espoused by others: That Kali intentionally made bad choices in location (Irene's home) and team selection and announced they were arresting him for treason so as to give Maxus a chance. This means that the Cassians plan to sacrifice themselves, hoping Maxus defeats (i.e., destroys) both of them.
As a human, I may not be able to think like a Cassian. But, I would consider any plan that requires me dying in the process of fighting to the death with the person I admire most as... most likely a bad idea.
If it's just most of your body that is destroyed, and your memory block survives, then you can be reloaded and the sacrifice wouldn't be so big. One would expect a combat model to have a strong braincase.
@xpacetrue: One huge advantage that the cassians have over humans, even Maxus, is the fact that they don't die when they die. they CAN be flashed into a new frame.
There are issues with that of course, but it does throw a whole monkey wrench in the fight-flight (mostly fight) pattern programmed into them.
" ...One would expect a combat model to have a strong braincase. "
Having a strong braincase may help prevent their head from being crushed, pierced or otherwise damaged. But it won't help them when they literally flatline. Remember when Dr. Demark, Ada and Teedee were shot down by that mercenary? Remember how quickly Dr. Demark had to act in order to flash both Teedee and Ada before their systems shut down? They're more like you or I than a computer: If they shut down, they shut down for good.
@DLKmusic
"...they CAN be flashed into a new frame.
There are issues with that of course, but it does throw a whole monkey wrench in the fight-flight (mostly fight) pattern programmed into them."
There are HUGE issues with flashing an android into a new frame. I think it's like getting emergency treatment for someone suffering a heart attack or a stroke: Yeah, it is survivable. But time is of the essence. And even in the best of circumstances, you can still die.
And then, consider how this is Nova Roma, where most people hate and distrust androids. Most wouldn't lift a finger to help an android, except perhaps to treat them as they would any other property.
anonymous coward did make a good point that Maxus may want captured Cassians as proof of Decimus' treachery. But even so, I have my doubts that he would or even could flash them. He may not have the training or equipment to do so.
Nope and no comment, respectively. :D Two Cassians and half a dozen Royal Praetorians can, however, walk into pretty much any part of the palace, say "Clear the fuck out and stay out," and have a reasonable expectation of being obeyed. :D
I'm starting to wonder how long it will be until some guards or other come inestigating the source of the not so subtle explosion and plasma rifle fire they'e heard.
Granted, it hasn't been long since the whole thing started. But then there's usually at least a certain number of guards stationed quite near an active general's quarters.
Irene's lives in a house, and the fighting is happening inside, not a lot of sound will escape. Plus I think the house is a bit out of the way .. ie. when Acantha and Lynn had to go to Irene's house, they had to fly there.
They're not at Irene's house, remember? She was staying over with Maxus because she wanted to be around to de-stress him after Decimus held his crazy dinner (where he announced his plan to go to war with New Troy).
actually the "regular" military types have been ordered out of this section .. to prevent them from interfering with the blue guys and the blues technically outrank MOST of the military types..
Far out enough not to hear any of the commotion anymore? Because otherwise at least some of them might feel compelled to come back and check up on their (as far as I read it) rather popular general.
First Hrist may not be on the same page as Malati as it comes to the creative interpretation of orders.
"Fools can they not even hit -"
So she may actually be trying to kill Maxus and Irene.
Second, Malati however, we KNOW she finds this wrong, reprehensible and disgusting to follow Dreadhead's order, and she is looking for any reason she can legitimately use to not obey them.
"Hush, hus. Let's observe, shall we?"
Tells me that she has not intention of harming Irene for "Reals", maybe the threat of it to get Maxus to stand down or back briefly so she can explain or use a subterfuge to allow Maxus and Irene to escape.
Third, how do we know that just in case, Irene's Nanosuit doesn't have some type of built in defense features. that Malati might or might not know about.
If she does, by grabbing Irene she intentionally set her self up to be possibly damaged by those features to allow Maxus and Irene the time to escape.
And we still don't know just how badly rattle Hrist is from being thrown across the room into the column. Does she have debilitating damage? Or if she is on the same page as Malati, could she fake debilitating damage?
Not that it will stop or even slow down such speculation. Just that I don't expect it to be particularly accurate. :-)-
And I'm super excited to see Malati not killing Irene outright, methinks the Cassians may just have found a way out of this.
Similarly, Naos has no connection to Aeneas; Maxus commissioned it years after Aeneas's "death".
The Diffusion field explains why Ma is not taking damage from the plasma packets being sent his way. Though I would imagine that it acts like an energy drain so that if he is close enough when he gets hit it will still cause a major owie.
Now it is a waiting game to see what happens next as we really do not know what course of action the Cassians have chosen here.
At the same time, he also seems balanced enough to come up with another plan than just charging straight at Malati. And she's probably banking on that.
Besides, there are easier ways to get to the juicy center of Malati ... like so !
Malati is probably more prone to mental shenanigans, than physical ones.
Still, the mental image you left there, was rather entertaining. :)
on Friday, Cent said that Malati had a plan. She didn't say that Malati had a GOOD plan...
Ahh so beautiful....
>.>
It seems more likely Mal will just threaten her life if Max doesnt stand down.
Malati is pretty malicious in how she treats prisoners, so Im going to wait and see.
Then one of them (I forget) implied that if they followed their orders literally, then they could get away with more than they should. It suggested that Kali knew how to fulfill the requirements of Deck's orders while at the same time break the spirit of those orders.
My point? Maybe we're supposed to still "wait for it..." But, so far, it seems they're doing exactly what Prince Dufus wanted them to do. If there is an unspoken plan within the plan... I still don't see it.
Their only check in this situation is their hostage. Actually hurting Irene would result in their destruction and Maxus's survival, mission failure. Failure not being an option, we have a stalemate.
For that matter, the Cassians seem surprised that Maxus is doing as well as he is. Meaning, they expected him to die rather easily. Meaning, they -do- actually want Maxus dead. So, they must not have had an unspoken secondary objective, unlike what was hinted earlier. Red herring, I guess?
Holding Irene hostage is not a stalemate for the Cassians. If anything, it would be checkmate for Maxus as he'd sooner surrender than cause Irene harm. They may know that hurting Irene would infuriate Maxus and have him throw caution to the wind. But while threatening Irene's life may be unwise, it hardly ensures a mission failure. Quite the contrary.
I had expected the Cassians to follow Kali's orders TO THE LETTER. That is, they would have announced to Maxus that they were arresting him on charges of treason and say "Please stand there while we kill all witnesses" - at which point they would kill everyone else, starting with Deck's blue-suits. That would let Maxus know the shit hit the fan while giving him time to flee (with Irene). He'd run to gather his troops and march straight to Deck's location. That, or make some calls among his contacts to rouse support for Acantha and push for an overthrow. Meanwhile, the Cassians would continue to kill "potential witnesses" while taking their sweet time tracking down Maxus.
And since the casians don't have actual free will, they might not be able to not attack Maxus, though Malati seems to have found a way to not actively attack and observe instead.
She's plotting something, I think.
I could see this whole "Let Max kill the blues" plan being part of a bigger step. I honestly hope the Casians are still planning on helping over throw Douchemus.
Likely the Cassians don't have as much wiggle room to reinterpret Decimus' orders as is required to murder his troops without explicit orders to do so. Indeed, they would have understood that to his thinking his own troops would not be considered 'witnesses' for such an assassination so much as co-participants. Perhaps they also do not have the wiggle room to directly defy the order to murder Maxus and the witnesses either. That means that their options to subvert the orders are slim pickings and require contextual, "I used my best judgment," plausible deniability against the charge that they meant to wreck Decimus' plan.
I don't know if they're trying to throw the fight or not, I'd guess not if Malati attempted a spinal strike but it remains questionable. I don't know if they're trying to move the fight or not, but trying to lead the fight somewhere their other orders conflict with this assassination order might be the best they can do. They could just be playing for time until Maxus' loyal forces show up and disable the Cassians: Turning the assassination into a botched assassination intentionally could be suicide to avoid carrying out the order.
Did Decimus or Kali EXPLICITLY forbid from killing these guards? Does their programming prevent them from killing Decimus' guards - even if they have orders from Decimus to do so? If the answer to both is no, then I can't fathom a reason why they can't kill them. Keep in mind, a few chapters ago Kali killed one of Maxus' guards for FOLLOWING Decimus' orders and vacating their post without first reporting to either Maxus or herself. Kali did not even need permission to do so. She must have had enough wiggle room in her programming and priorities.
Perhaps killing one of Deci's guards would carry consequences. But Kali did similar without anyone even questioning it. And the existence of consequences is not the same as being physically unable to do something.
" And since the casians don't have actual free will, they might not be able to not attack Maxus, though Malati seems to have found a way to not actively attack and observe instead. "
There's a big difference between outright refusing to follow an order and taking one's sweet time to go about doing it. Since Malati chose to take a hostage instead of engage Maxus directly, it seems she was able to do the latter.
" Indeed, they would have understood that to his thinking his own troops would not be considered 'witnesses'... "
Doesn't matter. What you describe, interpreting what Decimus meant by "witnesses", should be irrelevant if they are able to follow the LETTER of their orders, rather than the SPIRIT. Even a very advanced, very human-like android such as Star Trek's Data should have a tendency to be far more literal than a human. In fact, if they are hard-wired to follow orders, they should be FORCED to follow their orders to the letter, without much room for interpretation.
" Perhaps they also do not have the wiggle room to directly defy the order to murder Maxus and the witnesses either. That means that their options to subvert the orders are slim pickings and require contextual, "I used my best judgment," plausible deniability against the charge that they meant to wreck Decimus' plan. "
Plausible deniability is all about avoiding consequences. But from what readers are suggesting, it sounds like Kali's plan is to give Maxus a fighting chance by a poor team choice, attacking him in Irene's home, and giving him advanced warning (instead of assassination). This suggests that the Cassians HOPE they fail to kill him, meaning that they are likely sacrificing themselves to give Maxus a chance to bring down Decimus.
Sacrificing oneself is the opposite of avoiding consequences. So why would they give a darn if they get in trouble for killing Deck's guards? Either way, they loose. Might as well go out with a bang.
As for the guards being immue, that is based on a comment by centcomm on the Two of Swords (Reversed) page.
As for punishment: I think some of them (Malati in particular) would risk any sort of punishment if there was a good chance of ridding themselves of Douchebag.
As for being reloaded: Nova Roma is technologically backwards compared to other city-states. While New Troy has the best cutting-edge technology, especially with androids. And even in New Troy, flashing a dying android has a high failure rate. (I forget... 10%? 20%?) Also, there's a very narrow time window to flash them.
Who's going to flash these Cassians as they lay dying on the floor? Certainly not Maxus or Irene. And this mission was top secret...
I mean Can Centcom even SHOW what MAx here will do to her?
The Cassians are probably well aware of what Maxus's capabilities are (if not just HOW GOOD he is at them). They are the ones who have chosen this plan of attack, not Decimus or his guards. Their plan seems to have been chosen to provide Maxus the greatest possible advantages without being TOO obvious about it. (His own quarters, close combat, no initial stunning or incapacitation).
They are also aware of just how capable and intelligent he is. So it is well with in their mental framework to have devised an assassination plan that they are certain will fail even with their best efforts (no loyalty conflict) while hoping that Maxus will realize they've set themselves up to fail on purpose and will thus restrain himself from permanently eliminating them.
Let’s assume* that “eliminate” could be accurately construed as “kill”. Let’s also assume in those after-action reports, there are actions that served the “greater good of Nova Roma” MORE than serving Decimus.
By the LETTER of the order, I think Malati and Hrist could kill the blue-suits. Yes, they were ordered to be there, but by being there, they are now “witness” to the events. Granted, Maxus may save them the trouble…
By taking Irene hostage, Malati may have given Maxus enough incentive to listen briefly. That may give enough time for Malati to remind Max of those prior after-action reports, and how all they have to do is “temporarily” kill Maxus and Irene. I dunno, maybe an electrical jolt to stop Irene’s heart for 10 - 20 seconds or so, then defib her & do the same to Max.
The Cassians can leave with a wink and a nod, the LETTER of the order is fulfilled (not the spirit), and the greater good of Nova Roma is served by keeping the general in the fray. Maybe?? I hope so. Anyway, them’s my two cents… If you can't break a nickel, keep the change.
(*Writer is fully aware of what can be made when you assume. A guy can dream, right?)
So maybe the debriefing later goes something like…
Noctis: So, Malati… you followed orders?
Malati: Yup! No witnesses, killed the target, no sweat! Hrist is getting patched up, but she’ll be ok.
Kali: I… um… okay. Why, then, do I see Irene resting safely in Sertiorus’ chambers, and Maxus throttling the prince?
Malati (smirking): You said kill ‘em. Didn’t say it had to take, now did’ya?
Still, it's an interesting plan, I must admit.
Temporary death might be enough to fulfill the orders.
Those are good points. And that's an interesting theory. I hope you're right.
I have a problem with the theory espoused by others: That Kali intentionally made bad choices in location (Irene's home) and team selection and announced they were arresting him for treason so as to give Maxus a chance. This means that the Cassians plan to sacrifice themselves, hoping Maxus defeats (i.e., destroys) both of them.
As a human, I may not be able to think like a Cassian. But, I would consider any plan that requires me dying in the process of fighting to the death with the person I admire most as... most likely a bad idea.
If it's just most of your body that is destroyed, and your memory block survives, then you can be reloaded and the sacrifice wouldn't be so big. One would expect a combat model to have a strong braincase.
There are issues with that of course, but it does throw a whole monkey wrench in the fight-flight (mostly fight) pattern programmed into them.
" ...One would expect a combat model to have a strong braincase. "
Having a strong braincase may help prevent their head from being crushed, pierced or otherwise damaged. But it won't help them when they literally flatline. Remember when Dr. Demark, Ada and Teedee were shot down by that mercenary? Remember how quickly Dr. Demark had to act in order to flash both Teedee and Ada before their systems shut down? They're more like you or I than a computer: If they shut down, they shut down for good.
@DLKmusic
"...they CAN be flashed into a new frame.
There are issues with that of course, but it does throw a whole monkey wrench in the fight-flight (mostly fight) pattern programmed into them."
There are HUGE issues with flashing an android into a new frame. I think it's like getting emergency treatment for someone suffering a heart attack or a stroke: Yeah, it is survivable. But time is of the essence. And even in the best of circumstances, you can still die.
And then, consider how this is Nova Roma, where most people hate and distrust androids. Most wouldn't lift a finger to help an android, except perhaps to treat them as they would any other property.
anonymous coward did make a good point that Maxus may want captured Cassians as proof of Decimus' treachery. But even so, I have my doubts that he would or even could flash them. He may not have the training or equipment to do so.
I guess it's a part of the palace where only blue guards patrol then ?
Or will we see redshirts arrive soon ?
Granted, it hasn't been long since the whole thing started. But then there's usually at least a certain number of guards stationed quite near an active general's quarters.
First Hrist may not be on the same page as Malati as it comes to the creative interpretation of orders.
"Fools can they not even hit -"
So she may actually be trying to kill Maxus and Irene.
Second, Malati however, we KNOW she finds this wrong, reprehensible and disgusting to follow Dreadhead's order, and she is looking for any reason she can legitimately use to not obey them.
"Hush, hus. Let's observe, shall we?"
Tells me that she has not intention of harming Irene for "Reals", maybe the threat of it to get Maxus to stand down or back briefly so she can explain or use a subterfuge to allow Maxus and Irene to escape.
Third, how do we know that just in case, Irene's Nanosuit doesn't have some type of built in defense features. that Malati might or might not know about.
If she does, by grabbing Irene she intentionally set her self up to be possibly damaged by those features to allow Maxus and Irene the time to escape.
And we still don't know just how badly rattle Hrist is from being thrown across the room into the column. Does she have debilitating damage? Or if she is on the same page as Malati, could she fake debilitating damage?