Farmstead Salvage Hunting - Pt 1 - RPLOG

Participants

• Ebreus
• Edel
• Fenris
• Otto
• Phosphorus

Date

9/3/2018

Log

T'was a chilling, cloudy day on the outskirts of the greater Fairhaven area, where a gathering had been organized in a familiar spot, just at the point where the edge of the bubble met the remnants of the highway leading into the vast expanse beyond. The faint wafting of the wind was all that upset the quietude, gentle breeze carrying with it the chills of a dying winter, but at the very least one could be thankful that it wasn't raining. The familiar sight of the jeep a certain Hellhound had rented a while back greets those willing to partake in an expedition out beyond the bubble's protective reach, though it was not a Hellhound that leaned over the front of the car, tip-toed upon a tall rock and with his head under the bonnet. A fennec by shape and smell, the only giveaway that it was Otto were those deep, dimly glowing crimson eyes. Seems he was fiddling with the engine block... too distracted to notice anyone approaching right away.

Fenris trots up behind Otto and the jeep, his gear jingling gently as he jogs. The burly tanuki totters to a stop a pace or two from the Jeep. "You got some adventure under that hood for me, boss?" he asks jovially, smoothing down his orange and saffron robes.

Rather than from the city, Edel comes sauntering onto the scene from the direction of the bubble's exterior. "Engine troubles?" She asks, slinging her duffle over her shoulder. "Need a hand?" She folds her hands behind her head, stretching her back.

Ebreus strides toward the meeting place in his new armor. A grin on his face as he goes through his usual out of bubble checks, ticking them off one by one. Shotguns, Nanomagic (as if he could forget somthing surgically attatched to his brain), hand grenades, and his new Messer all accounted for. With his pre-exit checks done he starts into a light jog through the cool winter's end weather toward the rented jeep, his drones following him. Spying the the Fennec and Shiba Inu by the vehicle he jogs up as his combat drones move to a 20ft periminter. "Hello Otto, Edel." he says and leans lightly against the side of the jeep. He looks over the two of them, the Hellhound crimson eye glow peeking through his lightly tinted visor, "How's the engine check out?" he asks.

*bonk* Otto seems to have underestimated the distance between the bonnet and his head, his scalp striking that hard metal surface, prompting him to ack sharply and rub his head, ears folded down as he regards the arrivals. "Hell's bells... Heya Fen!" he greets, then glances over towards Edel as she arrives. "Oh, just checking the oil." Otto waves a hand dismissively "You can take a peek if you want, I don't mind!" he shrugs lightly and leans back over the edge of the vehicle to tinker with something in there. "Hmmm, what's this..." is heard as a series of odd mechanical sounds follows, a few parts tossed over the fennec's back as he uh... works? "Bah, that'll do her good." Otto finally concludes, hops off of his rock and wipes his oil-stained hands off on a rag he had slung over his shoulder, before tossing that away as well.

Opening the door, he raises his ears and peeks over the dashboard to peer out through the windshield, before adjusting his seat, a few books placed there to help his shorter stature peer at the path ahead without too much trouble. Oddly enough, his feet still managed to reach the pedals! Neat! Turning the key, he fires her up, the engine coming to a near-instant rumble of motion, before Otto hops back out and looks around for anyone new. "Oh, heya Eb. Glad you could join us." he casts the mutant a nod and a smile. "Fantastic. OKAY FOLKS!" Otto looks among the group and clears his throat.

"Reports indicate that there is a mostly untouched farm... you know, with the fruits and the veggies and the meats and aw, you know what I'mma talkin' bout. Anyway! We have reason to believe there are some pretty snazzy looking bits of salvage over there, so it's our job to head on over, pacify whatever wandering schmucks we might encounter, haul the loot back in and then all go have a pint to celebrate our mediocre accomplishment. Sound about right?" he raises his brows and looks among the group. "Questions will be answered along the way!"

Edel offers a polite wave to Ebreus as she looks over the jeep, shrugging. "If it works, then there is no need. Not much use for old motor engineers these days, what with vehicles all being in pieces. I am used to it." She rubs at the back of her neck, frowning. "Isn't it a bit rude to knock over whatever group found and possibly got the place running first? Sounds a lot like raiding to me."

Fenris frowns at the short sum up. "A farm?" he asks, "You don't have us trying to lay claim to somebody's home, do you?" The tanuki fold thick arms across his broad chest. "If this is a pillaging mission for the Z," he says, "You can count me out and you may just have to fight your way through me."

Ebreus nods as Otto explains the mission and that questions will be asked on the way. "Sounds like fun." he says before Fenris and Edel raise their concerns. "Raiding probably won't be called for. Unless they shoot first then we could probably negotiate for the salvage... and if they do respond to visitors with lethal force it might be better for us to shut them down... some less bulletproof people might die if we don't."

"A farm, heh. If it's untouched, then there shouldn't be anybody there to worry about. Hopefully, at least." Phosphorus remarks, having shown up with minimal fanfare. She came with her standard medium armor kit - helmet, vest, armored trousers, helmet, gloves, boots, rucksack. Weaponry is situation-apropos, too - primarily stuff for moderate to long range. She leans casually against the vehicle, glancing at the others in turn, waiting for the briefing to wrap up.

"Relax. It's abandoned. We wouldn't be looting it if it wasn't." Otto snickers as he closes the bonnet on the jeep, then slides over the hood and hops into the driver's seat. "I'm a Prommie anyway, why the fuck would I give two shits and a rat's ass what big Z want? Most of this was organized at Arborwatch anyway, don't worry about it. Actually do worry about it, because if it was somebody's home we'll likely top by for a cup of tea and conduct a peaceful trade. But seeing as the building we've been scouting out shows no signs of life other than the wandering band of thugs... yeeeah, I'd suggest you worry about that instead. As for me? I'll worry about the rust bucket. Gonna cost me a fortune if she gets damaged..." Otto huffs as he turns the ignition key and gets the engine going. "Hmmm, less like a kitten and more like a... horse with a bad case of the whooping cough. I don't know what that sounds like... nor do I want to know." Otto muses as he grips the steering wheel. "Come on, then!" he calls out to everyone, noting Phosphorus' arrival. "Ah! The hero from last time, fashionably late, eh?" he teases and sticks his tongue out at her. "Keep in mind, I said 'mostly''... there's only so much a scout can see without going in there themselves. But anyway, let's get going!"

The tanuki's frown evaporates like it was never there, though he does give Otto an appraising look. Then Fenris grins and shouts "Shotgun!" before flinging himself into the front passenger seat.

"Well, if it gets damaged, I can help you with that. I was a mechanic 'fore P-day. I might work on weapons and armour now, more than vehicles, but I still have the old skills. As long as we are not playing the part of pillagers though, I can help out. As an out of bubble farmer and scavver, myself, though, have to make sure, you know? If I go slinging trouble on others out there, trouble might be done unto me, and I don't want that." She brushes her fingers through her hair and climbs into the jeep.

"No such thing as heroes, Otto." Phosphrous shakes her head, pulling the other door of the jeep open and lodging her rucksack between the two seats, leaving someone else to take the middle slot. It's a big pack. She moves her rifle to a more comfortable position, making sure that the barrel is pointed towards the ceiling. "If the vehicle is having issues, I might be able to do some minor fixing. We always had to do a little bit of field maintenance if something got fucked."

Ebreus climbs into the jeep after Otto explains that the place is abandoned with only waistland raiders usually coming near. His drones follow him into the jeep as he says, "Thugs around the farm? Well we might just get to make the area a bit more safe for scavangers." he says. He leans back a bit and snickers for a moment, "I might just have to look into any possibility of making and marketing motor-vehicles... maybe even some for in-bubble use. They use to be everywhere before P-Day so might as well see if they're still a marketable commodity."

The fennec reaches into his pack and shoves a laptop in Ebreus' hands. "Play us some funky beats, Eb!" he calls out before pressing down on the gas pedal, the tires spinning up with a loud screech before they accelerate rapidly and drive off into the distance, leaving a dust cloud in their wake! "Oh yeah! She runs like a dream!" Otto yips happily, unphased by the lack of the bubble's signal. He turns to give the panda a nudge and a smile "Lighten up you grump. You were pretty damn amazing in there. Sure, I didn't see it, but I heard all about it. Wayda keep your cool." he winks at her, before making a slight turn, the jeep's engine purring a satisfying rumble all along the way. "Anyway! If you lot have any questions, now's the time! Otherwise, enjoy the beats! We should be arriving not long from now!"

Fenris has his own feelings about the way things were handled on that last mission, but he keeps them to himself, sticking his head out the window and enjoying the wind in his face and the bugs in his teeth as he takes in the scenery.

It turns out to be a good thing the big tanuki is in the front with some extra leg room. As soon as the jeep clears the bubble, he starts to gradually expand! Becoming even larger than usual!

Edel folds her arms, leaning back in her seat. She was chubby, maybe, but short. She did not take up much room. "And what did Phosphorus do?" She asks, closing her eyes. "Unless you mean back at the mall. In which case I suppose the question still stands. I was tending to Rod at the time, so I missed most of what was going on up front."

The panda took up a fair amount of space, but this was more due to what she was wearing than her body shape is. Phosphorus ultimately sighs, and leans the forehead of her helmet against the barrel of her rifle, closing her eyes and giving a simple recount of the situation. "Someone had a gun. Someone was provoking them to use the gun. I removed the gun from them."

Ebreus looks through the musical options on the computer for a few moments before picking something. He thinks for a moment before asking, "Well do we have an idea of how well armed these 'thugs' are suppose to be and are we expecting to be able to extract everything in one go or is this going to be several trips?" As they reach the edge of the bubble his drones drop slightly and an instant later everyone can feel a mini-bubble going up as Ebreus' drones return to their previous altitude. "Mini-Bubble up." he comments, letting everyone know he's the source of the bubble.

"Sadly, I have no idea... the scouts didn't report anything specific like that, but eh... I doubt they're toting miniguns and rocket launchers." Otto shrugs lightly and jams out to the tunes of Black Sabbath, even headbanging some! The better part of a half hour passes as the group speeds along the ever-worsening highway, the jeep's suspension trying and mostly failing to make the ride smooth, those old parts needing some replacing it would seem. Perhaps if Otto owned one of his own, it would be in better repair, but that was besides the point... The landscape changes twice over around them, from a vast desert with no end, to a wide expanse of grassy hills, before they would find themselves having to slow down and follow a dirty path through some densely packed woodlands.

The path is bumpy and unstable, mostly a dirt road that has long since seen proper use, though still wide enough to fit a car through... just barely. "Oh... no." Otto sighs once he spots something blocking their way. Nay, not something, someone... A human of all things, dressed in fatigues with a rifle hanging across his back, pure and perfect but filthier in his intentions than all of Zephyr combined. He greets them with a wide smile and a wave of one hand. "Well, well! Nice wagon you have there folks." the menacing man sneers as Otto pulls the handbrake.

"Hmmm, you're some of those freaks from the west, aren't you? Well, it doesn't matter. This patch of land belongs to me and my family, and you lot are trespassing." he folds his arms, a confident, even smug demeanor clear about him "Not to worry, all is forgiven, simply pay the toll and go right on through. Refuse? Well... that's just plain rude, and we'll have to teach you some manners..."

Fenris is not really a fan of Black Sabbath, but with his head out the window, he can't really hear much over the roar of the wind and the rattling of the jeep along the road. As the jeep rumbles to a stop, the burly tanuki wastes no time in opening his door and stepping out of the vehicle, rising to stand nearly seven and a half feet tall with brawny girth to match. "Sure!" he says with a pleasant smile on his face. He produces a large package of knock-off oreos from somewhere in his robes and waddles up toward the man in fatigues. "Cookie?" he offers, standing uncomfortably close. Not threatening, exactly, but very big. "I don't have much, but what I have I share."

Edel perks an ear and reclines in the back seat, sighing. Just their luck. She would let Fenris- And maybe others, do the talking. She was fully aware that dealing with bandits would be more like to rile her up.

Phosphorus opens her eyes, but does not move her head. Bandits. She remains visibly calm, though her pulse quickens just a tad. She leans back, peering through the window critically at the man. More importantly, she looks out the window, looking for signs of an ambush. This was all too common, in war, and after the apocalypse. Always someone waiting.

Ebreus nods... or his he just headbanging in response to Otto telling him that they don't know how well the thugs are armed. The bumps and jostles of the poor road conditions hardly phase Ebreus who spends most of the time up until the jeep stops enjoying the music. "Hmm?" he hums as he hears Otto. He peers through the front windshield and seeing the human blocking their path as Fenris gets out to... well be Fenris is all his cool and unusual glory. He opens the door next to him and lets his drones out to establish a perimiter before stepping out with small plumes of nanite fire surrounding him as he rises to his own large standing hight. He glances around the area before settling his attention on the human and saying "Right on both accounts. We're from the west and we're, to use the commonly accepted term, mutants." He stretches lightly now that he's not confined to the jeep and continues, "I know a lot's changed but these roads were public, just doesn't seem right to have a toll with no signs beforehand."

Once the drones fan out, the sounds of gunfire echo through the dense woodlands, one of the machines coming back tumbling and damaged onto the path behind the jeep, the other crashing somewhere deep in the woodlands. The other two drones either remain undetected, or unattacked. "That was a warning. You lot keep your weapons where I can see them or else you'll be eating lead." the man warns, his scowl so deep that his brows nearly met his nose. "Tell you what though... I'll let you pass for the rest of those drones and a gallon of fuel." the man sneers as he flicks a cookie into his maw. "Mmmm, and these too." "Great..." Otto butts his forehead against the steering wheel. "That fuel will come out of my pocket. But fine, I can pay up for that." he growls under his breath only so much that the others around the car could hear, though by the looks of that grin spreading on the man's face, he'd picked up on that too. He goes on to say "So far as me and my family's concerned, this road's mine. Now what'll it be? I'm trying to do you folks here a favor. I can just give the signal and we can loot all y'all's things, not just the fuel and drones! You know what?" he draws his rifle and glares daggers at them "I think I AM being a tad TOO generous with you. So consider it a limited time offer. You got one minute before I give the signal and y'all are turned to swiss cheese."

Fenris raises a finger and waggles it back at Ebreus. "I am not a mutant," he admonishes, never turning his pleasant, round face from the brigand before him, "I am a tanuki. There is an important distinction." The burly tanuki does not step away as the bandit raises his gun. "It is what I am both inside and out," he explains, his smile never slipping, "It is a way of life as well as my shape." His little smile becomes a wide grin. "And it comes with some perks!" That said, the tanuki suddenly lunges forward to wrap himself around the brigand in front of him before rolling himself into a ball, bandit and all and making like a wrecking ball out of the way of any retribution from the trees.

Edel knits her brow. This is why she preferred to travel by foot! She keeps her voice low when she grumbles something about degenerate neanderthals. She had none of her things at stake, at least. "I don't suppose your drones have a self destruct on them, do they?" She asks quietly of Ebreus. "Could give them a proper gift." Or Fenris could start the show. "Aww hell." She lays back, clear of the windows, and covers her head just in case.

"There are no heroes." Phosphorus echos herself from earlier, peering at Ebreus with a wary eye. She growls as she kicks the door open, pulling her smoke grenades and laying down cover to one side of the jeep's flank, controlling the lines of fire, obscuring the vehicle. The panda takes cover by the smoke, careful not to place herself in the noxious vapors, clicking her rifle's safety off, watching the opened section of the woods with her gun at the ready. "I have another smoke grenade left. We should get going, and set up a defense further up the road, preferably out of the forest. We're at a bad spot."

The moment Ebreus sees his damaged drones a loud growl emanates from his muzzle and the fires around him flair up. He stairs daggers at this petty bandit, totally ignoring Edels words as he draws his shotguns. Seeing the tanuki... do that to the bandit ahead of him he shouts out, "Counter offer: leave your guns, ammo and supplies and walk away with your lives!" He commands his remaining drones to open fire on Humans as soon as they're detected. He takes cover by the jeep as he prepares to punish them for damaging his drones. "Anyone see them?" he asks those by the jeep.

The man is given but a moment only to let off the first note of a shrill cry, before he is tumbled away at breakneck speeds by Fenris and his tanuki antics. He doesn't even get a chance to hear what Ebreus had to say, though the large mutant's words are swiftly drowned out by the cascade of gunfire. Bullets rain upon the jeep, Otto and Edel both ducking for cover, the fennec thankfully small enough to make that easy on himself, and Edel smart enough to dodge a bullet to the head with her swift thinking once Fenris acts. The tanuki was long gone, likely keeping the bandit leader pinned and disabled further into the woodlands somewhere, and as for the rest of the team? Hard armor and tactical hiding behind the jeep doors offers just enough protection to ward off gunshot wounds. Adding to that the grenade Phosphorus had thrown forcing a thick blind spot for the enemy marksmen, and the team were given just enough time for Otto to scream out, "GET IN! NOW!!!" he starts the jeep up and revs the engine. They had seconds before he shifted into gear and floored it.

Fenris bounces happily along the road, like a furry boulder until he feels like he has put enough distance between himself and the other bandits. Then he unrolls himself and artfully lands on the burly fellow he had brought along with him. "You know," he addresses the brigand, who is either badly rattled or unconscious by this point, "That's a nice uniform. Do you have any with name tags? I like uniforms." He keeps the man pinned down while he recovers his bearings, ready to pop him one if he struggles too much.

Edel dresses light. Her bodysuit does not provide much protection, but the vehicle does, at least. She contemplates jumping out, but if they're moving... She reconsiders. She does take advantage of Ebreus' regulation nanomagic, though, materializing a loose-fitting jumpsuit over her own bodysuit, the pattern and colouration mimicking the woodland around them. Good preparation for when she -does-.

Phosphorus quickly re-embarks, hail of bullets clattering against the jeep, the panda climbing up into the vehicle with her rifle at the ready, still scanning the open line of forest, ready to start firing again. She would throw her last smoke grenade behind them, once the vehicle started moving, attempting to provide some cover so they can flee safely. "Once we get to the farm," Phos says, voice level, "We need to set up a defensive area. I have my sniper with me - but some traps would be rather nice, yes."

Ebreus continues to growl in fury at the bandits as the hail of gunfire strikes the far side of the jeep. He couldn't tell if the rounds were jacketed or not in this bullet-storm. He orders the shield drone and medibot back to him, the form or defending the latter to the best of it's ability, to he as he snags the downed mechanical drone. He tosses the wreck into the Jeep as the functional drones pile in. He pulls the pin from one of his hand grenades and tosses it over the jeep just before popping into the jeep and slamming the door. "In!" he says as he prepares to return fire out the windows.

The man looks as though he is about ready to throw up those cookies he'd had. Too sick to struggle, he mutters and gurgles something incomprehensible under Fenris as the sounds of gunfire come in from the far distance. "Wuh...b...fug-you..." he blurbs and collapses his head back onto the ground, looking rather defeated.

Meanwhile in the line of fire, Otto pulls the handbrake and the jeep darts off, the tires digging slightly into the ground as the rubber burns against it before departure. Thank the stars, they were all okay. The trio drive right past Fenris and towards the forest's exit, nearly slamming into the Tanuki on their panicked way out of the woodlands.

Thankfully, the forest's edge is but a mere hundred or so feet ahead, and Otto manages to stop the jeep at the side of the road and turn off the engine. "Everyone okay?" he asks and takes a deep breath, his forehead butting the steering wheel. "I think we might have lost one of the tires, but we can't leave Fen behind either. Anyone wanna go back and find him? I need to check for damage." he announces as he gets out of the car.

Fenris smiles pleasantly down at his captive, then flips him over and strips him of his fatigues. He rigs up something like a strait-jacket with the trousers, but keeps the coat and other bits and pieces for himself. "I love uniforms," he says happily, trotting away from the bound and defeated brute, checking through the pouches and pockets he has claimed for himself as he jogs off after the others.

"I am alright, and I can go back," Edel volunteers. "I am nimble on my feet, and besides. He is a fellow tanuki, and my friend and champion besides. It would be remiss of me to leave someone behind," she says, hopping out of the jeep. "Unless you would rather me help with the jeep? Though I can lend my aid to that when I return, too."

"I can also go back. I'm not too great at vehicles, but I do know how to do some basic maintenance tasks. I'll just need to take off some of this armor, and I should be good to go." Phosphorus says, peering over at Edel and Ebreus with a raised eyebrow. "I do not think it is safe for anyone to remain alone, however. A lone agent is vulnerable - I would rather none of us be exposed."

Ebreus keeps watch for them out the back windshield as Otto high-tails it out of the combat zone. As the jeep comes to a halt he looks down to his damaged drone and sighs. He opens the door he hopped through to escape the hail of munitions and says, "Edel, did you bring any tinkering tools? I have a drone to fix." as he steps out of the jeep holding his damaged drone. He looks back to the forest then to Edel and Otto. "Or I could go help Fen and you could tinker." he offers. He then nods at Phos, "So two of us go and two of us stay."

The fennec sighs deeply as he circles the car and notes that yep... they'd lost not just one, but two of their tires, and what was worse is that they had only one spare in the trunk. "Well, Edel... either we'll have to hike to the farm and hope we find another tire there, or someone here knows how to fix rubber. I sure don't. Phos makes a strong point though, take someone with ya if yer' going!" Otto sighs and hangs his head dejectedly as he opens up the trunk and retrieves their only spare and a car jack. "Do what you will, be it now or later, I could use your help here. OKAY EVERYONE! We're taking a break while we get the tire situation sorted out!" Otto announces as he places the jack under the chassis and starts to crank one side up, the one side where they'd taken the most gunfire, and the one side where they'd lost both tires to bullet holes. It was a wonder that the other side had survived, though Phosphorus and Ebreus' interventions were likely what saved them from having four flats rather than two!

Fenris finishes digging around and examining his new acquisition, depositing his new clothing in his small pack along with most of the things stored in them. He munches down an energy bar he found in a pouch and washes it down with the entire contents of a hip flask filled with either really bad vodka or superior paint stripper and tosses the empty flask into his bag. Then business tended to, the tanuki gives a little hop, skip, and a jump, diving forward and wrapping himself once more into a furry wrecking ball to make his way down the road. Eat your heart out, speedy blue hedgehog!

Edel purses her lips. "... As much as I would love to go back, then, strategically speaking, I am better off here to fix this. I do have my tools," she says, patting the strap of her duffle. "You two make tracks then. Rubber is not the easiest thing to fix, but I can patch one if I hurry, before we lose too much air," she says, dropping her bag to the ground and unzipping it, ready to get to work.

"Right then." Phosphorus takes her helmet off, flicking up her visor, undoing a chin and back-of-head strap, and pulling the whole thing off. She tucks a few loose strands of hair back where it should go, setting the helmet in the vehicle, and undoes some of her side plates to her vest, shoving those back into the jeep, too. The panda extracts a roll of duct tape, sealing her pants and jackets' holes closed, to avoid noise. She sticks her revolver and holster, along with her sniper, in there, but keeps her other pistol, and her rifle. "Right. Should I just go alone? We need to be quiet, Ebreus."

Ebreus nods as he sets the damaged drone down on the hood of the jeep. "If you can maintain a bubble I can patch tires." he says. He reaches into the jeep and grabs his 'nade pouch then looks to Phosphorus, "I'm ready to get Fenris." he says as he looks down the road back to where Fenris was. WHen Phos says they have to be quiet he nods, "It isn't my specialty but I can be quest."

"Okay then. Thanks Edel." Otto flashes her a smile as he gets to work on changing the less damaged tire, leaving the more complex job of patching the slowly deflating less damaged one to her. "Be careful back there, you two! And I'd listen to Phos, Eb. Would rather we're not caught with our pants down over here. Kinda can't go anywhere right now, so if they learn we're still around and want vengeance... yeeeeah... just, be discrete, okay?" he flashes them a worried smile, then returns to his work.

Fenris bounces and rolls happily along the road, composing a little rolling song as he goes. It goes something like this: ?Roll! Roll! Roll!" ad nauseum. Fortunately for everyone, he is far too busy doing the actual rolling to sing out loud.

"Don't worry about the drone. I will give it a patch-up free of charge, just let me finish with the vehicle," Edel says, seeing as she had already started. "I just needed to get it patched before the air ran away. You just worry about getting our five man band back together, eh?"

"You'll want to leave the grenades here, unless you happen to have some more smoke grenades. Doesn't have to be WP, just something in case we need to run. We're going to take the forest route - the road is dangerous, too high risk." Phosphorus says, sternly, peering at Ebreus with a raised eyebrow. She shakes her head and starts heading into the forest - the side that she hadn't smoked off - her ears peaked and her eyes wary, looking for any sign of the missing tanuki.

Ebreus smiles at Edel and says, "Thank you. It's been with me for quite some time." he says. He then looks back to Phosphorus with a smile and says, "Oh? Alright." he says and tosses the grenades back into the jeep. "I'll need to make some smoke 'nades when we get back." he says.