Geardirector

IC: Vilda Mako (Ga-Koro) "More monsters?" I asked, incredulous. The scattered word of frightened refugees wasn't much to go on, and even then one person could only ever gleam so much from the sort of chaos I was forming an image of in my mind. I couldn't quite imagine what I was missing by not seeing this first hand. A Fursic uprising this was not.

IC: Farzan (Tech Emporium) Well that's just rude!" I remarked as I looked up at the ceiling from whence the dust had fallen. "Oh, not you. The ceiling" I clarified, looking back at Jokaro, "or was it? Anyway..." I turned around without waiting for a response, and blew a sharp whistle. Kreff scuttled into view with expectant eye-stalks directed at me. The Ussal Crab seemed wound up himself, perhaps he understood what was in the making between us all. "Come along, the shooting targets will be this way" I said, beginning to walk with Kreff ahead of me.

IC: Zelvin (Ta-Koro) "No problem, Jolek. Moving quietly is part of the job description" Zelvin answered back, she nodded, and turned to be on her way, "I'll see you then" "delightful to meet the young mr. Highwind again" she thought to herself. The young Fa-Toa was indeed looking quite sharp, physically at the very least. She got to overhear some of the talk he had with his commanding officer, but she wasn't going to pry. For the moment, she was actually quite content to let such matters lie. She was back to work, and she had some standards to hold to. Four hours, that'd be plenty of time to take a few stops to make sure she was going in fully prepared. There were a few things she'd need to pick up. OOC: timeskip in my next post

IC: Farzan (Tech Emporium) There's a lot to be said for the fact that I didn't have all that much to go on when it comes to what Jokaro was actually trying to achieve here, but that's par for the course in some ways. Far be it for me to suggest that it's unsuitable for a brilliant inventor to be a bit unclear when's he's got an idea just stuck in his head. The intrigue of what was going to be the end result of what I had gleamed from Jokaro's frustrated ramblings and blueprints gave me plenty of material to go on, but as the situation stood I had some actual work to do, thinking could come later. I nonetheless used a few free moments to punch in a few personal notes of my own about the stuff I had just began to suss together. I'd have to return to them later. The lathe powered down long after I had finished using it. I'd forgotten to turn it off. I could nonetheless present Jokaro with the modified barrel and a winning smile. "Here you go, partner. It's my pleasure"

IC: Mar (Obsidian Outpost) So, he was going to play dumb? Fair enough, two can play at that game. "Any signs of life from him?" I asked, pulling out a couple of actual medicine bottles I had gotten my hands on. What was actually in those bottles Mata Nui alone knew for sure.

IC: Vilda Mako (Ga-Koro) I had stopped dead in my tracks the moment I'd heard that voice. It had started to be a long time now since I'd last seen Kentoku, it was longer still since I had wandered the wilderness of little Oki. I couldn't help but smile as I turned around to see the old battlemaster. After having just thought up a storm in my own mind about the importance of moving past the many steadfast routines that I'd had beaten into me, it was honestly quite the cruel trick from Zataka to then throw one of the actually likeable ones right at me. "Pradhai!" I answered, and came over to greet her with a winning smile. "Same goes for you, it does me good to see you're alright"

IC: Mar (Obsidian Outpost) The thing about having such acute hearing is, you get a lot of practice filtering out the stuff you don't need to pay attention to. It's easier if you also control sound, of course, and with a mask of X-Ray vision to throw on top of that, the truth was I didn't leave the Skakdi alone for even a second, even though I'd left the room. "Wake up, Gak! You aren't fooling me. Tell me where the treasure is, or I'll stop Mar. I'll fight him if I have to. You'll die." I spun around on my heels where I was standing. I could see him above me, there was only a floor between us, I could knock him out with a blow to his eardrums in a second if I needed to... "WAKE UP!" And then the Skakdi was dead... by his own hand? If the other one had done something to end his life, I wasn't able to tell... My hands balled into fists where I stood, just staring at the ceiling with a real feeling of anger beginning to build up in me in a way I faintly registered was frightening. I didn't feel this way, I wasn't supposed to feel this way, but then again I was. I breathed, bottling it up, putting it aside. This was all completely wrong, this wasn't how things were supposed to be, yet it was all I knew. "Calm, calm... you've been through worse than this, much worse" I started walking up the stairs again. Let's see what he had to say for himself.

IC: Farzan (Tech Emporium) Working the barrel over with the lathe to Jo's specifications was a simple task. Once I had gotten it to the point we apparently needed, I could take a moment to cast a glance at the notes on his iStone from afar. I do rather enjoy wearing an Akaku, wish I could use its power, too one day... Patero Launchers were, admittedly, a piece of hardware that had mostly passed me by. I knew all the theoretical stuff, but its practical use wasn't something I knew well at all, I already had the firearms I needed for my own uses, designed by yours truly, of course. That didn't matter, what mattered was a problem was being solved. Jokaro had gotten the practical experience to know what problems needed to be solved, and now it was up to us to put his ideas into practice. Any collateral damage that resulted from this was totally his fault, though.

IC: Mar (Obsidian Outpost) I heard the Skakdi's attempts to distract Karv very clearly, but didn't bother to comment on it. Karv also did not react, he had been trained better than that. It took me a few moments to find my way back to the storage area I had come across earlier when exploring the base. I was lucky, there was what appeared to be some basic fatigue and cold treatments remaining, hypothermia and frostbite were clearly ailments the occupants expected to have to treat.

IC: Nuparu (Onu-Koro) Nuparu had returned to his office, under mild duress from the departure of Wiremu. It was going to be a considerable amount of work to manage the affairs of the Koro without him, but Nuparu knew it was worth it in the end. He needed to focus on building alliances and regaining friendships. The people in Onu-Koro were broadly behind him, he was fairly confident of that, but that was far as he was willing to draw his assumptions for the moment. Perhaps it was the simple awareness of this nebulous "something wrong" that was spurring him, but he was concerned about the safety of his Koro in a way he hadn't been in quite some time. The important part was that it not paralyze him with inaction. "Akiri, a message for you from Akiri Hahli" "Hmm, of course, give it here" The message was, thankfully, not a sudden cry for help that brought all of Nuparu's worst fears to life, but grave news it was no doubt. "I need to speak with Onepu right away!" OOC: IC: Ferron (Ferron's Forge) "Of course, I would be delighted to" Ferron answered, and he gave her a friendly, encouraging smile. This was one thing he had been honestly sad to suddenly miss, but he didn't hold that against Oliphko in the slightest. "Do you have anywhere in particular you'd like to start, or pick up? I'm still figuring out this whole 'Turaga' thing right along with you, so I'll take the help I can get"

IC: Mar (Obsidian Outpost) "There's some medical supplies still in storage here" I revealed, standing up, "whomever built this place wanted it to last, it clearly did longer than whomever was running it" It was quite something to be describing the folly of what I could only presume was an organization with goals and plans of some sort. Building a fortified base around the Cablecar station was a sure sign of that. And yet, here I was, with no clear plans whatsoever. Funny how that works. "I'll go and get them, Karv's staying here to keep an eye on things" I said, and subsequently delivered a sharp whistle. Karv understood the signal. Guard!

IC: Vilda Mako (Ga-Koro) The greater number of the still-arriving refugees were beginning to reach shore, uncoordinated like a gaggle of squabbling Toroshu still but they were all more or less on the right path. I could use that as an excuse to start acting my age for once, and step back to take a break. At this moment I really needed a drink, something to strengthen my considerably fractured nerves. Haha, that's a laugh, my nerves were broken long ago. Can't afford self-preservation instincts in my line of work, nope! It had to do with making a conscious decision. I was still learning to get the hang of that, and it meant choosing to think about myself even when something pretty major and important was happening. I had done my part for now, that'll do. Well, really Kama had. She was snoozing peacefully on my shoulder at the moment. I needed to find a nice, private spot to get a drink and not get into trouble for once. OOC: Mako's open for interaction

IC: Mar (Obsidian Outpost) "He doesn't look like he's in a state to tell us anything right now, anyway" I answered, not looking away for a moment. Karv sat, still staring at the Skadki along with me. Spirits, that felt good to do. So good that I even felt like invoking the spirits, apparently.

IC: Zelvin (Ta-Koro) "I'll just need to know when you get off duty, and where it suits you to meet up. The Koro gate itself seems as good a place as any," Zelvin answered, "and you've got yourself a deal. If we succeed, you're welcome to half of the reward for bringing them in, should you desire it. I can afford to pay upfront" Zelvin knew the value of being honest when doing business. Put simply, there was no point in making more enemies than you had to in her line of work.

IC: Farzan (Tech Emporium) "Let's make the impossible happen, partner" I answered, taking the barrel over to the lathe to do as asked. I was also going to worry about structural integrity later. Kreff, meanwhile, scuttled about, making sure our perimeter was clear and free of distraction. Standard procedure, the crab was under the under instructions to help ensure that ongoing work wouldn't get derailed by carelessness.

IC: Mar (Obsidian Outpost) Karv instantly slipped into a growl when he touched me. I personally remained calm, but I also didn't need to suddenly move in a way he didn't like. With my powers I could strike from almost any direction anyway. I stared him right back, and in his eyes I saw... something, something I had only barely left behind, if at all. His voice cut deep, not just because of my hearing but because of its tone. "Let go of me!"

Akiri announcement Alright, so I'm going to put this out here now, so that people have the opportunity to actually have a think about it and get in on it if they so wish. As part of an agreement I've made with @Silvan Haven, Onu-and Po-Koro have set up a joint research initiative for sharing technological discoveries. The Onu half of this equation is the academy currently mentioned in the location topic: So, I'm putting the word out. If people have characters with something to contribute, this is one place to go. I'm especially curious if any of the newly-arrived Ringti craftswomen of Kentoku might be interested. Some cultural exchange on top of the technological would be pretty interesting, I think.

IC: Zelvin (Ta-Koro) "That's all fine, officers, thank you regardless" Zelvin answered to Loren first, before Jolek spoke up. Jolek was a resourceful fellow, no doubt about that. Zelvin allowed a nod of approval to slip through her facade of detached professionalism. She wasn't going to get further with them when it came to information, but they had given her plenty to go on, or rather, Jolek had. "Some help would be greatly appreciated, Jolek. There are two of them, after all. I don't suppose you'd mind a companion when you go to check your snares?"

IC: Mar (Obsidian Outpost) I remained seated, keeping my pokerface on as I looked over at the Skakdi. It wasn't so long ago that I'd have had no problem with this, but this time hearing it I... I didn't know what to say at first. Good thing I was the silent type. The unconscious Skakdi wasn't dead, there was still life in him, and they were out looking for treasure together? This was just the sort stuff that people killed each other over. I didn't have a problem with making money, but I felt something I hadn't in a long time when the suggestion came about interrogating this guy before leaving him for dead. Making a change started with the smallest one. Had I not overheard Rhea say something like that? Was I imagining that? Why did what Rhea had to say matter at all? This was why I had stepped away from people for a while... "We get him medical help first"

IC: Mar (Obsidian Outpost) "What is it you want out of him?" I asked, almost without realizing. It really was just... so ingrown at this point, wasn't it? I'd have to do something about that

IC: Mar (Obsidian Outpost) "Sort of" It had taken a while to get that answer out, the real truth of course being I wasn't sure what to call myself at this point. I just didn't have much of an idea of what I was going to use as the avenue for my... new direction in life. And calling it that didn't make it easier to get a good idea of where to start. "At the moment I'm on a bit of a break, I suppose. My last job paid pretty well" Indeed, the short service he'd done for Dorian Shaddix while part of Rhea Heartsflame's Renegade Tactical had netted him a very neat little sum, one he was still not halfway through.

IC: Trava (Great Jungle) Trava's path was headed eastaways, away from the Fau Swamp and Le-Koro, and swining slowly in the direction of the road leading to Ta-Wahi. It was once she spotted the river, that she began to move in a path through the jungle that loosely follow it. 'Kae' was hot on her heels, she could easily tell. The huntress wasn't going to make it easy on her. OOC: @Ramona Flowers

IC: Mar (Obsidian Outpost) He clearly wasn't all that interested in talking too much, which was perfectly fine by me. I sat down opposite him, the fire flickering between us. I looked at it rather than at my guest. Karv, on the other hand, watched him closely. "No, just an... independent contractor" I answered. It was evasive, but honestly best I could say for my self at the moment, "not actually on a job right now, looking for something" I looked over at him, this all felt rather familiar, and yet somehow not. I felt like there was something missing... "Name's Mar, and that over there's Karv" I said, nodding at the Kavinika.

IC: Zelvin (Ta-Koro) "Nothing visual unfortunately, hold on a moment..." Zelvin muttered. She was still not used to the all the features of these fancy gadgets, but she wasn't going to let herself get flummoxed by the mere basics. "There's two of them, actually," she began "a pair of Skakdi. One Plantlife and one Fire, they even have a silly name for themselves, the Ash Lads" She did not comment on the irony of this remark "Distinctive features include: for Plantlife an eyepatch over his left eye, teeth with a bit of a yellow-ish tinge, laser vision, and walking with a slight limp. For fire: Impact vision, missing two fingers on his right hand, and a spine that has had some... work done on it. Perhaps in compensation for something else" "They're wanted for taking money to help suppress the Koro during the occupation, and opportunistically helping themselves to people's valuables. They're stuck together tight, you never find one without the other, and they tend to stay away from civilization most of the time. Had you seen them, they would just be here for supplies." "I suspect there's a real possibility that they've taken up shelter somewhere in the charred forest."

It really is 2013