week 11 - sunday (i guess?? after all the shit goes down)

[refactor]

[ Jack hadn't quite forgotten about wanting to talk to Dorian, but for a while after things calm down (at least, so much as they could), Jack just keeps to himself in silence. It's pretty clear that whatever the Queen had shown him had shaken him, since a thoughtful, pensive silence didn't exactly suit the person Jack had been up to this point... But whatever it is, eventually he at least decides that it can't stall him.

He'll take the time to ask Luke to accompany him, and Adam comes along as a result, which Jack doesn't actually object to at all in this case. He seems distracted more than actually really caring one way or another, and that carries to when the group goes to find Dorian too.

Still, that said, it might not exactly be a bad thing. Jack is more subdued by now, hardly the argumentative and baiting tone he'd been carrying earlier. ]

So. You had something to say to me, as I recall. Hope you don't mind me bringing my clique, since, y'know, not the most trusting guy.

Comments

[tevinteriscoming]

I don't particularly have anything to say to you, Jack. But you wished to know what it is I'm not telling you, and that I will oblige. [There's no bite in it, though. He's tired, too, and a few drinks in, to boot, not that that will make it difficult for him to have conversations.

Adam and Luke's presence is fine with him; something of a relief, even. He's still got one spell in him, but it's not enough for comfort if things turned ugly.]

I suppose you are within your rights to find me hypocritical for thinking that what you did to Rhys was an ugly thing. None of that has anything to do with the reasons I don't trust you. [He's killed plenty of people, after all. To him, there's a difference between killing someone who was terrified of you out of anger and killing for a purpose, but he isn't going to argue the point, it won't go anywhere. More than anything, it's not the murder, it's that Jack's treatment of Rhys and Elizabeth during that trial was so petty and cruel, and he can't abide cruelty. And yet, apparently, it was more complicated than that. If only that made him feel more comfortable with it.]

You've been dishonest in ways I feel are more self-serving than they are intended to obscure dangerous truths from the souvlaki, and in ways that I believe are reckless. For one thing, I've no idea what you've said of your role is true and what is false, but I do know and have known that you are Kampff. Given that, I can't help but suspect most of what you've said. You've either lied to us, or you've lied to the rest of the Kampff for reasons that are inexplicable to me, and therefore I am not inclined to trust you.

[That's a long speech for a guy who was probably recently seen drinking straight whiskey from a bottle, but it's fine. He's gone to his fair share of tense political functions completely in his cups; he can hold a rational conversation and keep his guard up without much difficulty. If anything, it just makes him more long winded.]

Are we satisfied?

[chiseler]

[When Jack found him, he was already a couple of drinks in himself and he's with Adam and it makes it easier for the pair of them to be pulled along to have this conversation. It's coming down to the wire now, he knows, but while Dorian's talking and Jack's oddly quiet, Luke's watching them contemplatively. He probably doesn't look too serious seeing how he has his chin hooked over Adam's shoulder and he's leaning against his back, arm loosely draped around his waist to stay upright. He looks back and forth between Jack and Dorian, eyebrows furrowing in thought before he speaks up.]

If you've known, why didn't you say something sooner?

[antietam]

[ Since when are they a clique? They probably look like pretty awful guards since Adam is frowning more at Jack than Dorian. In fact, he's probably here more for Dorian. When he starts taking about Kampff, though, Adam can't help but look both surprised and confused. Is it Kampff? They do the same thing, almost. ]

Did you know about the Kampff, Jack? When they were given the instructions for the souvlaki?

[refactor]

[ If nothing else, there's a small blessing in the events of the day, because where Jack had been viciously trying to pick a fight earlier, by now, he's much calmer, or perhaps simply tired. He nods lightly as Dorian speaks of being hypocritical, since Jack absolutely does think that, and has only held that opinion back because he's actually more sensitive to the tide of public opinion than he may seem. He's at least aware enough to know he's dancing on a razor's edge with the danger of people deciding he's more trouble than he's worth.

Though even so, Dorian's revelation is something that Jack breathes out a laugh to. It's not one that's mocking or harsh, but a sort of distantly amused one. He crosses his arms, but his posture is still fairly relaxed, so it doesn't seem quite so defensive. Adam's question isn't answered, not immediately, but he figures that answering Dorian will give enough of an answer to his concern. ]

Oh, that? Yeah, been wondering if Bull couldn't keep his mouth shut. Figured so, all things considered, but at least he did me a solid and said there was only one to everyone else.

[ He gestures towards Dorian idly, since as always, he's just the kind of person that speaks with his hands. ]

Explanation's real simple. One, I don't give a shit about the Kampff, which is why I didn't mention it. That, and Alice would probably be pissed if I did, since that's all her shit, and dunno if you've seen Alice pissed, but I sure have. [ what a shocker, jack even pissed off the calm ai ] Nothing personal against Bull, though. I respect him, to be honest. But that doesn't mean I could trust him. Me being a Kampff? Nothing to do with hunting down the aliens, least not at the start. Because, hell, you don't have to believe me, but I haven't lied to either one of 'em. I've been doing this since the first week, and Alice only told the Kampff to get hunting after Liz and Rhys. She didn't know I'd known the whole time 'till I told her so. So Bull could've been one of them. Had no way of knowing for sure, so I couldn't tell him shit. Simple as that.

[ His arms settle again, and he shakes his head. ]

And I'm gonna take a guess here and say you're upset about Bull getting offed because he was wrong, so. Let me just head that off. He acted on his own. If he'd mentioned, "y'know, I'm thinking of killing this dude because magic or some shit," would have told him that he was off base. Considering the side of the story you've obviously heard, pppprobably also pretty obvious that we weren't exactly big on teamwork. You do your thing, I do mine, that kind of thing.

[ Jack pauses and looks to Luke and Adam, actually, then back to Dorian again. He's still calm here instead of goading like earlier, but it doesn't make his words that much better. ]

Probably doesn't fit my incredibly charming and handsome personality here, but, look, I look out for my team. Problem is, Bull chose his team, and it was you. No way I could've done anything for him at that point. Had no idea he even killed the guy until everyone else.

[tevinteriscoming]

I haven't said anything because whatever my grievances, the Kampff and Jack aren't our enemy. I'm not so petty as to jeopardize whatever plans are in motion against the souvlaki, little as I may like them, and it was better for all of us that the souvlaki believe the "alien hunter" role died with the Bull.

[Well, no. That's a lie. He is definitely that petty. But he's decided against being that petty this time. Still, as Jack speaks, his expression sours. Which is probably a good sign - a Dorian gearing up for a real fight, instead of a tense argument, is a Dorian who is brash and cocky. It's a deeply instilled value, never let your foes see they've gotten to you. Jack has gotten to him, but he isn't a foe, so Dorian doesn't care whether he sees the way anger flashes when Jack says so cavalierly that he "doesn't give a shit about the Kampff."]

Fair enough. He never trusted you, for all too obvious reasons. Though, you know, when you have a "team," the onus is not actually on them to develop trust in you spontaneously. You instill trust, or you lose trust, and then your "team" decides it'd rather not rely on you. That might be something to keep in mind for the future, as you go about building teams, Jack.

But no, I'll give you that. Keeping knowledge of the souvlaki to yourself until they showed themselves was a shrewd tactical move. Some might say a shrewd tactical move showing a reckless indifference to the lives that might be lost when they do show themselves, but what do such fools know of hunting down aliens.

Some might say that if one of our helpful roles didn't know they oughtn't put their faith in someone seemingly trustworthy, that would be on you. Some might say that if when the first souvlaki revealed itself, no one could believe she'd committed the crime, things might have gone differently if anyone had any cause to know something like the souvlaki existed. Ah, but what could you have done. It isn't as though the life of an innocent man unnecessarily scapegoated came down to a single vote.

[He's aware he's rambling somewhat, a side effect of the liquor. He'd meant to come here and say what he knew and nothing more, but now he's getting into it, apparently. Ah, well.]

But no. I'll give you not telling them from the start. But there were two weeks between Elizabeth's reveal, when the Kampff were finally told they were meant to hunt down souvlaki, and Arumat's death. Two weeks in which you ought to have been certain they weren't souvlaki, else you'd be dead. And you said nothing. Why on earth would he have told you a damn thing, when you'd killed a man for seemingly no reason and never thought to mention you had the means to narrow them down? He wasn't a fool, and we both know a thing or two about hunting things that can possess your friends. He wouldn't have told me. He never gave me your name until he was dead, and only then to warn me not to trust you. Fasta Vass, he refused even to agree to try and scapegoat you, which for the record is what I would have preferred.

[Hmm. Maybe he oughtn't have said that much - only good for a barb, not much point in letting it be said. But in the end, Jack is right. He is so angry for the hopeless weeks they'd spent, believing Alice had given him an impossible job, not knowing someone in his own ranks had more information than he'd been given. He's a little more subdued as he continues.]

It doesn't matter anymore, I suppose. I won't say anything. I'll let you assure the others of your alien hunting prowess to your heart's content, no cause for alarm.

[chiseler]

[He's still observing all of this carefully, head a little dizzy from the alcohol he's consumed already and mostly using Adam as a human shield as he sorts all of the information he's picking up. He watches Jack's hand with interest if only due to the fact it's moving, though he lifts an eyebrow.]

Wait a sec. I'm not entirely clear on what the difference is between what you are and what the Kampff are doing. Is it really just that one was working with the AI and the other wasn't?

[He says nothing about Bull's death because weeks later he still thinks that situation was pretty fucked up. Arumat was his friend, and now Arumat's been in touch since then and it's a reminder he's gone. It was a killing way off base, as Jack said, but at the same time he wonders if they would have been more successful if they were working together. Despite that, his fingers idly drum on Adam's lower ribs as he thinks. Jack being calm helps. It's obvious from Adam's response that he's still more biased toward Dorian than Jack but that's probably where they differ. He doesn't blindly believe everything Jack's said, but he gets it. There's basis there that Luke seems to understand on a different level and it's the only reason he listens to Jack at all. You can be a horrible person but still look out for those you're most loyal to. Of course it makes sense.]

You're pretty petty sometimes, man. [It's mumbled as an afterthought, like he's hardly bothered because Luke himself can be petty. Regardless, he rolls his head a bit before resettling.]

Thing is now the aliens all know we're here, they know who Jack is, and now we have these drone things to deal with. Nobody else has been infected yet but…you know. The giant eyeball bitch made it sound like we're just getting started. [He hums to himself.] We're gonna build and reorganize teams a lot here.

[There's a beat though because Dorian…is mad? Maybe? He's not sure and he bumps his nose into the side of Adam's head as a signal that he should probably address Dorian's words with something intelligent because there sure is a lot going on. However, he pauses when he thinks once more.]

What's the difference between Jack killing Rhys and you and Bull actively planning on killing someone like Arumat solely based on the guess that someone with magical ability might be more susceptible to a possession? [That's. Strangely eloquent for him.] You don't get to talk about scapegoating anybody when you would have gladly done the same to me. Is this really all about the fact that someone acted on a separate agenda that doesn't fit right into your "perfect" way of doing it?

[He's also not mad. He's just…curious, maybe.] And if it doesn't matter anymore, why bring it up now? What're you really after anyway?

[antietam]

[ So Jack has two roles. He has to stop to consider that. What are the odds that those roles would be given to him entirely separately? He probably could figure out the odds if he cared enough, but he doesn't. He thinks it's not a coincidence even if River didn't know about it. It must have been intentional in some way, maybe to give Jack access to a network of other killers. A network that Jack didn't use, as Dorian explains.

Dorian, in fact, hits on all of Adam's problems with Jack. How his secret caused everyone to make a lot of mistakes, to die when they didn't need to. Dorian would be a better leader than him and he glares at the ground, only looking up when Luke talks to frown at him. The only thing that stops him from pulling away from Luke is the mention of scapegoating because, yes, Dorian did that and Adam hasn't forgiven him for it. He puts his hand over Luke's to stop him from drumming because this is a serious conversation. ]

Because it all could have been different if Bull had known. Everything could have been different if we'd all known about these things, if some mysterious person left an anonymous message somewhere explaining how memories could have been altered not just due to Frankenstein, but... [ He could get mad at Jack. But he's already been mad at Jack for a while and nothing's changed. ]

But Jack's the hunter, I guess, and we can't change anything like this. We have to start working on a new plan of attack. Maybe if you joined us... [ Which is to Dorian. Not that he has any place to be inviting people. ]

[refactor]

[ There's a lot to address here between the questions about roles and what Dorian (and Adam) say, but he starts off with the easier one first. He nods towards Luke, though as he watches the drunken proximity of Luke and Adam, he can't help but have the corners of his eyes turn up slightly in amusement. You do you, guys. ]

Yeah, difference is simple, when it comes down to it. Started out, Kampff were just the assholes that were gonna keep the game running. Someone didn't feel like killing? We were supposed to step up to bat. Some did, some just got offed by someone else. Shit luck either way. I was the one that knew about the aliens, but it wasn't until after Liz and Rhysie that Alice gave the us the extra role of hunting aliens. At that point, didn't exactly care about that first goal of killing people off for the sake of whatever. [ He shrugs ] That, and y'all are really good at killing each other, so, yeah, we only had to do that once.

[ He really is very casual and dismissive about that part, so it's clear that this was never really a priority to him. It's hardly any surprise, considering the threat of an alien infection was far more worrying, and that's why when it moves to that topic, Jack does at least get less clinical. ]

But wasn't that simple. The way the message that told me about 'em was laid out? Couldn't let Alice catch on either. That's the problem. Couldn't tell anyone about the aliens, not even a hint, because was pretty sure that if she knew about them? We were all dead. Apparently that wasn't the case, so, yeah, I'll admit that it's pretty shit that I didn't give a hint before. But didn't think I could, and I won't apologize for thinking "as being alerted to their presence may cause Alice to intiate" was gonna lead into some bad shit.

[ He nods to Luke at this point, since he'll know what he's referring to next. ]

And for the record, did try and let y'all know earlier. That datapad that got left in the conference room talking about Harlan and epidemiology? Left that for you. Because I still think that's a fucking weird coincidence that we're stuck on a ship for some project that just happens to deal with the spread of an infection.

[ He laughs, since he's always been a bit bitter about that part getting glossed over, but he knows it's fair that they have to focus on the immediate. He waves his hand again, but it's half dismissive and half idle. ]

Look, I'm actually not saying I've done everything perfectly here for once. But, listen, if I could, I'd challenge you and any other idiot that thinks that they could've done a better job to friggin' try it. Because I could go through every point you've laid out here and lay out why I didn't do that. Pretty sure y'all think I'm just a monster that doesn't think this shit through, but, hey, got news for you, pumpkin. Already evaluated every question you've posed here, decided it wasn't the best way to go. So get off your friggin' high horse. You hate me, fine. Hell, you can even try and kill me, if that's your preference. But you shouldn't, least not till we're done with this shit.

[ He points at Dorian, which comes off as accusing, but it's actually the opposite. ]

'Cause if you've known who I am, at least half of it? Then you're not infected. Simple as that. So you're improving our odds here, because Adam's right. You're clear, so that puts us down at three people that could be housing our last piece of shit alien.

[tevinteriscoming]

I bring it up now because Jack accused me of hiding things, and I thought it unwise, given present conditions, to let stand.

[He doesn't address the rest of what Luke says. He's not here to argue he's a better person than Jack. Killing Arumat, the decision to frame someone to save Bull, are actions he has complex thoughts about and he hasn't worked through fully himself which parts he still believes were justified and which parts he knows weren't. Either way, he's not so concerned with the question of who is a murderer and the ethics thereof. He's known killers, and he is one now - the fact that he didn't twist the knife on his own doesn't change that. He knew Jack was a killer well before he killed Rhys; he'd talked often enough of his own notions of justice. He just hadn't expected Jack to be precisely that type of killer, vindictive and manipulative and volatile. A threat.

On the other hand, he listens to Jack's explanation, and, more importantly, to Jack acknowledging that he's likely clear. That surprises him; to him, it's been fairly evident he wasn't possessed ever since Bull's death, seeing as he'd been saved from execution for his part in it only by virtue of loyalty from Bull he had never anticipated or expected. He'd thought Jack's treatment of him as suspicious was based on personal biases, that he preferred to surround himself with people less openly hostile to his agenda.

Perhaps not. The fact that Jack willing to work together after all he just said is something. The fact that he acknowledges mistakes were made is something else. Not everything, but enough. He won't be able to let go of his anger over Bull, but he can look past it in the interest of something much more important, and he can also bring himself to acknowledge that Jack is right about one thing -- trying to stop the souvlaki has been much more complicated than he's allowed in his anger. A dose of humility, no matter how small, goes a long way with him.]

Very well. Consider my frigging high horse elegantly dismounted and sent off to the stables. What three?

[chiseler]

[That makes a lot more sense to him. For the most part this time he stays quiet. This is about Jack and Dorian and not commentary from the peanut gallery but at the same time Luke understands loyalty enough to realize that if Jack and Adam are going to trust Dorian, he has to do the same. He doesn't bother fighting off Adam's hand from where he's stopped his fingers from moving but he also tilts his head questioningly.]

Well not anybody in this room, obviously. [It's mostly mumbled for lack of anything else to say, though his eyes seem to widen the longer he thinks and starts to realize who, exactly, Jack means. It's then that he turns his head to Jack.] You really think so? Then it's about figuring out which one's most likely.

[antietam]

[ As much as he hates it, Jack has some good points and Adam isn't really sure what he would have done differently in Jack's place. It's something he's thinking about in an attempt to remain on his high horse, but Dorian's letting it go so Adam will too. He's been deferring to Dorian without realizing it here, but it shows enough that he trusts him. ]

Just three? What's the criteria? [ There's some he can guess are cleared, there aren't many of them left, but that still leaves him with more than three. He frowns over at Luke in particular. Has he not been telling him something? ]

[refactor]

[ PRETEND I SAID FIVE... BTW... I was working off my ooc list and forgot the mod characters that I took off for obvious reasons whoops ]

Well, can't tell you why in some of the cases, so you're gonna have to trust me, but. I know that Grell and Jason are clear, so add them to you, me, and these two, Dave for obvious reasons, Jessie for her role, and that leaves us with Judar, Yuno, Adrien, Marinette, and Clover. Out of them? I think we're lookin' at the furries, and really? Marinette's the strongest candidate here, I'm thinking.

[ He shrugs ]

'Course, I don't have strong reasons to write off Judar, Yuno, and Clover, I'll admit that. But since, I mean, if it weren't obvious, the blood thing was a total bluff. I was surprised we even friggin' found anything, even if I also think it was ultimately bullshit. But. Purely a gut feeling of looking at those two kids and seeing logic behind it from the alien's point of view. You wanna hide your biggest, most badass general? You pick a kid that someone would hesitate to cut off their head.

[ Jack pauses, since he'd wanted to say this earlier, but hadn't. Though since they're at a relative agreement here, he thinks he can say it without it coming off quite so badly. ]

...Which, hell, if I'm honest, I kiiinda figure that's why I'm the one that got the message here. Whether I'm really the highest ranking or not, I don't actually give that much of a shit about it, since it hasn't exactly helped me out here. But if it takes killing a kid to do what's necessary? Yeah. I'll kill 'em.

[tevinteriscoming]

Sounds logical to me. [Which may come as a surprise, given how defensive he's been of Marinette in public.] Before last week, I felt the most likely were Marinette, Yuno, or Jessie. Jessie's now been taken out of contention for obvious reasons. All guesswork of course with no means to confirm anything, but all of the souvlaki hosts so far have in some way appeared harmless or nonthreatening, but have been formidable in combat. Marinette and Adrien fit best, but it hasn't been exact.

Personally, I find Clover rather unlikely, if only because it was only by luck she wasn't a victim of Elizabeth's plot. Judar is a possibility; he's clearly better at making allies than you'd expect. Adrien is less incapacitated by his injury than one would think, and I wouldn't put him out of running either. But something does strike about Marinette.

I should like to know your reasons for being so certain of Grell, Luke, Jason, and Adam. They aren't who I suspect most, but I hope when you say that you know they're clear, you actually know. Your assumption that I'm clear because I haven't killed you yet doesn't fill me with confidence - perhaps attempting to use you to evade suspicion would be an equally good strategy as killing you would be.

[chiseler]

[...there's a pause, and he decides maybe it's up to him to clear most suspicions about himself. It's up to Adam if he wants to explain himself, too, but Luke shrugs in response.]

Some of us have already done the "possessed and murdering everybody in your path" thing. It's not likely they would return to me, I think? But other than that I wouldn't have waited this long to kill somebody if I was really interested in killing somebody. Not the greatest defense, but I'm also not exactly defenseless. Jack has a point. You want the perfect host, you stick with someone who seems harmless or someone with a very strong presence. Elizabeth fell into the latter, Dave's a kid...[He shakes his head.] And also if I was really hosting something you think that something would let me suggest we draw everybody's blood? Just a thought.

[antietam]

[ Adam is not entirely sure why he's cleared, really, other than not killing Jack and probably being vouched for by Luke. Those are fine with him, anyway, so he's not going to bother really defending himself, but he will add: ]

Luke and I have been keeping an eye on each other, too. It would have been easy enough for one of us to kill each other, plus you've probably noticed that we tend to stay close on Thursdays and Fridays. That sort of thing wouldn't exactly be helpful if we were planning to kill. [ It's not a perfect defense but it's more for Luke's case than anything.

Either way, he gives Jack a look that does not actually seem to contain distrust for probably the first time. Maybe Jack's admission that he will kill children gained some respect. ] We have to make sure no one's going to get in the way of us killing the last alien.