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    1. Crossfire 12 yrs ago
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Sorry folks, been busy with work the last couple days. Good new is, I'm off now til Tuesday, so lots of time to jump on here and hopefully post a bit more frequently than I have.

so, did anyone else see Deadpool? Cause oh sweet mother of fucking god.


I really want to, but I live way out in a rural area, the local theater is playing the Revenant right now, and its hard to know if they'll even end up getting Deadpool for a week. Tryin to figure out other ways to see it, either by making a trip into the city (3 hour drive to and from) or through "other" means as a temporary fix until the local theater (hopefully) gets it.
@Sohtem @CloseEnough

"I'm fine" he told Aurora, taking stock of the scene. He thought he had a clear shot on the bandit leader's head, but Reese shifted and got in the way. She spoke of hitting the beast in the knees to slow it down, but wasn't sure how that would affect the battle plan. Brick was frozen by the choice in front of him, the raiders or the beast. Aurora's sister seemed to have a handle on the thing for now, but her hold seemed to be slipping with every passing minute.

'We'll need something heavy duty to finish that thing off...... Fat Man, or A couple of Gatling Lasers..... If only I could get inside....'

Aurora's voice behind him interrupted his train of thought.
"Is anything broken? Where you shot?"
He glanced back to see two people, begging for help. They didn't seem like locals, but they could've been passing through town and got caught up in the madness. Brick was on edge and didn't even lower his gun as he turned to quickly address them.
"Back up, you'll get yourselves killed" He studied their faces. Definitely not local, he hadn't seen these people before.
"You don't live here" he started suspiciously "What's your business here, and where are you staying? The name of the place. NOW"
@Sohtem @CloseEnough

Brick had just rounded the final corner, separating him and the action, when a bellow rang out behind him, he turned just in time to dodge a shoulder tackle from a raider. Brick stepped back and scrabbled at his side for his holstered revolver.
"Kill.... Youuuu" The raider said, raising a knife.
Brick's hand found the grip, he pulled hard and brought the gun around.
"Sorry bud, rock beats scissors" he quipped as he fired, blowing a hole through the raider's left eye.
Gunshots rang out as two bullets whizzed by Brick's head, narrowly missing him. He spun his head in time to see another raider running him down while another provided cover fire. Brick dropped to a knee and returned fire. It took three precious shots to down the runner. Another two to put down the shooter. Brick stood up and dusted himself off to check for injuries. He was just about to get back on the move when he was blindsided by a punch to the head. He found himself pushed up against a wall with a large, unpleasant smelling raider screaming in his face.

"YOU FORGE?! YOU KILL HARDY?! SCUZZ KILL YOU!"

'This must be his buddy. Knew that fucker was a raider' Brick thought. He still had some lateral movement. He had managed to keep ahold of his gun. Now he just had to nail the swing.

THWACK

The raider named Scuzz scrambled back, holding his ear. Brick brought his gun up to fire and finish this fight.
click
"Shit" He didn't have time to reload or pull his shotgun. His eyes dropped to the ground in front of him. He had dropped the Tenderizer when the first raider had bum-rushed him, and there it was. He dropped to grab it, then glanced up to see Scuzz recovering, without any time to think, Brick followed his first instinct, he jabbed upward and bashed Scuzz in the face with the tip, then swung from where he crouched at the raider's ankles, knocking him off his feet.

"You see this? This was your buddy Hardy's. I should've told him to shove it up his ass, but what can I say? I'm tryin' to run a business here. So I crafted this masterpiece. Then he came for it, and I was reminded of the kind of scum I was dealing with. Hell, maybe my mind was made up long before he walked in, but regardless, to answer your question. Yeah. I am Forge, and I killed your buddy Hardy. I did it with this" he held up the Tenderizer "See the blood here? I cracked his jaw in half. You should've heard him squeal as he begged for his life. I felt merciful that day, so I swung again, and brained him in one. You roaches are all the same, you act tough, take what you want, but as soon as someone pushes back, you turn into frightened children. Look at you, cowering on the ground. Listen, I've got work to do, so I'm gonna cut this short. You're already dead, so stand up and take it like a man. UP!"

Scuzz slowly made his way to his feet, quietly whimpering as he struggling to stay balanced. Brick twirled the Tenderizer and brought it around, slamming into the large man's midsection. His armor bent inward and Brick definitely felt a couple of ribs crack, but Scuzz stayed standing. The large raider stepped forward, pulling a knife from his belt and swung wildly. Brick moved to defend himself, but the blade still scraped across his forearm, drawing blood. Brick gasped in pain, he swung the Tenderizer again, bashing Scuzz in the hip. He brought the bat up over his head gripped with both hands, blood flowing freely from his wound now. He crashed the weapon down and caved in Scuzz's head, then he swung again, and again, until the raider's head was an unrecognizable mess of broken skull, smeared blood, and smushed brain matter. Brick heard a throat clearing behind him and turned to see Joe standing there.
"Impressive he stayed up so long" the bodyguard noted, as he lazily tore a strip of cloth from his shirt to wrap Brick's wound.
"We gonna get to it or what?"
Brick reloaded his gun and nodded "Let's finish this. Cover me"

Brick ran out into the chaos, immediately he began to process the scene. Reese and a raider were fighting on the ground, with blood flying everywhere. A woman was mounted on the back of some massive beast, it seemed she was corralling it to use as a weapon. He spotted Chase and Aurora taking cover outside the shop, and made a beeline to join them.
"You ok?" he asked Aurora "My guys are clearing the lower end of town, they're working their way up here. So let's finish this"
He heard Reese cry out “Quickly, take him out, don't worry about me!” and he realized what was happening.
"I have a shot!" he called out, raising his revolver.
Brick and Reese had gotten separated in the chaos. He had made it to the inn without incident and they were explaining the plan to Travis and the few other armed members of the community. He hoped Joe was doing the same thing across the way at the tavern.

"Everyone clear? Ok, let's move out"

The group exited in groups of 2, moving quickly to take cover against nearby shop stalls and corners. Brick dodged across the main street and quickly rapped on the door of the tavern, the signal for them to move out. Things had gone pretty sideways in the brief interlude. It appeared to Brick as though half the raiders were clustered near the upper end of the street, while the rest were moving door to door, presumably looking for him.

"No point waiting around" he said to no one in particular, sneaking to cover beneath the window of a nearby shack. Peeking upwards, he could see one of the raiders inside. He racked a load into his combat shotgun, popped up, and fired a quick two shots. The shotgun tore both the window and the raider's upper torso apart.

'One down' he thought as he quickly moved back into the alleyways and began to maneuver towards the upper group. He passed by the last place he had seen Reese and remembered.

"Almost lost you there" He said as he picked up the Tenderizer. He slung his shotgun and proceeded with the baseball bat at the ready, keeping a hand near his revolver holster in case he had to fire. Suddenly, he heard a roar.

'Oh, that can't be good'

---

Scuzz looked up from pillaging yet another store to find one of his charges rushing towards him.
"Numan's dead, someone blew him up with a scattergun"
"WHO?!"
"I saw a scrawny guy take off up the street, through the alleys"
"Well, go!" he shouted "Kill anyone what gets in the way of us and Forge!"
@CloseEnough @Sohtem

'Oh great, two parties of raiders, one after me, one after him, this is gonna end well'

"Good thing the work was finished up early huh? Let me know how the barrel feels, I can shorten or even lengthen it assuming we both survive this" Brick unslung the rifle and handed it over "She's fully loaded, and here" he handed over a couple of loaded magazines "20 extra rounds on the house, let's get these bastards"

Brick frantically scanned around to make sure the coast was clear.
"They killed one of the soldiers that was posted here. There are two more, but they're gonna need our help. That guy Chase is up at my shop covering us, and the three bodyguards we employ are around somewhere, hope they're ok"

A gunshot rang out nearby, and Brick saw a body drop just ahead of them, it was a local woman Brick had seen around. She was still alive, trying to crawl away, but a raider rounded the corner after her, and stood over her, gun aimed at her head. Brick wasn't fast enough on the draw and...

BANG!

The raider slumped to the ground, the back of his head blown wide open. Brick was relieved to see Joe poke his head into view.
"You're ok?" Brick asked "Where's Travis and Arthur?"
"Travis is round the back of the inn, he's making his way around the alleys with a couple of armed civvies. Riflemen are holed up in the tavern. I haven't seen Art"
"Ok, you get over there, and get them out here, we need all hands. If we can funnel them into the main street, maybe we can trick the two groups into fighting each other, even if they don't, Chase'll have a clear line of sight, we get a shooter on the roof of the inn to provide overwatch, then we rally our forces into the street, cut em off on both ends, finish the rest of em off" He looked up at his companions "Think that'll work?"
@CloseEnough @Sohtem

"Damn it!" Brick exclaimed, remembering Reese's rifle. He turned on his heel and began reassembling it as quick as he could.

'Barrel's gonna have to go standard length for now' he thought as he secured it to the receiver. He locked the trigger mechanism in place and brought the gun close to his head, he pulled the trigger.

click

Sounded about right. He tested the empty gun twice more before he was satisfied with how it sounded. Everything was in place and ready to go, he reloaded the gun and slung it over his shoulder.

"Stay safe" he told Aurora as he accepted her gift and walked out of the workshop.

Out in the storefront, Brick immediately noticed blood on the window.
'Shit... is he?'
He grabbed some ammo for Reese's rifle, then produced Hardy's Tenderizer from below the counter.
"They're here for you I think" he told the weapon "I guess I'll give you to them, business end first"
He went outside and checked on Chase. He was bleeding from the arm, but otherwise ok.
"Here, help me with this" they flipped the couch over and used it as cover "Aurora's in the back, I gave her a couple guns, but probably best if you stay up here to keep her safe. Wait here"
He crawled back inside, went over to the gun cabinet and produced an assault rifle. He put it next to Chase when he got back outside.
"Here, in case you run out. I gotta get down there, find that guy Reese and then get to work. Cover me!"

He jumped out from their makeshift cover and dashed off into the chaos, hoping he would find the maan he was looking for, before trouble found him...
@CloseEnough you can decide if Chase is dead or if they just caught him in the arm or something. Either way, things have kicked off now!
@CloseEnough @Sohtem

Brick had finished up his contribution a little early, and decided to start in on Reese's rifle. he had been working for a little under an hour, and by that point had more or less figured out the issue. In fact, he only just selected a new barrel from the pre-mades he kept lying around, and was deciding if he was gonna cut it shorter, or add an extension and a compensator when Aurora spoke up.

"Yeah, just gotta add the special ingredient, attach the backing and she should be ready for testing. So, lets see here......"
As he scooted over to the workbench, he grabbed a couple of tools and moved in to place the final circuit board in place, he did a couple of quick welds to secure it in place, then began to string the last wires into place.
"Ok, close 'er up and let's recap one last time" he said as he started to sort away tools "So first I wanna say, if you're ok with it, I wanna be there at the Vault for this, not just to help operate it, or do any on-site repairs if needed, but I feel like I need to see this through to the end. I can have someone here watch the shop for a few days. So, you think on that"

He took a sip of water before continuing "As for Fuago.... Ideally, we'll have three people on hand to operate her. Someone strong enough not only to hold the thing up, but to also carry the backpack here with the power converter inside. Someone will need to monitor the backpack, switch out battery sources if needed on the fly, because the cooling system is good, but there's no guarantees with a weapon like this, we need to be 100% vigilant for any signs of an early meltdown. And lastly, you need someone on standby position, to monitor everything. In fact, I think there's just enough space here under the barrel to fit some kind of handle, maybe we can add an extra operator, to help shoulder the weight and aim" He started pointing out specific components "We start off over at the Tesla converter stored in the backpack, whoever's monitoring that will use this trigger to spark up battery terminal A, that current flows into the energy cells here on the left hand side of the converter. Is it 100% safe to use laser pistol ammo as a battery? Not really, but that's really the best option given our time limit. Those cells will power up the tesla converter, which is more or less a conduit for raw electrical power, it sends energy up these wires and into Fuago's main circuits, moving through what would be the microfusion cell loader on a regular laser rifle as a catalyst. That sends power into the fusion core, and as you intended when you designed this beauty, the fusion core begins the firing sequence. That's phase one. Once the fusion core hits 50%, we fire up battery terminal B, which sends a fresh supply of energy from both the energy cells on the right hand side, and the Electron Charge Packs which will be loaded into the lower chamber of the Tesla converter. That energy stream should be enough to maintain the fusion core through the firing process. When everything is spent, and the fusion core goes below 20% we hit this switch to blow the energy vents, and hope that door comes crashing down. Shouldn't be any risk to the operators, as long as they don't mind the heat. Fuago won't go through a nuclear meltdown or anything, but the insides will be pretty crispy, if everything inside the casings aren't smoldering cinders by then."

Brick was visibly out of breath. Talking at such a quick rate for so long about this passion project had this throat absolutely parched. He downed the rest of the bottle of water then finished off his speech.

"I don't know about you, but I'm pretty tired. I've got a spare room here if you wanna rest for a few hours, just through the side door and down the hall, on the right. I'm gonna finish off my work on this rifle before I call it a night but by all means..."

BANGBANG! BANG!

The gunshots rang out clear across the small settlement.
"No! Not now!" Brick cursed to himself as he dashed out into the shop, he fished around for a few items, then ran clear across the house to grab his own personal weapons from his bedroom. He then ran back into the workshop.
"Ok Aurora, remember what I said about Forge's reputation. Well, you might've heard, but Forge killed a customer yesterday morning. He was an asshole, also more than likely a raider. Definitely connected to some bad dudes at least. I think that's them at any rate, This here's a standard 10mm pistol, it's fully loaded, here's a few extra clips, hold onto those. And here's a sawed off double barrel shotgun. Anyone comes in here that's not me, Chase, or my friend Travis who escorted you into town, then open up on em. I gotta go help. you know how to use a gun right?"

-----

"That must be it" the raider said, as he overlooked the town "Hardy said it was around here, mostly some shacks, and a little house on the hill. Scuzz, what do you think?"
The man named Scuzz stepped forward, decked out in leather armor with your average decorative armor pieces made of rusted metal and rough canvas
"Hardy never come back from gettin the stuff. He e'ther dead, or captive in there, tellin 'em all bout us. If he alive, we go in and I gut him myself. If not, we find the son bitch what kill him and cut his head off, then we have fun"
The well spoken scout named Numan spoke up "We should move in quietly, knives first, then pull the guns.
"Good idea" Scuzz said "Move"

The band of raiders, numbering around 10 moved across the open plains towards the lonely hill where Davenport stood. Numan got there first, silently infiltrating the outer perimeter. He saw movement nearby, and posted up on a corner. One of Brick's guards, a stocky balding man named Arthur came into view, carrying a combat rifle at the ready. Numan dove into view and quickly slashed at Arthur with his knife, catching him in the jugular and opening his throat wide. Unable to speak, Arthur dropped to the ground, clutching at his throat. He bled out in under 30 seconds. Numan picked up the rifle and handed it off to Scuzz, who had just caught up, searching the body, he found a pistol and a tiny revolver concealed in pockets. He handed off the pistol to another raider, then checked the revolver. Fully loaded.
Moving forward, Numan spotted the main street of town. Despite the late hour, there were still a few stragglers hanging around. His eyes were drawn to a fully decked out OBR Rifleman, patrolling the street. Looking upwards, he spied the house on the hill, an armed guard standing out front. Some chaos was erupting a little further down the street, seemed like a fight or something was breaking out, whatever it was, someone took off running. He whispered to his companions "Soldier in the street, and a redhead up on the hill, he must be guarding that guy Forge's house. I'll get the soldier, Scuzz, you hit the guard up there, rest of you get ready"

He sighted up on the soldier, tilted his head slightly to see Scuzz moving to position. He exhaled slowly and took a couple of shots. Scuzz fired right behind him.

BANGBANG! BANG!
Sorry folks, gonna have to rewind a little for my part in things, finish up Fuago and Reese's rifle, then I think I'll throw an extra monkey wrench into the developing proceedings *evil chuckle*
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..... yeah that was weird, post'll be up in an hour or less, I think this is the perfect time to have Hardy's friends attack Davenport, double the opposition for us. See you soon!
@CloseEnough

Brick was working away as he listened to Aurora talk, matching wires to positive and negative terminals to carry the juice through Fuago. He froze up when she asked about his past.

'This is it then, kid seems trustworthy, I'll tell the truth'

"I was trained by my father, he was with a group called the Gun Runners, but before I get into that, I have to tell you a secret, don't get freaked out or anything, but my boss? Forge? He doesn't really exist, a carefully constructed lie to protect myself and the people living here. When I came down here, I saw how rough life can be out in these parts, folks ready to do bad things at the drop of a hat, anything to get ahead. Don't get me wrong, it's like that everywhere in the world, at least, all the parts I've been to in my life, but something about the raiders here, they seem more savage than usual, maybe I'm just crazy. And, I mean, I'm not the most physically imposing guy around, so I created Forge, and built up his reputation to scare those kind of people off. So any stories you might've heard are probably true, but I hope you can understand why I did it, and that you'll forgive the secrecy"

Brick stopped working, laid down his tools, and walked over to a small fridge in the corner, talking as he went.
"So the Gun Runners, in short, are weapon dealers. They generally move into an area, set up shop, and slowly grow a business. Weaponsmiths, like me, are trained in dozens of different methods and techniques for repair and modification, and we try to learn techniques local to the region, bring it back to others to add to our knowledge base. I'm still working on growing the business yet, haven't even mentioned the name Gun Runners 'til now. Hey, you want somethin? Got a few bottles of purified water here, few bottles of stronger stuff if that's more your style, and there's some food too if you're hungry"
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