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[right][hr][color=gray][b]En Route to Falcon's Reach | Transport Velichle[/b]
March 27th, 2677[/color][hr][/right]
[indent]The drive to Falcon’s Reach was “awkward”. It was a strange word for Stein to consider, but she couldn’t find a better one when she was thinking about the whole situation. Alan had kept quiet for the entire duration of the journey across the Alaskan tundra and Percy probably sensed the tension in the air and decided it wasn’t worth making small-talk. There was a murmur inside of the blonde-haired NC pilot, that maybe she said something unwise in the back-and-forth. Maybe her perspective was wrong? It was hard thing to think about for her given how emotionally detached she tried to be. Her brows narrowed as she looked over the mission details over again, trying to push past her thoughts.

The information they still didn’t know was decidedly vague. A neural hub reactivation, no NC support, three pilots instead of just one; none of the details really added up to the full picture. Stein wondered what they weren’t being informed of and what specifics they were missing in the grand scheme of things. Questions Stein had asked herself only hours prior before they left Smith’s Rest. She knew it was stupid to repeat asking herself the question, but she wasn’t expecting an answer to suddenly come to her mind. The idea was more to keep focused. After all, soldiers who doubted themselves ended up dead. She crossed her arms, pushing her right foot up against the dashboard. 

[color=00a651]“All of you can stop moping. We’ve arrived.”[/color] The transport pilot, Alexandria Paxinou, stifled a chuckle. 

Stein nodded as Alexandria spoke up, the first time since they had left the base and introduced themselves. It was good they had arrived at their destination, even if it came with a little glibness from the person tasked with getting them there.

[color=dodgerblue]“Well, I hope this ‘Daniel Krane’ has more answers for us.”[/color]

The transport pushed forward over a frost-covered bridge, the roughness causing the vehicle to jump from the ground for a moment. Alexandria’s eyes not leaving the road as she responded to Stein’s remark about Krane. [color=00a651]“Well, gee, I don’t see why he wouldn’t. He is the head of the whole settlement. Though, yeah, I guess that depends if he thinks you need to know what he knows. Serious types are like that. No offense.”[/color] 

Stein nodded as she prepared for the vehicle to reach Falcon’s Reach’s command center.[/indent]
[right][hr][color=gray][b]Falcon's Reach | Command Center[/b]
March 27th, 2677[/color][hr][/right]
[indent]Falcon’s Reach was unimpressive to the human eye. It was a settlement of scavengers and scrappers, far beyond the idea of the “perfect” post-apocalyptic city. But Stein had seen many of such places during her time routing raiders and protecting similar types of places from monolithic creatures that wished to do it harm. Though unlike Alan and Percy she wasn’t cut from the same cloth and she knew it. She wondered if it would’ve been wiser to allow Alan to take lead in talking with the people in Falcon’s Reach, but yet at the same time Commander Graham had given her the responsibility to direct the mission. It was something she would have to think over as she walked to meet the leader of Falcon’s Reach she thought about it. 

One thing that struck her almost immediately was how the armed militia was a far stretch from Graham’s organization and fatigues. They were a scrappy lot who barely looked like they could operate in a firefight, let alone defend a settlement. She supposed it was much like how Smith’s Rest was years ago before she ended up stranded in the region. It seemed the only thing you needed to be a soldier in Falcon’s Reach was have two hands and be able to pull a trigger. 

[color=dodgerblue][i]Reminds me of that settlement in the Oregon territory a few years back.[/i][/color]

It didn’t take more than a few minutes before they were met with the appearance of Daniel Krane and his personal assortment of armed guards; guards who look a lot more composed than the ones Stein had noticed only moments prior. As the leader of Falcon’s Reach she expected something more of the man, but he did live out where apocalyptic monsters and raiders were a lot more wanton and prevalent. He was a tall man, about six foot even, with long shadows underneath his eyes and an appearance that could only be described as “ghoul-like”. 

[color=slategray]“Welcome to Falcon’s Reach.”[/color] 

His voice wasn’t as unpleasant as one may have thought. It was rough, sure, but all that meant was he spent a lot of time at the local canteen. But by his tone alone Stein knew he had a lot more on his mind than being friendly for the sake of friendly. He looked from Percy to Stein to Alan before he let out a heavy sigh. 

[color=SlateGray]“They only sent three of you? [i]Fantastic.[/i]”[/color]
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