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Valkyrie Valkyrie shakes her head. "She'd break you in half. And then she would get annoyed." She shakes her head, and reflexively checks her weapons. "All right, let's head back to the gate. Things seem-" Valkyrie stops and listens to the broadcast, partly garbled by static. Need to get a new radio. Have been needing to for months now. But she gets the gist of it. "Valkyrie to Outrider Actual. En route now." She doesn't wait for a response, already moving at a jog towards the southeast. "Scrawn, you should head back to the gate. Need someone on watch there, especially since every bounty hunter and gunman in town is going to be heading out to search. Can you handle it?" quote:Name: Valkyrie Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Oct 4, 2014 |
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May 27, 2014 15:17
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 00:00 |
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Valkyrie The figure is familiar. For a moment she can't place it, but ultimately the chameleon skin is a dead giveaway. Has to be former XCOM. And there's only so many choices with that constraint. "Al Hawwash." Valkyrie falls into step beside him. No questions, no accusations. There's a mission to see to and Ammar's skills will be a major asset in completing it. Part of her feels the strangeness of it. As if they had just seen each other in a briefing a few hours before, instead of twenty years gone by. As if he would think that simply because they'd both worn the same uniform once, that absolves them of the need for explanations or recriminations. That it's like stepping back into a familiar house and knowing your way around purely by muscle memory. But it doesn't really matter, does it, because that is the way Valkyrie thinks, and in the absence of an objection it's the way she'll act. "Any sign of the girl?"
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May 28, 2014 21:34
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Valkyrie Valkyrie looks out towards the horizon, considering the question. "There are some ruins in that direction. Hell, there's ruins in every direction. But that was a nicer part of town, so more to find. There have been rumors of explorers going missing. I looked around a few times, didn't find any aliens. It's a place to start, but it'd be better if we could narrow it down further." Read a Sitch [21:27] <Krysmbot> Gorbash, 7 = 7 So, lets go with what should I be on the lookout for?
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May 29, 2014 02:31
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Valkyrie Valkyrie listens to the garbled transmission, wondering who might still be using encryption out here. "It's not the invaders. Could be bandits, rogue military. They still crop up from time to time." She sounds like she's trying to convince herself. Something about the transmission is familiar in a foreboding way, but she can't place it. "I'll take point." She moves out in the direction of the house, only turning back to look at Amarr over her shoulder after a minute or so. "Any insight on this?"
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May 29, 2014 23:24
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Valkyrie "She's the local authority's daughter. Skilled, yes. Capable, yes. Sane... she's a teenager and her father believed in flying saucers before the invaders arrived, wears body armor at the breakfast table, and taught his offspring to field strip a carbine at the same time as their ABCs." Valkyrie shrugs. "She's as sane as anyone still alive is, but is a dangerous wild card by pre-invasion standards." "Bandits aren't common around here. Not for a while. I'm hoping it's bandits because that would be simple, but it's not particularly likely."
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May 30, 2014 00:18
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Valkyrie Valkyrie keeps headed for the house. "Still our best lead. If she's not at that house, then she's probably gone further anyways. Not much worth looking into around here." When Davie's call for aid comes in, she breaks into a run. "Come on, I think we may be closest at this point."
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May 31, 2014 02:52
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Valkyrie Valkyrie lowers her pistol slowly as Ammar bargains with the AI. Hopefully the drat thing would listen to him. Given the trouble Witness and Dave were having, she wasn't looking forward to trying to fight the drat thing. "Ask it if there's a back entrance." She pauses for a moment, debating asking who the hell it works for, but figures that would give the game away so keeps her mouth shut for the moment.
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Jun 1, 2014 02:25
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Valkyrie Valkyrie has seen many strange things over the years. The, for lack of a better term, vision disturbs her more for its banality than any other factor. She's dealt with hallucinations before, from psychic attacks to nerve agents to extreme sleep deprivation, but they're not usually so benign. She'll question the meaning of it later. She's in motion immediately after the vision, heading away from the entrance Dave just trashed at a right angle, looking for a small rise in the landscape, looking back over her shoulder now and then as she moves. There's a logic to these things, a twisted one if you can figure out the psychology of who you're dealing with. Scared civilians digging a fallout shelter will put the escape hatch too close, at the other end of their little hole, too close to make good an escape out the back while someone's knocking at the entrance. Scared civilians don't have laser turrets and custom security AI. A paranoid rich civilian will have the escape hatch a good way off, a few hundred yards at least, well hidden from the front entrance, something you can actually use to get clear while the front door is getting kicked in. But she's pegging these people as at least semi-professional, or advised by well paid professionals, and willing to listen, the apparent affection for flash and style notwithstanding. Which means... There. A bit of a berm alongside a slightly sunken bit of road, probably a private one for utility access. From this side it's just a landscape feature to keep the asphalt from spoiling the view, but it's got a clear line of sight - a clear line of fire - to the front entrance. On the other hand, someone crouching on the other side would be all but invisible to anyone at the main gate. She hops over the berm and onto the blacktop, and starts kicking debris aside until she finds it. A manhole, in what a moment's reflection suggests is very odd spot. Valkyrie kneels down next to it and gets out her freakish machete, using it to pry up the cover. A moment later she's looking down into a dark but suspiciously dry tunnel. She looks up and waves for Ammar to hurry up, then drops into the hole.
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Jun 4, 2014 01:15
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Valkyrie As Valkyrie moves carefully into the bunker proper, she keys her radio. "Valkyrie. In the bunker. Moving to control room." Then pauses, then adds, "Try not to shoot Ammar. He's the color changing one." Then she turns the radio down so it doesn't distract her. Pistol up, she moves into the room. If that vision was worth anything, then the boy had Anne. Hopefully he had enough brains to head for the medbay immediately. She, however, was going to try and find the operations center. She could get a layout of the place, and turn off the defenses. Make all their lives easier. Moving with purpose, she pushes deeper into the bunker, hoping the builders had put up some drat signage. Read a Sitch [20:14] <Krysmbot> Gorbash, 5+1 = 6 Not so much.
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Jun 5, 2014 01:17
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Valkyrie If she had time, she'd curse the name of whatever rear end in a top hat laid this place out, and then ignored proper signage for hazards. Even in this room, there's been a lot of attention paid to atmosphere and luxury. Much different than the extreme utilitarianism of XCOM's Meld labs. Tasteful lighting, polished metal, red carpeting. Wood paneling for fucks sake. That comes as a quick impression as her boots hit the spilled coolant at the top of the collapsed stairway, sending her tumbling down into the the sunken center of the room. It's a short fall, and she has enough warning to keep from landing on her face, but the landing is jarring. Pain shoots through her knees for a moment, and her jaws click shut, thankfully not on her tongue. Valkyrie stays in a crouch, taking things slow. It's not just concern over the stress on her joints. The Meld tanks must have corroded, or maybe there was a near hit on the bunker at some point. Puddles of the stuff cover at least half the floor, with more dropping down from above, orange mist curling up from it. That would be bad enough, but there are live wires everywhere. She can hear them, the soft harsh buzz of electrical discharge, a constant short. drat lucky the place hasn't caught fire. It's still worse. From what Valkyrie can remember, Meld reacts unpredictably when electrified. Some of the accidents from the old days... And that was in a controlled environment. She needs to get out of here. Now. Read a Sitch again... [19:40] <Krysmbot> Gorbash, 11+1 = 12 That's better! wheres my best escape route? what should I be on the lookout for? whos in control here?
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Jun 8, 2014 00:41
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Valkyrie No time to weigh the options, its time to move. Valkyrie springs into action, jumping up onto a console and then from there across to another dry patch. There's no way to avoid getting her feet wet, but as little contact as possible would be a good idea. Someone's probably going to owe her another pair of boots either way. She crashes through the puddles here, where at least there aren't any live wires that she can see, and slams into the door, hoping it opens out. Act Under Fire! [21:05] <Krysmbot> Gorbash, 7+1 = 8 Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 02:06 on Jun 10, 2014 |
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Jun 9, 2014 01:45
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Valkyrie "poo poo." Valkyrie's mind weighs the relative dangers of taking some of the Meld out of the room versus getting stuck in it, but her body is moving already. Stuff has probably breached containment already anyways. She yanks hard as she throws herself through the door, kicking at it as she tumbles to close it again. As soon as she's in the hallway, she tears at her jacket, pulling it off and tossing it aside, hoping none of the stuff has made skin contact. She pulls herself to her feat, then grits her teeth. Machete in hand, she goes to the jacket and recovers her unit patch if nothing else. Now where the hell is that control room?
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Jun 11, 2014 02:55
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Valkyrie Valkyrie stares at the Meld thing for a moment. "The gently caress do you want?" Not really expecting a response, she turns and walks away from it, her pistol in hand as she seeks out the control center.
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Jun 16, 2014 01:22
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Valkyrie Valkyrie stares at the radio, and at the meld thing, and considers shooting it again - but decides it probably wouldn't do anything. She speaks into the radio without taking her eyes off the blob. "Outrider 2-1, this is Valkyrie. Help is on the way. Sit tight." She turns and continues to search for that damned command center, now giving up any pretense of stealth as she moves at speed.
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Jun 18, 2014 01:32
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Valkyrie As much as she feels like breaking everything in sight would be very therapeutic right now, Valkyrie decides it'd be better to try and power things down the right way, and starts checking for a master off switch. Read a Sitch: 2d6+1 9 What should I be on the lookout for?
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Jun 21, 2014 13:56
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Valkyrie Valkyrie points her pistol at the person in the vent. "You! Get down here, now. And if you know how to shut off these systems, do it. Or I'll just shoot you, then them, and be loving down with it."
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Jun 23, 2014 01:48
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Valkyrie Valkyrie looks at the blob, and at the kid in the vents, and is suddenly a thousand percent done. She doesn't holster her pistol, but she lets it drop. "Just get out of there for gently caress's sake."
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Jun 26, 2014 02:15
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Valkyrie XP 4/5 Valkyrie just gives Jonathon a flat stare, holding it for a solid minute. She's disturbingly good at it. "You have a Meld leak," she finally states without inflection. "Given what I've heard on the radio, I think the best thing for you to do is get this place to stop trying to kill us, and then explain to me as clearly and concisely as possible who the hell you are and what the hell this place is. Because unless I'm mistaken - and I'm loving not - the father of that girl is going to come back here with about forty of his thugs and strip this place to the foundation as soon as he's sure his daughter is safe." "Or at least he thinks he's going to. What's actually going to happen is that I'm going to tell him to gently caress off. Because this place is the one I've needed for twenty years to get humanity back into the war with a winning hand. A chance to win back the world you've lost. And that need makes me the closest thing you have to a friend right now." She finally holsters her pistol, then shrugs at Jonathon. "Or you can tell me to leave, and take your chances with Dave and his pet goons." Extending a hand, she adds. "They call me Valkyrie." Using Visionary. I hold 3 over Jonathan, and can spend it to have him mark experience whenever. [23:01] <skybot> Gorbash: 12 (2d6+2=6, 4) Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Jun 26, 2014 |
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Jun 26, 2014 04:03
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Valkyrie XP 4/5 Valkyrie takes Jonathon by the arm, firmly, to get his attention. "Pull it together. One of the people with Dave is... well he and I used to work together. Your AI seems to think he's one of yours, so that's probably what those lights are for. He'll listen to me though." "As for the war, I'm talking about the war with the invaders, the aliens. They're still out there, and if you have as much Meld as you say, they're going to come looking for it too. You need friends, and right now I'm the only one on offer."
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Jun 28, 2014 17:18
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Valkyrie XP 4/5 "We only do that to aliens." Valkyrie decides not to get into the gene modding and augmentation programs. Those at least were on a volunteer basis, and they skipped the stunning for recruits. Well, they'd been voluntary as long as she'd been around. She'd heard rumors since that raised uncomfortable questions, ones she hadn't had a chance to get answered. She opens her mouth to ask what happened with Anne, but the arrival of deserter cuts her short. Valkyrie doesn't draw down on Ammar, but she puts herself squarely between him and Jonathon. The meld blob can fend for itself. She snorts a humorless laugh at his questions to the computer. "I've got nothing to hide. Do you, Ammar?"
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Jun 29, 2014 15:46
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Valkyrie XP 4/5 "It just started following me," she tells Ammar, not really looking at the blob. "I have no idea what it is." Valkyrie steps sideways, giving Jaime some space as she slithrs into the room but still trying to keep both her and Ammar in view. Her hand twitches toward her gun, but she stills it with an effort of will. "She's right. The conflict between Exalt and X-COM is over. There aren't any secrets worth keeping over that." She very deliberately sticks her hands in her pockets, regarding the other three in the room. "Ammar, for fucks sake put the gun away. We have things we need, things we want, and not many ways to get them. This... meeting gives a chance to come to an agreement that would benefit all of us. So why don't we all sit down somewhere and try talking like human beings?"
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Jun 30, 2014 01:35
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Valkyrie XP 4/5 "You have a meld leak. In a room with exposed electrical wires. And it stole my jacket."
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Jun 30, 2014 03:00
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Valkyrie XP 4/5 "It just started following me," Valkyrie says defensively.
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Jul 1, 2014 01:38
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Valkyrie XP 4/5 "They must have picked up the signals this place has been putting out. We need to shut everything down. And in the meantime, see if we can scare them off." Valkyrie checks her pistol, then turns to Jonathon. "You have any guns stored here?" She looks at Ammar and Jaime. "Either you feel up for a bug hunt?"
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Jul 3, 2014 02:56
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I'm game for it, a little time skip would probably do us good!
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Jul 5, 2014 23:59
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I'm actually going to give Hx-1 to Ammar. I think the sum total of their interactions is that he doesn't know her as well as he thinks he does.
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Jul 8, 2014 02:42
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Ammar still is my highest, so I'll take my highlight from you! For Witness, definitely choosing Weird I'm at 4xp as well.
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Jul 11, 2014 02:57
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You get Weird too.
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Jul 16, 2014 01:39
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Valkyrie XP 4/5 Valkyrie wipes green ichor off her face, and then off her blade. She fishes her pistol out of its holster, ejects the spent magazine and inserts a fresh one, then puts it away again. The sharp, nauseating smell of miasma is dissipating, but she still gives the purple-green cloud a wide berth as she picks her way back up the slope. There's not enough to really hurt her, but she'd rather not cough her lungs out if she can avoid it. The war isn't clean, or straightforward. But its familiar. Valkyrie knows all the steps. She can lose herself in the muscle memory of it all, the well-worn path of violence. It's work that needs to be done. Work she's good at it. And it lets her put off some things, give her a chance to work them over in her mind before she takes action. Something's wrong with Ammar. Not the usual, something physical. If the Meld is breaking down, then that's going to be a big problem. Then there's Jaime. If Valkyrie really is the one keeping X-COM's torch burning, then she owes the younger woman a debt. A big one. On the other hand, Jaime isn't exactly stable. She's extremely dangerous, and her powers are worrying. So she's got two potential allies who look like they're on the edge of coming apart at the seams. The bunker is the key. She came on too strong to the boy, but she can fix that. The records, the equipment. It isn't as good as what she had at HQ, but it's close. There will be answers there. Maybe enough to finally let her map a way to her promised land. She nods to herself. The bunker is the key. It's time to go and talk to Jonathan again. Speaking of which, it's time Valkyrie deal with that other problem that's been at the back of her mind. As she tops the rise, she looks down at her new shadow, hands on her hips. "All right, that's enough. Give me back my loving jacket, we'll get you your own."
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Jul 17, 2014 01:11
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Valkyrie XP 4/5 Valkyrie picks up the jacket, frowns at the Meld goo still on it, and looks at the blob again. She rolls her eyes. "On second thought, you keep it. I'll get a new one." She drops it over its 'head' and stomps back towards town. New jacket first. Then the bunker. Maybe she can scare up some gossip while she's there.
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Jul 19, 2014 02:07
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Valkyrie XP 4/5 Valkyrie looks to where the... fine, Meldy, is pointing. She shakes her head at the perversity of the universe and the suicidal tendencies of the unseasoned. She immediately heads for the kid, raising her hand to get his attention. Once she's reasonably close, she calls out, "Jonathan! Wait right there." Kid's going to get himself killed wandering around like that. Or at least beaten bloody. Better get him in hand before either of those things happen. Hey, if Jonathan waits for Valk to catch up, I'll spend one of my hold from Visionary and give you an XP!
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Jul 22, 2014 00:32
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 00:00 |
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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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