01: Not Another Medical Drama (FantasyChic, MonkeyWrench)

[FantasyChic]

Before she could answer Zack's question, Lawrence freaked out and ran out of the room. Before she could stop him, he was already outside. He was surprisingly fast...

Quincy answered the question posed, but it made her think. Why did that creature have that tool in it's stomach? They ran out of their supply a bit ago. Could it be this creature was around longer than they thought?

"I can try, but where would he go? We need to stop him before the Overseer or someone else catches him. He's in a state where he could tell them what we're planning and that would definitely not be good."

[GreyWolfVT]

Max sighs "The doors bolted and locked you know.Remember I sealed it better than it is normally at this time of night."

[Rukellian]

Max sighs "The doors bolted and locked you know.Remember I sealed it better than it is normally at this time of night."

Fulci, did you want me to delete my post then and do something else? It looks like Max had the door locked. Does Lawrence have security to leave, or was walking into the library in the first place a fluke? If I cannot leave the library so easily, I will role play the situation accordingly.

[Fulci]

"Banishment?" Lawrence says in a weak, quivering voice. "NO! No no no, I will not have that!" A fearful shout escapes Lawrence as he stands up suddenly. He shakes his head and backs away. "I'm not ready for that," he says quickly. "This is my home, and even though its failing, it doesn't mean I should abandon it! I-I have too much to lose now. I'm sorry." He shakes his head again and then turns around and runs away, toolbox in hand.

Blinded with fear and angst, Lawrence wants to leave the library, escape this nest of vipers... but the door is locked. After he entered, he remembers vaguely, Max and Zack secured it, talking about "not wanting anybody to catch us". With only one hand free, he tries to open the door.

Lawrence can open the door, but it takes some time, he has to put down his heavy toolbox, etc. The others have enough time to run up to him and talk a bit more.

[Scott308]

Zachariah "Zack" Lofftin

Zack will rush to the door, trying to keep Lawrence from leaving. Hold up, Lawrence. Let's not be hasty. Please come back and hear us out. We believe this is something that needs to be done, and that we'll need your help.

[GreyWolfVT]

Max goes over slowly to Lawrence "Listen to us a bit more before you hastily take off Lawrence. You of all people the most intelligent one I know should know that one must gather the facts before making a conclusion. Come lets finish this chat please."

[FantasyChic]

Victoria calmly watches Lawrence react and try to leave. She really couldn't blame him. She had been wrestling with all this new information all day, she couldn't expect the others to handle it any better. Now wasn't the time to freak out. Now was the time to come together. As Quincy so eloquently put it. She walked over to Lawrence and laid a hand on his shoulder, "I understand Lawrence, I do. I am still in shock about all of this information, but now we can't freak out and panic. Now is the time when we need each other the most. Please, come back and we'll talk about this some more. Nothing needs to be decided right now, but we do have to talk about it. If you're still scared after that, we can work on that. Please, come back with us?"

[1d100] = 72

Persuaded boi!

[Rukellian]

Lawrence's shaky hands, they remain so even after being stopped by the door, by the others. He cannot get the door open fast enough. He tries to calm himself down and finds that the best way to do that at the moment is actually sitting down against the wall. Toolbox laying at his side, he takes in a deep breath and exhales, a slight groan escaping his throat.

"Look, I'm all for getting the facts straight, looking at problems from an unbiased standpoint and fixing them, but this... I can't do this and not feel detached about it. It's the only way I operate when I work, and-" The mechanic pauses for a moment and zones out for a bit, but then catches himself and says quite suddenly again, this time with less emotion. "I don't want banishment."

Lawrence stands up, catching his breath and looks warily towards the group. After a few moments of silence, he looks down and walks back over to the tables. "Do you all intend to work with those in charge on this, or will I be working with a group collaborating secretly against the Overseer? If its the latter, I want no part in this, even if it does mean freedom, the price would be too high for me."Lawrence says this sternly and with direct eye contact. Though his body may still appear to be shaky from his recent outburst, his mind is sharply focused now, a cold discerning mind now taking over.

[GreyWolfVT]

Max "Look if you want to live in a tin can that is obviously well beyond it's intended time of use and think it is safe then feel free to stay banishment will not be a problem when molerats freely bust in when they are hungry. It's not us who seeks to work against the overseer it is the simple fact that lives are at risk all of ours as well as all of the dwellers we need to find a more suitable shelter for everyone as the vault is obviously falling apart as it sits."

[MonkeyWrench]

Quincy leans against the table, his arms crossed as he watches the others try to talk to Lawrence. He says nothing and instead just observes Lawrence, his breathing, his words, his actions, the emotions crossing his face, and the others as they try to console him and convince him.

"Hmm, not a total loss. He did react how I would expect him... Well Lawrence, let's see how far you can stomach this. I'll craft you into the future or you'll be left at the wayside, in the end, it matters not to me."

If the others look to him he'll simply be adopting a stern and observant attitude, giving off the impression that Lawrence must make this decision for himself.

[Rukellian]

Max "Look if you want to live in a tin can that is obviously well beyond it's intended time of use and think it is safe then feel free to stay banishment will not be a problem when molerats freely bust in when they are hungry. It's not us who seeks to work against the overseer it is the simple fact that lives are at risk all of ours as well as all of the dwellers we need to find a more suitable shelter for everyone as the vault is obviously falling apart as it sits."

The mechanic's eye twitches in frustration. Lawrence never was one for conveying his thoughts with 100% accuracy.

"You don't have to keep saying that. I know, I know the vault is falling apart, and yes, I realize our secure way of life won't last forever! There's procedures for what we are talking about, the mass exodus of the vault dwellers to the surface, and don't ask me the details for that, I don't know them. What I do know is that the Overseer and our supervisors know. To act upon these outside threats without waiting to see how those in charge will do so, it just seems too rash an option, foolish." Lawrence shakes his head as he says this part.

He looks to everyone as he says the following, maintaining his stern composure as best he can, "If you all feel this strongly about it, as do I, then this conversation needs to be done openly, with the Overseer, like it or not."

The mechanic softens his tone with this finishing statement. "And if you all still want to risk banishment and go against whatever the Overseer has to say or wants to do, then I will stay behind. I want to make that clear. I will continue to repair the vault's rickety machines, stop the leaks, patch up holes, hell, I will even fight off any over-sized rats that come my way if it means keeping everyone safe for another day. And when those in charge are ready to start moving everyone to the surface, we will meet again then, of that I'm sure."

[GreyWolfVT]

Max "Very well. Be that as it may the overseer has made it quite clear that there is no intent to even act as if this has happened. As Zack and I were painfully reminded. This is a cover up that some of our fathers and mothers have decided is wrong to hide this from the vault dwellers. However I am more concerned with our safety being that I am often responsible for it. I'll talk to my father but chances are nothing will change other than the risks becoming more and more and nobody being allowed to do what is right. That's all I have to say. If anyone else has anything more to add feel free otherwise I'll just open the door and we can all go about things as we see fit."

[Scott308]

Zachariah "Zack" Lofftin

I'm going to leave whether we get permission or not. Whether anyone else decides to leave or not. I've had as much of vault life as I can take. If things were different, I might be willing to stay, but not with the vault reaching the end of its life. I know you do an excellent job keeping things in working order, Lawrence, but there is only so much that can be done by the limited staff and equipment we have. I want to get out before any invaders get inside, and we need to fight for our homes, our very lives. If you still want to stay, then go right ahead. I just ask that you don't discuss this with anyone unless Victoria, Quincy or Max think it is a good idea. Zack turns and unlocks the door, as if to leave. Turning back, he asks, Do you think that medical thingy is something that we can use when we get outside?

[GreyWolfVT]

Max "Well believe it or not I am with you Zack, I'm leaving regardless of the outcome as well."

[FantasyChic]

Victoria throws her hands up at Lawrence's demands. Frankly, she was getting ticked off. "If you want to stay in a slowly dying home, that's fine. But I am not going to sit here and watch everything I know and love slowly die out. We are not safe here and the Overseer and the other adults knew this and kept us out of the loop. I don't trust anyone who keeps secrets. If you want to stay then, fine, but don't ruin it for the rest of us." With that, Victoria returns to Quincy and essentially turns her back to Lawrence.

[Rukellian]

"As it should be..." Lawrence says to himself in a whisper. For some reason, he does not show anger, as would be the normal response for such rejections. Instead of anger, or sorrow for that matter, he does the last thing that he probably should do in a situation like this... he smiles. Seeing his friends reject the fate that he has chosen for himself, one by one, Lawrence felt a burden lift from his shoulders. One less person to worry about each night, one less person in danger of a crumbling vault. But most of all, he is glad to see Victoria turn her back on him. Somehow, it makes things easier.

Lawrence looks over to Quincy and notices his silence. The young doctor had made his say and seems to hold the favor of those around him. 'He will do well, but can he keep the group together outside the vault?' The mechanic's smile fades. Before getting up to leave, he nods his head towards Quincy, a silent acknowledgment of the spoken and unspoken.

[MonkeyWrench]

Quincy watches Lawrence nod to him and start to get up, heading for the door. Quincy eyes the frustration in everyone's face. As Lawrence heads to the door Quincy chooses now to speak up, "Fine. We can play your game." Waiting for Lawrence to turn around Quincy gives him a shrug, his mouth slowly turning into a grin that hasn't shown itself since Zach and him got into trouble together, "When it's against us you seem sure of yourself and this places procedures. I can respect that on a professional degree, but when the world you know crumbles down there is no procedure for that, except hitting the reset button. You know that as well as the rest of us."

Quincy turns his attention to the medical device on the table, picking it up and turning it in his hand, speaking to Zach but keeping his attention on the device, "This device is used to draw blood, that alone can be used for countless things, from making medicine to testing for diseases and vaccines, it's useful in any medical environment. Curious as to why so many went missing only to wind up in the trash for you to find..." his eyes move to Lawrence, "isn't that weird?" Setting it down he continues to conversation with Lawrence, "You want this to be public? Fine, let's make it public. Tap into the feeds, or send a mass message, whatever suits your needs. Let's make everyone in this vault know what has been hidden from them. What's the worst that can happen? panic? Hysteria? That will all happen anyway when the walls come down, when there's no more parts to fix what's broken... And that will happen.

Quincy begins to walk towards Lawrence, a slow and measured pace, "This place is failing, I know it and you know it even better than I do. You tell us you trust the procedures to keep the people here safe? Then I'm calling your bluff, send the message, let everyone know and you'll see just what procedures are in place to handle... extreme instances." when Quincy gets to where Victoria was standing he stops, giving the mechanic an easy grin, "Or don't, either action tells a lot about how far a person will go for their ideals, their values. We didn't gather here to take down the authority, we're here to figure out the truth and make the decision that will save the most lives" Quincy's tone go softer now, "It's your choice at this point, my friend."

[Scott308]

Zachariah "Zack" Lofftin

Zack walks back to the table and picks up the medical item, looking at it. You think this is something that could help us? Ok. We'll bring it with us, then. Zack closes the case and pockets the item. I've gotta go see someone about a thing. I'll be in my room when I'm done, if you need to get ahold of me. At that point, I'll be ready to leave whenever everyone else is...no matter who exactly "everyone else" is. He turns and exits the room.

[GreyWolfVT]

Max speaks up about the medical device "Went missing hmm well this one or one like it was in that molerat's stomach Quincy. I am also surprised it never was mentioned to security. Unless that was what my superior was looking at he did have a lot of files in his quarters on the floor that he was going over."

[Rukellian]

Quincy begins to walk towards Lawrence, a slow and measured pace, "This place is failing, I know it and you know it even better than I do. You tell us you trust the procedures to keep the people here safe? Then I'm calling your bluff, send the message, let everyone know and you'll see just what procedures are in place to handle... extreme instances." when Quincy gets to where Victoria was standing he stops, giving the mechanic an easy grin, "Or don't, either action tells a lot about how far a person will go for their ideals, their values. We didn't gather here to take down the authority, we're here to figure out the truth and make the decision that will save the most lives" Quincy's tone go softer now, "It's your choice at this point, my friend."

"You jump to extremes, whereas I believe a more moderate approach is called for. The vault as a whole will know about these events, eventually, but it is not I or anyone else in this room that should blow the whistle and evacuate the vault; that responsibility alone lies with the Overseer. Now, if you all will let me, I will do just that and relay your concerns and ask for answers. Be careful on the way out everyone." Lawrence taps on his PipBoy's clock. "Curfew."

Lawrence spoke with confidence, but his face betrayed his true emotions, especially when he mentioned making a report directly to the Overseer. It was a look of dread, a plea mixed in that seemed to say 'wish me luck'. Having been called out by Quincy, he couldn't back down now, not after everything he said.

Having sensed the conversation over between himself and the others, Lawrence leaves the library and heads to the Overseer's office.