*set met_jason true "You don't understand the full scenario. This individual was following me. I felt threatened." "But...I just saw you choking him!" "I felt threatened and reacted accordingly." Something about the tone in my voice appeared to frustrate the young man, "You could have just talked. There was no reason to attack on sight." The target is struggling to stand, using an outstretched hand to support himself. His movements are unfocused and inefficient, indicating a lack of professional training. Clearly a civilian, which raised the question of why a civilian would be following me. He doesn't appear to be attacking right away so it would be an ideal time to incapacitate him, if it weren't for the fact that Toby was standing right between us, determined to protect who he viewed as a victim despite having visual confirmation of my ability to kill him. Admirable, if inconvenient. *choice #[i]Go through him *goto_scene 1-9fightlunch-2evade-4toby-1fight #Take his advice *set combat -1 *set reflex -1 *set talkbully true *set tobyrelationship "Friendly" In combat, it's always best to go straight for the kill shot the moment a target came into view. Talking gave your position away to any nearby combatants and it gave the target themselves time to think and plan for an escape. Whatever insight you might gain from a heart to heart with an enemy combatant, or even just a potential enemy combatant, was greatly outweighed by the risk of death. There is always the chance that the person you're shooting might not be an enemy at all, and if I were a legally sanctioned soldier that might be an issue, but seeing as how I was fit for an execution anyway there wasn't any reason to not shoot. After all, the chance of making a friend wasn't worth the chance of making a new friend. However, as Daniel has seen fit to remind me every single day, I'm not in a battlefield anymore. Toby is the local here now. While his philosophy may be questionable to me, it is probably one he formed over a lifetime of daily contact with the environment that I am currently in. When you aren't sure what to do next, it's usually best to follow in step with the veterans. "Very well. I'll...talk." Toby relaxed, "Good." Having secured my cooperation, he focused his attention on my recent attacker/victim. "Are you alright?" He took a deep breath, "Yeah...yeah, I'm good...Jesus, kid, you don't fight fair." "You're bigger than me. Cheating seemed prudent." I respond, "Will there be further incidents?" He sighed, "Not from me, I think I'm good for today...geez, my neck still aches, did you bruise me?" "Too early to tell." At least I have confidence that we can converse in relative safely. For the moment. *page_break Next Toby stood between us, determined to fill his role as a mediator. "Alright, so how exactly did this start?" I respond as I typically would during a debriefing, to the point and with all important detailed highlighted. "This unit was on route to lunchroom when I spotted that one in my path, waiting. Decided to take alternate route. He followed. Decided to hide in chemistry room, spotted you, abandoned stealth and confronted with violence. You intervened." "Wait, why were you following ${him}?" Toby's attention is shifted onto my stalker "Yeah, I was." "Why?" I ask him *if (third_incident =true) *set jessy_name "Jessy Stewart" *set jessyrelationship "Hostile" "Because you broke my girlfriend's arm. I had to do something about that, was expected of me." *if (breakvi =true) That takes me by surprised, "Vi is romantically involved with someone?" "Who's Vi? I'm talking about Jessy." "Jessy...you must mean the girl from my third hour." *if (breakvi !=true) "Hmm...you must mean the girl from my third hour." "Yea, Jessy. My girlfriend, or so I think. It's hard to tell these days." So, this was romantically motivated revenge. I've dealt with a few people seeking revenge, they're always the most difficult to deal with, "If I'd known this was all I had to show for my effort, I would have just let it go. Jesus, where'd you learn to hit like that?" Revenge is as plausible a motivation as any other, and the one that would bring me the most comfort; it means I don't have to worry about anyone else coming after me. At least no one associated with him. "Look, I don't have any beef with you, I was just doing this because it'd look wrong if I didn't help Jessy out. If that's it, why don't we all just go our separate ways?" *if ((male =true) and (annoyjessy =true)) *set jessyrelationship "Scorned" "Because my idiot girlfriend told me you insulted her. I thought...geez, if I knew this was how things would turn out, I'd have told her to piss off." "Your mate. Who is she?" "Jessy. She said you were some kind of asshole to her." *if (jessy_name ="Jessy Stewart") Jessy...he must mean the girl from my third hour who threw paper at me then kept bugging me about her outfit. If I'd known she would send a hitman after me, I might have been a bit more decisive in how I dealt with her. "Who else has she sent after me?" *if (jessy_name !="Jessy Stewart") "I'm unfamiliar with that name, who is she?" "She's like...really hot, and...look, I don't know, man, she's just my girl..." "You are being very unhelpful." "Hey, it's not like I have her description committed to memory. I'm trying to help...look, Jessy's just another snake, one of those big time social girls. Ask anyone around, they could point you toward her." There aren't a whole lot of females with large social circles of above average appearance that I have managed to turn into enemies today; using process of elimination, the most likely candidate is the girl from third hour who curtly rejected my advice on her choice of attire. "So, her name is Jessy...who else has she sent after me?" "Who the hell knows, man, it feels like she's fooling around with everyone lately." "So, you're just a lackey then..." It appears I'll be able to get more information from the source "Yea, sure, whatever...look, I don't have any beef with you, I was just doing this because it'd look wrong if I didn't help Jessy out. If that's it, why don't we all just go our separate ways?" *if ((male =true) and (annoyjessy =false)) *set jessyrelationship "Attracted?" "I just heard you were messing around with my girl, that's all it is. And look, you can have her, I was only looking after my reputation. This shit just ain't worth it..." "What 'girl' are you talking about?" "You know...Jessy...I heard someone say she was making eyes at you in third hour." *if (jessy_name ="Jessy Stewart") Well, there's only one person he could really be talking about. It appears that by communicating with me, Jessy Stewart put a target on me; whether this was intentional or not would require a talk with her, though I would be very surprised if this was all just a coincidence. *if (jessy_name !="Jessy Stewart") Third hour...he must be talking about the girl who threw the piece of paper at me asking about her choice of gear. It appears that by communicating with me, this 'Jessy' put a target on me even without me responding. Whether this was intentional or not would require a talk with her, though I would be very surprised if this was all just a coincidence. "Who else will I have to worry about?" "Who the hell knows, man, it feels like she's been fooling around with everyone lately." It appears that if I want to learn any useful information, I'll have to go directly to the source, "Look, I don't have any beef with you, I was just doing this because it'd look wrong if I didn't make a scene. If there's nothing else to talk about, why don't we all just go our separate ways?" A more rational proposal than I had been expecting to result from these negotiations, "Mediator, is this acceptable?" I ask Toby. "Mediator?" Toby mutters in confusion, "Uhm...I mean, if there's nothing else to talk about...maybe it would be a good idea for us all to just move on. There can't be that much more time in lunch." "My thoughts exactly," says the other student "There will not be a repeat incident?" I question him one last time "Yeah, sure. I'm perfectly satisfied just letting you be Jessy's problem," he quickly makes his way out of the room, making an obvious effort to remain outside my range *page_break Next In the end it was just me and Toby left. When the door was open for a brief moment, I heard the sounds of the lunchroom down the hall and immediately began thinking about the food in my backpack. When you live off of scraps and leftovers for your entire childhood, you begin to see food was a healthy amount of reverence so I was about ready to head off without delay until Toby started speaking "Hey, sorry I exploded at you right from the start. I just don't like people getting hurt." A very innocent and optimistic outlook on life. He paused after speaking, evidently waiting for me to reply in some fashion. *choice #Leave "Goodbye" I say, and leave the room before he can slow me any further. I have no more business here with either of him. I hear Toby call out through the door as I'm leaving, but the call of food from the lunchroom is louder. *page_break Next *goto_scene 1-9lunch-1 #Say nothing *set tobyrelationship "One-Sided Friendship" There's an awkward moment of silence as he awaits a response that isn't coming. "Right...so, I hope there aren't any hurt feelings." "..." "I mean, when you see someone being choked out right in front of you, there's only ever really going to be one natural response." "..." I'm a bit curious. I wonder how long he'll try to instigate a conversation before realizing that I have no intention of responding to anything he says. "...Hey, I know, how about I buy you lunch to make up for it?" *choice #Leave "Goodbye" I say, and leave the room before he can slow me any further. I have no more business here with either of him. I hear Toby call out through the door as I'm leaving, but the call of food from the lunchroom is louder. *page_break Next *goto_scene 1-9lunch-1 #I do like food... *set tobyrelationship "Friendly" *set toby_hens +10 Sure I have the food in my lunchbox, but having an excess is always something that should be sought out. It goes against my nature to turn down free nutrience. "Very well," I reply to him, which immediately causes him to smile happily "That's great! We should hurry before they run out in the lunch line!" It appears that despite myself, I have gained an ally. *page_break Next *goto_scene 1-9tobylunch-1 #Criticize him *set toby_hens -5 *set tobyrelationship "Tense" "You should be more perceptive in the future." "Well be fair, you were choking the guy out. What should I have done?" "I had the situation under control, your involvement made things significantly more complicated. Just being in the room when I entered ruined my strategy." "Well, sorry for existing then," Toby frowned, though his face was so childish in appearance that the expression was more amusing than anything, "Why don't you just go to lunch like the other guy? I have work I need to be doing." I couldn't really argue with that. I had already wasted more time here than I meant to while there was perfectly edible food in my backpack. I had been putting off lunch for far too long. So, without another word, I spun on my heel and went straight for the lunchroom. *page_break Next *goto_scene 1-9lunch-1 #Absolve him *set tobyrelationship "Friendly" "I would have taken similar actions," I console him. Granted I probably would have concealed my presence, or thrown something to keep myself out of harm's way, but my statement is still mostly true. "I guess there's really only one thing to do when you see someone being choked out right in front of you," said Toby with a smile, "Hey, do you know where you're going to eat?" "The lunchroom." "I mean, where in the lunchroom?" "I am unsure," I hadn't been given a picture of the lunchroom so I couldn't predict where the most advantageous spot to eat was, but it would probably be somewhere off to the side where I don't have to worry about being seen. "Why don't you sit with me and my friends? We're always welcome to newcomers." *choice #I refuse "No." "Are you sure? Everyone's really friendly." "I prefer my privacy." Toby sighed, "Alright, that's understandable. I hope you change your mind though." So the two of parted ways on friendlier terms than I could have predicted when I first entered the room. *page_break Next *goto_scene 1-9lunch-1 #I don't see a reason to refuse "...Very well." It goes against my instincts to willingly enter unknown territories, but the whole point of coming to this school was to ignore such impulses. At least I was reasonably certain Toby meant me no harm. "That's great! We can go there together and I'll introduce you to the others! I think you'll like them!" So the two of us departed from the chemistry lab on far more amicable terms than I could have predicted when I first entered the room. *page_break Next *goto_scene 1-9lunch-1