Hidden P1 - With respect, sir, I think you're mentally unstable...

When: Shortly after "Hatred".
Where: Back on the Dwarf.

<snip>"I want her dead" Jay bellowed, struggling hard against the two other men as Cass scrambled away from them on all fours, coughing and gasping for breath
“I’m not her!” Cass croaked as Jay suddenly broke away from Justin and surged towards her again, only to be hauled back by Alex
“Calm the smeg down!” Solvay yelled as Justin scrabbled to regain his hold on Chrysler
“You need to leave now!” Alex shouted at Cass, who grabbed the satchel and scrambled up to run from the room without another word, her face a mask of abject misery</snip>

Chrysler raged and strained against Alex and Justin like a steroid pumped gaur. Emotion amplified his strength twofold, meaning that he was able to slip Justin's grasp for a second time, and instinctively released some of the intense despair and loathing pulsing through his being, by punching the poor hologram full in the face.

"OW! You smegging bastard!" Justin staggered backwards, hard-light form undamaged but still smarting.
"MISTER CHRYSLER!" Seymour yelled. "Please control yourself!"
Efof and Jacky gawped, unsure of what to do.
Chrysler now seemed a little dazed himself, as he began to realise what he'd done. Alex felt the other man's body lose some of it's tension as the red mist lifted a little. He didn't dare let him go, though. He'd seen that look in men's eyes during battle. Jay would have literally killed Cassandra. Ended her life.
He shuddered.
The concussed Phil stumbled over, as if he were about to help, then sat down woozily on the floor, clutching his head. Solvay wished Phi were around.
He looked over at Seymour for guidance. Niples flailed for a second.
"Right. Yeah. Uh, Efof and Jacky... take Phil to a medi bay." He fell silent again.
Alex cleared his throat. "Seymour..." He nudged his head towards Jay, who he was still holding. The man had started to mutter something.
"Oh yes, and let's get Mr Chrysler a nice chair to sit on and a cup of tea."

Jacky and Efof took Phil off out of the drive room while Justin grudgingly shoved a chair towards Jay. Alex gently, but firmly, directed him into it and finally let him go.

No-one said anything and the tension in the air was stifling. The only sound was Jay's murmerings, but Alex couldn't make out what he was saying. He wondered if he should put a supportive hand on his shoulder but didn't know if that was appropriate, seeing as he'd just tried to kill Cass. Plus he found the thought more than a little embarrassing.
He looked down at him, smeg, the poor guy looked wretched - head down, fingers in his hair, mumbling away. He somehow seemed like he'd lost weight. Empathy overtook whatever other feelings Alex was struggling with, and he gave the shoulder a squeeze. Jacky returned with a hot tea and Alex coughed awkwardly and removed the hand.
Justin, sulking in the corner, muttered "gay". Alex glared at him.

"Well done, Mr Kong." Seymour smiled overly brightly, trying to recover an air of normality.
"It's um, it's a nice vending machine, that one." Said Jacky, catching on.
"Oh! Which one did you use?" Seymour was talking to Jacky but eyeing Chrysler.
"The one just outside."
"Oh yes, he's one of my favourites..."
He tailed off unable to chase the tension away. Only the sound of Jay slurping his tea broke through the silence, like little worrying waves on an unstable shore.

Alex was concerned about Cass, but he didn't trust any of the guys in the room to handle Jay if he got out of control again. "Seymour... a word." He tried with his eyes to suggest to Justin that he should watch Jay while he spoke with Seymour. Justin noncommittally rolled his eyes, but he had the message.

The engineer and the ambassador walked and wheeled their way across the room. It was probably obvious it was to talk about Chrysler, but in his disturbed state of mind, he didn't seem to care much.
"Seymour, what we gonna do about Jay?" Alex kept his voice low.
"What do you mean? He's fine..."
Alex gave him one of those looks usually reserved for Pancake. "No, he's not fine. Look at him. He's lost it."
"Well what do you suggest we do?" Seymour felt anxiety gnawing at his stomach like one of the rats they'd recently left behind.
"Back in the wa- Back in the day, whatever a man's troubles, we'd have thrown him in the brig for that kind of behaviour. Smeg, he could have killed Cass."
"Would that have been such a bad thing?"
Another of the looks. "Seymour, I'm serious."
"Hm."
"Cass is one of the crew. We don't know what she has or hasn't done. You can't just let the crew go around killing each other."
Seymour screwed up his nose a little, considering this.
"The brig, though..."
"Confine him to quarters? He needs to be restrained."
"But it's Jay... He'll be-"
"He's not in his right mind. Smeg, who would be? Would you be?"

Seymour thought for a moment. He couldn't push himself to fully feel the pain Jay must have been filled with but for a fleeting moment he felt some of it. No, he wouldn't be. This was probably the most coherent conversation he'd ever had with Alex. Which was... unsettling. He made a decision.
"Okay, we'll put him, Katrina and Max in his quarters and get Holly to lock him in and keep watch on him for twenty four hours. I'm sure he'll have calmed down by then." Alex was pleased with this. Pompous git he was, but Seymour could be all right sometimes, when it came down to it.

Decision made, Solvay turned to Jay, ready to escort him to his quarters. But he'd gone.
"WHAT THE SMEG, PANCAKE!?" He strode out of the drive room, making sure to smash Justin's undamageable, but very hurtable, head into the wall on his way past.
"Aarghh! W*nker!" He heard the holo wail, as he swooped down the corridor, in pursuit of Jay.

<Continued in Part 2. Next -->>