open [Still accepting new characters!]Strifes of Pandora

[Ranger22 179]

"Geez, you sure are very expressive. Almost every sentence is followed by a specific body movement, a brief drink here and a body turn there, like you're following a script from some stage play or something," Whitetip said with a chuckle. "But the truth of the matter is yes I am indeed a bounty hunter, and no I'm not after you but the two you got in the way for. I was merely interested in your involvement nothing more nothing less, so you go and save that little tinker box of yours from coming up with any more theories, I prefer to keep things straight anyway. If I tell lies often I might find myself believing them eventually. I noticed Dusk Rose coming in and hastily sitting down at a table, she had obviously spotted the stallion and viewed him as a threat, she was right of course.

 

"Besides, ATLAS high tailed it out of here once the crimson lance got booted and the vault turned out to be a huge mess. With all assets packed up or abandoned on Pandora I highly doubt I'd get my reward anytime soon if at all for killing you, considering the cost of finding a new military organization to protect assets. I'm more interested in the two ponies you ran in to save, the watcher and the psycho if you will. Bunch of loons but someone wants em dead and a lot of money is on the table, I just wanted to know if you were friends with them or something so i didn't have to put effort into fighting ya." Whitetip had explained casually, the griffon hadn't wanted to give off Dusk's position due to the use it might provide, not that he believed he needed it.

[Randimaxis 8,636]

Heh.  I had to admire someone who said they didn't lie - meant they DID lie, just not all the time.  That's how it was on Pandora.

 

"Okay, sure... they just packed up and left, right.  Gotcha."

 

I turned on the stool to finally face him full on... and to give him a good view of my ladies, Chaos and Order.

 

"As far as those two, I was hoping to sucker 'em into helping me take out the facility that EVERYPONY says is empty... but nopony's come back from yet.  You think a corp like that'd just give up all rights to whatever they found on this Lunaforsaken rock?  Fine, believe that - and I got some oceanfront property in Canterlot to sell ya, since you're in the market for taking their public admittance seriously."

 

Yeah, ATLUS had skipped town - or at least, that's what they'd worked HARD to impress upon the folks of Pandora.  Truth was, they'd just gone underground... and I knew where.  How could I forget?  

 

It's where I met my permanent buddy.

 

"Look, you wanna take 'em in for the cash, that's YOUR business... I have not a single buck to give on that."

 

I finished my drink, but slowly this time - all the relief I could drag out of each cool swallow.  While I did this, I thought for a moment.

 

This griffon apparently wanted some bits; stood to reason he's probably got a few tricks up his sleeve.  Maybe he's actually got some skill, too - it was unwise to just run around asking questions of ANY sort if you couldn't protect yourself.  Plus, it'd still be better company than my silent partner and the four walls of the steel crate I called home.

 

"But... maybe you and I could make a deal, hmmmm?  Maybe you could use an extra set of hooves on this - since there ARE two of 'em, right?  Heck, I'll even ask for a 30-70 split; your favor.  And who knows?  Maybe, just maybe, YOU could help ME when this is over."

 

Well, why the buck not?  Worst he could say was no.

[Ranger22 179]

Where and what was Canterlot? More importantly it seemed that this stallion knew a hell of a lot more about things then he'd let on, of course the knowledge was irrelevant to the griffon but info was info. What made the griffon wonder was why would ATLUS bother trying to keep assets on Pandora when their only military/security presence was all but eradicated. " You know something I don't great, I can understand a company not giving up stuff they find but you seem to be forgetting that ATLAS went bankrupt after getting their asses kicked by Hyperion in sales ever since their failures on Pandora. If you think that's some cover up by the company go and ask the thousands of employees laid off by ATLAS. Or even better, ask the corporate heads who sold the company off to Hyperion for chump change. Maybe you want to ask some of the bucket heads here how they feel about being abandoned by ATLAS due to the cost of flying them off?"

 

"Point is ATLAS is old news, Hyperion is the big shot now and the loss of Jack won't change that one bit. But if there is some super duper secret ATLAS project or whatever that  they can miraculously fund hidden somewhere in satan's asshole go ahead and prove it. You know what fuck it, the two bounties can wait, lets go check out this place of yours and mop up whatever these idiots can muster with the remnant of their strength. Finding this place is more realistic then finding an ATLAS gun for sale at a vendor." Whitetip had boldly ranted before he got up and ignored the stallion's offer of aid. Grabbing the bag holding Dusk Rose's new gear he had walked up to her and tossed the bag to her hooves. This stallion had gotten Whitetip curiousity and pumped it up full of air, at this rate he had felt that he needed to find out the stupid motherfucker who thought that he could do this under Hyperion's nose, doing so would probably net more money than the bounties anyway.

[Light of Night 332]

@@Ranger22,@@Randimaxis, 

 

Who or what was Satan?  Well anyways, Dusk Rose had taken out her journal, pretending to read the coded text as she listened in on the conversation.  And goodness gracious, what a conversation!  She had expected them to be negotiating some sort of deal and for the most part she was right, but it was more than that.  Some sort of underground plot by a company gone belly-up?  And whoever this unsound individual was obviously had a grudge.  

 

She had begun to suspect something, that one of the possibilities she had previously discarded might just be true after all.  Still though, she kept listening, still trying to maintain that exhausted look.  She tensed at Whitetip saying that he was going to help him out, and even more so when a bag was tossed her direction.

 

In a quiet voice like she had just witnessed an unexpectedly gory scene on some show,"...Well then."

[Randimaxis 8,636]

Oooooh... touchy, touchy.  Apparently someone had their feathers in a twist.

 

Good.  Glad to see it wasn't ME, for once.

 

And all that stuff about Hyperion?  Only leads me to believe he was an investor, or an employee.  Either way, I didn't have any beef with Hype, so I wasn't worried... but I stored that little nugget away for later, just in case.

 

With a sigh, I got up from the stool.  "I guess you just won't believe me 'til you see it for yourself, hunh?  Fine by me - you're a big boy, and you can make your own decisions... no matter how bad they are."

 

I didn't exactly relish the thought of returning to that place with only one merc for support - corporate or not - but it was either this, or the birdbrain would probably bluster my business all over this damned rusthole.  Figure it'd simply be easier to let him see the truth.

 

Besides, it would help me gauge how much they've beefed up their defenses since my escape if he stumbled across a turret or four in his anger.  Yeah, I hoped he wouldn't get killed - but if he just tried to storm into the place, I wasn't about to risk my own neck for him.

 

Making my way outside, I turned to him and gave him disapproving look #918.

 

"Just you and I?  Really?  We're looking at turret batteries, mechanized security and a WHOLE LOT of scientifically-equipped brainiacs... you don't think an extra hoof or two might be of some assistance here?"

 

I REALLY began to hope he wasn't an idiot too.

[Ranger22 179]

Whitetip clicked his tongue in annoyance, he had found the whole situation itself quite ridiculous. Not only was this group claiming to be ATLAS, they were doing so with Hyperion around the corner. It wasn't that the company was working under Hyperion, they in their entirety was bought out, assets and all. Taking assets from Hyperion was a quick ticket to a knuckle supper made of metal and lasers. Logically this group shouldn't exist and that frustrated the griffon more than it had made him legitimately angry, if Hyperion weren't gonna do it Whitetip would. The griffon had placed his hand on Dusk's shoulder, "change of plans, we're wiping out a research facility, got you some nice pieces for just this scenario, not that I had planned it. Meet me outside when you're equipped." With that said and done Whitetip had followed the stallion outside of MOXXI'S and heard his explanation of the what he and Rose might face in ATLAS' little hole.

 

"Not just you and I, we got one more to bolster our numbers, she may not look like it but she's quick on her hooves. Your worry is also understandable, but I assure you my skills are genuine, if I'm not as good as I sound feel free to loot my corpse." Whitetip had quickly assured the stallion in a sarcastic tone, Whitetip wasn't particularly impressed from what he heard. Not the first time he had took on a maximum security corporate facility, he'll have to see if the opposition could measure up to high end corporate money. "If you got the location just lead the way," Whitetip had said as he digistructed his dahl rifle and began inspecting it.

[Light of Night 332]

Dusk Rose acknowledged Whitetip with a nod before going somewhere out of sight.  Looking the armor over, she thought to herself that she had to find an opportunity to thank the griffin for this easy-to-hide-under-a-shirt armor.  She didn't have any issue with taking off her vest and shirt in a bar to get into the armor, being a middle-class pony and all.  She just had an unassuming appearance to maintain.

 

She wasted no time in getting the armor on.  To her delight, it was pretty easy to slip on.  It wasn't exactly form-fitting, but she figured she could live with that as long as it fit under her shirt and vest.  She briefly inspected the pistol, seeing the corrosive rounds.  Perhaps that mechanized security will be a goner if she fails to sabotage it.  Dusk made a mental note to save the rounds as she stashed it away in her bag, in a place where it was easy to levitate out in a flash.

 

Then she saw the submachine gun.  It, to put it nicely, wasn't what she had in mind when she specified "something light and hard to notice".  Sensing she had to hurry, she just slung it over herself and quickly got out of the bar under the cloak of her invisibility spell.

 

@@Ranger22,@@Randimaxis,

 

When she reappeared it was a ways away from the pair in the shadows, but behind Whitetip (she had a feeling the other one would quickly end her if she approached from behind him).  From all appearances, it was as though she had taken a side-door exit out of the place, if there was one.   

 

"Greetings," she said, regarding the both of them like familiar acquaintances.  "I hope I didn't take long?"

[Hazard Time 1,127]

"BUH'AH 'OOVES!"

 

All available ears in the New Haven plaza turned towards the entrance to the sound, where stood a dijon pegasus mare decked out in a light combat vest.  Her tan mane was rolled into a bun on the back of her head, light green streaks visible.  Her tail, on the other hand, was braided.  The freckles on her cheeks made her seem innocuous, but the determined look in her olive eyes, similar in color to the Dahl assault rifle at her side, painted a different picture.

 

The crowd of bystanders regarded her for a moment before returning to what they were doing.  This did not go over well with the pegasus.

 

"I said, BUH'AH 'OOVES!" she called out.  "Show yaself, you bloody tossah!"

 

This time, at least one pony in the crowd reacted.  "What'd she say?"

 

"Oh, for-..." She growled as she tried once more, her cheeks growing red with embarrassment.  "BUH.  TAH.  HOOVES!"

 

"Finally, you speak a language I understand!"  A lithe, dark unicorn steps out from the crowd, regarding her with a crazed expression.  "Who sent ya?"

 

The pegasus returned his shifty eyed glare with a cocky sneer.  "Dead 'oof.  Said you stole 'is most prized possession, and I'm 'ere to tike it and you back to 'is bise."

 

"Never!" he cried out.  "They're mine!  Mine!!  I stole it fair and square!  Tell him he'll never see his prized collection of Moxxi pictures ever again!"

 

The mare opened her mouth to speak, then closed it.  "ANYway," she began, suddenly raising her rifle.  "'ooves at your sides and fice on the ground!"

 

"Never!" the thief once more decried.  "You'll never take me alive!  You'll never find me, either, not after I've TELEPORTED!"  The stallion's horn suddenly lit up as he prepared to cast his teleportation spell.

 

Instead, the pegasus mare extended her wings and bathed the area in a bright flash.  The unicorn's horn suddenly dimmed, and a pegasus that had been sitting on a cloud nearby suddenly fell through it and landed atop an earth pony watching the event.

 

The thief stood their, stunned, and looked up at his now sparking horn.  "What the skag su-"  His words were interrupted by a hoof to the cheek that sent him sprawling.  In a matter of seconds, the pegasus mare was upon him, binding his hooves together and placing a magic-inhibiting ring upon his horn.

 

"Cheers, love," she panted, resting her hoof on his back.  "Mide it real bright and breezy for me."

 

BRONZE BULWARK

(Subtitles not included)

Edited November 5, 2016 by Hazard Time

[genessee 535]

Lance gaped at now-floored thief. He had never saw somepony not get away with a teleportation spell. Sure, it was a cheap way to keep from your face getting beat in, but it always worked. And from the look on the crook's face before he had been attacked made it clear that he didn't know what was going on either. Lance wanted to speak up and ask how that spell didn't work, but instead he sputtered and coughed. A few eyes gazed towards him, but most of the ponies nearby were in a state of shock. He then took a sip of his mug of water and attempted to make it seem like he hadn't made a fool of himself.  Lance wasn't a fighter, and making yourself look like an idiot could make you easy bait for robbery or worse. Luckily, Lance knew his way around, and he usually just and let the attacker take whatever Lance had forgotten to run away with. Back to the current situation, Lance reminded himself silently. He was interested to see how this pony would treat themself after beating up a lowly thug. Most ponies he had seen usually got cocky (and later, got themselves killed) after winning a fight. Lance decided that he would follow this one. Just keep out of sight, and if they see you, do what you do best: run away. Plus, Lance had questions. Who was 'Dead Oof'? What base? Also, who was that unicorn that the mare had just beat to a pulp? Lance chuckled at the thought that he was going to follow an armed stranger. Lance attempted to slick back his dark mane, failed, continued trying, gave up, and waited for the.. mercenary? To leave so he could begin his adventure. Or death trip. He wasn't sure which.

Edited November 5, 2016 by genessee

[Ranger22 179]

The griffon had heard the footsteps(hoof steps?) from behind him as he awaited Dusk Rose. With a sense of confidence he had felt that it was the mare approaching from behind him. With her statement following his own the griffon had been proven correct. "Not at all, it takes a bit to slip on a plate so your timing was quite adequate. Edgelord meet gumshoe and gumshoe meet edgelord. According to our black horse that may or may not be from a cherry tree we'll have to be quite the musketeers to make it out of this one without a scratch. I have confidence that with our skills combined we'll prove triumphant in this little mission." With his statement out of the way the griffon did a double check on his munitions and firearms quality.

 

NOVA grenades, slag pistol, rocket launcher, and dahl rifle were all well loaded and ready for a firefight. The griffon had some idea of what he'd have to face but like any mission there were many uncertainties. Especially a mission the griffon had suddenly taken without hesitation or background knowledge, which funny enough was fairly common for the griffon. Jobs like these were mostly taken to satiate curiosity or for fun, something Whitetip often sought out in order to add some diversity to the monotony of his job.

[Randimaxis 8,636]

So, a griffon and a mare - this was getting comical, at least in my opinion.  Still, there was a chance the security would focus enough on the two of them to allow me to slip inside, so maybe this wouldn't be as fruitless as I first thought.  I sighed and gave my ECHO device a gentle slap on the left side; I'd replace it, but then I'd have to adjust myself to the quirks of a new one... better to know your own flaws than to try to start over and have to find new ones, right?

 

At any rate, I checked over the coordinates, then set the waypoint for where I knew to be a relatively 'safe' place to start from - the western wall, where I'd gotten out before.  Chances were, they'd sealed the hole... but the crags in the rock near that area would be ideal for getting a good view of what it looked like now.  I also took the chance to get a sidelong look at the new addition.  She was cute, sure... not that it would stop a chain gun, but nice scenery was nice.  

 

And truth be told, it did feel nice to be in the presence of others again; my silent partner was more or less a part of me, so having actual separate entities nearby almost made me feel like I was accepted.

 

Almost - I wasn't stupid, either; first chance they got, they'd probably ditch the creepy strap-horse like a busted runner at a Catch-A-Ride station.

 

"Fine.  This way, then."

 

By now, it was kindly obvious that the griffon was determined to get his claws into this.  The mare?  No telling - but I guess I'd find out soon enough if she was tons of useful... or dead weight.  Emphasis on the 'dead', if the other abominations got hold of her.

 

The thing inside me stirred a bit; it knew where we were headed, and it apparently didn't have much confidence in our backup.  Truth be told, neither did I.  But I was also willing to admit I could be wrong; maybe they were both absolute badasses, and they'd go in blasting, smash through the entire complex, lay to waste anything they came across, putting an end to ATLUS' presence on this dirtrock once and for all...

 

It actually took some effort not to laugh out loud at that one.

 

I started trotting my way towards the edge of town, fully expecting one of them to ask if we could get our hooves/claws on a runner for the journey - which, as those things made far too much noise, would be a 'no'... and I'd probably have to watch as they 'asserted their authority' and demanded we catch a ride anyway.

 

Y'know, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I'd gotten REALLY jaded over the years; maybe I wasn't giving them a fair shake?  Maybe I wasn't even giving them the respect they were due, and perhaps they could even end up becoming friends, given enough time and effort?  Maybe they might actually LIKE me, if I stopped being the wangsty bastard I'd turned into over the years?

 

Shyeah, right - and monkeys might fly out of my butt.

 

I made my way towards the front gates, waiting to hear 'stop - let's drive there' at any moment now...

[Light of Night 332]

@@Ranger22,@@Randimaxis,

 

Dusk Rose wished for a better nickname than "Gumshoe".  And "Edgelord", seriously?  Did he get that nickname from Whitetip after spilling out his tragic backstory after trying to appear dark and intimidating?  She of course didn't figure that was exactly the case, but she had to allow herself some humor after hearing how high-risk of a thing this was.  Gunning down folks who tried to kill her?  Slowly but surely becoming a regular thing, despite her efforts to avoid and defuse conflict.  Breaking into secure places?  That was part of her day-job even before coming here.  Gunning down folks while breaking into a secure place, both of which want to kill her, alongside mercenaries she just met and don't quite trust?  Now that right there was going to be interesting.

 

Inspecting the sub-machine gun, she put aside her feeling of exposure to focus on what she might do.  She was confident enough in her knowledge and past experience that she wouldn't mind going ahead and scouting out the area.  She had a nagging suspicion that she had to put to rest, so she had to keep an eye out for important-looking documents, especially lists of folks working for this new ATLAS.  She had to admit to herself that it was quite the irony, the private detective who sleuthed for thieves for a living becoming the thief.

 

Then she remembered who she was with.  The love child of a griffin and an army's arsenal, and a mummy with goggles and a less than stellar attitude, both of whom definitely had goals of their own and probably had a plan that involved using an unassuming civilian like herself as a meat shield.

 

Then again, "If you have a location" didn't sound like much of a plan.  Plus, from the sounds of it, Mummy had something to do with it.

 

It took a few seconds to speak up.  "Have you any sort of plan for this?"

Edited November 15, 2016 by Light of Night

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@@genessee

 

Once she was secure that the restraints were on tight, she grabbed the remaining length of rope between her teeth and began dragging the unicorn off.

 

"Don't just stand there, save me!" he yelled out desperately to the crowd, but his cries seemed to fall on deaf ears.  Even more desperate, he turned his attention to his captor.  "Please, lady!  I'm beggin' ya!  I'll give ya the pictures, every last one of 'em, if ya let me go!"  When the pegasus mare seemed to ignore his pleas, he continued.  "Do you know what Dead Hoof'll do to me?  Have mercy on a poor down on his luck co-"  His last words were cut off as the mare dug a hoof into the dust and kicked it back in his face, causing him to sputter and cough.

 

Once outside the settlement, a dijon runner came into view.  The rope still gripped in her teeth, the pegasus clambered up onto the vehicle and lifted the unicorn up until he rested on the back bumper.  She quickly secured him to one of the railings, checked to make that it was stable, and immediately hopped off, continuing to ignore further pleas from her captive.  Before hopping in the driver's seat, however, she turned around and scanned about her.  

 

Was she being followed?  She hoped not.  This job was bad enough, she didn't want to have to kill some poor bastard who wanted to be a hero.

[Ranger22 179]

"Of course we have a plan ya little rascal, we follow whatever advice our friend has over here and fill whatever gets in our way with bullets and shrapnel. From what he'd describe I'd say almost almost every room is filled with turrets, cyborgs, and anything out of a science fiction horror! Truth be told I have no knowledge of this facilities layout or defenses, so I'm just gonna follow the stallion's lead and be prepared for anything. Bad plan, but a hasty mission like this is always badly planned, for me anyways." The griffon had said to Rose as he followed the stallion to the outer edges of New Haven. Suddenly, a notification had popped up on Whitetip's HUD, notifying him of the bases coordinates. It was a bit on the far side but it was nothing compared to the treks he had to face when he served under Dahl.

 

"I usually fly to get to places so I don't have a vehicle, does anyone have a ride or am I gonna have to carry two ponies?"  The griffon had asked after they got close to the gates of New Haven. The griffon could totally carry his to companions and their gear to their waypoint with a bit of a hassle but if he could avoid it he would. It was the quickest way but if his companions wanted to walking would have kept things simple, if not a bit on the lengthier side. "Or we could walk, a lovely little stroll just the three of us."

[genessee 535]

@Hazard Time

 

Lance had just begun to come to his senses when the Unicorn got yet another round of pain. This time he seemed to be begging for forgiveness until the mercenary ('I think she's a mercenary, at least...' Lance guessed.) kicked dirt into in eyes and mouth. Poor guy, he couldn't have done whatever to deserve this. Lance realized that the Unicorn was preparing to leave, so he paid for his stale bread and went on his way. The bread was super stale, I think I chipped a tooth while eating it... He looked up just in time to see her hopping on a.. vehicle of some sort. I don't really know vehicles, I tend to walk everywhere. Lance examined the vehicle, and then noticed the Unicorn shoved in the back. Wow, he must've done something really nasty to piss off someone this badly. Lance was about to venture closer when the Unicorn peeked her head out. Lance panicked and dove back into New Haven, just in the nick of time. As the vehicle began to leave, something hit Lance. I can't keep up with that! How am I supposed to follow her?.. Lance then noticed a large tricycle nearby, abandoned. You've got to be kidding me. After a short time of hesitation, Lance knew what he had to do and hopped onto the pink tricycle. I have no idea why this would even be here... He noticed a note on the handlebars saying: Tricycle Rentals, 10$ per hour. Lance grumbled and began to bike towards the slowly moving vehicle. I can catch onto the back if I can ride close enough before it gets faster, and if my common sense doesn't kick in and tell me how stupid I am for doing this... The tricycle pedaled closer and closer until the back was almost directly in front of it.Yes... Almost... Have it...  He got hold of the rear bumper and climbed from the tricycle to the moving vehicle. To Lance's horror, the tricycle's back wheel broke just as he had climbed off of it, and made a loud SQUEEEAK! noise before collapsing into itself. I hope nobody heard that...

Edited November 21, 2016 by genessee

[FancyHorse 1,208]

Above near the orbit of Pandora awaits a recon corvette just near the planet's horizon. Looking down to the desolate waste world below. Maliwan business perhaps, but this wasn't this corvette's intentions. Awaiting inside its drop passenger awaited for his final destination. Fallskir watched from his pod window as he observed the planetscape.

"Life support system seems secure. Tether rig is good for launch." The commander called to his ECHO device.

 

"Gotta let you know, Corporate wont like this knowing I'm outta my jurisdiction range." He added.

"Tell em to bill me." Fallskir replied.

 

With a tap on his digital account pulled up he completed the money transfer to his divded family members. He would surely get some worried recordings from them. But he felt a good one on this hunt. He was gonna make some big cash for this visit. Plenty goonies on the ground all just ripe with bounties on their heads.

 

With the listing of bounites appearing he gave a happy toothy grin.

 

"Setting your coordinates near Haven city. Closest settlement from this locale. Fall you dont have to jump. Pandora's just a death trap. Those Vault hearings are just myths." The commander spoke up.

 

"That's the least of my concern. There's a planet full of pyschopaths down their and fresh to be taken. I can make just as big a fortune hunting their heads. Hopefully a good challenge." The canine replied flipping his hood up.

 

"Pressurizing. I'm heading planet side."He said. And with that he closed the hatch to his drop pod.

 

With the Tether looseing it descended his pod into the vaccum of space and firing off its thruster following planet orbit.

 

It was do or die now.

 

Give me a challenge Pandora.

[Randimaxis 8,636]

"We WALK... because we can stay stealthy that way.  Longer it takes them to know we're coming, better chance to stay alive we got."

 

I started with a single step forward down the waypointed path I saw on my ECHO; it'd be a few hours, but the stealth it would grant us would be worth it.  Plus, it wasn't like I had to worry about sunburn - I had enough of my own, thanks much.

 

"Okay, you kids want a story, hunh?  Fine - here's one for ya... it's called, 'ATLUS Shrugged', and it's told by ME."

 

I kept stepping until I was sure we were out of the earshot of the chatterboxes in town behind us.

 

"I used to be a researcher for 'em, a few years back.  Paid good.  Then they brought me in on their new little project, where they'd been doing some wonky crap with a lot of those damned crystals that folks had started seeing pop up on this dirtball.  They made a bunch of high-grade stuff with 'em, but they'd been trying to see what they could do on a 'personal scale basis', as they called it."

 

I felt the thing under my skin wriggle; it knew this story well.

 

"So we got sent in to play with this shard of stuff they'd pressed together.  Well... it was friggin' alive, and it came out as black smoke that completely liquefied the rest of the research team.  Then it turned on me... but it didn't kill me.  Don't know why; it just didn't.  It set up shop inside me, and that's where it still is."

 

My silent partner almost felt like it was smiling from inside of me.

 

"But ATLUS decided I was special - and not little yellow shuttle special, either - so they kept me in a cell for a year, poking and prodding and doing all sorts of horrible things, yada yada, woe is me, blah blah blah..."

 

They wouldn't give a damn anyway; no need to go into fine details.

 

"The lab, it was what ATLUS left behind here so that when the other corps made any discoveries, they'd still have at least something here to work with... turned out, the head techie there had enough credits to keep the place running under wraps.  So he did, and upped the ante on what they could get away with."

 

I tried to give 'em a glance that told them how serious I was - but it's REALLY hard to relay emotion when you're covered from mane to tail in straps and such.

 

"Badass raiders?  They're children compared to the ATLUS elites they've got there.  I saw 'em myself, and they were big enough to eat a runner whole - and burp up the tires, if they damn well felt like it.  Those bastards have got an entire army down there, just waiting for either the word from the home office to come home... or orders from Doc Skinner to start razing towns."

 

I kept my pace, and did my best to try explaining what we were up against here.

 

"The turrets are juiced-up, the security drones all have attachments and cyber on 'em, and the scientists themselves are half-mad with free reign over their projects; when I got out, it was a fluke combined with a run of luck like I've never seen before that got me out of there... and believe me, I might be handy with a weapon, but I wasn't about to trawl back in there without some help."

 

I looked back at them again.  "No offense, but I was hoping for something more that two mercs... but I guess it'll have to do."

 

"Just keep in mind: chances are, they'd be just as gung-ho to capture you as much as kill you - they haven't had any new flesh to play with in years, I'd figure - and you'd likely end up just as messed-up as I am..."

 

I gave a rueful chuckle.  "If you're LUCKY."

 

That said, I waited to see what the mouthy griffon had to say... or maybe even the mare would say something, who knew?  Either way, I had done my part and warned them; their call as to whether it was enough or not.

[Ranger22 179]

The clothed stallion's information dump was to say the least very informative. It gave the mercenary a fairly descriptive list of what the three  would face inside the research facility. Truth be told the thought of giant cybernetic monstrosities and advanced weaponry would have made the griffon think twice, if it weren't for the fact that he not only fought such freaks of nature but also worked with those who employ them, a la Hyperion corporation and Tediore. But there were a few parts of the stallion's dialogue that had caught the griffon's curiousity. For example, if they were to assault the facility and destroy it why bother with stealth? The initial advantage of an unexpected assault would quickly wither away the deeper the team went down with automated security also in mind. Also, if the freaks were as secluded/paranoid and technologically advanced as they were why wouldn't they be able to track individuals on foot? Even if they couldn't one would assume they would have a good defense set up for just that reason alone, why bother walking and go save time?

 

In the end those were just minor gripes the griffon had and were more personal preference than any in depth tactical thinking on his part. But, the griffon felt a small sense of relief knowing he had weapons for the enemies he'd have to face. However, he wasn't so sure on how long dusk Rose could last considering her lack of any heavy protection. Skill would trump any of his worries, the merc would just have to have fate. Not wanting to ruin a possibly genius plan on the stallion's part the griffon simply kept quiet about the matter entirely. Instead, just finding ways to past the time like he used to back  while serving under Dahl. "Alright, walking it is.........how old are you anyway?" The griffon asked the stallion, with the thought of his earlier "kid" phrase during his info dump.

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@@genessee

 

Above the loud roar of the engine, Bronze heard nothing.  Instead, she was caught thinking about this deal.  Would Dead Hoof keep up his end of the bargain?  Bring me that bastard's hooves and your debt's gone, he said.  Still...she couldn't help but look up at those hooves mounted on his wall...or the way he was eyeing hers the same way she used to eye a good plate of cheesy fries.

 

Did they have cheesy fries on this planet?  Well, probably, but she was referring more to ones that weren't likely to send her scrambling for the nearest loo.

 

Eventually, the ride through the arid badlands came to a slow stop at the entrance of a large, hobbled together fortress.  She put the runner in park and stepped out.

[Light of Night 332]

@@Ranger22,@@Randimaxis,  

 

"RASCAL?!" is what Dusk Rose would've shouted if she had way less restraint.  Instead, she briefly raised an eyebrow, sighed, and followed after the two.  Thinking about her overarching mission on this Celestia-cursed planet was very tempting, but she instead focused on the conversation occurring next to her, knowing how many accidents she got into already trying to mentally juggle everything.  Didn't help that she was crap at the literal thing, not that taking art commissions, doing detective work, and being an all-around introverted bookworm left her much time for such things.

 

Which, of course, made her question several times why she would agree to go with two armed strangers into a high-security place.  And as always, the answer was simple; information, nagging suspicions, and the simple fact that she essentially passed up a good amount of durability for speed and stealth.

 

And with this new information, she felt she now had some idea what was the cause of that uneasy aura she felt from Mr. Mummy, and confident that she was correct about him holding some sort of grudge.  No wonder he's all around unpleasant.  More importantly, she now knew for certain that everything she had taken up this task to do, she best get it done fast as lightning, preferably without the folks inside noticing what she had done until they're long gone.  In an alive sort of way, that is.

 

So then, she simply hung to the side, planning to ask the necessary questions when it's polite to do so.  They had a long ways to go, after all.  Plenty of time to ask and, in the meantime, observe.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Light of Night

[genessee 535]

@@Hazard Time

 

For a couple minutes after Lance was able to get onto the back of the vehicle [Lance was becoming annoyed at calling this thing 'the vehicle', so he decided to settle on calling it a buggy, because that's what he thought it resembled in his mind] his heart was racing, and he was sure the driver had heard him. She's just waiting for when I let my guard down, then she's probably going to step out and kill me or something, or I'll end up like that pony in the back. That's when another horrifying thought hit him: maybe the thief had heard him. I bet he's going to rat me out so he can escape or something. Oh, Lance. You're such an IDIOT. He almost facehoofed, but was too afraid to make any noise whatsoever. Even breathing made him nervous. Thought after unnerving thought came and passed, and a few problems with his plan arose. What happens if there's bumpy road? Lance tightened his grip on the back of the buggy. What happens if someone drives behind the buggy and sees me? Lance just about climbed inside, but noted that he wouldn't want to be alone with the prisoner. He'd probably either find a way to kill me or keep me pinned until the ride's over, resulting in... kidnapping? Murder? Murdering me then kidnapping my body? Lance shuddered. Keep it together, that's nonsense. After some more miles [Lance thought so, he couldn't be sure] through the badlands, the truck came to a stop. Then, Lance's mind went into overdrive. Out of this, one thought stood out. She's gonna come to the back to take out her prisoner, and you're right there. I'm so, so, so so dead. Very, very dead, in fact. Lance began to panic further. I'm trapped! If I try to run, she'll see me and kill me probably, and if I stay she'll see me and kill me probably. Lance then saw that he could dive under the buggy. He dove under it in a heartbeat. It's a fat chance, but maybe nobody will see me. Oh, Lance. What have you gotten yourself into?..

[FancyHorse 1,208]

"Alright. Firing first correction thrust." Fallskir taps on the small controls with his left hand his pod compensating and correcting its course to align with his original course. But with sudden abruptness a warning alarm blares. Viewing the console it seems to be a problem with the retro thrusters with a failed temperature sensor. 

He was now off course away from Haven. 

 

Taking manual control he fired the thrusts with the stick guide. He burned for several seconds now entering into the lower atmosphere leaving a burning streak high into the air. His presence would be seen and maybe attract attention. 

 

With loud repeating beeps his pod activated the air brakes. At least that worked. 

 

With quick consecutive blares it rang into his ears until with a loud crash he was planetside. After compossing himself from the exposure of G's he sits himself up letting out a loud groan. He need a pain reliever. No- he just needs a good kill.

 

With his pod door hissing loudly it pops off crashing into the dirt floor exposing him to the bright sunlight. 

 

He took a long sniff- it smelt.... like shit. Quite literally. Looking around his surroundings- oh hey look at that. He landed right near someponies outhouse. 

And as though by cue stepping out an old slobbery stallion exits his steel enforced trailer compartment. He looks about lazeliy with his derping expression. He spits at the ground.

"You're one of them corporate boys?" He mutters unamusingly. 

 

Fallskir scoffed and stepped down tapping at the hatch side. Opened up, he retrieves his Umbra Pistol and Phobia Fire SMG. Examining his ECAT device on his arm it looked functional at the least. But it's charge wasn't ready he'll have to wait. Next he-

 

"You gonna fix my sewage tank right?" He was interupted. Giving his unchanging frown he reaches to his side extending his friction locked baton in hand with sparking arches of electricty emitting. The stallion looks to it, then back to the canine.

 

"I'll just... go." Turning around the bumbling bum turns back into his trailer. Fallskir gave a smirk and put away his baton. 

 

ECHO up, he looked to his map and noted his distance to Haven. Not too long a walk. With his Phobia at ready he took into a dashing sprint making his way toward the settlement along down the small trail away from the bumbling bum and onward. 

[Your Nightly Spectre 1,061]

Some time had passed, an hour, two, three, five? But certainly Nightlight felt like it was eternity as he came out of the doctors office, tipping his head lightly and faking having a hat, moving his hoof around as he was a bit better now. Leg more fixed up he still had some sort of device attached to it to support his walk in order not to fracture it further. He was still at light disbelief at the amazing work, no matter how painful it was, having been sure he was gonna have to lose the leg.

 

But, not having given up, rifle by his side the stallion looked around, scanning the area, only a single other stallion on the street next to him, the pony wearing some sort of cloak and big hat, covered from head to toe with ammo. Smirking then Nightlight nodded a hello to the stallion before suddenly pulling out his sidearm from his side, and a second later fired, landing a loud shot right between the ponies eyes, creating a big hole that came out the other side as he twitched before just falling down into a mess of blood and brains and broken skull.

 

Walking over to him the winning stallion nudged him with his hoof to make sure he was dead, his scan of the character finishing. "You thought you could just wait until I came out.. maybe get my trust or maybe just shoot me after you were sure it was me... but guess what you poor bugger. " He nudged him one more time, and horn lighting up emptied his pockets and some of the ammo around him, aswell as taking the ponies side arm... Maybe to an outsider this was just a random kill, but Nightlight looking down at the pony sighed. "Shame I'm connected to the Hyperion systems... and that they keep nice records on who is hunting who around this planet, especially with important targets like me... and I knew what you were gonna do even before you were gonna do it.."

 

Normally, talking to himself or dead ponies was not a thing he did, but something ran over him as he thought of his two companions, realizing they must have been under cover now... most probably safe or the systems would have shown the bounty as complete.

 

However, having had plenty of time to think on the operation table, the stallion had a heavy feeling of guilt in his chest as he sheathed his gun and walked away from the stallion... "See there, stud... You know what a pony does when his friends are out of reach and you are seperated and surrounded by enemies?" He continued walking away until he found himself on one of the main streets, continueing scanning the area. 

 

"...You do anything you can do reunite with your group safely... Or you die trying... and the fun thing is..."

 

"...I think I'm turning mad, talking to myself and seeming to narrate my own story... However I know one thing for certain, If they're coming for me, then I will gladly return the favor. "

 

Finishing his scan then he got the basic locations and information of all the bounty hunters in Haven who were on him, collecting up the data he knew and prioritizing, and figuring he'd start with the drone that was trying to get him, trajectorizing where it used to be and where it flew and then aiming to go towards the bar he figured the pony would have resided in after the mission...

[BloodDrops 762]

Blood Drops continued to sniff around the entrance of the fortress, just out of visual range of the  patrols. she had been lucky. A whole leg to herself, still rather fresh as well. Her ears twitched as she heard the approach of a engine. She turned around and blinked as the vehicle got closer, she began trotting away from the entrance, the leg continued to bleed leading a trail right to her location. She didn't want to get discovered after all, but she wasn't that smart being a Zombie Pony. When she was covered did she turn her attention back to the vehicle, a mare had stepped out, she blinked. Maybe she had brought her some more food, She liked food. She took a nibble on the leg, Food.

 

She glanced at the riffle on her back, maybe she could hunt for her meal, her nose twitched as she detected three ponies. Too many for her, besides the ponies inside the fortress would know of her, and then she would have to leave. She began sniffing the air again, detecting the ponies nearby.One was scared and slightly hurt, probably a 'meal on legs'. Something she called the prisoners, she normally ate them after a few days or a week at most. The mare who's was some sort of hunter, definitely not a 'meal on legs'. A stallion who didn't seem to be inside the vehicle but under it, she would classify him as a 'potential meal on legs'. 

 

She watched the scene unfold, while eating her scavenged leg. 

[genessee 535]

@@BloodDrops

 

As Lance waited for his doom, he noticed another mare staggering nearby. What would a mare like her be doing out here, no armor, not weapons... To his horror, Lance noticed a severed leg bleeding from the mare's drooling mouth. Oh. A cannibal. Gee, what a great addition to my day. Not only will I be killed by the mare with the gun, my corpse will be eaten by a cannibal. The cannibalistic mare settled down nearby, similar to a vulture waiting for roadkill. On second thought, she resembles a zombie more than a human cannibal... Lance shuddered. Great. Just great.

Edited November 25, 2016 by genessee