Nod. "Um, how much longer do you think you need to recover?" 

:The main thing I'm waiting on is being able to focus much without tiring myself out, and I think that'll be another week, week and a half, and then I'll be able to put together some Force techniques I need for getting by around here - I assume you've noticed I can't shield yet, that and getting my hearing back are the big ones. I don't know how long it'll be before I'm back to how I was before the first attack, but that's less important, I can work around it pretty well.:

Sandra doesn't think she's really supposed to keep asking, Savil instructed her not to be nosy about it, but she's curious and Deskyl brought it up first. "Um, the first attack? How many times did you get attacked?" 

:Four times. We don't know much about it, just that I was taken away and brought back unconscious. I'm not even entirely sure that 'attack' is the right way of thinking about it. Close enough, though, they were definitely going to kill me eventually.:

"That's horrible." Sandra brings a hand to her mouth. "Er, who's 'they'?" It's starting to sound like it definitely wasn't enemies on a battlefield, like she'd been assuming. 

:You might not want to hear about this, Sith are pretty awful sometimes. Things are better now, that's what matters.:

Sandra can't decide if she does or doesn't want to hear about it, but either way she's not going to press further. "I'm really glad. Um, anyway, I can go talk to Savil about meeting tomorrow and bringing Lancir in." 

:All right. Let my droid know when you'll want us.:

"I will." Sandra nods to her and ducks out. 

Deskyl and DZ are up and ready when she comes back the next day for their meeting with Lancir.

It ends up being later in the afternoon, due to limitations of Lancir's schedule (Savil sent a note for DZ earlier that day). Sandra collects them and they meet up with Savil outside a very old-looking low stone building near the centre of the cluster that makes up the Palace. 

:Anything I should know before we go in?: she asks Savil.

:Hmm. Well, I don't know if Sandra gave you context on Lancir's role and why we're meeting him in particular. He's the Queen's Own to Elspeth, basically her second-in-command, he signs off on all the Heraldic deployments, and looking after the wellbeing of all the Heralds is also part of his role: 

Savil frowns. :He's probably going to want to know more about your world, and, er, how you were injured there. And keep in mind that he doesn't know your customs, so what comes across as rudeness may not be intended that way: 

:Ah-ha.:

:Sith outrank any non-Sith, including royalty, who can't best us in combat. Which is pretty much any non-Sith at all. Do you have any advice about explaining that without having it turn into a fight?:

From Savil's expression, this is in the category of 'things she was afraid might come up', but she's relieved that at least it came up before they went inside. 

:Well, he's got no desire to fight you: she sends, slowly. :Or give you orders. You're not in our command structure at all. That being said - I'm not at all sure how he would respond to your trying to give him orders, if that's something you might intend to do: 

(Savil is, in fact, unsure, that's not a lie, but she has a strong suspicion the answer would be 'badly'.) 

:I don't intend to try to get him to do things. I might have objections to him treating me or my droid certain ways.:

:...Well, if you can tell us clearly what those ways are, hopefully that can be avoided. I doubt Lancir is going to treat DZ with, er, disrespect – he's rather impressed with her, he knows she learned Valdemaran in a day and has been plowing through the library here: A brief smile. :I'm also impressed. Anyway, if he does step on your toes by accident, I think he would respond well to being told off and wouldn't do it again: 

:That works,: she nods, and signs a bit to DZ. :We're ready.:

Then they can go in. 

Lancir meets them in the hall, and ushers them to a room. "Figured we ought to meet in here, my office won't fit this many comfortably. Thank you for coming." 

She slides through his shields as smoothly as ever. :You're welcome. We wanted to know what tech it would be most useful for us to prioritize inventing, and what kinds of logistical support we can expect for those projects, though I understand you're likely to have other questions for me too.:

Lancir nods. "That plays into my first question, which is: Savil said to me a few days back that you hadn't yet decided whether you were staying here long-term. Is that a decision you've made yet? That, and how long you think you're likely to stay, will play into what kinds of logistical support it makes sense for us to set up." 

:At this point I'm assuming I'll be here at least several months and probably a few years; I'll decide whether I want to stay permanently when I have a more complete understanding of your world.:

"That makes sense. Hmm. I haven't had a chance yet to do too much thinking, but for the moment we can certainly offer you some rooms to set up in and a budget for materials. And Sandra's time, of course, plus if you'd benefit from having some other assistants we can look into that. I don't think it makes sense to commit the resources for, oh, founding a new Collegium around this, unless you decide to stay permanently. That would require a vote from the Council, a new line on the treasury-budget, all that. But it's definitely something I've been mulling on."

He sits back in his chair. "We can swing back to what sorts of setup and materials you need when we go over Sandra's list and the priorities for inventing things. First – what sorts of things would you like to understand better about our world? Is there anything we can do to help you gather that information sooner rather than later?" 

:I'm going to want a sense of the general political and societal situation here, both for your country and the others on this planet, in the long run. More immediately, though, I understand that the appearance of a powerful Herald indicates that they'll be needed in the near future, here? I suspect that my arrival might be a similar sign.:

Lancir goes very still. He glances over at Savil. "That...could be. Though I believe that our situation works through our world's magic, in particular the Companions and the Web that our founder built, and your powers have a different source." 

(He's thinking about Vanyel. He assumes Deskyl is also thinking about Vanyel, he doesn't think Savil would have told Deskyl anything about that particular situation - his mind flicks to a memory of another meeting-room, Queen Elspeth listening intently as Vanyel explains about a dream and the north - but the fact that Vanyel is very powerful must be self-evident to her. Savil's mentioned to him that Deskyl seems to have taken a liking to Vanyel. Lancir is wondering and vaguely hoping that this will be a factor in favour of her deciding to stay – which would be good, it's not coming for a while, but when that while passes they are going to need help.) 

"If we're going to discuss that in depth," he says slowly, "I think we ought to do so in private."