If you only want to roleplay with one other person, or only with certain people, then you can do so here (any genre).
Forum rules
Remember, all content must remain child-friendly at all times!
Users breaking this rule by using foul language, roleplaying explicit sexual scenes, excessive violence/torture, non-consensual 'romance', or other adult themes may be banned.
by vaell » Tue May 11, 2021 3:50 pm
xxxＥＤＷＩＮ ＡＬＢＲＥＣＨＴ.
xxxxxxxx─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
xxxxxxxxxxxxentertainer / stage name 'floyd'. | the rebellion. aka 'vuledo'. | tagged: constance.
xxxxxxxx─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
indentedwin, similarly to constance, cast another glance upon the desperate wastelanders standing at the foot of their caravan's entrance. his feelings about the situation much paralleled hers, despite the fact what had happened outsides the walls of arcadia was unbeknownst to him. the two of them were never ones to shy away from helping other wastelanders out - within reason, of course - and in this particular situation, they had even been prepared to do as much, just with a larger group of people, and ones they could put their trust in, at that. the lockdown did grant them some wariness in terms of a successful smuggling, but it wasn't like shutting down the city had never been a potential outcome of their situation. what was so conflicting about taking these two strangers in was not the act of accepting their pleas, but rather the possibility of jeopardizing their own group should the two be found at the city's checkpoint in their wagon. it would be not only devastating that they were so close to slipping out of arcadia and making contact with their themus colleagues, but more so that they weren't likely to be spared by the conclave. in a situation like this, one that was no doubt quite tense for the government, any minor slip-up could pose as a reason for them to consider arresting or even shooting those purposefully disregarding the government's instruction. trying to evade the conclave's mandated frisking and questioning prior to being allowed out of the city would not be taken lightly, and it didn't matter if you had a good reason, either. in their eyes, someone like that appeared guilty of something, and that something could potentially be tied to the lockdowns origins. edwin and constance and their band would thus also be considered guilty for harboring these two wastelanders, so they had to be careful. however, that didn't mean they had to turn these people away in their moment of need, either, and constance's words reaffirmed this. they were going to do something.
indentupon their decision being announced, jennifer and khalil made their way out of the caravan. while jennifer went on to lead the pair of wastelanders toward the rear wagon in order to get them situated within the compartment they often utilized in these situations, khalil mounted their horse in order to make it appear as though it were one of company's own mounts. unsurprisingly, danny was the first one to protest their decision. edwin stepped away from the entrance of the caravan as the man begun to make his exclamations, slipping past constance as they rounded up their sand-cats and bulb-dogs to be securely set within a crate, situating it against the far wall of the wagon. edwin pursed his lips as he listened to danny try to chastise them for agreeing to help the two wastelanders out. while his complaints had started off legitimate, they transcended into a very danny-like style of what horrific consequences they may face for doing such, especially when he began referring to the conclave prisons. he was attempting to make a point, clearly, but his efforts were enough to make edwin basically face-palm. not only was he about to make everyone else in the caravan hesitant on helping the two wastelanders out, given his alluding to the prisons out west, but he was also making it harder to feel confident in the decision he and constance had come to. it was in the best interests for their group to stay as levelheaded as they possibly could, for if they all became high-strung things would be a lot more difficult in the period of time between now and hopefully crossing the gateway out of the city. one of the most well-known mines - in terms of prisoner death rate, that is - was cidma mine, a facility that exploited plasma crystal deposits via their prisoners labor. being situated in such high regions of radiation, the lifespan of those working within were short-lived, though it didn't matter since the conclave only deemed those prisoners as expendable, anyway. no doubt danny was beginning to plant these seeds of concern in minds other than edwin's own as well.
indentacross from him, constance was the first one to stop danny in his tracks of pessimism, and he internally thanked them for doing such. her reassurances in the groups ability to pull this whole situation off were also pretty concrete, hopefully enough to cancel out danny's own doubtfulness. two important points had then been brought up; mephitic root, lining the bottom casing of the compartment in their second wagon, was a natural concealer which would keep the noses of sniffing hounds at bay, and thus keep the conclave unknown to the presence of two hidden bodies within the wagon. secondly, a quick review and running down the list of what they needed to ensure to do during a lockdown served to be a good reminder to them all. this wasn't their first rodeo, but of course nerves spiked up in such a chaotic atmosphere, it was only natural. still, they needed to be careful. suspicious behavior can be flagged by conclave personnel and if it were prominent enough, even given time to be looked into. they needed to be cautious of what amount of time they had on hand as well; they couldn't afford to be stuck up at a congested checkpoint just because someone decided to piss a soldier off by saying the wrong thing or because somebody failed to properly comply with their demands. though luckily, it didn't take long for danny to let up. constance had made some pretty solid points, after all, ones that were hard to argue with. he rolled his eyes at the older man's final comment, whereas nick couldn't help but find some amusement in danny's statement. edwin himself personally fell into the category of those who let out a snort at nick's quip, that being danny would probably be some source of entertainment for the prison's warden. now that was a way to survive.
indentwith no other complaints to be heeded, their caravan started forward with a small lurch. jennifer had briskly gotten the two wastelanders stowed away within their hidden compartment and had rejoined them, now atop one of the horses accompanying their main caravan. he glanced at constance who was sorting through a small container stacked atop a box in the corner of the wagon, and in a few seconds, they'd procured their registry papers. such documents would explain the size of the group, their intents, even, as performers at conclave bases, and their various equipments. it didn't take long from them to join a line seeking to exit the city's walls. the area was flooded with conclave personnel and soldiers, the growls and barks of law enforcement hounds sounding out amidst the ruckus of people. beyond the second gate of arcadia, three checkpoints awaited those currently in queue, personnel guiding whom in line goes to which of the checkpoints. from his position, he could spot people beginning to be patted down by conclave officials, their transportations void of people in order to be thoroughly searched. soon, they would also need to do the same, dismount their horses and step out from their wagon, unable to do anything but hope those two wastelanders in their rear wagon would not be caught onto by anyone searching within. he hoped they were faring well in that compartment, too. it was a tight space and easily could someone become claustrophobic. edwin knew that they would do whatever it would take to get out of the city, though, and ignore what temporary discomforts they might have. their company soon passed through the gates, and they were directed to the second queue, their caravan coming to halt upon instruction to do so. he clasped his hands together in his laps, idly trying to calm his own worries, create some space of tranquility. not so much could be said for outside the walls of their caravan, though; it was busy at the queues, large quantities of wastelanders, and conclave personnel trying to clear people through. more patting downs, more inspecting. canopies were set up as a means to vigorously question those whom the conclave required more information from. those more unlucky were sentenced to riding in the back of a truck, probably headed off to a nearby base on the basis of a particular suspicion needing to be further looked into.
indentsoldiers in power armor approached their caravan, and unfortunately for them, received danny feigning his enthusiasm. the soldier who cut him off before he could go on to make things even more dreary than they seemed to be, noted by the soldier's very gleeful tone, instructed danny to step out of the wagon. at this point, edwin had rose from his seated position, following closely after constance whom'd urged the old man onward and was now opening the entrance of their caravan. the door swung upon, and revealed an officer already approaching to list to them a few orders. exit, be questioned, patted down, transportation searched. standard lockdown protocol. he stepped down from the innards of the wagon after constance, the rest of their group joining in suit. constance informed the officer of their weapons and of what medical supplies they had, giving them their registry papers. the group spread themselves out in order to await being patted down, several other conclave personnel members approaching them. he'd caught constance's glance as they stepped apart from each-other. now it was time to rehearse their purposes, performers stopping at multitudes of conclave bases and forts, with all the right information to prove their intents and dates to further solidify their authenticity. beyond being a group, however, they also allotted some space within a folder to give the conclave access to their identification, at the very least. they all had clean records, they had to, otherwise they wouldn't be able to continue with their livelihoods as performers, after all. the conclave doesn't just let in any idiot who knows how to play an instrument within their bases. some mumbles of acknowledgement came from the officer scanning over their files, voice holding little to no enthusiasm, probably because he would be spending who-knows how long cycling through this same process with a variety of different wastelanders at queues. after informing them that he would need to do a more thorough background check on their group, head over to one of the canopies and check this data in their own records, they were then instructed to follow an officer to endure some mandated questioning while the caravan was examined.
indentunsurprisingly, no one in their group needed to endure being checked over with a super scanner. edwin threw a glance toward this officer forcas as some soldiers began to enter their wagon to start searching within. all they really had were various chests and containers, though they made sure not to store any potentially incriminating documents or objects in their wagon. it was the one thing that was for certain; they would not come up with anything to tag them as suspicious, and that he knew. constance and edwin had spent more than enough years refining their trade in working undercover. yes, at first, they had learnt the brutal, hard way and had witnessed their own fair share of crew member losses, but by now they knew better than to ever not to hold anything within the caravan that could endanger them. besides, one can never know when a search would need to be conducted, whether it be in a lockdown or a toll, or just a brief pullover. nothing could lead them to be connected with the rebellion, nor could anything make them seem as though they were guilty of discreetly gathering intel from conclave bases. at most the officers would be greeted with miscellaneous documents, or the wide-eyed gazes of some sand-cats and bulb-dogs from within a crate. their rear wagon, however, holding their equipment and wardrobes was a bit of a different matter. again, they would never put themselves in the position of being questioned for carrying something incriminating, but the two added bodies in their hidden compartment was a new source of anxiety. one that made edwin wary to stray too far from the caravan for too long. not that he could do much if they were found, even. they'd be brought to a canopy for further questioning or they'd be heading on their way to a conclave base in the nearest proximity, and neither of those options would do.
indentofficer forcas directed the group to the side, creating some space between them and their caravan in order to allow the soldiers the space and time they required to sift through their belongings and examine whatever they needed. men and women donning cloth uniforms were awaiting them just several feet from an unoccupied canopy. it was vaguely threatening, being made to stand so close to being pulled within the canopy for extensive questioning. he shook that thought from his mind. "as per lockdown mandates, you will each receive a series of questioning. it is important to answer these questions honestly, and to the best of your knowledge. any faltering, avoidance or reluctant behavior could result in further questioning. now, if we are clear, please comply as we continue to search your wagons." with that, the group was divided up into smaller sections, being that the amount of people they had in their gang was more than the personnel available to pose questions, some would need to wait from a few feet away while others were answering specific questions. quickly, edwin found himself alongside constance before a woman idly holding a clipboard and pen, looking at them rather impatiently, as though wanting to get this over with. "you two must be.." she briefly thumbed through the pages beneath the topmost empty paper before she came across their respective identifications. the officer previously handling them must have relayed their information to these personnel already. "albrecht, edwin. and..adler, constance." he gave a light nod to verify his name. "great. you're apart of a group of entertainers. state your business in arcadia, and how long you've been within the city." obviously, their answers would all need to line up with the rest of their group in order to maintain a irrefutable position against any possible suspicions that may arise. he knew this, and answered without any hesitancy, and this time, he took on some of their questioning, considering constance had done him the favor of reciting their usual speech to that previous officer. "we just finished performing at a smaller conclave base, not too far from arcadia. captain ridel mans the base. we were simply heading in to stop for some local fare, as well as take some time to hunker down before our next planned gig. we've been in the city for at-least an hour and a half, give or take." the woman jotted a few points of interest down, likely their intents as well as their length of time spent within arcadia; this wasn't a bad sign, not some indicator she was suspicious of them as far as he knew. no, it was simply to line up their stories together with their other band members and make sure everything checks out. "great. following that period of time, during the lock-down, did you witness any obvious avoiding of following government ordered instructions?" well, they were smuggling two wastelanders out of the city, but aside from that, not particularly. it was obvious to him that their questioning was trying to get down to what suspects they may believe are involved in the reasoning of the lockdown. to any other individual outside the rebellion, not so used to pinpointing their usage of wording, it may be a bit hard to discern this fact, however. regardless, whatever their colleagues at themus had stolen, causing this much of a fuss for the conclave, it must be something worth all the hassle.
indent"no, nothing of that manner caught my attention. we headed over to the queues as soon as the effect went into place." the woman nodded along with his short offer to her question, not looking up from the clipboard, as though she'd been expecting that vague, unknowing response of the sort. "mhmm..okay. and which sectors of the city have you all been in?" this was a bit tricky, given the fact that they'd all split up a bit. regardless, it was unlikely their crew would've gone far from the outskirts of the marketplace without having informed them, though. "we'd situated our caravan innermost of the city, and stayed to wandering about the rims of the marketplace." she gave a final nod, looking back up at the pair. "alright, then. you two can await further instruction several feet from your wagon." with that, edwin turned to step alongside constance to allow for fairfax and mikey to be questioned next. thank god mikey had fairfax to keep him in line. danny and jennifer had joined both him and constance soon enough, too, their own questioning having gone presumably smooth. he didn't say much, wouldn't, for anything other than what was expected for them to do could encourage some annoyance from the conclave personnel handling their processing.
indentafter everyone in their small band had gone through questioning, he felt a bit of relief hit his system. they were safe in one aspect, now they had to await the judgement of their caravan. he looked over to the entrance of the main wagon, watching several soldiers step down from the floorboards within and back to the hard ground. in the rear wagon, though, it seemed they were still poking around inside. he bit the inside of his cheek at this. they definitely had more to cover in terms of items within the second wagon, but still. the supposed ten minutes of examining the contents within were coming to a close soon. the officer which had firstly directed them to this queue had reappeared with their registry papers and folders in hand once again, approaching him and constance. he handed them back to constance, and glanced between the two of them as he then spoke. "your cooperation has been appreciated thus far. your background checks came up clean." past the man's shoulder, edwin could spot the emergence of a few soldiers out the rear wagon. the officer's attention also shifted in that direction. the soldiers motioned their hand in a waving ahead gesture, signifying they must have cleared inspection after all. he hadn't noticed that they had brought a few hounds to sniff about the wagon, though luckily they'd kept their maws shut, not picking up on the scent of the two wastelanders present in the compartment thanks to the mephitic root they had lining the space. edwin did not dare let his posture suggest he were thankful for this, though. the officer turned back to him and constance, and one of the individuals who had been questioning their group approached the man and they both stepped away for a moment. their brief conversation didn't last long. it seemed their group had all their ducks in order, and nobody had messed up after all, then. the officer decisively glanced over to the bunch of them. "well. it appears you lot are in the clear. please head back to your wagon and ensure a smooth procession so that we can divert our attention to the next group approaching the queue." he sounded like he had said that twenty times prior to them already, voice flat in emotion and rather dull.
indentedwin forced himself from breaking out into dance at their success, trying to exert the same air of indifference he'd managed this entire time as they all took their places back within the caravan or on the mounts accompanying their main transportation. the rear wagon's entrance had been closed up by those who'd examined its contents, and their horses handed back to them. he had no clue what was within the saddlebags of the horse the two wastelanders had in company, but luckily nothing had seemed to pique the curiosity of an officer, judging by the fact they were now moving along from the queue. with danny back the helm, the caravan had come back to a start after some personnel had waved them onward to be released from the checkpoint. he felt an air of suspense as they began crawling forward. they'd been passed through, their smuggling had been successful, and yet still just being under the eyes of the conclave was enough to keep him alert. he scooted over toward where constance and babette had taken up their prior spots nearby the front of the wagon. their caravan was now emerging from what was the hectic atmosphere of the conclave's ongoing investigation, and he could spot several soldiers eyeing them as they went by, regardless of the fact that they had been properly cleared. he glanced away, fiddling with his thumbs for a moment until he felt they'd managed to get a little bit of distance between them and the checkpoint. "i'm going to safely presume that the conclave is putting this general region under scrutiny, and that solders will be crawling over settlements and other smaller cities alike within the next half hour. i'm thinking the best place might just be mountmend. that little backwater town is on our way to village cross, so we won't lose time, and it's well away from the likes of arcadia. no clue where these two might want to be headed, but it's probably our safest best, regardless." a few murmurs of agreement sounded out from their group, and this time around, nobody - such as danny - piped up to counter his suggestion. mountmend had a lower population, and it was considerably isolated as opposed to what connections larger cities had to one another, and it was more than likely that the conclave had not yet set out there yet as a result. still, they had to be fast. "alright, then. danny, mountmend it is," he firmly called over to the driver. "and then we can be on our way after all. remember everyone, we're in, and then we're out. just like we'd never been there in the first place."
indentedwin leaned forward to get a better view of the small town as soon as they came up on it. similar to a lot of wastelander settlements, it was composed of older, rotting houses, which might have once been grand in nature before the nukes dropped. the only thing that set mountmend out from being a settlement was the fact the residencies covered more acres than the usual place you'd come across, its pathways a lot more well-kept, too, and it boasted it's own small local law enforcement and a town mayor. thus, they had to still keep on their toes, just in-case. they wouldn't want to get stopped in the midst of another conclave investigation, or they'd be beyond delayed in their arrival to village cross. generally, the streets were mostly sparse of people, a few wastelanders here and there on mounts passing through the small town. he eyed the alleyways in-between crumbling brick houses. they didn't want to appear as though they were doing something suspicious, but they also couldn't just flaunt themselves out in the open. they begun to pass by an establishment, a bar probably hosting a few people within. this was their chance. "here, let's stop here, beside the bar." he turned their group, noticing the instant raise of an eyebrow from both karelsa and malacai. "what? don't look at me like that. trust me, it's just going to look like they're getting out the back of the wagon, anyway. we gotta blend in a little bit, instead of messing around in some dark suspicious alley-way. plus, there's a reason mountmend is a good choice. it's not some huge city where people are constantly in your way." the two didn't offer any retorts to his statement, so he gave them a small nod and rose up from where he'd been sitting. "we'll be like, five minutes, max." edwin glanced to constance, offering them to come check out the state of the two wastelanders hidden away in their compartment alongside him.
indentas soon as he stepped out from their caravan, khalil was quick to notice and dismounted from the red-colored horse promptly. he took the reins of the creature to await for the pair of wastelanders to emerge from the wagon. edwin approached the rear wagon, opening up the entrance and stepping on up within. it must have felt hellishly long to be waiting down in that compartment. he knew, because every time someone crawled out from there, they always looked on edge, regardless of being used to it or not. he knelt down in order to give a light tap with his knuckles on the base of the floorboards beneath where they must be staying. before they could panic if that sound was a conclave soldier or not, though, he quickly offered them explanation. "don't worry, it's just us. we got past the checkpoint. we're in mountmend right now. i'm going to open up the hatch." with that warning, edwin opened up the extra storage compartment built directly beneath the wagon. he was greeted with the sight of a bunch of old clothing, which had been piled atop the second latch should the conclave soldiers had opened up the compartment to inspect what was within. he began to remove the piles of clothing, setting them aside for the moment in order to open up the latch previously covered by the clothes. he looked within in the depths of the compartment, seeing the two stowed away in there, and allowed them some time to carefully maneuver their ways out from the compartment. they must be sore from having been in that position for so long now, regardless of the fair amount of space it boasted. "apologies for the discomfort, but again, you'll be glad to know we're all good," he glanced to constance, "for now, that is. you two and us both need to clear this town before the conclave begins filtering in here. come on, we got your horse ready." as soon as they'd gotten out, he'd shut the hatch and set the raggedy clothes back within the compartment. the group emerged from the second wagon, and he closed the entrance behind them as they did so. khalil approached them and offered the reins of their mount back to the pair of wastelanders before he made to disappear within the caravan's main wagon himself, ready to exit the town. "well, we did it after all." he commented beside constance. it was always a great feeling to have helped someone out in some way, shape or form, especially when most of the time you were forced to watch as horrors were subjected onto other wastelanders by the conclave. this didn't take too much skin off their back, either. whatever they could do, they did, and even the smallest offers of aid would amount to something, after all. "i guess you'll both be on your ways now, then. hopefully it won't take too long to get to wherever you might be headed. i'm just glad we could be of some help."
indentone of the wastelanders, the man, greeted their horse, running his hand across the creature's flank before he looked toward constance and edwin. "i don't know how we could ever repay you, but..thank you. it means a lot." a small smile formed on edwin's face. "don't worry about it. just keep your heads up for the conclave cracking down on this area. travelling might even be a bit dangerous, considering how things are ramping up. we've gotta get going, but i wish you two the best of luck in your own travels." they couldn't dally much longer, all things considered, nor exchange any more pleasantries, and so with that, he headed back within the caravan, waving to the pair in farewell. they'd be leaving their newly smuggled friends to their own devices now.
indenthe looked toward their crew as he made his way toward a seat. "so..village cross, huh?"
-
vaell
-
- Posts: 1193
- Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2014 1:12 pm
- My pets
- My items
- My wishlist
- My gallery
- My scenes
- My dressups
- Trade with me
by vaell » Mon May 17, 2021 11:18 am
ＪＵＬＩＡＮ ＭＯＲＥＮＯ.
xxxxxxxx─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxa wastelander / future rebel. | unaffiliated. | tagged: valentina.
xxxxxxxx─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
indentvalentina probably would've smacked him upside the head if they weren't in the midst of such a chaotic situation with so little options to choose from; his decision had been a bit risky, admittedly, but in the heat of the moment, it had made a lot of sense. the sheer amount of people that had been occupying the streets was already thinning out and soon it would become pretty obvious what stragglers were left hanging about needing to be rounded up to the queues, and he and his cousin couldn't risk being spotted trying to stall time before a conclave official herded them toward a checkpoint. being patted down would likely result in their deaths, if that coroner's report was just as important as it was being made out to be. to have a task-force supposedly hunting down the files safe return seemed to be a pretty good indicator that the conclave was, in fact, adamant in its safe securement. hence why the two cousins were now standing at the entrance of a caravan, basically begging for any means of safe passageway through the gates of the city. in his defense, the amount of people occupying the wagons weren't small in number, either, so what was another two people to them? he had no idea what may have brought them to arcadia, whether or not they were vendors or buyers, but it mattered little to him, so long as they could ensure he and valentina made it out of the city alive today. unbeknownst to this very group though was the fact that the pair of cousins had a rather incriminating object on them, and that in potentially joining them, they ran the risk of jeopardizing the lives of those whom chose to help them. it was a pretty selfish thing to do, put these innocent people at risk, but he was confident that if they were properly stowed away within a wagon, the chances of them being found would be very low. probably less than fifty percent. it's not like they could even tell them about the file, either, some strange object they had found on a body of what they suspected to be a dead rebel amidst a massacre of bodies. in that case they'd probably be turned away immediately. most people don't want to get involved with that sort of thing, the consequences of merely being associated with the rebellion dire. it was just another price of trying to survive out in the wasteland; you have to look out for yourself and those you care for first and foremost, or you'd end up dead like the next fool. unfortunately, that sometimes meant endangering others - though again, luckily, this group was not aware of this. things could go very wrong if he and valentina were caught, again probably sentencing this entire group to death alongside them, just because of association. they'd all be seen as guilty, in the conclaves eyes. the thought disturbed julian a bit, but they couldn't back out now, though, not when valentina had also begun to join in on his pleas for help.
indenthis cousin scrambled to procure their caps, the ones that zio had awarded them just before the lockdown had taken effect, a bittersweet thing to watch her do, offer up what they had just earned. their lives being on the line, though, it was reasonable they go to such extremes. they could always make more caps, but if they died, all they ever did in their lives this far would amount to very little. he desperately looked back and forth between the man observing them panic from within the caravan to the surrounding streets. it felt very much like they were beginning to run out of time to make a getaway, given the time which had passed from the announcement of the lockdown up to now, the streets growing less and less full. his heart pounded in his chest. please take us in, man, come on! if he and his cousin were able to have successfully convinced these people, then after passing the toll, they would need to get the hell away from arcadia, and put as much distance between them and that city as possible. if the conclave was already locking down on this general vicinity of the wasteland, then they wouldn't be able to spare much time back at their own settlement, either. which only meant they would likely need to abandon laurel oaks, too, or at-least for the time being. gather up whats of importance to them, then head out to somehow find that so-called freedom trail. although that was going to be an entirely other daunting task they'd have to manage, he wasn't so much concerned with what future problems they had right about now, for the present seemed to be the most pressing. a brief moment or two passed, julian clinging to the hope that these strangers would entertain their wishes, when someone else stepped forward in the doorway; a younger man donning a suit, curiously looking toward both he and valentina. he didn't have much time to ponder whom exactly these people were or what they might do for a living, considering the mans suit and all, for he quickly turned down their offer of caps. julian furrowed his eyebrows. that was not a good sign. it doesn't matter how much you might claim to be selfless, he knew just about anyone would jump at the opportunity of even a few more caps, so this could probably only mean that their request would be rejected. he ran a hand across his forehead and through his hair, wiping the sweat having formed at his brow. the suited man had turned his attention to a woman who'd appeared beside him, she having taken a quick assessment of what was going on as well. the two spoke in an lowered tone in which julian could not make out much of what they were saying from outside the walls of the caravan. like valentina, he too shifted on his feet in both a mixture of impatience and nervousness.
indentthen, in what felt like a moment of pure luck for the two, the yellow-haired stranger had finally turned back to them with a benevolent response. he felt some tightness leave his throat, the constricting feeling of fear slowly abating. he and valentina were definitely fortunate for this, especially considering how the group had turned down their offer of caps. that didn't happen very often. he'd expected them to lose a lot of what they had earned just to get out of the city. julian didn't have much time to dwell on the peculiarity of this, however, for the pair were soon guided to the back of the caravan by a tall woman, temporarily leaving behind mars and their sand-cats as well. inside the smaller wagon, he couldn't help but notice the groups belongings behind the wagon's covering, what looked like various different instruments and assortments of colorful clothing. maybe they were a wandering band or something? he didn't see how much luck that kind of a career could have, not out in the wasteland. not unless they were particularly successful. if that were the case, though, that could explain why they had no interest in their caps, if they weren't in desperate need of them. but, still, anyone would normally jump at that opportunity, regardless of their current state of finances. standing beside valentina, he watched as the woman drew open what seemed to be a storage compartment beneath the wagon, layers of folded clothing piled within. his brow slightly rose at this, only for the concern of how hellish it would be to fit in such a space -- that is, until she began removing the clothes sitting inside. once the clothes were entirely disposed of, on the other side of where the garments had been folded revealed another latch, which gave way to an empty space. so this was where they'd be for the next while. it still didn't look any more particularly comfortable than the previous compartment, if only a bit more spacious.
indentjulian had managed to catch his cousins glance as the woman explained to them how the second compartment would be hidden from any potential snooping of conclave soldiers. now, it was one thing to have another compartment, one that these people seemed to know right away to utilize for smuggling, but it was another to refer to the latch as 'suspicious'. this group of people also seemed to have a grasp on how this sort of thing usually goes down. he didn't have much experience in the smuggling world, obviously, but it didn't take a genius to notice something was a bit strange about this. the fact that they seemed to be somewhat prepared to take them on, that is. but then again, he could be overanalyzing the situation. besides, if they were smugglers? great! they needed some professionals to get them out of here safely. he'd rather that than some bozo who didn't know how to properly stow them away. either way, he didn't really mind, so long as it meant they were at a low risk of being found out. he was about to join in with valentina's own thanks to the woman for how kind they were to let them join them, but the stranger only prompted them to hurry up and get themselves secured within the space. they didn't waste any time in doing so. valentina first made to situate herself inside the compartment, taking ahold of the edges of the wagon to raise her legs up into the storage unit. she then maneuvered herself feet-first inside, and he immediately begun to follow suit in her own method of situating herself within, eager to get inside. julian placed his hands on the edges of the wagon and brought his legs up and inside the compartment to join his cousin at her side. surprisingly, the interior of the storage unit wasn't extremely cramped, for he and valentina could share the space pretty well, but that didn't necessarily make things too much better, considering they had no idea how long they'd be in here, helplessly awaiting what may or may not happen to them. once they were settled within, their world was suddenly plunged into a relative darkness as the hatch was closed shut, no light save for some sparse glimmers shining through the cracks of the wooden planks. he stared straight ahead at the boards only a mere inch or so away from their faces, diverting most of his attention into keeping his breathing steady. he had no idea how long they'd be in here for, given the fact that he was sure the checkpoints raised at the city would take some time to be processed through. it wouldn't be hard to grow uneasy in that span of time considering they'd be left in the dark, left to hoping that anyone searching the wagon wouldn't find the latch to their hidden compartment.
indentafter the pair had gotten themselves properly hidden away, only a few moments passed before their smugglers began to jump straight into action. julian felt the caravan come to life within a matter of minutes, slowly creeping forward, likely beginning to make its way onward toward a designated checkpoint. the street beneath them, sometimes uneven, was easily felt in their position in the wagon. he briefly looked to his cousin from the corner of his eye and surprisingly did keep his mouth shut. he was pretty positive he wouldn't say a peep until after he was sure they'd cleared arcadia, because why risk it? from outside the wagon, he could begin to hear an increase in activity around them, too, the sounds of voices becoming closer. he tried to hone in on what was going on about them, attempting to discern where they may just be. right now, all they could rely on was their hearing, after all, with their other senses being set aside for the time-being. so, he made to keep his auditory senses keen. judging by the sudden outbursts of hounds barking and what was probably conclave personnel directing wastelanders through, they were likely passing through arcadia's gateway. if he could, he would have shrunk further into the space they were confined to, the reality of their situation slowly beginning to fully hit him. he hadn't really comprehended the fact that this could mean life or death, not entirely until now. without any visual to the outside world, julian could only imagine the heightened chaos erupting, the area probably swarming with the ranks of the conclave. being passed through the gates didn't seem to signify much, either, for the caravan had come to a halt soon enough. they weren't in the clear, not yet, not at at all; what mattered was now. he could only assume the wagon had come to a stop in order to be searched, and for those within the wagon to be patted down as the announcement had so suggested. in the wagon before them, he guessed that the group had begun to disperse from within, probably obeying the orders of some conclave officers instructing them to do so. julian came to the conclusion they would be most likely be a stand-still for awhile. who the hell knew how long it would take to search their mode of transportation, anyway? or what other investigations the conclave were conducting when it came to those trying to pass through? he really had no idea the extent to which they were going, not from within this compartment. this group, they towed a bunch of stuff with them from what he had caught a glimpse of within this wagon alone, so he had a feeling both he and valentina were going to feel a bit of trepidation set in as time would pass.
indentbut wait.
indenthe had to catch himself from nearly yelling.
indentif the conclave had hounds at their disposal, wouldn't they be able to pick up a trace of them..? he bit the inside of his cheek in order to keep from blurting his fears out. instead of looking to valentina, his eyes bore further into the planks before his face. so this was it, after all. they would die here, and for what? he tried to keep from becoming resigned about their fates. no, as wild as this day had been this far, there was no way all they had endured up until this very moment would be for nothing. of course, all control was out of their hands at this point, but still. he had to cling to hope like it were the only thing that had the chance of saving them. he eyed the cracks and holes in the boards as all of a sudden the floorboards within shifted, weight being put onto the wagon. soldiers must have stepped on within. he went more still than he had ever been, not so much out of choice as out of genuine fear. above them, he could make out different voices, mumblings likely pertaining as to what they should each focus their attention onto and examine. those soldiers were so close to them, and they didn't even know it. not yet. julian felt his heartbeat begin to pick up at the continued sound of movement; they were probably inspecting beneath the wagon's tarp, checking out what wares the group had on them, and eventually, he knew there was no way they would miss the first compartment. he couldn't take his eyes off from those small slivers of light filtering into their space. at this point, he could feel that a cold sweat was beginning to set in, accompanied by how loud his heart had began thumping in his ears, against his ribcage. it felt like the soldiers were poking around forever from where they were stuck in the storage unit, forever until he heard the distinct creak of a latch open. now, whoever was peering within would only see raggedy old clothes. they might look closer. they might not. given the situations he and valentina had faced as of today, the chances of things truly going their way right now was about fifty-fifty. they'd had some luck throughout the day, though mainly they'd been put through some pretty horrendous situations. everything seemed to hang in the balance in this moment. he was sure that all of a sudden the hatch to the very storage unit they were presiding in would suddenly be opened and fully expose the two smuggled within, and they'd be looking straight into the barrels of the guns of some soldiers. then they'd be escorted out, patted down, and that would be a wrap. please, let us just get out of this alive; he internally pleaded, to nothing and yet anything.
indenta momentary pause of silence, followed by some shuffling within the wagon. he nearly had begun to hold his breath. they were so close..
indentthe audible groan of the hatch came back down onto the unit above them.
indentfear left him paralyzed. he didn't feel the sweet sense of relief that one would expect in such a situation. they were still hiding, and still at the whims of whatever went on around them. it wasn't over until they began moving forward. surely the group wouldn't be held up by the frisking, though. he doubted they would be carrying anything to keep them stalled at the checkpoint. julian could make out a few voices pipe up once more, belonging to the soldiers inspecting the wagon, and again a shift in the weight of the floorboards. they must have departed from within. he had no idea whether or not they were truly cleared, but regardless, the fact that they had not discovered the latch to their own compartment was a small victory in and of itself. it was perhaps the most concerning part about this whole situation, anyway, the fact that they had the possibility of being easily found. luckily, the thick amount of clothing above them must have only been swept through with a careless hand and put to rest. he couldn't imagine them filtering through every piece of junk in here. you can say that the conclave is determined all you want, but at the end of the day, these people are human, too. they're exhausted; bored; probably not too thrilled about the state of the city, either; they make mistakes. he had no problem with that. shortly after the soldiers had exited from the rear wagon, the wheels of the caravan had begun to turn once more. julian slightly shifted in his position, limbs starting to grow sore from how long they'd spent thus far in here. he shallowly inhaled some air, as though he had been inadvertently keeping himself from even breathing too loud. he looked to his cousin. "..no way we just survived that."
indentnow, he had no idea where the hell they were being taken; that was up to their smugglers' discretion, he supposed, but hopefully they wouldn't end up too far off from the strip which led them back to their own settlement. but, even if they were a ways away it might be for the best, though. it wouldn't be wise to jump to the nearest city to arcadia where the conclave would likely already been putting down restrictions; they were probably headed somewhere a bit more irrelevant, if you would so say. someplace the conclave wouldn't set their soldiers out to right away. they'd get there eventually, no doubt, but as precious as time is, it made sense they first divert their attention to the larger cities, especially those being arcadia and its surrounding towns. he and valentina had no sense of direction due to the fact that the outside world was shut off from them right about now, so he could only internally rattle off some names of possible places the two of them might end up. really, he didn't have the slightest clue. but the journey to wherever the hell they were going -- it wasn't exactly the shortest trip, and by now, he was growing a bit restless. and with no need to be so discreet about their location anymore, he'd begun to pester his cousin.
indent"hey, val?" he prompted, voice instinctively hushed despite the fact they weren't in any immediate danger, "i told you this would work!" julian stared at the plank before his face, a degree of smugness in his exclamation. "i'd say we're doing pretty good. like, listen; one, file. don't really care that much for it, but also it better be worth all of this pain. second, zio. we got his ass good and we got a proper pay for that doe, i'll give you that. and now third, courtesy of my on-the-spot-thinking, we're out of arcadia without a scratch. and--" he felt the caravan slow down, easing itself into a stop. his own words died on his tongue. whatever he was going to say wasn't as important. now he looked to valentina. it appeared it was time that the two of them actually got the hell out of here. to be honest, riding in the caravan was probably going to be the most peaceful thing that they would endure throughout their journey back to their settlement, though. with the conclave presence so heightened right now, they'd need to be on their toes and actually keeping an eye out on what was going on around them rather than stay holed up in some compartment. as much as it had been crappy up in this space, it did have some perks, in a way. nonetheless, a grin spread across his face, a silent form of celebration for their freedom. he could hear the door of the rear wagon draw open, and more than one person must have stepped up within, likely the two who'd admitted them into their company. a light rapping sounded out against the hatch of the storage unit, and he heard a declaration that they were now in mountmend. julian braced himself for the sight of light once again, but it still didn't prepare him for the slight searing of his eyes which came from the latch being brought open. he winced. a man peered in on them, then disappeared from their view. julian was more than ready to get the hell out of here, no matter of what aching he felt burrowing deep in his joints, and went on to remove himself from the compartment. he let out a groan of exertion as he pulled himself up and out of the storage unit, grabbing onto the edges of the wagon to raise himself from its depths. he edged his way out with some huffs elicited by his soreness. coming out of the compartment, he was pretty sure he looked like a sore sight, exhaustion wearing at his features, a sheen of sweat across his face, eyes squinted in order to adjust to the new lighting. once fully outside of the storage unit, he slightly stumbled in trying to retain his balance, for he was suffering from the discomfort of being wedged in there for so long, regardless of what space it offered. he placed a palm against the wall to keep himself steady. once his cousin got out of the space, the man in the suit gave to them a brief acknowledgement of what inevitable pain they were, as well as the fact that mars, their dutiful horse, was awaiting them. julian, however much as he tried to, could hardly pay much mind to what the man was saying as he went on to skirt around them to shut the hatch one again and set the raggedy clothes back he'd strewn aside back within the compartment. julian offered him a faint nod in acknowledgement. they needed to get moving.
indentoutside the caravan, they were met with the familiar sight of a crumbling town. repaired buildings, ones which had likely been rotting at their frames, and they had been parked beside what seemed to be a bar. not too many people flitted about the streets -- the streets which were, by the way, in much better shape than their home settlement. perhaps that was one of the few details he took note of that set this particular place off from the regular settlement you'd pass by. that, and the conclave clearly had not begun to heavily impose themselves upon this place, either. if he could recall correctly, he and valentina had hardly made their way out to mountmend, and if they did, it was because of some work they'd enlisted to take on from the arcadian notice board. julian briefly glanced around to familiarize himself with their surroundings as another wastelander approached them, holding the reins of mars. his attention reverted back to the present immediately, and he gladly made to return their horse back to their own company. he gave a small nod of appreciation to the person who'd handed them the mount back before they themselves disappeared back within the caravan. he ran a hand along mars' flank in greeting before looking back toward two wastelanders once more. "i don't know how we could ever repay you, but..thank you. it means a lot." the suited man only reassured them again that this hospitality clearly was not something to be indebted for. as strange as this whole situation was, julian personally had no means to probe the group, not after they'd saved their asses like that. so, he returned a smile back to them. "seriously, thank you both so much. hope the roads are kind to you, too." he watched as they entered the caravan once more, and he too returned a small wave toward the pair. once situated back within, the group took no time to make their leave from this town, either. they seemed to understand how intense this whole situation was. now that they were gone, though, unfortunately, as kind as they were, his first instinct was to look about their saddlebags and ensure nothing had been stolen off mars in that meantime. that, and he had no idea how morris and gideon were making out. he flipped open one of the flaps of the saddlebags, taking a peek on inside. "hey, gideon. chill, man, it's me," he warned, hoping his cousin's sand-cat wouldn't flip out on him or something. maybe he was just used to morris being temperamental. without taking his eyes off gideon, he carefully dug past the creature and reached for their pouch of caps. as soon as he grasped it, he drew it out from within. he idly moved it around in his hand. felt like the proper weight, and when he opened its contents, he was glad to see that they had retained all sixty caps after all. yes, the group had denied his offer of their caps, but still, it wasn't unlike people to put on a generous front and take behind your back. satisfied, he tossed the now-closed pouch back within the corner of the saddlebag and rounded back around mars to check out how morris was holding up. he pulled the flap open to see the sand-cat had flattened its ears as if to show his irritation, peering up at julian with what might have been a glare. slowly, he inched the flap of the saddlebag back down over the sight of a seemingly peeved morris. "sheesh.." he muttered.
indenthaving assessed their situation, he then turned to valentina. "well, you heard them. let's get the hell back to laurel oaks, slip in and out before the conclave notices a thing. crappy part is, we're gonna have to turn our place upside down for all our stuff. i mean, we've hidden some valuable crap in gaps beneath floorboards and whatnot..and i'm not about to leave it behind for someone else to take while we're out looking for the freedom trail or whatever the hell. plus, for what it's worth, some stuff will have some retail value, too." he huffed. it was bittersweet, saying that aloud. they really had no choice but to leave behind their home, at-least temporarily, in search of the freedom trail. it was their only choice if they were to keep the coroner's report on their person. laurel oaks had been good to them, but he supposed it might not be forever after all. clearing out their belongings was more of an effort to keep anyone from snooping about their house and stumbling across some items of worth while the two of them were gone from the settlement for a considerable amount of time. he didn't like to assume the worst..and yet he always found himself having to do so. like himself, though, many wastelanders don't harbor the highest levels of trust, and rightfully so. it's what happens when you have to learn to survive out in the wasteland. julian went on to mount mars, and then glanced to his cousin after she'd done the same. "wait," he spoke slowly, as if coming to some realization from his earlier statement, "..did we ever agree on looking for the freedom trail?" while they could make that decision along the way back to their settlement, he didn't realize how quickly he'd rushed into that objective, taking it on like it were nothing. where the hell would they even start? the trail was elusive in the sense that a lot of people think it's just made up, anyway, and how does someone go about finding something so unknown? either way, they'd have to head out of mountmend and navigate their way back onto the large highway from an exit ramp out of the town, or find an alternative route. to be fair, any sort of travelling was risky right about now, whether or not they attempted to take the more familiar pathway of the highway. they just needed to start making some progress out of here, regardless, though, so he urged mars onward into a canter down the sand trail. "i mean, personally i guess i've kinda warmed up to the idea of trying to look for it, all things considered.." he looked further down the path. "hey, you think it'll be safe to head back down the highway?"
-
vaell
-
- Posts: 1193
- Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2014 1:12 pm
- My pets
- My items
- My wishlist
- My gallery
- My scenes
- My dressups
- Trade with me
by vaell » Sun May 23, 2021 3:21 pm
ＭＩＮＡ ＰＡＲＥＫＨ.
xxxxxxxx─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxaviation warrant officer two. | conclave military. | tagged: kai.
xxxxxxxx─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
indentwhen kai had finally looked up from his seafood to meet her gaze, mina offered him a small smile. she liked to think she was fairly aware of his boundaries, felt like she understood where he was coming from, though she didn't want to appear as if she were trying to pry into the matter of his current state of discomfort. it made her wonder, though, did he feel like her eyes bore into him from across the table as he sat there? was she, despite his words, making the matter worse by addressing it? it was hard to tell whether or not she'd genuinely reassured him. he masked any signs otherwise skillfully well, painfully well, if he truly was growing more uncomfortable. something about the entire situation made her feel even a bit troubled, if only because she had to see kai struggle in expressing his own thoughts in such a way. that alone made it obvious to her that they shouldn't linger much longer on the subject at hand. there was a degree of fragility to their conversation, or at-least what it entailed of, like a glass that could all to easily be shattered, and this she knew. to be honest, mina was just glad that he had been at-least somewhat receptive to her, or seemed to be. she knew they both bottled things up pretty well, to the point where doing so was much beyond unhealthy, although, could anyone ever blame them? it wasn't like they wanted to hole up their emotions or hardly divulge into them. the problem was explicitly addressing them would breathe new life into the hurt. call it a coping mechanism, or simply just trying to stay disconnected from what was going on in your life; whatever it was, it took a toll after time. between her fingers she idly rolled the cap of her drink back and forth, listening to kai as he then spoke up once again. she was unable to help her features from slightly scrunching up at his final statement. although he was acknowledging her optimism as a good thing, there was something about his wording that made her feel as if he may have thought he'd ruined a so-called 'joyful' moment for her. of course she'd been excited, but she needed kai to reel her in back to reality. it's not a good thing to become so fanatically enamoured with the idea of a plan that could fall through with the snap of a finger. that would only mean her let down would be even worse. "hey, don't get it twisted either though. i still am happy about what potential this offer could hold for us. and i'm serious when i say it's not like you suddenly put a damper on my mood as soon as you offered a different perspective on the matter."
indentdespite their initially different reactions to general alarie's offer, the two of them generally seemed to have came to some similar conclusions over the matter. it was the safest to lean more toward the idea of taking a neutral stance when it came to the general and his curious proposal, anyway, and it was for the best; a safety net was needed so that they wouldn't get too invested in their hopes for what the future may hold for them. they needed to be able to acknowledge the possibility of this being some kind of a sham, but that didn't mean their suspicion had to take away from their interest, either. she lifted her refreshment from the table once more in order to take another sip from it, the sweet liquid hitting her tongue as her boyfriend begun to ponder about the syndicate aloud. she lowered the juice a few inches from her lips, looking curiously over to him. "hmm. yeah, no, you're right..i mean, playing the valdosta hand again wouldn't be very smart. plus, if you think about it, the syndicate is just another thorn in the conclave's side. i wouldn't say they're the largest problem at hand, though they are definitely a constant irritant, especially in terms of putting a dent in conclave budget. whatever attempts they make to thwart conclave technology or weaponry must have a tendency to begin piling up, and i'd imagine how that could possibly amass to some detrimental implications down the line. which would make sense why a mission would be held out in the desert, if general alarie's words are to be trusted. it's like a 'squash them before they become even worse' type of thing." he definitely had a point; even though the syndicate heeded to an aimless cause, in their opinions at-least, their actions still affected the conclave direly, especially when they sabotaged entire convoys full of weaponry, tools, or armament. all of those valuable resources disappearing all at once was something not so kindly to the conclave's budget, as you'd imagine.
indentshe had to snort at his next comment. "biased, alright. we only got the biggest nerd for androids over here, or at-least that i know of," mina teased him, picking up the remainder of her sub. she attempted to regain some solemnity before continuing on, though, making an effort to try and stifle the grin pulling at the corners of her mouth. "in all seriousness, the thought of the syndicate stealing and destroying as much as they have by now is a bit disturbing. like i said, little by little they're working to set the conclave back. i don't even want to know what technology they've had their hands on only to destroy. it's just..a frustrating concept to try and wrap your head around." like her boyfriend, she neither was religious, hence why she personally didn't have much trouble condemning the reasoning behind the syndicate's actions. did they not realize how detrimental it was to hold such a mindset, one that seemed to live only in the past; it always baffled her. how could anyone try to do that, when nothing is the same as it were prior to the nukes dropping, nor could it ever be? life without technology wasn't an option at this point, no matter what the syndicate tried to do, and no matter how much they detested the usage of it. maybe it was their inability to adapt to their society progressing at such a rate, such a rate that she felt required a considerable applause for. while she herself didn't dabble any android utilization, kai's career was in the field, and it was reasonable for him to take such a firm stance against the syndicate. she personally felt androids and their development are a huge part of the conclave's future, enhancing their intelligence and capability to be cutting edge and whatnot. obviously, the syndicate is not alone in these thoughts of anti-technology, either; you could come across many a people who are unsure how to feel about a creation which could rival one's own abilities, one's own thought processes, thinking patterns, you name it. in conclave society, the fear of losing control frightens people beyond limits, while out in the wasteland, those fear what they cannot understand. being immersed in the work of androids is a topic bound to stir up some complaints, like those whom view doing such as playing god - something that is beyond abhorrent, beyond right to do in the mind of someone so vehemently religious. the truth was, though, nothing inherent about the creation or development of such technology was actually detrimental. the usage of androids were a great benefit to society as a whole, relieving what aid the military may require, lessening casualties out in the wasteland. it makes a person realize just how ignorant of the truth people have to be in order to disregard the positive outcomes being reaped from the advancement of technology in general, only because of their religious views. if something were for the greater good, you'd think more people would actually be in favor of it, all things considered, but that just wasn't the case. it's not how people work, unfortunate as it is. the android utilization branch itself probably has the lowest funding out of all the branches of the military, too, it being the youngest and smallest out of the army and air force. she only knew as much as what kai told her about the day-to-day affairs or inner workings of his own department, obviously, but even she knew it was not like they were being allowed this huge budget in order to maximize their advancement in terms of the androids. so why try and make things worse for an already suffering line of work?
indenthis next response to her inquiry regarding his parents was about as vague as she had expected. its not like she had offered much more, either. what else was there to be said, anyhow? she did let out a small chuckle over his passing comment about his mother taking refuge in his suitcase, however. while surely their parents would be glad that an opportunity opened up for them, would they, theoretically speaking, really want to see either of them surpass their siblings? although it would obviously help out their families respective social standings a bit more if they too actually climbed their way up the military ladder, she could see how her parents could warp the notion into something negative should she ever outrank ishaan. perhaps they would perceive it as embarrassing that their protégé was bested by the longtime failure. who knows. it was hard to say when it came to them. she and kai shared similar circumstances even if a lot of their experiences were still vastly different, so she wondered if he ever pondered the same question. mina looked up from her food only to catch kai's gaze slowly trailing past her head. she watched as the side of his face was then successively shielded with a hand. what - or whom - exactly had he spotted..? she glanced over her shoulder curiously, the opposite of what someone should do in a situation like this, and actually needed to do a double-take as she caught sight of the d.o.u.g robot coming up toward their table. oh, great. they were about to be momentarily terrorized, weren't they? she looked back to kai with an expression of regret at the sound of the robot's cheerful greeting. d.o.u.g robots usually possess their own personalities; and this one, alphonse, took obvious pride in its job as shift manager at this very foodcourt. its voice was even programmed with a french accent. as alphonse pointed to its name tag with a robotic arm, her eyes followed. what the robot had so mentioned in its introduction was addressed on the name tag; name, duty, even the 'serving you since 2425'. she glanced over to kai. even though she didn't have any extensive knowledge on the workings of androids or robots, growing up in conclave society was enough for her to know just how intelligent the d.o.u.g robots could be - their abilities to hold conversations rather impressive - hence kai's short response to alphonse's inquiry. they were quite common models to be seen in households, too. besides, the parekh family themselves had a d.o.u.g robot, william, installed with a blatantly british accent; she'd been fortunate not to distract it from its toiling about the kitchen earlier in the day when she'd gone to meet kai outside her house. more often than not the robot was a pest, in her opinion. so, because of the d.o.u.g robots known tendency to chatter, the two of them didn't exactly want it hovering about their table only to go rambling on. she only firmly nodded in agreement with her boyfriend to the robot's question; better to limit what is said than try and spark any new topics of discussion, really. the droid turned about, announcing how happy it was to hear such splendid feedback before summoning a much smaller robot to take care of their trash. mina watched as alphonse picked up the little robot, cj-82, from where it had been hanging from a latch on the robots side. the assistance bot was lowered onto the table. these bots were more than prevalent in conclave society, too, though unlike the d.o.u.g robot, they assist in just about everything. she was used to seeing them making repairs on aircrafts parked in hangars at military bases, tending to anything from component repairs to system repairs. often, they worked in units of four or more to increase efficiency. due to their small sizing, they were able to get around easily, too. she herself often floated around the repair docks, watching the droids tend to their business whenever she found herself with some time on her hands. however, they had a place outside the military, too. as such with collecting their trash, the assistance bots were of help to the general public as well. mina watched as a metal pincer emerged from its back panel in order to retrieve what garbage they had to be taken away on their table. it plucked up the now-empty wrapping of her sub and stowed it away, continuing on to take away whatever else the couple had about the table.
indentkai gingerly offered a hand out to the bot as it let out some small beeps. cj-82 paused in its work to curiously assess his hand and his intentions by prodding his palm a couple of times. it was probably awaiting to be handed some trash or something. after a brief moment, a projection of a red light scanned kai's hand from the bots head. as soon as it were aware that kai was not actually giving it any more trash, it instantly grew disinterested and went on to fulfill its duties. she snorted at the display between the two, her boyfriend then pointing out how often they must be stolen. at this, she noticed atop its head was plastered a sticker outlining the fact that it is a government employee not to be taken home. "i can imagine, mostly 'cause i've been tempted to snatch one of the suckers at work too, not gonna lie. the only thing holding me back is that i'd probably be skewered if i was caught trying to stuff a protesting assistance bot into my bag. i think i'd be chilling with the enlisted soldiers if that happened." mina watched kai take a look at the little bot, who struggled rather fruitlessly in his hold, letting out a few beeps of annoyance. "why do i feel like when they get stolen they get kinda pissed off or something. like, even they know they got kidnapped. it would be so funny to live with a bot that just seemed to despise you, mostly because they're just so adorable, dare i say non-threatening." she observed cj-82 slowly begin to resume its duties after kai had set it back down onto the table, eyeing it as if it would pick up on what she were saying. the assistance bot placed their trash into the small bag hanging about alphonse's main body. unsurprisingly, their comments had been enough to make the d.o.u.g robot to pipe up once again with its own comment over the theft of the bots. oops. luckily it disregarded her joke about stealing one of the bots - she was sure sometimes tone could be misinterpreted among robots, though it didn't seem to have either noticed or have taken her seriously, which was good. the couple was promptly offered an assortment of condiments as alphonse took on that same peppy customer service attitude, and were too informed that whatever they desired was at their disposal. she met kai's glance, her boyfriend quickly interrupted by alphonse with a slight correction to his role as manager. mina had to cackle, shaking her head in amusement. "oh, yeah, no. we wouldn't want to be getting our asses handed to us this early in the day," she looked over the robot. "no, no. i'm good, manager alphonse. here," she gave the assistance bot a hand by picking up her own empty bottle before reaching over to place it into alphonse's garbage bag. cj-82 had noticed and watched her do so for a moment before it gave a final look around the table. when it was sure all the trash was cleared, the metal pincer it had been utilizing retracted back into the bot's back panelling. "delightful service, wonderful, really. thank you! here's to hoping your little friend stays safe." alphonse had gone ahead to pluck the assistance bot from where it awaited to be returned to the latch on the robot's side. "what a compliment! it is i who should be thanking you both! and fret not, cj-82 will not be stolen anytime soon! not on my watch, at-least." the bot seemed to tilt its head in recognition of its name from where it was positioned alongside alphonse. "it is in my hopes that you two continue enjoying your time here at the united states capitol complex! a good day to you both!"
indentwith a flick of its robotic arm, the d.o.u.g robot had finally left the couple in peace, seemingly unable to find a way to continue pestering them. she could only assume that alphonse had grown aware of the increase in activity in the foodcourt, no longer as interested with their particular needs anymore. mina looked over to kai. "well? guess we can check feeling like pompous douches off of our list for today," she joked, fishing her phone out from her coat pocket. as she looked down to the device, the lock-screen read a reminder. engine overhaul for gunship 5961-b is scheduled for today in: one hour, ten minutes. she eyed the notification blankly for a brief moment. that was today. how moronic was she to have forgotten about that? "..uh, crap." her eyes hesitantly shifted back up to kai's own. "you mind if we make a quick stop somewhere..? i totally forgot, but this gunship i've been working with lately might've gotten tampered with by a damn pygmy gopher the other day. landed it outside the capital on a supply run, so i guess it makes sense. still kinda weird to see those bastards in the commonwealth, but it happens. i guess the whole procedure is more of a safety precaution, anyway; i saw it scurry away after loitering around the ship, no clue if it'd actually been in the aircraft. guess i was lucky enough it hadn't decided to screw with something and sentence me to death right then and there for my flight back here. which is a surprise. anyway, i was supposed to get an engine overhaul done on it just in-case to make sure that, y'know, it won't blow up midair and kill me next time around or something. kinda slipped my mind. uh," she briefly scanned the time displayed on her phone. "just so happens the hangar's in the southwest district. i think you might've been there with me before, actually. but, i wouldn't mind doing a detour, you know, maybe just happen to be running a bit late.." she subtly alluded to rock creek park with a playful tone. maybe that was apart of mina's problem; did she give little significance to the priority of things? her excuse was that they still had a good amount of time before she'd have to oversee the maintenance and inspection. since she was the one who'd been ordered to schedule the examination, she'd too have to be on the premises for obvious reasons. an engine overhaul is essentially a thorough inspection along with a testing period in order to verify the aircraft is fit to be used in flight. it's seen through for the same reasons as why a car needs regular servicing to run safely and reliably. pygmy gophers were notorious for stealing small parts of machinery, such as screws or anything shiny that attracts their eye. it's part of why even seeing one near the vicinity of an aircraft was cause for inspection enough; they're annoying pests who indirectly cause your doom, and she'd rather not have engine failure mid-flight, thank you very much. mina rose from where she had been sitting across from kai, all of their obvious trash already disposed of thanks to the help of cj-82 only moments earlier. once kai was ready to embark from the foodcourt as well, she fell in step beside him.
indentthe large urban park of rock creek bisected the northwest district, giving way to more than two thousand acres of forest. obviously, they had strayed from the main paths, and instead parked somewhere down a more isolate trail. most people would park closer to the facilities, so they were considerably in a much more quiet place. perhaps slipping off like some teenagers didn't exactly help their situations, but that thought hardly crossed her mind. not when the first thing she did when the car was parked had been to lean across the middle console and impatiently seek out kai's lips. her fingers gently directed his chin toward her face, and she moved forward, her mouth then briefly brushing against his, a gentle action, one of her hands drawing up to cup the side of his face. she was positive she could spend all day here rather than head back over to the hangar only to meddle around with that gunship and watch as assistance bots partook in some inspections. now she was contemplating; did she really care if she were late? right now, not really. the hangar wasn't that far, anyway. it was situated amongst the few forts in that particular district, nestled in the smallest quadrant of the city. the particular model of gunship at hand that might've been a target of a pygmy gopher was a fairly modified aircraft, mostly having been tweaked in the reaction-control system in order to stabilize altitude control and thrust power. a lot of the specifications on aircrafts in general were simply up to the pilot and co-pilot's preferences, whatever made a smoother flight, really. she actually spent a lot of her time trying to fine-tune that ship as of late, so if something were to go wrong with it, she would be a bit more than annoyed. for a moment the couple enjoyed a slow embrace, though mina grew progressively more hungry with desire, and a steady pace was no longer suitable. she deepened their kiss, managing to tug the overcoat she'd been wearing off from her shoulders at the same time as she pressed into kai. still, it wasn't enough. desperately, she needed to be closer to him -- so after a conclusively passionate kiss, mina temporarily broke away from their ardent intertwinement, her hand lingering at the side of his face. this brief moment of a stop didn't last long, though. in the haste of desire, she grinned at kai and without a word, quickly slipped out from the passenger side of the car, hand fumbling to open the door as she did so. she eagerly slid into the backseat of his car, and once within, mina was quick to reconnect their mouths once he too had joined her, their time apart evidently not very long, her hands now simultaneously seeking to rid him of what clothes were between them.
indent──
indenthaving stepped out from the backseat of the car in order to take her spot back in the front, she found herself adjusting the passenger seat's sun visor situated just above the windshield on a downwards angle in an effort to try and make herself look at-least somewhat presentable before they would head over to the hangar. she flipped open the cover of the lighted vanity mirror to be greeted with the sight of her mostly unkempt appearance. mina ran a hand through her tousled hair, attempting to smooth out the now-nearly indistinguishable curls which she had tended to that morning. it would definitely not be the brightest idea to walk into the premises with everyone knowing what she had been doing only prior. she leaned forward in her seat in order to wipe away any stray smudges of faded red lipstick. "hey, i wouldn't be mad if we did this more often, you know," she teased, leaning back a bit now, slightly more satisfied with how she appeared. "only maybe next time we won't have the thrill of the possibility of me getting my head chopped off by a superior for missing a servicing." mina snorted, glancing over to kai as she pulled her overcoat back up over her shoulders from where it had been left on the seat. she pulled out her phone from within one of its pockets to check the time; it looked like certain death may not be imminent if they began to get their asses over there now. "okay, we got a bit of time. hurry, though. i seriously don't want to lose my job over missing a damn overhaul."
-
vaell
-
- Posts: 1193
- Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2014 1:12 pm
- My pets
- My items
- My wishlist
- My gallery
- My scenes
- My dressups
- Trade with me
by vaell » Tue May 25, 2021 11:57 am
xxxxxxxＪＡＺＭ Í Ｎ ＳＥＣＯ.
xxxxxxxxxxxx─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxinr tactical intel. officer / covert ops. taskforce. | conclave military. | tagged: roland.
xxxxxxxxxxxx─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
indentjazmín carefully eyed the griffin from its position atop the damaged aircraft. despite the fact that the pistol in her hand was practically useless against the sheer durability and strength of the creature, she kept it levelled in the direction of the beast. without any weapon that could deal heavy, constant fire - like an automatic rifle - it would be challenging to continue facing the griffins, and that much was to the creatures' advantage. their power armor wouldn't be able to last much longer if they had to try and persevere through any more unrelenting attacks. she and roland hadn't been properly prepared to take on the griffins in the first place, which was very much evident in the fact that the two of them had been separated from each-other in a measly few seconds after the creatures had their cruel awakenings. hence why she had no idea how roland was faring right about now. a lot of her own energy had been concentrated on trying to stave off her attacker, so much so that she had barely had the time to catch her breath and wonder what the hell roland himself might be undergoing. however, it was needless to say that he likely faced a similar wrath as to the one she endured. the thought alone made her feel a bit queasy. right now, the comm line was static, and all she could hear, all that she was tortured with, was the sound of her own breathing within the chamber of her helmet; painfully reverberant, ragged breaths attempting to be stabilized from her prior encounter with the griffin. a part of her cursed herself for putting them in such imminent danger. if roland had gotten hurt, any injuries he might have sustained in the last passing period of time had the opportunity to have been avoided. she felt like a mess of frustration and guilt and self-loathing, and at this point, it was hard to tell whether or not she was crying from pain or from her own self-condemnation of her apparent recklessness which had gotten them into this situation in the first place.
indentthe sound of a screech, however, disrupted her growingly tumultuous frame of mind, and made jazmín's head whip toward the sound. across the way, she could spot the other griffin just outside the inner bay of the ship, furiously flapping its wings in a distressed attempt to flee upward toward the highest vantage point it could attain. before she could question what this meant for roland, a brief moment passed and his voice finally cut through the static. while an air of relief passed over her, his semi-sarcastic comment had been one that snapped her back to reality. he'd almost been dragged into the cargo ship? while the notion wasn't inherently surprising given the nature of the beasts, she was unable to keep herself from feeling disturbed at the image; within the bay of the aircraft, you'd be susceptible to imminent death, especially should the griffin call for it's mate to return, too. the chances of anyone being able to escape those circumstances were depressingly lamentable, and to think that might have been roland's fate..? who knows what he had already gone through prior to nearly being pulled within the aircraft's bay. "oh god. yeah, no, i'm good. i'm good," she reassured him firmly. the searing hot pain rippling across her ac joint said otherwise, though. that feathered sucker had really gotten her in the end, after all. surely the griffin would soon be back for more, especially knowing that it had at-least been able to breach a portion of her armor; it didn't even matter that it had two bullets lodged into its flesh, nor that it had the blade of a military standard dagger dug into it's lower legs. griffins become easily angered and even more so when they are injured, as with most creatures of the wasteland, which is what made them just so deadly. if you didn't have the proper precautions prepared to deal with them, you were pretty much as good as dead. they could outlast, outplay and withstand most attacks, and largely so when these attacks are from non-automatic fire. it's why organized extermination parties existed. nobody should go head-to-head with the more deadlier creatures of the wasteland without being prepared. despite the screeches of agitation from the creatures now together atop the aircraft, she could still make out roland's voice thanks to the clarity of the comm-link. apparently, the other griffin had gotten into a skirmish with deedee. she hadn't even noticed what caterwauling might have came out of that fight, not while that griffin was attempting to finish her off, but it made sense; how else would roland have escaped from the clutches of that griffin? she was glad to hear that it's wing might be broken, though. any small win they could get over the griffins was something at-least. plus, the creature potentially being blinded in one eye helped them out a bit too. not that their injuries would defer any of their tenacity, but these wounds were majorly more severe when compared to the griffin's mate, the one which had attacked her. in contrast, that one in particular was much more capable than it's counterpart, which is why jazmín was still worried. plus, the only reason it retreated from her in the first place was likely just to toy with her. it knew exactly where and how to strike her, and most importantly, how to kill her. that's why it was taking its time now, a predator drawing out the enjoyment of it's prey. in these respects, griffins were fairly intelligent. they knew they still possessed the upper-hand over her and roland, even with what damage had been done to them. "good thing at-least one of them is somewhat impaired, then. i can't say the other griffin is going to let down anytime soon, though. two bullets and a knife? that's nothing."
indentjazmín observed the two griffins flit in and out of her view, sometimes becoming obscured by the ship as they rounded about the top of the aircraft. it wouldn't be long before the creatures made another move on them, judging by their gradually increasingly aggressive shows of pacing and snarling. on the other end of the comm-link, she tuned into roland's voice once again and bit the inside of her cheek upon his addressing of the entire accident with the keg, and how it was not worth lingering on now. she herself briefly fell silent after his words. while he was right, and she knew that quite plainly, the way he seemed to easily brush the incident off as being vastly unimportant right now was something that didn't exactly register through her own brain so quickly. it's not like she'd expected him to start scolding her because of what led up to their disastrous encounter with the griffins, but still. he moved on from it so effortlessly, even though their current situations - their current states of health, rather - were indirectly a result of her blunder. either way they would've somehow alerted the griffins of their presence, yes, but their lack of preparedness could've been majorly avoided. he knew it, too. he must. still, they needed to get the hell out of here, regardless of how things had transpired. she'd have time to mull over the details later, anyway, if they actually got out of this alive. so for now, roland's words kept her from furthering her dizzying self-reproach. he was good at that, most especially because he offered a fairly solid explanation for what would have happened had they just fled to the armored unit and subsequently attracted the griffins to arcadia. that definitely would have been awful. she had to heed his words if they wanted to get out of here alive. keeping a level-head was going to be their best bets in figuring out a plan. jazmín slowly began to shift away from where she had been peering out from the side of the crate, and though she would lose a momentary visual of the predators, she'd rather not risk being outwardly spotted pointing a gun to the very much angered griffins anyway. she forced the hand which had been supporting some of her weight against the crate to reach down and access her other pistol. it took a lot of her willpower to even force her arm into a downwards motion towards where the pistol was strapped at her thigh. each shift in her upper arm felt like another stab, the straining of the muscles sending a new flare of pain between her shoulder and collar-bone. she had to clench her teeth in order to bear the feeling. once her fingers finally grasped the handle of the pistol, she quickly drew it out, hoping to avoid much of the agony which came with attempting to take the motion slowly. a sharp exhale escaped through gritted teeth. at-least she was now somewhat prepared for another attack. "you're right," they had to think of something, but what? with the last passing minutes having been nothing short of hell with the both of them treading the fine-line between life and death, it was hard to even try and compose any coherent thoughts. her mind was racing at a million miles an hour, stuck between an undertone of shame and the urging force of her body demanding she must survive this. "you have anything in mind? we're basically pinned where we are, just waiting to be attacked again, and that means trying to withstand ambush after ambush, and we both know how that ends." as despairing as that sounded, it was just the truth. they had to focus and collect their thoughts somehow in order to be free of what peril the griffins had in mind for them.
indentas she sat there crouched behind the cover of a supply crate, she tried to turn ideas over in her mind. firstly, it was the most obvious that they couldn't just get up from where they were relatively hidden and try to make a run for it to the armored unit. they would be back at square one, if not worse, considering that the griffins would likely halt them in their tracks within a mere five seconds of their attempts to flee. besides, she didn't know what wounds roland might have, if anything could inhibit his ability to make the trek to the car. so that option was obviously out of the picture. her eyes scanned the wasteland before her, the land stretching out beyond the eyes ability to see. the evening sky was slowly settling on the land, although any brightness levels needing to be adjusted were automatically done so within the technologies of her helmet. speaking of which, it was nearly suffocating inside the chamber. a smear of blood hit smack-dab right where her face had made impact with the crate when she had unceremoniously collided with it, and the amount of sweat and tears she had produced in the time from the attack to now was enough to basically drench her face. removing the helmet would not be a pretty sight, but it would definitely feel more than satisfying to be freed of it. right now, though, she was certainly making no progress in terms of developing a suitable plan which did not include their deaths. jazmín shifted along the crate once more, risking a small glance from the side of the planks and up toward the top of the cargo ship. the two griffins were still circling the upper half of the ship. that was good. she drew back only to eye the spilled contents of the crates having been strewn about the area; magazines of new hollywood, premium cigarettes and cigars, damned bottles of wine. go figure thats the supplies they were risking their lives for. still, she didn't even hesitate to snake a hand forward in order to inspect a pack of cigarettes closest to her. she turned it around in her hand for a brief second, then decisively stowed it away into the contents of her belted holster. might as well take something from these crates. the thought didn't even cross her mind that she had gotten a bit distracted by the goods nearby her, though luckily, after a momentary silence on both of their ends, roland was the first one to speak up. her attention fully reverted back onto his words. his plan seemed to entail of something concerning the nuclear reactor within the ship; and it also rode on the idea that the machinery was still actually functioning. even though he couldn't see her, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes in a certain wariness. she trusted roland completely, and it's not like she had any better plan to offer, obviously, but they couldn't afford to further implicate themselves. still, he had to have a good reasoning behind why he thought as much. so, she listened. similarly to the conclusion she had come to, he made it pretty clear that they wouldn't be able to either fight the griffins with their pistols nor could they make an escape to the vehicle without being attacked almost instantaneously. mainly, she found herself nodding along in agreement with his words, that is, until the second portion of his plan. she had no problem in making an attempt to access the ship's cockpit like he so suggested, but his role in the matter was a bit more concerning. obviously, she didn't doubt his skillset but the sounds of making the griffins as angered as possible was a risky move, even if they ended up succeeding. the plan could backfire tremendously - especially on roland, should things go awry in his attempts to steer them toward the engines, or should the engines simply sputter and not give way to any actual flames. he was right; it did sound crazy. but..she supposed that's how most on-the-spot plans sounded, no? they didn't have time to go through a thorough detailing of what may or may not go wrong, and they couldn't afford to get hung up on any details either. this was their best bet in making the griffins retreat, if only long enough for them to get to the armored unit and back to arcadia in order to send a proper extermination party out here. still, it didn't mean she was totally receptive of how they were going about this.
indent"well, i guess we don't have much of a choice, do we?" she briefly peeked around the side of the crate as she enabled the tactical heads-up displays in her helmet. the view screen projection would be useful as another visual aid, and she'd take any assistance she could get right about now. while all versions of power armor depend on the user, she herself had fitted an advanced hud unit into the visor of her helmet. it gave her some insight on information about optics on the surrounding environment, though mainly consisted of a targeting reticle which could easily lock onto any potential aggressors or victims. "i'm only agreeing because i see no other way out of this, by the way. that, and i trust where your logic is coming from. but i swear to god, you better play it as safe as you can, yáñez. trying to make them mad so they follow you? really?" she scoffed. as much as she was going to be heading within the confines of the cargo ship, she was considerably more concerned for his own wellbeing. assuming she made it inside without a griffin going after her, he would be dealing with two griffins. who knew what they could pull. "seriously. be careful," she warned, edging towards the side of the crate. "the faster we can pull this off, the sooner we're out of here. i'm going to start making my way toward the cockpit in ten." in order to pull this off, she'd have to cover a lot of ground and quickly before she distracted any of the feathered creatures atop the cargo ship. in no world did she see this plan going perfectly smoothly, but there would be no other way to find out. the last thing she did before deciding to head out to slip into the griffins' unoccupied lair was pull her rangefinder down over her visor in order to enhance imagery and serve as a targeting device. the rangefinder was tipped on her helmet's antenna. again, with what limited resources they had, it would be wise to make use of all the technology available to them. she peered up at the top of the cargo ship where the griffins had yet to make another attack upon either of them. she made an effort to steady her breathing, watching as two small red squares in her visors hud suddenly pinpointed onto the two creatures at the recognition of moving, living targets. they flickered a few times before becoming solid. at the sides of the display some information was being generated regarding power armor stability levels and their surrounding environment. her and roland would have to try and stay in heavy communication in order to make this work, considering the fact most of their plan depended on each-other carrying out a certain task. that, and they barely knew of the their current locations right now.
indentso this was it, their singular opportunity to survive this. as soon as she determined the two griffins briefly had their backs turned in her direction during their pacing, she left the relative safety of what had become a sort of hiding spot for her.
indent"and, now-!"
indentshe darted out from the side of the crate and officially abandoned her previously static position. fully aware she was out in the open now, she skirted past any cluttered objects having fallen out of supply crates, travelling closest to the sides of any nearby supply crates just in-case she had to duck for cover from a griffin having spotted her. jazmín had no idea whether or not they'd noticed by now. for all she knew, one of them could be up in the air right now about to take a quick dive at her. she couldn't dare to risk glancing up and losing some valuable time and effort though. the most she could do right now was focus on sprinting toward the aircraft's cockpit. besides dodging the crates themselves, she made a bee-line toward the front half of the ship, where roland had spotted some of the ceiling of the cockpit outside having fallen in. fortunately for her, she hadn't been too displaced from the supply ship in the first place, so while the run there was a stressful one, it was coming near to a close. not far from her, she heard the screech of a griffin sound out, followed by another and another again. the sounds didn't seem too different from what noisy calls of distress they'd already been making, though. once she made it to the side of the ship, so far unscathed, she hurried alongside its exterior, hands scrambling to take a hold onto the shattered windows framing the cockpit. while she couldn't slip through the empty slots where the windows had once been, she could use the ledge as a quick foothold to gain access into the upper half of the ship. across the top of the nearly snapped in half cargo ship was where she was sure the griffins were still situated. if they hadn't noticed her before, they would now, though. in a somewhat panicked manner, she boosted herself up to the top of the ship, a sudden cry from one of the beasts sounding out like a call to her death. the pain from her wound was tenfold now, but the amount of adrenaline pumping into her veins was enough to divert her attention fully onto getting inside the cockpit. inside the chamber of her helmet, she could make out a faint beeping noise, growing ever more constant as she got to her feet in order to cross over to the portion of the ceiling which was caved in. in about two or three strong beats of the griffins wings, she could easily be attacked from this position and pretty much body slammed into the ground below - and thats exactly what was going to happen if she didn't get inside right now. the area which had been affected most by the crash was narrow enough that the griffins would not be able to access it themselves, but she should be able to gain access if she forced herself within. she knew there would be no way that she would go unseen by the griffins, either. it was nearly impossible. though hopefully once she was secured within the space, they'd be more eager to follow after roland than her. jazmín had to take a glance across the ship due to a red dot beginning to blink on the side of her hud. as expected, the more capable griffin had began stalking toward her, its talons grating against the upper metal quadrant of the ship. the caved in fuselage was still yet to be crossed by the creature, though, which separated her from the beast by a moderate amount. quickly, she made to lower herself within the cockpit, gripping the sides of the torn metal in order to maneuver herself down inside. she stuck a leg in at a time, hurriedly putting pressure downwards so that she could slip between the opening. after a few moments of maneuvering her torso down as well, she was able to slip within, winching at the sound of the metal of the ship scraping against the front and backside of her armors cuirass as she did so, the fit being a rather tight one. still, it wasn't impossible. above her, the weight of the griffin had put itself upon the top of the cockpit, which was enough to make jazmín force herself to entirely drop down and make contact with the insides of the ship. her boots hit the solid floorboards beneath her. the griffin had realized what she was actually doing much too late. she looked up to see it's talons grasping at the opening in a futile manner, a few furious squawks elicited from its inability to follow her within. she watched the sight of it's beak now exploring the rims of the fallen in ceiling, seeking its entry to bestow its revenge upon her for what she and roland had done to the pair -- invaded their territory, injured them. all great things.
indentno matter what was going on with the griffin above the aircraft, though, now it was time to get some gears turning in their plan. "i'm in," she announced, an air of exhaustion in her voice. the first thing she did was swivel around toward the instrument panel, seeking to waste no time. the cockpit of a cargo ship was the main and only place of command-and-control on these type of vessels. all of the main instruments were arranged before the pilots seat and below the front windscreen, highlighting various controls and switches. while jazmín was no expert in aviation, she knew the ins-and-outs of most models of frequently used conclave ships, which did in fact include cargo ships. from the cockpit, the ship could be directed in specific maneuvers and execute landing and takeoff maneuvers, dock with other vessels, and set navigational courses. unlike the more familiar gunship often utilized within the conclave's military, the cargo ship did not contain an array of targeting computers or sensor scopes. it seemed this particular model only bore one of the sort, which was apparently enough to defend the cargo within. she doubted that, though. she felt it would make a lot more sense if they installed more armament onto these sorts of aircraft, mostly because they were such easy targets out in the wasteland in general, whether it be to nature, any creatures interested in the ship, or maybe even some faction trying to take down a supply run. above her head sat the overhead panel. here, the thrusters of the ship could be toggled as necessary. she needn't waste much time figuring out which buttons to press, though. "okay, i'm going to try and turn on the engines now..let's hope this piece of trash actually starts. you got like, maybe two minutes to make sure they're in range of the engines." she didn't want to waste any time, either; the longer she stalled, the longer roland would be running the risk of being ambushed by the two griffins at once while she was in the security of the cockpit. that was exactly why she was a bit hesitant about this whole plan in the first place. if something did go wrong, they'd need to abandon their current methods and deal with the griffins again. she didn't want him putting his life in danger any more than he'd already offered. so, she holstered her pistols and began to run through the dials and switches of the ship, thoroughly examining what had been active during the crash and what had not been. the hud mounted at the console panel flickered dimly, alerting her that the ship did in fact have some sort of ability to be activated once more. with this confirmation, she quickly pressed a thumb down on a button foremost on the instrument panel. please start up somewhat decently. when she was sure that the engine had not been activated just yet, she quickly flicked a few switches above her head in order to increase the fuel being allocated by the nuclear reactors in the ship. some of the switches were resistant to her toggling, no small light flickering on to be indicative of its reception to being turned on. fortunately, though, the majority of the controls still seemed to be in working order. the newer models of conclave aircraft boasted the use of a highly radioactive and dense metal fuel liquid to power the ship, which would mean the ship should come to life fairly quickly, even despite its nearly torn in-half state.
indentfrom within the cockpit, she could sense the aircraft trying to whir alive, attempting to generate all that power to be translated into flames to fuel the engine. she had set some of the switches onto higher levels of concentration which would hopefully quickly propel the fuel into the bowels of the engine in order to spark that flammable gas they so needed to burst into flames and set the two griffins ablaze. though normally starting the engine in such a way would generate enough velocity for the ship to start moving - especially with how she was pushing the functionality of the aircraft right now, there was no way the system was going to actually be able to consistently deal out enough energy for the plane to take off again, least of all in it's most destroyed state as it currently were. but that was fine. all they needed was the griffins to be scorched by the engine's flames long enough to both stun them and cause them a fair amount of irrevocable damage. their feathers would quickly catch fire and she and roland wouldn't need to look back on the rest. whatever came after this, they'd need to get the hell out of this area, and quickly. leading the griffins back to arcadia would be a death-sentence for those outside of the city walls due to the lock-down, as well as to their careers. what standings they currently had would be stripped due to their recklessness and indirect slaughter to multitudes of people. she could hear the slight hum of the engine now, though, and within moments, she was sure that the engines had finally come full swing. jazmín peered out the sides of the broken-in glass windows to confirm her curiosities, looking down the line of the ship to the bottom left engine, unable to spot roland as he had mentioned trying to coax the griffins toward the opposite engine. the flicker of air rippling about the sides of the panel indicated that some flames had been made; whether or not they were enough to take on the griffins, it was hard to say. regardless, she silently cheered for their risky plan, and drew back within the cockpit to further tinker with some of the controls, just to ensure everything was at its peak performance - or of what performance it could garner in such a failing state. maybe it wouldn't hurt to attempt the use of a booster, if the flames weren't already enough. without much hesitation, she pressed down on another button on the control panel, one that was adjacent to the starting of the aircraft. she had no clue how long the cargo ship could take this, but they didn't need to wait around to find out, either. if the sounds of disgruntlement from the machine were to be heeded, however, definitely not much longer; they would be able to ditch the scene while it inevitably powered down, and hopefully while the griffins were shocked from having been scorched. "how's everything going back there? are you still alive by chance? just tell me when you think they're charred enough, and i'm sprinting to the damn car. or if you need back up, i'll be ready for that too." jazmín moved past the pilot's seat and looked up into the darkening sky through the hole of torn metal from where she stood within the cockpit. she wasn't sure when, but the griffin had abandoned its attempts to seek her out inside of the aircraft -- she'd been too focused on trying to examine the cargo ship's displays to even notice its departure. this particular position was a pretty safe one, so long as the griffins didn't decide to combine their strength in tearing back the pieces of metal sticking out from a portion of the ceilings collapsed frame. it wasn't easy to leave such a spot behind, considering how formidable a shield it acted as against the creatures, but she'd need to be out of here soon regardless, whether that be to help roland out, or to make an escape to the armored unit. as her adrenaline had died down, though, she became more aware of the fact she'd strained her wound much too severely in her efforts to get within the cockpit. absently, she pushed a hand against the exposed space between her power armor. the thought of repairs briefly crossed her mind. she didn't even want to assess the current state of her armor, given how its pristine surface was probably layered with a variety of scratches and blemishes. she supposed it didn't matter much, though. armor isn't the most painful thing to have to fix. jazmín pulled her hand back to glance down at it, examining it through the lens of her rangefinder. bloody. no surprise there. maneuvering herself out of the cockpit was going to be much more difficult than getting within; difficult in terms of needing to actually lift herself out, that is.
indentshe sighed in an already pre-exhausted manner. it was going to be ugly for a few seconds, and then it'd be over. that's all. she could only keep reassuring herself this as she once again looked up into the semi-narrow space. she'd need to use the side control boards to even be able to properly reach the edges of the metal structure in order to lift herself out. so, that's what she did. jazmín stepped up onto the side of the panel, careful to avoid any buttons further down the line, and reached up to the edges of the space with her hands, using some of the momentum from the object to exert some force upwards so she could get the hell out of here. she strained her muscles for a moment, trying to at-least get her head past the insides of the ship, but to no avail. she felt the stabs of pain shoot up along her shoulder as she made the attempt, and her efforts only resulted in a series of strenuous groaning and a subsequent return of her boots back to the floorboards of the cockpit. she tried again, this time convincing herself she was ready for the pain to be endured. only, that just wasn't true. if anyone had to see her right now, it'd been pretty piteous. by the time she'd managed to struggle in lifting her head above the ships insides, the next challenge was to clamber out. surely, she wouldn't be able to stay dangling in this position much longer, so she forced herself to endure the momentarily excruciating pain which accompanied the act of lifting herself up and out of the cockpit, her forearms clinging to the top of the ship as she basically wiggled her way out. with a huff of exertion, jazmín rolled onto her side and from her elbows situated herself in an upward position atop of the craft. now the wound was throbbing, perhaps the most it had been yet. she hissed in pain, instinctively balling one of her hands into a fist at the feeling. her nails most definitely would have been digging into skin if she did not have thinly gloved hands. she uncomfortably squeezed her eyes shut for a brief second before realizing that just because she had gotten out of the ship, that didn't mean she was safe. slowly, she got back up onto her feet and stole a glance toward the lower half of the cargo ship before decisively hopping down the side of the cargo ship. she stepped atop the sill of the empty window and down onto the dry earth below, instinctively drawing out a pistol.
indentif roland had been successful at the back-end of the cargo ship, they'd be able to get the hell out of here in a few moments without putting any civilian or even conclave lives at risk. the griffins would back off in enough time for the two of them to flee the scene and instead deploy a proper extermination party. regardless, she was pretty sure that one of the first things they would need to do once they got back within the safety of the city would be to assess any wounds cast upon them by the griffins; that could at-least be done in the privacy of the vault of their car, where any of their emergency medical supplies were kept. she was hesitant to see what shape roland was in, all things considered. the idea of just thinking about having to see what wounds he may have endured caused another pang of guilt to strike her. he'd assured her this couldn't have gone much differently, but she did have to take accountability for much of the fault of what they'd experienced, that much was for certain. she supposed she'd only find out soon enough once they got back within arcadia -- and returning to the city? the thought of that slimy mayor had hardly crossed her mind again until now. they did not get their asses handed to them for nothing. he'd be dealt with accordingly if he didn't live up to his promises, that much was certain, but for now, he was but a small concern in the back of her mind, one that could be dealt with later. they just needed to focus on the present right now. since the ship had been catapulted into a relative overdrive and barely had the functionality to sustain such a sudden increase in power, she knew it wouldn't be much longer before it actually entirely shut down. the diverting of power toward the engines would likely cause the entirety of the ship's technological integrity to come to a final conclusion. it didn't matter much, though. there was only so much that could even be salvageable from the wreckage, and besides, the inherent powering down of its systems checked one thing off their list of things they needed to do. they had a fighting chance to actually make it out of here alive, if truly nothing had gone awry on roland's end.
indentjazmín didn't think it was ever possible to want to be back in arcadia as much as she did now.
-
vaell
-
- Posts: 1193
- Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2014 1:12 pm
- My pets
- My items
- My wishlist
- My gallery
- My scenes
- My dressups
- Trade with me
by vaell » Sat May 29, 2021 11:12 am
xxxＥＤＷＩＮ ＡＬＢＲＥＣＨＴ.
xxxxxxxx─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
xxxxxxxxxxxxentertainer / stage name 'floyd'. | the rebellion. aka 'vuledo'. | tagged: constance.
xxxxxxxx─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
indentof course the only person protesting their departure from mountmend as being far too soon was mikey.
indentup at the driver's seat of the caravan, constance, edwin and danny were only mildly packed in there like sardines. the upside to being holed up in the front though was that moderately longer travels tended to make for some pretty amusing chatter if danny happened to be the one taking the reigns of their transportation that given day. most of the time, passing comments were able to quickly segue into another one of the older mans' infamous spiels. that was half the fun it, though. inside of the wagon, mikey's suggestion to go ahead and celebrate their success in smuggling those two wastelanders out of arcadia didn't seem to have been such a popular opinion, given the retort edwin had caught from fairfax. their treasurer certainly had a good point; they couldn't afford travelling from mountmend all the way to village cross during the dead of the night. an evening sky was already settling upon the land and they needed the burning glow of the setting sun to outline their surroundings and keep them aware of any potential dangers along the road as well. edwin glanced out at the streets of the small town as their company began to pass through, the decrepit buildings a familiar sight to see in the wasteland. most of the people within the perimeter of the upscaled settlement seemed to have been drawn toward the ambience of the bar they had just pulled away from. he could hear the faint sound of voices carrying from the establishment atop the mellow notes of music from a radio flowing from within the bar slowly begin to fade out of earshot. those who they passed in the streets, sometimes small groups of families or a lone traveler guiding their dismounted horse to a post, seemed blissfully unaware as to what would soon no doubt take place in this very town. the slight population mountmend harbored would be one that the conclave likely wouldn't have as much trouble with as they did in trying to control the influx of people attempting to seek passage out of arcadia. still, anyone who wasn't a resident of the town would likely be forced to return back to their own inhabitancy, and those who did live here would face some door-to-door questioning. he and constance had seen varying degrees of cities under lockdown during their time in the rebellion; they were no stranger to the protocols that the conclave liked to employ during such events -- mostly. you can never be too sure what they might pull depending on the cruciality of the circumstances or the level of urgency as it corresponds to a certain potential or active threat, but generally, the same guidelines were followed the majority of the time. to him, though, something about the security precautions taken in arcadia today seemed significantly more panicked, even more severe than usual if he dare so say. perhaps it was just because he knew why the lockdown was taking place, though; and while any break-in of a conclave base was one to raise flags for the government regardless, you would think that if some measly base reports or a few files of information pertaining to the supply capacity of the fort were stolen, then the conclave wouldn't have had such a sudden and intense reaction. hence why edwin was beginning to think that something a bit more important than just documents mostly irrelevant and easy for the conclave to procure once again had been stolen. otherwise, what was all the fuss for? not only were they cracking down on one of the larger cities in the area, but they were going to be instilling the rules of the lockdown to the immediate vicinity to arcadia as well. with arcadia's proximity to themus as well as a plethora of different settlements and towns it made sense, he supposed, especially if the conclave was trying to seek out the rebel associates.
indenthe had to give it to their colleagues for making it out of there alive, assuming they had no casualties. edwin only guessed they likely didn't because of the fact that there was no conclave issuing of the id of someone who'd been involved in the situation, warning residents to report anyone who might have been known to be associated with said person. it was a frequent occurrence to see the faces of people who were affiliated with a certain group or whom were evading the law to be plastered in larger cities through the use of a government mandated holoprojector, emitting to those passing by on the street a flickering blue light of a headshot of a suspect individual. these devices were often implanted near the residential sectors of cities and heavily cemented into a post to ensure they were unable to be easily stolen. usually you don't really see holoprojectors outside the use of conclave society, given their ease of accession to such technologies, but in the more prominent wastelander cities you can find them. the rebellion themselves had gotten their hands on various models of the devices before, be it ones meant to be implanted into desks or hand-held versions more easily accessible to members of the military. unfortunately the devices are installed with the ability to have their storages wiped completely from a remote location as they are connected to other networks of holoprojectors in the hands of people in the conclave. a lot of the information is often seemingly backed up onto other conclave holoprojectors, probably as a result of some of the technological hubs being shared by superiors and subordinates uploading reports. usually the rebels had enough time to comb through whatever data they needed after having plucked it from a body of someone within the military though. not that the devices tended to store much information on them in the first place. some of the entry points on the devices were often locked and accessible solely by those who owned the holoprojectors and knew how to bypass any security measures; the buttons on the damn things can also be quite irritating to decipher, or at-least in edwin's opinion given the fact he isn't as used to utilizing such technology. fortunately, though, the rebellion had people who knew their way around these things, people who were well acquainted with the conclave's technology. the rebellion would not be able to survive if they didn't have individuals with such a range of skillsets. take constance and edwin, for example. they don't primarily engage in direct jabs at the conclave, but rather, they work through infiltration, their methods of obtaining information just as crucial as the next. those whom were hopefully already at village cross by now were more the type involved in larger pursuits against the conclave, ones much less subtle than their own. soon they'd know for sure if everything had went smoothly, according to whatever snippets of a plan they knew of, and if it had, then this all would surely be a big win back at their headquarters. once they were be able to reunite with their fellow rebels at village cross, they could make contact to their primary operating base in order to declare their success and then truly celebrate. they obviously didn't have so much an active role in the mission and the retrieval of the what had been smuggled out of themus, especially considering their colleagues didn't even end up hitching a ride with them, but still. a win for one was a win for all. from his position beside danny and constance, he observed the states of the decaying buildings as the older man continued to direct their caravan in the direction of an old bypass which would lead them out of mountmend and toward where village cross sat on the edges of a town, some in worse shapes than others with windows knocked out, others just entirely planked up. such was the life out in the wasteland. out here, nobody can afford to share the luxuries of the capital residents, that was for sure. no wastelander can go about their day feeling entirely secure, nor can they evade the need to always be on high alert. everyday is a test of survival; will you have enough caps to even get by, will you be able to eat at-least something that night? can you keep your residency tended to a somewhat liveable condition? nothing was ever certain out here, and that's what the conclave preyed upon. outside of mountmend, the land was devoid of any obvious shelters and only gave way to a stretch of dry land as far as the eye could see. their path was a carefully maneuvered one in order to avoid any abandoned, rusting cars in the middle of the street. their ride was considerable bumpy at certain points too thanks to the uneven levels of ground beneath the wheels of their caravan.
indentedwin glanced over to constance as they reached behind them in order to snatch up one of the magazines sitting within the stack on a barrel close behind them. he couldn't help but scoot a bit closer - if that were even anymore possible given their close counters - in order to get in on the action now that they'd drawn the magazine into their lap. his eyes scanned the print magazine, a bold title asserting it to be an issue of the ruby bulletin. the image of cynthia wellsburrow was featured as the face of the cover and there was several different arrangements of text assorted in columns down the sides giving the sort of information that seemed so detached from reality that it only made sense conclave society ate these articles up. celebrity interviews, fashion advice, gossip, premiere photos, you name it. the cover line of the magazine was printed in a vibrant shade of orange, making a statement about the rising tide of growing names seeking stardom now taking new hollywood by storm. while it was always entertaining to catch a glimpse into how far gone into their own delusional world the new hollywood stars were, he had to resist rolling his eyes at that statement. like it were such a big deal what was going on in the new hollywood scene with drama and celebrities trying to further their careers while people out in the wasteland were simply trying to survive. they all were so detached from the reality of things; and to them, the artistic landscape was probably nothing more than a means of progressing themselves in order to become a conclave household name or something. he very much doubted the authenticity of their true respects when it came to working on films or whatever they hell they're up to. besides, he and constance knew how much propaganda was deliberately weaved through conclave entertainment; its all just a way of shoving more and more pro-conclave ideals - especially those pertaining to military involvement - into the throats of the capital citizens. edwin watched constance go on to turn the page and reveal to them the insides of the magazine, her hands flitting through several pages before landing on a specific section. the movie premieres. this was no surprise, given the fact the pair were self-proclaimed enthusiasts of film - though obviously on a much less serious scale when it came to the conclave. he scanned the brief blurbs offered beneath the images of some actors standing together at a red carpet for what was a remake of rebel without a cause -- and upon this, he immediately looked back to constance. "oh, hell yeah! count me in on that. you know i could never turn down a good ole conclave remake of a classic," he had to cackle as he watched danny briefly give the page a once-over before snorting. the guy had a solid point when it came to the propaganda that would no doubt turn up in the movie, even if he did exaggerate the directness of the conclaves military focus embedded in films. "wow, come on, danny. that sounds like an awesome film to me; you know, tons of character development with the whole military destiny arc and the blatant overshadowing of any other aspect that may be somewhat true to the original film. also, you forgot how the end credits will probably showcase some sort of brief commemoration to the dedication that buzz ended up committing to the military, and how he himself went on to become some renowned general, just like the man who had saved him. i know you're lying if you're trying to tell me that ain't a touching story." it was hard not to laugh over the matter, even despite the fact that the core message of most films regardless of genre tended to be ones that only served to further the grip the conclave had over their own people, a disturbing thought in and of itself. he supposed its why anyone would have a hard time trying to convince someone in the conclave that what they know is wrong; its like telling someone their life is a lie, and firstly, nobody is openly willing to believe that, and secondly, the conclave and its ideals are all those people have ever known. he could imagine how this would be even worse if you were born into a family of a high military, social or political standing in the conclave. then the amount of utter brainwashing and lies being consumed would be tenfold, given the fact their family would be so heavily involved in the crooked ways of the conclave already.
indenthe didn't like to say there was no escape for those people in such circumstances, but in a way, there really wasn't. if you're born into a prominent family of that sort, you're going to have to live up to some sets of standards and eventually rise up to the same level as your parents, if not higher. he was sure of that. the idea of wastelanders being inferior to those of supposed pure-blood is a notion that will be forever perpetuated, especially among these sorts of people, not unless the chain could be one day broken as they so hoped it could be. while there was nothing justifiable to be had of anyone who committed any sort of cruel acts, they all knew how terrible of parents that most prominent figures of political or social or military standing could be. this could easily contribute to the lack of change within the conclave, if you look beyond just propaganda itself, the lack of differing mindsets beyond believing the superiority of the conclave over the average wastelander. if every generation is just breeding a new kind of monster through their inability to be a proper parent, of neglecting to even engage in the very bare minimum with their children, then how could there by any change? all that can come out of these situations are people who are hardened by the experiences handed to them by their parents, who'd likely end up even worse than they had ever been. its disturbing to think of that cycle, and how likely it is that generations upon generations are subjected to the horrors endowed upon them by their family. plus, its no secret that mental health resources or proper outlets for dealing with these sorts of situations are probably not that readily available to them, not when things such as the military are around. some people become the most violent versions of themselves as soon as they get a taste of power at the top of the ladder; they may have even sought out a military pathway in the first place just to try and get away from whatever hell might be in their lives. obviously, all of this is to the conclave's benefit. they'd produce more willing soldiers and ones less empathetic to the inhabitants of the wasteland; all the better to commit atrocities without so much a bat of the eye.
indentconstance's comment elicited another brief moment of laughter from edwin. they'd witnessed some pretty bad remakes that the conclave somehow decided were reasonable to release to the public, when in reality, those films should've stayed in some work-in-progress slot. she flipped the page once again, and now they were greeted with the image of an actor being bombarded by paparazzi outside of a beverly hills nightclub. the caption beneath indicated that he had been involved in an affair. much like constance, he wasn't so shocked. these sorts of scandals aren't that alarming given their frequent appearances in the gossip portions of magazines. danny stole a quick glance over to the magazine upon their comments. if he had to guess, he knew exactly where this was going to go -- the older man's beginnings of a rant were already enough to make edwin snort. his exasperation over the dumb social scene that was made up of new hollywood celebrities was actually pretty entertaining, given his fierce recounts of how back in the day, things were much more intense than now. they didn't perform renditions of famous last words, no, they went out and faced the deadliest creatures of the wasteland with nothing but their shotguns and their wits!
indentalthough he was admittedly enjoying listening in to this sudden tangent, he had caught constance's glance through danny's rambling. the older man could go on about whatever he felt like condemning for quite some time if he had the chance, so they were both pretty used to just letting him carry on in the background. "damn right the conclave was panicking, and definitely more than we anticipated, huh? if i'm being honest, there's no way in hell our colleagues just stole some negligible files from themus. we've seen lockdowns before and usually they don't come near to that level of extremity..i mean, any travellers were pretty much ordered out of the city instantly to be patted down before exiting. usually lockdowns aren't installed at such a fast rate as they were this time; they even had the checkpoints prepared. if that isn't sign enough whatever our friends took was important.." he sighed, taking a glance out at their surroundings, the evening sky casting a light blanket of shadows over the land. it was beginning to grow harder to navigate through obvious potholes in the road and the sky was continually dimming on them. if he could strain his sight enough, though, not far from their position along their journey to their eventual destination was the sight of a few erected buildings, right now just mere specks in the distance. on the outskirts of the particular town they were headed to lay their designated outpost. "i guess a shoot-out might make sense, though, as aggravated as the conclave seemed to be. maybe they actually got away with wounding some conclave personnel. it's hard to say, but, for real, i hear you; this whole situation is just kind of bizarre. i mean, to begin with, we hardly knew the details of what was going on with the bust at themus. it only makes matters worst that our colleagues were forced to get to village cross without our help, take some detour, i dunno. i guess that would make sense with the whole shoot-out story, though; maybe that coupled with an item of a higher value being stolen from the base is getting to the conclave." as the two debated what might have been the root for the conclave's upheaval in arcadia, danny was still muttering about how ridiculous those magazines were with their tendencies to be so repetitive in nature. edwin himself was growing more curious about the matter of themus and what had actually transpired there the further they talked about it. why was the conclave so quick to dole out their lockdown regulations this time around? "you think we actually managed to have gotten some proper score on the conclave? i'm talking more than just the grab of some base file reports and whatnot. something that could be pivotal to the cause. what else could explain their behavior besides potentially having run into our friends, losing a few of their own, and on top of that, they find out they're missing some high priority item. if that's true and all, and we actually managed to get something super important out of this whole crappy situation?" although he knew constance shared much of his own opinions over the problems brewing within the rebellion itself, he still felt the need to somewhat drop his tone, "then why should we try and adopt a more aggressive approach? we are getting things done, making progress, real progress, without declaring ourselves as the twin bastards to the conclave. the rebellion can be taken seriously without us needing to come off as aggressors, you know what i mean? and we'd be no better than the conclave either if we just started forcing people to join the cause; intimidation, instilling fear into those living in the wasteland?" he shook his head. "just thinking about the whole clash of opinions over how we should move ahead in our fight against the conclave gives me a migraine. you'd think more people would understand we can still be taken seriously as a cause without needing to resort to the same violence we're trying to fight against."
indentedwin felt the harsh dips of the road beneath them as they furthered their trek through the wasteland. the entire situation regarding the division of ideas forming in the rebellion was one that edwin felt was necessary to address with constance, and especially now as those sentiments were beginning to become more known. he personally felt that they were making considerable progress in their efforts with how they were currently operating; sure, things could be improved as always, but those preaching the ideas of converting their methods to being a bit more direct made him wary. in his ears, it sounded a lot like becoming a military group pressuring people into their ranks only to form a much more sizeable army, one large enough to rival the conclaves own at some point. then, constant battles and destruction would happen out in the wasteland, regardless of care for civilians or settlements or whatever else they'd stomp across in their paths of war. he didn't want to have been involved in this organization for so long just to see them go down such a similar path of methods as the conclave, and if there was anything he could do to stop it, then he would. he really had no troubles speaking out on these issues, either; if they were going to operate as a group, then they needed to be smart about how they would take their fight against the conclave to the next level. to edwin that meant increased efforts in stirring unity amongst wastelanders in cities and settlements alike, it meant more undercover missions for him and constance and at much higher tiers of forts, not just outposts ran by some captains here and there in the wasteland. it also meant more direct attack on conclave warehouses, bases, you name it; and through methods of tact, subtly, just as had been executed with themus. there was so many ways they could ramp up their fight against the conclave, and unhinged aggression was preferably going to be one of the last methods they'd resort to; especially against wastelanders. you could argue that perhaps taking a more assertive stance against the conclave would establish the rebellion as a much more serious cause, but he couldn't help but feel that in part their elusiveness and ability to perform missions without posing a threat to general public was what helped them thrive as a group. if they wanted to strengthen themselves against the conclave and fully establish the fact that the rebellion was an opponent worthy of fully holding its own ground, wouldn't it be more impressive to say they did that without needing to stoop to the conclaves level? again, that was just his own opinion among a flood of many different ones in their organization. you'd find people who are completely in favor of becoming more bold with their moves, or some people who may advocate for both sides due to finding some truth in each argument, while others like himself were more so reluctant to falling into the trap of becoming just another aggressor out in the wasteland; and that's what they'd be seen as, if they took that specifically harsh route, with time. what reasons would wastelanders have to trust them then? the rebellion is something that's supposed to spark a sense of hope in people, that there might one day be a future devoid of the cruelties of the conclave -- they shouldn't be a cause that repels the very people they're trying to help protect. no, they couldn't become just another group looking like they were vying for power over the country. it would destroy their cause, their initial intentions becoming nothing more but a long passed memory.
indent"..anyway, what else we got in here?" he reached a hand forward to flip the corner of the magazine's page onward to a new section, curiously shifting through its contents until the page he eventually landed on was one regarding fashion. though it was yet another ridiculous thing to think people actually cared about, edwin momentarily entertained what was being addressed on the page. several different pictures of various celebrities were listed side-by-side of each-other in an effort to give the reader the ability to compare the same style worn on different people and assert for themselves who wore it better. a bold text lettering above the images labelled this as some sort of style showdown. it seemed the fashion editors had a take on it, too, judging by the stamp of approval on either person. a small blurb gave an explanation as to who they felt wore it better. edwin clicked his tongue. "this is ridiculous, i mean, look at this--" he pointed toward the images of two actresses, dasha vergara and eva burke, both donning a floral wrap dress, "their reasoning for picking eva's styling of the dress over dasha's? literally just because she supposedly elevated the outfit by adding some accessories. not to get too invested in this, but come on!" he glanced from constance back over to danny. "what do you say? does eva really get to claim the spot of ultimate style over dasha?" he had to cackle. the last thing that anyone should care about is how well a celebrity wore an outfit in comparison to another. it was just an absurd notion to think that some people had the ability to browse through these articles and actually ponder such trifling things.
indentwhen their procession had eventually begun to come on to a close toward the town, and as soon as edwin had caught sight of their approach toward the chapel, he gave a light nudge to constance's shoulder. "guess we're back here already. just can't resist the charm of village cross, you know?" edwin leaned forward in his seat in order to get a better look of the area. the ruined town that was home to one of the rebellions many small outposts was just a few miles off from arcadia. its remains were like a testament to its name -- quite literally, the town had no name; it had been lost in time, and it seemed a lot of the integrity of the buildings housed there had been, too. if it being abandoned wasn't already perfect enough for their pursuits, then the fact that it was isolate and tended to draw in a multitude of ghouls helped keep any conclave patrols at bay. their group didn't have any particular interest in the town, though, given the fact it was no doubt overrun with predators and ghouls or whatever the hell else might be creeping about the walls of its few buildings. these sort of locations are high attraction places for different sorts of dangers, though hopefully they wouldn't have to run in onto anything. if they had been arriving in the complete dark, though, things might have been a bit different. luckily, the sun was still hovering a fair amount above the horizon right now. what they were interested in, though, was the chapel sitting on the outskirts of the town, the village cross community church. at first glance, you'd notice that it's falling into itself, but beneath its floorboards housed a basement, one that they used in order to run their operations temporarily and act as a small resting point. it had no capability to be considered a full-fledged outpost, but it was enough for their current needs. in the back of the wagon, several murmurs were beginning to pipe up now that they'd slowly veered off from the road. he felt a sense of anticipation begin to flood through him -- they were here, their themus escapees! hopefully, they were all in one piece, too. regardless, the sooner they headed into the basement, the better, both because of their friends awaiting them, and for the potential threats looming about the area. he had observed their general surroundings as best he could as they made their slow halt close to the side of the church's crumbling walls; this way their caravan would be mostly obscured from at-least some angles, and it was just safer to have it in such close proximity. as soon as danny had brought them to a stop, the first thing that he could hear was a gasp of utter terror from behind them.
indentedwin whipped around to see mikey peering out of the caravan's door in some sort of fearful manner, clinging to the hinges on which it sat. what the hell..
indent"please someone tell me i ain't seeing things right, 'cause, whew, if that weren't just a pair of eyeballs staring at me from across here!"
indent"what? lemme see," fairfax stepped past mikey to get a look outside. "where? that street? it's pretty far from here, mikey, i don't know how you could even see-
indent"come on, fairfax, really! some predators got reflective eyes, you know, like you can see 'em in the dark at the right angle!" a few other members looked toward the three of them sitting at the drivers seat in a slightly concerned manner, mostly the younger members of the group. edwin had noticed. "mikey..now is not the time to be joking." he couldn't help but glare the man, although mikey was quick to raise his hands defensively. "woah, that's a hefty accusation there, my friend! like i'm lying, or something. sheesh, alright, fine then. at-least i can say i warned you all. hey, danny, there's no way in hell we're going out there, you hear me? that thing's probably gonna eat us alive in one whole bite!" of course mikey was trying to appeal to danny. it was pretty strange how just earlier in their trip danny had been the one proclaiming about how they went out into the wild to defend themselves back in the day and whatnot, so now he guessed it was time to see if he would really live up to his stories. edwin just sighed. this was a pretty routine part of heading over to a creepy and deserted building such as with village cross. he was pretty sure someone pulled this shenanigans every time they went to this particular town. literally. that, and he was pretty good at registering mikey's mock terror by now, though the man was still able to try and fool their younger companions, of course. "okay, how about this. you two stay here, camp out, probably have to face that thing because you freaking decided to stay here, and the rest of us can get into the basement where its at-least moderately safe. constance, you game on leaving these two bozos to fend for themselves the old-school way?" he snorted, ignoring the complaints he could hear from mikey's end. if they preached survival of the fittest, they might as well actually act on their words. edwin was starting to feel like it was better not to end up a meal of some predator - make believe or not - after all they'd gone through today. most importantly, they had some business to attend to within the shelter of the basement. amidst the momentary protesting which had come from his words, he leaned a bit closer to constance now. "jokes aside, here's what i'm thinking, for real. after we get a grasp of what might've happened at themus and why they had to take a detour, and how they held up if they did get in a shoot-out, we can make contact with headquarters? then we can get some direct instruction as to how to properly proceed next. things are going to be a whole lot more complicated if the conclave is out looking for whatever they stole, and getting back to main base won't be as easy as usual. i'd assume we're going to be recalled back there, too, just because of how intense the whole situation is. at-least for now, that is. maybe we can secure a few more performances after this whole initial ruse calms down, too, fill in any weekday gaps we might have."
-
vaell
-
- Posts: 1193
- Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2014 1:12 pm
- My pets
- My items
- My wishlist
- My gallery
- My scenes
- My dressups
- Trade with me
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests
