Inquest Encounters I

1322 AE

 

Inquest antics were fascinating to watch.

This thought came from a male asura named Stauvv, aged 23, who was content to watch the bizarre power struggles from afar. With the unique position of the only doctor in this lab, Stauvv often operated outside of the usual hierarchy. He answered only to the overseers, but even those interactions were few and far between. Oftentimes, he flew under the radar and spent his time as he wished outside of operation hours. All things considered, this was a pretty lofty, comfortable position to be in. Didn’t mean he personally liked the Inquest, but from where he’d come from, a shit pay and private lab was essentially a personal heaven to him.

Since he didn’t have any calls to any other sector so far, nor did he have any medical obligations at the moment, Stauvv busied himself by taking a walk around and overseeing the lab’s biological testing center. Not quite personally involved in the work there but… offering directions here and there, often out of his own morbid curiosity to see what would happen. He didn’t technically have the authority to direct the experiments, but there was an unspoken level of respect for the doctor that the sheep-minded Inquest seemed to acknowledge without complaint.

This was especially true in this center over the others, as it was known that he was something of a prodigy in biological sciences. With the knowledge and versatility he possessed, he should've been eligible for a position on many prestigious krewes throughout Rata Sum. Things hadn’t quite panned out, for a number of reasons, but it didn’t change the fact that his overqualification for this particular job meant he could throw his intellect around and no one really took offense. 

Taking a break to indulge in a cup of coffee, Stauvv made his way down the hallway, pausing as he passed a newly-occupied lab room. The label on the door read “Subject 3302” and his brows lifted in intrigue as he poked his head in to snoop around. It was empty for now, save for a lone test tube surrounded by a scattered mess of papers of various notes. He sifted through them, memory being refreshed. This was one of the new hybrids, combining the genes of both Asura and Charr. The combination wasn’t new ground for the lab, but they’d gotten some… interesting results over the years, from even before he was hired here. It’d be fascinating to see a fully functioning subject of this combination. With the innovative minds of both Charr and Asura, it could end up pricelessly invaluable. 

Distantly and suddenly, an angry shout echoed down the empty corridor outside, and the doctor calmly placed the notes back down on the table and stepped out of the lab room, interested to see what sort of fight was breaking out this time. Stepping around the corner, he overheard with clarity: “Get out of my way, you ugly boar! I’ve got places I need to be, what’re you blocking me for?” 

He walked forward, growing closer to the source of the conflict.

“Where? Your grave? I’ll send you there, you disrespectful ingrate!” Came the screeched response, from a voice that he instantly recognized as belonging to  Overseer Bezz.

“I’m here to deliver a message to the overseer in this lab!” The other asura loudly proclaimed, clearly having no idea just who he was speaking to this very moment. Approaching the hallway intersection where this was happening, Stauvv felt his blood drain for this poor fool. 

There was the sound of a heavy thud, followed by “You idiot! I am the overseer of this fucking lab!” 

The doctor slowed to a halt and carefully peeked around the corner, pale pink eyes wide with intrigue. 

Bezz’ back was to him, but if he had to be honest, the other asura was apt in his description of the overseer. He had quite a boorish visage, complete with matching manners. He was Stauvv’s least favorite overseer to have to deal with, because he always wanted to throw his weight around and make threats even when Stauvv wasn’t resisting in the slightest. He just found him incredibly tiring.

The other asura was a young male, tall and lanky with darker skin, striking blue eyes and blonde hair tied in three distinct ponytails going down the center of his head. He was wearing the sentry uniform, marking him as nobody particularly important. Just another expendable person to be tossed around by whoever gave him the order to seek out Bezz.

The sentry was holding his nose with one hand and holding back reflexive tears, looking miffed. “Alchemy… You didn’t have to punch me, dude,” He complained, taking a few steps backwards. “Nevermind delivering that very important message now, I’m going back to my post. Screw you.” He sighed, moving to turn back around. Only to be pursued and punched on the side of his face, and then the other, and once more, for good measure, in the stomach. While he was doubled over, Bezz took the opportunity to scratch him hard across the face. It was a cheap, slimy attack that Stauvv did not think very highly of. His eyes followed the sentry as he was slammed down, and he was starting to get concerned that this would go too far. It started out entertaining, but Bezz was well known for his ridiculous anger that had given him far too many patients to tend to. Besides, this sentry was entertaining on his own. 

Too many of the Inquest here are quick to keep their eyes low and avoid trouble around the overseers, but apparently, not this one. He’d never seen anybody talk shit to directly to one of their faces. 

Watching the sentry get knocked backwards and falling hard to the ground, Stauvv wondered if he should step in. Not combatively, because he didn’t particularly feel like getting punched himself, and wasn’t confident he could even take one well with how frail he is. But then the sentry took a kick to the side, and the doctor just let out a long-suffering sigh. He stepped into the main hallway, pointedly clearing his throat. 

“Is it your intention to give me more work than I already have, Overseer Bezz?” 

Pausing for only a moment, Bezz laughed to Stauvv, gesturing to the sentry on the ground. “You don’t have to worry about this one, doctor. I’ll kill him.” 

Stauvv felt one of his eyelids twitch. “Letting our own employees die in this facility reflects badly on me. I’d tell you to finish the job elsewhere but… Oh! There’s an important conference beginning very soon, isn’t there? I heard you’re expecting a promotion! Congratulations, but I don’t think they’ll react kindly to tardiness so how about we part ways now, and move on?” He smiled pointedly and waved goodbye.

Bezz seemed to bristle more at his patronizing tone, but it was a nonissue. Gasping as Stauvv’s reminder about the conference registered, he ran off, but not without one last kick for good measure.

When the coast was clear, Stauvv watched as the sentry got up with a pained groan, holding his bleeding face with one hand and bracing himself with the other. “Eternal Alchemy, that was some bullshit,” He mumbled, lightly tapping his nose with a wince. 

“It helps to know who you’re talking to around here,” Stauvv pointed out evenly from where he stood. “Are you new?” 

The other asura jumped to his feet, eyes wide and ears alert. Had he already forgotten he was here? “You’re not gonna beat me up too, are you?” He asked, sounding dismayed. 

Chuckling, Stauvv put his white and black striped hands in his lab coat pockets, shaking his head. “I don’t do much fighting. Lucky for you, I’m just a doctor who happens to hate Bezz as much as the next scientist. Come with me,” He said, walking off, looking back over his shoulder. The sentry took a few seconds swaying on his feet to catch his bearings before following along. One bloodied hand was still hiding his injuries. It probably wasn’t a horrible wound, but Bezz probably had hands as gross as the rest of him, Stauvv didn’t want to risk infection.

“Uh, to answer your question… I am kinda new here. I was transferred to the weapons lab in another wing of this complex, but the higher-ups at my old post in Metrica were pushovers, so I wasn’t expecting much from here either. But I guess everyone here has fragile egos, I should try harder not to hurt their feelings,” He said mockingly, pouting his bruised face as much as he could. Stauvv laughed again. He liked this guy, and he couldn't really say that about anyone else in this complex.

“What’s your name, Sentry?” He asked, coming to a stop by a small room filled with a simple table and a golem that stood stationary. 

“Krill,” He replied, blinking. “Why are we here?” He asked, perplexed. “This isn’t your office, is it?” 

“I was on my way to get coffee before I found Bezz mopping the floor with you. You’re still secondary to that,” Stauvv explained, pointing at the golem.
“Seriously?”
“Yes, you’ll survive a few extra minutes. Don’t be a baby,” Stauvv told him snarkily, before speaking to the golem to initialize the coffee-making process. Krill just stood in the doorway, staring at him the entire time, as if his eyes could make Stauvv move any faster. In fact, it just made him feel more inclined to take all the time he wanted. 

A few minutes later, content with an overly-sweet, steaming cup of coffee in his hand, Stauvv motioned him onwards as he continued on to his personal lab-infirmary a little further down this hallway and to the left.

“Finally!” Krill complained when they arrived, flopping down into one of the several chairs in the darker room. “You have no idea how much my face hurts. You make coffee so slowly. Why so much sugar?”

“You know I don’t have to help you,” Stauvv warned, setting the mug down on the counter, gathering the tools he needed. 

“You said you don’t like fighting right? If you don’t treat me, I’ll beat you up too,” He smiled cheekily in a way that lifted his eyes and made them glimmer with mischief in a way that was rather charming. Stauvv frowned, focusing on the threat instead. He shouldn’t have mentioned that he wasn’t one for fighting. 

“I’m not defenseless, but whatever. Let’s get this over with,” He said with a roll of his eyes. “I’ll start with your nose. It’ll hurt, but try not to cry like a progeny, okay?” 

The taunt landed as he wished, sparking an expression of indignation that replaced the other as he felt down the ridge of Krill’s nose. Finding the break, he deftly snapped it back into place, eliciting a shout from the sentry. He blinked back tears, but to his credit, didn’t complain. “Good, good. Here, you can have a sticker for that,” He said, reaching for the roll of stickers on the table next to him and handing him one that depicted Phlunt telling him to eat shit. 

“Thanks,” He mumbled and stuck it to his uniform. “It’s perfect.”

In a similarly condescending fashion, Stauvv treated the scratches between his eyes with alcohol, giving him another sticker that pictured Zojja, which featured her saying “jump off a cliff.” 

He put that one on his uniform as well. 

Shortly after, Stauvv had begun with stitches, only putting them where the scratches were at their widest, just to help speed up the healing a little. “I was worried you might get rabies from these. You should be safe now.” 

“Thanks, Doc,” Krill grinned and moved to get back to his feet, but a grunt and grimace had him sinking back into the seat. He pointed at his torso. “My side’s also been hurting since he punched me, and I don’t think that’s normal,” He said and Stauvv deflated a bit, wanting this to be done already so he could go back to slacking off. 

“Alright, armor off,” Stauvv grumbled, motioning impatiently with his hand. 

“Huh?” Krill blinked.

“I won’t be able to feel anything through it, skritt-brain,” He hissed. “Armor. Off.” 

Krill complied, also getting up on the exam table to lay down, and annoyed, Stauvv examined his abdomen under his undershirt, thinking he was probably right, but wanting to make sure. Krill yelped when he got to the worst-bruised area, and he nodded as he got confirmation.

“Broken rib.” 

“Can you fix it? It hurts like hell,” Krill asked, pushing himself back up. 

“Nope, it’ll heal on its own in a few weeks if you stay out of trouble. You can have another sticker for the inconvenience, though,” He told him, slapping another sticker onto his cheek that depicted the late Snaff, with the caption: “Destiny’s Dead.” “Now get out of my sight.”
“You sound like you detest my presence, but all these stickers suggest otherwise,” Krill snickered, getting off of the exam table and putting his chest plate back on. “I’ll remember your kind hospitality for the next time.”
“As much as I enjoyed watching somebody insult Bezz to his face, I don’t recommend making a habit of it,” He warned as he took a seat at his desk. Taking a sip of his coffee, he leaned back and crossed his ankles. “He really will kill you next time.”

“Yeah, yeah, big deal,” He brushed it off, nonchalantly. “See ya next time, Doc.” 

“Stauvv.” The use of ‘doc’ was really growing irritating.

He replied with another one of those cheeky grins that he decidedly did not like. “Alright, then. See ya later, Stauvv.”