CLOSED PARALOGUE The First Recon

[Amber Franklin]

Abigail Delano, Courier Six-Character Sheet

T-851/Thea Character Sheet

Abby: "Is this on?" Abby asks over the station sound system that would be heard by most onboard save those in the pocket realm. Abby had already personally reached out to select individuals such as Luer and David. This was a general call for volunteers.

"It is working. Ahem. This is Abigail Marie Delano. I am looking for volunteers for a scouting mission to a planet I know has Scattered in need of rescue or support. I wanna keep it small, no big guns needed. If any of ya'll want to help bring only the gear you can carry or in a bag to the teleporter room. When we get enough heads, we are out."

The Teleporter Room​

The circular room was dark gray and gleamed under the white overhead lights. At its center are six teleporters arranged around a console tower.



Beside the entrance is the operator's station with two operators. Abigail stands between them.The Courier had yet to earn the Mandalorian armor she had worn on her previous missions. She had, with Thea's input, used the Fabricator and stock from the Armory to construct for herself an armored flak jacket with four pockets, and 'First Recon' in red letters on the right shoulder pauldron. This was worn over a green collared shirt, and black pants with a belt holding magazine pouches.

Thea had recommended a full helmet built to her specs, but Abby had decided on a simple black beret to hold her hair back. In her experience she would have better chances of connecting with people when they can see her face. The Death Pod is fully loaded and slung over her left shoulder; the rifle with wood furniture was across her back. Thea is set in a silver pendant and hangs beside a Tyrannosaurus tooth from her neck on a simple leather cord.

"You two have this down right? I heard a team came back from a mission in their birthday suits." Abby inquires of the operators.

"I missed a decimal point, my bad." One operator confesses raising his hand.

"And I was on a bathroom break, also my bad." the other operator admits. "Extraction will be smooth so long as we have power to the teleporter."

"Alright. Better this than a ship I can't fly." Abby walks away from the operators to stand near the entrance.

"Thea, how long has it been since I put out the message?" Abby asks aloud of the soul that is around her neck and in her mind.

"Approximately one hour, twenty-three minutes, and forty-two seconds." Thea informs her. Abby and Thea had carried on long conversations since the incident, though from the outside most people only hear Abby's side of the conversation.

"Maybe they need a little more time." Abby shrugs and starts to pace the room. Even confined to a room, The Courier could not rest her feet too long. As she goes, Abby takes stock again of the supplies on her person. All six magazine pouches on her belt have a magazine for her rifle. Bottom right pocket has spare arrows for her Death Pod. Bottom left has three fragmentation grenades. Top left has a single spare rocket also for the Death Pod. Top left has her survival essentials (stimpaks, first aid kit, water purification kit) and on the inside of her jacket, her Bowie Knife lies in wait. The operators had given Abby an extraction beacon, but that she would keep very close to her chest.

 

[Apothecary Bruce]

Not a minute later, did Jeremy Welles enter the room. He, of course, wore his full ranger uniform, though it was once again clean, almost pristine. It was clear he had gotten ahold of some equipment to maintain and restore his equipment, and now there wasn't a scratch on his armor or a hole in his duster. He had gone through the trouble of getting a couple new items of clothes too - swapping out the typical ranger blue jeans for black counterparts, along with armored boots over them.

His duster and helmet were more armored too - it seemed he had turned his ranger combat armor into something like the elite riot gear Abby might remember from the Divide. He had more armor, but it wouldn't slow him down a bit.
The ranger was fully stocked with supplies - having a supply satchel underneath his coat, an ammunition belt wrapping his torso (loaded with 5.56 ammo to befit the M16A2 he had gotten ahold of, ), a set of four grenades set around his right waist, so on and so on...

The AI had declared war...and he was here to fight it.

When Abby had sent out her request for help, to form a team, Jeremy immediately knew that's where he was going. He wasn't superhuman, but neither was the Courier (at least, he didn't think so), and if she was meaning to get personally involved, that meant he could be useful too. Upon his arrival, Jeremy gave Abby's new gear a lookover. "Bit of a downgrade," he commented, a hint of humor in his voice. "At least you don't look like a Brotherhood apostle anymore though, so that's good."

He groaned slightly when he saw the First Recon badge. Jeremy had tried to set aside old allegiances so he could get along with Abby, but this felt too off to not comment on. "I knew people in First Recon. I hope this isn't some play off my fellow rangers."

 

[Amber Franklin]

Abigail Delano, Courier Six-Character Sheet

T-851/Thea Character Sheet

Seeing Jeremy being the first to arrive had lifted Abbys' spirits, moreso when joking about her ensemble. Then the groan, and his insinuation brings up memories that take down her smile and tone.

"Remain calm Abigail." Thea advises her, and Abby feels a calm come over herself. The sadness remains but she taps Thea in thanks.

"Craig Boone was a veteran of First Recon, and a good friend of mine. Taught me how to work in a team. We killed a lot of Legion together, up and down the Colorado river until the Dam took him." She taps the badge on her pauldron. "I wear this in his memory."

"Change topic. De-escalate tensions." Thea again offers her advice and Abby takes it up.

"And I prefer the lighter gear. I'm better when I can put these high-mile legs to work." Abby explains her choice playfully, gives him a thumbs-up. "Anyway, glad to have you on Jeremy. I got nothing but respect for NCR Rangers."

 

[The Wanderer]

David Ludlow

After the debacle and situation with the conference that led to Thea losing her body, David had gone back to the pocket realm that Reegan had made, intending on sending out a message to Batman and a few others to work out a plan of sorts when Abigail had sent her message, the magick radio that Reegan had one of her soul passengers rig up so folks onboard the Pathfinder could contact him. Thinking long and hard as he worked over a thing of metal with a hammer. Another plate to the pile that the civilians in the pocket realm and on the Pathfinder could use, during its' making, David was mulling over joining Abby's mission when Waffle gave him a whimper.

His companion's ears were down, and his eyes were glancing between his master and the radio.

Despite being a dog, David could read Waffle like a book. And said book was telling him to go, get out of his self-isolation and do something. Or maybe that was David's subconscious telling him via proxy, using Waffle as the link. Whichever the case, David put the plate away and went to his workbench that had his gear.

First things first, he needed a haircut.

Using his knife, he trimmed his beard down to a fuzz and shortened his hair enough to be contained in a shorter ponytail. It was still long but not the mountain man length he had. Donning a long coat with pockets over a simple shirt that had a similarly simple metal plate vest on. David had a lot of experience in crafting gear, so he knew that it'd hold up against small arms fire. And what it couldn't, his own body would make up via the dense skin and muscle. Putting the same large knife he had used to trim up into a sheathe on his hip. He grabbed a hatchet, matches, whetstone, a large amount of string, a water canteen with purification tablets and tins of jerky. The essentials for surviving off the land for a fair bit, or making traps.

Before he left his cabin, he told Waffle to stay, and of course request some of Reegan's fae to keep an eye on their friend. The small creatures did so by using Waffle as a stead to run around.

'Good enough.'

On the Pathfinder proper, he made a stop to the dispensary to get a first aid kit and later the armory to grab a weapon. Grabbing an odd compound bow, the arrows looked to be sharper and the pull was insane, but he managed it. He suspected that only someone with enhanced strength could draw it back. Which suited him just fine. The arrows were some fancy metal but they looked durable.

All finished up, David would walk into the teleporter room. Standing taller than Abby and Jeremy, he would give them both a nod as he took a seat on a box. His dog tags glistened slightly in the light as he took his knife out to sharpen on the small whetstone. He would speak up after a bit. "I take it you've been to this place before? What can we expect?" Simple questions asked in that gravelly voice of his.

@Amber Franklin @Apothecary Bruce

 

[Camleen]

The young woman moves down the wide and empty corridor with something of a casual pace, her boots 'clackclackclackclack' upon the metallic deck. Long snow white hair tied into a ponytail swaying in rhythm with her hips, hair held by a small snowflake like tiara/pin. Her outfit is shades of blue, from gentle baby blue to midnight blue. A sash around her waist with pouches affixed at her backside, a holster for her weapon. Her boots seeming to be the same shade of white as her hair. And her eyes, pale blue, crystal clear. A scar vertically across her left eye. A scar won when she was able to gain a slight bit of her own freedom. Her chin is held up, she seems a proud little thing, doesn't she?

In her hands she holds her weapon… it's name Myrtenaster. She holds the ornate handle in her left, her right hand resting upon the hammer located just above the hilt guards. The ammo chambers of her rapier is open, and now her fingers brush against them. The ammo chambers empty. Usually they contain differing types of specialized Dust 'bullets'. Bullets that she uses to augment and amplify her own Semblence. But when she was kidnapped… she had only a minimal amount of extra ammunition on her. She does carry 3 Dust bullets in one of her pouches, to be used for emergencies. And the rest of her meager charges are in her room, safely tucked away. She has found a practical treasure trove aboard this blaster station, but she has yet to locate a suitable replacement for her ammunition.

Despite the fact she is at a disadvantage without her weapon's Dust abilities… that is no reason to keep herself locked away. She pledged she would help where she could. And the call from Abby seemed like just the kind of thing she needed. Besides… she spent enough years locked away in one form or another.

Through the doorway leading to the teleport room she enters, her left wrist flicking up so the ammo chambers close and her weapon once more resembles a stylized rapier. Slowly she sheathes it at her right hip, her eyes for the first time falling upon the others already gathered. Abby… she saw her briefly before, but they did not meet. She only has a name and a face. David… she has not met. But the third person present she does know. Kind of. Getting a bit closer to the gathered group, and she rolls her eyes as she utters "Oh, you're here, too." She stops short of the group, her hands resting on her hips, her weight more on one foot than the other. David asks his question, and Weiss' eyes move between those present to await the answer. It's just the kind of question she, too, would be asking right now.

 

[LenxKaitoYaoi]

Luer was honestly not even sure he should be doing this… He would be lying if he said he was not a little scared he may become a larger liability for the team than a help to them. He still dreaded whatever Penta may have planned for his end of the deal. Even so… he could not say no when Abby asked him to join her. He liked Abby, for her… assertiveness, she was a decent person and one of the few he would say he called a friend. And he would be damned not to help a friend when they asked him to his face. Of course he was going to help.

So here he was, with a somewhat anxious deep breath and joining the others in the room. He still did not like this place, and this travel method was still nauseating, but it was a little more tolerable than flying around. He took a moment to glance around at the others who had already arrived. Weiss and Jeremy, a problem to be working together. He already felt a headache coming on. He shook his head of it though. He was not all that acquainted with David, but for the time being he did not have a negative view on him either.

For now, his focus settled on Abby with a small smile. "You look a little more ready for mobility than usual." He offered. Abby usually wore more… armor? The lack of helmet anyway said that to him. He was no one to talk, of course. He wore his usual crop top and shorts, his jacket and uneven boots. He preferred it this way, he could move quickly and easily and it looked like that was going to be a necessity, if Abby's own attire said anything of it. He had Ryan's pendant on still, only slightly hidden under the neck of his shirt. He never used the armor much unless he felt he needed it (in hindsight he needed it in the fight with Carnage). He shook his head again. Too late for that.

He glanced to David at his question, turning to Abby. A good question, though for Abby's sake he did not overly care what it was, he was still going, but an idea ahead of time would not be a bad thing.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

"Well," a new voice called out from behind the team, "not exactly the 442nd regiment are we?" It's tone was playful, another teasing remark for this myriad of misfit toys. And when everyone turned to see who was speaking, they were met with a man in a striking mid-gray conduit cut suit with black tie, pulling out from a polished silver case a cigarette.

He was a new arrival on the Pathfinder, having given the Alliance intel about the ISS, Interdimensional Security Solutions, and stayed aboard to offer his services on order of his nation's government. And, with a beautiful woman like Abby asking for volunteers for a dangerous mission, how could he not offer those same services, and more, to her?

"Abigail, correct?" Bond asked Abby, moving over to her for a handshake, "Bond, James Bond," he introduced himself. "I hope you don't mind, one of the tailors is still working on fittings for combat uniforms. But, if it helps, they told me the suit lining is made of kevlar, so I should have some protection." He had a gentle smile on his face while talking to her, keeping both the case and cigarette in his other hand while putting his entire focus on Abby.

 

[Apothecary Bruce]

Jeremy smiled underneath his helmet, and gave Abby a nod. "Glad to hear it. And...I'm sorry about your friend." When David entered the room, the ranger was almost surprised it wasn't Alec, eager to prove himself to her again. He remembered David from the meeting, and he remembered that he wasn't one of the fools - quite the opposite. Some as level-headed as David came off as was someone Jeremy would be fine with watching his back.

It had been something of a pleasant experience, before Weiss entered the room, the ranger gave her a glance, but he didn't make a comment. Resigning himself to bring up nothing, Jeremy was about to wave before the business baroness reminded him of her coldness. Another groan, soft as a sigh yet loaded with frustration. "I wasn't going to bring anything up," the ranger told Weiss. "It's not good practice to bring outside baggage into a mission."

Jeremy took in the rest of the gathering operatives. There was Luer, who the ranger wished would just take a gun for once. He wished he would also invest in body armor as well, imagining what a single small bullet could do to all that exposed or barely clothed flesh. He was almost tribal in appearance, but like tribals, Jeremy knew that if he offered the boy his nine millimeter sidearm, that he'd reject it in favor of his less advanced ways, and likely violently.

The man in the suit had a funny accent, one he hadn't heard prior to getting on this station. Probably from some other part of the world Jeremy had never been to. Would never be to. Nuclear war and the resulting fallout was funny like that.

 

[rissa]

Devyn Rose

There was nothing like waking up in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by unfamiliar faces and unfamiliar routines that needed adjusted to right away. Devyn tugged on another boot, lacing them up nice and tight. It was the same in Ulu - the scared little lost girl from the Mojave evolving into someone worth protecting— worth being around —because Devyn sure as hell wasn't that kind of person. Not really. She kept to the shadows and the dunes, roadside affairs that left little, if anything, to be said in the morning.

Get close to something and it'd be shorn from you, limb by limb.

Devyn grimaced as she slung on her sheriff's duster, feeling a smidge better within its warmth and familiarity. She had asked the prefabricators to include armored pieces here and there, but nothing too heavy, lest it slow her down or unsteady her gait. She had enough to carry with the pack on her shoulders— while there were no visible weapons on her person other than the .45 auto holstered on her hip and the odd contraption around her fist —there were several suspicious bulges in the heavy canvas backpack she carried. Despite the bulk, she managed it deceptively well and made her way out of the residential quarters and towards the teleporter room.

It took awhile (too long, in fact, as she assumed Abby's call had been answered promptly and they were already off the ship) to get there, having had to backtrack after asking some random passerby's where the teleporter room was. But she managed it in the end, filing into the room quietly, unassumingly, despite the large pack attached to her.

She arrived early enough to catch the Ranger's baggage comment and Devyn immediately averted her eyes. He was right, of course, but she had little room to talk; the only reason she was here, energized and ready to do anything, was because of the minute and paralyzing sense of nostalgia she got from Abby and Jeremy. She didn't even like rangers... well, that wasn't entirely true, as a pair had once helped her out of a bind and led her (albeit blindfolded) into some small lodge to get patched up in... but they weren't always the heroes the NCR and the people of the Mojave claimed them to be.

Ah, what the hell though Devyn thought wistfully, the Mojave makes monsters out of all of us.

She raised a hand in mock salute towards Abby, not wanting to interrupt the flow of conversation, but at the very least signal her late arrival in case anything hinged on it.

 

[Amber Franklin]

Abigail Delano, Courier Six-Character Sheet

T-851/Thea Character Sheet

"Thanks." Abby says to Jeremy, grateful that he seems to understand now that using the First Recon name was done with all due respect.

"Welcome David, glad you're here."Abby greets David and watches as he enters and silently takes a seat. The bow is a good idea to her. Between herself and Jeremy they would be set on firearms. Bows could be silent in a way their guns couldn't. Thea tracks the team loadout for her, allowing Abby to focus on tasks as they come up.

Weiss and Luer arrive as David asks his question. Of course Luer also brings a bow as well, and they oddly match each other in her eyes. Abby's smile again turns to a frown slightly at Weiss' statement towards Jeremy, and can't help but agree with Jeremy's admonishing rebuttal. What was her problem?

"They did not interact well during the conference after you left. Jeremy took an aggressive approach to her assistance in organization." Thea answers Abby.

"Well that doesn't seem fair." Abby says aloud to the possible confusion of anyone unable to perceive Thea's side of the conversation.

"It was unnecessary. They require careful consideration." Thea agrees with Abigail and informs her.

"Understood, Thea." Abby nods seemingly at the nearest wall.

"I'll give ya'll what I know before we leave. Give a little time for the last two spots." She tells everyone currently assembled.

She turns to the arrival of Bond, amused that of the assembled so far he was tied with Weiss for how to dress for the wrong occasion. He reminds her of The Strip, and that has her thinking how the Chairman would be jealous about his suit.

"Abigail Marie Delano, Mr. Bond." Abby shakes his hand with both of hers, putting them on her hips after. Looking into his keen focused eyes, listening to his voice, Abby has a revelation.

I have a thing for Scotsmen

"Well, as you can see, I didn't give any details on what to wear anyway." Abby laughs and shrugs, moves some of her hair back out of her face while keeping eye contact. That is when she sees a girl she does not know, but there was something in her eyes that was familiar. Was this girl also from her world? She would have to ask. "Now that we got a team of lucky number seven, we're about ready to go. Just waiting on our camping supplies now. Thea had me give the supply people a list. If we got to be there longer than a day, or more, better to camp out than be back and forth. I only want to use a beacon to get out of a bad situation." She explains addressing the others.

"Delivery." announces a young woman from the entrance. She is younger than maybe even Weiss, with short black hair and olive skin wearing a red and gray jumpsuit; a uniform familiar to Abby (possibly Devyn) and Jeremy as being of the Brotherhood of Steel. Abby eyes her warily, but more so because she is only holding a small black case in her right hand and not the bag of supplies she was expecting.

"You are Abigail Delano?" the young woman asks.

"I am, and you are?" Abby answers and poses her own question.

"Scribe Fox from the Supply Depot. You ordered supplies for an expedition, specifically temporary shelter and defenses. Here you are." replies Fox, holding out the case for Abby who does not take it.

"That's a bit small." Abby states, shrugs "Why?"

"Apologies, I'll explain." Fox opens the case, revealing four items. They look like large cylindrical pills with a button on the top and are numbered. "These capsules are amazing to say the least. Press the button, toss where you like, and you have a shelter that sleeps six; a motorcycle; an automated turret for area defense; and my favorite, a utility bench for field repairs." Fox explains pointing at each capsule in ascending order.

"Wow. What a spacesaver." Abby takes the case and marvels at the objects.

"The best! And each one has a button to press that returns it to capsule form. Just for the shelter, do not let anyone stay in it when you do that." Fox grimaces and mimes her throat being cut, which causes Abby to flinch. "It's not made to store living organics."

"Thanks for the warning, Scribe Fox." Abby closes the case, places it in another inner pocket of her jacket.

"Welcome, and good luck on the mission. Ad victoriam." Fox gives her sternum a bump with her fist and nods, turns on her heel and leaves.

"Well, looks like we got everything and everyone we need." Abby turns to the team that has assembled, her chest swelling with pride even as her heart turns up a beat. "This planet we're going to, is mostly wild. Beautiful land, if you don't mind the dinosaurs that live in it. Big, small, lot of teeth, but nothing we can't handle as they come. Killed a big one myself." Abby gestures at the tooth around her neck. "There's gonna be Scattered, who need our help, but also a company that runs the place like a hunting resort. We can try to make peace with them, after we get more information, but if they ain't the peaceful types and take issue with us being there we use the beacon. Gather all the Scattered we might find who wanna come with us, and the operators will get us all back safe and clothed." Abby takes a breath, rolls her shoulders before continuing.

"Now, last chance to back out or get something you think you might need. I don't wanna hear you left your other sword, or need more ammo and we got to come back right away. We only come back when we finish the mission, successful or not."

 

[Camleen]

In response to Jeremy's sort of wisdom, Weiss stays silent. She continues to watch the proceedings and listen for any pertinent information regarding this… whatever this is. Of course she hears him, but decides to not acknowledge him.

Despite the want to pay total attention to whatever information she can glean before they get started.. she is distracted by Leur's entrance. Her gaze traces his path as she stands there, studying him to try and get an idea as to what he brings to the proverbial table. And perhaps she would even introduce herself to Luer and David, having never encountered them before.

But another voice enters, and that voice captures Weiss' attention like a moth drawn to the lamp.

Her head turns to look in the direction of Bond, James Bond and one of her brows perk up. She abruptly brushes off the front of her skirt and straightens herself. She eyes Bond like a wolf eyeing its next meal like someone overtaken with more than curiosity with a look upon her pale features as if to say 'well heeeeeellllloooo'.

Now she moves closer to the core of the group, obviously wanting to be more of a part of this circle to ensure she is clear on what is going on and what is going to happen. She just… coincidentally… takes the opportunity to introduce herself to James the group, though focused on Bond. She extends her hand towards him in the manner a lady would when it is expected the gentleman would take it in greeting. She half curtsies as she speaks in a light, pleasant (who would have thought after all this sarcasm she had a pleasant voice) tone. "I am Weiss Schnee. It's my pleasure to meet you all." Her eyes still on Bond.

It's about then that Abby begins to speak, and Weiss reluctantly turns her attention to the lead. Expedition that could be longer than a few hours, of course. Perhaps having to make a temporary encampment. Nothing new for Weiss as yet. Yet. Her eyes move to the young girl bringing the 'gear' when she enters, and like Abby she thinks that doesn't look like a lot at all. She lets out a disappointing and soft "Hmph.." but that's when young Scribe Fox begins to explain the Capsules. Of course Weiss has no idea the 'C' should be a capital 'C' due to it being a corporation logo and not the generic name of a small vial like object as they appear to be. But when Scribe Fox describes their function, Weiss now stares as if she can't believe that. "I can't believe that… wow…" See? She thinks about how convenient it would be to have this sort of thing on her world. For moving tactically with ease in battles? Transporting critical supplies? Proving many with a means of transportation on the fly?

No, not really. She wouldn't have to carry her 11 large suitcases when she went anywhere. They can be a pain sometimes. Not a pain for her, of course. But for the people that are paid to carry her things.

She watches Fox salute and then scamper out of the room, a small smile on her lips. Abby starts to speak once more, her gaze and attention moving back to the woman. Abby speaks of dinosaurs, and Weiss gets another 'really?' look on her face. But… she knows what dinosaurs are. And frankly, they aren't so different than Grimm. Nothing she can't handle solo. Weiss glances down at herself, knowing she has everything she needs. She thinks.

Daintily she raises her hand, and then speaks. "Excuse me… what are the rules of engagement? If we encounter any from that company, and we can't talk things out… do we engage them in combat? Do we retreat and avoid confrontation?"

 

[Wade Von Doom]

Bond, going from a gentle smile at Abigail, went to curious amazement in his facials, marveling at the incredible technological capacity of something as large as a machine gun turret inside a pill nearly a third of its size. "It's true what they say, everything will come in pill form in the future," Bond quipped, fiddling with the capsule to get a better look at it. Only for Weiss to make herself known to him. To say Bond immediately caught interest in her would be an understatement.

"My pleasure as well, Miss Schnee~" Bond replied, gently grabbing her extended hand and leaning down slightly to kiss it; his eyes staying locked to Weiss' the whole time to admire the features on her face, and the gentle blue color of her irises. Not to mention the way her attire accentuated her figure when he did finally look at the rest of her. If it wasn't for Abby interrupting, Bond would have changed the topic of the conversation to something else entirely to know her better. But, the mission came first, even Bond knew it. Even if it sounded ridiculous. Dinosaurs. Bond had fought his share of strangers and freaks, but never something so preposterous as actual dinosaurs.

Keep in mind he hasn't gone to space yet or fought a literal clone of himself... Yes I am counting his games.

As Abby continued speaking, Bond finally put the cigarette in his mouth and lit it, taking a small puff. "Miss Schnee asks a good question," Bond agreed, blowing out a small stream of smoke, "Not just about this company you speak of, but what about other 'scattered' on the planet? They could be confused, panicked, even starving and dehydrated. We can't expect all of them to welcome us down there with open arms when they see us just as alien as the dinosaurs or company mercs."

 

[LenxKaitoYaoi]

Luer glanced to the other arrivals as they came in, the man dressed even worse than him for anything- this was not a party -and the woman with the rather heavy looking pack. He settled on Abby for the most part, until they were interrupted. He crossed his arms, waiting for Abby to deal with her delivery. While Abby spoke with the woman regarding the delivery, he shook his head somewhat. A tiny camping set? The things these people do were ridiculous… But he would keep that to himself.

Instead he got distracted by Weiss and Bond's interaction, making him shudder. Did anyone else notice the only people Bond bothered to greet personally were the females? It was mildly concerning to him, and the way he looked at them bothered him. Weiss was a little young for him, was she not? Creepy old man. He decided mentally.

Thankfully Abby's delivery discussion had ended and she went about answering David's earlier question. Dinosaurs… like the wyverns of his world? They were not too difficult to deal with, usually. Some could be rather strong, though, and from Abby's description they were much larger… the scattered were another matter. There were more of them there?

His took a small breath, looking between Weiss and Bond. "I would prefer not to engage at all if they do not prove a threat to the overall goal. If they are going to be hostile to us when we offer help, I feel it best just to leave them be." He commented. Though, that was his own preference. He backed up though and turned to cough when Bond's smoke reached him, fanning at the air to drive it away. "And…" He paused to cough again and clear his throat, blinking the burning in his eyes away as best he could for the moment, though it was obvious by how they watered he was not very comfortable. "If they are confused or starving, talking to them without showing signs of aggression would be better, would it not?"

 

[rissa]

Devyn Rose

"Perhaps we bring some extra food and supplies?" Devyn shot out, following the archer's train of thought. "Signs of good will will surely go a long way. Might even sway some of them to return with us."

Her eyes never really landed anywhere for too long- not that it was noticeable with the hullabaloo going on. Devyn stayed out of the ring when it came to the flirtatious back and forth; gazes fought and won and completely missed, given Luer's revulsion. Smoke wafted to the ceiling in long wispy strands, strangling Luer by the looks of it, but Devyn just inhaled deep. The rich tobacco scent that filled the air reminded her of home, of broken black top as far as the eye could see and the blinding but blissful heat of the Mojave sun. For a moment, she could have sworn she felt warm, surrounded by pristine metal and tech she barely comprehended.

"Though I don't know if we oughta drag them away if they've made a home for themselves and wish to stay."

No matter how dumb of a move that might be.

 

[Apothecary Bruce]

Jeremy was surprised to see a lady with a laser rifle slung on her back enter the room, proving herself to likely be another native of the same world he and Abby were from. She looked the part of the wasteland scavenger too, unlike the localized Abby and himself. He supposed, if the robots really were looking for talented individuals, those who lived in the wastes and survived weren't a bad set of people to check first. She spoke to an older time in California, one he had mostly missed. He had been born six years after the fall of the Enclave, and by that time the New California Republic had just begun its expansion.

He had watched it civilize New California. Somehow, when he looked at her, he didn't see a resident of Baja, or the Mojave. He saw a little New Reno, a little Arroyo, as he remembered them from his early childhood. Flashes of home. Maybe he was wanting to feel nostalgic. Maybe another wastelander made him feel more at home. Who knew.

He gave her a nod of recognition. At a glance, she seemed to be the least combat-ready out of them all, but then again, any wastelander was combat-ready.

Then came the Brotherhood scribe, and Welles found himself tense as tribal instincts begged him to draw his gun, and shoot. She came in, happily explaining her wonder-gizmo, as the ranger remembered salvos of ruby-red lasers dancing over his head, mulching others. His brothers-in-arms, shot to death by technophile zealots unable to accept the changing of the world around them. NCR was the future, the Brotherhood was the past. They wanted to keep humanity from harming itself, while it recovered? Great. But it had recovered. The republic was evidence of that.

Jeremy regretted his bloodlust, he really did. She didn't use heavy weaponry on squads of thinly armored soldiers, she didn't destroy the gold reserves, she was the closest thing the Brotherhood of Steel had to an innocent civilian and he wanted to put a bullet through her brain. What a hero I am.
The saying, though, he hadn't heard a Brotherhood member say 'Ad Victoriam' before. He had heard all manner of things - 'For the Brotherhood', 'Honor the Chapter,' 'Die, Cocksucker', but never 'Ad Victoriam.' Now that he thought about it, the logo of the Brotherhood she wore, the pendants and the sketched cloth, showed a bigger gear on the right than it did the left. That was unusual, usually it was the other way around.

She must've been from a chapter he had never met before. How expansive were those bastards? Did-
Did we even come close to winning the war?

Bond's over-fondness towards Weiss broke him out of his existential crisis. It rubbed him the wrong way for sure. He wanted to tell him to take a step back, but he remembered she wasn't a kid - even if barely. It was her choice, in the end, but Jeremy sure as hell was going to keep an eye on the 'suave' super-spy. He had to have been older than him, and he wasn't a spring chicken. Getting on a girl that young irked him a little bit.

"Alright, so we're braving the elements and a bunch of monsters to ask lost survivors to come home with us? Get to kill a couple scumbags who'd try to hurt the scattered and us just as much as the animals they want to stuff too? Let's get to work..." The ranger said, with a careful excitement.

 

[The Wanderer]

David

David's question initially goes unanswered, and he soon figures why as more people flock in. He recognized a few of them from the meeting before shit hit the fan royally. He grunts quietly at the spark between Jeremy and Weiss, that kind of behavior was inherently bad for cohesion and mission adherence. Part of him was worried that one or the other would do something to spite the other. It was a risk that needed to be shut down, thankfully though that Jeremy kept a cool enough head to begin that process.

Luer was next and David had to prevent his inner Captain from sending Luer packing back to the armory or at the very least to the supply person to get at least light armor. Or even clothing that could be used in any type of climate. The bow was something he at least didn't feel immediate dislike for. Granted, he hoped that it wasn't a crutch and that Luer could reply on something else in a pinch if he ran out of arrows.

But at least Luer didn't give the same type of headache that threatened him when Bond walked in. Classic CIA-esqe mannerisms. Down to the suit and too-friendly vibes. The accent pushed the possible CIA train of thought and instead David began to think of MI6. Not a bad organization to be related to, but still it made David on edge. Memories of seeing enough dead soldiers that the ground turned into brownish red mud from all the blood that had been spilled to simply 'distract the enemy while we took a vital piece of intel.' It was a picture that stayed in David's mind.

The flirting was something that also didn't earn any points with David. The dress-code was something that David also didn't jive with, but at least it had armor. He just hoped the spy had boots. So, in that regard, Bond had some points over Weiss and Luer at the moment.

But finally, Abby answers his question, and he barely changes his expression. His mind ran through possible scenarios and what type of environment they'd be entering into. Part of him began to think of something jungle-like. The rest of his brain filled in automatically with scenes of horrible, mangled bodies, screaming, gunfire and radios calling for 'danger-close' 'VC in the trees' and people calling for their mothers. But the arrival of latecomer and their supplies yank David violently out of his memories. The large man breathing in quietly yet deeply for four seconds, holding for four more seconds and exhaling for four seconds. Immediately the feeling goes away, and David's back in the present.

The gear for their supplies was handy, even he had to admit for all its flashiness. But then someone began to mention rules of engagement, and he's about to speak up with others chime in. Jeremy rounds off with a rough summery of the situation and their mission. Taking the opportunity, he speaks finally, choosing to respond to the several points raised. "I suggest for rules of engagement that we observe at first, see what's the deal with this 'Company' and possibly any Scattered. And move from there, but going to recommend to not let your guard down around anyone we encounter. Keep a hand on a blade, or gun and be ready. Seen too many good men die because a kid offered to shine their shoes, or a woman falls over dropping a bundle. Only to find the kid's box has a frag grenade, or the bundle contains explosives. We don't know who's a genuine Scattered and who's faking it to lure in unsuspecting victims so be on your guard." Was all he said as he stood up, stretching before cracking his neck.

@Amber Franklin @rissa @Apothecary Bruce @Wade Von Doom @LenxKaitoYaoi @Camleen

 

[Amber Franklin]

Abigail Delano, Courier Six-Character Sheet

T-851/Thea Character Sheet

"Great questions, great input!" Abby praises the team , and is thankful Thea has handled the more intricate parts of the mission. "First. David is right that we watch from a distance before we introduce ourselves. If anyone we meet ain't in a mood to talk and attacks us, we do a fighting retreat. Turn them back, stall, but drop 'em only if you have to." She explains and after a breath continues.

"We try to help any Scattered we find. Food, medicine, any way we can and tell them about the Pathfinder, offer them to come back with us. If they ain't buying that, we let them find their own way." Abby's brow scrunches as Thea speaks to her, reminding her of what she forgot to remember.

"A couple more things." Abby reaches up to hold Thea between her thumb and forefinger "For any of y'all who don't know, this is Thea. She's this soul stone for now until she gets a new body, and is seeing everything through my eyes. She's gonna talk through me. Unless you want to talk to her directly then you just have to be touching her. Fair warnin' it is weird to have another real voice in your head." Abby adds as an afterthought.


"And last but no less important," Abby reaches into her survival pocket and withdraws seven white devices no larger than the tip of a pinky finger. "These go in either ear, tap and hold to talk to everyone. She explains while giving them each one personally and putting the last in her right ear.

"Enough questions, First Recon moving out!" Abby claps and raises a twirling finger over her head. "Boots to dirt, work this trail for all its worth." She smiles at using an old caravan call as they each step into one of the teleporters. Abby rolls her shoulders, has a deep breath and slow exhale as the operators work in tandem to send the team off.


"Please keep all belongings and limbs within the teleporter." says one operator as the machines alight in a green hue around each.


"You will experience zero gravity now and during transport then gravity again abruptly. Remain still, do not make any sudden movements." explains the other.

The light intensifies and they float several inches from the floor before the green light envelops their vision completely. Each experiences the sudden return of gravity as a rush of air around their entire body and their feet fall upon soft grass.

"Everybody got everything? Limbs, gear, clothing?" Abby asks the team immediately while checking herself top to bottom. All there.

"You good, Thea?" she asks of the stone resting on her sternum.

"I am intact. We need to find cover immediately." Thea replies and informs.

"Cover?" Abby looks around frantically. They were in a field of grass between two lush jungles. To one side is a hill with a steep incline rising high enough they could not readily see over the top. The rolling hills and jungle continue to the horizon all around.

The sun was hovering over the horizon casting a yellow glow over the land and painting clouds in multiple colors. The lukewarm air could mean the cold of night was being beaten back or was overtaking the heat of the day. It was either early morning or nearly night, there was no way to know at the moment. The more pressing matter now was the ground quaking lightly, and the sound of soft thunder. The tremors and thunder intensify as they listen.

"Stampede! But it aint no herd of Brahmin." Abby declares and twirls her finger in the air, points at the nearest jungle "Get to cover, and wait for my word its clear!" She orders then runs into the jungle. She reaches the dark cover of the canopy, and climbs up on a tree using its thick winding branches until she rests on a branch three meters from the ground.

The thunder in the air drowns all other sounds. The tremors shake even the tree the team uses for shelter. They see the stampede come over and down the hill. It starts as a herd of what appear to be featherless flightless birds that let out high-pitched squawks as they run on long spindly legs. A diverse mix of animals come after these: short and frilled; large with peculiar crests atop their head; smaller versions of both weave between their larger counterparts.

It is several minutes of this mobile thunderstorm before the last of the animals run clear of the mile between the team and the other section of jungle. Now they see that some did not take the hill well. A dozen of the scaly sprinters lie still on the ground, trampled to death. One of the beige colored larger crested animals lies on its side, its crushed legs splayed and alternately wheezing or bellowing a long call like a mournful trumpet.

Abby has watched the entire thing pass in silent awe, but her eyes scan around now that it's over. She taps and holds her comm, speaks quietly.

"Hold position. Something spooked that herd bad. It might be coming along soon." Abby tells the team and hopes they follow her orders. The large dinosaur keeps trumpeting its pained death cries.

 

[rissa]

Devyn Rose

It was perhaps her greatest weakness— the survival instincts that ran through her bones. She felt the unease against her feet the moment she landed but Devyn figured it was a tweak in the transportation system, a hook behind the naval that made the urge to empty her stomach a high priority. But she heard Abby's confused question, "Cover?" and acted without thinking.

Devyn was already running, bent low as to be mostly obscured by the tall grass, when Abby called out a warning for a stampede. A better person would have stayed, made sure their teammates were moving at a steady pace besides them... but Devyn was already breaching the jungle line, pushing aside flora she'd never before seen in her life. She grabbed the first vine that seemed sturdy and tried to army-climb her way up but it snapped beneath her weight when she was only a few feet up in the air.

Cursing, she dashed forward, through another plant with monstrous leaves bigger than her as the pelting thunder of a hundred and more hooves grew closer. She thought she was doomed until she found safety within the hallow of a tree. Devyn slid between roots, scrapping the duster and canvas as she squeezed into the soil depression that stood guarded by roots half the size of her.

There was room enough for another beside her, but she couldn't tell if anyone was close enough to reach her before the thundering of the stampede became too much for her bare. Devyn placed the palms of both hands against her ears to drown out the sound. When Abby's voice came through the comm she let out a small yelp that she immediately covered, and internally cursed herself for, and had absolutely no intention of moving whatsoever.

 

[LenxKaitoYaoi]

Luer gave a nod to Devyn. She understood. David chimed in his own suggestions and the archer at least did not hate it. He was not wrong, but Luer knew he, himself, was primed to act reckless to help someone. Hopefully that did not need to be the case. He shook his head lightly at the thought. He did not need to think too much on that right now.

Instead his focus settled on his cough easing for the moment and agreeing to abide by David and Abby's rules. If that was how they wished to handle it, so be it (to the best of his self control, at least). He grimaced somewhat at what Abby handed him and her instructions. For now, he pocketed the device. Only if they are apart… otherwise he saw no reason to wear it. He coughed again, choosing now to seek some reprieve through the collar of his jacket, which helped a little as he followed Abby's gesture to get to a teleporter. The further from that smoke the better.

He cringed at this, too, especially as the operator spoke, moving to sit down entirely. He was better off this way… Needless to say the trip was unpleasant for him. Once they arrived he reveled in solid ground, simply content to sit there with his weight rested on his arms. "One piece, though I would believe my stomach is no longer in place… it feels as though it has done its share of flips…" He offered, disgruntled. No, he was not feeling well.

He could only whine at being told they needed to move, managing an all fours crawl off the path to find shelter behind a larger tree out of the way, resting his head in his arms over his knees. Even if it was shaking, the solid ground was steadying. He was not overly concerned with Devyn's sound as things quieted, and he certainly was content to sit here until his dizziness passed. Hunting was nothing new to him, and animal behavior for the most part similarly so. None of them would dare care about the sounds they made right now.

He also knew well that a stampeding herd like that did not happen for no reason, so while he was mostly still in place because he felt like throwing up, he knew better too even without the communicator to hear Abby's warning. Whatever scared them was likely going to follow them, or rather, the now trail of easy food. He was not, however, content to do nothing about the dying one making so much noise.

Again, the noise was not his concern so much. So he took a breath, his bow, an arrow and took aim from behind his tree. It should not matter what kind of animal it was, an arrow to the brain should be more than enough to put the poor thing out of its misery. A mostly silent release let the arrow fly to the dying dinosaur's head, and Luer returned to his seated spot with a small huff.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

Whatever the others may think of Bond, he was at least listening intently, scanning his eyes between Devyn, Jeremy and David as they all spoke up with suggestions. All while he gently puffed away at his cigarette. When Abby agreed to a final decision over protocol for scattered, it was time to make the jump. The teleporters were part of the station, ones used to capture scattered from their worlds to bring here, but reversed engineered to be man-controlled and smaller in scale. Because of the amount of power and calculations needed to transport one person from one universe over to another, the systems would have to perfectly calculate where and when to grab the person down to the atomic level. A single miscalculation in the process could result in the kidnapped scattered having pieces of their body cut off, disintegrated, or be horrifically wounded. Not to mention the energy needed to warp them through the artificial wormhole would need to be as powerful as a star.

There were also other issues, such as non-organic matter being teleported with them, like clothing or items, shielding to protect them from the high velocity and heat of FTL travel, all in all, the process was complicated and clearly took a computer to do it rather than a person. That's why there were two people operating it.

The target would be much closer as well, along with reversed engineered beacons to keep track of and pull them all back when the time came. (Of course, they were also untested, and only Thea knew that. But, considering their first usage only ended with disintegrating clothing instead of the people, Thea accepted that as a success. Whether it worked again for putting a person there and back again remained to be seen.) Taking the little earpiece, Bond took one last puff of his cig before he dropped it to the floor and snuffed it out with his shoe. And with a small correction of his tie, stepped into the machine.

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends," Bond quipped to everyone, before they were all whisked away into the vortex. It was like when they were first kidnapped, the blinding lights of green and white as reality passed them by in milliseconds. The force of the velocity was just as heavy as before, and the twirling of energy and matter and astronomical phenomena. It was both beautiful, scary, and most certainly headache inducing. And like before, it ended just as abruptly as it started with a sudden landing on the ground. As prepared as Bond tried to be, the sudden feeling ground once again was like jumping off a several foot drop. The impact wouldn't injure, but you would certainly feel it. And Bond fell flat on his back from it.

With a groan, Bond leaned upwards; his head just peaking above the tall grass. At least the new sight was spectacular. The orange glimmer of the rising or setting sun in the distance overcast the foreign hills of this new world, while in the jungle echoed the sounds of insects and reptiles still awake in the dark shadows. If they didn't know this wasn't Earth, they would all think they had gone back in time to the age of the dinosaurs. And speaking of which, Bond could feel the tremors in his fingers as he rested his hand against the ground. He didn't need a second warning once Abby told them to run.

Standing up straight, he bolted to the treeline as the others did; grabbing for the first reachable tree branch like a monkey. For a man in a suit, he was shockingly agile in it. He was about twenty feet from the ground when he stopped, pulling out his Walther PPK. When Bond noticed Luer and Dev were still on the ground, he quietly shouted to them both, "get up here! We don't know what's chasing them!" If it was a T-Rex or Raptors, the height would be their advantage.