A Troubled Little Town Called New Hope, Part 1 - RPLOG
Participants
Date
Monday September 2, 2019=Log=
The sky shines bright in Eureka, the northeastern winds cooling the city streets quite nicely. A shame that the agents gathering aren't able to take advantage of the lovely weather, however, as there were missions to do and a world to restore. It has, however, seemed to deter the mystery messenger from making an appearance at the meeting spot for the time they have outlined to join at. Soldiers and guards file in and out of the compound, all attending to their own business. Not a single other soul -- besides a small flock of birds coming to rest in a tree fifty feet from the compound -- are present, nor are they giving any of the arriving agents instructions. Perhaps the anonymous messenger is late?
*THUD* the ground shakes as Magnus lands, the fox having flown here by means of SCIENCE!, or rather the boosters strapped to his legs. He'd rise from his landing spot and cough out some of the dust he'd kicked up. "Whoever-COUGH-said that making a superhero landing is a cool and good way to make an entrance... deserves a prostate exam from Freddy Krueger." He waves his hands around to diffuse the dust he'd kicked up, then cast a wink and a wave at whatever stares he'd attracted. Garbed in a thick hooded black leather vest, loose cammo-patterned cargo trunks and a red undershirt, Magnus the fennec skips along merrily towards the meeting place. His arsenal had changed quite a bit over the years, though two things seemed to remain the same among it. While hidden, those who knew him well enough would remember he'd have his two concealed blades somewhere on his body, where as the rest was outwardly apparent!
With a kick in his step and a bounce in his gait, he nears the rendesvous point and finds a cozy spot to lean against, doing so on his shoulder as his back now carried more than just his pack. Perched on there was an automatic crossbow that could briefly be described as a thing of beauty, and just beneath it hanging horizontally across his lower back was a holstered M4 Carbine with an adjustable stock, such that it doesn't jut out like a sore thumb. The fox looked much more armored too, barely anything on him was exposed, save for his face, fingers and feet. More-so there was now a bandoleer across his chest, slung between his left hip and his right shoulder. Spare ammunition and other goodies were visible just there. In other words, he was a ready boye.
Near the meeting spot, leaning up against a wall with his arms crossed, was a dark-furred kitsune waiting for the arrival of the one who supposedly sent the message. He was dressed in a rather casual looking outfit that clung loosely to his form. On his back was an average-sized backpack and what appears to be an ornate hunting bow. He didn't look all too armored, rather for the sake of aesthetics or because it would inconvenience him in other ways. However, like an undercover cop or something similar, he did have a vest of kevlar under his shirt that should do a fair job at protecting anything vital. Seeing the arrival of Magnus, looking at decked out as ever, he pushes off the wall and makes his wave over to chat with him. It wasn't too long before the arrival of a tigress also draws his attention. He didn't immediately recognize them, but he would give a wave regardless.
"Heya Mags, trying to get yourself into some more trouble?" He says with a teasing tone. "Ah, and looks like we have another who couldn't resist the allure of adventure. Good to meet'cha'." He says towards the tigress. "Oh, right, wasn't the contact suppose to be here already? I've been waiting around but haven't seen hide nor hair of whoever we were supposed to meet."
When Nena wasn't at the manor to work, the maid's penchant for slacking came to the surface once again. Ambling down the street as if she had nowhere to be, enjoying the day for all intents and purposes. She did, of course, have somewhere to be, but until someone pointed her in that direction, she acted as if she didn't. Drawing on her cigarette, the many formed woman was orange and stripey today- And out of uniform to boot.
Of course, Nena's voice and accent tended to give her away- Not that deception was her intent- and today was no different in that regard. "Hey. What's up?" Is her greeting to Magnus as she meanders onto the scene, setting her large bag down at her feet. She had far fewer weapons to call her own, by comparison. A shotgun strapped to the bag, and a fancy dagger half concealed under her coat.
Zophah comes up in a rush on the Eureka compound in her usual atire: a vixen in a bikini, lab coat and boots. Besides her bag she carries around everywhere, this time she has a modern compound bow and a quiver full of arrows straped to her back. She goes over to hug Magnus hello before standing around likie everyone else, catching her breath. "so where is this mysterious person?" she asks to no one in particular.
As if cued by Zophah asking about the mystery man calling them, the birds would be spooked out of the tree by the movement of one of their kind. Landing on the cobblestone path in front of the agents, this particular pigeon takes a moment to preen himself before speaking up loud and clear. "Alright, everyone! Now that you all are finally here, listen up." The pigeon's voice, tinged with a faint Italian accent, commands a sense of authority over the others, or at least, a sense that the speaker is in a position of authority. "You may refer to me as Enzo. We are to set out with horses posthaste, after you have prepared supplies, and I will be giving directions on which path to follow. Hopefully, I have made myself clear?"
One would imagine that his beak was turned upwards in a sense of superiority, rather than being because he's a couple of feet too short to maintain level eye-contact with the agents. As he finishes speaking, a horse trainer wearing an outfit with the symbol of the Prometheans on it leads six horses through the main entrance of the outer wall. Two of them are Akhal-Tekes, two of them a Criollo, and one is an Appaloosa.
"I'm here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I'm all out of g-oh, wait..." the fennec reaches into his pocket and pulls out a large packet of minty fresh looking bubblegum strips. "Nevermind, I have lots more!" he'd snicker as he passes some around to whoever wants some, then flicks a piece into his own muzzle, chewing it up with a goofy smile on his face. "Sho what the heckie heck are we here fo-oop!" he'd flinch as is suddenly hugged. "Zoop? Hello!" the energetic lad greets, and passes a quick grope over the vixen's rump before they part. "Gum?" he offers, then puts the packet away.
"Aaaaaadventure!" his hand rises in response to Zen's question. "Ain't gonna stay sharp sitting at home picking lint from between my toes after all!" before looking down at his exposed feet. "Hmmm, although I probably should groom these soon. Maybe get a pedicure like all the pretty ladies." He'd place a hand on his hip, one behind his head, curve his figure just a tad as he casts a lidded gaze at Nena, before blowing her an air kiss. Dropping the act, the fennec yawns widely and stretches out.
Soon enough however their mystery man arrives, and expells all he has to say onto them. "Iiiii'm ready!" the fennec chymes immediately and goes for the Appaloosa horse. "I like this one, I will name it..." Magnus pauses and ducks down to peek at the animal's... privates. "I will name him Septimus! Because he's a gorgeous fucking bastard." The fox merrily as he hops right on top of his steed and grabs the reigns, swings them and yips "Giddyup!" before the animal rears up... and throws him right off. The fox lands right on his ass and rubs his head. "No oats for you when we get back!"
Zophah accepts the gum from Magnus, but politely stores it away in her bag for later. And when their host arrives she looks down at the talking pidgeon. Her mind racing through all of her knowledge on how an actual pidgeon could be talking like that. She can't find a reason besides 'Coyote did it' and so didn't think much else on the matter. "I'll take this horse." she says, picking one of the Akhal-Tekes. She struggles to get up on the horse, her knowledge on real hurses purely academic. There was her through experience with horse morphs, but she's quite sure that's not the kind of experience she's supposed to use in this situation.
"... Horses?" Nena shakes her fingers through her lengty black mane of hair, then nods. "Alright. I've never ridden a horse before, that should be interesting." Reshouldering her bag, she nods a greeting to the others, as well. With a flick of her wrist, she discards her burnt down cigarette and approaches one of the steeds. With how little she knew of horses, she had no particular preference on which, and ends up by a Criollo. "Can't be much different from riding my motorbike," she lies to herself as she tries to get mounted. Awkwardly. She manages it, eventually, upon which she returns Magnus' look with a grin. "If you're looking to get prettied up, I've had time to get pretty good at painting nails at least," she half-teases.
Zen gives an amused snicker to Magnus's greetings to everyone. He was always so 'over-the-top' that it was hard to maintain a straight face. Though, the arrival of the commanding pidgeon soon stole his attention away. Well, he wasn't expecting a pint-sized pidgeon to be running intel on this mission, but... stranger things have happened. Oh, and he mentioned we would be riding on horseback? Looking over to the different breeds of horses, the kitsune walks over and combs his hand down the neck of one of the Akhal-Tekes. "Huh, can't say I've ridden horseback before... though I've encountered something similar." He says, walking over to the side of the one he chose. It was roughly around that time that he sees Magnus get flung from his, causing him to grin wide. "Well, perhaps I know what not to do." He says with a sly tone before trying to mount his horse.
The horse tamer -- a female orca morph -- can't help but raise a hand to her lips and hide her laugh, seeing Magnus get flung right off of his seat. "That one's an old horse, and he can be quite stubborn too. Be careful about upsetting him." She then turns to the rest of the group. "These horses are specially trained. They won't be easy to ride for beginners, but there certainly would be worse candidates."
With that, Enzo flutters up and perches himself atop of Zen's shoulder, after the latter had saddled himself on the back of the Akhal-Tekes. "No questions? Good, I didn't want to bother anyway. Alright, from here, we turn west and then south out of the city. This is your last call to pick up supplies from any sort of settlement, so do so on the way out of here." A pause. "...oough, I almost don't want to look down, because all of your techniques are so, so wrong. Let's head out, and I'll instruct you all as we go." With that, he spreads his wings, signalling to head out.
It takes 6 days on horseback to reach the location, travelling for a total of six hours a day with frequent rests in between to let the horses regain their stamina. Enzo guides the party down the highway as the path is taken; some cities, many of them barren ghost towns, are passed through on the way along the coastline, but less and less frequently as they divert along the path further east from the shore. As the climate intensifies, his tutoring on how to properly ride starts to pay off, and everyone learns basic horseriding skills during their travels.
As the party travels, some... find it rougher than others. Zophah takes it the worst; while the assistance from the other agents and the supplies brought along help, the trip is the most tiring for her, being unused to living out in the wilderness and constantly on the move. Nena isn't as worse for wear, but living in the wild as the landscape around her transitions to sandy plains and scorching sun takes a toll on her. Zen and Magnus take it much better, though, and their expertise in the wilderness helps the others get by.
Some time after passing through the mountain range on the Arizona side of the border to California, the pigeon guide perched atop of Magnus's shoulder lets out a weary sigh. "Finally. Home sweet home." With a flap of his wings, he lifts into the air. "I'll go ahead; I am in desperate need of a bath with soap. I trust you four are competent enough to figure out where you have to go from here." Unless anyone objects quick enough, he takes off into the horizon, dipping back down past the short treeline formed by the foliage off the side of the road.
Straight ahead is a highway overpass and to the right side a tall pole with a logo on it -- one indicating the presence of a gas station -- and a road sign. On the latter, the white text that once read "Vicksburg Rd" on it has been sprayed over with black spray paint. It now has just a single, uppercase K, formatted in blackboard bold.
Par for the course as far as Magnus was concerned. He was gone from Fairhaven for months at a time while on his own trips, and this was a good opportunity to pass the time and get to know his team. ...kinda. For some reason he didn't feel any more acquainted with them than he did before they'd even left, and the week they'd spent on the trail whizzed past him like a summer breeze. Right then and there, he was thankful for Edel's instruction in survival outside the bubble. Well, much the same skills applied inside as well, but overall he did well thanks to her diligent work as a mentor.
"Oh, we're here?" the fox would note as the realization hits him like a lead weight. "Neato." The fennec notes and hops off of his steed. "Smell ya later, Septimus. No, seriously... you need a bath." he'd pat the horse and get a flap of his tail across the muzzle. "Well you do!" Magnus huffs deeply. "We making camp here, or...?" Magnus raises a brow and places his hands on his hips, unsure of what to make of the area. Drawing the crossbow from his back, his eye peers through its scope for a closer view of their surroundings. "Wonder if I'll find another stash of peculiar white powder again. Ha!"
Zophah is tired. Not in the 'oh it's been a long day' kind of tired, but a 'I'm willing to kill someone for a good meal and a night's rest' kind of tired. Even knowing that their destination is so close, she just slides off her horse and nearly falls on the ground next to Magnus. "We there, or am I seeing a mirage again? Is that a gas station?"
The worst part, as far as Nena was concerned, was the boredom. And the years spent wandering post-nanite America all too readily come back to memory. At least the fur helps prevents thigh chafing! One less thing to worry about. Her only real complaint is that "It's dry out here, and I don't even have my motorbike this time." She slouches a little and takes a peek at her pack of cigarettes, contemplating... Before erring on the side of saving for later. She eyes Magnus and cracks a wry grin. "We can only hope. That would be one way to liven up the trip. And that's our destination, huh? Spot anything out there?"
Zen rolls his shoulders and gives a quick stretch before dismounting from his horse. Taking the reigns, he leads the horse along the route, looking for a spot he could tie his mount off. He wasn't too unfamiliar with long excursions either, especially since he was responsible for scouting around and playing the role of some new-world cartographer. "Right... we are 'here'... but... somehow I feel like I'm missing part of the story." He says, glancing around towards the gas station and overpass. It doesn't take him long to find some road rails that he was able to fix his horse too, fashioning one of those cowboy knots that would unravel with just the right tug, but remain strong from any the horse would give.
He gives a soft, slightly apologetic look to Zophah and Nena, "Right, well, this was only half the trip. If there was anything in particular that was making it rough before, perhaps we could scavenge around for something that could help before making that 6-day trek back." He scratches his chin and looks around to them all, "So, this was some sort of 'SOS' deal... right? Somehow, this feels a bit off, especially taking as long as it did to reach here... I mean, doesn't 'SOS' sort of imply a sense of urgency?" He gives a few more stretches and says, "Well, I wouldn't mind checking out what's in that gas station over there. Maybe some non-perishable foods managed to survive and remain?"
At the gas station proper, the pumps shaded underneath the canopy seem to have fallen into disuse; they're covered in grime and sand, and seemingly emptied of any sort of fuel. The most "use" the current settlers are getting out of it are tying their horses around the nearby support beams, all but two beams on one end of the canopy being taken up by horses; the two unnocupied beams have some rope set out next to them, suggesting this is where strangers tie up their own horses. Each pair of pumps have their own trough set out by them, all of them starting to near emptiness.
Beyond the canopy, a lone figure sits in the shade of the building, on a wooden chair laid out beside the entrance to the gas station's interior. Dressed in a brown duster, their gaze is turned down slightly, preventing anyone from seeing their face from above due to the wide-brimmed hat they wear, and cigarette smoke rises up around their headwear.
"You alright there Zoop?" Magnus sighs as he leans down to help the vixen up. "Here, this might help." the fennec pulls out a small flask of pure water, and offering it to her. Once they had all taken a good look around the area, the fox nods at Zen's inquiry. "Yeah... did... did anyone ask WHY we were on the damn road for six days and arrived here at this rinky dink ruin? I'm all for a road trip but isn't this supposed to be a mission-mission?" He'd shrug his shoulders and look around once more, noting the figure in the distance. "Look out fellas, Clint Eastwood chilling over there." Magnus snickers as he moves over towards the figure. "Hey there fella! We're traveling circus freaks here for... reasons? What's the good word around these parts?" He'd address the person, unsure if he was even talking to a living thing. For all he knew it was another corpse. Wouldn't be the first time...
Zophah slowly gets up to lead her horse to an open tieing location at the gas station, taking some drinks from the flask Magnus gave her. She leans against a post, continuing to take deep breaths. "And is there somewhere I... can refill my water, please?" She looks around at the other people here, her mind slowly switching back to 'work' mode and observing their surroundings.
Nena pats the sleeves of her jacket off, clearing away dust from the road. "This is sort of quaint. Kind of like the old western movies. But modern. Sort of." Adjusting her glasses, she slides off her horse and stretches out in a way that is distinctly feline, back arching and tail curling. "Looks like it's lived in. It is probably rude to try scavenging it," she remarks with a smirk. "I'm not entirely sure, myself, to be honest. I just kind of wanted to go along for the fun of it, and I had some time off from my duties. I am definitely not looking forward to how much I'll have to clean when I return though."
Walking up to the structure, Zen glances over to the man with the wide-brim hat. As Magnus starts to grab his attention, he follows up by asking, "Yeah, a fellow named Enzo had told us that there was something that required a bit of attention... Though, the bird-brain seemed to fly off without giving us some orientation." Glancing around, the scenery seems somewhat static. What was the man... woman?... fella doing there anyway. "Anyway we've been on the road for a bit, think you could also point us to the nearest settlement. After all, I doubt all these horses are your own, right?"
The person glances up from their seated position, eyes resting on Magnus, giving him a long stare through squinted eyes. Without the hat obscuring their head and upper body, her face is identifiable as a mix between a shark and a robot, and the slight curve of her chest suggests that she's a female. Plucking the cigarette from her mouth, she throws it aside to speak... and then, promptly gets into a long fit of coughing and wheezing, taking a full minute to recover.
"Gah, sorry, I'm still getting used to... Wait, you really think I'm like Mr. Eastwood?" The shark, whose voice is dripping with a thick southern accent, suddenly has her eyes light up like lightbulbs as she stands to her full, seven-foot-tall height, clasping her hands together and almost letting out a squee. "... wait a minute, that's not important right now! You four are the folks that Enzo's bringing back, go meet ma inside already." The tall shark sidesteps to the sliding glass doors to the convenience stoor, wedging her fingers between them to pull them aside.
"Hat... posture... duster... cigar... yeah. Close resemblance to the Western star I'd reckon." the fox nods before rubbing the back of his head "Ma' you say... see here's the silly thing. I went and dun fell off my horse on the way here and hit my head." his fingers rap against his skull, producing an audible clonking noise "Got a buncha loose screws in here, and I went and forgot what we are supposed to be doing here. Enzo kinda didn't share that information around so if'n you'd be kind enough to let us know what's what?" the fennec muses "Heck, I'm only here to enforce. Don't much care if the task is done, I only care if my team's okay. Miss..." he'd subtly ask for her name.
Zophah does better now that she's in the shade of the gas station, and regains as much of her composure as she can. "So is there is water in there?" She asks, but moves forward into the station's convenience store before an answer could be given. She looks around inside, also wondering what needed a 6 day trip to complete.
"East... Wood." Nena thinks on that name for a moment, before snapping her fingers. "Ah! Him, yes, well, I suppose we should get on with the Why of us being here, if it was so urgent," she says, moving to step through the door. "Is there anything you can tell us about it? Or is it something we must hear from the lips of your mother?" she asks, tail flicking behind her.
Zen would smile at the reaction Magnus was able to evoke from the cow-girl and give him a playful nudge on the back. "Right, well, suppose we could all use a bit of filling in." He adds. He then moves to follow behind Zophah, figuring 'Ma' would be able to steer them in the right direction. Would she too be a shark-bot like the one who greeted them, one side of the coin, or something entirely different? "Mmmh, you'd figure Enzo would have at least introduced us. Well, guess that was our fault for not asking... But, in any event, a long horse-ride like that wasn't all too bad. Certainly an experience if nothing else... And Enzo did give us some fairly decent instructions."
"Enzo didn't tell ya? That damn lazy bird." Shaking her head, she pulls open the glass doors for Zophah and Zen to enter, closing it after they do. "Name's Martina, by the way." Slumping back onto the bench, she turns to Nena and continues; "And, the problem here is that... well, I'm sure you folks know what a 'nanite server' is, right? We use one to grow our crops real fast, and it got stolen from us just two days over a week ago. We need someone to track down the raiders and take back the server for us."
The shelves that used to line the store have been substituted for round, wooden tables, four in total, and each surrounded by about three mutants of various types and sizes, many of whom are dressed in trail clothes and donning hats, most of which were tipped at the newcomers. At the back of the room, the convenience store counter has been turned into a makeshift bar; lining its rather short length are four stools, one of them occupied by a slender cat woman; all that can be identified of her from behind is her red-and-black dress and the curly, brown locks cascading down her back.
Behind the counter, a reptillian mutant stands, dressed in a suit vest of typical bartender's garb and coming up to eye level with anyone approaching the bar. "Welcome to New Hope, I hope the travels weren't too tiring. All the way from Eureka, huh?" She turns her back for a moment, fetching two cups and filling them one-by-one full of coffee. "My name's Gillian, and I'd say it'd be a pleasure to meet you if the circumstances weren't this worrying. Since my friend apparently didn't explain enough on the way here, I'll fill you in. A group of bandits led by someone going by the name of Old Red have taken a nanite server that we use to accelerate the growth of our crops. Your job is to take it back." The coffee is placed in front of two of the seats.
"Nanite Server ya say..." the fox' glance tapers off to the side, before wandering over Zen's own. "Miss, you do realize this kinda technology's worth a small fortune back home right? You'd really trust a buncha mercs dragged out from the depths of Fairhaven to recover that and not keep it for themselves. I'd reckon Zephyr themselves would loooooove to get their hands on it." Magnus lowers his head for a moment. "I mean... it's happened before already. I can't say well enough if my team's like that, but... well..." he'd cross his arms and glance away for a moment. "I dunno... it just seems darn strange to me." His eyes wander towards the door, where his gaze tries to locate Zen and Zops inside, keeping track of their well-being. Something didn't quite feel right about all this...
Zophah was about to go on a teacher's rant about how coffee is a diuretic and therefore is a terrible option for dehydrated travellers, but decides not to when she sees the cat sitting at the other end of the bar give her an invitation to sit next to her. So Zophah politely declines the coffee and turns to Zen whispering "Try to find out more about what we need to do and why it's missing. I'm going to gather more info." She slides on over to sit on the stool next to the cat at the bar, and makes her best advances. "Never thought I'd get an invitation from someone as beautiful as you on a trip like this. What's on you mind?"
Nena flicks her ears for a moment, looking between the sharkbot and Magnus. "I can say that at least I am not like that. I have no need of a nanite server, and no need of the money it would bring in. I came all the way out here to help, and I am not a thief. Can you tell us anything about these raiders, then? Where they might be, how many they number..."
Zen takes a look around at the other guests, giving a return nod in greeting to the tipped hats. Trailing his way over to whom he assumes might be in charge here, leans up against the counter and listens to what the woman has to say. "Just a bit of a long ride is all, though it certainly is nice to get off the road and relax a bit." He responds, reaching out and pulling one cup of coffee closer to himself. "So... bandits led by Old Red?... Went and stole themselves a nanite server?" He repeats, making sure he got the details right. "Right, that sounds like something we'd be capable of helping out with." He responds, giving a nod to Zophah at the other end of the counter. "So, anything more you can tell me 'bout these bandits? What sorta colors they wear... What sort of gear they are packing... Maybe even where they've been spotted lately?" He takes a small sip of the coffee and nods in appreciated of it. "I figure if you need our kind of help, it must be something that can't be handled by the locals. If ya don't mind me asking, how important is this nanite server they stole? Would you be able to make do without it? You know, if it was just something to boost some crop growth... I'd be curious if it would really have that much of an impact on your day-to-day." He gives a glance around and adds in a lower tone, "What would you like done with the bandits? After all, if we 'did' manage to get your nanite server back in your hands. That doesn't say much if the source of your problem still lingers..?"
"'Course it's expensive, these things ain't exactly growin' on trees and almost everyone needs 'em to build settlements of their own. And, who's this Zephyr you're talkin' about?" Martina gives Magnus a curious stare. "Dunno what's so strange about it. Me and ma gotta fend off low-class varmints practically five times a week, whether they walk on two legs or not. If that ain't how it is over where you come from, maybe we should move over there. Sounds like a real easy life." She then turns her head to address Nena. "If you folks didn't hightail it out of here after pickin' up the server, I'd be tickled. Ma told me there six of them attacking, in addition to their ringleader. As for location, we can't say for sure. Nobody here is able to follow their tracks for long, and while we know they came from the northeast, we don't have a lick of an idea where." Martina waves her hand in the direction indicated. "If it's any indication, though, you can start at the farms north of here. That's where we got attacked first."
"Well, I didn't expect to see someone as pretty as yourself to come down to a small town like this one." The feline woman chuckles lightly, turning to face Zophah. "If this were any other day of the month, I'd take you up on an offer for a night, as long as you washed all the dust out of your fur first." She takes a slow sip of her drink. "...but, since there are other matters more pressing than this... well, I suppose it's not a real question."
"Eeeeeeehhh..." the fox wobbles a hand and shrugs deeply. "I'd say just stick to your land here. Varmints here, ferals in the city, and you'll have less beurocracy to deal with over here. Zephyr's basically the folks that call the shots... kinda..." he'd pause for a moment and glance off the side. "Well not really, they just have the most influence all over the place. It's a mess over there, just everybody's trying to grab a slice of the pie for themselves and assert some sort of dominance. S'why I tend to keep out of town unless it's to mess around with a special friend if you catch my drift." The fennec nods as they are told what's what casts Nena a glance. "Yeah, I guess we're decent folk, but I know a bunch that aren't. One I know ran off with a nanite server, like I said, that wasn't hers. Now she's mayor of her own town. Lotta bad blood there, but that's a story for another time. Anywho, I'mma go check what's up inside. Coming Nena?" he'd beckon her as he moves to pass into the house.
"I wish I could tell you. I only recognized the leader from a distance, and I know that's him because we used to be partners for the first year after P-Day. Old Red reserves a repainted M4A1, and during the fracas, everything else I heard were pistol shots. They don't carry any real colors, but they had bandannas on their mouths when we saw them. As for where they've been spotted, they attacked us at the farm north of here. Noone's ever spotted them since." Gillian pours herself a cup of coffee, only able to get half of one into the mug from the small amount left in the pot. "If it was something permanent that could accelerate crop growth, we'd accept it with open arms. But, anything lesser wouldn't be unappreciated. As for 'how to handle' the bandits, I'll leave that up to you, but I will tell you that it'd make folks here and in other towns rest easier if they weren't able to keep on thieving."
Zophah continues speaking with the cat woman, trying not to look as tired as she already was. "What kind of matters? If I can solve your problem, then you won't have an excuse to keep me away from what you really want." She leans in a bit closer, both making the conversation more intimate and giving the woman a reason to whisper if it's secret.
"Hm, I see," Nena acknowledges, taking in what they're being told with little nods. "I can't really say much about 'how it is' myself. I sort of keep to myself, but everywhere has good and bad people alike, I guess," she says, in some approximation of 'deep' wisdom. She turns, then, to follow after Magnus. "Of course! Right behind you."
Zen gives Gillian an appreciative nod for the info and says, "Right then, it seems right to start our search around the attacked farmhouse, perhaps even question a few that might've been there or even injured in the scuffle." He takes a greedy swig of the cup of coffee, finishing the cup in a matter of seconds. He takes out a small pad of paper and jots down a frequency, sliding it over to Gillian. "If anything else comes to mind, don't hesitate to give me a ping. The sooner we are able to track down those thieves, the better." He says, with an ear flickering to the door. Turning around, he spots Magnus and Nena coming inside to join them. "Right, I think I got the gist of the situation, as well as a good lead to start on." He says to them as they approach. "Fancy a walk? Sounds like starting at the farmhouse is a good place to begin in any event." He pauses before turning back to Gillian, "Oh, right! Think you could give us some directions and a sense of distance? Perhaps even someone we can try getting a hold of when we show?"
Martina dips the brim of her hat towards Magnus and Nena as they enter. "Do be nice to mum. Oh, and, if you have some time, rank my impression of Mr. Eastwood on a scale of 1 to 10 at some point!"
"Well, you see..." The cat woman leans a little closer to Zophah. "A 'client' I regularly get visited by... he's such a sweetheart, to me at least, but I saw him in the gang that stole the server when it happened." She frowns slightly. "I'm not sure how to handle it. See, we've built up a routine, I suppose, where we meet at the northwest corner of the farm on the second night of every month. Today's the second, and I'm not sure what I should do, I know he'll come there tonight, but..." She lets out a sigh, before looking up into Zophah's eyes. "...we had something special, and he wasn't shooting during the raid, but I don't know if that counts for anything. I don't know if I should feel betrayed or if I should forgive him, and I haven't told anyone here because I think he might get hurt if I do."
Gillian nots dutifully. "The radio I have under the counter should still function. I prefer keeping it for emergency purposes, and this should be emergency enough." She bends over to bump one of the cabinets briefly before standing back up, just in time to see Magnus and Nena. "...ah, and here is the rest of the group, looks like." Two mugs of water are placed on the two remaining seats. "I was wondering where you two were, since I thought Enzo brought four people here. I take it you heard the story from my daughter, then?"
Zophah quietly yips, "It's ok. Me and my allies can hold him down and then you can slap him as much as you want if he lies. And if he stays true, you can kiss him. I'll make sure no harm comes to him and you can get your confession." She then notices the rest of the group coming inside and waves, then returns to focusing on the cat woman. "Just give us a good time and place, then you and loverboy can talk as much as you want."
Nena offers a nod towards Zen. "If you've got destinations, just point me at them. I'm more of a do-er, not a think-er, I admit, so just tell me what needs hitting or lifting and I'll take care of it," she says with a smile, before giving Martina a thumbs up and a safe. "I give it a five." Very neutral.
After a brief pause, Zen gives a nod over to Zophah, expressing interest in regrouping. He knocks on the counter next to Zophah to trying draw attention to himself. "Right, so I was just speaking to Gillian over there and got the info that Enzo failed to provide us. Not sure if this was one of those cases where he wanted us to be too far deep to pull back, but in any case, I don't think any of us had plans to back out from the start." He says, giving a brief glance to all who were gathered. "Right, so to recap... they've gotten their crop production-boosting nanite server stolen from them by some gang lead by 'Old Red'. Seems that they'll be armed with small arms from pistols to automatic rifles. No one has seen them since the attack, so it is hard to say where they might be found. The attack was on a farmhouse just south of here... so I figured we could go scout around it and see if we can't discover anything. Perhaps a few that managed to weather the attack would be able to give us some more information... but other than that, it sounds like we still have a bit of leg work to do." He pauses and adds, "That being the case, it sounds like Gillian would be happy with an alternative to the stolen nanite server if we can't get it back." He gives a sly grin and says, "Not to mention, we would need to come up with a stance to take on those bandits. I figure we could either target the leader... remove him from the equation and hope the gang disperses. Ah, but that could just open a spot for another to take their place... Perhaps complete decimation of them would be for the best?" He gives a light chuckle and adds, "Well, that is assuming we are able to track them down. After all, they could be a whole week's ride away by now."
Nena can hear a low whine from behind the glass door. Sounds like Martina is a "seven-point-five is a neutral score" type of person.
The cat woman nods to Zophah, speaking at normal volume as she stops leaning close. "Thank you. It means so much to me." She wipes her eyes for a moment before turning away.
As the Zen runs through all the plans they have, Gillian speaks up. "Oh, by the way, once you pick up the tracks of the bandits, I think Martina would like to tag along with you guys for the ride." She leans against the bar, glancing between the four agents gathered in front of it. "She might be a bit too 'interested' in all the cowboy stories I told her after she hatched from that egg, but damn if I've never seen a draw as good as the ones in the books. Girl's always looking to prove herself." Gillian chuckles lightly to herself.
"Then it's simple. We go, we pop some heads open, sink their headquarters, loot the bodies, return the server and call it a day." The fennec shrugs deeply. "It's not like we don't do this shit every single day in the bubble. We call it the daily feral ahem..." Magnus raises his hands and puts a pair of massive air quotes around the word ""pacification"... give me a break, we're beating them to within an inch of their lives until they pop off and go cause trouble somewhere else." He'd shake his head and place his hands on his waist. "I'm gonna see if I can get some dynamite from these folks. If it's one thing dealing with the thugs in town has taught me it is that they're a lot easier to pick off if you make them scatter. Even easier if they're holed down in some hole someplace. I can make some cluster bombs to stun and incapacitate entire groups if they're holed up in an enclosed space."
Pausing for a moment as he listens in "Yeah, that's not a problem." The fennec casts a glance around his team and clears his throat. He had a hunch she wasn't in it for the adventure, but to make sure they don't run off with the server. Hopefully he wasn't the only one thinking this. "I don't suppose you folks have spare gasoline? If it ain't TNT, I can make some really nasty things with just a decent accelerant and the right materials. I didn't exactly bring any chemicals with myself. Everything is back in the estate." He'd blow a sharp raspberry. "Well if we're staying here for now, I'mma pass the time until nightfall and go out then. Ain't much of a good idea wandering around in broad daylight. Imagine those thugs have scouts of their own and they see one of our armed asses. They'll be ready for us." Magnus warns as he takes a seat at the bar. "Gimme a double-shot glass and a bottle of whiskey."
Zophah gives the woman a hug, then turns her head to the rest of the group. "I have an idea better than tracking down victims and elusive bandits, and won't need killing. I'll fill you in on it once we have a place to stay the night." She then speaks with the bartender: "Is there a place in town we can rest? I have a lead on information that will need some time."
"Not having to kill would be nice, certainly," Nena says with a slight smile. "I might not be a saint but I'm not thaaat bad of a girl," she says, rolling her shoulders. "Though I don't think this group will cause any unneeded harm, huh?" And, quick to save face, she pokes her head outside the door. "I only gave a five because I do not know how your scale was weighted!" And withdraws again before clarification could be given, and she has to give an actual answer.
Zen gives a nod to Gillian at the remark about bringing Martina. He didn't yet know who she was speaking of, but he still turns to give an answer, "Yeah, I figure having a local able to show us around would be a safe bet." Turning back to Magnus he says, "Well, while explosions are great and all, we wouldn't want to go busting up the thing we are trying to retrieve. Although, I think having a bit of insurance would be nice." His ears perk up a bit at Zophah's remark. "Oh, guess you found out something else already. I'd love to hear more about it. And yeah, if they do have scouts around, perhaps walking around with weapons on our backs would clue them in." He scratches his chin before adding, "Ah, in any case, once we have a place to rest, I would still be interested in asking around. See if I can't pull up anything else to help out with it." With his gaze drifting between Nena and Zophah he adds, "Well, I get not wanting to get your hands dirty, but I'm under the impression that returning the nanite server is only part of the solution. If we leave them to continue as they are... we'll just be asking for this whole scenario to repeat... another 12+ day trip to fix it all over. Now... if there was a solution that didn't require them to continue using that valuable nanite server, maybe the bandits wouldn't be able to create this same problem... of course, then their sights would turn to something else."
