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by vaell » Mon May 31, 2021 2:25 pm
JULIAN MORENO.
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxa wastelander / future rebel. | unaffiliated. | tagged: valentina.
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indentadmittedly, julian probably had been far too distracted by the fact that they had even managed to make it out alive past the checkpoint during the period of time in which valentina had been listening in on the conversation of some strangers outside of the wagon. at her mention of the freedmen, he glanced back over his shoulder at her. "some town up west? huh. i guess that gives us some sort of a start, be it reliable or not. any kind of direction is better than us aimlessly wandering around like a pair of morons, after all." honestly, if it weren't for his cousin having picked up on the conversation of some of the people stopped at the checkpoints nearby them, he was pretty sure they would have had to procure up their own plan in finding the freedom trail from scratch, which sounded like a daunting task in and of itself. given how they had the coroner's report on their persons, the two didn't have all the time in the world to dally and try and figure out what their first move might be. they had the conclave on their asses - and while technically so did the entire wasteland population in the general area of arcadia, they were the ones who could not risk being stopped by any soldiers under any circumstances. while trusting the rumors heard from other wastelanders could also be considered a bit of a risky decision, what other choice did they have? they couldn't just flee laurel oaks and wind up in another settlement only a few miles off and only then try to conjure up some sort of plan. they needed to act now. their entire day thus far has consisted of on the spot decisions, ones that could possibly even alter the pathways of their lives forever. choosing to investigate the dead bodies, choosing to take and keep the file..being subjected to watching a sudden execution, having to blackmail zio..needing to coax a group into smuggling them out of a city undergoing lockdown? it was a lot to take in. sure, they usually endured their fair share of some pretty hectic days, but he was pretty sure they hadn't seen this much action in one day. today had definitely topped their average outings to the arcadian marketplace; usually they went by mostly undisturbed. however, if they could locate this town up west, where supposedly several freedmen were staying at, they had the opportunity of putting a fair amount of distance between themselves and their home as well as potentially gaining some information regarding the freedom trail. either way, they weren't exactly risking anything in journeying further out west, so it's not like the choice was a hard one to make. since they'd also dealt with the freedmen before, he honestly didn't feel too wary about seeking out their help. the organization was one independent of other entities such as the conclave, and was made up of people who chose to lend their services to the residents of the wasteland at no monetary cost. hopefully whoever had been claiming that the conclave has been accusing the freedmen of aiding the rebels and assisting people in finding the freedom trail were actually right after all, or else they'd have yet another letdown.
indentjulian lightly squeezed his legs behind the girth of mars' saddle, prompting the horse to begin moving them forward down the dusty street. he listened to his cousins suggestion about what route they should take to get back to their settlement. taking the highway would be nothing short of a death sentence if they were moronic enough to head out that way; luckily other trails were known to them. "ohh, yeah, i remember, i remember," behind them, the idle chatter amidst the bar was beginning to fade away. heading the back-way home would ensure they'd avoid running into whatever blockades or other precautions the conclave had took back at the turnpike. he and valentina didn't often resort to taking this route, but he still had a pretty good idea of how to manage his way through given how they had landmarks to go by such as with the old orange juice factory. that place always felt off-putting to him, just as any pre-war establishment tends to. you have no idea what could be hanging about inside those sort of places, nor what type of people were attracted to them, like bandits. "the fact we gotta pack the hell up and get out of laurel oaks before sunset is insane, but what's even more crazy is that i think i'm gonna miss it, to be honest." even though in this life its always better to strive in avoiding any sort of sentimental connections with whatever belongings or property you had, doing so was something utterly inescapable. its only human nature that you grow somewhat attached once you get used to something for so long, even if the circumstances of living in such a place as laurel oaks were considerably deplorable. they'd lived in that settlement for quite some time now and knew the surrounding area like the back of their thumb; they were close with their neighbors, shared in small celebrations of birthdays with them, gatherings and cookouts, all of that stuff. plus, it was a prime location given their proximity to the bustling city of arcadia. usually they never had to run too short on work for hire. he knew that he and valentina had no other choice but to flee their home, be it temporarily or permanently, but still. they had spent a considerable amount of time trying to keep their house as best maintained as possible, repairing leaks in the roof, or tending to any holes that had come as result of the houses ever rotting frame. "it's funny, because usually i feel like theres so much to complain about when it comes to laurel oaks, but now that we're forced to leave, it kinda sucks, you know?" despite the state of their home growing increasingly despairing in condition as the years went on, or the matter of the very mattresses they had to sleep on constantly digging in and jabbing at their sides with springs poking through the material while they slept, he had always been appreciative of their home to some greater extent. after all, its a lot better than what some people have. at-least they had a roof over their head and relative shelter from the predators of the wasteland, both humans and creatures. of course it wasn't an optimal living condition, and to make yourself come to terms with liking such a place you nearly need to force yourself into thinking things could be even worse. yet, when it would finally be their time to depart with their home, he knew he wouldn't be able to forget laurel oaks. it bore a lot of memories for the two of them, especially after the passing of their parents. it was a place of hardship, of learning, and of new opportunities looking forward. maybe it was better to leave, though, start a new page for this seemingly new chapter in their lives that was about to take off. there was no way that anything would revert back to the way it was before today; who knows what would happen if or when they found the rebellion?
indentjulian snorted at valentina's next comment, she herself sharing the same sentiments about how hectic their day had been. the fact that there was a huge list of all the crap that happened today was somehow both comical and also exhausting to think about. "you can say that again. i'm literally already tired from all of that, and to think we still gotta make it out west before the sun rises? yeah, no. sleep sounds great right about now. no idea when we're actually going to be able to get some rest, though. which is why i keep telling myself the sooner we pack up and out, the sooner we can catch a break." honestly, they would likely become a bit sleep deprived on their trek out of their settlement and out west, so much so that he was almost one hundred percent sure that as soon as they got to relative shelter he was gonna crash. as long as they put a considerable amount of distance between them and their settlement, also ensuring themselves a bit of security wherever they ended up, they could map out their plan of action the next day, especially considering they'd need to first consult the freedmen anyway, and he wasn't about to do that while he was half-awake either. as the cousins departed from the small town of mountmend and left behind its gloomy, mostly quiet streets, julian made sure to keep a firm grip on the stallions' reins while they begun their journey back to laurel oaks. the road from the town eventually gave off to a split in the road, where they'd be able to turn off onto a street instead of heading down the length of the highway back to arcadia. this way they'd hopefully manage to dodge any conclave patrols in the area, although given the location of the massacre they had stumbled upon earlier, they'd still need to be careful. the turnpike was probably crawling with conclave personnel right about now and even though it was located along the highway the two of them would need to get used to being on their feet no matter what. miles around them, vast stretches of flat land baring only the occasional toppled boulder surrounded their descent down the street. the sun above them was sinking toward the horizon, calling upon night to soon fall over the wasteland. the dark would work to their advantage, he supposed. they'd go majorly unseen if they made to stick to less traversed routes, staying in the shadows as best they could in order to get up west in one piece. hopefully they wouldn't need to spend very long rummaging through all of their belongings -- or rather, uncovering all the places in which they had stored things. they often stashed away more valuable possessions beneath floorboards or just about any crevice that was hidden from plain view. "hey," julian threw a glance over his shoulder to valentina, "i was thinking..if that town up west has any sort of market hub, you think we should try and get rid of anything we won't be able to lug around with us for the long-term? it's not like we got loads of junk or anything, but if we can make a few more caps on the side, it might help us out in the future. we're definitely set with what we got from zio, at-least for for now, but still." he reverted his attention back onto the road, shifting his grip on the reins in order to help guide mars past some major potholes formed in the road. even if they couldn't sell some of their possessions at that town, they'd be able to find someplace else to regardless. he had a feeling they may need to sell some of their wares in order to be able to continuing getting by. trying to be sustained by zio's caps wouldn't last them forever, no matter how big they had scored from their blackmailing. if they ever encountered that old man again, he was pretty sure that if zio was to be continually receptive to them, given what dirt they had on him, he'd probably be boiling with the want to kick their asses beneath it all. he and valentina were obvious pests to that greedy vendor, no matter how much he allegedly valued their time and efforts, and julian was quite fine with being known as such.
indentevery now and then, a ditch they'd pass would be harboring an old, rusted car. sometimes a skeleton could be spotted propped up in the driver's seat. this wasn't an usual sight to see; he and valentina both were unable to be fazed by seeing such things. at this point, witnessing what remains of life prior to the nukes dropping being cast about was actually just a regular part of journeying through once heavily utilized streets and highways. only one thing really had changed in their immediate environment, and that was the pleasant sight of the old orange juice factory. well, not literally. he was just glad to see it given that it was a good sign they were going to be reaching a split from the road down to laurel oaks soon enough. the factory's exterior was nothing to be captured by; the industrial site was a large complex consisting of several different buildings, likely filled with machinery once used to process the making of the orange juice. a wire fence surrounded the perimeter of the factory, although it could no longer be considered a proper border to the place. what remained of the fencing was a sorry excuse for anything to keep people out of the area; most of the links in the fence were split in half, leaving open, yawning sections exposed for entry. he could not help but eye the place rather warily as they made their approach to pass by the length of the factory. to him, it was eerie. it always had been. he had no clue if valentina felt the same way, but it was difficult not to comment on it. he was pretty sure he did every-time, and his cousin could prove it, too. "val? you think that place is infested with ghouls right now or something? or maybe, do you think there could be like a bandit hideout in there? god..what if we're about to get jumped by them? we'd never know. one second we'd be here, minding our business, the next -- bam! maybe they'd spare us, leave us empty-handed at best. man, it'd just be our luck too." he grumbled. electricity poles lined the outer perimeter of the factory close to where the once in-tact fence had been raised. the broken wires lay stagnant on what poles were still standing. this place had no doubt once been teeming with productivity, but now it was all but empty, motionless, or at-least from what they could see from here. in the unloading facility of the plant, various semi-trucks had been left to rot. once, the vehicles likely would have been filled the brim with oranges when the factory was still operating. the factory stacks, tall vertical pipes used to exhaust combustion gases into the air, were mostly collapsed at this point too. it was likely an orange grove had been in this area at one point, making it a prime location for such a place to operate, though again, no more than the ruined state of the factory could be commented on. some of the conveyor belts along the building were busted, parts of the factory falling into a state of decay, crumbling onto them. honestly, julian just wanted to get out of range of the factory as soon as possible, because to reiterate this fact -- it was creepy, and likely home to many undesirables.
indentafter some time, it wasn't long before they did make their way down the route back to their settlement, no longer threatened by the presence of that pre-war building. julian felt a bit of comfort to finally be back someplace in which he felt a small sense of security, and to see that laurel oaks had remained just as they'd left it was relief enough. while he hadn't been betting on the conclave making their presence known in the area already, you just never know. their settlement was no different than any other day, either, which seemed strange only because they themselves had a pretty chaotic afternoon; just like it were in mountmend, no conclave personnel were yet beginning to invade the streets. so, as per usual, the pair come back in their very regular manner even though everything had long past changed since their morning trek out of the settlement. mars crossed the pathway into the small community, breaching the wooden wall that bordered the perimeter of the neighborhood, the stallion's hooves now treading on a dusty path rather than the asphalt on the road they'd journeyed on. before them, the sight of dead lawns harboring withered plants accompanied houses long aged. the small street which led them back to their particular abode was similar to the road they had embarked on to get to laurel oaks from mountmend, filled with potholes and cracks. half-destroyed fences bordered some residencies, and some houses in much worse conditions than others. he passingly observed the houses down the street as mars continued onward toward their own residency, to the place they had called home for some time now. he liked to think laurel oaks was a relatively close-knit community. after all, forming connections with other people whom've faced similar hardships tends to develop a different sort of bond. they weren't exceedingly close with every resident, obviously, but their neighbors were a kind lot, particularly the smaller family housed nearest to them. it's not uncommon for the two cousins to trade supplies with the other residents of laurel oaks, either, and in that way, wastelanders out here tried to help each-other out as best as they could. everyone is trying to manage their own survival and yet somehow he always found that generosity and selflessness was a trait that so many people tended to have even despite everything they'd gone through. life was hell for everyone here -- it only made sense that they could try and have each-others' backs sometimes. he and valentina's own house was the first residence in the settlement, so soon enough they'd come up on their rather lackluster property. their front lawn served as mars' pen, similarly to how other wastelanders would make such space for their livestock. a cracked pathway ran up to the doorway of their home. it felt like they had been gone from their home for so long today, and yet they were not quite finished with what the day had to offer to them. they needed to get their asses in there to tear apart the nooks and crannies where they had stashed away their belongings.
indent"so, you're telling me we're finally back home and now we gotta leave again, this time around for an unforeseeable amount of time? who knows how long it might take to actually find the damn freedom trail..like, we're talking maybe forever, val. it's starting to really hit me now. forever. i guess we won't have time for some dramatic farewell party after all, huh?" as he brought mars to a halt before his pen, julian swung his leg around to dismount the horse, and when valentina had followed suit he made to gathered up mars' reins to secure the horse to one of the posts of the pen. poor mars; the horse had to endure lugging them and all that they had in the contents of their saddlebags around, including their sand-cats. its not like they could much afford another mount, though, and the stallion had always been steadfast. with a solid pat to the horses flank, julian glanced over to their doorway before looking back to his cousin. as usual, the streets around them were quiet with activity, even more so with the promise of nightfall upon the wasteland. inside each residency was the hum of life, however. "okay, how about this; i'm gonna go ransack the cabinets in the kitchen, make sure we didn't leave anything laying around, and i'll also try to salvage whatever i can from our strongbox, too. i'll leave you to search beneath some loose floorboards for our more valuable stuff, like shotgun shells, bandage wrappings and whatnot. if we're lucky we might've kept a spare cap or two there, too. you know, our so-called 'emergency supply'." they couldn't exactly afford trying to stash their caps away in order to try and save them up. you needed those for day-to-day affairs, whether you liked or not, and there was always something that was eating away at their money. be it them heading into a larger city, needing to purchase some supplies from a vendor, or them investing in the upkeep of their house, just as they had done so recently with replacing one of the shattered window planes in their living room. that thought made him a bit annoyed now, to be honest. the fact they'd spent caps on something they didn't really need to utilize any longer; but then again, how could they have ever anticipated themselves to wind up in this sort of a situation? besides their main possessions and supplies, though, the pair didn't exactly own anything that might be considered a luxury, nor were they in possession of an abundance of useless items. how could they be? everything they invested in was purposeful, they didn't waste their caps, their time and effort from hunting and doing hired jobs, away into random crap. "and honestly? even if you feel like we might not need something for this trip, we can always bring it along to sell, like i said before. we just gotta make sure we don't overload mars though." he snorted, beginning to head toward the entrance of their house, the sound of dead grass crunching beneath his boots before he stepped onto the small pathway. since they had no sure guess as to how long they'd be gone, they had to take anything of value to them, and they had to do it now. otherwise, who knows what would happen to whatever they left behind. they couldn't exactly promise the safe-keeping of their stuff if they were going to be so far off from laurel oaks.
indentjulian emerged within their house after stepping up their porch. across the room, he could spot the failed attempts he had made earlier that morning in trying to patch up a gap caused by the deterioration of the houses structure. the plank was still where he had abandoned it in his annoyance. despite this, he strode toward their kitchen, already intent on scavenging through the contents of the weathered metal container which held most of their tools. when he neared the shelf on which it sat, he reached a hand up to edge it forward from where he had tucked it as far back as he could against the wall, fingers grasping the sides of the strongbox in order to lower it down to the counter. once he did so, he had to put some effort into yanking the stubborn lid open once more before it revealed to him its contents. while he couldn't think of any situations in which they might just need a hammer or some screws, he knew that those wares were sellable, even despite their worn conditions. so, he plucked out what rusty screws he saw from within the box, stowing them away into an inner-pocket of his jacket. the hammer, on the other hand, he had set upon the counter beside the box. the evening darkness was seeping through the insides of their house through their windows, alerting them that they still had enough time not to entirely begin panicking. he looked over his shoulder, not to anywhere in particular but rather to call out to his cousin, wherever she may be looking about. "val! let me know what you find! so far, we got a hammer and some screws -- and before you say anything, yes, i know, to sell, not to keep."
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vaell
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by vaell » Sun Jun 06, 2021 11:05 am
MINA PAREKH.
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxaviation warrant officer two. | conclave military. | tagged: kai.
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indentwith the flick of a thumb, mina had flipped the cover of the sun visor back down over the small mirror she had been examining herself in. as she settled back into her seat, she felt kai's arms slip around her from where he sat behind the passenger seat. a light smile tugged at the corner of her lips, one of her hands going up to brush against the arm he had draped across her stomach. she let the phone sitting idly in her hand slide into her lap, her head tilting to the side to meet his gaze as he poked his head past the headrest. "mm. a massage, huh?" her hand reached up to cup the side of his face, his teasing causing her smile to tighten. "too bad you won't be able to get that precious downtime after all." she caught the way his eyes briefly strayed from her own and trailed down to her neck. she would be lying if she said she didn't want to ignore the designated time slot she had booked for this inspection, that bothersome hour which had been displayed on her phones lockscreen. right now, what she did want to do was pull him into another kiss. they were already so near to each-other. all she had to do was lean forward and seek out his lips; she already felt like she was unknowingly inching forward to close the small amount of space between the two of them -- yet, kai himself had restrained from advancing. a small wave of disappointment came over her as he went on to instead help smooth down her hair, and she chastised this part of herself for feeling such a way, like some petulant child who could ignore her responsibilities. mina was well aware of the consequences of showing up more than just a few minutes late, let alone missing the entire engine overhaul, but the idea of staying in the park with kai for awhile longer was one more appealing than showing up to her workplace already a different kind of mess. admittedly, though, they weren't doing themselves much good by delaying the inevitable. time was most definitely not on their side, and if they didn't get moving soon, she'd end up with an earful and some from her superior. "come on, get your ass up here. by the time we get over to the hangars, you'll be as good as dead too just for coming along with me." she snorted, looking to her boyfriend from the side of her eye as he withdrew his arms from her body to take his place at the driver's seat.
indentthe evening sky had set upon rock creek park, blanketing the woodland surrounding the main road they had turned back onto with the beginnings of nightfall. the sun had already embarked on its descent down the horizon, its dim rays weaving throughout the trees they drove by. right now, stretches of woodland surrounded them, though it wouldn't take more than a few minutes for them to depart from the park. she glanced out at the scenery as kai reached over to filter through some channels on the radio before ending up on one that seemed to be hosting a radio talk session. through the speakers of the vehicle, a voice filtered in mid-way through what one of the radio hosts had been previously talking about. she didn't bother to catch much more than the gist of the topic at hand, both of the hosts' words becoming somewhat of a background noise as she observed the various different trees that seemed to encompass the woods of the park. they were addressing tainted-bloods and their cities, one particular comment eliciting a small bout of laughter from both of the hosts. she took a brief glance over to kai, who appeared to be having some trouble trying to get her lipstick off from both his jaw and his mouth judging by the momentary glances he took in the rear-view mirror. they were either really bold or really stupid for planning to shamelessly head over to the hangar now -- or maybe they were both. before she could comment on his struggle, though, he glanced over to her, and at his mention of the pesky gophers, mina sighed. "yeah..i mean, the systems are supposed to. i'd guess, if it did tamper with anything, it was small enough to fly under the radar of the ship's awareness. meaning it probably didn't nick anything crucial to the integrity of the ship, but still. i mean, either way, i usually inspect this sort of stuff myself. it gives you some time to work hands-on with the machinery of the ships themselves, which helps give you a better understanding of how they operate. i might be a bit too eager on an engine overhaul, but you know how pygmy gophers are..real pains in the ass. it's just smart to look into it, you know?" the sighting of a pygmy gopher in the direct proximity of an aircraft or a vehicle was a red flag enough. those little creatures like to mess around with what they can, stealing integral parts of machinery that catch their eye. now, surely, the gopher she'd witnessed must not have impacted the main systems of her gunship, otherwise she would've known right away. the systems of the ship would have picked up on something or other failing. when it comes to less important parts of the aircraft though, sometimes things can be overlooked by the technology the vessel has installed; mainly because the problem was nearly undetectable. such issues usually go unresolved and amount into something much more fatal in the future, hence why she took the liberty of being wary over such a sighting of the gopher.
indentmina had to mull his next inquiry over for a moment. had anyone thought of such a deterrent for the gophers before? surely, it must have crossed the mind of some engineer or technician, although apparently nobody had actually implemented such a system. "right? you'd think that by now, someone would have taken some sort of measures in preventing the gophers from breaching ships and cars, especially when you think about all the trouble they've caused. how many problems does it take to get people to act on this sort of stuff? i mean sure, you would be warned about some sort of detection of complications within the vessel, but..? what if you only found out when you took off for flight? it'd be far too late by then. i mean, that's happened before, those horrific incidents you hear about." kai was posing some interesting food for thought; the military would be able to avoid some losses if they just developed the proper security to keep the pygmy gophers at bay. since the problem seemed one so infuriatingly common, too, she didn't understand why action hadn't been taken yet. "you're right, though. that would be super useful, actually. you know, maybe i'd be able to file in a request to my captain, see if we could get some consideration for something like that to be developed. he could forward the plan if there was enough basis to it. i swear the airforce is always suffering from the plight of those little monsters. and like you said, all we'd need is a system that could be activated while the aircraft isn't actively being utilized. i can imagine inventions much more tedious than that." obviously, she didn't have the skill it required to create such a system, but in comparison to the other leaps in technology advancement the conclave has made, what would a measly little security system for pygmy gophers be? it's not like they'd be asking for a whole lot; although the installation of such a system onto each and every ship may just be an irksome task. it'd be worth the pain, though, considering how much trouble the rodents tended to cause the airforce.
indentshe cackled when kai mentioned their likelihoods of being blown up by some turret should they meander over onto a top secret area or something. "now that sounds like a way to go; accidentally stepping on top secret soil and getting blasted after all the effort we put into trying to make it to the hangar in time. um, it's that one hangar outside the renlor air base, the one that comes up right before the naval research laboratory, you know?" where various shops, schools, and even apartments had once been prior to the nukes hitting, one of the more stark changes to the southwest district was the addition of various military forts operating out of the capital which took the places of said establishments. now, the outskirts of the region surrounding the potomac river were concentrated with the much more evidently militaristic ways of the conclave. it was home to multiple hangars belonging to the large airbase they had located there alongside the military's own respective operating bases.
indentthe air base was an aerodrome surrounded by lengths of paved land, bright yellow and red lines painted accordingly down the stretches of the smooth, flat surface in order to guide pilots toward designated landing areas or points of entry from the runways to the hangars. the couple was able to secure parking just outside of the renlor air base; given the time of day, it made sense that the traffic heading in and out of the area was beginning to wind down, a vast majority of people likely having head home by now. mina stepped out from the convertible, glancing across the flat expanse of land and to the hangar before she rounded about to the front of the vehicle and over to kai. almost immediately, she caught sight of the faded remnants of her lipstick on the side of his jaw, a spot he'd missed in his efforts to try and remove the makeup from his face. " maybe taking care of some of the evidence of what we've been up to would be helpful in keeping us alive. here, hold on." she laughed, reaching a hand up to carefully wipe away the small smudge of lipstick. though seemingly resistant to being removed, she eventually wiped away the stubborn smear after a brief moment. "hm. well, its an improvement. come on, let's go," mina hooked her arm around his, directing them both down the relatively empty length of pavement down from the hangar.
indentthe aircraft hangar was made up of a metal frame, the closed building structured to hold the capacity of larger models of aircraft within, such as large freighters or cargo ships. airships did not require docking at this specific cluster of forts, hence why the hangars were not particularly suited for an aircraft as massive as the iron ships. these hangars were allotted to the various different low-mid tier squadrons operating out of the commonwealth that the airforce consisted of. currently, several gunships of a specific model occupied the space of the hangar, making the area feel much more spacious than it would if a larger vessel were hosted within. the hangar is utilized for protection from the weather, direct sunlight and for maintenance, repair, manufacture, assembly and storage. each gunship bore the same ebony exterior accompanied by white lettering branding the aircraft as being that of the conclaves own on the upper wings of the aircrafts. emblazoned beneath the small conclave sigil were a few numbers as well as a specific letter in order to identify and distinguish the different vessels. they all looked so sleek - in part because she and some of her fellow colleagues had only recently done some investing in modifications and thus exterior repairs, but mostly because of how new and unexposed to the wasteland the gunships were. normally, a ship that has seen some usage would show signs of wear; the white branding beginning to fade or chip, the outside having grown rugged from the harsh climate out in the wasteland, perhaps the wings and fuselage weathered by the elements. if you were meticulous enough a pilot, you'd never left your jet get into such a state in the first place, though she did understand how unavoidable it could be if you were stationed outside of the capital. she didn't have much experience in that area, but she supposed it was a given. besides, its not like the gunships served to exist merely for their eye-catching appearances. the vessels were armed at the tips of their wings as well as directly beneath the cockpit; within the command center, various displays of targeting computers and sensor scopes could be found as well. arguably, the major advantage gunships offered would be their speed. they can be navigated at speeds incomprehensible in comparison to a heavier vessel carrying a load of supplies. as a result of this, computer assistance was an absolute requirement for accurate piloting, even despite the fact that the squadron she belonged to usually ensured a co-pilot was present alongside the main pilot. mostly, in practice tactical scenarios, such assistance was necessary given how easily one could be off by a degree and easily result in being miles off-target. above the ships several overhead lights hung from the highest points of the ceiling, illuminating the hangar and casting a sheen across the pristine surfaces of the gunships. several ramps lined the walls of the large space, and from such a position one could look out onto the entire array of ships stationed in this very space.
indentalong the edges of the hangar, a person or two was fiddling with mockups of potential modifications to their aircraft; various holoprojections of the inner workings of gunships were lit up at the side of the room, hands zooming in to specific quadrants to get feedback on the instrument. some toggled with the buttons on the device to view projected statistics of machine improvements should they make a certain adjustment to their aircraft. what had caught her attention was one man, clad in a dark uniform decorated with various medals on his chest, whom had strode over to the foremost ship in the hangar, glancing down at his wrist, likely gauging the current time. as she and kai neared the wide, yawning entrance of the hangar, it didn't take long for her to confirm the identity of this man. who else would be so obviously impatient in awaiting someones arrival? "look who it is. my favorite captain," she muttered to kai, an obvious hint of distaste coating her words. she'd ranted well enough about the man for her boyfriend to know how much of a bastard he was. while maybe he was just doing his job, mina felt like he was out to get her. he never put in any good words for her, and remained particularly detached from any applications she made to try and raise her ranking. she'd been under his command for the last three years of which he'd assumed command over her squadron, and she still hadn't grown any more fond of him since the first day that they had met.
indentas they headed within, her captain looked up from his watch, likely having caught a glimpse of motion as the two began to approach him. though just a mere moment, it felt as though he was already eyeing them critically from where he stood across the hangar. when they came up to the man, mina wasted no time in offering him a respectful salute. the man could be no more than five years their senior, and yet he was heading such a generous command of soldiers. she'd always been a bit envious of people who weren't far off in age from herself being successful. mina's captain first looked to her singularly, an eyebrow slightly raised. "warrant officer parekh. i'm glad that you were able to arrive in a timely manner. i'm not sure i know you for doing the sort." she felt a sense of embarrassment creep its way into her mind at his remark. sure, sometimes she was running late, but in her experience that didn't take away from her attentiveness while at work. she supposed it didn't look the best to have a record of sluggish behavior when it came to actually getting in on time, though. his attention was quick to shift toward kai, who was standing at her side. "..and you brought someone along. loukanis, am i correct?" he didn't sound entirely too enthused at the prospect of someone having tagged along with mina, and unsurprisingly, the man was able to identify kai without too much hesitation. it didn't take a genius to recognize him -- she often dragged her boyfriend over to the hangars whenever she wanted to show him some new modifications she might've added to her vessel. it only made sense that her captain had gotten used to seeing him around now and then. "i'm sure we've been acquainted, although i should reintroduce myself. captain hayrmor."
indentafter a moment passed, she lightly cleared her throat, trying to play off his earlier comment with a light smile. "sir. it wouldn't be wise of me to delay an inspection when our assistance bots could be utilized elsewhere."
indent"mhm. i'm glad we're on the same page, then. resources shouldn't be wasted for those who choose to be reckless with their time management. now, a pygmy gopher might've gotten into your gunship at some point, is that right?"
indent"yes, sir. only yesterday when we were departing back here from our most recent supply run. it was outside of the ship, and my co-pilot saw it, too. clearly it didn't mess with the main instruments of the ship, but i don't want to run the risk of something going awry down the line, should it have tampered with any part of the aircraft." her captain nodded along with her words. "a smart decision. after all, i'd prefer it if you did not destroy this newly acquired ship so soon after you received it."
indentshe would not be the one destroying the ship. it would be the gopher, but it seemed not to be of much difference to her superior. that, and he hadn't even bothered to mention how her and her own co-pilots lives were at risk. he was more concerned about the wellbeing of the gunship - although at this point, she couldn't say she wasn't used to it. the new models had been an investment, and anyone would be stupid not to see how the wreckage of a new gunship within a few days of its ownership in this branch wouldn't look so great, be it as a result of engine failure or not, both on their part and on the manufacturers. "no, sir, of course not. hopefully everything will pass as clear. if not, we'll be glad to have found anything wrong before something so detrimental were to happen." captain hayrmor folded his hands behind his back, briefly glancing over his shoulder. "right. well, if you would follow me, there's already some assistance bots awaiting you at your ship. if your report ends up flagging something that has damaged the vessel, that is when you will fetch me. otherwise, i'd like you to wrap this up in due time." obviously, he didn't seem too keen on the pair hanging about the hangar right about now. he likely was telling himself it was too damn late for this kind of crap, dealing with two bozos who had been tempted to skip out on the engine overhaul and showed up looking like it, too.
indentalongside kai, she followed her captain down the row of aircrafts, each vessel made up of a slender front, its narrow design crafted for high speeds. their sizeable wings were tucked into the sides of the main body in their current docked states. the wings of the jets were capable of rotating for landing, making for a smooth transition to the ground, hence their current positions. with her elbow, mina lightly nudged the side of kai's arm eagerly, leaning closely beside him in order to avoid the man ahead of them from shooting a glare over his shoulder at whatever noise they were making. "hey, check it out. mine is at the end of the line. i don't think you've seen this new set of gunships yet, have you? if you remember that old ass model i was working with last month; well, she's gone now, and replaced with a much more capable jet." it wasn't like mina did much outside of transport within the commonwealth for small supply runs from fort to fort, but having an upgrade was nice. it wasn't so much that she earned it from an exceptional display of skill, but rather because their squadrons superior had finally found it in himself to trade in their old gunships for the newer models which had been released in the airforce. if it wasn't obvious enough, her squadron didn't exactly get priority for the release of new assets; those who received such technologies first were often those in nafs or majcoms. no surprise there. she couldn't even complain, though, for she wasn't even stationed out in the wasteland. its not like they needed to have the best ships at their disposal as they required, after all. the most excitement they got was a supply run that spanned over the course of a few days. she glanced by the vessels as they strode by, catching a glimpse of their slanted reflections in the reinforced nose of a ship, the lights from above shining atop its surface. the long, jutting pipes of armament coming from the wings and cockpit of the ships pointed in their direction, sinister despite the fact no one was manning the ship.
indentwhen they came to a halt near the final ship on the row, her captain cast an almost scrutinizing glance over her ship. the code 5961-b was plastered upon its upper wing, confirming this vessel as mina's own. with all of their gunships being a general military issue, aside from the dark panels that had been modified for their squadron, in such pristine conditions as they currently were, it could be hard to tell whose is whose. besides, it's not like they can modify anything regarding the ships' exteriors. that would cause a break in uniform, and it was well beyond their ranking to even request such a change in appearance; those bonuses were accessible only to the upper branches of the military. lower squadrons usually only had access to internal modification - although if you asked mina, tinkering around with the systems can be a lot more effective than trying to get that new thruster everyone's been raving about. she'd only recently modified the reaction-control system of the ship in the hopes of stabilizing some of its thrust power as well as altitude control. the upper-half of the ship had been raised open, the glass which held the cockpit sliding up and backward to allow for entry inside, exposing the innards of the vessel. "there's a few bots at the back of the ship awaiting for your instruction. i opened up the cockpit incase you needed to check on anything from within the ship. now, i must insist that you both spend only the allotted time here. i can't have anyone else disturbed. is that clear?" mina looked back over to her captain. what an ass. he was already implying they'd be jacking around in no time. "yes, sir, very clear. thank you. i'll get back to you if anything seems to come up."
indent"wonderful. you know where i'll be." with that, captain hayrmor had taken no time to leave the couple to their own devices, heading toward one of the ramps along the sides of the room, likely to do some work of his own. mina pressed a hand against the nose of the ship, its cool surface biting against her bare skin. she wasn't entirely put off by her superiors' behavior; it was just the regular way in which they interacted with one another. what did he expect from her, though? it's not like she was kissing his ass anytime soon. she stepped around the side of the nose of the ship, looking over her shoulder toward her boyfriend. "alright, i promise this shouldn't take too long. let's go get this overhaul started." mina begun to walk alongside the length of the ship until the large thrusters at the back of the vessel were exposed. the main thruster of the ship was large, situated in the middle of the crafts backside, two smaller thrusters located just between the main one and the wings of the aircraft. for a second, she almost didn't even notice the four assistance bots peering up at her in curiosity. it seemed they would start their inspection here.
indentmina looked over to kai. "here, you mind helping one of these bots get up to that engine, just beside that wing? i'll handle the thruster opposite to you. when the bot gets situated on the top of the hood of the engine, you just need to let it hop down to dissemble the first panel; from there, it'll be able to get to the compressor and then the combustor to see if anything has been damaged." unlike the assistance bot back at the foodcourt who had a pincer meant for picking up garbage, these bots were equipped with various different modes of tools they could shuffle through in order to do maintenance on an aircraft properly. normally, she'd do a lot more work when it came to the hands-on part of inspections, although one had to be a bit more careful with disassembling engines. they were touchy, and it would do more harm to tamper with them rather than allow for the more precise mechanisms of the bots to do most of the work for her. mina herself reached down so that one of the bots could clamber up onto her forearm, the small bot attempting to get some sense of balance as it maneuvered itself up. once it seemed stable, she slowly raised her arm up toward the small thruster so that the assistance bot could hop up atop the hood of the engine. it let out a small satisfied beep, understanding what its next task were. several clicking noises emitted from its back panel before it opened up to reveal a screw at the end of what would have been a pincer. part of the reason why they were not checking out the largest engine on the aircraft was due to the fact that the system would have immediately detected any problems arising with it, as it was the main source of thrust for the ship. the smaller engines, though, were at a bit more of a risk. the pygmy gophers could easily cause damage to them which would go undetected for a period of time since the gunship could technically operate without one or the other of the two. being such a new model, this gunship in particular utilized a nuclear reactor; liquid metal fuel created a flammable gas in the engine which served to act as the ships main velocity.
indentshe stepped back from the small thruster, the assistance bot hopping down inside the small shelf right before the first panel of the engine. "so, what do you think? this new ship an upgrade or what? no more of those crappy propellors my last vessel had." older models of aircraft often bore propellors or pre-war engines, so this was definitely a welcome change for mina. she already knew the dynamics of nuclear reactors and how they shifted the piloting of a gunship, so it wasn't like she had to get used to something entirely new, although at the same time, it was her first time actually having control over one of the ships. the bot she had elevated up to the small engine was now beginning to tinker away, rotating its screw as it inspected where to remove the small panel before the compressor. the compressor acted as the first component to the engine core, attached to a shaft. it creates an increase in air pressure and thus of the energy potential of the air. the squashed air is then forced within the combustion chamber, and there, air is mixed with the fuel within and then ignited. the mixture of air and fuel catches fire this way, creating a high temperature, high-energy airflow. the fuel burns with the oxygen in the compressed air, producing hot expanding gases. "also, while we're here, you know if mateo is over in this district? if you want, we could always drop that file off to him if he's still over here by the time we get this overhaul done." inside the thruster of the ship, she could hear the whirring of the bot she'd placed within as it managed to successfully detach the first panel away from the compressor. the two other bots stood at their feet still, tilting their heads toward the engines and occasionally back up the couple. mina had noticed their desire to be engaging in some utilization rather than just be waiting around idly. "hm. i guess we can take these bots inside the ship to check out some inner panels while these two make progress on the thrusters, maybe speed up the process a bit that way?"
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vaell
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by vaell » Mon Jun 07, 2021 4:25 pm
xxxxxxxJAZM Í N SECO.
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxinr tactical intel. officer / covert ops. taskforce. | conclave military. | tagged: roland.
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indentjazmín had not heeded to roland's urgings.
indentwell, not entirely at-least. she had successfully maneuvered her way out of the cockpit, using much of her newfound adrenaline to persevere through the pain of lifting herself up and out, but she had not retreated to the armored unit as he had so suggested she do. instead, she found herself in a state of hesitancy just outside the nose of the battered cargo ship, her eyes darting to the car and back down the length of the ship. she was torn, unsure whether leaving the crash site for her own safety was the best decision to make. considering that roland could still be exposed to attacks during that period of time, would it be smart of her to basically ditch him under the assumption nothing would go awry in their plan? sometime during her exit from the cockpit, the cries of the griffins seemed to have amplified, likely as result of roland's attempts to antagonize them into following after him. there was no telling whether or not something would go wrong. nervously, she adjusted the grip she had on her pistol, peering out from the side of the ship and down to one end of the thrusters. whatever might be going on back there was majorly obscured by the large thruster jutting out the side of the aircraft. admittedly, it might have been bit more wise to have listened to roland's suggestion, but how could she secure her own safety and not his? at-least she had somewhat taken his advice, though; she'd left the relative safety of the cockpit, after all. if something were to gone wrong, and she had decided stayed within the ship, then she would have been in a bit of trouble considering that the griffins knew fully well where she was. so, good thing she hadn't stayed within, then.
indentalthough it felt jazmín had only just set eyes down the line of the vessel, all at once she could hear the griffins' screeching warping from angered and to agony -- harsh, unpleasant squawks distorted their usual screeching, their vocal chords straining under what she could only assume must have been a success on roland's end. immediately, she flung herself back around the corner of the aircrafts nose at the glimpse of a flurry of ebony, the targeting system installed in her helmet nearly going berserk in an attempt to try and properly pin a reticle down on the suddenly retreating griffins. she shoved her back against the metal frame, half-ducking down as to remain as hidden as she could from the griffins' sights. she wasn't even the one who had been face-to-face with the creatures just now and yet her breath hitched from the sudden eruption at the back of the ship alone. speaking of which, she had no idea how roland was making out back there. after all, she hadn't heard from him since he told her to head to the car as soon as the griffins were on his ass. that made sense, obviously; he was too preoccupied in trying to ensure they got scalded by the flames of the ship, although even now there was still static. she peered up into the darkening sky warily, dubious as to the predators' whereabouts. it was hard to say whether or not they'd permanently flee from the area, but what she did know was that they must have been scalded pretty severely, and with what injuries the creatures already bore prior to being burnt by the flames of the ship, there was no telling how erratic their hostility might be now; would they be so impaired as to not make another return back to the cargo ship, or would they persevere in order to seek revenge, the same way most creatures of the wasteland seemed to do? either way, they wouldn't be sticking around to wait and find out, she supposed. she let out a shaky breath, placing a hand against the side of the ship in an effort to ease herself up to rise from her crouched position. jazmín flipped the hud up from her visor in the hopes that she no longer needed to utilize such precautions now that the griffins appeared to have fled.
indenta heavy silence was quick to fall over the crash site following the disappearance of the creatures. the lack-of noise nearly felt foreign to her ears considering how overbearing the griffins had been up until now. although currently her heart rate was attempting to level out its prior acceleration, adrenaline keeping her mind sharp and keen, soon the effects of the epinephrine would wear off, and that would be when the real pain would hit, both from the blows she'd taken and from the laceration across her inner shoulder. there was no telling how sore she would actually be when the intensity of their current circumstances were put aside. jazmín took a careful step forward, edging her way around the nose of the ship. her first instinct was to head over to the back of the vessel to see if roland was alright. after all, who knows what might have happened before he had managed to lure them into the flames of the engine? so, she set off, heading down the length of the ship, occasionally throwing a wary glance over her shoulder to ensure that they were in-fact still alone. a sense of paranoia was hard to kick, given how quickly the griffins had sought to attack them not too much earlier. as she passed by the splintered fuselage, though, the sound of her name halted her in her tracks. jazmín paused, head whipping in the direction of the voice which sounded out from across the body of the ship.
indentroland.
indentthey had to be directly opposite from one another. with a newfound rush of elation, jazmín sprung into action, quickly abandoning her journey toward the thrusters. she scurried along the side of the ship, running a hand against its surface, skimming its damaged exterior. when she rounded the corner of the aircraft's front, she scrambled around the nose, fumbling to holster her firearm as she did so; she could hear his voice, drained and yet all the same triumphant. when she peered past the edge of the ship, her gaze landed on the sight of an exerted roland - whom she couldn't help but noticed seemed to be favoring his left leg - accompanied by deedee. she let out a sharp exhale of what must have been a pent-up breath, thin, relieved laughter escaping from her lips. somehow, they'd managed to carry out a more than risky plan and were rewarded with their lives. she reached up toward the edges of her own helmet, tearing the chamber from her face. a hiss of air sounded out as the helmet was removed. some of her power armors stability must have been impacted somehow considering the poor ventilation inside of the space. she hardly cared that the repugnant smell of incinerated flesh and smoke hung heavy in the air, not when she'd lost track of how long she had been subjected to keeping her helmet on. jazmín was only vaguely aware of the loose strands of hair which clung to her moistened face, perspiration coating her skin. she was only now beginning to notice that on her tongue rested a faintly metallic taste, at first not too present until all at once an overwhelming rush of aversion hit her. suddenly, she turned aside toward the ship and unceremoniously retched up a thin stream of blood, one of her hands going up in an attempt to steady herself against the frame of the ship as she had staggered forward. her epistaxis had been severe enough that some blood must have dripped down the back of her throat; given the amount of activity she'd endured since she had first collided into that crate, it made sense that not only did the blood ooze from both her nostrils but eventually further back into her nasal cavity as well. jazmín blinked, dazedly staring down at the spittle and blood which had passed through her open jaws and onto the side of the cargo ship. she pushed herself away from the aircraft, absently wiping a hand across her mouth and effectively smearing the aftermath of her nosebleed across her face. the epistaxis had been prominent enough that blood ran from both of her nostrils although at this point it had begun to thin out. taking the place of the steady flow of crimson was now the small, slow trickle of red running down to the top of her lip. truthfully, neither she or roland were much of a pretty sight.
indentdespite this, however, when she turned her gaze back over to her boyfriend, a grin broke out across her face.
indentthe woman wasted no time in dashing over to him. although he was talking, she wasn't so sure she was registering every word he was saying at this point. it was evident that he was exerted from carrying out his side of their plan as well as all that they had endured prior given the fact he was now resorting to catching his breath at his knees. still, seeing him regardless of health was calm enough for now. she came up on roland in a hurried manner, her hands straightaway flying up to gingerly take his face in her hands. "roland," she exhaled, interrupting his attempts at catching his breath. they had been separated from each-others' sides since the griffins had first erupted out from the innards of the cargo ship, so to see him in the flesh once more was an immense relief. leisurely, one of her thumbs gently caressed his cheek. being able to touch him again, to know he was alright after all, even despite what wounds had been inflicted upon him -- she nearly forgot how dangerous of a location they were still occupying. even though they had both somehow made it out alive, they weren't entirely in the clear just yet. given his current stance, they were already much at face level with one another, so for a brief moment, she placed her forehead against his own, listening to their shared laborious breathing before her hands fell from his face, one arm slipping around his back while her opposite hand went up to the back of his head as she pulled him in to a small embrace. for a moment, she was able to find refuge from the chaotic world around them. the sensation was fleeting, however, for jazmín soon drew back, her hands sliding onto his chest and resting there as she then looked him in the eye. "you're okay. well, sort of. your wound.." curiously, her eyes scanned him for a moment as if to determine whether or not he had only sustained a singular strike to his leg or if he had been obviously injured elsewhere, her gaze then levelling back with his own when she was unable to spot more than his obvious injury. it wouldn't be long before they'd have to face the mayor after the wildly unfair challenge he had unknowingly thrown at them. she was sure she should be a lot more angered by the prospect of having to confront the man, but right now, so much of her energy had already been depleted that it was hard to find it in herself to be upset. surely, though, seeing him once again would likely renew a spark of irritation in her, one that she could not conjure up right now.
indentshe threw a glance in deedee's direction. as far as what she'd heard from roland, the canine had a considerable success against the griffin which had gone after him. a light smile formed upon her lips as she then looked back up to her boyfriend. "so we live to see another day, somehow outsmarting two griffins. i'm surprised our plan worked so well -- i shouldn't have doubted you." slowly, she dropped her hands from his chest, turning to look back to the armored unit not far off from their current positions. she could spot the sight of their sand-cats in wait. they must have retreated someplace beneath the car when they heard the screeches coming from the predators pacing the ship, though now they must have realized the griffins had fled, at-least for some time. their security wasn't promised if they lingered here; they had to get moving. jazmín returned her attention back to roland, taking in his current state. "here," she offered him an arm in-case he wanted to ease some of the weight on his leg, "take it easy, alright?"
indentnow, they just needed to head back over to the city.
indentwhile they had been busy fending for their lives back at the crash site of the cargo ship, it seemed that within the walls of arcadia, there was no remarkable change. it felt strange to think not long ago they'd been trying to muster up a plan in order to simply get themselves out of that mess alive, while the entirety of this city's population had been completely unaware to the threat nearly on their doorstep -- or more notably, while the mayor and the dominion agent were safe and content within the walls of the city. now that much of that much of the adrenaline she'd experienced had begun to die down, things were becoming a bit more clear to her. they'd been thrown to the wolves. technically, worse than that, even. extermination parties themselves didn't find taking down such massive and capable creatures of the wasteland as an easy task, so her and roland, completely unprepared? they didn't stand a chance right from the start. they'd walked right into that place without a doubt in their mind, exuding confidence. who wouldn't have? dealing with ghouls is tedious, although it's not something that is particularly as life-threatening as dealing with griffins. mated griffins, at that. and sure, they'd gotten away with their lives, but it didn't erase the fact they could have easily been taken out by the creatures, or even have suffered much more concerning injuries than the ones they had now. that was to say, they didn't even know the exact extent to their injuries, either. the pain in her shoulder demanded her attention at the thought -- her broken flesh had no qualms in allowing blood to spew from the laceration. she risked a glance to her shoulder. by now, a trickle or two of scarlet had already slipped down one of the semi-ruptured tears in her pauldron. she wasn't surprised that her armor had been breached so easily. griffins heavily rely on both their beak and their talons as their main assets of attack, making these features of theirs notably lethal. they gain a lot of power and thrust from their wings, too, and due to their sheer size, they also can easily overpower their prey through raw force. however, their talons, those piercing, hooked claws, have a considerable length and thickness. its why griffins can rival the durability of most forms of power armor, and they are smart enough to know they can somehow find a way in past the protective layering, too. she'd need to do something about that portion of her armor most definitely. the gap in her pauldron was about the same size of her lesion, considering the initial tearing of the armor had been how she had received the wound in the first place. it didn't look great. not that she hadn't had worse before, but again, the depth the talons had reached in her flesh was enough to cause an unrelenting stream of throbbing pain. her hand, too, had fallen victim to the slashes of the griffin when it had knocked her firearm from her grip. she observed the two cuts that ran directly across her knuckles, the sinking of talons having cut clear lines through the fabric of her gloves. the gaps in the material revealed tender, red and raw skin, splitting open into painful slits of exposed vermillion. she supposed that these cuts were not nearly as bad as to what had happened to her shoulder.
indentit hadn't taken long for them to return back to where they had previously parked nearby the mayor's office. jazmín briefly glanced to roland before she opened up the passenger door. unsurprisingly, she set off before the man, having ditched her helmet and left her sand-cat within the armored unit. she could not help but feel a rage begin to fester within her as she took each pace toward the building, steps clearly purposeful in intent if not in the way her face was beginning to reflect her annoyance. emerging at the perfect time was the sight of that loathsome man, closely followed by two of his own personal guards. she stalked across the pathway of the building, bee-lining straight toward the mayor.
indentthe man had to do a double-take at the sight of jazmín. she wasn't sure if it was because she looked so pissed off that he knew he direly messed up, or if it was because he was surprised to see her even make it out alive. "w-woah, hold on there!" the mayors finnall's eyes widened as he took in the complete sight of jazmín coming up on him. with blood dried across her face and an expression of damnation contorting her features, his hands suddenly flew up in an attempt to placate her before she could come any closer to him. he peered past her shoulder to try and get a look at roland, too. "hey! what's got your feathers all ruffled? couldn't handle a quick ole extermination? judgin' by how beat you lot look, just barely--"
indent"are you serious?" she snapped, effectively cutting him off from digging himself into an even deeper hole. she made an effort to try and ignore his intended play on words, the one about feathers, given their run-in with the griffins. "i'd like to see you have gone and handled the 'ghouls' at the crash site. oh, wait, there's a reason why you didn't just send out a few of your own soldiers, right? because your sad excuse for local reinforcement would've been eaten alive, and then what? you'd be stuck with a big ass problem on your hands, huh? did it not once occur to you, 'maybe i should just try and contact an extermination party?' but no, no, why would you do that, when you could put our lives on the line just because you thought 'oh, well, they're capable of dealing with those griffins, let me just trick them into heading out there completely unprepared'--"
indent"hey, how 'bout you cool it, woman! looks to me like you both made out of there alive, so what's the damn fuss!?-"
indent"whats the damn fuss?" she spat dryly, recoiling in disbelief. behind the man stood his two guards, eyeing the situation unfolding before them warily. from where she stood, she noted that they were not heavily armed; each bore a pistol at their sides. luckily, neither of them seemed to be too concerned for the mayor's wellbeing just yet. good. mayor finnalls' mouth gaped open in astonishment, as if he assumed they would not have been upset over being manipulated in such a way. she had no choice but to turn away from the older man, his expression alone beginning to further piss her off. behind her, she could distantly pick up on him saying something, although jazmín only looked to roland as she ran an exasperated hand across her face. "you hearing this? this has got to be a joke or something." there was no way they were being told just how easy dealing with those two griffins had been. though, to be fair, this conversation was going just as frustratingly as she'd anticipated. somehow that notion only frustrated her further.
indentshe could hear him pipe up some more, this time attempting to try and get their attention reigned back in toward him. "i just don't get it! how are you gonna be mad at me, when clearly it wasn't no skin off the backs of you two! what, you got a few scratches. big deal, i say! if that disgruntled you both, then i'd say it was good for you! too busy keepin' your hands clean holed up in one of them forts, huh? you needa get riled up every now and then, keep in good shape!.." she wasn't sure she was listening anymore.
indentin a split second decision - one that was evidently fuelled by an impulsive, sudden flash of anger - she had whirled around to cleanly pull her gun out and shove the barrel of the pistol right into the side of his neck.
indentunease broke out between his two guards. did they defend their mayor, as was their duty to do, or would they stand down knowing she outranked him? well, they didn't have much choice if they also wanted to keep their heads. though their hands had instinctively reached for the handles of their pistols, they did not make to draw them out. instead, all they could do was eye jazmín carefully. she stared at the man in contempt, managing to get up in his face enough that his mouth drew open, the man finding himself unable to muster any coherent words. he only stammered at the sensation of the gun against his neck. "i don't know what the fuss is. why don't you tell me?" she seethed, pressing the end of the barrel further beneath his chin, tilting the firearm upward so his face would have to follow suit.
indent"w-wait, hold on there..! the information! what about the information! remember!? that wasn't no lie, i'm-i'm tellin' ya!" he blurted out, eyes quickly shifting between the gun positioned below his neck and back to her face. "just, drop the gun, and i'll tell you two what i know, and then we can be on our separate ways! listen, if you kill me, you two are as good as dead, too! 'ey, you hearin' me too, pal?" the mayor desperately looked over her shoulder and to roland. clearly, he was attempting to reel him into the conversation, as if he wouldn't also gladly pull the trigger on the mayor. "and i mean dead at-least to some degree, considerin' how surely you must be scrambling with this mission, huh? well i haven't informed the other personnel in the city yet, not even that ambassador, you hear me?" she had to laugh. he still couldn't get it through his thick skull that they hadn't been trying to risk their lives for his information in the first place. however, pointing a gun at someone is always an effective way to get them to squeal, or just simply an easy method to make someone see how they are not in such a position of power as they perceive themselves to be. "yeah? whatever you're gonna say, it better be good, or else you'll be finding yourself in a very unpleasant situation..the gun stays. talk."
indent"okay, dammit!" he hissed, looking between the two officers as the pistol's barrel remained a constant presence below his chin. clearly he was uncomfortable, a bead of sweat beginning to form at his brow -- he had no idea whether or not she'd take his life regardless of the information he gave her. "listen close, there's gotta be some sort of a hideout nearby-- i'm telling you, a few miles off from the city. it oughtta be home to some rebels or other, because based on patrol reports, that place is a ghost town. ain't nobody livin' there, and if they are, they're some crazy bastards to be in an abandoned town! thing is, there has been people takin' that route into the town in this last month -- increased activity. there ain't no blockades up that way, although you can tell when someone's headin' over there if they take the road down! i'd say it's not far off from mountmend, y'know, that small town only a bit off from here."
indentjazmín narrowed her eyes, skeptically observing the mayor. an abandoned town. while he did have some information to back up his claim, this was mostly some suspicion he must have. she threw a glance over her shoulder at roland. they didn't have much to operate off from besides suspicions, in a way. they were making no progress via the arcadian lockdown, given the fact that they had not been summoned to investigate anyone or thing trying to gain access out of the city, and if they didn't start making some advances and fast, they'd be feeling the pressure ramp up some more soon. she couldn't call this lead one of high credibility, but perhaps he was not lying. although, at the same time, he had done this to them before, deceived them in such a way. she really wasn't sure what to think. jazmín turned her shoulder in order to fully face roland and consult him, keeping her pistol trained on the man's neck."what do you think? does he even deserve to live after what he pulled earlier?" she looked back to the mayor, who could not help but take a step away upon hearing her comment, his back hitting the column of the building. jazmín clicked her tongue in disapproval, following in suit with him. she stepped close to the older man while continuing to drive her pistol into the side of his throat. "not so fast. you're gonna wait to hear our judgement, you bastard-"
indentat the top of the staircase, she noticed the opening of the door to the mayor's office. within seconds, it seemed the older mans' saving grace had appeared; agent asfour. upon witnessing the mayor being pinned to the column, he all too calmly descended down to them, appearing greatly unperturbed by this sighting. the man reached over to her pistol, a hand closing a solid fist around the barrel of her gun, his fingers slowly but firmly wrapping across the firearm as he levelled a unsmiling expression her way. "please. there's really no need, officer seco." he wasn't asking her to remove the weapon. he was forcing her to. as much as she wanted to keep the mayor in such a state of fret, she had no other choice but to slowly withdraw the pistol away from his skin as the dominion agent watched her carefully. she glared at mayor finnall, slipping the pistol back into its holster in a rather forceful manner. briefly, she forced her gaze to the ground, trying to recompose herself being risking the chance of snapping on the ambassador as she had the mayor. with a small inhale, she glanced back to agent asfour. "forgive me. i believe we are done here." the dominion agent folded his arms together, watching the mayor rub a hand against the side of his neck where the gun had once been thrust into his skin. he was now scowling over at her. "is that so?"
indentshe gave a nod. the agent must have known about the griffins. there was no way he did not. so, did he think it strange that they were so suddenly content in leaving the mayor alone? perhaps the older man wasn't lying about the fact that he had not told anyone, not even the enclave ambassador. interesting. "hm. well, all i can offer is the best of luck to you both, then. that, and my gratitude for your quick work at that crash site. i suppose we will run into each-other once again if something is flagged at one of the checkpoints either way. i've got to head back in. the only reason i came out here in the first place is because i heard some discourse. i'm glad we could resolve things peacefully." that was about as much acknowledgement to their suffering with the griffins as they would get, though she hadn't expected much more. the mayor shuffled back over to where his guards had been forced to remain, their hands having been tied in such a situation. agent asfour, on the other hand, gave them a final impassive glance before he turned his shoulder to step back up to the entrance of the office and disappear inside. jazmín took a step or two to return back to roland's side as the mayor seemed to be recovering from his brief encounter with her. "so..his lead. it might be worth a shot. we don't have anything better to bargain on. that, and this information actually seems to have been kept from other people. there's no way he'd put his neck on the line again, either way." she'd seen the fear in his eyes. he wouldn't risk trying to steer them astray once more; it was obvious they'd come back, and the second time around, they would likely not be as forward in expressing their anger. all it would take would be one bullet. who would miss him, anyway? probably just his dull family.
indentthe familiar beep of a holoprojector sounded out, although it appeared not to have come from either her or roland's own devices. no, it seemed one of the mayors' personal guards was seeking out the device in order to check what it was pestering him about. she didn't pay much mind to either of them as one of the two guards mumbled something to the other before gesturing to the mayor to join them in their hushed conversation. jazmín nearly rolled her eyes -- this whole encounter had been pathetic. "let's go," turning from the mayors' office, she nudged roland's arm to try and direct him onward. "we should tend to those wounds first before we-"
indent"wait!"
indentshe was nearly tempted not to even bother turning around to hear what the mayor had to say, but she forced herself to, irritably turning her gaze back upon him after his sudden interruption. it seemed whatever contact they'd gotten via holoprojector had granted the man some new knowledge. "scratch what i said earlier. now, you two can always check that place out if ya really wanna, but there's been an update in the lockdown, a new report from one of the interrogation tents. soldiers brought in a guy claimin' to know something about these two people who'd been actin' all suspicious around his vendin' stall, like they were tryna avoid the lock-down. he says they frequent his stall, never actin' like this before. but he seems convinced these two people in question might have somethin' to do with your file. he knows the area they're probably headin', too. somethin' oaks? or was it stathmore? eh, whatever it is, one of them settlements in that vicinity just a few miles off, y'know. the man is a long-time vendor here in arcadia, as far as i reckon. back in the tents, they checked the statuses under the names of the two individuals he gave up, and uh, there was no confirmation of them passing through the damn checkpoints, so they must've gotten through undetected somehow, or they're still hidin' about in the city. but it's up to you two if you wanna look into it or not." the mayor shrugged. "jus' go on, be on your way and leave me out of your complaints if ya find nothin' out there!"
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vaell
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by vaell » Tue Jun 15, 2021 5:06 pm
xxxEDWIN ALBRECHT.
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xxxxxxxxxxxxentertainer / stage name 'floyd'. | the rebellion. aka 'vuledo'. | tagged: constance.
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indentas danny and mikey continued to go back and forth, edwin nodded in agreement with constance. there was no telling how the next few days would look for them, not with the conclave having been thrown into such a state of panic. in any case, they'd need to heed to their superiors and their orders. in fact, the rebellion as a whole would have to proceed with caution especially while the information from fort themus happened to be freshly out of the conclaves hands. there was no telling what lengths the conclave would go to in order to try and track down what had been stolen from them. a speedy lockdown on their end was already a telltale sign that this would not be just another passing break-in and out; as he and constance had been speculating earlier, something more than just a few base files had ought to have been taken to trigger such a response. usually, if the conclave is capable of reproducing documents with ease, such as with base files - and if the documents in question are not of a high security clearance level - then admittedly they don't take much of a loss besides the fact that someone outside of their organization got their hands on some data and reports. of course, as much as the conclave may not be as overly distraught by the disappearance of such files, to the rebellion this information still holds a fair amount of value. base reports can reveal a plethora of things; the capacity of a base, the status on expected and current shipments of weaponry or ammunition, the transferring of different divisions of soldiers..the list goes on. unfortunately that information in and of itself is not the most to work with, though. the documents tend to be summaries, only surface-level depictions regarding matters of the forts functionalities and assortments of data, often not revealing as much as the rebellion would prefer. still, the ability to be able to access some of the conclaves' affairs such as the processing of their equipment allows them to gain insight on specific warehouse shipments or information regarding convoys travelling to the fort. even measly base reports help them take on missions in hijacking a route of soldiers or stealing some supply of weapons. having access to these sorts of files were one of the many ways in which they've been able to map out certain locations out in the wasteland occupied by conclave personnel. no knowledge goes to waste. in fact, the rebellion has no choice but to use whatever they can to make a considerable dent against the conclave. so be it if they must work with scraps -- they'd make it work, they always did.
indentthe sight of danny rising up from his seat was enough to gain a wary glance from edwin as the man began to proclaim his agreement to mikey's proposal -- he shouldn't have been so surprised to hear that the two of them were actually going to spend more time out here than they had to, but at the same time, what can you expect? danny and mikey are both interesting characters in the sense that they tend to be rather unpredictable to a degree. even though danny had been preaching the 'good old days' not that long ago, it wasn't like it would have been surprising to see him abandon that sentiment as soon as it came to the moment of truth. but in a very characteristic manner of himself, the older man did go on to boast the resilience of the appleton bloodline, even tossing in a mention of virgil earp for good measure. across the other side of the wagon, mikey was beginning to match danny's increasingly proud energy. he crossed his arms smugly for the other man had actually joined him in his efforts to supposedly brave the wasteland's cooling evening. as the rest of the caravan eyed the duo, though, edwin watched danny pull out the shotgun stowed away beneath the driver's seat only to have it snatched up by constance in a matter of mere seconds. he had to cackle. "if cowardice involves using your brain, well then i guess so," he side-stepped past danny, closely following behind constance as they went on to depart the wagon and set foot upon solid ground once again. he threw a glance over his shoulder, back inside the wagon. "have fun, you two. if you can, try not to get eaten alive before nightfall. i think i'd miss your re-enactments of 'holding the fort down' too much." somewhere near the back of the caravan, he could have sworn he heard a scoff from mikey.
indentwith danny and mikey left to their own devices for now, the rest of the group had set off to head within the outpost. brown, brittle vines and moss veiled the entrance to the basement, the tendrils of scraggly wilted branches reaching toward the metal dial used to gain access within. when the decaying vegetation was parted by constance, a small sheen of light reflected across the surface of a golden plaque. scriptures had been inscribed along the rims of the weathered carving of jesus. the makeshift keypad was one that constance had no problem in bypassing; the passwords the rebellion utilized were various conglomerations of letters from lines of different historical poems. such was an effective method considering that the rebellion has been able to keep outsiders from breaching any of their holds. so randomized and unconventional, it was no wonder that there was nobody sauntering in off the main roads who could just stumble their way upon any passcode and be able to guess their way in. passwords were always in rotation, too. you could never be too sure, and this routine change created another added layer of protection for the outpost, keeping it another step away from being discovered. this was the only point of access to the basement; many portions of the chapel were caved in, restricting undesirables from making a home within its walls. fortunately, the entryway blended in to the rest of the wall, the bricks having been meticulously arranged to create a sense of natural uniformity. ivy and vines littered the space, old moss filling in the crevices and sprouting around the rims of the bricks. he watched as the dial spun in constances' fingers, her quick work of the password sounding a slight shift from within the wall. he too took a step back as a rumble reverberated from the depths of the inner wall. the door slowly began to sink backwards, a slight groan of the inner workings signalling their successful access to its insides. as it slid back into space, dust and sand and dirt rose into the air; after a moment the rims of the door came to a stop once it hit the furthermost point, revealing to them their pathway inside. edwin craned his neck forward in order to peer down into the depths of the opening. old wooden stairs descended down the basement, the dim lighting making it hard to see past a certain point of the staircase. luckily for them, they had a lantern lit to help guide their step; while constance's comment about being careful heading down was one that edwin chuckled at, as they begun to step down the stairs it became pretty clear that they had a pretty good point. each time he stepped onto a new board, he had a precarious footing. soft creaks sounded out as their group headed one after another. the rotting wood of the stairs urged them to be careful. the relatively narrow walls of the tunnel were lit up with a dim, flickering light from the lantern that constance held out at the front of the group. being just behind her, the glow of the light illuminated his immediate surroundings. darkness seeped in where the lantern did not extend to. their own shadows were cast out across the walls as result of the play between the light and the dark. the muted echo of the door much behind them clicked back into space, reverting back to its original unassuming position.
indentedwin knew they were coming to a close of their short trip down into the heart of the outpost when he caught the sight of some light at the bottom of the staircase; he could even pick up on some hushed chatter emanating from further within. at the end of their final step was a sizeable hole that had been created in the wall to allow direct entry into the basement. now, the basement itself did not host a particularly large party of rebels, nor did it have the capacity to do such a thing in the first place. hence the purpose of this location, the outpost was equipped with the proper assets to sustain some rebels who needed to stop here for the sake of a resting point. various different sections divided up the moderately sized chamber, the lower right half dedicated to being an area for rest, while the upper right area boasted a small training area where anyone could sharpen up some of their skills on some targets; this area was blocked off by some old folding screens. the upper left half of the basement contained a kitchen of sorts, several old picnic tables set up for any rebels to go and eat at. the entirety of the lower left of the area housed their technologies, canned food supply, ammunition - all things that could be stocked up on if need be before making an departure from the outpost. fittingly, though, at the centermost point of the basement was where main operations were held, a lengthy table uniting all four sections of the basement. here, plans could reached and lines of communication accessed. most discussions were to be held there; at-least any pertaining to any missions or regarding the general status of the small base. hanging from thin lines from the ceiling were several lightbulbs, although the majority of the light source within the basement actually came from the lanterns scattered around the area. some hung off posts on the columns erected within the room. the basement certainly wasn't the most well lit, but there's not much more you can expect from a discreetly operating outpost. nothing could be considered remotely fancy here - everything was practical, meant to serve its role and do it well and nothing beyond that. the original entrance of the basement had long caved in, hence where they had instead entered the space via a different access point. it had been blocked by the ruination of the frame of the building with rocks, wood, and cement piling up and refraining anyone from taking that route inside. it was a bit chillier down here, too, given their elevation and due to the fact that there's no working heaters out in the wasteland and any large fires would be hazardous. the basement is definitely not an overwhelming sight, put plainly. he noted the appearance of a rebel every now and then flitting about the space, heading over to a different area of the space. surely only about a few dozen actually occupied the walls of the outpost, and those numbers changed daily depending on who came and who went. the one person who had a bit more of a permanent position within, however, was the commanding officer, maven hearst. for the sake of security and due to the limited capacity of the outpost, she was the singular highest authority to be found at village cross.
indentwith constance announcing that the two of them would be splitting from the group, the duo was quick to break off from the others. the brief mention of danny and mikey still lingering about outside made him wonder what those two were up to, no doubt either lounging around now that nobody else was around, or maybe actually taking their so-called duties seriously. who the hell knows -- at-least khalil and fairfax would go ahead and check up on them soon enough. he was more than certain the both of them would be scrambling to make their way into the basement come true nightfall either way. it was hard to say just what was lurking around the premises of this old, fading town, but ghouls were the most likely of creatures to be hanging about. even the daring mikey and danny would not want to stay out there trying to fend for themselves for long. the creatures can be overwhelming in hordes; you'd be lucky to face a singular ghoul without facing the entirety of a mob. edwin kept by constances' side as they headed toward the center of the basement where he could spot maven hunched over the table. it didn't take long for her to be alerted of their presences. when she turned to face them, the orange glow of the lantern lit up one side of her face. due to this, he couldn't exactly pinpoint her immediate expression, although she did appear to be relieved to see them having made it out of arcadia well enough. the lockdown must have caused a bit of uncertainty for her and those in the rebellion who'd been the first to catch wind of what was transpiring in that immediate area. the conclave was practically teeming throughout the city and its proximity; he could still remember the amount of tents they had set up at the checkpoints as well as the overwhelming lines of people being forced to exit the city under the lockdown protocol. it had been chaotic, to say the least. when constance gave a brief glance around the room, curious to the whereabouts of their themus escapees, he could not help but do the same. she raised a good point. where were the rebels who'd gotten in and out of themus? clearly, they weren't out and about the outpost. not in plain sight, at-least. warily, he shifted his attention toward maven once more after giving a brief scan to their surroundings. she didn't respond right away. a sinking feeling was beginning to form in the pits of his stomach. was this was starting to transform into an all too familiar situation, one where their small sliver of hope would be tore away from them, just like how it often was time and time again? their colleagues successfully escaping themus - as far as edwin and constance had been concerned - was the one thing that was redeemable of this day. otherwise, they'd only been subjected to confusion, uncertainty, waiting, hopelessness, fear..and for nothing? no, no they had to have gotten out, there was no other way-
indentone look at the woman's features answered all of edwin's questions immediately. he felt himself slowly deflate at that look. it was somber. it embodied the realization that the two of them had not known of the failure at themus. that's what it was, right? a failure. they weren't here, and they wouldn't be somewhere safer. they had to be dead, then. maven's face, it held frustration, remorse..she did not even need to speak, for her lack-of immediate explanation was sign enough. he and constance had been in this position before, under many different circumstances. every time it felt like a new blow to your chest. those people died for a cause they believed in, they died trying to right wrongs. their efforts would not be dismissed. throughout this entire mission he had felt some degree of concern for its success, although one could attribute this to the fear of the unknown. they couldn't predict any outcomes of what happened today; when the rebels would meet them at arcadia, where exactly. from the start, this break-in to themus had been one that was risky. if they had just been able to secure that information..if any possible factor earlier this day had been slightly different, they might be here with them now. the three of them stood in momentary silence. edwin was trying to wrap his head around everything, trying to take in this new information piece by piece; and to be honest, he wasn't sure he knew what to say. what was supposed to be a big blow to the conclave was only one to them instead. the opportunity of gaining some kind of leverage against the conclave had outweighed the more dangerous aspects of this mission - that much was clear. he supposed things had gone awry from the start. it was the lockdown that led him and constance to believe that their colleagues had secured the information, though. and if the lockdowns hadn't been targeted towards them, then..? could there be another explanation to their panic?
indentmaven's words, the verbal, explicit confirmation of what had gone down at themus was just as bad as their initial discovery of the mission going awry. they were dead, all of them, somewhere a few miles off from the fort. it was unsettling to think that their group had been within the walls of the city waiting for them at that exact time, their bodies probably cold already, attracting flies. the thought was uncomfortable enough. what he had been wondering about the lockdown, though - that was cleared up by maven. the file that the rebels had tried to flee with was missing. something had happened to it, and the conclave wanted it back. badly. just who or what had taken possession of the file was unclear, though; apparently, all of their contacts in the general area reiterated the fact they were empty handed. perhaps one of the most defeating parts of this news was the fact that everything seemed to have been in vain. they hadn't gained any sort of upper-hand here, and now they really did have no idea where that file might be. it wasn't in their clutches, nor in any ally hands. the likelihood of them seeing that file again was dismal, almost close to none. even worse was how riled up the conclave was now. they'd need to be immensely alert and all for something that had gone extremely off-plan. all they'd earned from this mission was a heavier, more concerning conclave presence and the deaths of many capable individuals. his eyes flickered between maven and his shoes as a silence once again settled upon the three of them. they'd been so convinced that they were here, safe and most of all victorious..he exchanged a glance with constance. today was a rollercoaster of emotions, and they'd been dragged through the depths of elation and nervousness and sorrow. it was like a massive bus hitting you all at once, enforcing its weight upon you and leaving you feeling all sorts of drained. between him and constance, she was the first to try and make an attempt in vocalizing what they were each thinking. in their words, he could feel the confusion, the lostness - they'd really thought they had taken a detour, and the lockdown had been their assurance. this mission had been one of importance back at headquarters, too. this was supposed to have given them some semblance of new progress against the conclave. maven, however, did not have much more information than they. all transmission lines had been shut down for the fear of running the risk of their outpost being caught contacting their main base while the conclave might be running a frequency scan in the area.
indentout of all this new information, what piqued edwin's curiosity was the mention of a general in the area. at this, he had to look to constance, almost as if to wonder, 'what the hell'? they had been in arcadia and they had not noticed such a presence, and it doesn't take a genius to spot someone of such high ranking in the conclave military, either. they're usually escorted by their own personal guards from their divisions, and they are known to don uniform sets of armor respective to whichever legion the general presides over. he wasn't so sure that someone of that position would be visiting another town in the proximity of arcadia - the city was the prime location of movement, of population. where else would a general be interested in visiting, and for what purpose? if there was something else going on in the area aside from the themus break-in, edwin had no knowledge of it. but maven was right. he did have a lot of questions, and he was sure constance did too, but he chose to restrain himself. it was best not to bombard her; she probably didn't wield many more answers than what they could ask of her anyway. theres a limited amount of knowledge surrounding this mission in general, and he wouldn't expect anyone to be able to respond to some of his more specific inquiries. nobody had the answers to those questions - where was the file, who or what had it, where had this general been and why, how come this file is of such importance to the conclave? the list went on. unfortunately, it seemed he and constance would only be able to speculate these things with one another. he could agree with maven that all this had brought to them was ramped up security measures with no current end in sight, though. they'd have to wait most of the proceedings of the conclave out until further notice, any other action would be much too risky. things had gotten a whole lot more complicated than they ever intended, but such was the life of a rebel. you can never predict what will happen, everything is a gamble, no matter how well you try and plan out every detail. things are always susceptible to fault - after all, humans are bound to make mistakes, sometimes the timing just isn't right, and theres nothing you can do about it. anything can alter the timeline of an event - even small, minuscule actions. he had no idea what could have changed today. maybe nothing at all, and perhaps that was the truth of the matter. you can't control everything in life, and he would be a fool to think such a thing. it was a tempting thought to succumb to, though, this idea of being able to control potential outcomes of an occurrence. what could've been, what might've been; these were fruitless pursuits, though. nothing would change the past now.
indent"..yeah, it was chaotic, for lack of a better word. i think the lockdown was just so unexpected, so sudden and so severe that the entire city didn't know how to respond. everyone just needed to clear out from the walls of arcadia, and fast. the conclave had a wide array of what must've been interrogation tents set up, lots of personnel on the site, too. they had to do some extensive background checks on us, and the lockdown protocol had called for patting down of anyone seeking passageway out of the city. i'd say their scrambling was a bit obvious, now that we know the full context of the situation, though luckily we had no troubles getting past a checkpoint. they were ready to handle the situation, i suppose, but the sheer amount of people who sought departure was pretty overwhelming. i mean, nearly everyone had ben evacuated from the streets in the span of no less than twenty minutes, or at-least from what we'd witnessed. they were anxious in processing people and clearing up the streets, that's for sure. apart from the lockdown, though, constance and i did get to check out the new second entrance of arcadia, too. looks like they're accommodating to the influx of travellers drawn to the city." he briefly looked to constance. they had smuggled a pair of wastelanders through as well, though he felt that was something they didn't need to particularly remark on. sure, things hadn't gone wrong, but if they had, and those wastelanders were caught? they would have risked a lot, including their own necks. it's not like withholding that information hurt anyone. they had gotten those wastelanders and themselves safe passage through arcadia's security and that was the end of the story. nothing had actually gone wrong, so they didn't necessarily have an obligation to report such a matter to maven. either way, he just felt it wasn't worth bringing that up because while it was morally the right decision to make, it was probably not the best decision for their own well-beings, especially in such a pressure filled environment as a lockdown. "in any case, we made it out and i'm just glad we didn't get held up or anything." he could guess how worrisome it would have been to not have constance and edwin and their crew arrive at the outpost. sure, in that situation things could have been assumed to be improvised on their end but after what happened earlier today, he could understand why such a notion might cause some unease. maven nodded in agreement with him. "oh, for sure. as am i. judging by the severity of the lockdown and the extent of which even you described it to be, i think we can safely say that the conclave is trying to filter through those coming and going within the city in an attempt to uncover the file on someone," she noted. "so, as of now, they're placing their bets on the fact it was a person. i suppose that would be the first conclusion anyone would straightaway jump to. or at-least if they ever actually want to retrieve it again." she had a point. locating a file from the maws of some creature who'd scooped it up would be nearly impossible. ironically, the conclave really had no other choice but to hope a wastelander had taken it after all.
indent"i think so, too. seems like their method of relocating the file mainly revolves around the hope that wherever it has gone and whoever it is in possession of is still within that immediate area. which makes sense..how far can you travel within such a short period of time? like you said, the lockdown had been initiated pretty quickly. honestly, i don't know. i'm still trying to get my thoughts in order here, and to be honest, i'm sure you want to do the same," he tossed another small glance toward constance, absently rubbing the side of his arm. "anyway, if there's anything we can do around here to help out, just let us know." maven shook her head, a small yet fleeting hint of amusement finally breaking her otherwise somber demeanor as she turned to face the table once again. one of her hands picked up a document, one that she had probably been examining before they approached her. "please. you two just try and get some rest, alright? i know today's been rough. if either of you want to discuss anything, you know where to find me if you need."
indentso with that, edwin and constance were dismissed to roam the outpost as they pleased. the woman had reverted her attention back toward inspecting the files she had spread out across the table as edwin directed his and constance's path toward the upper left portion of the basement. "guess it wouldn't hurt to grab a bite to eat?" in a way it seemed ludicrous to even suggest eating right after learning the news of the deaths of their colleagues, but at the same time, they could not afford to let this mission get to their head too much. they needed to keep marching forward. there was no time to stall in the past, as horrible as it may sound. its the only way you survive out here. the portion of the chamber hosting the kitchen is where the designated cook of the outpost serves some food to anyone looking to get some nourishment, and although edwin was growing hungry considering they themselves had not visited the noodle stand in arcadia, he was more interested in discussing some matters with constance right now. still, the prospect of food was not one he was about to willfully turn down. various old picnic tables were set up, most empty aside from a few of their own band members taking to the outer edges of the room. the planks of the tables were blemished with some chips and rot, erosion growing with time as they were exposed to any elements. despite this they were still very functional. looking across the room, he noted that khalil and fairfax had taken up a spot at one of the tables too, choosing to have some food before they had to go and check on danny and mikey. a lot of their group had likely opted for sleep, though, considering the otherwise empty room. he didn't blame them. edwin glanced over toward the service area of the kitchen. judging by the sideboard of two different containers being placed at the service area of the kitchen as well as a small stack of bowls and cutlery, it seemed the chef had just recently procured some different meals in light of their arrival and due to the time of day. the kitchen operated with a sort of buffet-like system, where you could dish up your own plate without needing to be formally served. truthfully, though, the options to choose from in terms of food were limited. metal lids closed the dishes so that they could stay fresh, although they must be host to two different canned soups considering that the others had a few bowls at their own tables. the food served at village cross was just as gourmet as wasteland food gets. mainly, the base operated on non-perishable food items for obvious reasons; canned soups, meats, vegetables, beans. surprisingly a lot of differing recipes can be produced from that list alone. edwin approached the service area, curiously lifting the lid of one of the metal containers to check out it's contents. inside appeared to be a cold soup, a clear chicken broth with pieces of vegetables and chicken and some pasta; it looked like a classic chicken noodle soup. the other container hosted a tomato bisque, a soup with a much more creamier base. edwin reached over to snatch up one of the few bowls stacked at the side of the counter as well as a spoon. he was quick to settle on the chicken noodle, picking up the large spoon that sat nearby the container, promptly ladling out some of the soup into his own bowl. once he got his fill, he left the ladle in the container incase constance was also interested in the same type of soup. he glanced over to her, holding the dish in his hand. "this is seriously gonna hit the spot after today," he joked, stirring the contents of the soup in his bowl before scooping some of it into his mouth. being hungry made the taste of such a simple soup taste phenomenal; he savored the substance as it hit his tongue. when constance too was ready to head off from the counter, they headed toward one of the seats a few empty tables or so across where the other members of their band sat.
indentsettling down at the table, edwin set his soup down on the weathered surface and looked over to constance. now that they weren't on the road travelling anywhere anymore, nor were they in such close quarters with their band members, they could discuss matters concerning the events that had transpired at arcadia and what maven had informed them of a bit more privately -- and most of all, what this meant for them moving forward. "hey, so..that was a lot to take in. i mean, where do we even start..? i guess i'm curious about what maven said about a general in the area. how the hell could we have missed that? i mean, i'm not complaining but you'd think we'd notice the presence of a general, right? what do you think they were doing out here?" he took another bite of soup. unconsciously or not, he steered away from the topic of the massacre at fort themus. that was a topic hard to linger on. their lives would be given serious acknowledgement, although he wasn't so sure he could continue focusing on their deaths right now. besides, edwin had no idea what such a person of authority within the conclave military would be doing out in arcadia, or nearby, at that -- if it were to send a message about the file and how important it was to them, then this could only mean the severity of their situation was a grand one. how panicked must you be to send out a military leader just to get your point across? then again, their presence could have been required for other matters. he really wasn't so sure, and its not like they'd find out soon either. while he was interested in what a general had been tending to, other things were also nagging at edwin. now that the mission had technically gone wrong, failed entirely, actually, how would people take it? would this spur a newfound movement within the organization to begin increasing their aggression efforts? as divided as the rebellion was beginning to become, he didn't doubt it for a second. a lot of people would use this failure to try and forward their own agenda of taking a more direct approach when it comes to handling the conclave. after all, this mission had been one with no lack of hope attached to it. a lot seemed to be riding on their ability to retrieve some information out of fort themus; whatever the file contained, it was important. the conclave's response reinforced this idea and so did the earlier words of maven. on their way to village cross, he and constance had entertained the idea of what was going on within their organization, although they hadn't been able to get into much depth. "and what do you think about this whole situation? i mean, how do you think people will react..? will this turn into some catalyst for change in the rebellion? i wouldn't doubt someone like declan will be jumping to take advantage of this situation, you know. he'll probably try and spin this into a 'this is why we need change' movement." he had to keep from rolling his eyes. while yes, edwin did understand why this could be considered a sign that they needed to switch things up, it was just discomforting to think of how those who had risked their lives would be so easily forgotten in the midst of all the aftermath that would soon ensue on a leadership level of the rebellion. while the man was a significant asset to their cause, a formerly feared bounty hunter who could wield plasma swords at a master level of skill, it didn't mean edwin necessarily always saw eye to eye with him or his little group of followers. regardless, he was curious about what constance had to say or what they currently felt -- he valued her opinions a lot, and with the tide of change coming up the rebellion, it was more important than ever for them to discuss what may occur within the coming few months.
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