Metronome

Dehumanized

The cool night slipped down into the boat's cabin as moonshine shown in through the windows. The boat rocked back and forth gently on the water, every now and then giving a quiet little creak.

Isam's eyes flew open, his breath catching in his chest. He laid still in his nest of blankets for a while, listening. There was another creak. His hands trembled as he reached for his gun. There was someone on his boat. The man silently slipped from under his covers, crouching low as he slunk through the dark cabin towards the boat's hatch. He took a deep breath, steeling his nerved, then shoved the hatch open and clambered out. His gun was cocked and ready to face...no one. There was no one there.

Isam was looking at nothing but an empty deck. He let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding and lowered his gun. It was just his mind playing tricks on him again. Ever since the war, he had been this way: pins and needles. Always looking over his shoulder. It was exhausting to constantly worry that someone was there, lurking in the shadows. The toll it took on the man showed.

Since coming to America, Isam had slowly lost weight. He was a soldier, not a hunter. He lived on almost nothing but fish. His eyes had dark bags under them from the lack of sleep, and if one looked closely, they might even find a graying hair or two on his otherwise black head. Depression played a part as well. Isam was alone. He had no one to talk to about his problems, no one to trust, and no one to help him. He had lived the last two years in a strange country, doing his damnest to survive in almost complete isolation. Despite all of his efforts, he was still in pretty bent up shape.

Isam slunk back down into his hatch to lay down again. It was pointless; he wouldn't be able to sleep now. However, recently he had found that he hardly had the energy to do much else but lay around. His body hurt, his joints hurt, and he felt queasy all the time. When he took off his shirt, he looked as though he had been beaten: bruises of all shades and sizes marked his body as if he were made out of banana peal. Isam knew he was sick, but he didn't know what with. The best he could do was lay down and hope it got better, but it never did.

The man crawled back into his bed, staring up at the ceiling, until the sun shown in through the windows. He got up when he heard birds landing on the deck of his boat, probably trying to steal the fish guts/bait that he had left out in a bucket last night. He groaned as he slowly got up and climbed back onto the desk. Isam shooed the birds away, too irritable and tired to even try catching one. He climbed over the cabin's roof and onto the bow to check his fishing lines. Out the multiple hooks he had through out, only one had a fish on it. A big, dark colored catfish flopped rebelliously as he pulled it onto the boat. It was a good two pounds; a decent sized fish for one man. Isam took it and tossed it into an old Budweiser cooler that he had found. He kept it full of river water to keep his fish alive until he felt like eating the. Right now, he wasn't very hungry.

Isam hauled in his anchor and lifted his sails. Today, he would head up the river to an old boat dock to tie his boat. He needed to get off this damn thing for a while.

Trade Station Alpha

Well once Baskets posts, I was planning on having mercs and co move inside. They can come talk to your charries :3

Trade Station Alpha

Yasha's eye contact with the Hibros woman was broken when he was jerked forward. A massive, meaty hand landed on his back, followed by a loud voice. Yasha straightened up to see an Ork lumber past them and onto the ship.
"Who's the Jolly Green Giant?" He remarked as he rubbed his shoulder.
"Someone you probably shouldn't piss off. Play nice," Isam hissed at him. He was about to pick up his bag and head inside when a skeletal guy appeared to greet them. Their reactions were about the same: raised eyebrows. Isam quickly got over it and introduced himself, and Yasha, for good measure.
"It's nice to meet you Tensai. I am Isam Hajjar, and this is Yasha Belov."
"I'm Omar, I'll be cooking for you," Omar said, hesitantly offering a hand. He wondered, briefly, if the creature ate; he looked rather skinny. After introductions, the skeletal man headed back inside, and the three were about to follow him when more crew members showed up. Everyone wanted to meet the new guys.

A dark haired woman came up and introduced herself as Amanda, the business administrator. She then asked if they had any questions. Isam held his breath and braced for the inevitable, idiotic comment that Yasha was sure to make. Yasha didn't disappoint.
"I got a question," He said with a grin. "How does a pretty little limey like you end up in this tin can?" His usual, slightly offensive demeanor was in tact. Isam gave him an elbow to the ribs before picking up his bag.
"It's very nice to meet you all. We both look forward to serving with you," He said to the general audience that had gathered by the ship's threshold.
"I especially look forward to it," Yasha said as another woman, one with very colorful hair, approached them. He could already tell that he was going to like this crew.

Trade Station Alpha

You could just spell check it :/

Trade Station Alpha

@bobo: I'm a bit confused as to what Tensai is calling the guys.

Is he saying "lades" as in "Ladies?"

Or "Lades" as in "Laddies"? As in young men.

Or is it some alien word that they wouldn't know the meaning of?

Trade Station Alpha

TheUnknowable said
I like the armor and weapons. I was just staring at the energy sword wondering if humans in this RP could build something like that. They're all fine for use, but that sword is cutting-edge tech at best.

Maybe it isn't human made.

Yasha is a smart guy, he could have gotten a hold of alien tech if he really wanted.

Trade Station Alpha

I like to make up my own weapons, because I'm dumb and video game weapons never make sense to me unless I personally have a hand in creating them. So here's what I have in the way of the boys' weapons:

Isam

Anti-armor pistol

It works with two different types of magazines:

A: Exploding rounds. The bullets are essentially high velocity, miniaturized bombs. More localized and accurate than a grenade launcher. The bullet hits the target and explodes. It typically used on armored enemies; would be overkill otherwise. Drawback being that the bullets are large, and only three can fit into one magazine.

B: Gushers. Bullets leak fast acting acid when target is hit. The acid it meant to eat away at and weaken the enemy's armor to make them more vulnerable to attack. Drawback being that, other than weakening armor, they don't really do much. If they hit a person's skin, they'll fuck you up, sure, but they won't kill you. Magazine holds six rounds.



TR-32 (meaningless name, don't try to make sense of it) assault rifle

It's essentially just a very effective gun. Shoots bullets at a very high velocity, fast enough to perpetrate some armors. If a unarmored enemy is shot with this, the bullet is liable to go in one side, come out the other, and keep going. Magazine holds 15 rounds.



Energy knife, standard military issue.

When activated, the blade vibrates at a very high frequency, allowing it to cut through materials as tough as steel. If deactivated or broken, it can still function as a regular knife.



Good ol' fashion handgun. Nothing special.

Yasha

Yasha is very fond of his toys. He's got more than necessary, but can only carry about two guns at one time before they begin to drag him down.



Continuous beam gun

Shoots a continuous, focused laser beam. The beam will keep going until the trigger is released or the energy cartridge runs out. Useful for cutting through armor, blockages, people, ect. Drawbacks include: Slow action; the beam takes a while to cut through tougher materials, It only holds one cartridge at a time, and dodgablity; it's not a projectile, you can just move out of the beam's path.



Plasma rifle. It comes with several strength settings. The major drawback would be that it isn't just a pick up, point, and shoot. The settings have to be done manually and some math/educated guesses may be involved.



Grenade launcher.

Comes with your regular explosive grenades, and several fun specialty grenades. Specialties include: Electromagnetic pulse, tear gas, shrapnel launcher, and sonic ear piercer. Drawbacks being that it isn't a very accurate shot, and the rounds are bulky and heavy.



Lightning gun. For when everyone and everything in the room is a target. It basically just fries everything but the shooter. Drawbacks are obvious.



Halo players, please refrain your boners.

The energy sword. It uses high frequency energy to cut through stuff. When deactivated, it's as small as the device at the hilt. Drawbacks: The energy is disrupted by sonic weapons.



Sonic gun

Little gun makes a big sound. It lets off a powerful sonic blast that is so low frequency that all humans hear is a deep rumble. It fucks up energy fields, sonic-sensitive technology, and elephants.



K bar. Because classics never die.

Armor

Ever seen Iron Man 2? Good, now forget you ever saw Iron Man 2.

This is light, maneuverable armor that can be worn under clothing without dragging the user down. It works by producing an energy field around the wearer's body that can withstand bullets and blades. The core in the center is the power source. Drawbacks: The core is the weakness, if destroyed, the armor is useless. Sonic weapons disrupt the power field, making the wearer vulnerable.

This armor is worn by both Yasha and Isam. The armor is personally fitted to the wearer.

Look it over and see if you like them =P

Dehumanized

:D

Trade Station Alpha

So as far as futuristic weapons go, what do we got?

Like lasers and shit or...

i never understood how laser guns worked tbh

like it just seems like bullets would be more effective, you know?

maybe some kind of high tech laser bullets

yeah

laser bullets

Trade Station Alpha

The station was the size of a small city. That was why, when it came time to leave, the three found themselves at a trolley stop. Yasha sat on the bench, sprawled out with his duffle bag sitting next to him. Isam and Omar stood by the 'trolley stop' sign, talking amongst themselves. Isam's old army bag was slung over his shoulder, and Omar's brown suitcase sat on the floor behind them. Yasha pretended not to be interested in their conversation, but he was mildly curious. Even so, it didn't matter. The two were speaking in French, and he barely knew two words of the language.

"<You didn't have to do this,>" Isam said, looking over at his partner. Omar looked back at him and smiled.
"<No, I didn't. But I wanted to. If I let you go play space cowboy by yourself, you might come back acting like Yasha.>" He chuckled. Yasha lifted his head.
"Hey! I know my name when I hear it, assholes," He grumbled aloud, his voice lightly accented. Isam and Omar looked back at him for a second before Isam began speaking again.
"<Well, I'm glad that you're coming. I know the kitchen won't be as extravagant as the one here, but I'll be able to visit you more often.>"
"<A kitchen is a kitchen,>" Omar said, "<How nice it is depends on the chef. I'll working alone, which may be a nice change. It means I can arrange it however I like. I've actually been looking forward to this, to a little adventure.>"
"<Hopefully not too much adventure.>"

"When you two are done playing Jules et Jim, the trolley's here." Yasha stood and grabbed his bag off the bench. The trolley looked like an elongated golf cart. The driver smiled at them as they climbed on.
"Where to?"
"Docking bay 324," Isam said. "Thank you."

The drive was fairly quick. There weren't many people out this time of morning, so the trolley's tracks were clear. Omar watched as the scenery drifted by: the shops, the eateries, the gardens. He wasn't going to lie, he would miss this place. Hopefully, their assignment wouldn't last too terribly long. Isam was quiet the whole way, thinking about what the future might hold for them. Yasha, about halfway through the drive, broke the silence with "Do you think they'll have any krasotka?"
Isam sighed deeply and rolled his eyes.

When they arrived, the three got off and took their bags. They got there just in time to see the captain, Yasha and Isam could recognize him from previous encounters, leading a man onto the ship.
"Hey Kirk," Yasha called out to him. "Your A team has arrived." He grinned widely. It took him about two seconds to spot the female Hibros and waggle his eyebrows at her. Isam pretended not to know him. He went up to Julius and offered him his hand. "I look forward to serving with you," He said formally. His voice held a stronger accent, Arabic, than Yasha's, but it was still comprehensible. He then motioned to Omar. "This is my partner, Omar. He was recruited as your chef."
"Nice to meet you, Captain Briggs." Omar smiled and offered his hand as well. Omar had lived in France long enough to actually develop a bit of their accent, but it wasn't quite as strong as Isam's. He couldn't help but notice the distinct smell of alcohol. Had their captain been drinking?