Contact Stewart Fairhurst

[saveournpcs]

Why would you- okay. The easiest way of contacting the Group Captain is really to just call the air station and somehow make them think that the caller is legit and important enough to pass the call on to Stewart. Good friends and family will have his private number.

Another way of contacting the Group Captain is through his son - Harry has strict order to not hand out any phone numbers, but he will let someone borrow his phone to call his dad if it seems important enough.

Comments

[saveournpcs]

He's led into a small meeting room in what looks like an administrative building and told to sit and wait.

After a bit, the captain shows up. He looks stressed as usual, but eventually appears, sitting down heavily in one of the chairs. "So. Why the sudden interest in the forts?"

Now, to keep this thread and the text thread from overrunning each other...

[iamnotgod]

'Hurry up and wait' sure seemed the name of the game; it was fortunate Walter had had more than enough experience coping with it.

"The epicenter of the earthquake," Walter began, cutting right to the heart of things - though avoiding getting Ben dragged into this.

"Was near the forts, wasn't it?"

The results have been backed up steadily, even just over the one day.

[saveournpcs]

He frowns. "Well, for a given definition of near. From what we can tell, it was in the mouth of the river. So closer to the forts than, say, Moss Manor, but still closer to all of Mossgate town and Tarwich than to the forts."

Geography: my biggest enemy. XD

[iamnotgod]

"But it's also more of a direct route. No buildings or forests in the way of what's supposed to just be the Bay."

There's no smile on Walter's face, either; just a grim, considering look.

it happens

[saveournpcs]

"That is correct.

...Why do you think that is relevant?" Circling back to that. Something is going on here with that line of questioning, and he does not like it.

Link contains interesting and worrying info about earthquakes!

[iamnotgod]

Walter affects hesitance - it's something he's practiced enough that it can come through, genuine, even though he holds it for what feels like a minute, not seconds.

"There's no reasonable way someone could trigger an earthquake, destabilize any faultlines or cause an aseismic slip, right?"

He can feel himself reasoning his way out of that concern - but that hasn't been enough lately.

Not for the past eight months.

[saveournpcs]

"...Now that you'd have to take up with the guys at the university." The look he gives Walter indicates that he still worries that this kid is up to something. Or maybe one of his friends is. And that is what he will take away from this conversation.

"But I can ask everyone to keep an eye on things out there." Don't try anything stupid, lad. "They really should've taken those forts down a long time ago. They just give people ideas." He realises that the reason why they haven't is money, but still: Then people like him have to deal with people who think they're good destinations for a fun trip. Augh.

[iamnotgod]

Look, in the greater scheme of things... Stewart may not be wrong, here. It's just that it doesn't reflect Walter's reality as he's aware of it.

"I think I'll be doing that as well, then. Call it anxiety."

As for the other point - Walter nods evenly, not letting himself overdo it on the eye contact.

"You're not wrong, there."

[saveournpcs]

"Well." He gives Walter a brief, searching look. "Is there anything else that I can assist with? And I trust to not find you out there doing something stupid." He doesn't, in fact, trust that. But hope dies last and all, right?

[iamnotgod]

Walter takes a deep breath.

"Not at the moment, as such. And you have my word."

This time, he keeps up the eye contact for longer than normal.

Hope will definitely have aid in its last stand, here.

[saveournpcs]

"Good.

Well, you have my number. If there's anything else, you know how to get a hold of me.

Thank you for coming." He's an eternally stressed out man, there's so many things that he has to take care of before the evening... but he wills tick around for a handshake before zooming off to the next task.

[iamnotgod]

That handshake is firmly returned, and Walter makes his way out quietly, seeking not to make a (further?) disturbance.

This looks to be news, and news he should probably share with certain folks...