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Valkyrie XP 4/5 Valkyrie walks up to Jonathan, but doesn't stop. She takes him by the elbow, gently, and starts him moving. "Never seen a battle before, I take it. Movies, video - they don't really do it justice. It's not the blood and the guts and the horror the horror-" is this kid old enough for that reference? Hell she isn't old enough for that reference. "-that gets you. It's the banality. Just a bunch of people who do a difficult, dirty job sitting around and cleaning up after. There's nothing actually profound or awe inspiring. It's all just stuff you see every day in a truly hosed up context. What will really get you later is looking at something normal, like the market, and realizing there's no reason it couldn't be this." She frowns at her own rambling. Next thing she'll start sound like Witness. Or Jaime. "Goddammit I wish tobacco wasn't extinct. Headed for town?"
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Jul 22, 2014 02:51
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| # ? May 14, 2024 10:45 |
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Jonathan Jackson Outside Bunker Harm 3:00 (1/6), xp 4/5 "No, not really," I admit grimly. "Heart of Darkness?" But then she passes by that and cuts deeper into the matter. "...I really am one sheltered little brat, aren't I?" I mumble to myself. "Oh, uh...yeah, yeah. I'm headed for, uh...wherever Dave has set up, I guess. The bunker's on full lockdown, and I can't get anything working again. Hey, have you heard anything like a radio station...?" Do I need to explain what a radio is? Davin Valkri fucked around with this message at 03:15 on Jul 22, 2014 |
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Jul 22, 2014 03:10
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Valkyrie XP 4/5 "Probably Witness. She broadcasts pretty regularly. I wouldn't exactly call it a show... It's like the old Coast to Coast thing, if you gave the host and callers even more drugs than usual. And if most of it was actually true." She considers his revelation about the bunker. "Witness may be just the person you should be talking to. She might be able to get some of it up and running. Let's see if we can figure out where she's holed up. I need some things from town anyways."
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Jul 22, 2014 03:15
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Jonathan Jackson Outside Bunker Harm 3:00 (1/6), xp 4/5 "Coast to Coast radio..." I repeat with a hint of bitterness. Here I am, talking with a woman who could be my mother, and we're talking about shared nostalgia. How much of a freakout is it going to be when I find someone my age? "I'll have to find this Witness, then. She broadcasts from town? Does it have, um, a, a radio mast?"
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Jul 22, 2014 03:22
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Valkyrie XP 4/5 "She has a van. We'll have to ask around, find out if anyone's seen her. Market would be a good place to start. I need a new jacket, and something to eat. You look like you could do with something too."
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Jul 22, 2014 03:32
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Dave Holding the critter up with the meld hand, the little bastards were only about 40lbs, but that still got tiring after awhile, and with the shotgun in the other, Dave stares back at the Sectoid. This was going to make things both a lot more easy and complicated at the same time. "<Let's start with the basics, do you have a name/individual designation?>" Finding out if they identified themselves like people instead of just an animal herd would ordinarily bother most people, but for someone who considered varied and subtle differences in the display of bandit corpses a form of art, Dave was simply curious. "<And lets talk about your herd/pack/whatever. Where did you come from?>"
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Jul 22, 2014 05:14
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Ammar "Valkyrie." I say as I look at the pictures. "She was there from the start. She was a colonel. There's no way she does not know more about this." In a way, this was about as well as could be hoped. "So... X-Com and X-Alt, waging a secret war, so secret they didn't even tell all of their own soldiers." I give a wry grin. "But I suppose X-Com, defenders of humanity going around purging alien sympathizers is something they'd like to keep under wraps." I take a sip of coffee. The Jonathan gets mentioned. "I had hoped he knew a lot. But the computer did not seem to value him much. It considers him a failure. If it had been able to enforce its decisions, it would have killed him years ago." I look towards him. "Well, I'm more inclined to trust you now. So tell me... after I left. What happened? With X-Com falling, I'd think the aliens would just finish the job of enslaving or eradicating us or whatever they wanted. We were pushed to the brink with untold resources available. Now, there's scattered little pockets of humanity that could be wiped out by the most half hearted focused attempt. Does X-Com know what happened there? Did the aliens just lose interest when we stopped fighting back and left some folk downhere? Did you manage to hurt something important after I left?"
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Jul 23, 2014 23:45
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Jaime "That poor boy." Jaime sounds... almost sad. "They gave him a purpose then took it away. Now he is adrift. An Inheritor without an inheritance." She flicks the safety on her shotgun on, off. It would be hideously unsafe if it wasn't already, seeing as the dang thing broke ages ago. "I hope he chooses a wise path. I'd hate to have to kill him."
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Jul 23, 2014 23:56
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Witness "You haven't heard the story? I go over it on the anniversary. People say it grows in the telling, but I, well, don't have a script for it. Maybe I embellish, but I've got the video here." They flip through the storage on the tablet. "It's an hour of video each from the four who had helmetcams, but here's the relevant stills." A shot from the Skyranger of a massive structure of alien construction, buried deep in a mountain range. The base's hatch is in the process of opening, and orange light is reflecting off the window from something behind the viewer. A second shot of the interior of the Skyranger, one of the soldiers peering through the window as a second works with the interface on an orange crystalline device. "The Skeleton Key. When we captured one of those crystalline guys, it just collapsed into that. Shen called it an antenna, and he built the interface we used to locate the alien's main base and fool their IFF so we could land a squad." Shots from the inside of the base. Abductees in stasis tanks, abductees in surgery tables, a series of fluid-filled tanks arrayed along the center of one large room. Dozens of shots, most from very similar timestamps, Witness apparently has sort of a fixation on the subject. Shots of enemies as well. Sectoids, Mutons, Floaters, a single Chryssalid ripping a soldier's head off before the team can focus fire and take it down. "We were going in blind, but the team had enough explosives to level a small town. Whatever was down there was not going to survive. Worst-case scenario, there was a nuke on the Skyranger, pilot had orders to blow it if the team failed." Witness takes a gulp of coffee and moves to the next set of pictures. The main chamber, the Hyperwave Beacon, and the Sectoid Commander. "Did you get shown the First Contact mission recording? I'm pretty sure a picture of the Commander was on the barracks dartboard, at least. Anyway, we found it again. And whatever it was guarding, it was the important part. We don't know entirely what it was, but we blew it up." Several shots of the battle, including one soldier turning his weapon on the viewer, culminating in a series of stills of one soldier, massive demolitions pack in one hand, charging the Commander's dais and exploding. Then, a shot of the Commander, held up by one leg for the camera, showing one of the beams of the Beacon lodged through its enormous skull. "Whatever that was, it was the backbone of the aliens' communications and-slash-or transport network. They started to lose cohesion after that, no leadership, no high-level tactical thinkers among them, only local comms, but it was already the beginning of the end for X-COM. One last hurrah, too little, too late. Their retaliatory assault on our base was just the cherry on the poo poo sundae we'd been served. "Two soldiers made it back from the base, and they brought back souvenirs." Witness rises and moves back into their van, beckoning Ammar and Jaime in. On their radio bench, nestled in a cluster of wires, is Euterpe, roughly half of one of the rings off the Beacon, with wires clipped and soldered to it. "Snagged it on my way out, I'm... not entirely sure why, but she's been handy the past twenty years."
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Jul 25, 2014 07:29
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Valkyrie, Jonathan, assuming you both stick together and head straight for town, it's not a long or a difficult walk. The market is bustling. Lots of stuff of all sorts being sold for jingle, for direct barter, for other favors, however people can pay. Of course, once the both of you step into the market proper, people notice. Especially you, Valkyrie. Between the reputation you already had, and having Meldy following you around everywhere, people react when they see you. It's not quite a hush all over the market, or anything that extreme, but people pay the both of you a bit of a wide berth. How you gonna take that? And what do the both of you do? -- Dave, the Sectoid squirms a little, more from discomfort than any amount of resistance. "I am called Redeye," it says, though who knows how it got that name with both eyes being bright yellow like normal. But at your second question, it winces, and hesitates. "...What will you do to my kin?" it asks at last. The language you're getting is coming across more clearly, the more complex syntax getting through. That's...A thing. What do you do? -- Witness, Jaime, Ammar, there you are in(or at least around) Witness's van, having your conversation, reminiscing about times gone by. And then Euterpe starts beeping. Not, like, the equipment Euterpe is hooked up to. Euterpe the chunk of beacon. Not only does it beep, but it starts getting echoes of a communication... I've got two things to ask of you. Witness, you tell me what communication you're getting. Specifically, I want to know whether you're hearing humans(or human-spawned tech), or aliens on the other side. Everyone, I want to know what do you do?
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Jul 26, 2014 06:41
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Dave "<Well Redeye, I intend for your kin to go away and never trouble this settlement/clan/community ever again. How that happens is very much up to you. You can either organize a mass exile of your people from this area never to return, or, well, we can conduct business as your people and mine have these past 20 orbits.>" Dave gestures to the corpses around him. This was a new experience, being verbally able to 'negotiate' like this, but then again, words usually didn't even work on humans that Dave had to deal with, usually communication with them had to be in a very obvious and direct physical manner. (Attempts to roll +hot vs a sectoid go about as well as planned)
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Jul 26, 2014 06:56
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Valkyrie XP 4/5 Valkyrie is aware of the reaction, but doesn't care. She's used to it, has come to expect it, even to welcome it. It's a mark of how she still stands for something in this fallen world. Maybe some of it is fear. That can work too. Most of it, it means she's still taken seriously, even if its only on a personal level. She pokes around, looking for a new jacket. The likelihood of finding any remaining X-COM surplus is pretty low, given everything, but something at least in the same style... "Don't forget to ask about Witness," she comments to herself as much as Jonathan. "Or if you need anything else."
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Jul 28, 2014 02:07
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Jonathan Jackson Outside Bunker Harm 3:00 (1/6), xp 4/5 Everyone's staring...should I be happy or sad that most of the attention seems to be focused on Valkyrie? Or at least the meld dog? At least it's easy to move, even through the crowd. How long did it take for all these people to settle here? And did they settle here from choice or lack of other-- "Oh, Witness, right." I nod in Valkyrie's direction. "Um...should I look for anything for you? Because I can't think of anything else I need." She mentioned that Witness has a van, right? Somehow that seemed that it would be an interesting sight here where most people got around by walking. "Uh, so, uhm...has anybody here seen a van?" I don't think it's loud enough to be heard by the crowd, but maybe the closest person? Why couldn't dad have left me something I could use here, instead of a gun?!
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Jul 28, 2014 23:33
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Jaime It's like a scream. Jaime clutches her head, trying to make the screaming stop, and as she gasps and fights for breath she begins to hear it. Euterpe speaks. It's the voice of god, or devil, or close enough, driving all other thoughts out. Jaime fights to stay there, to hear what is being said. To really hear. Not the false hearing, the dull muted sound that Witness will hear through his gadgets and closed ears. The real noise. "THE VOICES" Read the Sitch/Person: 2d6+1 13 Holding off on what she asks and gets until Witness says what we're hearing
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Jul 29, 2014 00:35
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Witness It's an alien transmission. It has to be, nothing else comes through Euterpe. Then why is it beeping? Euterpe doesn't beep. She chimes and hums and sings like an angel. Witness slides onto their broadcast stool and begins working controls. "Hang on, I need to- it's so rare to get a transmission on Euterpe- just let me-" An alligator clip gets removed from one spot on Euterpe and fixed to another, faders and dials are adjusted, switches are flipped, then some are flipped back, and a coil of wire that doesn't even look like it's attached to anything is taken off the top of a receiver and hung on the wall. They take another sip of coffee as they listen. "Encrypted." They lean over to tap at a keyboard. "Thematic similarities to the encrypted crosstalk from the bunker, it's... Thematic similarities hell, that IS the same encryption, it's a loving EXALT signal, how are they on this band, who are they talking to? What are they saying!?" Witness scrabbles a bit, trying to get their recording apparatus to start from the beginning of the transmission and the encryption cracking at the same time. --- Read a sitch, +Sharp: 2d6 5 Along with that, what'll it take to get to the bottom of this?
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Jul 29, 2014 02:54
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Ammar I ponder that. So, X-Com didn't end up being a total failure, despite best efforts. "Huh... well, that... answers some questions. I heard stories, but, well, you hear all kind of stories. And I wasn't much in a frame of mind to put too much stock in 'heroic X-Com' stories at the time. Doesn't explain what they're coming here for though. Or why they didn't bring out their Mutons fro the start." Then the device suddenly starts to act up, and Ammar is tense, scanning the treeline. If this thing is an alien artifact, it might very well be reacting to them as well. The noise said nothing to him. But what did he know? He had a rough understanding of human technology. He wasn't even going to speculate on alien technology. But if he were an alien... or an X-Alt agent. Well... this'd be a fine way to spring a trap. "All right, check the sound, I'm going to make sure nothing's coming." With that, he leapt. One standing jump brought him on the roof of the building, the next one got him in a tree top, where his skin soon assumed the colour and pattern of treebark, and his sniper rifle was prepared, just in case. A Sharp Look: 2d6+1 8
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Jul 29, 2014 20:15
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I'll have a real post up by this evening. Jonathan, Valkyrie, could you each do me a favor and roll +sharp for bartering?
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Jul 31, 2014 00:37
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Jonathan Jackson Market Harm 3:00 (1/6), xp 4+1/5 Haven't got any barter, but okay then. At least I can mark xp for it. [17:23:06] <Davin_Valkri> .roll 2d6+1 [17:23:07] <skybot> Davin_Valkri: 10 (2d6+1=6, 3) Whoohoo!
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Jul 31, 2014 01:23
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Valkyrie XP 4+1/5 22:02 skybot iGorbash: 7 (2d6+1=5, 1)
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Jul 31, 2014 03:03
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Dave, Redeye just stares at you for a moment, shocked. "You're...You're mad, human! As bloodthirsty as the elders said!" He struggles in your grasp fearfully, trying to break free and escape... And by now, people are starting to notice that you're not shooting the sectoid, you're squawking back at it. So what do you do? -- Valkyrie, you're looking for a jacket? Best place to go is Gap's Clothes & Nice poo poo, a store made out of...Well, a store, actually. Small one, run by Gap himself. A mountain of a man even only in his 20s, exactly the sort you would've wanted on your squad back in the day if he'd been around. Whether he had the name before he got the store...Well, he's never said. Anyways, Gap raises an eyebrow when he spots Meldy gliding along behind you, but he's smart enough to let you bring it inside. But when he hears your search for a jacket, the best he can do is shrug. "It's summer, Valkyrie. Jackets are out of season. I've got a few in the back, but I doubt it'll be anything you want." He pauses for a minute, like he's trying to decide whether or not to say anything, before he finally sighs. "But...Well, I might've heard something, if you're really serious. I know how folks get attached to things like that, and I've heard some rumors. But we're talking some bad, bad motherfuckers. You might be better off just getting something out of the summer collection, if you ask me." So, what do you do? -- Jonathan, so, hey, now you're alone in the market. It's clearly made out of the remnants of an old strip mall, with the less well-off just setting up on tables or tarps outside. The whole thing looks like one of those open-air marketplaces trendy cities did on weekends before the war. But, this is a decent down, and a relatively peaceful place. More importantly, nobody gives you too much hassle. Though one woman, doing well enough to have a fabric booth around her wares, hears the description of the van you're looking for and is actually willing to help you out. "What, you mean the Witness's? poo poo, why didn't you say so?" She gives a quick glance to the radio behind her, currently turned off. More importantly, she looks to the antenna, pointed to get the best signal from the last broadcast. The woman points in the same direction, looking back to you. "They were that way last time they came on. Shouldn't be too hard to find, not a whole lot of vans covered in radio equipment around here." The woman pauses, looking you over. Specifically, your relatively nice clothes. "Now, you gonna buy somethin' to thank me for helping you out, or what?" What do you do? -- Witness, I've got good news and bad news. Well, lots of news, actually. poo poo, we might even have a traffic report in here. First, you're right. That's a human signal. EXALT encryption. Second, here's a freebie. You get gently caress-all when you point the antennas towards the bunker, and it only starts coming through again when you point somewhere completely different. Third, problem. It's an EXALT encryption, but not one you've cracked. It's like someone started with an EXALT setup, and then just worked on making it uncrackable for the last 20 years. Fourth, light foot traffic in and out of the north end of the market, patrols reporting all good on the main walls. Weather's nice and sunny, but there're clouds starting to slip over the mountains in the distance. Could have rain in the next few days, if they don't get caught up on the peaks. Now back to your news update. Fifth, you want to crack it? You're gonna need time, and you're gonna need someone who knows EXALT encryption. Sixth, you're not setting off a blazing beacon right to your location or anything...But you're getting enough feedback off the gear that at the very least, whoever's transmitting probably has some idea that they're being listened in on. Lastly...Uh, Jaime's kind of looking like she's freaking out. Over to you, Jaime. -- Jaime, I've got visions all up ins. The encryption, the language, the goddamned physics, all that you skip right past. Instead, you peer into the other side of the signal. All is blurs and motion, but you see a figure. A few years older than the boy from the bunker, she's wrapped in the cobbled armor of one without a support structure. More importantly, the heavy armor of one who knows war. That, I'm giving you for free. But the eyes can have answers. What are you asking? -- Ammar...Well, I hate to tell you, but things seem all calm for you right now. But you've got a great view. Honestly, I kind of mean that. The town itself is a little eh, but the distant mountains are the kind of thing people would put on a postcard back in the day. It's the kind of thing you could just look at and lose yourself in thought. I mean, that's all before Witness and Jaime have their little moments, and who knows what's happening. So, you know. poo poo's probably about to get real. What do you do?
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Jul 31, 2014 06:28
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Dave "Welp." Dave swings his xeno in a circle several times before releasing it. The sectoid flies over and off the far side of the hill. "Redeye Flight."
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Jul 31, 2014 10:38
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Valkyrie XP 4+1/5 "Bad motherfuckers are my stock and trade, Gap, or did you not notice the circles I travel in?" Up until this point the trip was mostly a diversion. Now though, Valkyrie is alert. This is what she does. This is what she's good at. "Tell me."
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Aug 1, 2014 23:51
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Jonathan Jackson Market Harm 3:00 (1/6), xp 0/5, 1 adv Dear god, I know this place! I used to shop here with Tammy and everyone else from school when I was a kid! (Well, younger...biologically...my current situation makes time comparison difficult.) I see Valkyrie walk off into a GAP store--did I really buy a windbreaker once from here?! And a bundle of boxes, broken folding tables propped up on rebar, and dirty fabric booths have sprung up where the farmer's market and food court used to be...god, I was spoiled rotten. I wander the maze of stalls, asking "do you know this van, do you know this van?" like an idiot, until one booth woman actually produces her radio and points out the antenna. "Oh! Uh, thanks, miss...uhm, I never got your name." She looks me over and asks me to buy something...do I really look that rich? I guess this suit is giving the wrong signal, because I'm certain I don't have any money that she'd want! "Uh, hmm. These are some very nice leathers you have here...uh, can I take a moment just to check with someone? I promise I'll come back and buy something nice." I'm buying time to link up with Valkyrie and forward the information to her...if she can buy something for me, so much the better. Manipulating with a promise that I'll come back and get something. +Hot! [21:53:29] <Davin_Valkri> !r 2d6+1 [21:53:30] <Krysmbot> Davin_Valkri, 6+1 = 7 ...I can see it in her eye. She's going to hold me to that, isn't she.
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Aug 2, 2014 05:55
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Jaime Jaime closes her false eyes. Lets her eyes separate from the other eyes. Stares into the face of... "Perhaps this is where that inheritance has gone..." Focus. Focus. Let the eyes have it. A mantra to keep one and one from making one. Modulate. Use it. Reach. "I see you, War-Maiden. Speak and let us know why I hear you." *what does your character intend to do? (Hold 2 remains)
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Aug 2, 2014 15:47
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Ammar, Witness, you two still in? I don't want to leave you two hanging without a chance to respond, but I need to keep moving forward. I'll be putting up a proper post tonight if you don't post anything.
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Aug 4, 2014 22:50
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Ammar Ammar looked at the horizon. Nothing around here. Everything was safe. These lands were beautiful. He'd walked quite a bit, and after twenty years, some parts of the land grew beautiful with the lack of humanity, and some just rotted. There were beaches dead with oil slicks, former farmland quickly turning into desert without irrigation and fertilization. Enitre areas where chemicals had simply leaked into the ground and utterly poisoned the aquifer. And even when the land is beautiful, you don't get to appreciate it until... It had been the end of the Rammadam. Well, he wasn't sure if it had been, but he'd make a best effort. And she'd done so alongside him, even if it hadn't been a stricutre of her own faith. It had been hard, very hard. It was spring, and each day was longer than the last. But on that last day, they sat on the roof and ate the sweet food they'd kept just for this celebration, and slept on the roof (seperate sleeping bags of course) and the next day they'd seen the dawn, and knew they could eat and the lands looked so beautiful in spring. Trees in shocks of colours and seas of green fresh grass And there was freshly baked bread and it smelled so good. He blinked. That memory was strong. Too strong. He sniffed. The smell of fresh bread lingered, and he briefly looked down to see if Witness had brought out something else than coffee. But no, just... poo poo going on... He jmped down, landing with a thud. "All right, what's going on? Noone's nearby as far as I can see." Sorry, been stumped on my next post for a while.
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Aug 4, 2014 23:44
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Dave, you send Redeye flying. And indeed, he goes right over the far side of that hill. That distant, distant hill, wayyyyy over there, the one that gives you, like, 20 minutes warning if something comes running up over it. One of your long-time soldiers, a woman about your own age, makes her way up. Stocky build, dark hair neatly tied back, few streaks of grey running through it. A big wide streak where a laser blast nearly glanced her head a few years back and the hair grew back white, the rest just from age. Her name's Beth, and she's been part of your community since drat near the beginning. "Sir, permission to speak freely?" And assuming you grant it, here's what she'll be saying: "What the gently caress just happened, Dave? One minute you're shooting aliens like the best of 'em, then it looked like you were talking to one. Are you feeling okay?" So, do you let her say it? And either way, you've got a long-time comrade here, clearly concerned. What do you do? -- Valkyrie, Gap frowns, but he isn't gonna push it. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he starts. He looks one way, then the other, to be sure there isn't anyone else in the shop. And then, he gets into it. "Short version of a long story, there's this woman at least a good day's travel out, maybe two. I don't know her name, but she runs a chopper gang. She stays past the president's borders, but word is, these days she has enough manpower that it's just because she wants to." "Anyways, she's got a jacket a lot like the one you gave your little friend there. It's kind of part of her trademark look. It doesn't have the X-COM patches, the way I hear it, but everything else is pretty drat close." And then, assuming Jonathan comes straight to you, thaat'd about be the time he comes in. So either way, what do you do? -- Jonathan, my fellow, she is DEFINITELY gonna hold you to it. "I'll be watching for you, kid. Don't you try to weasel out on me now, you hear?" she says. She might not shoot you if you try to get out of it, but she will definitely be a thorn in your side. Time to run to mama Valkyrie and get yourself some change for a shiny bauble. Which thus asks the question. You saw her go into the GAP store, we agree on that. You going right to her, or you gonna make a detour? -- Jaime, I'm gonna give you the facts, straight up. The War-Maiden you see, intends to find kin. She thought them lost, and now she sees them missing. She wants that which is hers, and she strives to find it, whether by the scroll or by the sword. Those are the facts, mind you. You know your eyes better than me, so how does all of that look to you? -- Ammar, Witness, well...I can't give you much to work on, just yet. But poo poo might get real interesting in a minute, depending on how Jaime parses those facts. And once that happens...Well, I'll be wanting to know what the both of you do.
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Aug 5, 2014 11:03
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Dave "Of course I'm fine." Dave ponders this line and realizes he's really bad at lying about things that aren't 'what did you say this stew was made of?' and 'No honey, its okay, I didn't come home last night because I'd been shot and left to die in a ditch.' Well, the last wasn't a lie, but it sure as hell was treated like one ever after the missus did that thing where she glared at him and his head hurt. In any event, he was going to do that thing where you just present the awful/weird thing at face value and let the person decided how they're going to deal with it. Pulling the 'Shut the gently caress up, I'm the president' card usually came back to bite you in the rear end. "Beth, the goddamn thing was trying to speak English. Not fluently, but like retard or second language. These things are loving evolving. Remember how they used to be a lot lighter grey, but are darker and darker each year? poo poo its like. gently caress." Dave racks his head. "So I'm showing my daughter this old biology book, (remember how Witness convinced me to wade into the bandits boarded up in that old library with a chainsaw instead of firebombs?) about how back at the start of the industrial revolution, all these factories and poo poo in England are crapping out black smoke everywhere, its on the treest, peoples hands, like everyone just fell in a puddle of black sewage." "Don't give me that look, this is going somewhere. So most of the moths and tiny insects used to be white, cause the tree bark was white and it hid them, but as everything got covered in this black crap, all the white moths started getting spotted by birds and eaten. The black moths, who had been a minority, no yeah, I know how this analogy is getting problematic, bear with me here, the black moths now had the moment to shine (so to speak), they had traits to survive and were thriving. The species had evolved in the space of a few generations to take advantage of a new environment." Dave tries not to think of the grey stuff covering both his and his daughter's arm. "So yeah, the little poo poo tried to blabber but in the end it was business as usual. We need to find a way to find the sectoid love shack and burn it down instead of just waiting for them to show up here, before they start building pyramids and agriculture and such." K-TOOM. *chk-chak* He makes a point to blow the head off a body with an intact skull, both to ensure its actually dead and also to drive home the point that even if he's a bit cracked he's still the goddamn President. "Do you have any more questions or concerns or can we move on here?" Ronwayne fucked around with this message at 12:16 on Aug 5, 2014 |
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Aug 5, 2014 12:09
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Jaime Her eyes... they twitch. They blink. They're the eyes of someone who has seen too much, but still looks for more. And they've zeroed in, staring back. Emotions run between them like they've been lovers for years, or family- the first contact with someone else with open eyes is always hard. She has seen what she is looking for! SHE HAS SEEN! Jaime almost closes her own eyes and flees, but calms herself. No. It is not a thing to fear. Jaime's sight is superior. But seeing is a two-way street. If you can see someone, you can be seen- basic principle of the world, right? So the other eyes bob up and down, a vaguely satisfied nod. Jaime feels the command radiating from them, trying to convince her to bow, but Jaime is far beyond the point where that could ever work. But that says something. She's used to using her cold eyes to make people kneel. Still hears the command, though. Just ignores it is all. what does your character wish I’d do?
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Aug 7, 2014 11:44
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Valkyrie XP 4+1/5 "Choppers, huh?" Valkyrie drums her fingers on a table, considering. "It might be worth checking out. If she's got a jacket like mine, she might be a... veteran." Clearly Valkyrie had a different word in mind, but maybe she shouldn't judge so harshly. "Yeah, that sounds like something I should look into. Thanks for the info, Gap." She nods to him, then turns to go only to find Jonathan hurrying up. She takes in his expression, then sighs. "You need something, kid?"
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Aug 8, 2014 02:52
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Jonathan Jackson Market Harm 3:00 (1/6), xp 0/5, 1 adv I walk away from the booth, nod my head in agreement and understanding, and turn back into the mall. I need to head back to Valkyrie, but I don't need to go so quickly...this place is so full of memories...memories now...no, it's still full of people, traders, buyers, sellers, but... I'm still in my reverie when I see Valkyrie walking out of the GAP. "Oh, Valkyrie. Hey. I found someone who knows where Witness went. They went, uhm..." He indicates with his arm the same direction as the shopkeep's radio antenna. "That way. Oh, uh, do you use anything special for, um, money around here? I think she wanted to be paid for her info..."
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Aug 8, 2014 03:21
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Witness "It ain't the bunker, that was 20 years unmaintained, they've been massaging this crypto for years." Witness pops a can off one ear when they realize Ammar's talking to them. "Er, I wouldn't expect incoming fire anytime soon, we're not, um," They wave vaguely at the equipment surrounding them, "putting out enough noise to pinpoint us, but whoever's on the other end is in a, um, we-know-they-know-we-know situation." It's at this moment that Witness notices Jaime seems to have gone full-on Pythia. "...drat, girl, you okay?"
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Aug 9, 2014 16:37
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Valkyrie XP 4+1/5 "It's mostly barter, but gold and the like still has value. Just not standard currency." Valkyrie shakes her head. "You're probably sitting on a gold mine with that bunker. So you can pay me back later. Let's go see if there's anything worth buying back there." Valkyrie gestures for Jonathan to lead on. Hopefully she can pick up something useful. "So, let me preface this by saying I'm not just doing this for the jacket. Gap back there told me about a chopper - that's a leader of a biker gang - who's been operating nearby. Those go-ganger types are usually bad news, so I'm thinking it'd be a good idea to check on it regardless. Plus, that cut of jacket... She might be an X-COM vet or something else, and that makes it something I want to check out."
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Aug 10, 2014 02:55
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Jonathan Jackson Market Harm 3:00 (1/6), xp 0/5, 1 adv "Let's hope there is something worthwhile in there..." I say quietly as I fall in behind her. "And...thanks. I know you don't have to do this, but...I just want you to know..." There's really no way to say this without being sappy, is there. "...just...thanks for everything you've done for me these past couple of days. Starting with not shooting me when you had the chance." Maybe ending it on a joke will make it sound less trite?
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Aug 10, 2014 05:49
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Valkyrie XP 4+1/5 Valkyrie shrugs. "Don't mention it. I figured the situation had stabilized enough that I didn't need to make the decision right away. Maybe I'm getting softer as I get older." She... doesn't sound exactly like she's joking.
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Aug 10, 2014 05:57
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Ammar I rub my temple. "All right. So we have aliens, we have the bunker, we have this mysterious signal. Wouldn't want things to get easy." I look as Jaime seems to be completely focused on something else. "Hm... she seems to be outthere again. What is it with this girl. Do you know her?"
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Aug 10, 2014 20:26
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Dave, Beth shakes her head. "No, sir. Ready whenever you are." If there is anything more, she's keeping it to herself. So. Battlefield's quite drained of living things. You scouting out further, or taking everyone back into town, Dave? Or have you got some other kind of plan entirely? -- Jaime, the War-Maiden looks at you, looks in that special way that you two are sharing right now. There's a moment of...Respect, maybe? Though whether it's the kind that comes with a handshake or an honorable duel, I can't say. But that's beside the point. Your question. What does this War-Maiden want you to do? She wants you to surrender her kin, to bring them to her or bring her to them. No more, no less...At least, for the moment. That answer was before you really earned her respect. One more question, if I have my count right. What are you going to ask? -- Valkyrie, Jonathan, Meldy dutifully follows along behind the both of you. You headed back to that woman's stall, or have you got other plans now that you have some interesting information? -- Witness, Ammar, I kind of don't have a lot for you right now. Sorry. Jaime oughta be out of her...Whatever the hell it looks like from the outside fairly soon, though, and then the interesting poo poo can start. So, I mean. Look forward to that. -- Everybody... What do you do?
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Aug 12, 2014 08:38
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Dave "Alright then. I think we're done here, but I want to swing back around to the bunker we cleared and take inventory of what's in there at the very least. We need to secure it and get a guard unit there before looters come in, now that the defenses are down." Dave radios in. <Outrider actual to Sands, we're done here. No injuries here, wiped them all out. Making a sweep of the perimeter and we'll be back shortly.> "Okay, lets gets get a move on." (Now that I don't have an injured and near-dead kid to worry about, moving in and taking stock of what we got locked up in Jonny's swinging bachelor bomb shelter)
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Aug 12, 2014 08:54
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Jaime One last exchange of emotions. Just emotions, this time. Feeling them thud back and forth. Throb between them. Then the eyes close and the connection snaps. What is she really feeling. Jaime stands up, regardless. "I need to visit the Inheritor. He's got someone waiting for him, I think."
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Aug 20, 2014 22:33
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| # ? May 14, 2024 10:45 |
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Valkyrie XP 4+1/5 Valkyrie heads for the woman's stall, Jonathan in tow. Mentioned this on IRC, figured I'd toss it in thread just in case.
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Aug 20, 2014 22:51
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