Mark sat up and blinked away the early morning light streaming through the windows, having forgotten to close the curtains before going to sleep.
He felt himself out, and after a night of drinking, found himself to be in perfect condition. His passive [Regeneration] must have been hard at work while he slept.
Now that he was awake his Prana moved with purpose, snapping him into wakefulness and relaxing his muscles.
Taking out his phone Mark saw that it was early and that he still had a couple of hours before the meeting. Seeing as Daphne looked tired he left her to sleep. Instead, he dropped into his [Meditation] skill.
The Prana in the room was vibrant and heavy in the air. The building felt full of energy and life, soothing Mark's mind and body.
He had not used the skill in a while so spending some time, letting the energies course through him felt good. He even began pulling more towards himself, when he was ready. Using it like a morning exercise, as he drew more of the energy into his core. Perspiration ran down his brow as he stretched his limits, it felt like he was missing something though.
Mark kept this up until he felt Daphne moving beside him.
Source: Mediation (+5 Prana, +10 exp points)
He had just been searching for a way to increase his intake of energy but the day would not wait for him. He wasn’t worried though, his new role may keep him busy, but now that survival wasn’t an immediate threat. He could see himself having a lot more free time to experiment with [Meditation] in the future.
“You're up early, I would have thought you needed to sleep off last night”
Mark opened his eyes and looked over at her form. He was so content right now that he barely even registered her jab.
An evil smile touched his lips.
“So you haven't grabbed a drink yet?”
She rolled her eyes as if asking when she would have had the time.
In Prospect Park alcohol was present only in small quantities, so unless you specifically searched it out, you were out of luck.
Meaning, she didn’t yet know that Aura was the bane of intoxication, and having her attributes as they were, she was going to have a hard time feeling anything.
Mark didn’t keep her in suspense for too long, getting up, he moved toward the shower.
When she heard the news, a look of displeasure crinkled her nose. Which Mark found incredibly cute and that alone almost delayed them longer.
By the time they left the room, it was minutes before the gathering in the penthouse slash operations room.
As Mark closed the door behind them, Jonathan opened the door opposite theirs and walked out. When he saw them a grin spread over his face as he greeted them and they all made their way up the last few flights of stairs.
Upon arriving, the room looked no less busy than when he had first seen it. However, the air of calm was replaced by busy hands and the hurried scratches of pens and keyboards.
Ethel and Karter were already there, along with Sam and Chloe.
When the three of them arrived it seemed to signal the beginning of the meeting.
Karter looked over some documents, then back up at them all.
“Right first off, the documents are live as of this morning, we are officially a recognized faction.”
He gave them a moment to digest the good news and then continued.
Next, of the one thousand one hundred and twelve people here, nine hundred and thirty people have decided to remain”
A round of nods went through the group.
They couldn’t help the loss of some people. There were many factions around better situated and they had a better handle on things. It was good that they only lost as many as they did.
“Then next, we are working to set up the different divisions with heads to free up time for our leads. Mr. Davis is going to head up our combat division, while Maggie Brooks will take charge of the Logistics division, along with help from Tommis Letora. Jonathan recommended George Moore head up the crafting division with assistance. All of these names are subject to change”
Karter took out a single page with barely ten names on it.
“Lastly the exploration division will consist of the leads here, in addition to their normal duties pertaining to the three other divisions. However, before we tackle the outside world once more. We need to gain a footing here, so for now this division will remain ready to deploy. Our main goal will still be the Guardians. We even have a lead on where one might be, however, while time is short we need to do this right”
He meant they somehow needed to manage just under a thousand people, stabilize their livelihoods, and protect against forces within the city. While still finding the right time to plunge into the chaos outside. It was a tall order, one that left them responsible for many lives.
Everyone knew what they were getting into by signing that document, and not a single one of them hesitated now.
Karter continued.
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“On another note, one of the nearby factions has requested a meeting with our leadership today. We’ve deemed it necessary to send two leads and a guard unit with them. The main reason is that it will give us some insight as to how things work around here. Obviously because of the unknown factors we need to put our diplomatic foot forward but that foot also needs to be able to kick some ass if things get out of hand. I need volunteers”
Sam, Jonathan Mark, and Daphne's hands went up.
Ethel suddenly interrupted, then took out pages that looked like schedules, handing them to Chloe, Sam, and Daphne.
“Wait, I need you three. Daphne, you have a meeting in twenty minutes with the beginnings of our guard unit and PR team, and Sam you are needed to look over our suppliers and intake consumables for the whole building. I need the budget by ten at the latest. Chloe, we’ve already spoken”
Neither of the women looked like they had any idea they would be doing that today, but both of their timetables looked full. They accepted the tasks graciously.
Then Ethel looked over to Mark and Jonathan.
“That just leaves you two, please no incidents unless they are asking for it, picking a fight on our first official day would be a shame, but then again don’t let them take too much of the narrative either. Bah, who am I kidding, you’ll do fine.”
They talked for a bit longer and then they started filing out of the room. Mark and Jonathan headed downstairs, where a car was waiting. Mark saw a small unit of people waiting there, and they were familiar.
Matt, Brian, and Franklin were waiting outside a secondary car, along with two others Mark didn’t recognize. He had last seen these three helping people retreat on the bridge. Seeing as they were originally part of SAGE, it was great to see they were sticking around.
Mark greeted them and then they were bundled into the vehicle and moving down the road.
Quite frankly Mark did not see the need for a car because the trip was really short, but Ethel had insisted it wasn’t about the distance. The way they arrived set the tone or something, and if they wanted this other faction to take them seriously, then a certain air had to be enforced.
For Mark, it was a little uncomfortable but he could understand the logic behind it.
He had never had this type of attention before and honestly, he could do without it. Ultimately, he now had responsibilities to their faction, so if they had to set a precedent, then he wouldn’t complain. He was just grateful she hadn’t made them wear suits or something, thank god for armor.
They arrived soon enough at another highrise. This one was more of a set of apartment blocks. The difference was it had a large underground parking lot at the base of the building. This allowed for vehicles to drive directly off the street and down into the building's depths.
By the looks of things it was completely necessary, the number of bikes moving around the building drowned out all other traffic. The vehicles moved in and out of the underground structure like it was a nest. Their guttural engines droned out from within the building. Making the structure sound like it was alive and growling. The smell of burnt fuel bleched forth from the open maw of the tunnel.
Everywhere Mark looked he saw motorcycle after motorcycle, one giant two-wheeler haven.
Getting out of the cars they began making their way to the front door. No one bothered them or got in their way, but eyes followed them from the road to the front of the building.
Stepping into the main lobby showed it was in an even worse state of disrepair than theirs. Nicotine smoke hung in the air, and the room looked like a dumping ground for bags and equipment.
No one was in there save for a young woman currently typing on her phone, looking bored. She didn’t even look up when they entered, choosing to continue to look at the little screen while chewing something.
Mark and Jonathan walked forward and their unit moved in behind them. As they got deeper into the room they must have gotten close enough that the woman could no longer ignore them.
When she looked up, it was to criticize someone, but the moment she saw them she pulled back what she wanted to say.
Her eyes scanned them as if assessing something, finally coming to rest on Jonathan.
From the looks of it, she liked what she saw and was not at all trying to hide it. She straightened up, sticking out her chest along with her assets, and in a sultry voice spoke for the first time.
“Good morning boys. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”
She was talking to both of them but it was clear where her attentions lay.
Mark bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from smiling and nudged Jonathan forward.
Who, like a stubborn mule didn’t even budge. Though an inviting smile spread over his face.
“Hey, we're from The Order of the Sage and we are new to the neighborhood. We’re looking to touch bases with the boss man, he knows we’re coming”
Once more Mark was once more surprised buy how quickly Jonathan's demeanor changed to match his surroundings. His voice took on a more informal tone and his body language changed to suit it. It was the complete opposite of how he had acted in Mr. Xiaolan's office. It was a skill he’d polished to perfection.
The woman ate it up, beaming at them.
“Mmm… well then you guys can just follow me then.”
She walked around the counter and led them to a side door on the same level, as she did so she walked just close enough to them that the swaying of her hips were as noticeable as possible. What drew Mark’s eye was the leather whip hanging from her waist.
Without turning around she said.
“Names Mel by the way, no one told me you’d be coming, but then they never do”
They were traveling down a service tunnel and at the end of it they came to a push door. She opened it and barged into the room without fanfare.
When they walked through, it became apparent they had done a loop. The room was in fact the underground parking garage.
The sounds of bike engines were even louder down here and numerous of the beautiful machines sat around. Some were in varying states of disrepair, while others were being worked on by their owners. A good number of people were down here too. Their look really did fit the stereotype of a biker gang. Though Mark didn’t want to draw too many conclusions, if they had survived up til now they were clearly both adaptable and strong.
It almost looked like they had entered some huge auto shop where parts and tools lay strewn about.
As they walked across the concrete there was a cordoned-off area that had the look of a more private room. The walls were made of old tyers and offered some protection against the droning engines.
As they entered Mark figured whoever worked in here had the opposite ethos of those outside.
Tools and parts were neatly packed away and hung on hooks on the wall. A small workbench in the corner had been lovingly set up and was spotless of debris.
On one of the only concrete walls, sprayed in red paint was the name “The FireStarters” in crude lettering.
An old couch lay off to one side, and a form lay sleeping in it. How he could get any shuteye with all the noise was beyond Mark, but he seemed to be doing a fine job.
Another man stood in a slightly more disorganized corner of the room working on something that released bright bursts of light.
Mel walked past the skinny guy on the couch, kicking his boot hard to wake him, and then swaggered over the big guy in the corner.
The skinny guy bolted awake in shock and fear, the toolbelt around his waist jingling.
When Mel got to the corner, she turned back to look at them.
“Baby, you got company”
While the muscular man stopped working and turned to face them, his welding mast still down.