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#Post#: 151--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: CakesandLies Date: April 15, 2012, 10:38 pm
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The General's face looked grave and nodded. "I...I
understand...and I'm sorry..." he replied and he went quiet,
knowing the pain B0z endured. He reached a hand into his pocket
and ran his hand over a smooth river stone. When had he received
it? God it had been so long ago, that trip to Camp Kichiwa...the
lake and the river that flowed out had been so swollen they'd
lost their tents once when it rose during the night. The sun had
been so hot and his daughter had rushed up with her brother in
tow. They'd offered the beautifully polished stone, green
pigments flecking the black glassy surface. He pulled it out and
looked it over in the sun, it still had the same sheen to
it...polished to a painful shine. If he hadn't been so busy...If
he'd realized sooner the error of the Legion he would have been
there...maybe they wouldn't have had to fled...maybe. He
furrowed his brow and dropped the stone back into his pocket to
silence those thoughts. He couldn't change the past...as much as
he'd looked forward to retirement, and grandkids... "...The
smell here is so different from New Earth..."
Cogs accepted her offer and drank deeply. "...Well unless you've
got a set of cybernetic lungs...I decided since I was retired I
didn't need them...seems that was a dumb maneuver..." he mused.
"...I guess we all need a bit of humanity left don't we?" He
chuckled a darkly.
Murphy shrugged. "...I think you probably should'a stayed put
then...instead of running all down the highway..." he mused. "I
did and look at me..." He lit up a cigar which in a way made his
point moot.
"...Yeah just stay in a broken home with my dead newly wed...Oh
yes I love your thinking..." he snapped at Murphy. "...Fuck
you..."
"We all lost someone," Syx quickly interjected. "...Why don't
you two behave?"
"Sure sure," Murphy agreed and tapped some ash off the end of
his cigar. Joe was thankful they were going to be quiet, the
Decay had destroyed many a family. His wife died from a failure
with a cybernetic heart in the great die off, and he hadn't seen
his grand children in a long time...he just hoped his daughters
and their families were safe. They had said they were heading
for Grind...he chose to believe they were living comfortably
there.
#Post#: 152--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: Padfoot Date: April 15, 2012, 10:52 pm
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B0z nodded once at the condolences and decided to change the
subject. "What is it like on New Earth? We'd heard about the
Decay when it started happening, but everyone here on Oracle had
just assumed it wiped the entire planet dead." B0z asked,
curiously. Never had it crossed anyones mind, at least not
anyone that he knew, that maybe there was still some life on New
Earth and, despite his mood now, he was still interested in
knowing about it.
Frost shrugged to Cogstern. "I'm not entirely sure what sort of
technologies or cybernetics we can get our hands on, Drisit
handles that stuff, but you never know. From what I hear, she
has some connections that have deep pockets." For most of the
Rebellion, Milady's involvement was unknown. Drisit, B0z and
Symblor were just about the only ones who knew about Milady and
before that, it had only been her parents, and obviously
Symblor. But Frost wanted to help this man, with his decaying
parts and hacking cough. She felt sorry for him, for all of
those on New Earth, now that it was revealed that life was able
to sustain on the planet, even if it was a terrible life.
Up ahead, Drisit called everyone to a stop. She turned and faced
the group. "I need a few of you to come with me. I don't care
who, but there is an abandoned building up ahead and I want to
run a sweep through it before we pass by it. You never know who
is hiding out here and I don't want us to get attacked when we
walk by." She called, heading back towards the rest of the
group, Moony and Aggregate at her flank. "But I need some people
to stay here, I don't want everyone going and I want protection
for those who remain behind. So who wants to go?" She asked,
taking a quick sip from her water bottle.
#Post#: 153--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: CakesandLies Date: April 15, 2012, 11:06 pm
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"New Earth, well...New Earth is...god above it's terrible, the
soil is like dust...constantly blowing, the only escape from the
terrible blowing dust is near bodies of water and you'll be
lucky if those aren't tainted with nuclear waste...some places
there are just the bones of the unlucky..." he murmured and he
suddenly seemed so much older. "...The only way to get to some
places is to brave the wastes and broken back roads beyond the
I-01...but the I-01 goes straight to the two biggest
cities...everyone walks down it towards Grind...the Domed city
that was once the Jewel of the Atlantic states...it had been
such a sight when I first saw it, last I saw the dome was
covered in black and the air was like breathing car fumes
directly..." He brushed a hand through his hair. "...bandits,
raiders...the desperate wait for travelers...they'll pick a
living cyborg clean of any NOMA parts...and they'll chew on the
remaining flesh...the entire planet is a wasteland...but there
are some places of peace..."
"I created the city of Gear'd in the bones of an old city, we're
by a big lake and the water purification plant functions by
filters and gravity...clean water flows from the deep bottom of
the lake and we managed to grow some crops...It's a little oasis
in the desert..." he said fondly. "Joe and myself live there,
Squint asked me to come to the City of Legion the old capitol to
aid her with relations beyond new earth..." He shook his head.
"I'm the highest ranking military official...Joe is the highest
ranking civilian left...so I suppose we're the ambassadors...but
ambassadors of what I've no idea...I suppose the Legion but we
can't speak for all of New Earth, there are countries across the
ocean that were once allies that we lost contact with...the
Decay took everything."
Cogs shrugged. "I'll live a while longer...just adjusting to the
air I suppose, it's much clearer than the air of New Earth..."
he replied and smirked. "...Much clearer, and I should know
walked from one side of the country to the next..." He put his
metal hands in his pockets and scrunched his shoulders up,
apparently not the most social man. "...I'll be certainly
grateful for any help though..."
When Drisit requested some help Adokx looked to Jyssal. "Jyssal,
follow behind her, she in command..." he said and the robot
nodded. "...Switch to military mode until you return."
"Of course, I will follow Drisit's commands, switching to
Military Programming," Jyssal replied and took his place in
Drisit's group. "I am at your command."
#Post#: 154--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: Padfoot Date: April 15, 2012, 11:20 pm
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Drisit smiled a Jyssal. "Thank you," She said to both Jyssal and
the General. B0z started to get up and follow Drisit but she
shook her head at him. "I want you to stay here, B0z. If
something happens, you're the best shot to get everyone back to
Oracle safely. "I'll take Aggregate with me and Moony, you stay
behind too, just in case." She spoke with sure authority and her
fellow Rebels nodded in agreement. "I'll be fine with Jyssal and
Aggregate" She told the group, "I want you guys to stay here, if
we're not back within in an hour, Moony, find an alternate route
around the building and you and B0z get everyone home."
"Sure thing, Dris." Moony said with a lopsided grin, "Just watch
over my partner in crime, ok?" He waved, then took out his map
to study another quick route, just in case he had to help B0z
get everyone out quickly.
"Alright, we'll see you in an hour or so then," Drisit said,
turning on her heels and leading the way for Jyssal and
Aggregate to follow, the sun high in the sky. At this rate, it
would be dark before they reached Oracle.
"Well, if anyone is hungry, I've got some leftover food in my
pack from this morning." Frost offered, sitting down, crossing
her legs as she began to paw through her backpack.
#Post#: 155--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: CakesandLies Date: April 15, 2012, 11:34 pm
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Jyssal's screen showed a smiling face. "You are welcome,
Drisit," he replied and guns folded out from his shoulders.
"...I will protect and serve..." He followed after Drisit
calmly, he's started life as a military machine and he was still
as efficient even if he was a pretty old model he had lots of
fire. "...what are the orders for engaging the enemy?"
The General looked back at his ground. "At ease for now, we can
set down then..." he said and took a seat. Cogs and the rest
welcomed a break, they'd gone from space right to walking
towards an unknown city...on an unknown world. Joe was
particularly pleased by the thought of food. He looked to Frost
and gave her as happy a look as he could manage.
"Oh food sounds wonderful...dried protein packs are not
particularly satisfying in the taste department..." he murmured
and was noticeably different than the rest of the group, he only
had four fingers on each hand, and long ears that seemed to have
a slight curl as they fell. His face was also subtly different,
his nose being a bit more animalistic than human. "...I'm used
to uhm...well fresher foods...y-you see I live by the
lake...growing strawberries...and other food stuff...but the
strawberries are very good...you know my Grand daughter...she
loves them, whenever she'd visit I'd make sure to have a batch
ready for short cakes and whipped cream..." He fidgeted with his
hands, and pulled out a shell or two. "...I've been collecting
these shells from the lake shore...see?" He offered them up for
her to see.
Adokx smiled at Joe. "...poor man...he's slightly mad...blames
himself completely for the Decay...but he was fooled just like
the rest of us," he murmured. "...I'm still not sure what the
Legion did...but it certainly didn't do anything for the
world..." He crossed his legs and put his hands on his knees.
"...I suppose it doesn't matter anymore, what can you do about
the Legion? They were arrogant and diluted...and they paid for
it, now just gotta hopefully find some way to fix it and hope
that the world is ready to heal..."
#Post#: 156--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: Padfoot Date: April 16, 2012, 12:28 am
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Drisit looked up at Jyssal. "Shoot upon sight. We can't risk
showing any mercy, they wont for us. However," she looked to him
and Aggregate, "if there are any children, spare them." She
ordered. Ever since Brenna's death, Drisit had made it a
personal vow that no more children would die on her watch, and
so far, she had been able to keep it. She approached the door.
"Everyone get ready, we're going to sweep the place as quickly
as we can, but efficiently." She instructed, reaching out to the
rusted doorknob. It stuck a little, but after pressing her
shoulder to the door, she was able to nudge it open quietly.
"Basement, first floor, second floor, out." She whispered,
taking in her surroundings.
The building itself looked to be a dilapidated house, decaying
from the inside out. It looked deserted, but she knew that was
not a guarantee of anything. Stepping forward, she waved her two
companions in beside her as she sought out the basement. It was
located in the kitchen, the door hanging off it's hinges.
"Jyssal, stay up here, ok? Keep the door covered. Aggregate and
I will check the basement." She said, stepping over the rotted
door and heading into the darkness of the basement, Aggregate
close on her heels, his gun raised and pointed over her
shoulder.
Cautiously, she made her way down the creaking stairs, trying to
keep as quiet she could. She knew electricity wouldn't work out
here in the Wastelands and the basement had no windows. Still,
the coolness was a bit of a welcome break from the dry desert
air. The two quickly made through way through the tiny
underground room, but found nothing except soggy old boxes and a
stained mattress set up in a corner that had defnitely seen
better days. Quickly they returned to Jyssal
"Did you see anything while we were down there?" Drisit asked,
speaking as quietly as possible.
Frost offered a kind smile to Joe as she looked at the shells in
his hand. "They are very pretty," She said, reaching in and
pulling out a sandwich. "We didn't bring any fruits on the trip,
the desert would have dried them out, but we were able to pack
some sandwiches, if that's ok." She said, handing him one with a
bottle of water. The woman was a master at packing things, her
backpack was filled to the brim with water bottles and
sandwiches, flattened by the bottles, but still good
nonetheless.
B0z watched Joe as he listened to the General speaking and he
felt sorry for the man showing Frost the shells. He sighed
heavily, his shoulders sagging slightly as he paced back and
forth. "General, I don't know what we can do to help you and
your people on New Earth, but I can tell you this, Drisit will
do anything in her power to offer her hand to you. she may be
young, but she is smart and she had a big heart. I wouldn't have
joined this Rebellion if it weren't for her and her persistence,
as well as her inability to accept the word no." B0z offered,
studying him. It seemed unfair that two of the most successful
civilizations in the history of, well history, he supposed, had
such tragic future when they started on such bright beginnings.
#Post#: 157--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: CakesandLies Date: April 16, 2012, 7:57 am
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Jyssal remained put, planting himself as he systematically
sweeped the inside of the house. He had a laser that sent a beam
out, a clever way to aim in a situation that was lit in
different ways. The servos in his neck and body had gone a while
without some proper lubrication and whizzed a bit as he looked
back and forth. "...No life forms detected," he murmured as he
started to make a little circuit of his area, he was a very good
watch dog. "...Switching to stand by." He stopped and sat back
down to await the return of the group, still sweeping the area
for any changes.
Joe nodded most pleased. "Oh yes, sweet ambrosia one might
say..." he replied and scooched a little closer. He chuckled a
little. "Ambrosia was a drink in the Legion you know...it was
sold in the Domed City, or Grind City as it is now...when you
walked into the dome you were always greeted with a friendly
face and a cup of Ambrosia...mmm...perhaps if you visit I'll try
to find some..." He smiled pleasantly. He accepted her offer and
took a bite, then a swig of water. "...Hmmm...much better than
protein packs...they're a dried substance, supposed to taste
like chicken...I think..." He chuckled.
"Of course chicken is the taste most everything seems to taste
like..." He looked to Wistal who was scribbling something on his
pad of paper. "...Oh hello...want some sandwich?"
"Ah no, thank you, I'm fine...figuring out a fuel source easily
manufactured for a to and fro shuttle, I may be up here but
Squint still will need my help," he replied and continued to
scribble notes.
The General nodded. "She seems quite bright...reminds me of my
daughter in some ways...and Squint, rather Pellegrin, the
scientist who created the rocket...so young and yet with
ambitions set on the stars, she wouldn't accept anything less
than full space flight. No unmanned probes or satellites, no it
was the moon or nothing," he murmured. "...well New Earth isn't
getting any worse...the people are patient, they're waiting for
the Decay to break, whenever it might...I suppose I won't live
to see the day it finally lives again...I'm already too old...I
was going to retire you know, I had one more term left to serve
and then I was going to settle in...spoil some grandkids, tell
stories..." He sighed and shook his head.
#Post#: 158--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: Padfoot Date: April 17, 2012, 10:56 am
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Frost bit into a sandwich of her own, listening intently to
Joe's ramblings. "The Ambrosia sounds delicious. I've heard
stories about New Earth's dome city. I always thought it sounded
beautiful and wanted to see it with my own eyes." She made a
face at the mention of protein packs. "More often than not, we
have to eat rations or there is nothing to eat at all. And they
don't taste very good." She said, taking a drink from her water
bottle.
"I hear you," B0z assented to the General. "I wasn't close to
retiring or anything, but it would be nice to have the option to
settle down and spend time with your family." His voice was sad,
his eyes getting that far away look he got on his face when
thinking of Brenna and Katarina. After a moment, he shook his
head, snapping out of it.
Once Drisit was certain the basement and the first floor were
clear, she began to ascend the rotted staircase leading to the
second floor, beckoning for Aggregate and Jyssal to follow
behind her. At the top of the landing, she did a quick glance
over the stairs. Five doors, all closed. Probably a bathroom and
four bedrooms. She turned behind her, holding her index finger
to her lips, signaling her companions to keep quiet.
Slowly and with soft steps, she creeped up to the door directly
across from the top of the stairs. Three more doors to the left,
one to the right. Reaching out, she closed her hand around the
door knob and flung the door open. An empty bathroom, she even
checked the rusty bathtub to make sure.
Closing the door behind her, she pointed to the left, pointed at
Aggregate, and pointed to a door, then did the same for Jyssal
and herself, signaling they would each check one of them at the
same time.
#Post#: 159--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: CakesandLies Date: April 17, 2012, 11:13 am
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Joe chuckled a bit. "Oh Grind City was a lovely place, beautiful
spires rising up and the glint of the dome shining against the
sky...I remember I visited with my wife and the family...it was
a place to remember...mmm my youngest daughter would not stop
complaining the whole time...she said her feet hurt or her back
hurt...or any other excuse..." he mused wistfully, he looked
like he was far off, somewhere else perhaps. "...I decided I'd
had quite enough...and I picked her up and threw her right over
my shoulder, said : 'well now your feet won't hurt...'
yes...lovely day..." He leaned back and finished the sandwich
with a pleasant smile.
General frowned. "...yes...settle down with the family..." he
murmured. "...in a house...yard and a dog..." he looked over at
B0z thoughtfully. "...you seem quite able bodied, Lieutenant is
a military title, I suppose you weren't always a rebel man. I
suppose had I known more of what the legion was doing I might
have joined the movement who opposed their policies...the house
was so torn no one was sure what the truth was..." He shook his
head. "Would have been nice, spend time with the family at least
one more time..." He pulled the stone out of his pocket again.
"...I have carried this stone with me, for nearly 30 years,
since it was given to me...by my little girl, Margarette, she
found it at a lake we camped at all those years ago...she'd
be...oh 42 now...she was 30...had her own children...moved to
the suburbs, back to the old family home..."
Jyssal nodded and moved to the door, shoving it open with force
and sweeping his weapon around the room. The light from his
screen illuminating the dank darkness of the room.
#Post#: 160--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Sky Is Falling
By: Padfoot Date: April 17, 2012, 5:01 pm
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"That sounds like a lovely memory, Joe," Frost said to him,
reaching out to touch his arm as she watched the happy, yet sad
at the same time, man. She couldn't help but feel a little sorry
for him. He had a kind air about him and there was no doubt in
Frost's mind that he had suffered some hardships and maybe
wasn't quite all there. "I never had any kids. We wanted some,
but it just wasn't in the cards, it seems." She shared, with a
sad little smile, hoping Memnoch hadn't over heard. He blamed
himself, even though Frost knew it was her own fault.
"Yes, I used to work for The Government," B0z answered the
General. "I knew what I was doing, too. There was no smoke
screen, in my line of work. You got your hands dirty and you
knew you were getting them dirty." His voice was that of stone.
He felt regret over the past, so many regrets, but it was matter
of fact. He did what he did and he didn't hide it. He knew one
day he would have to atone for his sins, if that's not what he
was doing now, anyways. He flicked his gaze over to the stone.
"I keep a memento too." He raised his left arm and shook the
sleeve down to reveal a small red and gold bracelet, messily
woven out of string. It was rather uncharacteristic of him to
volunteer the information, but with the General, he felt at
ease. And the man was sharing so much about himself, B0z felt
the need to at least offer something in return.
Aggregate turned the knob to his door first, jumping in swiftly
and scanning the room through the scope at the top of his gun.
It was empty. Even still, he checked underneath the dingy bed
frame, flipping it's sagging mattress over to reveal the empty
floor beneath. He kicked open the closet door and kicked through
the garbage scattered about the bottom. All clear. He glanced
out the window and could see nothing, glad the group wasn't
within eyeshot of the house. He was about to light up a quick
cigarrette when he heard Drisit shout out.
Abandoning his cigarette on the ground behind him, he dashed out
and into her room, just in time to see a fist fly into her face,
sending her reeling. There was a soft crunch of bone and
Aggregate was sure her nose was broken. Without a seconds haste,
he squeezed the trigger of his rifle, sending Drisit's attacker
stumbling backwards.
Another man came at Aggregate, only to have his skull meet with
the blunt end of the rifle while Drisit was busy warding off
another. She sent a spinning kick into his jaw and quickly
brought up her knife to slit his throat, arterial blood sprayed
her face and clothing, but she paid no mind. There was a group
of bandits who had holed up in the bedroom that needed taken
care of. Aside from the three men already, there were still
more.
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