Coldshort's Company - Playground Options

[Dantrag]

OOC: not sure where the settlement is, so I conveniently left out details regarding it.

Keara

Keara held binoculars to her face with one hand, while the other rested on Lucky's head. She saw the settlement, but there was nothing to note. No movement, no nothing. It was quiet. She would have to get closer to know anything for sure, but Laura made it absolutely clear that she not move beyond the ridge she sat upon now.

Keara felt that she was being watched, but in the back of her mind, she knew it was Gramps peering at her through a scope from some unknown position. He always was. It made her feel secure on the one hand, but something told her that it was Laura that made him do it. They were as much keeping an eye on her as they were protecting her. It was why she was never privy to Raymond's location; she could never tell if he could see her or not. One wrong move, she knew, and she was toast. It was why she chose to report back instead of learning more.

They don't trust me, but that's fine. It'll be Laura's fault if we all die just because I couldn't do a proper scouting.

"I really thought I'd won 'em over after Springvale," she said to the dog while scratching his ear, "Oh well. Let's go, boy, before I lose my head."

Keara hung her binoculars around her neck and brought an inhaler from her pocket. She breathed in deep, holding the tainted air until she felt the familiar rush of jet moving through her mind and body.

She left the ridge and returned to the others with Lucky at her heels.

"Miss Laura," she said with an oft-used, sarcastic salute, "I couldn't spot a soul over there, but I was pretty far away. I'd need to get closer to find out more."

[Lord Revan]

Damon Wyeth

"I do believe that man intends to inflict great harm upon my person." He mused glumly. "Why can't I enjoy a few shots in this backwater without offending the locals?."

Another man came in behind Jericho. The armed newcomer looked even worse than the girl, bloodied and a bit spaced out. Jericho didn't seem to take kindly to the man's earnest manner. Damon turned back to the girl. "I'd have a mind to become scarce for awhile. Perhaps we can talk later, miss."

With that he quickly stood and made his way upstairs to the bedrooms.

[Ahrenil]

Laura rolled her shoulders, trying to work out some of the tension from the day. Her friends were safe for now, so she could relax for a bit, and she doubted she'd be doing much running from here on out. The regulators had been easier to win over than she expected, not that she was complaining, but she couldn't help but get the feeling it was mostly their superiors influence that had saved them.

"Sure as hell beats a bullet in the back though" Laura said with a shrug. Her team weren't idiots, they knew the deal, but they also knew that rotting a cell was not something Laura had down on her to do list. She was going to get them out, somehow. "Your commanding officer will likely want to hear the whole story, or if not I sure as hell am gonna tell him it anyway."

[jack cloudy]

Jonathan Guntherson, and the doctor dude

He hadn't even noticed the arrival of the regulators untill the moment he was shoved aside by one of them. Jonathan wanted to voice a protest, demand to be allowed to finish his task. One look at the red cross the stranger wore on his arm kept his mouth shut though.

"Hmm, that's a pretty lousy job you did there." The man said as he inspected the stitches.
"I'm a mechanic, not a doctor! Did all I could!" Jonathan snapped back. While he knew the regulator's medic was right, he still fellt offended. What was he supposed to do, let Alexei die without even trying to help him?

The medic shrugged.
"Seen a lot worse, both in terms of injuries and first aid. He'll make it." He said and looked over his shoulder at Marcellone. His commander was busy dealing with the rest of the surrendering process and collecting the weapons the raiders possessed. Turning to the mechanic next to him, James saw that the man seemed unarmed. There was a discarded smg at his feet though, which the medic scooped up before the raider got any ideas.
"At least as far as our headquarters." James added with another shrug. One hand held the smg, the other retrieved a syringe from his pack.
"Shoot him up with this, make sure it gets in the bloodstream proper. And no funny moves."

While Jonathan stabbed the syringe in the ghoul's neck, the regulator stepped back to Marcellone's side.
"Done, let the raiders carry him."

[grif11]

Raymond

"Don't call me a raider again, unless you want to see a ranger veteran in action. If I were you, I'd listen to the smart guy over there." Raymond growled to the medic. "Doesn't the NCR mean anything here?"

[ureniashtram]

EDIT: Did not saw your post until today, Grif! So sorry! I edited my post so you can, y'know, interact with the REgulators. Sorry again, Eleventh Grif!

Marcellone

From the corner of his eyes, Marcellone saw James shove aside the lanky-looking man and work on the downed ghoul. The man can't help but notice that the mutated person had on a duster that looked eerily like a Regulator's, except gray. If he was one, Marcellone mused, he wouldn't have shot at a fellow lawbringer. His attention went from the injured person to the group's leader.

She flexed her shoulders a bit, trying to relax and maintain her calmness. Judging by the slightly eased look on her face, she achieved it.

"Sure as hell beats a bullet in the back though," she said with a shrug. And Marcellone can't help but agree. Getting captured was infinitely more better than getting killed, his similar experiences told him that. But veering too close to sympathy would be dangerous. It would compromise them in many ways.

"Your commanding officer will likely want to hear the whole story, or if not I sure as hell am gonna tell him it anyway."

At this, Marcellone let out a chuckle. A pained and amused chuckle. She clearly did not meet Marcellone's superior officer. Avery Nichols was reliable on beating people up than letting them explain their side of the story.

"Well, good luck with that, miss," he said. It felt somewhat strange speaking to an enemy commander, but Marcellone supposed that this day was anything but. Here he motioned for the veterans to snatch their weapons away.

A .44 revolver and a satchel filled with god-knows-what, followed by a bandolier of grenades.

When a modified RPD was presented to the bundle of captured weapons, Marcellone can't help but ogle it suspiciously, his eyes glazing in nostalgia. When he was still a grunt, one of his former superior officers had this kind of weapon too, albeit without the grip nor the laser sight. Marcellone made sure to question who ever owned this weapon -probably the ghoul- and ask him where he got such a thing.

When it was all done, Marcellone ordered some of the guys to get the rookies and haul the catch off. He turned to the woman, but before he could say something, James appeared on his side. He seemed pretty pleased with himself, probably because he showed his superiority in the field of healing to the lanky man.

"Done, let the raiders carry him."

Marcellone gave him a strange look.

"You do know that there are only two men in the 'raiders' group? And catching up on age and bones probably getting brittle," here he looked to both men, eyes saying 'no offense'. "And it is obvious that the lady here can't do it on herself. Nah, let some of the boys carry the stinker."

After a bit of grumbling and outright snarling, four of the veterans managed to lift the ghoul up. By their strength combined, they said that they could manage, even though the burden they're carrying is 300 pounds.

"OK, now that all is said and done, wrap them blindfolds on 'em," he said. He looked at the woman, spreading his hands as if in apology.

"Gotta make the location of our base private, you know?"

Here, James scoffed.

"As if these lowly raiders have it in their skills to even remember things, apart from rutting each other senseless and injecting some chems into their system!"

A silence among the Regulators. The field medic certainly had a mouth, particulary if he perceived he was in a winning position, and Marcellone decided that he had heard enough.

"Listen James, I just have enough of your gum-flappin-," but was cut off by an angry snarl from the old man in the strange armor.

"Don't call me a raider again, unless you want to see a ranger veteran in action. If I were you, I'd listen to the smart guy over there." Raymond growled to the medic. "Doesn't the NCR mean anything here?"

At the word NCR, every Regulator including Marcellone pointed their guns at him, suddenly tensed and nervous. A Ranger, a veteran one at that? Well damn but did they hit the jackpot on this one. Of course they heard about the NCR. The Californian chapter of Regulators worked hand in hand with the Rangers against the slavers there. Avery Nichols may have found his equal in combat skill in this Ranger.

A question remained though. Marcellone spoke, awed.

"Seems a little far from California, aren't you? How the hell did you survive the distance between lovely ol' D.C and the Republic? And why is a veteran Ranger doing with these . . . colorful bunch? Please don't tell me we got a rogue Ranger in our midst."

This post has been edited by ureniashtram: Aug 16 2011, 01:33 AM

[Dantrag]

Keara

"Do what you gotta do," she replied simply to the one-eyed man. She watched him while he walked upstairs, but was interrupted by another man asking anyone and everyone for a light.

"Hey," she said, tossing a book of matches in his direction, "There's only a couple left. Keep it."

The newcomer also looked as if he could handle himself, which brought the total count of potential recruits up to three. There was the one-eyed man, the man he was running from, and this newcomer with vulgar drawings on his mask. She realized suddenly that names might be useful.

The latter looked to be in rough shape as blood was running down his face, but if it was too severe an injury he wouldn't be calmly sitting at a bar self-medicating with whiskey.

This post has been edited by Dantrag: Aug 14 2011, 07:59 PM

[CMX]

Chris 'Mongoose'

I heard a voice call out, 'Hey' as i snapped my attention to the right. I was caught off guard, as a matchbook landed in my hands.

With a nod of appreciation, I returned to my seat, lighting the skewered 'whiskey-balls' on fire, as I built up the courage to cauterize the wound. "F--k, F--k, F--k!" I said, as i pressed the blazing blade to my head.

Like an iron to hair, I held the burning blade to my wound. I took my free hand, and shuttled down another shot of whiskey. I dropped the still-glowing blade on the counter in pain, then asked the barkeep for another shot.

"Pour me another one." I said, as the ghoul looked to me in confusion; and poured me a glass. "Are you sure that stuff is....clean to do?" He asked. I shrugged, as i burped. "It's what i got. It aint bleedin' no more, so im sure it's ....safe to do."

[Lord Revan]

Damon Wyeth

He locked the door behind him. His ruck was already packed with a 2 liter water resevoir, magazines, maps, and other supplies. Damon slipped his canteen into a coat pocket, and grabbed his rifle from underneath the bed. He made sure the Schofield was loaded and the hammer rested on an empty chamber before smashing out the window.

Damon stuck his head out, no one appeared to investigate the crash. He slung the M16, dropped his ruck onto the dirt, and crawled through the window onto a refrigerator standing next to Moriarty's Saloon. After retrieving his pack, Damon unslung his rifle and made his way to the gate.

The hunter felt confident his supplies would last a few days crawl around the surrounding region. Then he could stop by Craterside to stock up and catch a caravan.

This post has been edited by Lord Revan: Aug 14 2011, 08:57 PM

[grif11]

Raymond

His words must have spooked the regulators, because now he had an uncomfortable amount of gun barrels pointed at him. "Calm down!"He said to the group " Contrary to popular belief, an unarmed Ranger veteran in his forties cant kill a whole group of regulators."

"Rookies," he muttered, before turning to the leader. "why I'm here is for Laura to say to your commander. How I got here is a long tale. Don't knock us out and you might find out."

[ureniashtram]

Marcellone gave a shrug.

"Another tale to be told perhaps. Maybe even told in a biography or something. But, my decision for you lot to be bound is final. And healthy for us too; no matter how many times an enemy proves he won't do you harm, he usually does."

From his back-pocket, he produced pre-war cuffs. He can't help but like this Ranger, though he can say the same for any other entity that abides the laws and helps maintains it.

"Turn around, g-pops, and put down that beauty of yours. You're under arrest for being a veteran ranger." At his own joke, he chuckled.

He turned to the woman, Laura, and the lanky man. He made a gesture. Several regulators bearing cuffs approached them.

"Make sure to cover their faces with garbage bags, men. Like I said, have to make the base secret, yeah?"

[jack cloudy]

Jonathan Guntherson

He had no idea what the syringe contained. It could be poison, or it could be the wonderdrug that would heal all of Alexei's wounds and cure his ghouldom. Most likely however, it was just something that would keep him down for the count during the trip to the regulatorbase. So he injected it into the Ghoul's neck. Besides, what choice did he have? He wasn't in the position to make any demands or refuse any orders. Behind his back, it seemed that gramps had become the focus of attention. Jonathan was a bit worried that his and Laura's attitude would get them all killed. No, don't make that a bit. Make that very worried.
"Woah, calm down. Don't try to start a fight here!" He shouted over his shoulder. The regulators ignored his outburst and levelled their rifles at Raymond. Fortunately for them all, Raymond regained his composure and their captors settled down again.

"Right, that should do it." The mechanic muttered to himself and squeezed out the last few drops. As he got up, he tossed the empty syringe back at the medic and put his hands in the pockets of his coat. At this, the regulator looking to cuff him stepped back again with a suspecting expression. Jonathan could almost hear the man thinking, asking himself if the old guy was about to whip out a pistol and shoot him. He was almost right in that. Jonathan did indeed feel the cold metal of his tiny sidearm brushing against his hand. He was not planning on using it though. He pulled his hands back out, showing his empty palms to the regulator.

"Oh hey, before you guys cuff me. Right pocket please. Forgot I put a gun in there. I'd empty it out myself but in the light of goodwill and plain common sense, I think I'll let one of you do it. And err, then you guys can get on with the cuffing and blindfolding right?" He giggled nervously.

[Dantrag]

Keara

Keara fought off her instinctual desire to sleep for a little longer, in hopes of making some progress. She reminded herself that whatever she felt, her friends had it ten times worse with the Regulators. The thought didn't make her any less exhausted.

I could use a boost. she thought, as her fingers automatically toyed with the empty inhaler in her pocket.

Knowing that jet wouldn't magically appear, she pushed the thought away. She stood and moved over a couple of stools to sit beside the stranger with the whiskey. Lucky didn't move a muscle.

"Safer than drinking it, I'm sure," she said, deciding to butt in, "That's a pretty nasty gash. Where'd you get it?"

[CMX]

Chris 'Mongoose'

With my right hand on my M-14, i flicked the selector from burst to semi. I took a swig from my cup, then proceeded to adjust my glasses. I was in that zone again. All the pain not really setting, or really leaving. A girl's voice asks about the cauterized scar running down my temple.

"Ya ever been huntin? Ya know, when you stalk a prey for miles, all for the kill?" I said, pulling the glasses from my face. "Well, I thought I found an old friend. A priest. Been huntin this bad priest from the west, and i thought i found him. I also thought it would be good to chew on this skunky plant too." I spat in a sarcastic and ominous voice.

"Well, he got away again." I sighed. I turned to right, as I gazed towards the girl, locking down on her grey pearls. "With me being 5 rounds out." I flicked at my rifle with my right, and leaned my head on my left hand. She looks a bit skinny, and sad; if not drained, from her facial features. She gives me the urge to...pout, or feel down.

[Dantrag]

Keara

Keara grinned; she could already tell this guy was a character. More the type of person she was used to when compared with Laura and her crew. His folksy story captivated her with few words, and she almost didn't realize that he'd completely dodged her question. Almost.

"So..." she said, still digesting the tale, "Unless this priest whacked you one good time, it still doesn't explain the gash."

She used the scalding-hot knife he'd left on the bar earlier to light another cigarette. Two hundred years stale, but she still liked the things. She wondered sometimes what a fresh one would be like, before the war and the radiation. When people drove cars, grew healthy crops, and had an abundance of fresh, clean water...

Her thoughts drifted further and further from reality, and it wasn't until she opened her eyes a moment later that she realized that she'd dozed off for a second. She hadn't dropped her cigarette this time, though, so she took another drag.

"It's okay," she said, suddenly remembering the conversation she was in the middle of, "You don't have to tell me what happened, 'cause honestly I don't give a molerat's a--. I need some help with a problem and I'm looking to hire a couple o' mercs."

[CMX]

Chris 'Mongoose'

She caught my interest when she made note of her search for 'Mercs'. "You know" He started, "Me and that priest have been fighting each other for a while now." I picked at the blood specs, occasionally looking up at the girl. "He never gave me more than 700 yards of distance to fight from. One shot to my five; He blew my helmet off with one of them Gauss Rifles."

Still nit-picking at my scab, I continued. "In any case, my....half sleeping beauty" he said, taking note of the lost, if not fatigued look the girl obviously displayed. "Until I hear about him again, I would love a new challenge to ease my mind."

"I also know how to treat wounds....If you were trying to rid your self of that jet addiction." I noted, Looking up at the girl. Drug addiction was probably the worst thing to get into, especially now. Less people and less doctors to treat you. This girl, she smelled like jet as soon as she walked up on me. It's saddening to see people like this. Makes me question hope, faith, and all that mumbo jumbo.

[Dantrag]

Keara

Keara shook her head, "I'm afraid I don't have the time for treatment, and I bet you don't have the supplies to spare. I'll either have to score some soon or trek across the desert feeling like crap."

She didn't want to be 'cured.' Things would just go back to the way they were before. Jet was her lifeblood. It was mostly to thank for her quick trek to Megaton earlier that day, and allowed her to push her bodily limits, which had saved her many a time. More importantly to her, though, it made her feel alive.

"But if you're looking for a challenge, I think you may have found it," she said, "My crew has been feuding with these other badass mercs for a while, right? Well, things got hairy earlier today, and I was the only one that escaped. I came here to find help so I can get back there and find 'em, if they're still alive."

It was only half of a lie, but had enough truth in it to avoid many suspicions.

[CMX]

Chris 'Mongoose'

"There are other ways than pills and substances to quell an addiction." I said with a smirk. Shaking my braclet; marked : Combat Life-Saver, I shot imaginary bullets at her. "When do i start?" I barked.

Standing up, i adjusted my gear at once. I never think about this kind of stuff. The hunt is all I ever think about now. This will be good. Right? "So" as I was adjusting my gear. "How many more do you need? I got my rifle, my pistol, a stocked rucksack, and my trusty knife" I boasted. I smirked, as i flaunted my desert-sprayed M-14.

[Dantrag]

Keara

"I need as many hands as I can get, but I'm short on time," she answered, "Doesn't matter if I got one person or ten, I'm leaving by noon tomorrow."

In the meantime, she would get a bit of rest, and hopefully find a few more pairs of hands. If all went well, she and her new helpers would be able to return to the settlement by nightfall, rest that night and be on the trail the next morning. Hopefully this would all happen without the Regulators catching wind of her movements.

"The name's Keara, by the way. Meet me right outside the gate tomorrow if you're serious about this."

[CMX]

Chris 'Mongoose'

Chris nodded, as he slowed himself down. "Right, Call me Mongoose." He said, tipping her a two finger salute.

I raised my rifle up, as I shot Keara a wink. I held the rifle barrel up, and twisted a sound suppressor onto my M-14.

"Just holler at me, If im not already awake before you. I'll be upstairs in a room." I brushed by her, as I trudged upstairs.

I feel rather hyped up about this. A calming excitement. Maybe i'll fix me some coffee before we step off tomorrow.

[Zalphon]

Brian Wolfe

Brian opened his eyes to see the others there in the 'company' of the Regulators. "Greetings," he coughed. "Who are you... Prime Normals?" His eyes followed the movement of each of them, but nobody could be quite sure what he was thinking. Around his neck was a necklace with some strange item on it.

"I'm Brian," he said with a hoarse voice. His purple and gold robe hood was pulled back to reveal burnt skin and no hair. Brian slowly looks at each of them before he pulls back his hood.