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 Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 8:10 am
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((Actually, the gel is more of a compression bandage than a cast. Morg still has full use of his arm while wearing it. And I just figured the one machine would be gear enough, since he wouldn't exactly want to be loaded down on this particular mission.
And yeah, I know Morg hasn't introduced himself yet. Akira bolted after he asked her name, so it hasn't really been a good time to just bring it back up.
Ha-ha!))
When V dropped onto Morg's shoulders, he grunted in surprise and fumbled at her in the low light. He couldn't be sure, but at some point he brushed across what felt like a rather nice a**. Once his hands found there way around her waist, he slid her up over his head and then helped her down to the damp floor. Once he was sure she was settled, he reached back up and closed the hatch above them.
They found themselves in a very cramped (for Morg, anyway) tunnel of some sort, only evidenced by the moonlight that had previously been cast down from the surface. Now, it was pitch-black. Morg tried to turn around and cracked his head on something metal; a pipe, most likely.
"Gah! Stupid ******** pitch black... Anyone got some light?"
For a moment, silence. Then the room was suddenly illuminated in a full orange glow. The source was a lighter, not dissimilar to the one V had given Morg, that Frihs had flicked to life. She held it up so Morg could see what he'd hit, which was indeed a pipe, and then smirked.
"I guess bigger really isn't always better." she said.
Morg scowled. "A lighter, huh? Pretty basic for someone with the blood of demons in her veins. Can't conjure up something a little brighter?"
"Actually, I can't. Not yet, anyway." Frihs held the lighter down near her leg, revealing a sturdy cuff of some sort clamped around her ankle. "Mana Suppressant. Only the height of fashion for slaves. Keeps the more magically-inclined captives from using their abilities."
"Oh. Uh..." Morg stammered, feeling a bit sheepish; Why else would a tiefling and an elf have been prisoner for so long? He quickly changed the subject. "So where are we, anyway?"
"One of the maintenance tunnels for the old subway system."
"The subway? I thought they filled all that in decades ago when one of the tubes to the outside got contaminated."
"They did, for the most part. But these tunnels and ducts were left pretty much untouched. They run all over the city; take you virtually anywhere you wanna go. And the best part? The ACG also thinks they were filled in."
"So how exactly did you find out about them?"
Frihs took a beat and looked away. "Let's just say...when a girl winds up expecting in this city, you can't exactly walk the streets flaunting it everyday. I had to get creative until my Daughter was born."
She turned and began to walk down the tunnel. Morg gave V a sideways glance and a shrug, then followed. He had to crouch quite a bit to be able to move at the same speed. They walked in silence for a time.
"I don't get it." Morg eventually said.
"Get...what?" Frihs responded, never slowing.
"You. I mean, you're basically a living miracle. You can bear children. You could be one of the wealthiest women in the city right now, but you choose to live life like the rest of us."
"Sure, I could be rich and famous. In exchange for my freedom. I've had enough slavery for one lifetime, thanks."
"Oh, c'mon! You wouldn't be a slave! You'd be...an icon!"
Frihs spun on him, raising her voice. "To sit around breeding for everyone but myself! To bear children I'll never get to see again, children I don't have a hand in raising. Other people's children. No, thank you."
Morg took pause at that. Of course, he felt the same way. Maybe it was the painkillers in his system, or maybe it was the hard times he'd fallen on. Maybe it was just the times in general. He'd forgotten himself, and he was sure that any moment he'd start growing wool and bleating. "I... You're right. I didn't even consider..."
"No, you didn't." Frihs cut him off, but continued softer. "You don't know what it's like to have a child. It's something altogether beyond yourself, and it doesn't matter if you're the Mom or the Dad. It's not something a real parent can just give up."
Satisfied she'd made her point, the tiefling turned back around and continued walking down the tunnel. Morg stayed frozen for a moment. He was completely lost in thought when he finally noticed that V was still standing nearby.
"What?! I'm good with tactics, not tact!" he grumbled, turning to follow Frihs. |
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 8:15 pm
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(Ok, that makes more sense.)
Akira couldn't help but smile as Morg admitted himself to be tactless. "Don't worry about it big fella, we all have our flaws." She answers, giving him a pat on his good shoulder as she sauntered past him. "Hiss, how about some light that isn't combustible?"
"As you wish..." the mechnical snake replied, shifting itself around Akira's waist so its head was resting on her left hip. With a light hum sound, the small robot's eyes began to glow a soft white blue, putting off enough light to see by but not enough to be blinding. Thankful her high top boots were keeping most the muck from getting anywhere near her skin, Akira caught up with the half demon. "If given the chance, I might be able to help you with that bracelet of yours. Its components are highly desirable to the right person." |
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Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2016 5:18 am
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Frihs watched V work with great interest, like a feline entranced by a new toy. There was a bit of discomfort when the cuff finally came loose, but nothing compared to having the thing there for so long in the first place. She leaned down and rubbed at the bruised flesh of her shin.
"Sage's promise, that feels much better..." she said under her breath. On her way back up she planted a surprisingly deep kiss on V's lips. She lingered there a moment and then whispered with a smile. "I'm sorry if that was too forward of me, but my people have always believed that any aid given to someone in need is a great personal sacrifice that deserves greater personal praise. So...thank you."
Morg snorted and mumbled to himself. "Sure, she takes off that little thing and gets a kiss. I stage a break-out for you and your kid, and bring down a whole slave trading operation in the process. But what do I get? Zilch. That's fair."
Frihs gave Morg a wry glare. "Oh, I haven't forgotten you, Morg. You're just currently in no condition to take what I plan to give you."
Well, then. Morg's eye twitched and his mouth opened as if to speak, but no words came out. He was certain if he'd still had much blood in his body, it would be rushing to a single part of his anatomy. |
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 9:07 am
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((Of course you'd get a kick out of that! xd ))
"Shyeah, you ain't kidding..." he said breathlessly.
A few more seconds of gawking and he shook his head clear. Morg caught himself up to the two ladies. He explained to Frihs where he needed to go, giving as many details as he could while also being vague enough to retain some secrecy. She seemed to understand alright and came to a stop at another hatch not too long after. Once Morg and his companions had squeezed out onto the surface and he'd gotten his bearings, Frihs gave him a nod.
"This should get you pretty close to where you're going! And speaking of going, I need to get back to Fa'hra. If you guys ever need me, you know where to find me!" she smiled and climbed back into the hole, but paused long enough to offer a final word to Morg. "And don't worry about your repayment, big guy. I'll be saving it just for you."
She winked and then blew a kiss before disappearing back into the tunnel, closing the hatch behind her. Morg stared after her for a brief moment with a dopey grin on his face, but the resurgence of pain in his arm kept him from any extended reverie. He rolled his shoulder slowly and gritted his teeth when fresh daggers shot through it. Wouldn't be long before the meds burned off ********' hells... I gotta get to G'nicks fast, or I'm gonna end up in a heap again." he seethed in frustration for a second and then turned to V. "I don't like having to depend on someone besides myself for anything, but I'm also not stupid enough to trust that I'll make it if I go on alone. You make sure I get where I'm goin' and I'll make sure it's worth your while. Savvy?" |
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 8:43 am
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"Old friend. Not much to look at, but his personality is..." Morg paused and frowned. "Well, no. His personality is pretty ugly, too."
He glanced around to make sure he had his frame of reference right, then started walking down one of the nearby streets. The neighborhood was about as average and inconspicuous as it got in Autumncrowne, which made it the perfect place to hide a business that was anything but. It was only a few blocks down, and you'd never notice it unless you knew it was there.
G'nick had a spot in a warehouse that sat back from the road, its primary door being at the end of a long hall wedged between two other buildings. The door itself had no handle, but anyone in the know would be able to open it by swiping across its surface in the right pattern. With a little more effort than he would've liked, Morg managed and the door slid aside.
The entry hall opened up into a large loft-like space with a raised section toward the back that was walled off and served as a more private area where G'nick actually lived. The rest of the room was a haphazard maze of things that the ACG would probably love to get heir hands on; in one corner was an array of surveillance monitors and their respective controls, just inside of a roll-up door along one wall was a sleek vehicle of some kind that could probably outrun a shooting star, a fully-equipped work table ran along another wall, dozens of crates marked for high-grade weaponry were scattered here and there, and there was even what appeared to be more or less a medical station just under the private quarters. It was like a treasure trove for those that lived above the law.
They'd gotten there just in time; Morg was sweating profusely, his brow knotted in pain. He shuffled himself over to the medical equipment and dropped into the reclining chair at the center of it all. Reaching into his pocket with his good arm, he withdrew the cylindrical machine that had patched him up before and offered it to V.
"Slip this into the console over there. It's got all my records on it, so it'll save time." |
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Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2016 8:28 am
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Upon sliding into the recess of the console, the Smart Medic chirped and the medical machinery in the vicinity hummed to life. Several automated limbs descended from the ceiling and set to their work. Numbing agents were applied, the clear compression bandage was dissolved, and the wounds were all carefully sterilized. Morg watched the process warily, as if the next small movement might trigger immense pain.
"Well, at least diss time you's in one piece." grumbled G'nick, taking a few steps down the stairs from the office above. "So ya can clean up yer own mess!"
"Trust me, what you're seeing is clean compared to what it was..." Morg replied with a tired grin.
"Hm." G'nick snorted. "So what's been eatin' you's?"
"Har har. Always such a comedian." Morg began, giving the minotaur a blank stare. "Ogres."
"Ogres? Plural, ********' bollocks." G'nick breathed with a nod. He eyed Akira for a moment. "But ya still managed to make yer mark."
"Not exactly." Morg gestured from V to G'nick and back again with his good hand. "G'nick, V. V, G'nick. This little vulture helped me out. Told her I'd make sure she was taken care of."
"Little vulture...?"
"She was picking me over when she thought I was dead."
G'nick guffawed and let out a hearty laugh. "Nice. Still, I didn't send ya off to find a girlfriend."
"I know." Morg pondered the events of the night, thinking about Frihs and her daughter. It would have all been a waste if he gave them up now. He made a decision and shook his head. "The intel was bad. Jo didn't have anyone we could use."
"Bullshit." G'nick snapped and made his way down to the floor, approaching the pair.
"Why would I bullshit you?"
"I dunno. Ya didn't want diss job in the first place..."
"Right, so I threw the mission and let this happen to me for shits and giggles." Morg growled, nodding to his mangled arm.
The two stared at each other for a while. G'nick licked his lips thoughtfully. After a moment, he snorted again. A crooked smile crossed his face.
"Ehhhh, whatever. I know better than to argue wit you's." G'nick sighed, turning away. "But a deal's a deal. We gotta figure diss out, or no amount of medical tech is gonna be able to put us back together..."
Morg's face sobered up. "What do you mean?"
"Aw, hells. Ya knew diss job was different when ya took it." G'nick turned back to Morg and continued quietly. "The client. He showed up here wit a whole bunch of armed guards. All official like. He's got connections, Morg. Powerful connections. Said he'd been shoppin' his case around the underground, but nobody'd been livin' up to his expectations. He made sure to point out dat they weren't livin' at all, anymore..."
Morg all but leapt out of the chair, the rhythmic blips of the heartrate monitor spiking sharply. "Are you godsdamned serious, right now?! Blood and bone, G'nick! You ******** us!"
"Look, alls we gotta do is find girl dat can carry a baby for diss whack job! Dat's it!" G'nick interjected quickly.
"Oh, sure. Sorry for overreacting! Let me just step outside and pick someone from all those women lining up at our door!" Morg noticed the various monitors around him going haywire and he realized that the more enraged he got, the faster his body would burn through the anesthetics. He closed his eyes and took a couple of steadying breaths. Some of the beeping noises seemed to slow a little, at least. "How long do we have?"
"He gave us 72 hours."
Morg slumped back in the chair and slapped his palm onto his face. "So that leaves us with a little over a day, at this point. ********. Beautiful." |
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 10:33 am
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((FINALLY got back around to this! I dunno, for some reason I just couldn't get satisfied with this scene for a while! I think it works now, though. 3nodding ))
Morg and G'nick argued for a few moments more before the minotaur heard the faint beeping. One of his ears twitched at the sound. He held a hand up to quiet Morg and then glanced around at a couple of monitors to figure out what was happening. Morg wasn't exactly happy to oblige his friend's momentary lapse in focus.
"What?! What could be so important that you - ?"
"Shut yer yap!" G'nick commanded.
The outburst coming from his usually jovial friend was enough to stop Morg from continuing. He followed the minotaur's gaze over to the array of screens. One in particular showed a nondescript female figure flashing blue, followed by a short animation of her rapidly swelling with pregnancy, and then "96.4% Probability" rolled across the display. That report played and replayed multiple times before G'nick spoke.
"Well, well. Looks like ya may have made yer mark after all, Morg." he said as he scratched his chin.
Morg just stared, slack-jawed. His features twisted up in confusion and he looked at Akira. Her?
After all he'd gone through to find someone -and then unfind them, respectively- it turned out the young girl giving him an assist was what he'd been looking for all along. Cruel irony, especially given his decision regarding handing someone over like a slave just to complete a contract. Even moreso now that the stakes were higher.
Could he really ask that of someone? Someone he'd only just met, besides?
"So, kid! What'll it be? Ya wanna make some serious cred and save our asses doin' it?" G'nick asked with a big grin, making Morg's decision for him. |
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