KillamriX88

Terra Infirma

Azurian? Maedoc... had no idea what that meant. He'd been on the pathetic dust-bowl of a planet his entire life He knew there were other planets with people on them, but he couldn't name them or describe them. He supposed he'd been right to suggest leaving the planet to get her interested, but he had no idea how well he could follow through with that. "Ambitious" really had been the key word there.

Sure, she was pretty much on board now, but she'd taken on a sudden intensity that honestly had him a little scared. Should he be totally honest with her? But too much honesty might cause her to lose interest. Or was she desperate enough that any shred of hope would suffice.

He grit his teeth. If he wasn't so banged up, he'd have just risked dealing with her anger later, but... he had a feeling she'd just kill him at this rate.

"Look, I'm not in it for leaving the planet, personally. I don't particularly have any attachment to this place, but it's just... kind of a pipe dream. Keep that in mind before you do any ruining, OK?" He took a deep breath. "It's really a very simple job, but we have to be fast. The people who did this to me," he pointed to his wound, "are probably on their way as well. The only tricky part is beating them there. After that, we just have to get into an old science facility. There's no power left for the locks and the explosion should have punched enough holes in it for us to climb through."

There was only one such facility in the old settlement. He hadn't given his ex-comrades its location, but it wouldn't be hard to find. That's probably why they'd been OK with shooting him. It had already been a few days, he hoped they could still manage to beat them there.

Terra Infirma

Hello? o.o

Terra Infirma

Exotic had been right. So exotic she didn't even have the native language down right. Putting that aside, she didn't seem keen on helping him. But she also wasn't totally opposed. No, as long as he didn't say anything incredibly stupid, he had her. He smirked, "Oh, it's crazy. But I think you can handle it. I'm used to this kind of danger, and I'm sure you'll catch on." Oh, she looked used to danger, but not his kind. His kind was organized and with purpose. He had a feeling her kind was mostly for survival.

Well, that'd be important too.

"Step one will be acquiring some hazard suits. There's a few high-class scavenger, err, 'salvage' crews that have bought them from the military." They really didn't like being called scavengers. "The red zone is so dangerous these days, they won't even know their suits are missing -- and yes we'll most likely have to steal them. If that goes against your sensibilities we can always give them back later... when they're not looking." He doubted they'd be thanked for their safe return, no matter how politely they went about it.

"Aside from the suits, motorized transport would be a much appreciated luxury, especially in my condition. Animals could suffice too if that's impossible. Besides that, just the usual provisions for a trip into the desert," he explained. Honestly, the suits would be the hardest part. The scavengers had long since learned that being able to defend themselves from raiders was necessary. Even if they usually just sat on their asses lately, it wasn't like they'd thrown away their guns and become pacifists.

But he still needed to give her a reason to take the risk. "As for the payoff... well... Food and money are almost a given if all goes well. And, if you're really ambitious, how about leaving the planet?"

Terra Infirma

Oh good, she had a sword. He flinched a little when the cold steel brushed against his skin, but apparently she was just inspecting him. Luckily, his injury may have actually won him some sympathy points. And new bandages. That was probably a good idea, actually.

He pulled off his duster and shirt, revealing a wiry, athletic build. A bulky physique was a liability when you didn't have the food to maintain it, but he was clearly very active and in as good of shape as he could be considering how often he went hungry. He gingerly went about swapping the bandage, but then stopped, freezing and staring at the case in her hand.

He wished he'd controlled his reaction. No doubt she'd noticed and no doubt he'd be unable to hide that it was important.

"It's a thing," he told her, "a very fragile thing. And it's locked with a code that only I know. You could try breaking it open, but it loses all value if it gets even a little damaged." He quickly went about finishing with the bandage, biting his lip from the stinging pain. "As for the job, I suppose you'd consider it an escort mission. I need to get some supplies and then bring that case's contents somewhere. I'd be a bit more specific, but trusting people hasn't done me much good lately, and you're not making the best case for yourself right now. Not the worst... but you could do better." He figured he should give her at least one concrete detail, however. "What I will say is that there is no client or middle-man, so to speak. Consider it more of a treasure hunt. And we'd have to go into the red zone..."

The "red-zone," aka the irradiated hell-hole that used to be the main mining colony before the transport ship blew its core. Over a decade later, and things hadn't improved much. It was known as the red-zone since most Geiger-counters tended to jump into the red once you went there.

The radiation wasn't even the worst part. By avoiding radiation pools and the old landing zone, you could keep away from the worst, and protective gear would handle the rest. However, there were violent, and often insane, groups that made their home near and sometimes even in the old colony. Also, there were a few dangerous predators that had gravitated there. Perhaps they liked the shade the old buildings provided... or the dead bodies that the raiders occasionally dumped.

Terra Infirma

Well, he had changed his shirt, considering it had been bloody, so he supposed she'd perhaps missed the bullet hole in him while she was stealing his things. Saying: "I'm not sure what you mean," was possibly the most cliche way of admitting one was guilty while also making fun of the person accusing you.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly, they were a shade of green resembling peridot, and then lowered his hand to where he'd been shot. He winced, it definitely still hurt... a lot. It had been redirected so as not to be fatal, but it had nicked his lung... hence the blood spraying out of his mouth. He must have torn it back open the day before. Fortunately, he had at least one lung that wasn't filling with blood, and the other must not have been too bad because he could breathe well enough at the moment.

"Your bedside manner needs more attention than I do..." Maedoc rolled his eyes and drank the second cup of water. "So, are you robbing me or helping me? My drug addled brain can't handle the suspense," he asked her, voice laden with sarcasm. He probably should have been nicer to her, but he was cranky and her attitude was wearing on his already frayed nerves. He'd technically already thanked her for her help, so... it wasn't like he was being entirely rude.

She was rather pretty, if a little weathered. Who on this planet wasn't? She also looked like she could kick his ass, especially in his state. He was a decent fighter, when he could actually move, but even then he had a feeling she'd be trouble. No, rude or not, he wasn't going to fight his way out of this.

"If you do feel helpful, there could be food and probably money involved. There's a bit of a time limit though, and, at the moment... I'm sort of... incapacitated," he told her. "Of course, I'd need at least some of my possessions returned."

Terra Infirma

"I'm not... drunk..." He faltered, wondering if she'd even believe him. Considering how much he'd been staggering about, light-headed with blood-loss, he was sure he'd looked drunk. He looked the woman over, finding her very strange. She looked... exotic. Foreign to the world almost for sure. Possibly one of the last, unlucky fools to travel to the planet before it had been cut off and forgotten. But she didn't look weak and starved.

Her dwelling was a shambles, but she'd apparently managed well enough.

Speaking of drinking, he happily accepted the water. It wasn't like she was going to poison him now... right?

"So... I noticed you've taken stock of my possessions. I suppose you were just being cautious?" He needed to get an idea of what this woman's intentions were. Was she really just helping him? Or was she helping herself? It wasn't like he was any good to her at this point, since she already had his things... so what now?

He didn't have much time to be playing meet and greet. He had somewhere to be. Would he even be able to manage, though? He'd been shot and had already collapsed once. He'd need help. Had she said no food? He wondered how badly she wanted to fix that situation. Depending on how this conversation went, he might have to find out how helpful she really felt.

Or she'd cut his throat when she realized he had nothing more to offer than what had been in his pockets... that was also a possibility. But one could hope, right?

Terra Infirma

So you suggested that she would pick his pockets, so I kinda went with that, but then your next post leaves me thinking she didn't, but it's not 100% clear, which means I have no idea how to proceed because he'll act totally different based on whether or not he still has his stuff.

Pls help.

RWBY - In The Shadow (KillamriX88 & OneWayOut)

Glad you found it amusing. :P

Terra Infirma

Decided to go with him waking up well after morning so that she could take his stuff. XD

Also, no idea if she'd still be nearby at that point.

Terra Infirma

Maedoc didn't have much in his possession. He'd been traveling light in order to take the caravan. He hadn't exactly had time to go back to his stash. He'd been busy bleeding.

His saving grace was the thin layer of armor under his jacket. It hadn't been enough to stop the bullet, but it had kept him alive. It wasn't even the wound that had taken him down, it was the fact that he'd kept moving. The bullet hadn't been made for an armored target, so he'd had enough life in him to slip away, having been left for dead.

After that, it had only been dumb luck that the military jeep had contained a small medkit he'd used to plug the bleeding hole in his side. After that, if he'd simply found a place to lie down, he'd probably have been OK, but no... he'd kept moving. He'd been afraid that they'd realize he was alive. He'd been afraid they'd find him.

And so, when he woke up... he probably shouldn't have been surprised that he had no idea where he was. Hell, the only thing that should have surprised him was that he actually was alive to wake up.

He'd have shot up if he wasn't in so much pain. Instead, after calming himself down, he chose to lay there quietly and take stock of things. He still had his duster on, so that was a plus. It seemed whoever had moved him hadn't removed his clothes. He slid his hands into his pockets next, to make sure everything was still there.

It wasn't.

Fuck.

His hatchet was gone, not that it worked. His energy pistol was gone... not that that was working either. And the chip. The chip, that he'd nearly died over, was gone. He'd managed to put it in a locked case, but that case was missing. The case had been well hidden in an inner pocket too. Which meant he wasn't surprised that his other hidden pocket had been relieved of the wallet within. There hadn't been much left, probably only enough money to feed him for another day, but wandering around injured with no money or weapons whatsoever didn't appeal to him.

He pulled his leg in slowly and found that they at least hadn't found his boot knife. He'd at least concealed that well enough. It was a stun knife, with a battery that could unleash a nasty shock. He probably relied on technology too much considering how often it didn't work, but the knife was at least more simple. And if the battery died, well, it was still a knife.

He left it where it was. Robbed he may have been, but he had also been sheltered. He'd give this person the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they hadn't intended to steal from him, but just disarm him? Maybe relieving him of his possessions had just been their idea of being thorough. Regardless of how or why he'd lost his things, he was in no condition to fight.

Whoever had found him, they weren't well off by any means. If this was their home, it made his hole in the ground look nice. Well, it was time to meet them, whoever they were.

"He-" He coughed, his throat dry. "H-hey! Hello?" He pushed himself to a sitting position. "Uh, thanks for helping me?"