revivalproject | Trouble coming in the dead of night

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Trouble coming in the dead of night

WHO: Kaz and various
WHERE: All over Temba
WHAT: Kaz is talking to people about going outside the city limits
WHEN: Early December
WARNINGS: None anticipated

Civic Center(For Lauri-El)

Kaz had not been here yet and was mildly surprised to find it so colorful. He was expecting to find it as grey and boring as the rest of Temba. He did slow when he passed the fence. But he was not here to look at a mural. Passing it by he went deeper inside to look for a certain person. A certain person with blue skin.

Library(For Jon)

It was he remembered it, it was still with a library's hushed feel despite not having books on the shelves. Kaz had also come here with a purpose in mind and didn't bother to silence his cane. He wasn't planning to stay very long though so he didn't bother to take his winter coat off though it was warmer inside. Instead, he looked into the isles, the empty shelves on either side.

Diner (OTA)

Kaz had made use of diner's services before. And this time like last time he had a single mug of black coffee. He felt that the coffee here was never quite bitter enough for his taste, though. He had a notebook with him and was writing notes by hand in it in a cipher, of which only he had the code word. Since he was already sitting down he had his bad leg propped up next to him on a chair, the same chair that has his winter coat was draped across and his cane was propped against.

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"Funny you should mention change."

Kaz said without looking at Lauri-El.

"I'm thinking about changing our collective situation."

At the moment he looked at her sideways.

"But it's going to take a collective effort, which is what I want to talk to you about."

Funny she should mention change? He wasn’t laughing, so clearly it wasn’t funny.

“You have a request of me. Please offer it. I do not like it when people dance around these things.”

Kaz inclined his head to her.

"Fair enough."

He straightened and he had to look up to do it but he looked her in the eye.

"I'm putting together a few teams to explore beyond the city limits. You're intelligent and durable so you would make an ideal addition."

Maybe Kaz was stretching things to call Lauri-El 'intelligent' but throwing in a little flattery didn't hurt.

Explore beyond the city limits? The woman turned to truly regard him at that, crossing her arms over her chest.

“And just who do you have in agreement with this adventure of yours? Do any of you know how to face a wilderness? I believe you are setting yourself and others up for danger and pain. Your statement of ‘a few teams’ implies to me not moving as a proper squad, and that puts you at higher risk.”

The woman would require far more details before she would even begin to consider such a venture.

One of his hands joined the second so that both were folded on his cane.

"First my idea involves every group going in a separate point on a compass rose, save one because it quickly turns into an ocean. Because we don't know but we'll find I can't say much more than the direction they leave in. Second the idea I had means that there will only be about two people per group. There just aren't enough people here, so we'll have to make do with what we have. Third, I've talked to a few different people about this. Cal is in, and I've told Stark, Sims, Kyle and Billy."

But since he had not gotten any specific yes or no he was only mentioning them in passing. Yes, it was a devious thing to do.

"You have military experience so I'm here talking to you. There are a lot of factors that are not being covered, which I normally wouldn't add to any plan, but I don't like being held captive. And I especially don't like it when our captors can do whatever they want to us whenever they want it. First with Billy's magic then taking inspiration from what's in Sims' head."

Even if it's rash it's the best he can come up with at this moment, since not doing anything was letting things escalate.

While there were many lines Lauri-Ell could not read between, there were some few she could. Having 'told' someone you wished to do a thing was not consent. A lack of saying they agreed had the woman frowning at him.

Though not more so than the other statement. Two per cardinal direction.

"Your idea, if it is based on only two man teams being intended to face what is beyond this city, puts lives at risk needlessly. It is foolish and clearly poorly reasoned in its conception. I will not join you in sending others on a journey that will lead to their injury or death, and I will not leave those who would go behind with no defense."

Lauri-Ell straightened to the absolute fullness of her great height, quite content to literally look down on him.

"If you truly wish to do good here, you will reconsider. A single, larger deployment with those who can fight. And being certain that those left behind are fortified. There has clearly been backlash against us for exploration, for if you do not read the timing of our discovery of Sh'Ka and its contradictions to what we know of Temba as connected to what happened with the horror-one, then you are a fool. What is more, I have wandered beyond the city at times, and the creatures there are quite dangerous. Two people will not be sufficient. You cannot even set a proper night watch like that."

No, the soldier in her would not approve of this arrangement.

Kaz raised his eyebrows.

"I will admit that I'm not much of a military-minded person but what is your reasoning behind what one team could accomplish that many teams could not?"

Notably, he is not arguing with Lauri-El. Kaz had come to her because she had military experience and that experience is what he was taking advantage of now. He didn't exactly like being called a fool but he would be foolish not to pay attention to what she said. He was also not going to comment on whether or not he had good intentions.

"Also what would you do instead?"

"One team would be more likely to come back alive," Lauri answered, rolling her eyes. How could anyone see a two man team going into the untamed wilderness and assume they would survive? "One team allows for a suitable spread of skills and ability to support each other. There is a reason that when exploring the unknown, militaries use squads, not individuals or pairs."

But clearly this man knows nothing of the military or perhaps even the wilderness.

"My first advice to you is the simplest. Do not go until spring returns. Between weather and supplies, you increase risk. Already these 'snows' have come. They are cold, and many species do not thrive in such temperatures. And were the people that work against the Agrii to act against your work, who is to say they cannot make a storm in the cold and make it worse?"

But Kaz wasn't expecting any team to come back alive. Lauri-El did have a point though, and Kaz had been fretting about the possibility of what trying to do this in winter would mean. It would doubtless be nothing good. He tapped his gloved fingers against the head of his cane.

"You do have a point about the winter. But the possibility will still exist that the people working against the Agrii will be able to call up an energy storm to catch the group in the open in the Spring. The idea I had was to explore what was beyond the city limits in several directions. I'm not arguing with you, but it seems like it would be so much easier for them to take out a single large group rather than several smaller groups."

See, there was the problem. One should expect that there was great danger and plan for the best means possible for other people to come back alive. Anything less was a failure before even setting out.

“Yes, there is a chance a storm will come in another season. But consider the differences between cold rain and cold snow. It would be harder to find suitable shelter if this snow stuff piles. But the advantage of a large group to a smaller one is that there is a wider spread of skills, redundancies in those skills, and the ability to maintain scouts and healers and the like. Going with a smaller group means it is far easier to lose both people because of the failed attention of one.”

See Kaz was a thief and a con man, but he had never planned a military campaign before. The closest thing to it he ever got was planning to break into a military prison once. Kaz was revising his thoughts on how intelligent he thought Lauri-El was since she was proving to be both useful and practically-minded in this.

"Suppose we do plan to go in the spring, and suppose we do decide to go in one large group instead of many smaller groups, would you be interested in going then?"

That way Kaz would have a whole season to plan with her if she still said no.

She was made to be a soldier, but an intelligent one. Trained at the pinnacle of Kree military knowledge. That was just what she was. That didn’t mean she liked what she was. There was so much she didn’t know. How to deal with people she disagreed with was one of them.

“I would have to consider the situation at the time that it was proposed. There are plenty that need their safety considered here, and I will not abandon that duty to invite disaster. But planning is easily done and consulted with.”

While Lauri-El may consciously lack the will to be ruthless Kaz more than made up for it.

"Then let's start with something simple. Exactly how many people were you thinking of for this larger group?"

No Lauri had specifically chosen to forego the specific ruthlessness that most Kree had chosen to live with as part of their military. She hated it and hated what it meant for and about her people. She held herself to different standards. And one of those was honor.

“I would advise a group of six to eight. Less if that is all one can have, but more is better. Eight allows for four watches of two members each in the night, allowing you to cover multiple directions. It also means for a better likelihood of redundancy of skills.”

Kaz had made a reputation for himself for being ruthless in that he was willing to do any job that needed to be done, regardless of how violent or dangerous it was. He was a thief and a con man and had no trouble killing someone if he thought they were in his way. He was the opposite of honorable.

"What are the specific skills that you are looking to find?"

Kaz was making a mental checklist.

Really? Lauri-Ell crossed her arms over her chest while she looked down at Kaz.

“I am not looking to find as I am not seeking to stage an expedition.”

No, that wasn’t going to work.

Kaz mentally rolled his eyes, but outwardly showed no reaction.

"Allow me to rephrase: In order to create a successful outcome in a military mission, because my skillset is for finding different skills in people, what are the specific skills that I should be looking for?"

"You will need to look for someone to lead the expedition," Lauri answered. "Someone with skill in deployments, likely a hunter or soldier. And from there, you will need to listen to their statement for what you need. Likely multiple skilled in combat and hunting, healers, and of course someone to prepare food at the very least."

But she said no more than that. Perhaps she was not making it fully clear that she did not intend to render him great assistance.

Well, that was as much of a non-answer as it was possible to be and still have useful information in it. It would have helped if she had been able to answer questions, or at least it would have saved time, but she was not the only soldier in Temba.

"I see. From your answer, I will assume that you will not be one of those skilled at both being a soldier and a hunter?"

"I am skilled at both, but as I have indicated to you, I do not like the idea of this venture. Therefore I do not believe I would render the best assistance," Lauri-Ell points out. "I believe that such a thing will get others hurt."

Kaz raised both eyebrows at Lauri-Ell.

"Then you intend to let who lives, who dies, and what tortures they have to endure while they are trapped here be dictated by whoever did the trapping?"

That didn't strike him as the way Lauri-Ell operated either.

"Who lives and dies is in our hands. What we face is not in the hands of those who brought us here. I believe the Agrii," Lauri-Ell told him without hesitation. "And I feel that those who DO torture us, do so as punishment when we do things JUST like what you are suggesting. You are bringing harm. And that seems to be something you are delighting in."

And with that she turned her back on him, moving toward one of her training rooms. "I have better things to do than waste time listening to you as you attempt to force me into a position I have already explained I will not do."

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Trouble coming in the dead of night

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