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 Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 3:49 pm
Cara sat out on the sand, far enough away from the attempts at starting a campfire to see the stars with crystal clarity, and took a deep, cleansing breath. It was nice to be out here, weird as it was to say that; the tranquility of the desert nights made it easier to think. It was easy to imagine, facing away from the caravan as she was now, that these sands had looked exactly the same since before human records even existed.
"CARA!!!" called an authoritative, feminine voice. It was a voice that was not accustomed to refusal, or even delay. "Where are you?"
The girl rolled her eyes, but remained stubbornly silent; even if her mother didn't give up, which was the best outcome, it was always good to remind the woman that Cara wasn't scared of her, like the rest of the world was. Instead she shifted slightly, curling her legs up beneath her, and looked back out onto the darkening, utterly lifeless dunes.
But they weren't lifeless anymore. Cara blinked, sitting up a little straighter. In the short time she'd been distracted, a small group of people had appeared; although the group was still too far away to perceive any details, especially in the fading light, a few more seconds of observation made it obvious that they were definitely drawing closer.
Travelers? At night? Very unusual. In addition to the surprised interest she expected to feel, Cara was uncomfortable to discover she was a little nervous. The rumors that were floating around made caution a must. Reluctantly, she got to her feet with easy, liquid grace, and walked back toward the caravan to inform the others. Pity, she thought, smirking, Mother probably would have screamed if they'd come into camp unannounced.
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 6:10 pm
Alex observed the caravan as the group grew closer. It was clearly a merchant caravan, Armed escorts concentrated near the outsides with groups of people carrying few if any weapons in the center. As Alex was taking note of the people he noticed an oddity, four men wearing the armor of the Brotherhood of Steel.
Why are they with a merchant caravan?
Alex knew the Brotherhood did not normally protect merchant caravans, they had their own agenda.
Alex slowly separated from the group and closed the distance to the caravan, being careful to walk in the open, he did not want to surprise anyone and get himself killed.
"Stop."
Alex did so immediately.
"Do not worry, we've come only to have shelter for the night and directions to the next settlement."
The sentry seemed suspicious for a moment, but then must have realised how small the group was.
"I suppose it's all right, but I would like to know why you're travelling this area with such a small group."
"Our caravan was attacked the other day, we escaped, although we had a few injuries."
The sentry looked confused for a moment but shook his head and waved him on.
"You'll have to find someone else to give you directions, I do not know this area well."
Alex nodded and walked into the groups, after a few minutes of information gathering all he found was the reason the Brotherhood members were with the caravan. Apparently one of the merchants being escorted had information on the location of a cache of technology, he was willing to give them the information if they gave him a 'small' amount of goods and caps. Along with a small group to personally escort him through the desert.
Alex could see why having even a group of four would be quite excellent protection, they were all very well equipped, two even carried laser rifles, and most of the Brotherhood were well trained. Alex, having satisfied his curiosity began talking with others, bargaining off some things he had picked up.
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 6:37 pm
Brotherhood paladins... An intimidating presence, no matter who you were. Standing clad in their signature bulky power armor, wearing helmets that shielded their entire head both from dangers and from view... They didn't even look human. Alaric slowly walked through between two of the men, watching them as they watched him. He was nervous, but he wasn't going to show it.
He wondered how they felt. He had heard some things about new recruits in the Brotherhood. Their motto wasn't too friendly towards new recruits... At least, the motto given to them by the civilian populace. "Join the Brotherhood, be dead within a week," it went. He had heard it was because of the recruits being unskilled and over zealous, but he wondered if that was the only reason.
Luckily, these men seemed more composed than a recruit would be. They had probably seen their share of action, and were ready for more. At least, Alaric hoped that was the case.
He walked into the convoy, looking around. The first thing he wanted to do was sleep, but he knew it would be a better idea to get some information... The night air was chilly, so Alaric slipped his jacket on, leaving it unzipped.
Hopefully, someone around here could provide the answers he sought after...
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:14 pm
Cara pulled her sweater on, leaving her pale blue hair crackling with static electricity in its wake. Irritated, she swept the silky stuff up into a long, messy tail. Then she reached for the flap of the large, luxurious tent she shared with her mother.
"And where exactly do you think you're going, missy?" asked a hard voice from behind her. Cara turned to look at the older woman with deliberate slowness.
Lydia James closely resembled her daughter, which only made the differences between them more striking; she had the same delicate, china-doll face, though hers sported fine lines around the eyes and mouth, and her short, bobbed golden-blonde hair was streaked lightly with grey. Where Cara was slender but muscular, Lydia looked as though one solid hit would snap her in half. She was currently wearing a thick, fluffy bathrobe and a sour expression.
Cara, smirking at how silly it was to wear a luxury bathrobe in the middle of the desert, raised a blue eyebrow fractionally. "Out?" she replied, in a tone that suggested that anyone who asked a question with such an obvious answer couldn't be the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree.
"No," said Lydia firmly, "There are strangers in camp; besides which, we'll be getting up early, and you need your strength."
"I'm touched by your concern," Cara replied in a too-bright voice, "And will heed your words of wisdom just as much as I always do." With a jaunty wave and a parody of a winning smile, she stalked from the tent.
Ignoring the enraged spluttering that followed her out, she moved past several other tents, glancing at the occupants without much interest. Finally, she saw what she'd been looking for; a small group of obvious outsiders, looking battered and utterly exhausted. With a twinge of shock, she realized that there was a child among them, a little girl with wide, shell shocked eyes. Oh, God.
Her own eyes flinched away from the child's face, and instead focused on the face of a young man. He was searching for something, his expression tired but aware. The rest of his companions' respective appearances were enough to make her cautious, especially the battered man with the mutilated arm and the expressionless eyes... But she was constantly saying that she wanted to help people like this, and here was her chance to walk the walk.
Taking a deep breath, she moved closer. "Can I help you?" she asked. Her voice didn't shake at all, to her great relief.
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:30 pm
"Ah, possibly..." Alaric said, turning around to find a young-looking girl. Was she the answer to his questions? She didn't look it, he thought, but then... nothing was ever as it appeared, he supposed.
She didn't look like she belonged here in the least, though. She looked too delicate to be a survivor... Especially one working a convoy. Everyone he had seen in his years as a mercenary of sorts had the same look, bland, bored, and slightly nervous... She looked quite different from that.
"We're looking for shelter, but if that's not possible, than directions to the nearest town would be the least we ask for..." he said, keeping track of the rest of the group. He hoped she could provide at least that much for him... He didn't know how much further the town was, but he did know that the deserts were extremely dangerous at night. Whether it be the raiders or the various mutated creatures that roamed the land, none were too hospitable for humanity...
He crossed his arms as he awaited the girl's response, still wondering what she was doing here...
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:42 pm
Jason walked with the others as Elisebeth clung to his hand. He heard a voice ask if they could help and he looked to see a young woman. Then he heard the man who seemed to be the unspoken leader of the group ask her about shelter or a nearby town.
All of a sudden Elisebeth gripped tighter and he looked to where she was looking, he saw the Brotherhood. Of course the child was a bit frightened by them, on top of everything that has happened to her.
He gripped her hand gently and smiled down at her,"Don't worry your safe." this seemed to have the right effect as she eased her grip on him. He took another scan to see that the caravan was pretty much normal except for the Brotherhood being. Jason hoped they would be able to get accommodations for at least the child.
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:55 pm
Cara raised her eyebrows. "Of course you can have shelter," she replied, puzzled. "I mean, normally I might get some crap for it, but even this lot won't fault me for taking you in with everything that's been going on." She glanced back at the little girl, who was clutching another young man's hand like a lifeline, and her eyes softened. "Plus, you've got a kid with you," she added.
"Now let me think," she continued, almost to herself, her eyes sliding out of focus as she started adding things up. "We have one extra tent, but it's pretty big, if you don't mind sharing. I think we probably have a few extra bedrolls somewhere..." She trailed off, lost in her calculations.
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:00 pm
"Anything is fine," Alaric replied, cutting her off. He was glad that they had brought the girl along now, since she was probably the only reason they were allowed to stay. He wondered then if it would have been better to leave her here, under the protection of the convoy and the brotherhood. He would think more on it later, he decided.
Bedrolls were good, but he didn't mind sleeping on anything, as long as their protection was more or less secured. He mentally went through and prioritized on who should have a bed, just in case there weren't enough...
It was only then that he realized he was trailing off into thought himself...
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:08 pm
Alex glanced at the newcomer, she seemed even more out of place than the Brotherhood members. She did not have the same look of most people on the wastes. He turned away again and went along trading with others in the area, he managed to gain a few clean bandages, some water, and a few more rounds for his revolver.
As he was trading he was surprised to find someone had grenades for sale, he left that person almost immediately. As effective as they could be, Alex remembered his lesson all too well.
Once he was back with the group he offered the bandages to Jewlet, though he himself had some medical knowledge his arm made it difficult to treat others. If any injuries became infected they would undoubtedly be slowed down, and as much as he hated to admit it, he would likely need the group to survive, at least until they got out of the desert.
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:18 pm
Cara blinked as her train of thought was derailed, and glanced at Soldier Boy, feeling miffed. She didn't like being interrupted; it was something that authority figures did, something to shut her up and put her in her place, and Cara despised authority figures. Here she was trying to be helpful... And they're exhausted, injured, and likely dehidrated and hungry as well, a little voice in her head reminded her.
Her cheeks turned slightly pink from embarrassment--how could she have forgotten that?-- but her face remained composed. She nodded. "Of course. If you talk to one of the guards, they'll have anything extra taken out of storage for you. If they seem reluctant, tell them that you are the guests of Ms. James," she added, suppressing a smile. It wasn't a lie, after all; she was Ms. James, just not the Ms. James they would think of. "Dinner is in about a half an hour, and the water tank should be close to the campfire." With that, she gave him a little two fingered mock salute and started back toward her tent with a definite spring in her step, feeling absurdly pleased with herself.
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:25 pm
"Oh... Kay then?" he said, somewhat confused about what had just happened. He wasn't used to seeing that kind of behavior... Either people were too selfish or too altruistic, but she seemed like she was a mix of both.
He wondered if that was even possible in this day and age.
He walked back after seeing her leave, taking her name into account. Ms. James... he said, mentally. He would need to remember that name. He wondered why she was so important, though? Maybe she was the leader of this caravan... He couldn't say.
He looked at the man who he had talked to before this had all happened, the man with the bad arm.
"You. I think we might need to talk," he said, still unknowing of the man's name, but well aware of his experience and knowledge. He of all people would know best about why the Brotherhood was here...
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:36 pm
Alex turned and looked at the man,
"I suppose things would be less confusing if you call me Alex. Anyway, what is it you wanted to talk about?"
Alex waited for a response, he wondered if Alaric had heard any other information about the Brotherhood, like which merchant had hired them, and perhaps how they had come to be in the area for the merchant to deal with them in the first place.
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:42 pm
"Alright, Alex... I assume you're as weirded-out by all of this as I am, right? The Brotherhood... I dunno, I assumed since you went off on your own that you might have found something out," he said, crossing his arms. The situation was indeed interesting.
Alex seemed the type to gather information, at least off of his hunch. Knowledge was a key to survival, he figured, and Alex seemed pretty good at surviving...
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:45 pm
Jewlet kept her distance from the group and sat down placing her bag on the ground. She watched checking out everything in her site. She yawned and used her bag as a pillow.
She stared up at the sky. She loved to be outside, even the danger that came with it. "I can say I lived another day."
Jewlet sat up and looked at Alax. "Thanks." She took the bandages and put them away. She relaxed and watched.
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:58 pm
"I did gather some information about them, apparantly they were hired by one of the merchants as part of a trade. The merchant has information on some cache of technology, the Brotherhood made a deal to give goods and more than a few caps to him, along with sending four of their more experienced men as a personal escort."
Alex paused a moment,
"The thing I want to know is how that merchant just so happened to run into them in this kind of area. The Brotherhood tends to stay away from areas devoid of activity, unless they're on one of their ..."Crusades for technology." Have you heard anything about any other Brotherhood activity in this area?"
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