[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Shared Room)](Connie, Davey, Irina)
Connie watched curiously as Irina concentrated. When she had mentioned that she had sensed the beasts presence before, and when Davey had asked her if she sensed anything now, Connie hadn't expected more than some kind of a hunch. Doubts. That sort of thing. The way Irina was talking now reminded Connie of a fortune teller or some other kind of psychic. Judging from the knowing look she shared with Davey, he thought the same.
Her eyes widened again when Irina delivered the ultimate news.
"W...what?!" she stammered, stepping away from the wall she'd been leaning against. She approached the windowed balcony door cautiously, shooting glances back at Irina with every step. "You mean, like, out there 'out there'?" She craned her neck as she looked out the window, as if Garganteum was going to be sitting right there in their backyard.
Davey, meanwhile, closed his eyes and sighed, looking somewhat deflated. He dragged a paw-like hand down his forehead and across the length of his short muzzle. As much as he'd have liked to shrug off Irina's warnings and go right on ahead with his plans, unperturbed by the threat of any towering sandstorm beasts, he'd seen and heard too much—both in that room and in his life before—to simply ignore her words.
"Okay..." he said after a few moments' pause. "Garganteum is out there," he repeated, slowly, then looked to Irina, "can you tell where? How far away? Do you know if it's here in the town, or if its just crawling around in the desert somewhere?"
Connie glanced away from the window, asking, "what difference does it make? If that hotel-sized thing is out there, how can you think of doing anything but staying inside?"
"Well, if there's enough time to move, I'd still like to go out tonight." Davey replied, returning her glance.
Connie turned around fully, fixing Davey with an incredulous stare. "You seriously want to risk your life against a giant sandstorm monster just so you can go to a bar tonight?"
Davey shrugged his small shoulders. "If it's not a big risk, yes."
Connie only stared.
"Connie, you've ridden in a car before, right? Yes you have, hundreds of times I'll bet. When you ride in that car, you're risking your life just to go from point A to point B a little faster. This is no different."
"Um, no, this is very different. For one, why don't you just go tomorrow, when there's no storm and no giant sandstorm monster?"
Davey shrugged again, "I probably will, but I'd very much like to go tonight as well. Like I said, point A to B a little faster."
Connie just groaned and covered her eyes.
the color today
Crazy Kiwi
Grand Hotel - Presidential Suite.
James wondered what the story was behind the medals but wasn't about to be so rude as to ask so he filed the information away in his mind - along with Todd's closeness to the King, the unusually long pause before answering Vic's question and all the other tantalising snippets of information - to combine with any other clues he might pick up later.What Samuel and Todd said about what other people called them got Teri thinking. "I wonder what the Council calls us when they ask Sir Archibald to employ us. Ay say, fforbes-Pennington-Smythe old bean, this mission seems offly dangerous, I think it's a job for... who? What?"
There was a cacophony of snorts and hoots from the other Terra Novans at Teri's fake "posh" accent.
Kris considered Vic's suggestions. "The trouble with the word "survivor" is that it could describe everyone who vanished from their lives on Earth and survived on Terra Nova - and probably more than half of those who were actually born there, as well. Hunters? Well, we do that - as do many others - but it's not all we do. Good suggestions, though."
"If we're talking about things other people call us," said Peggy, "the people in the village call us the 'mad bastards' - quite affectionately, though."
Wolfe nodded. "Or, in the case of the old Geordie bloke at the pub, "th' mud bustids i' th' woods"."
Teri grinned. "Nothing remotely Enid Blyton about that name. I like it."
"I've been a 'mad bastard' for years," said Wolfe.
Peggy looked around at the others who were all nodding. "Sounds like we've got a group name, then. The 'Mad Bastards' - mercy missions and interdimensional journeying our specialty."
Mr ship
[Fort-Mess Hall]
Henry heard one of the newer people sugest this was the Alamo.
"No, this isn't the Alamo. The architecture isn't right and the fact that these guys would know if they disappeared from the middle of a city."
He then turned back to the Sargent. "This is Fort San Houston right?" The Sergeant nodded and Henry turned back to the new person.
"See this is Fort San Houston. Me and the rest of the Rough Riders received our uniforms and equipment while training. My question is what is this place doing here and is it linked to the intruders and the people who were locked in the shed by the water tower."
The future of warfare in UC.
[Train Siding - 61A3 Knight One-One]
Something was making Jeanette's head hurt, a pressure on the temples. It wouldn't have bothered her that much, actually, save for the fact the last time she'd felt like this it had been while near The Daggerstar. It had been exactly like this, in fact. And the pressure had gone away the moment they killed him, which had been hard to ignore. "Mikey, how's the tracks?"
"Nominal." Her driver was under enormous stress. They were in motion at nearly forty klicks an hour, but he'd stopped throttling up. Unless they were directly attacked, Michael had no desire to go any faster than this while he couldn't see. Their track tension was probably bad, too, and there was a risk under these conditions they'd walk a track off.
Jeannette resisted the urge to grimace, keeping her face neutral. She was a passenger in her own tank, and that was uncomfortable. Mikey could read a map well enough she didn't need to look over his shoulder. She had a map up on her screen and was doing it anyways, but only because redundancy was good, not because she really expected to be needed. Navigating by inertial; stopwatch and map essentially, though a little better automated.
edited 25th Nov '15 12:44:26 PM by Night
Nous restons ici.
Rail Siding - Chisa, Jeanette and Crew, Kaito, Stalker, ???
Stalker wasn't even paying attention to the voice that warned Kaito. It didn't matter to him especially since his kick landed and sent the blonde boy flying and his weapons to scatter. If the voice interfered by attacking Stalker would defend himself and fight back. But for now his attention was on Kaito as he stepped menacingly towards him, unafraid as he felt like he was winning.
Something rushed through the sandstorm towards them, something unseen until it appeared with a slam in between Kaito and Stalker. The being was tall and had a feminine figure but didn't look human. She appeared to be a figure wearing dark pink and black armor with gold pieces that fit her like a one-piece suit with skirt trails. Her helmet was large and gave a very sci-fy alien like impression, the back of it having two gold rods that formed a bud shape and also had long black tassels draping from it. The front of her mask was black and glowed with pink specks, analyzing everything in front of her.
"Glad I got here when I did." she muttered and Stalker hissed at her. "Tenno, you defending those who are wanted will not go unpunished." he growled and charged at her with a scythe. The woman was carrying a large suitcase, one she cast aside quick and drew twin bladed weapons and blocked him with. She gave a shout and her body glowed pink and attached a pink laser to the assassin. They fought for some time before Stalker gave in and disappeared in smoke, whispering to the Tenno, "I'll be back for you."
The strange robotic girl gave a sigh of relief and turned to the blonde. "Don't worry, the next time he comes back it will be far from here. It'll be me that he'll be after." she said, her voice female but a bit distorted. She quickly grabbed the suitcase again and sent a message to the girl in the tank. "You are alright now. I will be there in a moment. I have something to give you." She then turned back to the boy. "I am called Trinity child, part of a race called Tenno. I'm on your side."
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"
Eat my dust!
[Rail Siding - Chisa, Jeanette and Crew, Kaito, Stalker, ???]
"Nice moves there, Trinity. Real shame he didn't stick around, isn't it?" the voice noted.
He melted out of the sandstorm, standing in a relaxed slouch. He was covered from head-to-toe in a grey, plastic-looking armor. His entire head was covered in a helmet and mask combo, with a v-shaped visor concealing his eyes. Most noticeable of all was the long duster coat he was wearing, noticeable in that it wasn't swaying in the sandstorm in the slightest.
"By the way blondie, when someone shouts "behind you", looking behind you and going 'huuuh?' is a good way to get yourself killed," he stated dryly.
edited 25th Nov '15 7:13:33 PM by gameknight102xx
"SAID CLOUD TO THE CARTOON PONIES AND UNICORNS WITH PICTURES OF FLOWERS ON THEIR ASSES. A DURR HURR HURR." ~Game Spazzer
[hotel room 106 (Tsadro, Arthur)]
Standing with his back to the bed, he removed his gloves and pulled his veil out of his necklace. <Good question.> Tsadro smoothed his veil atop the dresser, then set about folding it.
For once a question he had yet to receive, one he didn't have an answer for off the top of his head, one he had to take ponderings with as though partaking in a more pedestrian conversation. Well, probably because people in Aitherion knew nothing could be done about that, so... they didn't question it. Although no biological characteristics of Rivari had changed since the first generation, people still had that lingering thought in the back of their minds that they shouldn't try to look the gift horse in the mouth, even though there's no mouth to look into here.
The response that crossed his mind first was a pithy 'how do you feel about being human'... that wasn't quite it. Brain uploading was on the horizon and was going to eliminate the lifespan problem, calorie pills could be found on the black market for those who just wanted to get work done. This was not the same at all, nothing intrinsic to Rivari could be gotten around with technology- the aither was too powerful. It could be compared to a permanent congenital disability, but setting aside the fact that he did not fully know the circumstances of Arthur's muteness, the parents of a congenitally disabled child had hope at some point, however early, that their child would be a normal, healthy child. The practical aspects of Rivari are common knowledge among all but the most rural potential masters and Rivari parents-to-be alike. Everyone knew what they were getting themselves into when it came time to perpetuate the cycle of servitude.
Tsadro had been resting his palms on the dresser, veil neatly folded in front of him. <How do I feel... that this is what it is to be Rivari. That something decided the world needed specialized servants.> He drummed his fingers once.
<I know nothing else. I've no concept of what life would be if anything were different, I only fancy myself ponderings on 'why'.>
Finally, he turned to face Arthur and settled in a comfortable armchair. <When I came to Mialor, Rivari had fewer rights than animals. There's not much left out there that can offend me.> He had a hunch that he was going to be eating his words soon, what with this being someone who had no idea his species existed until... what, an hour or two ago?
edited 27th Nov '15 10:49:13 AM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
[Elevator-Room 204]
John blinked.
"Oh...if you say so. Just let me know if you need anything, ok? There should be some extra fruit in the bag if you need any."
The ride up was mostly silent—minus Pancake's purring. It didn't take them long to get to the second floor, where their room was. The moment they got inside, James laid on the bed, groaning.
"Thank God." he said, "It took half a century to get here."
"Now you're just being dramatic." John said, pulling out a small can on tuna, "Anyway, I'm going to freshen up. Unless," He turned to Joseph, "Do you need to shower first?"
He put the tuna in a small bowl, and Pancake immediately began to dig in.
Sorry for the shortness.
PAINKILLER
[Grand Hotel - Presidential Suite]
Samuel broke into more laughter. "Mad Bastards, huh? That's good. I'll call my next unit that."
Todd rolled his eyes and shook his head. "God, Sam. As if you'll ever get one."
The Colonel down the rest of his wine whiskey-swig style. He resisted the urge to slam it down before saying, "Who said I ain't got one now? We're all mad bastards, ain't we? Taking on crazy bull-headed cult people in an open desert to save your ass..."
Vic raised an eyebrow. "Is he getting drunk?"
Todd shrugged. "He's in a good mood."
The boy said, "Can't that be the same thing?"
"Nah, it's self-induced." Samuel waved it off. Since when was a jolly mood a bad thing? he thought. He glanced at his dinner companions. "So, how's everyone's meals comin'? Is it about time to clean house?"
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Shared Room)](Connie, Davey, Irina)
Irina looked to the window as well. "Still a good distance. But, I think I can say gaining on us. It probably senses people or some kind of activity nearby."
She listened to Connie's concerns, as well as Davey's stubbornness. Irina scratched the back of her head. "I can still go out to make sure Davey stays safe. Either that, or Rip can go along." She then shrugged. "But I don't think there's any difference. If it comes and attacks, that's what Garganteum will do. There's nothing I can do other than hide, really."
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Shared Room)](Connie, Davey, Irina)
Davey's ears flitted upward slightly and he quickly turned his attention back to Irina. "Ah, so there's time!" he said, a smile burgeoning on his whiskered face. "Great- great, good. Then I haven't got a moment to spare."
He stepped back over to the bed and retrieved the large parka he had laid there before. Connie was now only glaring at him silently, with one hand pressed against her temple.
"Irina," Davey continued while carefully pulling the parka on over his suit, "you're invited to come along if you would like, and I certainly wouldn't mind having your skills for sensing handy, but," he zipped up the parka and turned his eyes to look at Irina directly, "I don't want you to feel obligated to come. For my safety or any old reason like that. If you'd rather like to rest, then do! Don't let worry about me keep you awake; I think Connie has that position filled."
"Oh that's really friggin' funny, David." Connie said, glowering. "Yeah- laugh 'cause I'm worried about your ass jumping out into the middle of a sandstorm with a giant monster out there just so you can go to a stupid bar. Yeah dude, real friggin' hilarious."
Davey tried to meet her eyes, but she turned away to glare out the window before he could. His expression lost a bit of its enthusiasm for a moment; a bit of its confidence. He let out his breath in a sigh, then swung his eyes back to Irina. "Well, I'd like to think that Rip and I have done enough security work that I can manage to cover my own bases. I won't be taking any unnecessary risks, and I know exactly where I'm heading. And as for Rip..." he glanced at the wall, whiskers pulling back slightly as he frowned, "he won't want to come. I've got a pretty good eye for his moods, and he's not currently in one that easily allows for excursions like enjoying a bit of company." He paused, staring at the wall thoughtfully, then shook his head. "No, he's probably too busy playing with his socks. It's either you, Connie, or just myself this time."
[Town ~ Grand Hotel (Elevator —> Room 204)] (Joseph, James, John, Pancake)
"Sure, yeah." Joseph said with a small grin. He wanted to say something else, but he couldn't think of how best to phrase it at that moment. There was a weird nervousness tickling his stomach too much for him to think about eating. It wasn't the usual nervousness that seemed to plague his every act, but something more severe. Something he couldn't quite pinpoint, but it grew stronger and stronger even in the short elevator ride to their floor, and in the short walk to their room.
He stuck close to the two men, standing only about two feet away from one or the other at any given time. He kept glancing around too, as if his nervousness was a stalker somewhere in the halls, slowly gaining on them. Though he couldn't see anything but his own shadow, the gaining refused to cease. The tickle in his belly had become an uncomfortable itching all over. Something gripping the whole of his being and tightening the closer they got to the room. Even as the men opened the door at a perfectly reasonable rate, Joe felt like a frantic dog, whining silently to be let inside. Only, once they were all inside, and the door was closed, the feeling didn't get any better. Looking around the hotel room, he gained the sense of something familiar, and slowly but surely, a clearer picture of what was causing his nervousness began to paint itself.
John's stare eventually shook Joseph back to at least a few of his senses. He flinched in some kind of delayed surprise a few seconds after the man had asked his question. Then, another second of unscrambling his brain later, he forced a smile and strung together the words, "Oh, no, no, you- it's fine, you go first. Remember?" he thumbed at himself, "patient. Hmmnhmm heh, heh..."
He didn't really want to take a shower anymore. He didn't want to seal himself off from John and James, secluded in his own little world. He didn't want to lose the world he was in.
"Oh, and hey, about food," he said, a little suddenly,"maybe we can, like... you know, all go get dinner from the cafeteria later, or something like that. I mean I don't think I've seen either of you eat anything since I met you. Gotta be at least a little hungry, right?" He glanced between the two men, hopefully and fearfully.
the color today
[Hotel-Room 204]
Something was obviously making Joseph nervous; what it was, John had no clue. Still, he didn't want the poor boy to feel abandoned, so he nodded his head.
"Sure thing!" John said, "As soon as I'm done, we'll go to the cafeteria. I won't be long!" With that, he went to the bathroom and turned on the shower.
Now it was just James and Joseph (well, sort of; Pancake's a regular cat and she was just too busy eating to even pay attention). This was now his chance to finally get to know Joseph. Earlier, he didn't give him a...friendly impression. Hopefully, he could change that.
"So," he said, "I'm guessing your whole appearance is the reason you haven't been home in weeks?"
He waved his hand.
"You know, you could've just said that while we were in the car. Here I was thinking you were on the run from the law!" he chuckled, "Bad joke. But in seriousness, now that we're here, do you want to make a phone call? Let others know that you're ok?"
Laugh and grow dank!
Oops.
edited 28th Nov '15 10:53:41 AM by Gault
yey
Attitude is prohibited
[Grand Hotel] (Lobby)
Hana was interested in Scents, if only from a scientific/academic perspective, but a species name was essentially meaningless without more than a loose understanding of the physiology behind it. "I see..." She said. "I can't say I've ever met a 'vayen' before. What brings you to this place?"
[Mountaintop] (Hoshi, Molag)
"Yeah!" Declared Hoshi, triumphantly, as Molag shrank and fell from the sky. Her sword slipped out of his eye as it shrank, and she snatched it out of mid-air. "Missed you, baby." She said to it, flicking the blood off it and sliding it back into its sheath. She dove towards Molag, ready and eager for another round... And then he had to go and surrender.
She came to a short, sharp stop a few feet away from him, still hovering slightly off the ground. "Uhg!" She groaned and rolled her eyes. "Fine... Whatever..." Needless to say, she was disappointed. It was only then that she noticed her HUD's attempts to notify her of an approaching anomaly. She glanced over at the flock. She'd seen birds before, even though there weren't too many of them back home, but these things were clearly different. She turned back to Molag and pointed at the approaching birds. "What the fuck's that?!" She said.
[Forest] (Miyuki, Brin, The Black and Teal, Kito, Cyrus, etc)
Miyuki had rather the same thoughts as Kito. And besides, after the absurdity of the one-on-one with Hoshi she'd witnessed, she was frustrated and eager for a more direct solution. As Kito lunged at the Queen of Diamonds, Miyuki launched herself at Maridel, sword at the ready, flying across the ground at high speed.
[Fort] (Mess Hall)
Rin had been keep up with the conversation, more-or-less, but now it was getting slightly difficult. Her new companions were certainly an odd and diverse bunch, but somehow they all seemed to share some knowledge that she lacked. She didn't know what a 'texas' or an 'alamo' were, but she inferred from the context that they were locations of some kind.
"Water tower?" She chimed in. "What did you find there, exactly?"
Not entirely dead.
Drummer Boy
[Hotel Room 106 (Tsadro, Arthur)]
<ok then>
Arthur wasn't actually sure what to make of any of this. It just seemed so... strange. No, "strange" didn't quite cut it. Foreign. Alien. He'd have to think it over a little more, maybe even talk about it with the rest of the team.
... his earpiece had been turned off for an awfully long time.
<hold on, we're going to trip all over this shit if I don't put it away properly>
He got off the bed and started arranging the parts of his outer suit on the desk. The boots were left on the floor next to the desk. After making sure the front of the helmet squarely faced the wall that the desk was backed up against, Arthur opened the desk drawers, hoping to find a complementary pen and paper. Cheap-ass motels in the colonies still put a small notepad and cheap ballpoint pen in their rooms or at least made them available at the front desk, so this place had to have something, right?
Sure enough, Arthur found some nice stationery and a pen. He had a tablet stylus, but drawing on the touchscreen just didn't feel quite right to him yet. He'd spent almost his entire life doing traditional sketches and there was a satisfaction in putting a pen or pencil to paper that tablet just couldn't give him. Nymue was the only one who understood. Kind of ironic because she was the Camelot's computer person and programming was basically her life, but she and Lancelot were the only other crew members who had regularly used paper before. Everyone else considered it a novelty.
All the technology he used on a daily basis would blow the minds of the people who had been alive a hundred, maybe even just fifty years ago. Would they have the same reaction upon learning how few people actually got to enjoy it?
Capitalists never change, he imagined Mia muttering under her breath.
Even across the multiverse, apparently, Arthur dryly noted.
Arthur returned to the bed. The paper and pen stayed inside the drawer. He didn't actually feel like drawing yet, but it was nice to know that those things would be there when he needed them. <would your servitude instincts happen to suppress curiosity and the desire to question what people are doing? not that the answer is very interesting... but I'm kind of wondering why you haven't asked more details about what I'm doing around here or who I might be working for>
edited 29th Nov '15 3:01:37 AM by SnowyFoxes
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[hotel room 106 (Tsadro, Arthur)]
He let his stare linger just a bit longer than usual. <Guess I was asking for that,> he finally conveyed, shaking his head slightly as though more amused than anything at Arthur's playground-grade remark. Resting his elbows on the arms of the chair, he looked up knowingly. <I did try to jog your memory shortly before we left the bar. You seemed more interested in my people.> He shrugged a little. <I don't blame you for that, I imagine any sensible person meeting a new species would be. But whatever business you have here must not be very pressing if it can wait for a history lesson.> To be honest, he at first thought Arthur had no business in particular. For all he knew, spacefaring could have been like any other kind of tourism where Arthur was from.
Tsadro bent down to slip his shoes off. <I don't care why you decided to spout a playground insult,> he placed his shoes beside the chair and sat up, <but the fact that I'm not personally offended doesn't mean willpower isn't an issue for many pre-personhood Rivari. If you meet others of my kind, be careful who you say that to.>
<Now that your business has become important enough for you to mention it...> he put his elbows on the chair's arms again, fingertips together, <what do you need my help with?>
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
Drummer Boy
[Hotel Room 106 (Tsadro, Arthur)]
Arthur furrowed his brow and slowly tapped out his next words, deleting several potential responses before finally settling on what his frantic, confused brain deemed the most conciliatory one. His hand quivered as it hovered over the "send" key, until he finally pressed it.
<I really didn't mean anything as an insult, I honestly don't know what you're referring to so I can't really apologize, because if I don't know what I'm apologizing for it's not sincere. I know I'm pretty clueless and socially awkward sometimes, and I know it's really stupid but I really can't tell what I did wrong most of the time even if it's obvious to other people. well if I can apologize for anything I guess I can apologize for being stupid>
Geez, you'd think I would've gotten better at this by now. If only another team member were there to step in and back him up by saying something like "Yeah, really sorry about this guy over here, he's kind of an airhead, doesn't watch what he's saying all the time, totally doesn't mean any harm, he's a nice guy, honest." Not that people always bought that story anyway. In fact, they usually didn't. This kind o thing tended to work only when Caroline did it, but cute little kids could get away with anything they wanted. Well, that wasnt totally true, she couldn't get him off the hook for—
Quit all that useless pondering! Focus!
He was already regretting what he just said and wishing he had just pretended he knew what was happening, apologized, and moved on. Maybe that would have been simpler.
Or was this not that huge of a deal? No, insulting people was always at least, like... a medium deal. An average deal. A sufficient deal.
... those phrases sounded so wrong.
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[Grand Hotel (Lobby)]
Scents thought about what to say. After that First Advocate character and his very possible threats, she wasn't totally sure that she wanted to tell this woman what exactly they were doing here. But she didn't think it'd be smart to be all that secretive anyway, particularly since Iraal probably wouldn't be no matter what.
"I'm here as the assistant to Doctor Iraal voSotin, over there," she said, pointing her ears in the direction of the orl (more for fun than because it was a super efficient way of pointing at anything). Iraal was currently looking closely at the robot, her expression blank in thought. "And also personal security. She's here on vacation, and I'm here to make sure it goes smoothly."
Her long-snouted head cocked. "Same question?"
Paladin of Light
[[Rail Siding - Kaito, Trinity, Grey Guy, Chisa, Jeanette and Crew]]
Kaito watched as Stalker slowly approached him in a menacing way, he was coming in for another assault and probably for a killing blow at that, since the young agent still was short his main weapons. So, he mentally and physically hardened his body and mind to act at the slightest opportunity to get to at least one of his weapons.
But before too long and seemingly out of nowhere a figure dashed in between the two of them and planted themselves there. He came to find a seemingly feminine, and rather alien shaped being standing before him with her back to him. Everything about her was alien, not just her stream-lined clothing and armor, but her very tall and sinuous physique.
He heard her mutter something softly, perhaps to herself, but also easily just under her breath. All Kaito could tell was that Stalker was not happy to see this new opponent step between him and his current prey. Without hesitation, the feminine alien cast aside a hard-locked briefcase to instead take up two small blades and proceeded to fight Stalker seemingly to a stand still.
Seeing his opportunity having presented itself, Kaito dashed over to his pistol and raised it up. He watched as the two fought back and forth, trying to find a spot to shoot at Stalker to give this obvious ally the upper hand, but the assassin proved to be hard to keep track of with how fast he was moving.
However soon enough, she had driven the dark assassin away in a wisp of black smoke. Despite the danger being gone however, Kaito kept his pistol raised, unsure that now that the main threat was gone, could this new person then turn on him. Though when she spoke she said that Stalker would most likely be back for her instead of him. She turned her attention off in the direction of the speeding tanks for a moment; seemingly for no reason until she spoke up again, finally revealing her name to him and said that she was on his side. Now with that fact firmly addressed, Kaito lowered his pistol.
Things only got weirder from there, for another individual phased into existence as if literally from the sandstorm and complimented Trinity on her moves. He was completely clad in gray colored armor, and judging by his voice, this was the person that had warned him to watch his back.
The whole 'hey blondie' thing though was what irked the young agent the most—with just how the guy had said it to him and the tone that he used instantly marked him in Kaito's book as a smart-ass. And if there was one thing he hated more than anything else in his line of work—it was people like him. "Well I didn't see you helping in any helpful way... Other than hiding in whatever optical camouflage you had going on there. Besides, I would have had everything under control, even if I hadn't turned around." Kaito said matter-of-factly as he glared at the Grey Guy from behind his visor.
edited 29th Nov '15 9:45:16 PM by Gold_Paladin
Crazy Kiwi
Northwestern Desert - The Fort (Mess Hall)
Gwion followed the exchange between Henry and the Sergeant with interest - apparently Henry really had served in Roosevelt's Cavalry, which would explain how taking the role came so easily to him.The newcomers with the APC, Tana and Christopher, seemed bemused at all the activity at the fort and Christopher was partway through asking someone how long they had been here when Henry mentioned that the fort should be in Texas, which led to more revelations of Henry's past - it seemed he was either a lot older than he looked or was some sort of time traveller.
"I don't know how familiar you are with parallel or alternate universes," said Gwion, "but I can certainly tell you that on my version of Earth, Fort Sam Houston is still safely in Texas even in the later half of the twenty-first century - I've seen it. I can't speak for any other versions of Earth, however. I've met people from an "Earth" where the Winter War was fought largely by werewolves and I'm not certain that anyone in this room, aside from Alpha, Finn and Kaitlyn, is from the same universe as I am, so I figure it's safe to assume that in all the many universes out there where a version of Fort Sam Houston exists, there's room for at least one to have mysteriously vanished."
Finn nodded. "If it weren't for the screwed up geography hereabouts, I'd've suggested that maybe this is Texas in this universe."
Sophia turned to Rin to answer her question. "Well, we found three guys that had been locked in the pump shed at the base of the tower - we would've asked them who put them there, and why, but some spoilsport went and killed them before I could slap them around a bit - and we explored the well inside the shed and found that there's a tunnel from there into some underground chambers that are part of this fort - nothing too exciting there, just a bunch of antique weapons. We didn't explore the water tower itself because we got too interested in the tunnel in the well."
Gwion turned. "Which reminds me, most of our stuff is still in the pump shed."
"Don't worry, after you and Henry left I wedged the door shut from the inside - it won't withstand a dedicated attempt to break in, but it should suffice until we get back there."
Kaitlyn looked at Henry and the Sergeant with her head cocked slightly to one side. "I'd've thought that the most important questions are not what the fort's called or where it is, but 'who the fuck were those invaders?' and 'do they have any allies that are likely to turn up?'"
Grand Hotel - Presidential Suite
Wolfe scraped up the last morsel of his meal with his fork and downed it with great delight and a tinge of regret that the meal was over. He watched as Samuel sculled the contents of his glass and looked, for a moment, as if he was about to either slam it on the table or throw it into the fireplace."Who said I ain't got one now? We're all mad bastards, ain't we?" Said Samuel. "Taking on crazy bull-headed cult people in an open desert to save your ass..."
Wolfe took up his own wine glass and raised it in a salute. "To Mad Bastards everywhere - Gettin' Shit Done since 2000 BCE."
By the time Samuel asked how everyone's dinner was going, Kris, Teri, Karl and James had finished eating, leaving only Peggy to finish up the last few bites.
"Looks like it's time for an after-dinner drink and smoke," said Kris.
[Town ~ Grand Hotel (Room 204)] (Joseph, James, Pancake)
"Well... okay." Joseph said, looking at John and shrugging. He was both a little confused and a little relieved, since the man had apparently forgotten about Joseph's own showering needs. That or he just didn't think it was a big deal for Joe to go out in a public eatery with remnants of the desert still clinging to his skin. Based on what he knew about John, both seemed equally plausible. Either way, there was no point in correcting the man. The longer he could avoid showering—at least until he could figure out some way to keep a connection with the world outside the bathroom—the better.
He watched after John until the bathroom door closed, then just kinda stood there, unsure of what else to do but wait. James striking up a conversation came as a pleasant relief, even if the topic wasn't one Joseph felt all too keen about discussing: himself.
"Actually, no." he said, turning his eyes to James. "Not really, anyway. My uh... mom already knows about, ehm," he shrugged again and gestured at himself, "...this. That was a fun day." He added in a quiet mutter.
When James asked if he wanted to make a phone call, he glanced around the room, idly trying to located a phone, and said, "I guess I could try, I just... I kinda have my doubts about being able to..." he paused, considering how best to explain. "...well, to reach anyone I know from way out here. Seems, I dunno, kinda isolated. Like, have you ever seen those horror movies where none of the phones work right, so they can't call for help? That kind of thing."
edited 1st Dec '15 7:22:30 AM by Ryuhza
the color todayRail Siding - Trinity, Kaito, mysterious person, (close by: Chisa, Jeanette and Crew)
Trinity said nothing at first, hoping her communications with the girl on the tank would stop them so she could catch up. She may have been able to run fairly quick but there was no way she could keep up if they kept going. She then turned to the two beings beside her, a blonde boy who looked to have some cybernetic equipment of his own and a mysterious being who almost looked like another Tenno. The blonde was not too happy with the other's comments on his skills and she decided to intervene for a moment. A fight breaking out here would not help her find her target.
"The fact he stood up to Stalker and lived is quite extraordinary. Your warning helped as well. But this is no time to chat. You both should get out of this sandstorm." she said, her tone stern but caring. Her head shot back towards the tanks and she added, "I have somewhere else I need to be."
Chisa clung hard to anything she could get her hands on as the tanks moved away from the fighting. She still wondered what was happening and if Stalker was stopped when a voice spoke to her saying she was ok now and that someone was coming. It was female but sounded friendly and Chisa suddenly shouted to Jeanette, "W-wait, s-stop the tanks! Someone is coming! They...they want to talk to me, but I think they are on our side!"
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"
Eat my dust!
At Kaito's rebuke, he simply shrugged.
"Hey, whatever you say man," he said nonchalantly.
He turned to Trinity.
"Eh, the sandstorm isn't too big a deal for me. Anyway, you're chasing that tank that just left, ain'tcha? If you want, I can bring it over here for you."
edited 30th Nov '15 5:25:24 PM by gameknight102xx
"SAID CLOUD TO THE CARTOON PONIES AND UNICORNS WITH PICTURES OF FLOWERS ON THEIR ASSES. A DURR HURR HURR." ~Game Spazzer
[Hotel-Room 204]
James blinked.
"Fair point." he said, sitting up, "And that storm sure as hell isn't making anything better. But, that leaves me with yet another question; if your mom knows about your lizard thing, why did you leave home?"
Once Pancake was done with her food, she trotted over to James's lap. James simply stroked her back.
"If you don't want to answer that, that's fine. I don't want to press you over this. I was just hoping that we could get to know each other a little more. I, uh, didn't give you a good impression earlier in the desert. I'm hoping I can fix that." He sighed, "John is so much better at this than I am."
Pancake yawned and closed her eyes.
edited 2nd Dec '15 11:36:26 AM by Masterofchaos
Mr ship
[Fort-Mess Hall]
Henry nodded to Kaitlyn's statement and looked at the others. "She's right. We need to figure out just who those guys are. Starting with interrogating the one we captured. Now while I have training in getting information from people it's so old that the OSS
gave it to me and is outdated by my standards and likley extreamlly outdated to all of you guys."
[Town ~ Bed & Breakfast (Shared Room)](Connie, Davey, Irina)
Irina saw Connie suppressing a smile. Irina just did so anyway. She could safely admit Davey was cute in his clothes. She forced it away when she began to speak.
She agreed, "It won't disturb buildings. It can sense people and animals, though. It senses life it can destroy."
Ever since her own cultist days, she gained the skill of sensing bad things, and other magical beings or places. It feels like a gut feeling, but with a slightly different twang— one of certainty. She tapped into this sense, concentrating on any feelings of magic, danger, anger...
The woman closed her eyes again. "There's something near here. Danger, mostly. But we'll be safe from it."
But there was something else. A large presence. A familiar presence. She winced, and her eyes shut tighter. "No, but there's something. It's faint, but I feel... Evil."
She opened them in shock. "Garganteum is out there."
[Grand Hotel - Presidential Suite]
Samuel took a sip of wine. His eyes widened. He thought, If it's possible for people to travel to other worlds... Then, would it be possible that me, Samuel, the cultists... Hell, even the rescue team, came here from a rift?
The Colonel chuckled. "Heh, reminds me that they used to call my unit— y'know, 23rd Airborne— Thunderskies. It was kind of silly, but made sense. I liked our enemies' name better: 23rd Airborne Terror."
The blond man nodded. "Yes, I remember that. Though higher command would just call us Reckless Teenagers because you would just pick and choose places to attack."
Samuel turned and gave Todd a playful glare. "Hey, Todd, give me some credit. I was being strategic." The Colonel waved a dismissal hand. "They gave me medals for covering so much ass."
"And they took them back," the Commander added.
Sam's smile faded. He replied solemnly, "It was a moral choice."
Vic listened in on the naming. He thought for a bit, and only spoke when no one else did. "Uh, how about Survivor Six? Should work even if you have, like, seven. Or maybe, The Hunters."
[Southern Desert, En Route to Town]]
Garganteum felt it. It felt faint usage of magic. It turned its head, and went towards it.
The sandstorm's blowing sand covered rotting flesh of cultists. Food was still food, though already destroyed by other life. It may have smiled, if it had emotions. Humans can be so cruel and kill. It bent down, and gobbled up the dead cultists.
After eating the bodies and spitting out clothes, it continued towards town.
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.