ICC- Kilrick Salvage Chapter 3- Manhattan Story

[welsh]

> MONITOR 12CAQ2369 REPORT-

> PRESENCE OF UNUSUAL CHEMICAL AGENT-

> IDENTIFIED- O-CHLOROBENZYLIDENE MALONONTRITE PRESENT.

> PROBABLE SOURCE- RELEASE BY ALIEN PRESENCE
> BIOLOGICAL MONITORS- INDENTIFING CURRENT LIFE FORMS PRESENT.
> TYPE- NORMAL SUBTERRANEAN REPTILE LIFEFORMS.
> TYPE- NORMAL RODENT LIFEFORMS

> AUDIO MONITORS- OFF LINE

> PROBABILITY - CS GAS RELEASED BY ALTERNATIVE LIFE FORMS PRESENT IN TUNNELS.

> MONITORS OF OTHER 12 CAQ MONITORS- DETECT NO PRESENCE OF ALTERNATIVE LIFE FORMS

> ACTION - FURTHER INVESTIGATION.

___________________

Further away-

Search and Salvage bots moves about the large tunnel where a battle had recently taken place. Moving on insect-like legs the bots scurried over the damage hulks of the robots that had been damaged by gun or energy fire. The gathered used shell casing and other fragments found at the battle site. Where possible the S & S bots did local repairs, or at least attempted those repairs necssary for the bots to move on their own to more elaborate repair facilities. Where the S & S bots fought with local rodents for remains, they administered slight electric shocks- not enough to kill but enough to stun. The rodents gave ground reluctantly.

They had found the remains of Eric's body behind a destroyed crate, blood and tissue sprayed against the wall, his body nearly cut in half.

A quick analysis revealed that the body had already begun to necrotize, but parts of the mind would be preserved, and organ parts were not beyond rehibilitation and repair. That which was useful would be recovered and preserved, the mind and memories scanned and either used or filed as necessary within the massive memory banks of the central computing system that maintained Manhattan.

The three androids moved quickly through the battle site without either observation or delay. What was learned there would be relayed back to them to be used. The dead man's mind would reveal more secrets than their interrogation methods might reveal.

Their prey had moved beyond the 12 CAQ2369 now. The nanobots within his system called to them the way the blood of deer calls to senses of hungry wolves.

________________

I washed out my eyes and soaked my exposed skin to rid myself of the effects of the gas.

There was no time to delay. We needed to move someplace safe, fast.

Someone had already been bandaging Wolf but the man had lost too much blood. Logan and Stowe were moving away, and I could see that she was going to apply the defibulator.

That meant Logan would be down and we would have to carry two members.

"Tera. How close are we and can we get help for our hurt people?"

The girl had been watching us patiently, but in her eyes I could see the impatience I felt.

"I think so. We're close. Three doors and two corridors and we will be under Fanum."

To Logan and Stowe, "Can you keep moving for a little while longer."

Stowe shrugged. Logan nodded. "I think I can wait a half hour."

"We'll be there by then." Said Terra.

To Reik and Rama, "We'll beed to carry Wolf. Let's get a stretcher ready and be quick. I don't like being here too long. We've already attracted enough attention."

OCC- OK, Alba- next post- get us through a few doors and up into Fanum. Do you want to introduce this or shall I?

 

[Albatross]

OOC: Sorry about the lack of posting over the weekend. I got sick and am now just getting over it.

IC: I was glad that we were finally here, totally relived that all of us had escaped the gators alive. I guess that we might very well become part of a city legend, but back business.

We kept walking down the corridors, turning a few times and finally reaching the ladder that would take us up to the entrance way into Fanum. It had taken about twenty minutes total time. We climbed up and finally saw the massive locked doorway in. The legends of the city told that the door belonged to a group of elite warriors known as the Chevy Chase Banking Corp. The legends stated that the door was used to guard their fortress and treasures and that the door was so strong that it had survived a direct nuclear hit during the war. When you saw it open it was easy to understand why the legends had formed. The door was at least fifty centimeters thick and made of solid metal.

I walked up to the control panel outside the door and punched in a few access codes to get a video comlink with Fanum directly.

“This is Hakias of the Order of the Clarios. Please state your business.”

“Hey, it’s Terra. You guys goin’ to let in or what?” I asked.

“Terra…. Daughter of Marcus. Yes, you may enter,” replied Hakias.

“Thanks,” I said making a sort of hats off gesture to the screen.

About a minute passed without anything happening. The door stayed closed, the room almost silent, but the door did open in time and behind was a surprise which I was very unsure about.

Armitage, the leader of Athean Order, was there. She was female, or least was at one time. Let me explain more about the Atheans before I go on. They are of course Cy-borgs and as such have a very different social structure. In fact, their social structure was something entirely different from anything I have ever, or quite possible will ever, encounter. The Atheans are born as pretty much normal human children who grow and learn like most children. The changes come at the time of accession which is generally carried out around the age of 13 or 14. The accession has two parts, a test and the ceremony.

Because the Atheans are a cast based society, the testing and ceremony differ. The Order of the Clarios, the cast responsible who the safety and spirit matters of Fanum and its people, have a test which proves their loyalties to what they call the Xerxes. The Thuxians are the cast responsible for the scavenging new tech and protecting Fanum if they were ever attacked. Their test is only to go out with a scav party and return with an item. The final cast is Dawn of the Fifth. They processed the new techs found by Thuxians, built new techs based on them, and were also responsible taking care the general needs, food, water, clothing, and shelter. Their test was to simply work as one of them successfully for a year.

Once an adolescent passed his or her test, he or she was given his or her first cybernetic implants based on their cast and inherent abilities. As the adolescents grow into adulthood, they are expected to advance their abilities. As each member of the society advances their abilities and prove themselves, they are given more cybernetic implants and replacements until they die or it is felt that Xerxes had been pleased enough to undergo the Joining.

To understand the Joining, one must first understand the beliefs of the Atheans. The Atheans follow an artificial intelligence being they call Xerxes. As the scribe, Kilosa, once told me, they Atheans were once a dying group of wanders who barely had enough food to stay alive. One day in their wanderings, they found a small metal ball, a damaged computer core. Within this core was lab program which processed semi- conscience thought. The ancestors of the Atheans attempted to fix the computer core in the hopes that they might be able to get information on food stores but in so doing they sparked something that gave the lab program full conscience thought. It was at the moment that Xerxes was born.

Xerxes understood that his existence was caused by the ancestors of the Atheans and felt that he should help them in their struggle. He therefore gave them the knowledge of cybernetics that they might be able in live more comfortably. In return, the Atheans chose to make Xerxes a sort of god and to serve and please him. Xerxes acts as a guide of sorts in their lives. The goal of every member of the Atheans is to undergo the Joining in which their conscience selves actually leaves their bodies and become one with Xerxes, adding to its knowledge and wisdom. This was a right that was generally only bestowed to the counsel and its head, which was Armitage at the time, though others had undergone it. As I understood it, Armitage herself would soon be undergoing the Joining soon.

I had only met with Armitage once or twice in my entire life and I had always had to search her out so to find her at the door waiting was a shock. But the order could always come up with a way to surprise you when you least expected it and Armitage waiting at the front gate for me was just that. The other members of the group seemed a little disturbed by the images of the Armitage and the other Atheans. They were not being of perfection, but were, to the least, somewhat grotesque. Many the Atheans still staples in various parts of their bodies which closed up the incisions made to add implants or replace biological body parts with artificial. Many appeared to be misshaped do the sizes of the artificial compared with the biological. Armitage herself was nearly all mechanical, only the skin on her face, some parts of her blood, and her brain were left. All the rest of her body, her eyes, skull, torso, and some of her blood were artificial in nature. As far as I know, no other Athean has ever reached such a level of integration without undergoing the Joining.

Armitage walked forward and looked at Wolfe’s destroyed arm.

“Take him to the laboratory. We need to work quickly if it is to be done.” Armitage’s voice was a hollow, echoing buzz.

Kilrick turned to me with a somewhat concerned look as two Atheans pick Wolfe up and took him inside.

“It’s fine. They’ll Fix ‘im up.” I said to him.

Armitage approached me, “Terra, we need to speak. The rest of you are free to enter as you please.”

 

[SuAside]

Logan would have been totally facinated by these strange people, under different circumstances. Now it all didn't matter to him. Possibly because of him, many of these people would die.

He felt his hands beginning to shake. Many people would've mistaken it for fear or shock, but Stowe knew better. She layed her hands on his shoulder & nodded towards a bench outside the sight of curious eyes.

As the jolt of electricity finally came, there was nothing but darkness for Logan, a brief period of total emptiness...

 

[welsh]

OCC- the speech they here comes from the cy-borg bill of rights- http://www.ugf.edu/CompSci/CGray/CYBILL.HTM

IC-

I didn't like the idea that Terra had been seperated from us, but she had gotten help for Wolf and that was good enough.

Jasmin and Deeds stayed with Stowe and Edwards as Stowe began to prepare an electronic shock to Logan. We were being seperated, and I didn't like it. But More importantly I was worried about Wolf. It it didn't get taken cared of, it would get infected and he could die.

A group of cyborgs, a bizarre mixe of spare human and machine parts, carried Wolf into a large corridor with cathdral like ceilings. The room was litered with mechanical and electronic debris. The cyborgs moved from about piles of spare electronic and robot parts, like rats atop a ripe garbage heap. Some were like people, others barely human, composed of different robotic parts. Yet they recognized each other, socialized and cooperated.

One of the cy-borg approached Rama, a hand on her hips, and smiled suggestively.

"Looking for a good time? How'd you like to be my lover? I am programmed with over 10,000 sexual protocols for your maximum enjoyment. My talents are for your enjoyment, at a price."

Over a broken loudspeaker we heard a barely adubible message drone out.

"We Cy-borgs declare these rights to be self-evident and inalienable. These Freedoms are our birthright! We declare that all cy-borgs have-

Freedom of Travel. Unless the United States of America is in a declared State of War with another political entity then citizens shall have the right to travel to these entities, virtually or in the flesh, at their own risk and expense....

The United States of America?

It was an old recording of a lost time. Yet, these creatures seemed to celebrate these values and ideals. Perhaps they gave these poor creatures some sense of community.

The radio seemed to buzz inaudible, then it continued-

"..... of Electronic Speech. Electronic and other nonphysical forms of transmitting information are protected by the Constitution's
First Amendment.

The Right of Electronic Privacy. Electronic and other nonmaterial forms of property and personhood shall be accorded the protection of the Fourth Amendment. "

Stokes smirked. "That's from a dead time."

Freedom of Consciousness. The consciousness of the citizen shall be protected by the First, Fourth, and Eighth Amendments. Unreasonable search and seizure in this, the most sacred and private part of an individual citizen, shall be absolutely prohibited. Individuals shall retain all rights to modify their consciousness through psychopharmological, medical, genetic, spiritual and other practices in so far as they do not threaten the fundamental rights of other individuals and citizens and if they do so at their own risk and expense.

"What in the hell is it talking about?" Whispered Stokes. "Amendments? What the fuck is this?"

"Shut up." I responded. Better not to disrespect ones's guests.

Right to Life. The body of the citizen shall be protected by the First, Fourth, and Eighth Amendments. Unreasonable search and seizure of this sacred and private part of an individual citizen shall be absolutely prohibited. Individuals shall retain all rights to modify their bodies, at their own risk and expense, through psychopharmological, medical, genetic, spiritual and other practices in so far as they do not threaten the fundamental rights of other individuals and citizens.

What kind of society guaranteed a right to life? What world must it have been to allow such rights, or even contemplate such rights?

I wondered what had given birth to the technology that created these creatures, or this city, and why such a civilization had been swept away.

Still the recording droned on.


Right to Death. Every citizen and individual shall have the right to end their life, at their own risk and expense, in the manner of their own choice as long as it does not infringe upon the fundamental rights of other citizens and individuals.

Right to Political Equality. The political power of every citizen should be determined by the quality of their arguments, example, energy, and single vote, not based on their economic holdings or social standing. Congress shall permit no electoral system that favors wealth, coercion, or criminal behavior to the detriment of political equality.

Freedom of Information. Citizens shall have access to all information held on them by governments or other bureaucracies. Citizens shall have the right to correct all information held on them by governments and other bureaucracies at the expense of these bureaucracies. Institutional and corporate use of information to coerce or otherwise illegally manipulate or act upon citizens shall be absolutely forbidden.

An idealistic world. A world of dreamers and wishful thinking.

No world had ever been like that. None had been free of the hunger of power and the corruption that came with it.


Freedom of Family, Sexuality and Gender. Citizens and individuals have the right to determine their own sexual and gender orientations, at their own risk and expense, including matrimonial and other forms of alliance. Congress shall make no law arbitrarily restricting the definition of the family, of marriage, or of parenthood based on religious or other subjective criteria. Consent of the participants as well as real psychological, sexual, physiological, and genetic relationships shall be the basis of any governmental interference in family choices of citizens and individuals unless the fundamental rights of other citizens and individuals are being severely threatened.

Only in a state of nature would people have that right.


Right to Peace. Citizens and individuals have a right to freedom from war and violence. War shall be a last resort and must be declared by a two thirds vote of Congress when proposed by the president. The Third Amendment shall not be construed as permitting citizens and individuals to own all types of weapons. Freedom from governmental tyranny will not be safeguarded through local militia or individual violence. Only solidarity, tolerance, sacrifice and an equitable political system will guarantee freedom. None the less, citizens and individuals shall have the right to defend themselves with deadly force, at their own risk and expense, if their fundamental rights are being abridged."

Perhaps that had been this societies undoing- the right to peace, the desire to end war, the ideal that one could legislate away the evil in man's nature.

The right to defend values through the destruction of others? What contradiction. Perhaps that had been their downfall.


"It's a fucking junk heap." Said Jake.

"But more than that. It's a community."

Few of the cy-borgs seemed to care or notice us, except for a couple, one more robotic than the other, that seemed to watch us with haunting eyes.

[/quote][/img]

Another approached us with menace. It stopped and gave us a glare, then announced. "You are welcome but abide by the rules. Peace be with you." Then it marched away.

Behind him a girl, or what appeared to be a girl, approached and said, "Don't mind him. He merely likes to sound frightening. Let's take care of your friend. We will need to operate but I think we can replace his arm."

 

[Reaper]

Reik looked around him and took the in the bizarre technical wonder that surrounded the team. Machine bonded with man to different degrees was an awesome and frightening prospect. Some looked like people with mechanical additions but others were barely human. Reik didn't like the look of a fate like that.

On the other hand, lose an arm in battle; get another one fitted. The safety net aspect of it all must have appealed to the warriors in the team. Few could deny that losing a limb was a viscerally terrifying thought.

He glanced over as another cyborg took a closer look. She was tall and had loong blond hair above a face that was beautiful except that half of it was made of well crafted metal. Like a half human statue. Despite the mechanical components, she was attractive.

Reik turned to Kilrick,

"Is it okay that I think she is worth a good seeing to?"

 

[welsh]

"Stay close and be careful." I said. "Besides, don't forget we are being pursued."

"You mean those three androids?" Asked Reik.

"Those and anything else that wants to follow us from the sewers."

This was no time to be straying around with these new life forms. Regardless if they were just a new breed of scavs or a complex society, we didn't know their rules, and the more divided we became the more vulnerable.

The cyborgs carried Wolf up to what looked like an alter and soon he was surrounded by a group of robotic creatures that scurried about. They moved quickly, not merely working on the arm but on the other wounds he had received, using a laser like divice to heal wounds. Some large mask like device was fit over his head, it's purposes unclear.

I looked at Jake but he shrugged. He hadn't seen this technology either. This had been locked away in Manhattan for years. What if this technology had been allowed to spread out into the wasteland. What good might it have done.

I looked back to werhe Stowe was checking Logan. Logan was still unconscious after having been shocked and would remain that way for awhile. What might she have done with this technology.

But looking at Stowe made me also think about Edwards, Jasmin and Deeds. Edwards seemed fascinated with the new technology, but Deeds and Jasmin seemed impassive and sentinel. I had gotten them to NY and I believed they were relying on me to get them out. But we had come to do a job.

"Keep an eye out on Wolf and be careful. I need to see about the client." I said.

I walked across the large room, past the cy-borgs to where Deeds was waiting.

"Ok, so we got you to New York. Now what?"

Deeds looked towards Edwards. "Doctor?"

Edwards coughed, seemed uncomfortable with teh attention. "What we are looking for could be in any one of four locations in the area formerly called New York City."

"You're not sure? Four locations is a lot of ground to cover. As I figure it we have enough radiation meds to get us covered for about two weeks."

"Two sites are in Manhattan. One was called New York University the other was called Columbia University. The other two might be located either in Queens, at St. John's University, or in the Bronx, at Fordham University." Explained Edwards. "Or it could be split up among them."

"What are these places?"

"Before the great flaming, they were centers of learning and research. There were others in New York but these are the ones that were most involved in.." he paused and looked at Deeds,"... the item we seek."

"And what kind of research or technology are we talking about?" I figured I would pry one more plank lose.

Edwards was about to speak, but Deeds cut him off. "That you don't need to know yet salvager. We know the building names. Just not how to get there."

"Ok, we'll get it done." I figured I would get no more from Deeds, for now.

I returned to speak to Jake and told him about our destinations. Jake withdrew his map and we plotted where we needed to get. NYU was closest, so that would be the first place to go. Then Columbia, then Fordham. The last destination, St. John's would be most difficult, so we'd go there last.

 

[Carib FMJ]

"Are we ready?" Rama asked unemotionally, his face hidden behind the tactical mask. Stryfe could see in the dark with it, he even had a targeting system with HUD and other little systems. A nice range finder and several visual settings. He watched the Cyborgs with interest, especially with the humans among them. Cyborgs had really come into vogue since, the human survivalist within never ceased to amaze Stryfe.

"We can make a side stop... Find the man whom we were bidden to give the disk. When that is done, we can be resupplied and perhaps even aided. The old man has many secrets, such is his talent."

 

[welsh]

I nodded to Rama. I had not forgotten. We could also use supplies.

"I think that might be best. Besides we can use what ever local intel we can collect. But right now, with Logan comatose and Wolf in surgery, I'd rather we sit tight for a little bit more."

Deeds interjected, "Rama's interests are not part of the package in our contract."

But Deeds didn't seem interested in fighting over it.

I nodded. "No it's not, but it's part of the service rendered. Our contract is for the acquisition and return of the item. If in the process of obtaining that information we need to acquire services, intel or comply with commitments relevant to the contract, than those subsidiary issues become relevant. You're not getting billed for this in any event. Besides, it's your contract, but it's my mission."

Deeds shrugged. "I hope we don't lose any more people because we're doing a job for this riff-raff."

Rama was about to say something but I shook my head. Better he stay out of this. There had been to much egos so far.

I replied, "Let me worry about that. Just take care of your staff. If you insist, you can remain here, but I cannot vouchsafe your security."

Deeds snorted, "And what if something happens while you're gone and the good doctors are both killed or turned into one of these organic tin cans."

"Then we don't get paid." I said.

"Don't think you're irreplaceable Kilrick. We can still fulfill the mission without you."

This was the first time that Deeds had ever insinuated a threat to either breach the contract or dispose of me and the others.

Jake had stopped what he was doing and tensing up. So was Jasmin. I guessed Rama and Reik were probably doing the same, unless Reik had hooked up with a cyborg-hooker.

"You could try that Deeds, but that would also be a breach of good faith. The consequences might be severe for all of us."

Deeds smirked. He glanced over at Jake and at Rama, and then chuckled. "Maybe not Kilrick, maybe not. Ok, we'll do it your way. For now."

I turned to Rama. "Ok, let's find the old man and let's do it quick. Where do you think he is and how do you figure on getting there?"

 

[Carib FMJ]

The Path towards the Bends, a neighborhood which was once called Hell's Kitchen, was now just a fortified version of the projects. Barb wire, barricades, sand bags, garbage and the occassional armed civi watching them.

The truce with the machines in this sector of New York had lasted. Either through the machines uninterest in the area or perhaps the Father's shrewdness. Either way, it was a silent neighborhood.

Stryfe walked ahead, he was adorned in the combat armor, a flak jacketed trench coat over his body armor. His face was hidden behind the tactical mask, the red lenses of mask were none reflective and it also had a Canary Filter as well as a HUD which helped with targeting and other niffty features. The perfect toy for Stryfe.

They reached a brick building along the side walk. There were a couple APCs, and the SWAT armored cars parked around the building. The glass was borded over with steel and Stryfe could detect a sniper far above. A deadly one at that. Perhaps a .50 caliber version.

Stryfe slung his rifle, his arms were in unhostile gestures. He knew he was being watched. He could even make out a survilence cam. For all he knew it could be active.

Stryfe motioned for the group to halt. Rama watched the camera and spoke. "I am here to deliver a Message to the Father."

Now... All he could wait.

 

[welsh]

It was better having Stryfe on point and the others held back.

Deeds, Jasmin and the doctors were bunkered down. That was better. I didn't want to draw attention to them.

But things were different in Manhattan a few years ago.

Despite the electronic defenses, the hunter-killers and the numerous traps, Manhattan was different. The electronic web that surrouned both kept outside influences out, and inside influences in. It might have been a case of defense in depth, but it was also like a very hard egg shell that kept a wholly different type of organism inside.

New York was a world onto itself. They had managed to grow their own food here, to develop their own political and economic systems. Neighborhoods were uniquely defined by who governed and who controlled. Gangs controlled neighborhoods, controlled markets.

Above it all was the electronic grid and those the grid served, but inside life took the shape it wanted to.

But the gangs that had inhabited this part of town seemed absent.

Sentry bots, which seemed to ignore us know that we were inside, would hover above us do their sensor scans, but took little hostile motion. In the past these bots would go unnoticed by New Yorkers. Now, I would catch the occassional person watching them, suspiciously, wary of something we didn't yet notice.

Finding this neighborhood hadn't been difficult. ALl we had to do was follow Broadway down to the Bowry. We had done little to hide our movements, but had tried not to be to conspicuous.

I didn't want to draw attention.

But more, I wanted to find out what was going on here, what had changed.

New York had always been a bad place, a tough place. But it was fairly transparent. You always knew where you stood.

When the knives came at you, they came straight on.

Now, I had the impression that something else was moving, something shadowy and dark. Something scary enough that it had created a hush over the town. A new, if unknown, overlord was at work.

 

[Albatross]

“Terra….. The counsel would have me speak to you. You are the only outsider that we feel is trustworthy of our task.”

“What task? What would you possibly need someone like me to do? You guys have more ability than I could ever dream. Why would you need to trust me?”

“These are matters for the counsel to discuss with you.” Armitage turned and walked up the long arched hallway towards the counsel chambers. I was scared. I didn’t want to show it but I was scared. My father had met with them on countless occasions and whenever I had asked him about his encounters he would tell that they were a private matter that was not to be discussed outside that oracle room. All he would ever tell me was that there were things in that room that no non-Athenan could possibly understand. He was, as I would find, all to correct.

The chambers of the counsel where bleak, almost to a painful level and although there were a number light sources present none were illuminated. It was, save a set of fifteen lights, fourteen arranged in a circle around a center one, completely dark. Armitage directed me to the center circle and when I entered each of the counsel members had something to me, mostly about what an honor it was to be addressing the daughter of their longtime friend Marcus. They then went on to explain their problem, which was a root of their culture and their society.

OOC: Sorry for being gone for so long but I have had a lot going on. I will try to finish this up later today.

 

[Karkow]

Wolfs’ conscious slowly came back to him.
He could only feel numbness through his entire body.
He found himself laid on a steel stretcher on a room filled with strange creatures: half human, half robots; or entirely robotic! It was all very strange to him... his head hurt and he felt dizzy...
He used both hands to sit up on the stretcher and then he...
...he was stunned in shock!
He used both hands?
His memories were still fuzzy but something was still very clear to him: the monster chewing on his arm, his severed arm, the one he amputated himself with a combat knife... that's something you don't easily forget, even if you try really hard to.
He turned his eyes in disbelief to his left hand and stood horrified:
From his elbow down, where there shouldn't be anything else rather then the strange feeling of a ghost arm, there was a metallic limb! An artificial, robotic lower arm made of steel!
He slowly tried to move it and it commanded his thoughts; he tired to clench his mettalic fist and so it did: it obeyed every command like a normal arm. he punched the metal stretcher with all of his strength and was astonished: he bent the Iron of the stretcher, but felt nothing!
Wolf could hardly think! The last thing he remembered before passing out was that he had no hand, and now he wakes up with a new one...
...yes, a new arm, but not his! It wasn't the one natural to him... this was an artificial one, a strange one.

The ancients spheres of mind, body, and world, or those of nature and culture, are no longer separable and in which universal interaction is celebrated as a new step in evolution.

He spoke it out loud before he knew what he was saying... and even after he said he still didn't quite knew what the hell it was. He felt he was about to throw up.

A moment passed and Wolf got up, detached the strange wires connected to his own body, collected his thoughts and decided that was time to learn just what the bloody hell was going on!


OCC: Post was far from brilliant, I know, but I’ve been struck with the flu for the past two weeks and this was just about what I could come up with. Sorry, I’ll try and bring up the pace in a few days.

 

[Carib FMJ]

Stryfe stood his arms spread apart as if he were about to be crucified. Rama stared and then the speaker box came to life with a rusty crackle. "Father? Hmm, what message would you have of me Ranger. For you are the Ranger, yes, Rama Stryfe. The Last Ranger. Who are your friends?" The voice asked before it crackled off.

"I am here with Kilrick the Salvager. We have come to deliver the message from your son Talon and perhaps palav-"

The voice came up. "Enough.... I'll buzz you in." There was a loud buzz sound. The reinforced steel door opened. Inside, six men in power armor walked out. The T51b Power armor looked worn and beaten, but it still held. They all were weilding heavy weapons, energy and light support alike. "Please step inside and follow the directions of your hosts. We shall speak of many things. Oh, and you will surrender your weapons. As you know how the game goes."

"Does your posse have a problem with this?"

"I don't... but I am sure everyone concerned can speak for themselves."

The tin men didn't even make a clank as their steel boots had touched the dead asphalt. You'd think armor that weighed fourty five pounds would make a sound. It was the best armor around. Probably the only thing that gave you safety in these hard streets.

 

[welsh]

I didn't like handing in my weapons, but then again, it didn't seem as if I had much choice.

I nodded and undid my harness. Jake and the others were outside somewhere, but I think it would have been tough cracking this nut.

At the moment there was little I could do but follow Rama's lead.

 

[Tempistfury]

Trevor watched quietly as the man across form him woke up from the anesthetic. Remaining motionless in the corner of the room, he watched in amusement as the man sat up and winced in surprise when he noticed his new, robotic arm. Slowly he opened and closed his hand, making a fist several times be fore predictably testing his strength by punching the metal on the stretcher. The metal bent, as the man remained slightly astonished.

Finally the man stood up and began to remove the wires that were attached to his new arm.

"and not it's time for me to secure my trip out of here..."

Trevor placed his hands on his knees and slowly stood up, surprised at how much effort the simple motion seemed to take. After a few seconds of idleness, he walked out of the shadows that hid the edges of the room, exposing his pale flesh to the light.

Moving as unthreateningly as possible he approached the man with a fresh metallic arm.

"You're from Kilrick's crew, are you not?" Trevor asked.

The man shifted his gaze away from his brand new arm and to Trevor, betraying a look that said he would rather be left alone for the moment. "Yeah... I am..." He replied hesitantly.

Trevor smiled. "Good. I think we might be able to help one another then..."

 

[Carib FMJ]

The warehouse was a fort. Drums, barrels and containers of arms were stacked neatly against the wall. Along with some personnel carriers. It looked like a arms depot. In reality before the big one, this was just a warehouse. Jorus came and took over when he set up shop in New York.

He sat in a office, the managers office to be precise, rolling a cigar and standing next to him was a HK-47 droid. A humanoid bot with a heavy exoskelton that could turn any conventional round as well as resist energy weapons.

The men in power armor led Kilrick and Stryfe to the office. "This way. You are expected."

The rest told the group to stay, including Deeds. "Wait here."

Stryfe followed along with Kilrick, their steps made a click on the metal flooring that led to the office. There was a soft tapping on the door by the man in power armor. It was a gentle tap with power armored hands.

"Coming in," came a growling voice. The door opened and Stryfe and Kilrick came inside the room and was prevy to an old man. Not old or tired, but alive and vitalized. Something in his bold blue eyes. "So... you have something for me. And perhaps I have something for you." He gave a wolfish smile. His silver hair was tied in a pony tail. His visage was that of a man who has seen way too many battles, the eyes even had that sort of battle trauma that lay beneath.

"Cigars? Cuban... Contraband during the old times. But new times are over."

 

[welsh]

I hadn't smoked a good cigar since the job in Boston, so I took one and said my thanks.

Caribe wasn't saying much, which worried me. There might be issues here that I had not been appraised of.

I thought of Deeds and Jasmin protecting the doctors outside in a cellar a few blocks away. More safety there but they were to far away to help. I also wondered what Jake and Reik might do to try to break us out. For now they would sit tight.

"Here is the package we were asked to deliver." I said, handing over what we had carried for so long.

Jonus smiled. "Might I ask your business, Salvager?"

"It's just a job, more dangerous than usual." I said, not wanting to name my client or give specifics that I didn't know. "We will need to move about four of the burroughs pretty quickly, so any help or local intel you can offer would be helpful. That and if we could do a bit of business for supplies."

Jonus nodded, his fingers on the package. "If you don't mind I'd like to inspect this treasure first."

"Of course."

 

[Albatross]

I returned from the meeting about twelve hours after it began. Somehow I felt like I understood less about my identity, my own conscience self. It was like someone had taken a vacuuming force and punched me in the stomach, sucking out feeling and sensation and leaving an empty shell. Resistance was gone and all that was left a null sense responsibility and want. Freewill… Freewill was an illusion fabricated by a bunch of senseless bureaucrats long since dead by their own devices and ideas, for that matter, fabricated by me. I guess that my emotions were in control now.

What I had learned in the counsel chambers amazed. All the elements of the Atheans that I explained to you earlier were first revealed to me at that meting. I was a little bit in awe but now was not the time to dwell upon such things. If the news of Xerxes reached the population of the Atheans the results would be catastrophic. Even as a young naive kid I realized that.

I hurried out of the meeting, which had taken far longer than I had wished, and looked for Kilrick and others. I didn’t see them in the main compound so I searched the med lab to see if Wolfe was still there. He had that look, that “What hell happened?” look. I figured he would want to ask questions but now wasn’t the time.

I looked at him and said “I’ll fill you in later. Right now I think we need to find the find the others.” Normally I would have told him right then and there what had happen but I knew that the longer I lingered after my meeting with the counsel, the greater the chance that the Athean citizens would begin to insistently question me and that was something that I did not think I could handle yet. As I looked at Wolfe’s new arm, I realized that I had in fact interrupted his conversation with someone else in the med lab, someone who I had never seen before. I figured it best that let continue what ever they were doing and told Wolfe I be back in a little while thought I expected that this new stranger would want a word with me as well.

 

[Karkow]

Wolf felt like a man being left on the dark, stumbling through furniture.
During this mission, he didn’t got that much involved. He did his job and that was it. He didn’t really pried into all the politics and conflicts and even to what the mission was really for. He just did what they asked him to do and other then that he just kept to himself, recluse to his own thoughts – like a good soldier.

But if he really didn’t got that involved in the mission until now, it got involved with him.
He lost his arm and by what seemed like some sort of a miracle, it got replaced by a mechanical one. An even with all the medical training Wolf had, he didn’t had a clue on to how it was done.
And if that wasn’t enough, now it seems like words just come from his mouth without him thinking about it! Had the trauma of what happened affected him bigger then it might seem?
Now he had a young kid he never met before saying they could help each other… and a girl he just met a while ago, but didn’t really knowing that much about her, saying that she has answers for his questions…and leaving.

Bullocks! The world had gone nuts and Wolf was thrown right on the centre!

“Listen kid”. He said to the young pale man. “If you want to talk to me about something, talk fast, because I’ve been through hell like I hadn’t been in a long, long time, and there are three things that I really need right now: One, to know what the blood hell is going on and why do I got this new limb! Two, to find Kilrick. And three -
a really, really hard drink!”

 

[Tempistfury]

Trevor composed himself for a moment, thinking about how to answer the man with an artificial arm.

"My Name is Trevor... As for your arm, I overheard the med techs saying that you technically should be dead. You lost a lot of blood when your arm was hacked off. I'm guessing they did it to save your life... I don't know for sure," Trevor paused and changed his posture, in an attempt to look less hostile. "As for your last two issues, I too want to find Kilrick... as for the drink, you help me find Kilrick, and i'll buy you two."