Emotionless negotiations over salvage - RPLOG
Participants
Date
14/9/2014
Log
A cool evening breeze wafts by as three people stand in a group on the sidewalk. An RSX operative, Zephyr agent and some woman with no clear affiliation. The agent is still human; big commanding looking guy smoking a cigar, carbine rifle and body armor. The operative is mostly human looking, aside from the cat ears and tail sprouting from his body. Armed similarly to the agent. The third person is female. Or, hermaphroditic. Hard to tell with the pants on. They're mutated into a lizard form; that of a bearded dragon, and she is unarmed. They all stand silent, awaiting any assistance from those who got their call. Not far down the road, there are the sounds of people arguing.
What an interesting day this was going to be. Edel didn't care much for the fellow unaffiliated having a dispute over such things. If they want to be independent, they should at least show better manners! A kitsune today, the vixen slinks forward, idly testing the string on her bow before slinging it over her back and flashesing a little smile before patting down the relatively plain black dress what was covering her silver-furred form. "Are you the ones that requested assistance?"
A second kistune approache the location of the call, ears tilted at the sound of arguing voices, her tails slowly swishing back and forth. Rihko's wisp bobs along just above her head, providing illumination and a warning to ferals, and she walks with an easy pace, hands in the pockets of her bright red leather jacket. She grins when she spots the other kitsune, then snickers, and nods her head. "Hey. What's all the hubub, bubs?"
Menil flies overhead, circling once as he looks at the situation below... and finding a landing spot. The armored dragon then lands nearby the agents, clumsily landing next to the other agents. "Ahem. So! What's up?" she asks the operatives/agents that seem to be waiting for the calls after she lands.
A large dragon arrives in the area, wearing an old tattered lab coat over full body heavy combat armor, stamped with the Zephyr emblem. Four large wings steam from the dragons back. Seguro looks to the bearded dragon and the cat morph as shi asks. "Greetings can you tell me the situation here?"
The cat operative answers first: "Greetings and all that, yeah. That would be us who sent the call. I'll give the quick version: we, the three of us, came to see what was going on over there. So, for the last two hours there have been people shouting, shooting and stabbing at each other over... what was it again?" The agent continues: "Unsure. Some kind of supplies. Could be food, metal. Doesn't really matter though. Point is, we figure that instead of just letting them mess each other up over whatever that stuff is, we go in, broker a deal, and everyone comes away happy. Or, walk in and start shooting. Take it all and split it evenly amongst ourselves and employers." And finally, the lizard: "I'd prefer noone gets shot, though."
Edel glances over at Rihko and flashes another smile. "Hello, Rihko! Good to see you! Nice to have a familiar face along with me," she says as she listens to the situation report given by the other three. "Yes. Diplomacy would be favourable. I am prepared for hostilities, if it comes to it, though."
Rihko flashes Edel a grin, and a small nod. "Nice to see you too, Edel. And nice disguise." She grins wider, then looks from the agents towards the sound of the disturbance. "Alright, got it. We get to be the adults. N-" she stops then and blinks, turning to look at Seguro. Her nostrils flare a moment, then she runs a tongue along one of her canines. "Ooh. Haven't smelled one of those before. Uhm, right. No problem, let's go settle the kids down," she says, as she starts moving in that direction.
Menil hmmms, nodding as she listens. "Hmmmm... right! I'll come along if more-than-talking breaks out. ...not particularly good at negotiation anyway." She scoots in behind Rihko, following a little ways away on all fours.
Seguro blinks as the Kitsune's nose leans forward to sniff the dragon's tapered, reptilian, spaded, tipped tail sways behind hir in annoyance. The dragon smiles at the fox, as shi hisses a cryptic reply. "Oh I wil make more than sure, that events remain more than clam. " The dragon turn to fallow menil, the dusk dragon's calming aura washes over those nearby.
As Seguros calming aura washes over them, the three who called for assistance grow calmer. Despite being pretty calm beforehand; more likely to suggest peace and love than start shooting now. The agent looks over the gathered group, looking a bit closer at Menil and Edel. "Have we met before?" He shrugs, then turns around. "Doesn't matter now, just thought I recognized you. Anyway, let's go if you're all ready." He turns, toward their destination. Begins to lead the group closer to the arguing survivors. The lizard adds: "If you have any questions, uh, we don't have much more information to give you, so..." She also turns to follow the agent. That cat operative speaks last. "We'll be leaving the talking to you." A short nod, as he also begins to move.
Edel doesn't seem to regard Seguro's aura one way or another as she shrugs at the three. "Maybe. I've met a lot of people, you know. Hard to say who all I know, these days." She folds her arms and flashes a mischievous grin at Rihko and nods. "Thank you! No one ever suspects the tanuki to be a kitsune! Well. Mostly I just like this form, as I've said before! It is quite lovely," she says, swaying the tails around behind her as she starts off with the others.
Rihko quietly giggles, glancing back to give Edel a quick nod before she looks back to the operatives. "Yea, yea. No problem. I'm good at this kind of thing; it's one of my specialties. We'll sort it out." She looks over and gives Menil a small nod as well, then looks ahead again, waiting to see what they find.
Menil yawns as he heads behind Rihko. She blinks a few times as she feels the calming aura, finding it more annoying than anything else for... at least one reason. "...right. Well, if they're fighting over how to take apart and reassemble something, I can help there, at least."
Seguro giggles a the agents begin to calm, as the dragon begins to feed of the extremes of the passions of those around hir, the dragon continues to fallow the rest of hir group, A second aura begins to wash over hir sounding, draining out aggression and perpetuating calmness.
As the group moves towards the sounds of conflict, a gunshot or tow ringing out accompanied by yelling. 'Tis only a short walk before the mutants come into view. All different types; some barely mutated, others no longer resembling anything human. When the group comes into view, they turn to face them. Were one to count, it appears to be at least 15 individuals just standing in the street. And a couple who seem to be incapacitated with bullet wounds spread around their bodies.
One of them speaks up, a male latex fox. More inteligible now as they are within earshot. "Come no closer. This is ours." And he is immediately contradicted by another mutant standing with another group. This one a male wolf beast. "We saw it first." A pile of near random bits of metal and food lies in the road between the two groups.
By their lack of serentiy, 'twould seem that they are still outside of Segs aura.
Edel scoffs at something in her mind and makes a show of brushing her sleeve off as she draws closer, folding her arms over her chest. "So!" She calls out, head tilting. "What's this petty argument over this time?" She asks, looking amongst the mutants. "And didn't your parents ever teach you better manners than this? Sharing is caring, you know."
Rihko continues making her way closer as well, walking at a leasiurely pace. Her ear flicks at Edel's question, and she glances towards the people who had been shot, then settles her gaze on the first person who had talked. "Better ways to solve disputes than shooting eachother."
Menil stares at the pile of metal and food in between the two groups. She mentions to the other agents, "I'm... just going to let all you talk." She does so then, idly scooting to the front of the group quietly, maybe soaking up a few bullets if things get nasty before the squishier people are shot. Or getting a better view of the two groups, that helps too.
Seguro the dragon vanishes from sight, the light around hir bending like water around a rock, it its place illusory copy of the dusk dragon remains. Quietly shi moves toward some of the wounded drawing hir aura closer. Smiling under hir camouflage the dragon lets another aura flow over hir group the nanites gather thickly around hir fellow agents, adding a layer of protection should they come to harm.
The latex fox answers first, just before Segs aura hits him. "Your mother ta-" Then he loses some emotion, shrugs. "They want it. We want it. Someone has to have it. Why not us?" The wolf speaks next similarly shrugging as the latex one did. "We saw it first. We share, less for them and us. Really, we should just shoot the rest of them and take it." A few of his apparent group members nod and make words of agreement. All passionless, near monotone. The foxes group almost ges adjutated. As adjitated as one can be when their emotions are quelled. "So, what now?"
Seguros illusion and camoflauge let hir go unnoticed.
At the back of the group, the agent, operative, and lizard simply stand back and watch.
Edel furrows her brow. "If you share, each of you get less, but you both walk away with something. Otherwise, you walk away with everything, albeit maybe damaged, and wounded. If you're going to walking around on your own, you'd better at least shape up and learn to act like adults. The companies aren't here to hold your hand, now. And if you just take and take with no regard for anyone else, then you're little better than ferals."
Rihko gives Edel a small nod as she listens to the other kitsune lecturing them, her own stern Mom Gaze creeping into her expression. "You." She nods at the leader of the first pack. "What's your claim on it? And you," she nods at the other. "Likewise. And I hope it's better than "We're stronger so we're taking it", since we are -people-. Regardless of shape. We are civilized people, and we should act like it, yea?"
Menil paces a bit impatiently near the group, as she listens to the two talk. The feral dragon helpfully adds, "Or you could group up together, hypothetically. Assuming there isn't some sort of specific feud between the two of your groups..."
The wolf, in his emotionless, nanomagicked monotone, responds to Rihko, although she nodded at the fox first. "My people saw it first." No more words. The fox, however, adds: "I can't dispute that, but, it's mine. We need it more. If I cared about being better than ferals, I'd... probably do things differently." A third mutant, a 7 foot tall crocodile steps up next to the latex fox. "Why act civilized when there isn't civilization?" Menils words, having actually made a bit of a point as opposed to chastization, get a slightly better response. Slightly, that is, it makes sense to them, in there nanomagic addled state. "We could do that... But then we would need twice as much shit to keep going."
Edel leaves her arms folded and heaves a little sigh. "If you didn't care about being better than ferals, you wouldn't be here arguing over salvage in the first place. Generally, the one that finds something first SHOULD get it. That's how salvaging works," she says with a furrowed brow. "And we should act civilized because we -are- the civilization. How can it ever hope to form if people keep coming to blow over things like this? What do you need it for? Why can't you get it elsewhere?"
Rihko wrinkles her nose, and then raises her finger. "Because we -are-, like she said," Rihko echoes. "Needing something doesn't mean it's yours. Maybe you guys can work out a deal?" she asks. "Who got to this stuff first, and what can you offer them to let you have it?"
Menil frowns a bit as she listens to everyone... and their fairly emotionless, dispassionate voice. Ugh. Something about that is... very disturbing to her. She stays quiet for now, seeing the response to Rihko first.
Seguro's illusory copy paces, tapping hir feet, twitching its tail, it finally folds its arms with a crossed look granting the appearance that the dragon is still standing in place. The nearly 18 foot copy dragon views the wolf leader with a toothy smile, look licking hir chops, hir teeth running over hir long, sharp fangs. The real seguro glances over the wounded wondering to hirself if it is best to risk helping them, and with the hope that with the auras in place that mob gathered here will be more approachable to reason. Glancing about the area the dragon's eyes searches, the area for some that may be of use, perhaps, and old dumpster nearby.
Latex fox dude speaks: "Well, maybe you're civilized... And the wolf and his group got here first. Still, there're more of us. We've got more mouths to feed." The croc next to him adds: "Maybe we can work out a deal. We get most of it. They get the rest. 30, 70?" The wolf, still calmed by the calming aura from the dusk dragon shrugs again, and while every one of these mutants are still armed, holsters his pistol. "Those numbers don't work for us."
Seguro spots a dumpster not far where shi is. It's misplaced, clearly, as it's lying on the side of the road, overturned. As for the wounded, they're recovering rapidly.
The operative behind the others speaks quietly to the group. "Make sure they understand, that, as the arbitrators of this negotiation, we get something too."
Edel tilts her head. "What about the wolf and his get sixty, you get fourty? Unless, of course, you have something of your own to trade for more? That is how this goes, after all. Barter for it! I would say that, by rights, it belongs to those who found it first. But they should be open to trade offers, and sharing."
Rihko rolls her shoulders. "One of those things. Yea, finders keepers. And yea, the stronger person could just take it. But you're better than that aren't you?" she asks, looking over at the lizard. "Do you want to get a reputation as a dangerous group of uncivilized barbarians that will use violence to get their way?" she asks, then smiles. "Or would you rather have a good repuation, a good name that encourages people to work with you?"
Menil sighs a bit, things being quite boring now, partly because of that aura. No fighting, or emotion, or... anything. Augh. She paces a bit more as she listens in. ...she has another thought cross her mind idly. "What about 60 percent for the group that found it first, 40 percent for the other, and then you can get in contact with Zephyr or RSX? You all seem to know how to handle yourself in combat quite well, and those two organizations are always looking for people to help out around the city, stopping dangerous situations before they happen." She neglects to mention that this is one of the situations they bring agents to help with, but... "I'm sure you could get food and other supplies from them just by helping to make the city a little safer for everyone, including yourselves."
The copy dragon looks the cat morph and lizard girl in the face, showing hir teeth, the look on hir face says don't mess this up. Seguro meanwhile moves quietly behind the dumpster, quietly shi adjust hir size to make hir selfless visible then shi already is.
In their emtotionless state, Rihkos appeal to their pride goes a bit over their ability to care. Mostly. "I'm better than noone. Never claimed to be." Fox barely moves, his words monontone due to the dragon aura that is still going. Menils suggestion is met by a scoff from, well, everyone. They scoff in unison, grumble, and were they not <mostly> emotionless, would likely be met with derision. "Why would we want to wrok with any of those company assholes?" A valiant attempt, but it seems these mutants dislike the companies. Seg goes unnoticed. "Fuck it. 60 40 works for us."
The three who called the group grumble abit. "Hey, where's our cut in there?" The agent whispers to the group.
Edel glances back towards the other three agents and flashes a toothy grin. "You get the good feeling of knowing that you helped settle an argument and helped people avoid further bloodshed. That is the cut, yes. I'm sure your sponsors will be paying you for a job well done regardless, no?" She tilts her head and adjusts her glasses.
Rihko grins, pulling her hands from her pockets and crossing her arms. She doesn't add anything else, but her body language clearly says she is in support of Edel; she looks back and forth between the groups, ready to speak up if it looks like it is needed but seems happy enough for now, tails slowly flicking.
Menil frowns. Okay, should have probably expected that. "There's also the Prometheans I guess... they'll probably looking for people to do the odd job around town making things safer. Also have a lot of food growing with their farms." She glances over to the agents asking about their cut, and shrugs. "They're not shooting each other, and they might be a little happier about the agents not taking their... stuff, I guess. Honestly I dunno how to convince them to give us anything."
Seguro keeps watch on the negotiation, lying prone on the ground. The dragon peaks at the goings on from the side of the dumpster, keeping contact just long enough to manipulate hir phantasm as needed, Seguro smiling to hirself that violence may not be needed. The copy dragon sits upon the ground playing with a deck of cards, the dragon's spade tail tipped curled around hir around hir own waist, glancing up every once and a while checking the perimeter from time to time as if looking for ferals.
Those who summoned the group have varying reactions to the newd, though somewhat emotionless as the mutant survivors were. "Alright, I'll file paperwork. Call it a charitable action, or something..." He returns to smoking his cigar, the operative walks off, and the third, who happens to be a Promethean, smiles at the aparent cease to hostilities.
The mutants start discussing amongst themselves how to divide up the resources for that 60 40 split. Though one pokes out to say: "Screw the Prometheans too." Still monotone. Seems everything might be working out at this point...
Edel scoots over towards Rihko's side and smiles, tails swaying gently behind her. "Well. That didn't go so bad, hmm? I'm glad I didn't have to bloody my blade tonight! Always a joy when people can be talked down, instead, yeah?"
Rihko nods her head at Edel, tails slowly flicking. She doesn't quite believe things went over that easily, but... she sniffs at the air again, then she shakes her head. "Yea, nice and easy. Alright, people, take your stuff and get off the street, we don't want a pack of ferals to wander by."
Menil flicks her tail again in annoyance, glancing at Edel. "Regardless of how peaceful that went, that lack of emotion is... entirely unnatural. Wrong. Uncanny valley wrong..."
Seguro giggles as shi moves the copy dragon is if shi was a child playing with hir toy,, smiling at hirself on how things turned out. The copy dragon moves around the corner, in an alleyway slightly out a view of the mob, seems to begin to break up becoming fuzzy before losing constancy shattering in a multitude of l rainbows of light. The dragon curses under hir breath. "Seems there are limits to everything, still I got a good meal out of this."
And with the group departing, mostly, the two opposing groups of mutants end up figuring out how to split the salvage on their own. They remain peaceful long enough to get out of range of each other; the wounded having healed and followed after them.
