::0jkks.26/41/T - Jack, Kirin, Kirk, Salomon

Jack and Kirin made their way to the promenade deck where the Grand Room was located, the largest room in the Ark, with its high ceiling and rich wooden panelling that still remained somewhat intact, that clearly used to serve as a ballroom of some sort. It was also the central location where all the People could gather if there were an assembly that demanded the attendance of everyone in the Ark. rooms attached to what was labeled the Grand Room, a huge functional space that clearly used to serve as a ballroom of some sorts. Such occasions were rare, but necessary, and it was the Elder who would conduct such meetings on matters critical to the Ark. They would be supported by the chroniclers of the Dawn Vault, whom the Elder entrusted to keep the history, law and traditions of the People. In some ways it passed for one of the most formal venue in the Ark where proper decorum was to be observed, and respect to be shown in honour of the Elder.

The big doors to the Grand Room were not guarded, unlike the various dens of the bosses, for all were welcome to this august chamber. Which was why Jack and Kirin were confronted with a shocking sight as they entered the room in search of boss Marlotte. There were a cluster of persons around the largest table at the centre of the hall, but none of them were seated. The beast-like figure of Salomon appeared to be laying their large hands on Silat, one of the three Vault chroniclers present, while roaring furiously at everyone else gathered.

Boss Marlotte and boss Vislen were present with their retinue, and their enforcers had leapt forward to deal with this altercation. Mister, who was boss Vislen's bodyguard, was lightning fast, and had intercepted Salomon just as Salomon laid his hands on the aghast Silat, while Rustov, boss Marlotte's heavy, was two steps behind. The rest of the bosses' personnel looked on, and Adara and Thane, the two other chroniclers, looked ready to pronounce judgement on Salomon's inappropriate behaviour.

If Jack and Kirin wanted to impress Marlotte to get into her good books, here was a good opportunity to do it, either by helping Rustov, or by solving the situation before them.

For Salomon, he had definitively decided to take things into his own hands, and preferred to achieve his goals his own way even if it meant going against the traditions of the Ark as well as defying the people who commanded both power and respect. Silat the chronicler was nearest to him as he exited the inner office chamber of the Elder, and he made a move to grab him, but Mister was one step faster, and moved to try to grab Silat away from Salomon. The law of the Ark still prevailed over the enforcers, that no one was or would ever be allowed to take the life of another.

Shit!
"Salomon!! Let Silat go! If there's a problem, I'll help you deal with it just like in the zone, but you have to tell me what's wrong!" Kirin's voice, raspy and slighty muffled, still managed to rise above the din.

Kirin moved towards the scene unfolding before him, hoping he could get Salomon's attention before the lion-man ended up hurt.

Surprised Jack is caught totally hard with the imposing situation. Her serious buddy Salomon has lost his unstable marbles and is viciously attacking another supporting member of our beloved Arc. Adventuring Jack requires praises with the over wanting boss Marlotte for her very personal reason and for her favored boss Johanmmed needed attention. The opportunity of this unforeseen mayhem is an instant huge pickle.

Mutant Jack boldly slides forward placing herself between the lost cause Salomon mess and very needed boss Marlotte. Generally non-volant jury-rigger Jack isn't one to be found aimlessly fighting, so she isn't about to leap into the soon to be doomed fray and supporting Jack presents direct knowledge that she shows absolutely supporting to Marlotte with her forceful movement actions. She entirely maintains a very supporting stance for her much needed boss Marlotte's approval.

Pickled Jack has the notion of a back stabber as supporting wild Salomon fully is totally working to entirely ruin what her future and needed wishes are. She wants to seriously hope some sprinkle of good comes out of this chaotic mess and she limits her backstabbing actions by not spitting out anything aloud that she will positively regret with her buddy Salomon but still, she must appear very positive to questioning boss Marlotte if she has any future prospects of completely achieving what her life's goals are right now.

Solomon in his rage is a little surprised that serious opposition literary arise between him and Silat.
"Mister!" - Salomon's animal instincts rises in his had with loud alarm to not disrespect this opponents... but the rage takes over clouding his judgment.

"Out of the way!" - he roared, trying to push Mister aside with his big paw. However, to his surprise, Mister turned out to be more of a challenge than he suspected.

"You picked the wrong fight Salomon," Mister's reflexes were very quick indeed. Unsurprisingly so, for enforcers like Mister and Rustov were the bodyguards of boss Vislen and Marlotte respectively, so it was certain that their mutated abilities were exemplary enough for them to be performing such a duty.

In fact those present at the meeting that Salomon, and now also Jack and Kirin, entered into, comprised of some of the more important personages in the Ark. If Jack and Kirin wanted to take advantage of the setting, or the situation, to seek an audience with either of the two bosses present, or the chroniclers of the Vault, this would be the opportunity to do so. The Elder often entrusted their decision-making as involving the Dawn Vault, together with the various bosses in the Ark.

And now in a fit of fury, Salomon had attempted to lay his paws on Silat, one of the Vault chroniclers, so angry was he that he did not consider the consequences of his actions. Kirin had immediately intuited the folly of such a move, and had called out for him to stop.

Mister could reasonably tell that Salomon had not attempted to raise a weapon, for he himself also did not draw one, choosing to use his quick step to dodge whatever Salomon was directing his way in order to provide some defence for Silat. Silat himself was no slouch; his awareness enabled him to understand what Mister was doing and he called out his reading of the tussle so that Mister avoided Salomon completely ...

... just in time for Rustov to barrel in. Rustov was built differently, wider-set, much heavier, the kind of heavy Marlotte preferred to do her dirty work. He leapt forward to charge at Salomon to grapple him away from the chroniclers, to the approval of both bosses, and the favour of the Vault chroniclers.

Kirin had a dilemma to figure out, for he had called out to Salomon who was too much in his mindless rage to hear him. How could he help his friend while at the same time calm the situation down? Jack was equally aghast and tried to figure out the same thing. Was there a defusing action they could take that could be a win-win for everyone concerned?

Moving mutant Jack understands that her opportunities to produce the appearance of a guarding protector are largely zilch. For this point, wanting Jack changes her thoughts and actions. Deciding that the chaos situation isn't as dire as she perceived when she first arrived, she decides to alter the candid way that she wishes to be desperately viewed by hopefully useful boss Marlotte.

She quickly jumps at the new opportunity to support her needing buddy Salomon some and pleads to those hostage'ing unrulily him, "Give him a chance moment, his beastly ways will calm and settle." She has edged up behind those holding Salomon but nowhere near enough to physically interfere. Close enough that held buddy Salomon can take hopeful view that she targeted notion for his betterment. She quietly fears that her offering words will be placed upon deaf ignoring ears, but this seen chance is what she has pronounced for helpless him and all that she can currently fathom to bring aid for held Salomon at this chance opportunity.

She quickly rotates about and hopefully pleads to her wanting boss Marlotte, "Salomon just needs time to be in the zone to calm his beastly ways. I would gladly take him there." Wanting Jack hopes to inspire the notion that they would be suited best placed into the not so far away zone now. Her thoughts for them to occupy the mission. This hidden demand is a vain hope, but she perceives this action to be the best opportunity that she can fathom at this precise time.

Kirin just shakes his head, walking closer. "Salomon, control yourself. You can't win, and I can't help you unless you talk to me. So talk to me."

Salomon while grappling with Rustov have opportunity to finally notice two of very few people he call friends - have joined them in the room. While trying to overtake one of Rustov's arms he smiles, as he thinks:
"Great the are here! I knew that we share the same kind of rage and passion for our home!"

Then he hear his friends words that sounds like tries to calm him down. BUT he thinks that they are meant to put guard down of two enforcers and others. And they say them to support him with finding the answers... needed to find the Elder.
Cunning! - he smiles inside with a note of admiration.

"WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN by: 'you can't win' !?!? Nonsense! The Natural Order of Things is on my side here! We have to save the ark! Despite the actions of these - self claiming rulers-idiots!"

And then much calmer he adds:
"But.. I'm always willing to t a l k" - he gives a barely noticeable wink towards Kirin - "with you Kirin... but first... uhh..." - Salomon make another try with pushing Rustov away, but feels he is weakened - "this block of... meat..." - defiant look into Rustov's eyes - " have to stop pretending that he can fight..."

"He's useless to me as is," Marlotte was mildly surprised to see Jack coming up to her to make a case for Salomon. "Brute strength, but can't take orders. Means he'll get himself killed in the Zone, and everyone else with him." The boss studied Jack for a moment, seeming to weigh what was behind Jack's support. "You want to be responsible for him? Sure, go knock some sense into him. That is, before he and Rustov beat each other to a pulp." For they all could see that Marlotte's own bodyguard was locked in a tussle with the manbeast, whilst Vislen's enforcer, Mister, was nimbler on his feet, and quicker to find openings to press his advantage.

"You shaggy excuse for a cur," Rustov spat back at Salomon even as Kirin moved closer to see if he could dissuade Salomon from making the situation worse by continuing to provoke the ire of everyone in the room. "They should just kennel you together with the rest of the dogs." Kirin could see that Rustov had Salomon in a firm chokehold, although Salomon was large enough to be able to leverage his way out of it if he chose to, or if someone helped in. If anyone were thinking of helping Salomon, they'd still have to contend with Mister, who said little, but flitted around the grappling duo to land his strikes, more to see if he could immobilise Salomon rather than do him permanent harm.

Being hold by big and meaty Rustov Salomon wasn't able to defend any of the nimble strikes done by Mister. And boy... they were nimble... but always precise and very hurtful... Mister aimed at Salomon's rib cage - his 'moving ribs' body points to be even more precise... Even though he would never officially admit it... now he had to take into account that the pain and inability to catch his breath were starting to bother him terribly.

And that was the moment. The moment when even ordinary people go back to their original roots, when logic and reasoning stop working, and the animal mind begins to see only two options: Flight or Fight to the last of your strength.

But Solomon was no ordinary man. He was a mutant - and even for this type of creature - quite specific. There was no 'flight or fight' in his mind. There was only: bite Rustov to death or... maybe... grab onto the remnants of his humanity. His eyes turned red and he wasn't so sure what he would choose this time...

He grabbed Rustow with both paws even tighter, digging into his skin with his claws, pulled him as close as possible, looked into his eyes and roared right into his face... a roar that could only mean one thing...
"Don't make me... cross this line..."

Mutant Jack has always purposely stay away from useless fights and such. It isn't because she is possibly flail or anything. She is certain that she can hurtle a hurtfully punch hard as anyone else can. She has never perceived such physical alterations to be the clear answer to most any objective situation but sometimes chaos of such happens. At the current moment, she ponders the notion to let herself join in and free buddy Saloman, but she has rather large conceivable doubts on her final success at trying such.

Active Jack keeps her astute attention on managing boss Marlotte rather than uselessly attempt to produce aid to help buddy Saloman in his physical predicament. Thinking Jack advises to wanting boss Marlotte and speaks a common line to reduce Saloman's actions to just something that sometimes happens with boys, "You know boys will be boys." She exactly concludes this besides the fact that soon this present struggle is likely to probably end soon and very most predicably poorly for lost Salomon.

She further pronounces a more positive concoction on with vain hope to persuade powerful Marlotte to authorize the quick release of held Salomon immediately and to achieve her wanting goal, "With my proper guidance, those uncontrolled beastly ways should be transformed to greater useful strength and would best be served exploring outside of our humble arc."

She again tries to edge boss Marlotte to perceive the notion of mutant Jack and beastly Salomon on the exploratory mission. Wanting Jack desperately hopes that if she can't alternatively persuade Marlotte that she will perhaps achieve to manage to slippery slide in the simple objective of the two on the wanted mission.

Shaking his head, Kirin gets up to the tussle. He sits cross-legged and places a hand on Salomon's brow. "You need to calm yourself," he advises the lionesque mutant. "Please."

His raspy voice remains calm, trying to get through to the warrior and undercut his rage. "Do not throw away your nobility. We will need your help, your strength, to help the arc. You cannot help us if you are locked up because you cannot control yourself."

Kirk had dashed in without knocking, eager as he was to get on the gravy train, just in time to see Salomon mustering up one of his more terrifying mutations, a bestial roar ferocious enough to strike fear in those who heard it. The beastman heaved to begin the initial shout, but Rustov's chokehold was more final than Salomon anticipated, squeezing the breath out of Salomon while Mister elbowed him hard in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him.

Salomon slid to the floor, momentarily unconscious. "Get him out of here." Adara, the senior chronicler of the Vault said coldly, all patience gone, "Put him in the lockup so that he can cool off." For it was an absolute injunction that while fights and conflicts were expected to happen from time to time, no member of the People ought to be permanently harmed.

"Or we could simply exile him." Marlotte said in a lower voice to Jack, who had stood next to Marlotte in order to ingratiate herself without much success, for the boss was too canny to be too susceptible to flattery or threat. "Unless the two of you want to be responsible for him?" She addressed Kirin now as well, "And do you share the same view, you also want to see a change -" - in leadership? Marlotte left the question trailing, not actually articulating the last two words.

Here was the chance for Jack or Kirin, or even Kirk for that matter to pitch whatever they had come here to do, now that the confrontation had been defused. Unless they were curious about what kind of discussion had been going on before they arrived which involved the Vault chroniclers as well as not one but two bosses.

Kirin shakes his head and stands. Turning to Marlotte, he shrugs. His raspy voice comes from under the mask as he replies.

"I am a pragmatist," he begins, glancing around and deciding to make his pitch a short one. "The ark needs help. We're low on supplies, tensions are running high, people are worried. Understandably. With nothing left inside our home, any answers have to be found outside of our home. I have some experience with that, and I'd like to help."

He glances to Salomon's unconscious form on the floor. "He'd be helpful out there, too. Let's be clear about one thing -- it isn't safe out there. His strength is an asset, once he's in his right mind."

Slipping in mutant Jack couldn't fully manage with boss Marlotte thougths but achieved enough to precisely stand near her and to further bless her with possibility being simple part of her organization. Hopely a touch to savage Saloman will perceive that she was totally present during the chaos that overbearing him had successfully brought about as all of mutant Jack's efforts appear to be directed for misguided him as his lights go out.

Articulating Jack advises boss Marlotte by presenting a wanting notion, "Surely, we can further gracefully manage and needlingly persuade misguided Saloman to simply understand how exactly and precisely his beastly action should be constructively expended. Helpful I would further a greater achieving suggestion that he totally cool himself out in the chaos zone where his savage actions are at a worthy home and gathering betters for you Marlotte." She articulates the final portion of that wishing notion by giving powerful boss Marotte a slight nodding bow of her head.

Obviously sneaky Jack is again attempting to persuade wanted boss Marlotte to take full advantage of the chaos situation and manipulate beastly Salomon to her full advantage. And trying to persuade needed boss Marlotte to allow her wanting self on the mission team going out to the zone as well.

Barging in just in time to hear Saloman roar, the hairs on the back of Kirk's neck stand up as he tries to decipher what he just stumbled into.

"I...uh..."

Kirk shakes it off as he sees a few familiar faces in the crowd. He'll flash a grin at Kirin and clear his throat. Without fully understanding the power dynamics at play but hearing Kirin mention low supplies, Kirk will jump in with his sales pitch.

"And I tell ya Marlotte, people are just getting by. They need more and I'd like to help. I'd like join along with my pals here to bring prosperity to the Ark! And I just know that the key to our continued salvation lies just outside and your just the person to lead us to it."

Kirk stands there confidently smiling while not being 100% sure what he's signing up for. But he's desperate and will need to start somewhere to get back in business.

Kirk was latest to the party, and clueless as to what was really going on, apart from witnessing a fallen Salomon on the ground, and expressions ranging from displeasure to outright infuriation. Jack and Kirin had been working their efforts to talk down boss Marlotte, but she was too far riled to even consider any of the the pleadings on behalf of Salomon.

Kirk's silver tongue, or more accurately his long, fast, sticky tongue, flicked out with an entirely opposite effect. Perhaps it was the subtle flattery he added to the end of his spiel which saw a slight smile form on Marlotte's lips, or perhaps he simply read the room better than the others, but with boss Vislen raising an approving eyebrow, Marlotte turned to him. "A hunting party to restock our supplies. Or even better, a zone expedition to explore what else is viable out there. You think you can do better than Yassan?" There is was, the opportunity to overtake his pal if he could pull this off. And what better chance than to rope in Jack and Kirin here; Kirk had already slipped in their names in his pitch.

"Get that one out of my sight. If you think he won't get you all killed, that's on you. If he's as much a thorn out there as in here, don't return with him.

Now go make your preparations, I want you to set off tomorrow morning."

Kirk kept his smiled bust cursed internally. He had come here in hopes of working with Yassan, not to compete with him. Kirk was no scavenger, but he guessed he just had to roll with it for now.

"Well I'm not want to talk badly about a friend, especially one as gifted as Yassan. But these gentlemen here, they're the best of the best."

Kirk gestures to the others, no idea how they'd act outside the confines of the Ark.

"We proudly accept this mission you have bestowed upon us. We will valiantly forge outward...but, if I may. An expedition such as this requires that its voyagers are properly outfitted...additional water, rations, and equipment will likely be needed. If you would be so gracious as to sponsor us in this endeavor, you would surely guarantee a return on investment."

"It is the Elder who approves any expedition into the Zone," the senior chronicler, Adara, spoke up, her voice grave. The Elder's absence had taken its toll on the Chroniclers of the Vault the most. Without the wise and calming presence of the person everyone unconditionally respected and listened to, the People threatened to fracture into opposing camps, each led by respective bosses and their gangs, and it fell to the Vaulters to keep the peace and maintain the wishes and tenets laid out by the Elder. Marlotte and Vislen were no doubt here to sway the chroniclers to their plans, before some of the other bosses could get their own schemes enacted.

"but in such times of crisis, we shall trust ourselves to act on the Elder's behalf. This is what they would agree to." Adara looked at her fellow chroniclers, Silat and Thane. "We grant Marlotte the opportunity to carry out the next expedition into the Zone. The main objective is grub. Our reserves were wiped out in the recent shift. Find us enough supplies to last the month, or discover some source of consumables that we can rely on, or some means to grow or produce our own food."

"My proposal exactly," Marlotte smiled, her teeth gleaming. "And it appears we have a ready crew for this, all except ..." she assessed Jack, Kirin, Kirk and the slumped over Salomon. "... you lack a tracker, or dog handler. You won't get far into the Zone without one."

Satisfied that she had gotten the blessing of the chroniclers, she turned to signal for the motley to follow her. "If you're so inclined to put your fate in his hands, bring him. Come, you will outline a plan subject to my approval. You set off tomorrow morning."

Kirin will look into bullets. He'd also look into grabbing a machette, but bullets are his first priority.

"ZZzzzz...."

"Not to doubt your new stalker," boss Vislen, a slim-built man with strangely large eye sockets almost disproportionate to the rest of his face, who had hardly spoken up to this point except to order Mister to deal with Salomon, spoke in a low hypnotic, near buzzing voice, "But I have someone at my disposal, good with dogs, to round up your team."

"Then we're all set. See Ratha to see what he can dig up for you. Failure is not an option, the survival of the Ark depends on this. See me tomorrow morning before you depart."

GeneCortess, when you can, give me a skill roll relevant to one of the Gearhead associated skills.

Touch lost here and could use some guidance.

Solid Machete is appetizing, but I will like the distinct sounds of a 'Bat with Spikes'. :) Mutant Jack really isn't a hefty girl but she has some meat on her body to wield it. Or possibly give it away. I can picture her with it as being very year end'ish.

Reading more I guess Jack's 3 grubs is going to have to do. How much water can Jack obtain as she only has 1. Does she need to Jury-Rig anything for the party? (It is what she does best. She does better with fixing rather than creating.)

By the way, Jack is a fine tracker but she does it by scent actually. To be sure she knows each person personal scent. She is rather knowledgeable about the zone as well.

Not actually sure how to do Jury-Rig or tracking. Gotta love a new system.