Silver clouds turn to golden stairs (Ch. 3b: Day 2)

psikeout · Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 7:32 pm

As many tales of Juke as there were to regale Ace with, it quickly became neither the time nor the place.

Rock turned up the volume and listened.

...

Jam's statement set him thinking; he soon glanced at her and affirmed her point as soon as there was a pause in the conversation. "Heavily subdued reaction... Seems emotionally detached." He leaned forward, listened a bit more, then mumbled, "First concerns should've been rescue and gettin' back to his family, not trivia on how we got here."

He continued to listen, but looked doubtful of how much help they'd get from their detour.

NPC · Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 10:12 pm

Basch listened intently as Badge spoke again, now capable of seeing his face after the pizazz of the suit removal.

"I would happen to know," he said matter-of-factly. "But, I'll tell you this now; you'll have to be lucky as hell to ever see them again."

"This place may look peaceful to you now, yes, but move about one hundred miles west of here, and all you have is a continent-worth of city. That's where your people probably are now. The city... it has inhabitants, but not the friendly kind. You've seen them already. They work like a ferocious pack until whatever objective they have entered into their heads is completed. Not to mention the one with the eyes and the ears everywhere within its borders."

The former captain released a drawn out sigh.

"Some of my men were kidnapped as well, back then. Most of them killed, much to my loss, but I saw those things, those heartless machines, drag a few them away. Taking them. It was only when I came down here, to this planet, is when I was informed of their possible fate."

Basch shook his head for a moment, trying to change the subject. "Anyways, it' only a matter of time before it realizes you're down here... that's when the search parties will go on patrol. Depending how important you three plus whoever else you have with you are, we may or may not be in some trouble in the next twenty-four hours. That is, if you can bring yourselves to trust me."

psikeout · Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 11:18 pm

While he had been a little standoffish at first, Juke looked entirely engaged as the conversation reached its figurative apex. Drama. Intrigue. Danger.

"Well," sniffed the bat, gazing loftily toward some distant cloud, "we're pretty important."

... He must have felt the eyes rolling around him at that one, because he much more neutrally (sheepishly) appended: "Which is to say... they're pretty... mad at us. So you're pro'lly right."

Seafarinhare · Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 5:18 pm

Hoji crossed his arms over his chest as the man spoke. He was totally subdued and resigned to his fate. An attitude that always rubbed him the wrong way.

At Juke's comment, Hoji actually didn't roll his eyes. He snickered, finding it somewhat amusing actually. He nodded, "And we've been pretty damn lucky so far. Might as well run with it."

He straightened his stance, and made a fist in front of his face, "Besides, we can't just resign innocent people to such a fate. We have to try."

He then looked off over the horizon, letting his hand fall back to his side, "West, you said? Guess that's where we're goin'." He looked at the others, hoping for some level of verbal or expressive agreement.

Greens · Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 8:21 pm

Ace renewed his focus on the ex-captain's voice following his team's commentary. "'F I were him, I'd be happy knowing I'm not the only person on the planet. This dude's busy leadin' a one-man revolution."

He stepped back and gazed at the console with a cautious look of brows furrowed, as if it has started leaking blood. He crossed his arms and began contemplating. "S'there any way we can let them know what's up...?"

psikeout · Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 8:38 pm

Rock just shrugged. While he did find the whole thing odd, he didn't seem... too worried.

"Whether he's strange or not, you know as well as I do we're probably gonna end up doin' this," he conceded. "Just help keep an eye on whoever they bring aboard." And with that, he put his helmet back on, secured it, and took a shot at getting their attention with a loud call they might have heard from their radios (even without having their helmets on).

"We need to be outta here two minutes ago—hustle, people. Prepping for takeoff."

They would soon hear the engines hissing and warming up again from over the hill.

Sheff · Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 10:03 pm

Geoff easily heard Rock's voice resound out of his helmet, the item held under his arm. Within a few seconds, he slipped it back over his head, speaking into the radio.

"Heard ya loud and clear. We'll be movin' here in a sec."

Removing the helmet once more, he gave a glance to the man who claimed himself as Basch. His lack of hope or encouragement was not very reassuring for the hedgehog, but at least it was now clear what sort of task it would be to rescue the kidnapped people. Nothing but city and robots in their way, from what it sounded like.

"Thanks for the information, but I'm going to agree with Badge; we're not just going to skitter back the way we came with our tails between our legs. We've got a mission in mind, and I believe we're pretty capable."

Beginning to turn, his ears focusing on the calling sounds of the ship, he gave a nod towards the hill.

"Come with us if you like. Who knows? Maybe somewhere in this mess we can find a way back home."

NPC · Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 10:19 pm

"I appreciate the offer," replied the former captain. "And I gladly except. I've been stuck here for too long, not to mention having actual, proper company would be a relief."

Watching as Geoff (and if the other two, if they were already moving) begin to walk off, he spoke up one last time, having paused after only a few steps from his own self.

"Although... Your group is determined. I think that is obvious enough. But I don't think being "capable" needs to be your only advantage."

Basch appeared to ponder, as if trying to piece together a proper explanation.

"I have a..." He paused, considering a suitable word. "Acquaintance here that may be willing to help, if you manage to convince him. He knows a thing or two about the city. I told him to stay back at our camp, so it would only take a mo-"

A snap of a twig and the rustle of fallen leaves abruptly silenced Basch, the man's body turning to examine what had caused the noise.

What they saw standing behind him was a robot.

Its figure was instantaneously recognizable, being similar to that of the horde that assaulted the ARK. Humanoid in shape, its head very rounded and circular with three very short fins curving from its forehead over its scalp, it stared towards Basch and the others with glowing red eyes. The mix of colors would have been familiar to two members of their group that currently weren't within its presence, being a combination of blacks, grays, and reds.

It stood there, peering down at them now.

psikeout · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 12:10 am

Probably to absolutely no one's surprise, Juke jumped with a start, whipped around, dropped his helmet, and staggered back several steps (nearly tripping over the clunkiness of his boots and bagginess of his own suit) into a way overly-dramatic fighting stance as soon as the robot appeared.

Mie · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 12:57 pm

Inevitable though their decidedly suspicious new acquisition was, Jam still huffed an exasperated sigh, if only for ceremony's sake. As Rock began pushing buttons, pulling levers, and twisting knobs, or whatever he was doing, his pinker counterpart rose with a belabored melodrama, and flounced back to her safely quarantined seating arrangement.

"Great," was the first thing she said, upon replacing her helmet. "Creepy ghost ship pod-person has joined your party."

A measured pause followed, as her hand flitted to the hilt of her knife, as if making sure it was still there, and then;

"I'm not sitting next to him."

Seafarinhare · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 8:08 pm

Hoji heard the broadcast from both Geoff's and Juke's helmets, but only bearly. But Geoff's response helped him put the pieces together. He turned and headed toward the shuttle without further ado.

But then their new friend introduced them to his friend. He paused, and turned to face it, with a similar reaction to Juke. Only, less exaggerated. He grew tense, and was ready for a flashy transformation at a moment's notice.

He gulped, and attempted to settle down as it didn't seem prepped for attack, "It's gonna be crowded on the way over, if he's riding with us..." He grumbled, and continued toward the ship.

NPC · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:30 pm

There was an expression of great relief as Basch looked back to Wild Badge, seeing his lack of aggressive action towards the newcomer. The captain, however, shot his look straight back to the currently silent robot, glaring vividly.

"Didn't I tell you to stay back at the camp?" he growled, as if scolding a disobedient pet. "You're fortunate these people are reasonable and didn't try to attack you, seeing what they've already probably fought before."

The robot's head tilted just enough to stare without emotion at Basch.

"...the amount of time you were away was enough for me to question your safety," the machine replied with an almost too human-like voice. "I came to investigate."

Basch marched off before the robot even finished his statement, his head shaking back and forth in disbelief.

"Not like a shell of nuts and bolts like you would actually care for my safety."

He was soon crossing the stream, starting to follow Badge's path, leaving his "acquaintance" behind. Meanwhile, the robot companion just continued its blank, red-light-filled stare towards the captain's back, and finally, after a hesitating moment, began to walk smoothly down the decline silently. It appeared to be willing to follow, at least.

Sheff · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:55 pm

Geoff would admit that he, much like Juke, prepared himself for oncoming hostility (although with less dramatics) , but he found some relaxation when the robot's actual alliance was revealed. He still felt overly cautious though as he watched the quick back and forth between captain and machine.

The distrust from Basch was strange, seeing how it appeared the two were already well acquainted. Yet the robot didn't appear offended, even showing a willingness to trail the man who just berated it. Perhaps it didn't have the emotional capacity to take an insult harshly? It sounded and moved intelligently enough, though...

Whatever the reason, the hedgehog turned and began to walk as well, stuffing his head right back into the helmet.

"'Ey Rock, I know you've been probably listening in on this, so I'll make this short. This guy has got a robot friend. Ya know, like the ones we've already seen. He claims it can help us though, but I'm not particularly trustworthy right at the moment. Thoughts?"

psikeout · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:44 pm

Rock just smirked and shook his head at Jam, then answered Geoff.

"Can't trust anybody, butcha can't afford to turn down help, either," he stated candidly. "We'll just see what happens."

He toggled his radio's automatic transmit off.

"Guess I'll give the captain a proper welcome," he muttered—maybe just a bit acidly—as he got up from the console and strode quickly toward the cargo hold, where he could stand by at the top of the boarding ramp. "Military courtesy's probably wasted on GUN personnel, though..."

He went clomping off down the stairs.

Mie · Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:41 pm

Both tan-bordered brows rose just a bit as Rock's self-titled "military courtesy" carried him to the boarding ramp, and without hesitation, Jam was on her feet, and at his flank. It was a gesture both reflexive and natural, but belying a masked anxiety.

"Yeah, well, GUN personnel ain't known for their manners," she replied somewhat shortly, in a pointlessly low tone. Behind the reflective opacity of her visor, she grimaced, if only subtly. Then, even more quietly;

"On the off chance that things between Captain Body Snatcher or his pet don't go swimmingly, how much will it set us back if the ship takes a smidge of collateral?"

Silver clouds turn to golden stairs (Ch. 3b: Day 2)

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