Techn0geist

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa The look of gormless confusion had just started to settle on Sohmak's face before he broke into echoing laughter. He had been got, by his past self no less! "Hooo, an' that's why you're the brains runnin' this show. Nah, you mus' be a special kinda geek 'cause I can stand ya, anyone else's gettin' walloped for that smart alec stuff." All spoken through a big grin, big by Skakdi standards even. OOC: @Nato G

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa "Screw the Sluggers," he interjected, his eyes suddenly ablaze. "If you gotta break 'em, break 'em. Break 'em to a million bloody bits." Sohmak shook his head, as if shaking his fervour loose. "Look, you know how I made my name in the city. With hands I ain't seen in weeks. I'll do the same out 'ere. These damn mittens are for pissants and geeks anyway—" the sudden stop revealing what he sought to obscure as he flailed to recover. "...geeks like Syn-tak," he over-enunciated. OOC: @Nato G

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa An uncomfortable pause filled the air between them. "...right... well, we'll uhh... do all we can without 'splosives first. I'd sorta prefer to keep my arms if possible. Kinda 'ttached to them." Of course he immediately leapt to the worst case scenario, reading between the lines of T'harrak's statement; no arms meant no Sohmak after all. "A geek's a geek though, right? Anyone on this rock can figure it out, it's you." A rare show of respect for the Intellectual class of Zakaz. OOC: @Nato G sorry again for the wait

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa "'xactly! Somethin' for the lads to look forward to. Keep their spirits up, an' keep 'em fighting fit." Not that he needed much help with that, of course. "I'll get to work on organi-nising once you reckon we're close to done with the upgrades." Pivoting without so much as a breath, "Ay, you had any more ideas about gettin' these things off? Sohmak queried, looking around before lifting the Sluggers up to ensure no one's torso would be annihilated. OOC: @Nato G

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa A sigh cleared the fighter's lips the moment Jojax passed the courtyard's gates. "I knew 'er ol' man," he exhaled, his body taut but relieved to have a moment's rest. "Might've already mentioned. Fearsome rotter." Sohmak shook some tension out of his arms and started stretching them. "In every sense. Makes sense why she 'as such a big chip on 'er shoulder. Sarke's meant to help blow off steam but it's the core of 'er worry." A lightstone moment. "Let's do a Sarke night. Once we got all this fort stuff out of the way, 'course, an' we're a little... safer. Might help Jojax 'member how fun it's meant to be. No dad loomin', no Bloody Devil hauntin' 'er." "An' face it," he added with a grin, "this place ain't look like it's seen proper Sarke for a time. You lot need a big city brawler to show you how it's done." His hands itched in the depths of the Sluggers once more, unclear now if the scheme was more for Jojax's sake, the fortress's, or his own. OOC: @Smudge8 @Nato G

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa "Damn right I am," he replied, his smirk becoming a grin, which quickly evaporated as he addressed Jojax again. "Kuuwe," he ordered Jojax, slipping into Old Skak:Dii. Go. OOC: @Nato G @Smudge8

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa "You're out lugging trees an' rocks with the next two shifts," he said without hesitation, and a smirk in return. "Figure that strength o' yours will make it feel like just one, right?" Sohmak stepped back, bringing T'harrak back into the fold. "Right, geek?" OOC: @Smudge8 @Nato G

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa He wasn't about to correct her, knowing how right she unknowingly was about who was calling the shots. T'harrak was also right, everyone was too tense around here. Sohmak was too tense. "Yeah, there is somethin' else..." he stepped forward between the two women, standing fighter-to-fighter with Jojax now. "You ever 'ave any 'angups 'bout that Bloody mask, what it means to ya... bring 'em to me. Don't make it no one else's problem, savvy?" She was a scrappy dog alright, but it helps everyone to throw a dog a bone. OOC: @Smudge8 @Nato G

OOC: flashback sounds IC: Mard & Ahmoa - Training Ground, outskirts of Atero Mard was momentarily stunned by Lorqua's words. He would cling to that feeling, the knowing that someone else in this great violent world at least somewhat believed in what the two Agori stood for, for many nights to come. Don't give up on it "You uhh... you don't have to tell me twice!" Mard yelled to the Glatorian's salutation, responding to her myriad kindnesses simultaneously. "And likewise, Miss Lorqua!" Lutenus's outburst, meanwhile, had chilled Ahmoa's blood, and made the already comparatively diminutive Agori feel utterly small. Collecting himself quickly, he tried hard to remove any quiver from his voice. "Now comes my turn to apologise, Lutenus. It was not my intent to... reduce your station. I am certain any task or passion you choose to turn your hand to would be a great boon to Tesara." Lorqua's arrival proved a most welcome respite. "Quite right, we shan't keep you any longer. It would be a shame of the highest degree were you two to miss the opening!" Ahmoa, joined by Mard, offered a short bow to the pair. "Sir, ma'am. Travel safe, and may you grace our humble grounds once more." "Oh, and if you see our manager, tell him I said—" ------------------------------------------ "I like Lorqua!" Mard spoke through a mouthful of dessert, now openly shared with his partner by the firepit. "She's got an eye for the arts! Oh! D'you think she knows In Some Other Sky?" "I suspect her interest in our craft is, like many, passing at best, my dear." Ahmoa replied, swallowing first. "Lost musicals don't tend to fall into the purview of our fellow denizens." "Shoulda asked, darn..." the Jungle Agori picked up a pebble and tossed it into the fire. "Did you tell Lutenus anything? About Del?" "As little as I could. He was... changeable." Ahmoa turned to meet Mard's eye. "And what he told me troubles me deeply. 'All communication with the Iron Tribe has abruptly ceased,' that's what he said." "Woah, Ferrum's gone dark? The whole village?" On reflection, the both of them realised they hadn't seen many Iron Tribals in this lull between seasons, if any. "But... what does that mean? They can't have just up and vanished, right? I mean, Del made it out here." "But not unscathed. If Del's behaviour, their near-total amnesia, is the best case scenario, then..." and then Ahmoa realised he didn't know how to end the sentence. Or perhaps he feared that by ending it, by speaking whatever frightful ideas he had about the fate of Ferrum into the world, that they would be invoked, manifested into terrible being. In either case, the lack of an end seemed as good an end as any. The two looked out, beyond the fence of the grounds, beyond the edge of Atero. Out into black dunes below and dazzling starfield above. And Ahmoa's dulcet voice carried so so far on the whistling desert winds. Sit down, sit down on the prow to wave bye, There might not be another star, further on the line. Look out, look out at each town that glides by, And there's another crowd to drown in crying eyes. And see how, Mard joined, that light you love now just won't shine, There might just be another star, that's high and far in some other sky. IC: Del - Celrys's Workshop, Tajun - the night before On account of every hotel, motel, inn, tavern etc. in Tajun being booked out ahead of tomorrow’s Grand Tournament opening, Del was offered to stay in Celrys’s clinic for the night. As generous as Skyra Daring’s counteroffer of crashing in the backseat of her buggy was, Del ultimately chose the clinic. The artificer having retired some time ago, the Glatorian took up the reclining chair in the surgery room, having already tried the metal slab and finding it wanting. Only a soft light emanating from the aquarium illuminated the room, gentle ripples playing across the ceiling. It was entirely too quiet. Del first observed the fish, cataloguing the tank’s shimmering and mesmerising contents to satisfaction. Next were the surgical tools; the smaller ones taken delicately between thumb and forefinger, examined in a strange reversal of roles, and replaced exactly. A trigger depressed, a drill dropped in alarm and replaced haphazardly. Eyes bounced between dust motes, hanging vacantly in the air above Del as they lay back in the chair. Celrys kept a tidy workspace, but in this world fighting the incursion of dust and sand was akin to fighting entropy: futile. This made the low quantity of particles all the more notable to the Ferrumite. Queries abounded, on the matters of fish, drills and dust. But Del had ultimately been told to rest, ahead of the diagnostics Celrys would be running tomorrow. The Iron Tribal squirmed as they struggled to get fully comfortable. They pondered the basic but soft beds in the bunk house in Atero, with Mard & Ahmoa. They pondered Mard, the contagion of his mirth, the symptom of his unmistakable laugh. How he had recoiled on hearing Del’s first pitiable attempt at laughter, scolded himself, promised to help them practice and laughed all over again. They pondered Ahmoa, the invitation of his warm smile, his gentleness and generosity and patience. How he had never given up on teaching Del even the most basic principles, not just what to do but how to be. The clear and unabashed affection the both of them held for anyone lucky enough to be called ‘friend’ by them. The deep, almost familial bond they shared with the Glatorian. “He’s your father I suppose.” Del said to no one. It was entirely too quiet. A hand hovered over the table to their side and without looking, its precise placement perfectly recalled, picked up Celrys’s stethoscope. Again they slid the buds underneath their helmet, fans running at minimal speed. Knowing now what to expect, the Glatorian calmly lay the glass disk against their chest. Thu-thum… thu-thum… thu-thum… The sound, the steady metronome of life at ease, soothed and reassured Del. Eyelids slowly closed and unconsciousness took hold. Yet, the experience of these liminal moments was beyond that of the typical Glatorian or Agori. It wasn’t quite sleeping and certainly wasn’t dreaming. More like knitting.

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa The brawler had made to speak, struggling to conjure the word sycophant, and so the moment was seized upon by T'harrak. He was glad she had in the end, ever the diplomat in a world of ruffians and roughhousers. For appearance's sake, he still scowled. "First an' final," Sohmak agreed. Tough, but fair. OOC: @Smudge8 @Nato G

OOC: 🎵 Spread the word around, guess who's back in town? 🎵 IC: Mard & Ahmoa - Training Ground, outskirts of Atero Lords know what goes on in your head, Lutenus, Ahmoa thought with some small amount of unease. They knew from the small plate on Del's scalp that Celtech enhancement went beyond physiological. The Jungle Glatorian's unsubtle skull-cap was... something else. "Nothing of terrible import," the red Agori lied, assuming a more neutral grip with the axe, brandishing instead a close-lipped smile. "Your focus ought to instead be on your upcoming bouts. A good fighter musn't let their mind wander too far, lest they become their opponent's meal ticket. And you are a good fighter, Lutenus, make no doubt." Steering the conversation, and hopefully the combatants, he offered "Do you have much to gather before you depart? May we offer you water and rations for your journey?" All communication ceased... what happened to the Iron Tribe? And why did only Del make it out of Ferrum? "Oh, all over!" Mard exclaimed with maybe too much enthusiasm. Lorqua's interest seemed genuine, and it had been entirely too long since he'd had anyone but Ahmoa to talk shop with. Their icy boss never even pretended to entertain their true passion. "Well, okay, that's an exaggeration. We were a travelling troupe, playing stages in Tajun, Tesara, Atero and every outpost and oasis in-between. Well, not every, that's another exaggeration... we picked up Ahmoa on our first and last trip out to Vulcanus. Never made it out to Iconox, moral objections y'see." The hateful irony. "Denarii was always tight, more often than not whatever we earned went on board and supplies for the next trip out into the desert. Half us wanted to settle in one spot for steadier pay, other half thought that was 'antithetical to the ethos of our artistic mission'," the Tesaran notably omitting which side he or Ahmoa came down on. "After our caravan drivers threw a fit and ditched us here in Atero, the tension boiled over and... that was us. Not quite sure where the others went after that, blew away on the breeze for all I know." His ears pricked up, catching the tail-end of the other conversation. He was beginning to feel sorry to see them go, or Lorqua at least. "Sounds like your buddy's wrapping up there. Anything we can help ya with on the way out?" OOC: @Toru Nui @oncertainty (I'll try not to set us back another year this time 😅)

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa "Jojax pummelled one of your workers and one of my best fighters into infirmary." He spoke suddenly, and bluntly. T'harrak's attempt at introducing levity died on the vine. "Same fella, for the record. Walked in on 'er tryna tear 'im in 'alf. Sarke or not, it's low." The muscle of the warlord dyad joined the brains at her side, looking down on the wrestler and tutting. "What do we do about it b—?" Sohmak felt his palms become clammy inside the Sluggers, hoping now the upward inflection of inquiry would mask the abrupt stop, catching himself before he could say boss. OOC: @Nato G @Smudge8

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa It took all his will not to start spitting the most vile obscenities in response to her query. To the brawler, it reeked of naught but petulance. Sohmak inhaled deeply. He had the ineffable quality of always surprising folks with his height, and now to Jojax, he seemed to blot out the high noon sun. "Foreman's gonna wanna 'ear 'bout this" was all he said, holding his tone as level as possible. No was the implicit answer. OOC: @Smudge8 @Nato G @ARROW404(forgot to tag you in the last post, sorry!)

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa Spitting or kicking would have been cheap, and would've taught Jojax nothing but resentment for the pecking order as it stood. No, the lesson had to be lasting. Wordlessly, Sohmak strode over to the chunk of the wrestler's mask that had been hammered free. A strange feeling came over him, the part-face of an old rival staring up at him from the dirt of the courtyard; at once comforting in what it once represented, and upsetting in what it stood for now. Sohmak raised his great clawed foot and brought it down with a brilliant CRUNCH, breaking the lump of mask-metal into smaller fragments. He repeated this punishing motion again and again, finally twisting his heel and rendering what remained into metallic flakes and protodermic dust. The Spineless Slugger cast his blazing red eyes around a now-subdued audience, but not once did he look back at Jojax. Now he came over to the Scorpion, lying face-down and still as before. Turning the fighter over with his foot, Sohmak saw his eyes were open, unmoving. He watched him carefully, for what felt like too long a time. The Scorpion blinked. "Get 'im up. To the infirmary." he quietly commanded, two Skakdi draping the Scorpion's arms over their shoulders and dragging him away. "Next shift out." And now he looked to Jojax, his glare seeming to say not you. CLANK. "T'HARRAK," the warlord boomed "BRING 'EM IN." His head span with how they would handle Jojax going forward. The day was off to a wonderful start. OOC: @Smudge8 @Nato G (permission obtained to destroy the mask-fragment, thank you Smudge!)

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa Had he chosen to retaliate, the brazenness of Jojax's latest blunder would have put a very swift end to her efforts. But in a rare instance indeed, this was not a fight Sohmak wanted to entertain. A simple hop to the side and the wrestler sailed past him, eating dirt. "LAST CHANCE" Sohmak roared, adding in a low murmur "Ancestors, look at y'self..." The Spineless Slugger now turned his attention to the thrall, demanding to know "Did Jojax challenge the Scorpion?" Met with silence, he bellowed his query again. "DID JOJAX CHALLENGE THE SCORPION?!" Shifting eyes and conflicting mutters provided his answer, and he glared again at Jojax with narrowed eyes. "You ain't even make it official, right? You attacked 'im cold, didn'tcha?" OOC: @Smudge8

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa The brawler's eyes widened. In the little time Jojax left him to react, Sohmak raised his great exo-gauntlets in front of him, planting one foot back as the Scorpion impacted the protosteel mass with a pronounced THUNK, then to the ground below with a quieter thump. The lack of pained groaning concerned him. Lowering the Sluggers revealed pinprick pupils and grinding teeth. Sohmak was much calmer than his appearance showed, however. Looking and sounding dangerous was as much a skill as being dangerous. "Stand. Down. Jojax." CLANK went the crush-jaws of his infernal apparatus, his words drawling, deliberate. "Or I will make you." OOC: @Smudge8

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Razorfish Island As the brawler approached the fortress, he heard a cheer cut through the delta ambiance. They were meant to be training. He'd not been gone too long, had he? Sohmak quickened his pace. The Scorpion couldn't turn his head far enough to hit his opponent-turned-assailant with an Impact Vision beam. He winced but refused to cry out, wouldn't give Jojax the satisfaction. He felt joints begin to pop in ways they shouldn't, microtears in his musculature turning macro— "JOJAX." The crowd noise immediately died, Skakdi parting like a technicolour sea to make way for the Spineless Slugger, closing behind him as he entered the circle. He seemed twice as tall as before. "Put 'im down. Now." Sohmak spoke softly, quiet as the windup before the haymaker. OOC: @Smudge8

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Razorfish Island He made to say something to the contrary before catching himself, swallowing the words down. There was no need to be foisting his anxieties on T'harrak, assuming she wasn't already thinking along the same lines. "Well... keep on keepin' on, yeah?" Sohmak lifted one of his Sluggers, forgetting for one moment that the tinkerer couldn't see the thumbs-up buried within the construct, and frowning the next moment. "Hrmm... I'll give a shout when the next shift is due out. Trustin' you'll find a deputy so you ain't have to be out here all day. I ain't mean me, neither." With a chuckle as his only salutation, the brawler turned abruptly and started back to the fortress. Gashril had missed her window. The strategy did have one distinct flaw; anything less than a perfect KO left the Scorpion unarmed, save for his vision power. A competent-enough bare-knuckle fighter, Jojax's charge still brought on an uneasy gut-feeling. He fired his Impact Vision again, centre mass. His gut-feeling deepened, the beam of concussive force momentarily swaying the wrestler but failing to slow her in the slightest. He wondered what Nakihl magic resided within that mask, if the Bloody Demon was more than a tacky ring moniker. But he had precious little time to ponder this, the wall of flesh and hate closing fast on him. The knot pulled tight in his stomach, sweat beading on his brow. Unexpectedly, the Scorpion found himself frozen in place, his feet leaden weights at the ends of his legs. All he could do was stance up and brace for impact. OOC: @Nato G @ARROW404 @Smudge8

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Razorfish Island "And long as we're busy, we ain't got time to overthink all the ways this falls apart." A sober silence sat between the two. "Spoke with the Shrill Blade last night. Seem to have 'er on-side, 'er and 'er crew. For now." Another pause, then quickly added: "She ain't know I know. Just...wanted to gauge somethin'." That somethin' still bothered him. It couldn't just be about giving Sohmak a shot as a new leader, no. But if Gashril had said as much to T'harrak, laid out a true motive, she would've told him. They were in this together. The ruse itself demonstrated the level of trust he was placing in her, and vice versa... he push down the gnawing doubt, refusing to let the thought conclude itself. His lips broke apart, a rare rictus grin from the Scorpion. His next move often finished fights, took slower opponents by surprise; he drew his arm back and flung his hammer, spiralling end-over-end at Jojax. Not a second later he fired off his Impact Vision with a practiced precision, twin beams of kinetic energy striking and accelerating the tool through its flight, driving the hammer to uncanny speeds toward the Bloody Demon. OOC: @Nato G @Smudge8

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Razorfish Island He wished he could clap an arm around the tinkerer's shoulders, were it not for a) the mining crew nearby, and b) the risk of grievous bodily harm if not death. "Ain't no easin' into it, geek. Time wasted is time given to e'eryone else in the bay. On that note..." he turned now to the crew and bellowed "Keep it movin', lads! And if ya find any shinies, straight to the foreman 'ere, savvy?" The potential for unearthing loot seemed to excite some of the crew, who ran off to as-yet-unsurveyed parts of the mountain, the rest of the party dragging their feet behind them. Alone at last, Sohmak sighed and stretched. Whenever the conspirators found themselves undisturbed, the brawler found his tone becoming uncharacteristically soft. "It's a lot, innit? All at once. Hope I ain't puttin' too much on you too fast, T'harrak, just figured this... organisin' crap was more up your alley than mine." He tried to diffuse any creeping tension with a cocky smile. "For what it's worth I'm pullin' my weight too, got the fellas doing some light exercise back 'ome." Home. That wasn't right, was it? The word, the concept and its tenuous association with Razorfish;Vaa, sat like a viscous fluid atop the wrinkles of his brain. There was resistance to the idea. There was a true purpose to his tenure at the fortress and they both knew it didn't involve staying. Then why did he say home? The Scorpion sneered, the slightest sneer you ever did see. Jojax charged, threw a haymaker. All that forward momentum, it would only take a small adjustment... He glanced down and fired off his own Impact Vision, aiming to take her leading foot out and unbalance her. She was fast though, the sidestep he thought would fully dodge the incoming punch instead resulting in another grazing blow to his left shoulder. He felt the bruising, the dull ache sharpening. His right arm meanwhile, the hammer-arm, dropped then swung back up with the weight of the implement, aimed squared at the space her chin would pass through. OOC: @Nato G @Smudge8

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Razorfish Island "Make 'em play by our rules. Only thing we'd have to worry 'bout then is attacks from the sky. Wouldn't put it past the blighters..." He paused, suppressed a shudder. "How's the workers today? And yourself?" ---------------------------- Now this was interesting. Still, the Scorpion was a seasoned fighter. He could be intrigued, but rarely surprised. He rolled his body to the right, the Impact Vision grazing his left shoulder. Throwing his hammer-arm outwards, the first of Jojax's gloves was caught and sent spiralling past Gashril's head, hitting the wall with a distant clank. The second glove came faster than he'd anticipated however, catching him square in the jaw on the recovery. The world blurred but for a second, and he was lucid again once the wrestler had closed on him. The jab was parried, the Scorpion swinging his arm up to divert its path. He leaned back as the uppercut came, Jojax's knuckles just barely scraping his chin. He hopped back and planted his feet. The Scorpion spat, a red streak staining the courtyard. A lopsided smirk adorned his lips as he raised his carpenter's hammer, daring her to try again. OOC: @Nato G @Smudge8 @ARROW404

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Razorfish Island "Make sure to bring any of those back if we find 'em, place gets dingy at night." He glanced at the rest of the X-ray crew nearby, then returned his focus to the tinkerer. "So for our barricades... I was thinkin' 'bout Garsi, how they controlled our movement and positionin' and what-not. We gotta do the same. We'll do rows of barricades leadin' up to the fort, two-three-two-three, yeah?" Sohmak scowled when he realised he couldn't illustrate what he meant with his hands, hoping words would suffice. "We'll have our hot vision boys up top, but also some of our earthy, stony and woody boys, usin' their powers to raise walls between 'em, make 'em move where we want to. Cut 'em off, box 'em in, choke points, you get it yeah?" To any eavesdropper he was simply giving orders, he hoped T'harrak would hear the true, implicit purpose of his words; he was seeking validation, approval for a scheme he was quite proud of. OOC: (with Smudge's approval) I am assuming direct control. As soon as the Scorpion's fingers closed around the hammer's handle he was transformed. Gone the braggart, gone any trace of bluster or swagger. He was focused. He was someone, something, else entirely. He knew better than to make the first move, the wrestler instigating the fight with such braggadocio. No, he would wait for her to slip. The Scorpion stayed low, coiled, a sting in the tail. OOC: You could say I'm literally him. Or rather... @Nato G @Smudge8

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Razorfish Island Sohmak passed several Skakdi lugging trees back to the fort, greeting them with good work, keep it up, nice one lads etc. as he went. Arriving at the foot of the mountain, and meeting T'harrak's party, the warlord-in-light gave an impressed whistle. "This is proper good. Zanakra got you doin' this kinda work before?" OOC: @Nato G

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa The brawler allowed himself a self-satisfied smirk as T'harrak left with the first shift; she had much more of a brain for logistics than him, why not let her lead the logistics effort? This also afforded Sohmak an opportunity of his own, to practice the 'war' part of warlord. "Alright rotters," he barked, rising from the throne and taking a step off the overlook, letting gravity carry him to the off-siders in the courtyard with a heavy thump. "Just 'cause you ain't out there playin' lumberjack or stonemason, don't mean you restin' neither." And it was at this moment he paused awkwardly; reflecting as he did on the past day's events, it dawned on him that past not knowing how to mount a successful attack, this sorry fledgling fort almost certainly had a similar lack of aptitude for defence. More than that, Sohmak himself probably knew less than the rest of them. Garsi. How'd they do it, the pack of fu— "THEY'VE GOT—" "Heat Vision." He said suddenly. "Who's got Heat Vision, or Impact or anythin' of the sort?" A few Skakdi raised their hands, less than he'd hoped. "Perfec'. You hear the signal for a raid, you're up top blastin' at the attackers, savvy?" Then he thought on his own nauseating experience with Heat Vision, seeing those blistering white lines cut through a deep blue sky. "An'... a couple spotters, Thermal an' X-Ray, keep an eye on numbers." His memory turned now to how Garsi had manipulated their land, collapsing the hillside on the attack party. He would have to see what T'harrak had in mind for barricades and the like, though he was beginning to have ideas about those too. Already the pretence of his office was proving infectious. "Now... let's see what I'm dealin' with 'ere." Before long he had them running through unarmed kata, a staple of his own training regimen. Mental awareness and physical control, promoting synthesis of mind and body. From this, all other tactics would flow. It also gave Sohmak more time to formulate said tactics without T'harrak's input; truthfully, he wasn't expecting her to go off with the workers. He was also pleased that even with the bulk and seeming restrictions of the Sluggers' mechanisms, he was able to perform and thus demonstrate his old routine as freely as if he were naked. He was, begrudgingly, impressed The fighters of Razorfish;Vaa, meanwhile, were messy, their kata stilted and uneven. Lots of work to do. "Right, keep that up for a few more minutes, then... I dunno, Sarke 'til your shift. Back soon, don't strain nothin'." Sohmak jogged off, curious to see how the work outside the fortress was going, and how T'harrak was doing. OOC: @Nato G @ARROW404 @Smudge8 you can decide if your fellas are on the first shift, with Sohmak's training group, or elsewhere.

IC: Sohmak - Spineless Bay, Fortress Razorfish;Vaa He returned the nod, satisfied with the broad strokes of T'harrak's scheme. There was no knowing if or when someone would lay siege to the fortress, if Garsi were regathering their forces to deliver a coup de grâce. He scowled at the thought of Fortress Garsi, the way they occupied a corner of his mind in the way a monster under the bed would. "s'gotta be vicious," he intoned, his fingers again drumming against the triggers inside his gauntlets. "Give worse than we got." He may not have been the prime decision-maker, but Sohmak certainly had ideas. "Right." He sprung to his feet, approaching the edge of the overlook. "FALL IN, ROTTERS!" He was pleased with how quickly the courtyard filled. The warlord-in-light started pacing along the overlook, looming tall over the throng. "Today, we start movin' out to—" he was cut off by scattered cheers, a bloodthirsty few raising fists and arms high. He couldn't help but chuckle in respond. "Simmer, lads. Still plen'y o' work to do 'round this joint. S'come to my attention that we find ourselves in a land of plen'y, in fact. Ain't enough to control this fort, we gotta make the land work for us too. Control the whole damn delta." He stamped his foot to punctuate his point. "So as I was sayin', today we start movin' out to do just that. Put ourselves in the best position we can 'fore we start bringin' anythin' else into the fold. We build up, then we build out, savvy? " Sohmak's speech, and pacing, brought him to a perfect stop in front of the throne again, collapsing into its soft embrace. "Geek's foreman," he said abruptly, without meeting T'harrak's eye. "She'll give you your groups and tasks. I don't wanna hear any whingin'." Who precisely this was addressing was unclear. OOC: @Nato G