private FoE: Tale of Two Wastelanders (1x1 w/ Raven Rawne)

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@Dark Horse

"Only one way to find out..." - the burgundy mare commented and stepped to the cabinet in order to hold it still. She looked over her shoulder,  expecting her companion would pull immediately, but apparently, he needed to focus first. Soon enough,  the handle lit with magical light and there was a steadily growing pressure yanking it open. As if expecting something,  Crystal hid her face and turned as much with her back to the lock as she could, and waited for the telltale sounds.

As the lock gave away and the cabinet become ajar, Crystal let out a breath she was holding. When Saffron asked if she was injured in any way, she shook her head. "Nah, I'm a professional." Since the stallion beat her to be the first one to open the cabinet, the mare tried her best to peek over his shoulders. Not the easiest task since he was a bit taller, but she saw a big antenna like device and heard it was still online, based on the humming found it gave. Finally she decided to win some space by brushing against his side as she took a spot next to him and opened the other half of the doors fully. Now both were standing side to side and seeing the same thing.

Never an afficionado of Pre-War tech, Crystal looked the device over but haven't had any ideas on what to do with it really. It sure was worth caps,  but, considering what it was, maybe selling pieces would be better... Before she could indulge in this train of thought however, Saffron Shadow pointed out a fairly disturbing piece of info, glaring at them from the terminal screen. "Fair point..." - She started, raising an eyebrow. Maybe this thing will tell us more? It's a control beacon after all."

Without really waiting for confirmation, Crystal Clear tapped the keyboard to open the list of linked units. The device beeped as it processed the command,  and gave them a list:

5149

9874

3451

9001

"Huh, not much to go around. Probably serial numbers." She then entered the first one and  had to wipe her eyes in disbelief. "I don't understand over half of this gibberish, and I went to school okay? So dies it mean that the device is hooked to something that is alive, just... sleeps, and, I don't know what those mean, but I don't think ponies count as non-sapient. Saffron, you read this the same?  I don't know how a front line technician was supposed to even get this wall of text, but there should be some commands too, right? Maybe we could order one unit to come to us, see what happens. Other than that,  my only idea is to take the talisman and try to sneak out or something."

[Dark Horse 12,799]

@Raven Rawne

Saffron was still gazing absent-mindedly at the antenna, when he felt Crystal brushing up against him, obviously trying to get a better view for herself. The stallion didn't immediately react to her sudden presence beside him, as if waiting for her to say something first, but the burgundy mare remained silent as she too analysed the control unit.

"Maybe, but I wouldn't be so quick to mess with--" Saffron began in response to her guesswork, but before he could finish, the burgundy mare was already reaching out and tapped a few keys on the unit. It began to beep and whirr, and Saffron instinctively grabbed her hoof back as though expecting it to shock her! It was only then that he really registered how closely the two had been standing. For a moment, he just stared at her, before taking an awkward step away, his eyes becoming fixed to a spot on the floor.

The antenna screen beeped again, and now displayed a list of 4 sets of numbers, presumably the serial codes of the devices that were in range, as Crystal herself assumed. She selected into the first unit, and the screen then displayed a mass of complex looking information. Clearly, his companion wasn't very fond of that.

"Not sure..." He replied, trying to make sense of the text before him. "I've tinkered with my share of old world tech, but this is completely new to me, and I doubt mind control operation was a subject back in Stable school." He could understand parts of it, but without any sort of context to go on, it might as well have been mostly gibberish. Crystal pointed out a few particulars: Subject: Level 2 Non-Sapient. Vital signs: Nominal. Brainwave status: Subjugated. Awaiting further commands ...

"Well, I think you're right about it not being attached to a Pony..." He said, tapping his chin. "I don't know what it means by 'level 2', but I'm guessing it's something not quite as intelligent? Hrm..." The stallion stepped closer, examining some more of the menu's. "I guess we could try a simple recall command? So long as we stay near the control unit at least, we should be okay..."

With a slight air of caution, Saffron entered the command for instructing the unit to return to their position, and hit the confirm. The display screen went blank for a moment as it processed the command, then the antenna let out a stream of screeching white noise that made his ears recoil slightly in pain. The display screen flashed: Command issued ...

For a moment, it seemed as though nothing was happening, though Saffron wasn't really sure what to expect. He was just about to suggest that they forget it and get out of there, when he heard a heavy splashing sound coming from outside one of the windows behind the Mayor's desk, followed by the creaking and snapping of what sounded like the wooden walkways. "The heck...?" Saffron's eyes darted to the window. He made his way over and slid it open, rather thankful to have a breath of at least somewhat fresh air from the stench of the corpse.

"Umm... Crystal?" The stallion said back to his companion, his eyes falling to a particular sight below. "You might want to come and see this."

On the catwalks bellow, making its way quickly towards the building they currently occupied, was another Mirelurk. Unlike the other Mirelurks that inhabited the area however, this one was clearly different. Primarily because, as Saffron could see, attached to its head was yet another one of the mind control units. Obviously the very one that they had just sent the command to.

It seemed they had just found out what "level 2 non-sapient" had meant.

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@Dark Horse

The mare surpressed a snort at the stallion's comment. "It was a very good school, but, yeah. We didn't really cover Pre-War mad science." She apparently withheld another remark when Saffron mulled about level two intelligence, and nodded when he suggested a recall. "Sure worth trying, as long as we stay alert for any malfunctions. Dumb or not,  whatever is hooked to this thing may not be friendly."

When the command was issued, she winced slightly at the noise from the antenna. Since nothing apparent happened,  Crystal decided to take a closer look at the device, see if there was a way to safely pull it apart for parts. She planned to do it anyway, so...

Crystal just glanced at Saffron as he moved away to the window,  and continued her noninvasive inspection until he called her over.  "Huh? What is it?" - she got up and approached the window, then couldn't believe her eyes. "Heart preserve us..."

After a moment of staring at the living tank making it's way to them, Crystal snapped out of it and shook herself thoroughly,  as if shaking off water. With some alarm in her voice, she called, already taking steps back to the console. "We have to cancel the command or it will break a hole in the entrance! You saw how it rammed the walkways?! We'll be easy pickings for the wild ones after that!" Hurriedly, the mare scrambled to the terminal and tried to reverse the command, but she wasn't as good with these things.

A loud thud announced that the mirelurk just started ramming a hole somewhere downstairs, and Crystal let go of the console to let Saffron do it. "Can't find the damn menu! Make it stop will ya?!"

Thankfully, the pounding ceased after another ear wrecking impulse from the device.  Crystal Clear patted the stallion on the shoulder and decided to take a swing from the bottle she left on the desk. "Friggin hate those gizmos... eugh! Worse liquor I had this month! But sure does it kick, oooh..." She stood and took in the feeling of alcohol spreading through her body, eyes closed. After a moment of indulgence, the mare sighed and returned her attention to her present company with a tiny smile. Her coat looked slightly better too. Less matte. "Sorry for the freak out. Seems we have four thugs at our disposal though. Care to look through the commands some more? Maybe we can use them to fight off their wild cousins? Or at least provide a distraction for us to vacate the premises,  heheh."

Edited August 4, 2017 by Raven Rawne

[Dark Horse 12,799]

@Raven Rawne

The two ponies continued to watch as the swamp-lurking creature darted at high speed around the walkways and towards the entrance of the building. It was only after several seconds of pondering this, that a worrying thought crossed Saffron's mind, and it seemed as though Crystal had thought very much the same!

"Shit..!" Saffron cursed as he double-backed to the console with her. How could he have been so stupid as to not consider that? He had no intention of becoming a Mirelurk's lunch.

Crystal frantically tried to find the menu for reversing the command, but she seemed to be having some difficulty. It wasn't long before they heard a heavy thud that made the walls shake, and Saffron darted across to the front windows to try and get a better view. Unfortunately, the office offered no clear view of the entrance from where they were. Not that it really mattered, as another big THUD! caused something to smash onto the office floor. That Mirelurk was trying with all its might to get through; no doubt the control crown would not let him stand down until the command was followed.

"Ugh! I don't know it any better than you do!" He yelled in a panicked voice to his companion as she stepped away from the console to let him have a go. "C'mon.. how hard can it be to find 'STOP'?"

Apparently, very hard indeed.

"Oh come on!! Why isn't there a way to reverse the command?!" Saffron growled at the console through gritted teeth. This was the most uselessly thought out operation he had ever had the unfortunate luck to come across. "I don't understand why they wouldn't have a way to abort. Maybe he just never got around to adding that option.." He pondered, right as another loud THUD! racketed across the building. Sturdy as it was, that wall wouldn't withstand that kind of constant force for long. In desperation, he opened up a menu containing another set of commands. If he was able to reverse it, then he'd just have to give it something else to do! "Uhh.. umm...!" He looked down the menu hurriedly, though another thud, followed by another in quick succession, told him to hurry the hay up.

"Assume attack position Beta-6!" He reiterated from the console, and slammed his hoof down onto the keypad to send the command. The antenna screeched another ear-curling noise. After a few, tense moments of listening, it seemed as though the thudding had stopped, and Saffron sat back, brushing his forehead with a hoof. Crystal gave him an assuring pat on the shoulder, then retreated back to the odd-liquor bottle they had left on the desk. She took a large swig and shuddered, to no surprise. That was some strong stuff.

"Mmm.. hmhm," Saffron chuckled as the Mare vocally expressed her disgust. "At least we seemed to have made it stop. No idea what I told it to do though.. I can't really see it from here. Oh well.. so long as it's not coming for us, I'm okay with that." The stallion stretched as he stood up again, releasing some of the tension from his body. Crystal meanwhile looked to have found her more calm demeanour within the bottle. She looked back at him with a slight smile, obviously enjoying the sensation, and seemed to appear more bright and cheery overall. How did she do that with her coat..?

"Ehh, it's understandable.." Saffron said, brushing off her apology. "This wasn't how I had envisioned my day going either. Still, it's not all bad. We uncovered a bit more than just an abandoned settlement, and even perhaps got some valuable loot out of it." He tilted his head back towards the control unit, where the Talisman still remained. "And speaking of uncovering, guess what else I came across while I was looking through those commands? One of them was for telling it to return to a set of coordinates, and I'm willing to bet my right hoof that those coordinates will lead us straight to the slaver base, where they took all of the other settlers! It didn't look like they were far from here. Wish we had a pip-buck we could download it to though..."

He looked back at Crystal, with a more serious look. "I know it sounds a little foolish.. there's probably a lot of slavers at that base. But... it makes me sick to my stomach that there's an entire settlement of ponies there being forced to do their bidding and potentially having their brains burned out by these crooked things. We just... we have to do something! Even if it's just checking it out. At least I know we tried." He gazed out the window, reflecting on his own words. Sounding like a naive and stupid idealist. He knew that the Wasteland had a way of dealing with Ponies who held too much hope. Crushing them. Forcing them to endure terrible burdens again and again until eventually they just gave up. He had seen it happen to a lot of ponies before...

Still, he thought to himself, if he just gave up here, left those Ponies to their fate whilst he had the chance, however small, to make things different, then he would really be no different than those who had already surrendered their hope. At least if he died, he would depart this wretched world knowing that he refused to be destroyed mentally by it.

His thoughts were distracted by the sound of a screech coming from outside the window. Opening it, Saffron peaked his head out, and he skipped a breath at what he saw: the mind-controlled Mirelurk was battling heavily with another, clashing its heavy claws against its shell while the wild Mirelurk returned in kind. Another wild Mirelurk was holding stance nearby, clicking its claws threateningly and with its attention fixed on the battle before it. It was like watching a bullfight..

"Well.." He expressed in disbelief as he pulled his head back into the window. "I guess that's... attack Beta-6?"

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@Dark Horse

The mare couldn't help but nod at the mention of the device they have found as loot. "If we find a screwdriver I can pull it apart,  extra caps for electronics." - she mused aloud.

She was about to look out the window but Saffron continued, and Crystal cocked her head inquisitively as his intention unravelled. "Are you...?" As the implications of the offer sank in, so did her alcohol assisted mood. She bit her lip and looked at her hooves,  suddenly very intriguing. Obviously mulling hard, she started pacing around, avoiding the stallion's eyes, until he darted to the window,  since something was going on there.

Perhaps out of instinct, Crystal Clear pulled out her gun and aimed it at the windows, then sighed as she relaxed a little.  A quick stroll to the nearest one and she knew what was going on. With a humorless voice, she said. "Pass the popcorn, we have the first row seats."

The mind controlled mirelurk seemed a but slower than the wild one,  but apparently, made it up with aggressiveness and bold attacks. Crystal thought she saw something fall off from the underside of the uncontrolled fighter, and it screeched in pain and fury. The mare tore off her eyes from the fight and decided to use this opportunity to change the subject. "Call the other units, if they have the same parameters. We can cull the opposition with a massed assault and be in the clear to leave before sunset, if they act quick. I don't expect any beds in here..."

[Dark Horse 12,799]

@Raven Rawne

For a split second, Saffron thought that Crystal was actually going to shoot him for his suicidal suggestion, before realizing that she was in fact aiming behind him. Phew! Well, at least the alcohol hadn't made her loose her marbles... yet. Instead, she seemed to be pondering it over.

"Tch. Ain't that the truth?" The stallion said with an equal measure of dry humor to his voice. He leaned his hooves on the window and sighed, before resting his head atop them. "Couldn't have it be simple, could we?" Looking out over the battle again, it seemed the mind controlled Mirelurk acted differently to its wild brethren, utilizing manoeuvrers that were unlike a typical Mirelurk, at least one that he had encountered. He supposed that the device was responsible for this. In any case, he certainly didn't want either creature turning its attention towards them.

Saffron turned and nodded to Crystal's plan. Really, it was the only plan worth trying, because he was struggling to find an alternative bar the two of them trying to sneak their way out, and if they had to do that, he wanted to have distractions in place.

"Even if there are beds, do you really want to risk one of those things finding a way in here during the night? I'd rather not wake up inside the creature's belly! All it takes is for one of the devices to malfunction and we have ourselves a frenzied Mirelurk with..." He paused momentarily as he witnessed said mind-controlled Mirelurk almost rip the arm off of its opponent. "...Yeah, I'd rather take my chances elsewhere."

He approached the control console again and started searching. Fortunately, it was easy enough to locate all of the remaining 'combat' commands for the other units. He couldn't help but notice that each of them were labelled differently: Alpha-8, Delta-2 and Zeta-4. What the hay? Did they all have different attack patterns? Was this something already programmed into the devices from pre-war times or did the slaver add them in? Just what was he trying to test?

Another grizzly roar from a Mirelurk outside told him that he was wasting time. He lined up the commands to each be sent simultaneously. "Shield your ears." He warned to Crystal, expecting yet another piercing volley of white noise. With some slight reluctance, he hit the command to send the signal.

The screeching felt as though it was burrowing into Saffron's skull. He winced and gritted his teeth heavily, hooves clasped over his ears, though it did little good. The screeching only lasted for a few seconds, but it was already more than enough for the Stallion, and he grunted loudly in displeasure after it had finally quietened down.

"I'm not surprised they get so pissed off if that's what they have to listen to all day!" He said, giving the Antenna's base a light smack with his forehoof. Question was, had it worked?

Approaching the window which gave Saffron the widest view of the outside boardwalks, the Stallion was half please, yet half terrified to see at least two more Mirelurks rise from the depths of the swamp, both clearly with the devices attached firmly to their heads. He couldn't see the remaining 'lurk, so he just assumed, or rather hoped, that it was currently elsewhere where they couldn't see it.

"Well.. I'd say that's our queue." He said turning to Crystal. "If there's anything else in here we wanna salvage, let's do it now. We'll make a run for the closest shoreline from the swamp, but let's be careful that we don't get stuck on one of the broken up boardwalks. Those Mirelurks did a real number to some of them, and I sure as heck ain't swimming across! He glanced out of the window again. It was turning into a real brawl out there. The Mirelurk who'd been previously keeping its distance was now engaged with one of the newly arrived 'combat' 'lurks, and it was soon joined by a couple more who had clearly been drawn in by all the commotion. There were now just over half a dozen of the buggers!

"C'mon, hopefully they'll all congregate in the one place and we can slip around." He stared over at the Antenna, it's Talisman still glowing strongly. "What should we do about that?"

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@Dark Horse

The mare shook her head at the "wake up in a 'lurk belly" part. "Then let's get the rest in here and make some noise while we scurry off this town." - she replied, still leaning on the open window and observing the events below. Saffron took the lead on activating other units and Crystal simply waited for him to do whatever he was supposed to. She was never really fond of terminals anyway.

Once the warning was issued,  she clenched her teeth, closed her eyes and plugged her ears with both forelegs,  but of course the awful noise still somehow drilled her skull. With an unsatisfied grunt, the mare rubbed her forehead to ease the tiny headache she started to have. "All the more reason to get rid of this blasted tech I say!" Crystal Clear sighed and looked out the window, much like her companion was about to, and saw their plan was doing... something. 

"Shit, can't see the last one..." - the mare muttered to herself as Saffron decided it was time to leave. Crystal agreed with his reasoning and nodded. "You took the gun so I'll take the bottle and those notes, and it should be all. Not like we can get away with a huge haul anyway..." She did as she said and soon enough had a notebook sticking out of her Stable suit and nursed a bottle like a foal in her foreleg. Approaching the control device, Crystal said in a decisive tone. "Turn it off,  take the Talisman, then rip off the valuable circuitry and toss the rest out of the window, and into the swamp, so that nopony will ever use it again!" She then added, glancing around with a frown. "...if we can pack it up that is... You don't happen to have a bag or anything?"

[Dark Horse 12,799]

@Raven Rawne

The stallion raised an eye. "Hey, you're welcome to take the liquid. Celestia knows what's in it, but its given my throat enough of a burn already." He chuckled as the mare tucked the bottle under her garment as though it was precious cargo. He wasn't sure what value she would find from any of these notes either. Most of them looked like inconsequential ramblings, but maybe she knew of some way they could benefit to her? He didn't bother to pry.

She had a point though. Getting away with anything too large would be difficult. His travel coat had more than a few pockets, but they would need a lot more than just those to haul some of the bigger stuff. Saffron usually preferred to travel light anyway. Anything that was too bulky would just slow them down.

Which meant...

"Right." He nodded to her, and turned his attention back to the antenna, whirling away like some technological freak show. Crystal was correct. They were the last who would ever make use of it. He opened up the console again, and, after a few seconds or so of scanning the menus, found what he was looking for: "Aha!" He exclaimed as he found the option to eject the Talisman. "Figured they'd want a way to retrieve it. Let's see... hrmm... oh. It looks like ejecting the power source while a command is in effect might cause the controlled 'lurks to frenzy, or at worst, end up like our friend over there..." He pointed to the motionless corpse of the mayor. "In any case, so long as they can still provide us with enough of a distraction for us to get out, I think we should be fine. So..." And with a tiny hint of worried reluctance, Saffron hit the Talisman's eject command.

There was a few moments of loading from the console, then a soft *CLICK* accompanied by the sound of the Antenna whirring down. The command console began to fizzle out before finally powering down completely, and the antenna fell silent.

Saffron reached around behind its base with both hooves, and carefully proceeded to remove the now freed Talisman from its receptacle. It didn't take much effort, and before long he had it safely in his grasp, its brilliant gold finish still shining brightly as though it was still factory fresh. "Whew! It's like a shining beacon of value among this dirty, dilapidated nowhere town." He said, eyeing it with a satisfied grin, but which soon turned into another frown as Crystal asked simply where he was intending to put it. "Ah.. a bag. Yeah, about that... umm... no." He said, flatly. "I used to have one full of old tinkering gear, but I may have had to sacrifice it when escaping from a horde of angry Cazedores. It was that or be stabbed by a dozen poisonous glands." He sighed. "And it was a nice bag too... I suppose this means you have nothing either?" He asked with a half-hearted look of hopefulness on his face.

For now, the Stallion simply tucked the sparkling artifact carefully under his armor. "This will have to do for now. Hopefully it won't fall out or anything... No, it should be fine." He hoped at least saying it would make it true.

"Now then." He said with a renewed enthusiasm after he turned back to the antenna. "Fancy helping me do some uhh... 'heroic' vandalism?" He grinned to Crystal almost childishly.

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@Dark Horse

The mare looked impatiently over Saffron's shoulder as he fought the terminal in order to release the Talisman.

"I can live with that risk, even if it fries the monsters heads. Just get the Tali out."

She exhaled with relief once the device died down. Since the sounds of battle continued to rage out, maybe even more fervently so, Crystal Clear decided that apparently the lurks got frenzied. Suits them just fine, she thought.

Crystal smirked at the stallion who got so excited about the talisman. "If we manage to get out and get a good deal, rather than a bullet in the head. Got any way to carry it away?"

She looked outside and replied to his inquiry. "A small cart hidden on the outskirts but nothing at hoof, no. We should grab it on the way out to ease the burdens though. It also contains my supplies." Crystal perked an ear at Saffron's proposal and put the bottle down as she eyed the device.

"Hmm, why not... I'll rip the thing apart while you find a place to stash the electronic parts? So we can get them sometime later. It's good money, unless there's risk of passing the mind control tech to the buyer. I'd rather not see any more of this to pop up. Stand back?"

The burgundy mare looked around the office,  and then inspected the device to make a plan. She then pulled at the antenna and it came off reasonably easy, with some cables dangling from it. It could be sold like that. Next steps were much harder and she banged the device with her hooves to loosen up the screws and pry it open to reach the electronics. Once a few panels were stripped away, she could reach the valuable parts and beckoned Saffron.

"Your turn I guess. If you could take away everything you think has any value? The memory core goes into the swamp though."

After Saffron took his time with salvage, they both tossed the carcass out of the window and into the murky water.

"Now we can make a run from here at last. Let's hope some walkways are still intact though..."

[Dark Horse 12,799]

@Raven Rawne

"A cart...?" Saffron tilted his head in surprise. Crystal hadn't struck him as the trader type, especially since it seemed she was travelling alone. Lugging a cart around of extra supplies, even a small one, was just liable to make you an extra-juicy target for the various raider groups around. It's why most merchants tended to travel with a small army of mercenaries protecting their wares. Crystal was either very brave, or blissfully unaware of this fact.

Still.. it could be a useful addition to have for the two of them.

"Alright. Let's see if we can slip it out with us. Hopefully won't slow us down too much. For now I'll keep this tucked away." He said as he stuffed the Talisman down one of his coat's satchel pockets. It was fortunately small enough to just fit.

"Let's just take the electronics and any useful looking gizmos." He then replied, regarding the antenna. "Never know when having a few spare parts on hoof might come in handy, even if we can't sell 'em. Just chuck anything that looks... unnatural."

And at that, he approached the unmoved corpse of the mayor once again, holding his breath as he got closer. The smell was becoming rather pungent...

The Stallion focused, and very carefully, utilizing his magic, lifted the damaged remains of the control 'crown' from his head. Without another word, he then flung it telekineticly out an open window, and, before gravity could assert its hold and send it tumbling downwards, drew his energy pistol and blasted it cleanly with a well placed shot. The device exploded into multiple shards that then rained down into the swamp below, sinking into a watery grave.

"There'll be nopony else finding that!" Saffron said with a hint of smugness as he spun his pistol back into its holster, then turned to face his companion who displayed a rather unimpressed expression to the showy act, prompting the Stallion's embarrassed grin.

"Ahem... anyway. I'll get these packed up." The Stallion pocketed as many screws as he could, a surprising amount for such a small device, and gave the antenna that had come off a once over. It was far too long to put into his coat, but it wasn't particularly burdensome to carry either. He decided to keep it with him for now in case they could chuck it onto the cart.

The burgundy Mare beckoned him to her side. Seemed she had managed to get into the more sensitive electronics. "Hrm.." The stallion peered in beside her, analysing carefully. "There's a transistor.. and a fuse box.. pretty much everything you'd expect. ...Hang on, what's this...?"

The Stallion reached in deeper and extracted, to his mild disgust, an energy crystal. Similar to the smaller one that had been present on the head device, it too was glowing a sickly looking green with highlights of purple, the unmistakable aura of dark magic.

"Bastards!" Saffron grunted, before hurtling it out of the nearest window and into the swamp. He shook himself off as though suddenly feeling dirty. "Would explain all of those unnaturally high pitched noises we heard from it earlier though. Anything that amplifies dark magic like that is... well, there's a reason such magic brought the world to ruin."

He continued on scavenging without comment, though with an air of caution now in case he found anything else corrupted inside. When he had gotten all he could, or rather all that his limited carrying capacity would allow, he ripped out the memory core processor and tossed it over to Crystal, letting her do the honours.

"Phew.." He sighed in relief as the last of the machinery was disposed of. "I'd be quite happy if that's the last bit of technology I see for a few days. Shame I'm never that lucky..." He glanced out of the window. "Looks like the 'lurks are still occupied. Shit... those frenzied ones are causing some real damage now. The walkways have been almost torn to shreds were they are. If we're gonna go, we have to go now!"

With a final check of his equipment and ensuring they had everything, Saffron approached the office door...

*SMASH* The Stallion jumped back several paces as an enormous brown pincer shot clean through the wooden frame of the door. Saffron shielded his face as wood splinters flew past him, only lowering his hoof when he heard the all too familiar roar of an angry Mirelurk right before them! The creature glared at them both through the newly cut hole in the door, and Saffron winced upon spotting the metallic mind control 'crown' attached to its head. It might be a useless hunk of metal and circuitry now, but that hadn't stopped it from sending the poor creature's mind into a frenzy.

There wasn't even time to think about how it had gotten into the building without either of them noticing. Before it could make any more advancement on them, Saffron whisked around and quickly deduced a window that fortunately lead out onto a lower section of the roof, just small enough for them to squeeze through. It was now their only chance of escape.

He gestured Crystal towards it. "RUN!!"

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@Dark Horse

The mare took a moment to rest after tearing the unit apart and hauling it out of the window with her companion. Saffron glanced outside and commented they better get going, and Crystal nodded as she got back on her hooves, then picked up the bottle.

"Aye,  can't wait to get away from this place... WHA?!"

She couldn't help but shriek in surprise as the office doors suddenly grew a huge pincer that missed her just barely. As her eyes focused, it became apparent that it was a Mirelurk's doing, and a mind controlled one at that! The mare got seriously spooked at that and, without thinking,  tossed whatever she had In her hoof in its face. Only when the glass broke on the thick chitin head and dark liquid coated the creature's eyes - something it didn't like apparently - did she realise that she tossed the booze...

"No need to tell me twice!" - Crystal Clear shot the monster an angry look and made an offensive gesture before she scrambled to the window,  as their assailant paused to sort his eyes out.

The lower roof was covered with some kind of fancy looking sheets of metal, and so it was rusted and not really inviting but, either that or getting mauled, so the burgundy mare hastily jumped off the narrow window and immediately felt the roof wobbling under her steps. There wasn't much time to think of her options as a loud bang announced that the Mirelurk was back in the game,  and toppled some metal document containers. Along with the wall separating the office from the corridor. It was all the invitation she needed to make a run for it, spooked as she was, and Crystal hastily decided to run along the roof's length.

As the roof creaked and moaned under her steps,  the mare regained some measure of composure and started looking further for a way down.  While there were no obvious ones, like a ladder,  one walkway led to the building from this side...

"Hey! Maybe we sho- F***!" - Crystal felt the roofing bulge too much under her and before she knew, the mare was falling into a hole that just appeared under her legs. Something crashed to splinters as she landed on it, but Crystal was too busy trying to make sense of what just happened to know what it was. It did soften her landing,  even if just slightly. After a moment of stillness, she threw out a salvo of vicious curses and coughs while she started moving. One leg at a time,  very deliberately as if she had all the time in the world,  the mare came to her senses and sat up, looking blankly around her.

The hole in the roof provided illumination upon what looked like just another empty storage room. And judging from the splinters, she crashed down on a wooden bookcase of sorts. At least there were doors outside so...

"Oww... I'm alive! Sort of. Found a way out though!" - Crystal hollered back at the roof, judging Saffron was still there. The mare git up on her hooves and winced as her hindquarters announced their displeasure at that with some dull pain. "Hope it's not serious..." She mused aloud and balanced her weight on three legs to approach the doors.

Of course they were locked. And she didn't feel like bucking her way out this time. Crystal slammed shoulder first into them and sure enough, the rotten wood gave way. And she landed nose first on the walkway.

"I hate my life..." - She spat as Crystal Clear scrambled back on her hooves and looked around to try and tell what the hay was going on, and where was Saffron Shadow with all that good loot!

[Dark Horse 12,799]

@Raven Rawne

Saffron made a dash for the window and opened it, made slightly easier by Crystal chucking the potent liquid into the Mirelurk's face, buying them a few precious seconds to escape while it reasserted its vision. The window looked out over a roof of sheet metal and plywood. Not the most stable looking surface, but it should hold them... he hoped.

Crystal went first, testing the waters. The roof wobbled and shuddered somewhat under her weight, but otherwise remained steady. He was about to ask for her opinion on it, when a massive crash from behind made him think that a high explosive device had just been detonated. He instinctively ducked for cover as a shower of concrete and plaster wall came down all around him, followed by a fine wall of dust. Coughing and spluttering, he raised his neck scarf to protect his face from the worst of it, as he tried to get a look at what had just happened.

The front wall that had once separated the office from the outside lobby was now gone, crumbled into dust by the Mirelurk's ferocious entrance. Said Mirelurk was now through into the room, throwing off bits of wooden door frame and standing atop the heaped remains of its destruction. It didn't appear to have immediately noticed Saffron, who was laying perfectly still on the floor covered in a layer of dust.

Saffron eyed the open window just above him. It was now or never. He leaped up from the floor and threw himself hoof-first out through the gap, not daring to even look back. He landed with a heavy slam onto the sheet metal, and felt it buckle several inches beneath him. It felt incredibly hollow, and the Stallion was terrified that it would give way any second now, sending him crashing to whatever lay below. He braced himself. He knew that the extra weight he was carrying from all the loot was only adding to the problem, and he was starting to regret having tried to haul so much. A shudder and a squeak, followed by the sound of something snapping, then... silence.

Saffron remained as still as he could, though his body was uncontrollably shaking. Had it stabilized? Could he risk making a move? He knew that he would have to eventually, especially if the Mirelurk got any ideas of joining him out here.

He glanced ahead. Crystal was already making her way down towards the roof's edge, obviously looking for a way down. She had the right idea. "Wait up!" He shouted, unsure if she could even hear him.

Moving as fleet-footedly as he could, Saffron almost skipped across the platforms, making his way towards her. As he approached, he heard her yell something, before he cursed in shock as the burgundy Mare went on a free-fall through a hole which had just given way beneath her. "Oh shit! SHIT!" The sound of heavy metal crashing and wood splintering made it sound a lot worse audibly. He was certain that Crystal was now buried under half a ton of floorboard.

"Crystal!?" He yelled down the newly formed hole as he approached. Peering down, he could see a small bit of the floor below illuminated by the evening sun. A heap of pretty much everything was directly beneath him, and on top of all that, Crystal, who fortunately was still moving. "Hey! You alright?" He shouted down at her, to which she replied in affirmative. That was lucky... He had been certain that he was making the rest of this journey alone.

He couldn't see much beyond the hole, but Crystal seemed to have believed she found a way out. Maybe so, but Saffron wasn't too keen on making that drop himself, especially the all the gear on him. It would only take one misstep for him to take a nasty crunch, and he had no advanced medical supplies on him if he got seriously injured. There had to be another way off this roof. "Go check it out, I'm gonna take another look up here!" He said down to her. They would have to come out at roughly the same spot anyway, so they might as well take it from multiple vantage points.

Stepping around the hole, it was obvious to Saffron that he wasn't going much further. The roof ended on a ledge overlooking what seemed to be another part of the walkway leading directly into a side entrance of the building. Looking further on, it seemed as though it stretched all the way around the outer edges of the settlement. There were no other connecting paths to it either, in fact it looked almost completely isolated from the rest of the town. Perhaps it was meant as some kind of emergency escape route? If there were no 'lurks present on it either, it could be their way out of here.

There was another crash of wood beneath him, and Saffron thought for a second that the rest of the roof was giving in! But stopped, as he realized it was coming from at the walkway level. A wooden door fell out nicely onto the platform, followed by the disgruntled groan of his burgundy companion who followed it, crashing nose first onto the rotting wood. Not the most graceful of exits...

"Hey.." Saffron said down to her from above, unable to help himself chuckling at her pratfall. "We can take some of the wood as well if you think you'll miss it that much?" He joked with a sunny expression. He knew that Crystal probably wasn't the type of Mare to take jokes at her expense, but hey, if that was the worst either of them got away with this day...

"It looks like this walkway goes all the way around the settlement." He said, once again looking out to try and take in as much detail as he could from his vantage point. "Don't see any 'lurks this side either. If we hurry we could maybe beat them to the outer edges and make a run for it! Where did you say you had parked your cart? Could we get to it from here?" Awkward as it might be getting the cart out with them, it would be nice to off some of this load, as well as have some extra tools on hoof as Crystal had mentioned.

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@Dark Horse

Wiping dust and whatever dirt was on her snout with a sleeve, Crystal rolled her eyes at the joke Saffron just made,  the dull pain taking hold on her shoulder and nose now too...

"Very funny lad, let's see how you come down here huh? I cut a path for you anyway." - She followed the walkway with her gaze and scratched her ear in confusion. "Weird... What did they even keep back there?" The mare then added over her shoulder. "My cart is in the dry part of town on the outskirts, so no worries we'll get it. After we get you down from that roof that is."

Crystal Clear habitually straightened out her - now very dirty - attire, and of course ran a hoof across the Stable pins too, before turning around to enter the building again. She saw her companion through the hole in the roof as she thought of a plan. "I think I can try to pile some stuff for you to land on. And levitate down all the fragile things so you won't break your gear, 'kay? Don't give me that look, you're a big colt, you'll be fine! Now let's start with those shelves..."

The burgundy mare moved about awkwardly as she did her best not to upset the aching body parts as she went to work. Occasionally, she would cuss and stop for a spell as she felt a pang from the bruises that no doubt were on her shoulder, and hindlegs. Still, Crystal managed to pile some of the leftover furniture into a little pyramid,  with help of Saffron's magic. Even though she kept an ear out on any Mirelurk noises, it seemed clear so far. She also had time to decide that originally, this was probably some sort of technical corner for ponies who did cleaning and repairs on the public infrastructure in town. There were those holes in the walls where thick power cables used to be pinned, and spots where some tools and machines used to stand before they were stolen. She also saw doors leading deeper into the building, but they were closed. 

Once everything was set up as good as it would ever be, Crystal Clear stood away from the heap and waved at the stallion in encouragement. "Come on, I made it without any help so you can take that leap, it's not that high now!" A few moments later and after another concert of breaking wood, she approached the stallion and helped him get out of the splintered wooden mess. Even though she didn't look too well herself,  Crystal gave him a look over to see if he didn't end up with any injuries, then led him to his gear that was neatly stacked by the far wall. "Told you it wasn't that bad for a plan. Now we just need to make a dash out of town proper. Hopefully get back to the dry part and spend the night there, Heart knows I need some rest..."

[Dark Horse 12,799]

@Raven Rawne

The smile faded slightly from the Stallion's muzzle. Entertaining as Crystal's little tumble was, it would seem the only way down for him was to follow, which didn't exactly sit well with him. He supposed that he could have looked around a bit more for a safer way down, but there really wasn't any time for them to waste. The sun was setting quickly, and neither of them had any idea how long it would be before more Mirelurks started to converge on them. Assuming the one that had already made moves on them didn't find another way onto the roof first.

He broke from his thoughts as Crystal shouted for him to get a move on. "Uhh... right." He said reluctantly, shuffling a hoof in an anxious fashion. "Hang on. I'll send the gear down to you." With that, he carefully removed his small satchel pack, feeling the relief of weight being freed from his body. He hadn't really stopped to realize just how much he had tried to carry with him. Nevertheless, it was simple enough for the unicorn to levitate the bags down the hole safely to Crystal, who was busy trying to set up a 'fall-zone' for Saffron to land on, using whatever she could find to cushion the impact at least somewhat.

Saffron looked down, his face frowning. It still didn't look very safe...

"Alright, alright... no need to get all condescending." Saffron replied, rolling his eyes at the burgundy mare's idea of encouragement. Guess he deserved that for his earlier snark though.

Saffron did what he could to assist the Mare, who still obviously under some pain from her own, unprepared fall. Given that she had least offered to make it easier on him made him a little feel guilty inside for complaining about the drop, so he decided to try and keep quiet even as his body tensed and tried to tell him otherwise. Just remember, you could've been Mirelurk lunch. He said to himself, trying to reassure his mind. Or eaten by a sandstorm. Or fallen down a bigger hole. You do remember you're in the wasteland, right Saffron?

Saffron couldn't see much detail of the room below beyond what he could see from through the roof, but much of the ruined furnishings Crystal was finding seemed to suggest to him a workstation of some kind. Perhaps where they had made repairs or constructed rudimentary tools and technology to assist in the development of the town. Saffron pondered what it must have been like at its peak. Just how successful was this settlement? Where these ponies truly self-sustaining?

It wasn't long before they had both constructed a small pile of discarded furnishings that stretched about half-way up to the roof. It wasn't enough for him to simply step down, but it should significantly reduce the fall... he hoped.

"Yeah, well... Here goes nothing!" And with that, the Stallion leaped from the roof and straight into the pile below, landing squarely on the back of an old wooden shelf. There was a loud smash of splintering wood as the shelf cracked and split from the impact, but otherwise the pile remained steady. A steady stream of dust was also kicked up and smothered Saffron yet again in a light brown coating of it, causing him to cough and splutter as he shook himself clean. "H- honestly...! If my lungs aren't completely destroyed by the end of today..." He grumbled, and nursed his right rear hoof which had been lodged between the back of a ruined wooden chair. Fortunately, his armour had absorbed the worst of the impact to his body, though it had also been damaged a little. He would have to make repairs later.

His companion only smiled as she helped him up, apparently pleased to see that he was uninjured beyond a scratch or two. "You okay?" he asked her as he saw properly now the extent of her own injuries. She hadn't managed to get away unbruised it seemed, but nothing he could see looked serious. Still, the both of them could probably do with a rest. "Yeah.. I guess I've had worse experiences. Thanks." He agreed to her as he brushed himself off, before being led to his gear which was stacked neatly into a corner. "From what I saw above, this pathway leads all around the edge of the settlement. Chances are it can take us back to the outer perimeter. We should be safe enough there if we want to camp down for the night before making our way to the coordinates. There'd be no point trying to make our way there in the dark." Crystal had a point anyway. Even though he didn't really feel it thanks to the adrenaline rushing though him from all the excitement, his body was probably exhausted. "We'll grab your cart on the way out. ...Heh, I don't suppose you have some sleeping bags in it?" He asked with a sheepish grin of misguided hopefulness. "Or an air freshener?"

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@Dark Horse

Aa the stallion geared up, she took a moment to try and dust herself off,  and stretch her back too. Some satisfying pops were heard as Crystal "readied" herself for that last leg of their escape. The mare listened to his plan and nodded, taking a peek outside and giving the ruined doors a stern look.

"Travelling in the dark is just as good as shooting yourself in the head,  except then you don't die tired. There are all sorts of things we can walk right into..." The mare gave him an unamused look as he cracked a joke, and pointed outside with a hoof.  "Less talking, more walking. Those lurks are awfully quiet now that I think of it, and I'm not really curious why.  I say we make a run to the nearest cover and see if any followed, then try and reach my stuff. Last time I checked I had some bandages or something,  scavenged like everything else. So don't expect miracles outta my stash."

The mare waited up for her companion to join her by the door, tapped her gun and mask to make sure they're still there, ran a hoof over the suit pins and with a sigh, nodded as she took off onto the walkways, trying to be quick but avoid making too much noise. Or upsetting the old wooden structure... She heard hooves behind her, so that meant Saffron followed suit. Not that she took a glance to confirm that, oh no. Between the rickety planks in front of her, some clearly not suited to be stepped on, and frantic looks further away to try and see whether anything nasty haven't seen her, there was just no time for that.  And there were those aching limbs to think about too.

In hindsight, it was one of those too good to be true moments. But still, it did happen. Crystal Clear made it across back to relatively dry land, even though she barely nosedived into the swamp once a plank snapped under her hoof. Still, here she was, laying low in some shrubs - first thing she saw and could take cover behind. Breathing hard from all today's "excitement", the mare decided to lay low just a moment longer, to catch her breath. Saffron made it too and took refuge somewhere nearby. Peeking out from her cover, she couldn't see much, but, apparently, none of the monstrosities followed them, even though one window in the building they came from looked like a bomb blew up in there. Obviously the lurk that came to say hello tried to follow them,  but failed to break down the wall.

With the matters of most pressing concern dealt with, Crystal Clear patted her chin in thought, seemingly oblivious to her companion nearby. She did recall that soon enough, thankfully,  and looked around to find him. Even though the mare couldn't see much, laying low in thick vegetation as she was, Crystal pointed at the direction where she recalled her stuff would be, and said quietly: "That way." Maybe they were out if Mirelurk territory, but the encroaching darkness meant other nasties were coming out for a meal.

[Dark Horse 12,799]

@Raven Rawne

Picking up his pack and salvaged gear, Saffron felt himself noticeably struggle with his hooves, as though they would give way from him any second now. Though the adrenaline of the last half hour or so was keeping him going, his body was clearly reaching a point of fatigue.

Clearly, Crystal was tired in both mind and body.

"Alright, alright.." He said quickly. She had a point though. It had grown eerily quiet, and that unnerved him more than anything. Perhaps the setting sun was putting the Mirelurks into nocturnal mode themselves. Saffron had no clue how these creatures normally rested, but he had no intention of finding out if it could be helped. Best to get away from them as quickly as possible while they had an opportunity like this.

He peaked his head out the door, scanning around as far as his eyes would let him, but saw nothing to cause him alarm. No 'lurks or other nasties to speak of, though that didn't make him feel any more comfortable. He felt as though they were about to walk into an ambush...

But Mirelurks were hardly organized. More often than not they hunted alone and competed for the spoils. It was highly unlikely that they would form any sort of ambush approach; it simply wasn't in their nature. Unless of course... the brainwashed ones...

He shook his head. Now was not the time for second guessing. They needed to act quickly, or not at all, and beside him it was obvious what his companion had decided to do. He gave her an affirmative nod as she stepped out first onto the walkway, moving with a silent fleetness. Or, at least as silent as these rickety old walkways would let her.

As soon as she was a few steps in front of him, Saffron followed suit. Still no reaction to their movements. Good. However, it seemed that might not be their only problem; he had noticed Crystal was taking cautionary glances down at the path in front of her, and it didn't take him long to discover why. Of course, the wood-rot had been slowly eating away at this pathway too, perhaps even worse due to its isolated position. One wrong step could send either of them plummeting through, with enough noise to alert every living thing in the settlement to their position. Saffron also considered the possibility of the support beams giving way, and the both of them ending up in the drink. Ugh! Not a pleasant thought. The Stallion dreamt longingly of the chance of finding a nice, clean pool of water after they had escaped. Heh... wishful thinking.

The two of them continued on, Saffron keeping as close as he dared in case he needed to make a dive at his companion, but asides from one scary moment that Crystal fortunately managed to save by herself, the journey proved thankfully uneventful. By the time either of them had gotten near the shoreline, the sun had set completely, and Saffron found it almost impossible to even see more than an inch in front of him. He was now essentially using Crystal as his guide, hoping that her night-vision was better than his, and when he finally saw the welcome sight of dryer land underhoof, felt so drained that he sunk down against the first jut of rocks that he found and let out a long, low sigh of relief. He unstrapped his saddlebags and let them fall to the ground, easing the stress on his back. Then, for a moment, sat perfectly still, eyes gazing out at nothing in particular as he collected his thoughts. He felt as though he could have slept right there, let this crazy day drift away. But there wasn't time for that just yet. They still needed to recover Crystal's cart, and speaking of the Mare...

Glancing across, he found himself having to squint in the darkness just to make out her figure. She was gesturing to somewhere near the village outskirts. Peering over his hiding place, Saffron tried to make out exactly where she was pointing towards, but it wasn't easy. There were virtually no light-sources to speak of. The only natural illumination coming from the looming moon overhead, its pale complexion casting an even eerier light upon the village now in the distance. At the foot of the swamp, separated by some distance from the rest of the town, was what looked like a fairly sizable supply shed. Saffron blinked. He hadn't actually noticed that was there, even when he was scouting out the place earlier. He chose to believe that he had simply been in a poor line-of-sight rather than admit to his own sloppiness, but still...

"That where the cart is..?" He whispered back to her, to which he received a confirmatory nod. Right. Then that's where they needed to go. It was only a short trek across; shouldn't take them more than a minute or two. However, the problem lay in the fact that it was both completely exposed and almost pitch black. Saffron could make out no detail whatsoever of the terrain. It was like looking into a pool of pure void, that he could just fall straight through if he tried stepping out.

But they couldn't stay out here. Asides from the poor visibility, the nighttime also brought with it a whole heap of dangers in the form of nocturnal wasteland creatures. Mostly of the insect kind, and while it was difficult to make out from here, the shed looked as though it has been fairly reinforced and seemed intact. It could provide a safe haven for them to rest up for the night. He didn't like it, but...

"...Let's go together. Stick close." He whispered back to her. "If we run into trouble, make a break for it as quick as your hooves will take you. ...Here..." Saffron reached into his duster, and pulled out a tiny vial containing a small amount of red liquid. He threw it in Crystal's direction, before catching it mid-air with his magic so as to ease it gently in front of her. "This is all the healing poultice I have left. Was saving it for a rainy day, but... well, if you think your injuries might give you cause for concern then go ahead and use it. We've made it through this far together. I'd kind of like if we could at least end it that way, hmm?" Sure, it wasn't like him to just give away supplies like that, but the two of them were in this together, and his own injuries were relatively uncompromising compared to what she had suffered from the fall. He couldn't risk Crystal potentially giving out if worst came to worst, and he wasn't leaving her out here either...

Saffron stood up straight, stretched, cracked his bones and flexed himself out. It was time to prowl through the darkness again.

"Whenever you're ready."

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@Dark Horse

She nodded, oblivious to the obvious fact that the gesture would be all but impossible to appreciate in this darkness. "Uh... yeah, think so." The mare stood up, reluctantly, and braced herself on tired legs, before taking one step at a time toward her companion. The fact that she didn't bother dusting off spoke more than her slumped figure. Crustal Clear whispered back as she got really close to Saffron. "Uh huh, bucked if I do otherwise, I can barely see stuff..." She didn't register at first tat something was tossed her way but, as soon as unicorn magic shone around Saffron's horn and some floating vial, she raised an eyebrow and peered closely at it. "And that's...?"

His explanation made her cock her head in some gear grinding surprise and the mare stood for a moment, mouth slightly agape and no doubt looking funny if the light conditions allowed to appreciate her confusion. "I uh..." - she started, a bit louder than previosuly. "I'll be fine, really. Ooooor I'll say I won't in the morning, once I sleep it off. No need to waste it for some bruises and whatnot." She waited for Saffron to pick himself up and announce he's ready, and she nodded again, but added a vocal reply as well: "Ready as I'll ever be so, let's go."

The pair slowly walked towards the general direction of their destination, as they could see the flickering light shimmering off the metal shack only once in a while, as the moonlight was unobstructed by the clouds. Crystal Clear had to alternate between lowering her nose nearly to the ground, to see where to put her hooves, and looking around to get the sense of direction and hopefully notice any threat. After some slow progress was made, she whispered to the stallion, albet with noticeable unease in her voice. "Um, thanks. For the healing poultice offer. Many would kill for even a single drop and you... Ahem, I thnk we're getting close now, yeah, uh huh." She picked up her pace some, even though they weren't all that close to their destination. Crystal kept her mouth shout for the rest of the prowl, though thankfully, they saw no reason to make a run for it.

All in all, they got it light. First a gentle rise of terrain from the swamp banks, mostly covered with thick grass and other vegetation common to wet paces. Once they braved this obstacle, they followed a suggestion of what could have been a trail once, maybe a minor road, now just covered with weeds. There were some thicker shrubs deper into the dry land but they didn't have to go through them this time. This relativel safe terrain led them towards the shed, and some shapes that Crystal remembered to be disassembled structures with just foundations and concrete parts left. She stood in front of the doors, and blinked, trying to remember if she locked them or something. "Uh... I need a rest." - she whispered to nopony in particular and simply bit the handle and pulled the doors open just enough for them to enter. Still, the rusted hinges screeched unbearably loud in the relative silence of the night - only some cicadas or other singing bugs that the mare was clueless about were making noises. They closed the doors back shut soon as they went inside.

"Well buck." - Crystal announced, always a diplomat. It was even darker than outside, for obvious reasons. From memory, she recaled that the shed had some... 6 meters in length, and some.... four in width?  Something like that. Oh and her precious cart was parked in the far right corner. Scratchin g her head and dead tired, she stepped forward and asked quietly: "I had an oil lamp in there, if I can find it that is... But honestly, I could as well fall asleep right where I stand for all it's worth..."