Fallout: Investigating Walker

"In his words? No. There was a suspect noise... a... feedback loop of some sort. It was electronic in nature, and given the state of things - as I was told at the time - highly unusual.

All the Garou present started doing what they could to identify the source of the presumptive Weaver breach.... then, there's Walker, running for it. I'm not a mathematician, but I can put two and two together."

Steelheart nods. "Okay. The pieces are starting to fall into place. I'm going to go off the caern for a bit to see what more I can learn about this. I have no desire to attract further attention to our home while trying to ferret out the nature of this threat."

Steelheart departs for the moment.

Ylva listened as Steelheart asked questions regarding Walker, Jimmy, and Seta. "I am unsure," she said. "The Shadow Lord was not very specific afterward about why he suspected Walker, just that he merely did. He needs to be investigated as well."

Steelheart returns after a few hours and meets up again with those interested in this investigation.

"So, Ylva, I'd definitely recommend investigating this Shadow Lord further. Regardless of the results of his actions, we need to know why he suspected Walker, and why he felt it reasonable to open fire on the basis of those suspicions alone. Especially considering the difference in rank."

He pauses, takes a breath and says, "Because from what I've just learned, this all could have been prevented."

"So, at some point in the past, Walker was investigating something, and found an individual known as 'Paradigm Lost' at the root of the matter. He decided that Paradigm Lost was a threat, and took steps to end him.

"However, as he was working alone, he failed, and was instead captured by Paradigm Lost. Paradigm Lost didn't want to be bothered again, by Walker or any of the rest of us, and so instead of killing him and attracting further attention, Paradigm Lost wiped Walker's memory, implanted a failsafe device in his head, and gave him certain hypnotic suggestions. I'm personally betting that one of those suggestions involved triggering the device in certain circumstances. I can't say what else may have been part of the set of suggestions.

"The best guess I have right now is that there was a suggestion to trigger the device if its existence was ever about to be discovered. This Shadow Lord had a suspicion of something, began firing upon his elders, creating a tense situation, and Seta-rhya's command to stop everything until the matter could be resolved touched off the command."

Steelheart pauses and the continues,

"So, the first lesson from this is to never go hunting without your pack. Always make sure that someone else knows what you're working on.

"Next, we really need to discuss proper procedures for bringing concerns to the sept leadership. Sensing something out of sorts should lead to a discussion with the appropriate party, not opening fire. Yes, there apparently was something odd about Walker, something that may well have tripped a Weaver sensor, but it was not anything which we couldn't have handled in more careful circumstances. Maybe if this had been voiced and handled in more controlled circumstances, we could have prevented this needless death and removed the device without losing one of the Nation's remaining lupus."

"And finally, we've learned that there's another player on the field. Paradigm Lost seems to believe that their affairs are outside of our concern, and will take significant steps to push us away if needed. Paradigm Lost says that we won't notice its projects unless we're actively looking for trouble, and that it only wants to protect itself. However, as we do in fact like to go looking for trouble, in that way that is ensuring the health of our territory, I'm not too comfortable with this.

"So what do we know about Paradigm Lost? It talks like a human, but I couldn't say male or female, as the voice I was speaking with was coming through an intermediate. The spirits classify it as having significant ability to alter reality, and have given it a name code with an MA classification. If anyone has more insight into other beings in our world, I'm all ears."

"Ultimately, it doesn't matter."

Onslaught-of-Winter, the Alpha of the Guardian Pack, speaks. His voice is flat, inflectionless--the tone of a Garou holding his Rage in check through sheer force of will.

"If this...person...did that to Walker, then we take measures to make sure it never happens again. He fucked with one of ours; he dies. Everything else is tactical considerations."

*Looks over at the Wendigo then back at the Sentinel, silently weighing the issue.*

"A little bit more than that, actually," Steelheart replies to the Wendigo.

"Yes, the question of what he/she/it is is largely tactical, but to say that nothing else matters from this situation except that death is too simplistic.

"What happened here could have been avoided. Should have been avoided. Paradigm Lost in an issue, but so is this trigger-happy Shadow Lord."

"Oh, no disagreement there. None."

"The riddle has no answer, Steel-heart-rhya." Daniel still looks saddened by the loss of friends. "If you investigated, the bomb would go off? Then how would you know of it at all without Walker-rhya's death? And you might think, 'by asking about it indirectly like I did today to learn of the events'. But the truth is that you would never have thought to do that without Hindsight, and Hindsight in this case still has Walker-rhya lost to us. And instead of anger at the Shadowlord, the anger would be directed at you, rhya."

Daniel leans his head down on his forelegs. "You Garou of rank have already stated the lesson to learn. 'Do not go alone.' This is supremely wise of you. And I would also like vengeance against this Weaver-foe. If my pack goes with you then I look forward to fighting alongside you."

"It depends on the exact situation in which the device was triggered, Daniel. For example, if it was triggered because Walker knew we suspected something, and so had a buried command to set it off, the suspicion could have been voiced to the elders of the sept in private, investigated, and then addressed appropriately. It might not have changed much, but we might have been able to avoid the explosion by restraining him, for example, or perhaps it went off because he was near death, given the wounds inflicted by the shotgun."

"Very few in this sept have the authority to go off and shoot another member of the sept, especially a high-ranking one, with no stated reason, purely on their own authority. This random newly arrived Shadow Lord sure as hell didn't."

*Miguel stands up and makes a silencing motion as he looks to EQ*

'Enough, cousin.', says the scarred Silver Fang.

Miguel turns to the Sentinel.

'The Shadow Lord arrived, alone. He acted suddenly and without asking or involving the sept's leadership. Sometimes we garou have a tendancy to react suddenly, and violently, to insults to sept or blood and if we are lucky, we have a friend to talk us through our first response and let cooler heads prevail.' Miguel's remaining eye meets the Sentinels briefly. 'I was that friend for you once, if you recall.?'

'If the Shadow Lord had been more forthcoming, we might have been able to question Was-Walker, to see what he knew, what he had told, what he had done. We might have gained insight into this Paradigm Lost, using him as a double agent of sorts. We might even have been able to even reverse what was done to him and save him... but the Shadow Lord was not.' Miguel looks around.

'If there is an issue with his actions, we have a means to resolve it. *Miguel gestures to the mound*
If someone thinks that his actions violated the Litany or Garou Law, they may bring it before the philodox.', The young scarred garou speaks firmly.

'That is an issue that can and will be handled. Of that there is no question... The question before us is this: The violation of our caern and of our septmate.'

'Paradigm Lost's actions are acts of war. Turning our septmate into a weaponized puppet and burying surprises in our caern? Unforgivable. It is up to our Sept Alpha and Warder and Wyrmfoe to decide how we should respond... but there should assuredly be a response.'

EQ swallows any further arguments. His eyes beg to his other Theurge teacher--Steelheart--to think all the way around the problem; it's not the first time he's given that stare. He then wilts into a submissive pose as the last of his confidence effervesces.