"You think we should play along?"

"I think that by default we should not," he says, "but if we knew enough about what he had in mind that might not be default."

"If he'd asked for my father I'd assume he wants him alive - wants that badly enough he might in fact trade every civilian on the planet for it, not that we could make that trade. I am pretty sure I don't know enough to be useful in that front. The Noldor are less effective if I'm dead, but if he wants that badly enough there are easier ways, I'm not spending all my time in our city. Or that could all be a diversion and the whole thing is about talking with you." He stands. "I need to speak to my King."

"So you and me and my random orc family are going back to the bunker? Anybody else?"

"I think everyone else is staying to learn Thindarin and aid as best they can," he says, looking at the President, "unless you think the notes will create to great a barrier to trust."

"I have announced your explanation," the President says. "We'll see. They can stay."

"Okay, you'll fit in the shuttle I was using," Cam tells Maitimo. "We in a scale-of-minutes hurry?"

"I don't think so, we have three days and the Enemy probably won't escalate before then, he asked us not to evacuate before then." He starts walking. 

"Mm." Walking walking. Tense tail-lashing.

Maitimo really wishes he had a tail, seems appropriate to the occasion. 

"I doubt this is at all strategic," Cam says, "but he didn't ask for me by name and I can give somebody else wings. ...I can give humans wings. You guys would be more complicated."

"I'm very annoyed we don't have the same physiology. That does not seem wise, though. The only conceivable reason to do this is that we think we could handle whatever force he bothers manifesting and without you we definitely could not. Though if we hadn't heard that he can escalate at will past rockets, we might have been tempted to try it."

"I don't know for sure that he can but... it's suspicious. Especially if you had nuclear power on Valinor."

"And he put out the Suns."

"And that."

"Best case scenario is he thinks the Valar would intervene if he pulled out toys above the local tech level but running uploads is way above the local tech level so I do not like that explanation." Shuttle?

Shuttle. Up they go, orcs following. "Any ideas for things to ask the orcs?"

"Honestly I'd avoid talking to them until we know the original language backwards and forwards and the exact wording of every oath they've spoken, intent matters and can sometimes be realized weirdly - I know you've already spoken with them, and also these are only seven arbitrary orcs as undeserving of Mandos as everyone else on both sides of this catastrophe, but if you want to keep them safer -"

"I'm going to at least ask if they're hungry or anything," Cam says, and he does that.

They are. Can he swear not to drug or poison the food?

He can totally swear not to drug or poison the food, what do they want to eat?

Dinner tonight was going to be pasta and garlic bread and peaches and salad, the other adult orc volunteers.

Sounds delicious. Bon appetit. He can copy their home cooking and hopefully this is more comforting than creepy.

They seem comforted. Maitimo is amused by Cam swearing to things. "The Enemy might not even know that you can't, Maiar and Valar have binding oaths and seem the obvious referent."

"Well, if he does figure out I can't he might pretend to think I can, so better not make that a load-bearing hypothetical. I did swear to the orcs I wasn't an Elf, that's more universally credible - the voice is synthesized though, I don't know if that's relevant."

"That would make it not valid. Might be enough for them to decide they needn't treat you as an Elf, though. Oaths have to be spoken aloud. A good illusionist Maia might in fact be able to fake them."