Eventually...
-Everyone who went on the bus (read, everyone who wishes to participate) soon can see their destination-
-They see an incredibly large spaceship, downed and partially buried in the sand like a beached dead whale. But under that large spaceship is a small shantytown of sorts, built out of what looks like pieces made from that ship, judging by the giant hole in its hull-
Nagi: And here we are. Try to stay on your toes here and not get into any religious debates with these guys. A lot of them have gone...loopy after what they went through.
We Are Our Avatars Forever (Now on Discord by invitation, PM)-Nagi has, thankfully for Argus and Nadask, parked next to the...-
Shanty Town
-Unlike the ruins that you had previously come from or even that underground society of strange animal girls and robot people, this place does not even resemble a normal place of living. The buildings appear to have been built from whatever debris could be duct taped or soldered together. The people you can see have a haunted or disaffected look as they mill around or obsessively clean their...weapons-
-Yes, weapons. Even a child could see that these people are soldiers due to the guns some of them are still tightly gripping and the combat armor they are clad in, faded and damaged though they may be-
-Whether you advance as aggressively as you can, or as sneakling as possibly, it's clear that you might want to tread lightly-
We Are Our Avatars Forever (Now on Discord by invitation, PM)Shantytown
-Nobody stops you from entering. Most of them look like they are trying to avoid eye contact altogether, although a few stare and grip their weapons tighter when they hear Apollyn's remark-
-As there is no obvious clue to what you should do next, Nagi contacts Nadask and Jupiter with her radio-
Nagi: [Alright. The lack of bullets flying means you guys actually followed up on keeping these guys at arm's length. Good. Now, the lead I got is on the farther side of town, right next to the building they had set up as a brewery. Don't worry. You'll know him when you see him, he's in far better condition than the average soldier here.]
We Are Our Avatars Forever (Now on Discord by invitation, PM)Shantytown
-You do indeed spot someone on the edge of town. It looks like a particularly large biped dressed up in incredibly heavy combat armor, with what looks like a mane of white hair sprouting out from behind the helmet. The contact is simply cleaning an impressive looking rifle-
We Are Our Avatars Forever (Now on Discord by invitation, PM)Shantytown
Soldier: Many like you have tried before. Many more will try long after you're gone. I'd almost suspect you of being overconfident to the point of foolishness.
But given that my skills are wasted in this desert, I suppose lending a hand to some youngsters will at least give me something to do. What exactly are you looking for?
We Are Our Avatars Forever (Now on Discord by invitation, PM)Shantytown
Soldier: Somewhat true. I have managed to develop a form of refractive barrier to repel the kind of lasers that are used by the man who runs that strange tower, after my initial stratagem of "applying numerous explosives to the edge of the barrier" did not achieve the prime objective.
We Are Our Avatars Forever (Now on Discord by invitation, PM)

-Well, Hiteknoraak can see the bus starting on its way on out as he arrives. Titania waves her giant robot minion over to get a report-
We Are Our Avatars Forever (Now on Discord by invitation, PM)