Gonzaga Pt 3 - Success - RPLOG
Participants
Date
8/13/2017
Log
The Human stands, still holding their electric lamp that illuminates a small area around them. Even after posing their question they try to examine the Agents who have reached their location.
Willy looks to the Human a little nervously. He had no idea how much they want to negotiate, or what "Creatures" meant. Taking a deep breath, the fox smiles and responds "yes, We were looking to possibly procure some electronics for our projects far south of here, especially a solar panel or two is possible."
Amethyst looks around nervously, her fluffy tail twitching furiously behind her as she cowers ever so slightly. Her ears alternate between rotating around to listen to potential danger and folding back as she looks at the humans in turn. "W-We honestly didn't know anyone was out here. We didn't mean to disturb anyone..." Her hazel eyes then flash upwards at the flying pegasus. "Some of us just don't know better..."
Firecracker zips down to the little grouping of people around the lantern, flaring out her large pink wings to come to a quick stop and drop to the floor in front of the human. "Hiya!" she chirps out happily, "I'm Firecracker and that's Willy, and that's Ammy!" she introduces herself and her teammates, pointing a forehoof to each as she names them, "What's your name? And I dunno if we brought anything for trading." She looks over to Willy to confirm, "Did we bring anything for trading?"
The Human begins to look a little nervouse and takes a halfstep backwards away from the Agents. He jumps when Firecracker quickly aproaches him. "M-my name is Johnathan Lawrence." he says. Being in the light it isn't difficult to see that he is young, in his late 20s, maybe very early 30s, and thin. "I-I'm not sure that w-we could trade away the solar pannels." he continues.
Willy sees how nervous Johnathan is and realize he's probably just as nervous. Trying to be as calm as he can he smiles and responds "We...hadn't really brought much for trade as this was expected as a Salvaging mission." he says "But we do have some protective glass cases we could trade." he says before hearing the response "We could really use at least one or two if there is any way possible. We are working on projects with nanites that require use of them. I understand though if that is your only power source."
Amethyst's tufted ears perk up at the mention of trading the protective cases. The kitten girl looks up at Willy from her standing spot beside him, she gives him a small nudge and mutters quietly. "D-Don't we need those to bring the salvage back safely? Won't the nanites eat them otherwise...?"
"Didn't I say ya didn't haveta be all scaredy waredy, Silly Johnny?" Firecracker giggles, trying to make the man feel more comfortable. "And anyway, if you dunno, who does?" she asks before looking around to the last places she heard the people shuffling about. "Hey peoples! What'chu guys and gals wanna trade for?" she shouts out to the darkness.
Johnathan takes another step away when Firecracker speaks up again. "I'll... get someone who knows what we might want to trade." he excuses himself and quickly rushes back into the building. Once he is gone and takes his lamp with him the field between the buildings again grows dark and quiet.
Willy nods and watches Johnathan leaves with a minor sigh in relaxation. "Well...this will be interesting" he says before looking over to Ammy "I wasn't planning to trade away all of them, but I expect we aren't going to be able to use them all, so I figure we may as well make them trade bait. Course, we probably could also offer trade or something, but we are a good ways from Fairhaven."
Amethyst's ears fall flat, and she nods a little. "A-Alright, I suppose that's reasonable. I just hope that we don't disappoint when if we come back with less than expected..." The kitten girl clasps her hands together at her chest, and takes a few steps towards Firecracker. "And Fire, what if they had been hostile? They still might be, if we don't have anything they want!" Theres a tinge of a wavering whine in her voice, trying to speak up but at the same time, being afraid of being overhears.
"Don't worry, Ammy! They're just really scared! Just gotta show em that we're their friends!" Firecracker responds to the catgirl before trotting after Johnathan as he retreats, following him back into the building to see what's going on inside! She speeds up to trot alongside him and asks, "How many people are living around here anyway? And what are their names? And what are the solar panels for? Do ya have other neat stuff around here? What do ya do for fun? What do you eat? Got any pie? I like pie! What kinda pie do you like? I can't even think of my favorite kinda pie cause they're all so good!" She smiles brightly at the human, whether or not he answers or even has the time to answer through her rapid questioning.
Johnathan stops for a split second then takes off running when he hears Firecracker following him. A short distance after that he turns a corner and should Firecracker follow him she finds herself standing in front of a large man holding a rifle, glaring at her.
Outside all is quiet and the darkness only worstens as the last of the light from the Sun fades into the darkness of the night. The air begins to cool in the absence of the Sun.
Willy shrugs to Amethyst "I figure I can replace it...and if they aren't tr---wait Fire!" he says as she suddenly sprints off and sighs and looks back. "Ummm...don't know if I want to leave the truck in this situation." he says trying to decide to run after or not.
Amethyst looks back and forth from the doorway to Willy and the truck. "I-I can't say I'm not curious... And we really should stick together." She sighs slightly, and moves to walk forward into the building. "We'll just go look around and grab her quick. Who knows what could happen." With that, the kitten girl follows, her hands gripping tightly at the strap of her messenger bag around her torso.
Firecracker trots happily after Johnathan as he sprints through the building. "Aww, does that mean you don't like pie?" she asks as he bolts. When she rounds the corner and finds a rifle pointed right in her face, she responds in probably one of the most appropriate ways possible. "Hiya! I'm Firecracker! What's your name? And what's your favorite kinda pie?" she asks with a bright smile.
The burly, rifle bearing, man glares at the pegasus for a moment, "Back away or I shoot." he says, sounding entirely serious. He glances at Amethyst as she reaches the corner but quickly returns his attention to the Pegasus who had spooked Johnathan.
Willy sees Ametyhst run off and sighs before he chases after. Rounding the corner he stops and slides to a stop as he hears the man's words. "Whoa whoa, easy there. We weren't trying to hurt anyone, Fire just likes to be really nice" he says as he sees the shotgun. "Fire...perhaps we should hold up and wait back at the truck." he says trying to diffuse the situation a little.
Amethyst gives a small squeal of surprise as she rounds the corner, the kitten girl pausing for just a moment before striding up beside Firecracker extending one of her wings across her friend, her body blocking half of the pegasus. Her hazel eyes lock on the man holding the shotgun, her gaze piercing. She says nothing, the fur on her tail fluffed up and her body shuddering just slightly.
"Awww, but I wanted to meet all my new friends!" Firecracker whines slightly as she responds to Willy, poking her head around from behind Amethyst's wing to look behind the rifleman. "Oh well! Guess we gotta wait a little bit then!" she says with a shrug. Looking back to the man with the gun, she takes one step backwards and asks, "Is that enough?" If not, she'll take another single step back and ask again, and then again and again until he's satisfied.
The riflemans brow wavers for a moment. He takes a breath when Firecracker begans to back up. "Further." he replies to Firecracker and repeats ten times before he lowers his rifle any. Then once he lowers the rifle he says, "You're friend has the right idea. Go back to your truck."
Willy does his best to back up slowly, making sure Ammy and Fire have stepped off first. Once they have Willy turns and will meander back to the truck himself to wait.
Amethyst backs up slowly, her wing folding back against her back. As the three round the corner the kitten girl's tail gives a flicker. "What are we going to do with you, Fire?" She says as she walks, looking around. "That could have been bad.."
Firecracker plops her rump down on the ground 10 steps farther away from the rifleman than she was a few seconds ago. Now in an acceptable position, she repeats her questioning. "So anyway, what's your name? And what's your favorite kinda pie? And this is Ammy!" she says happily, pointing to the catgirl. She turns to Amethyst to respond to her comment shortly afterwards. "Everything CAN always be bad! But ya gotta do stuff to get good things to happen too!" she giggles.
The rifleman shakes his head a sighs. "I'm not here to talk." he says. He stands still and quietly watches the three of them. After a minute or so he hums an agrivated tone for a moment.
Willy sighs and closes his eyes for a moment. "Fire, we need to step back and let them get the person." he says "I know you are trying to be welcoming and all, and you did good getting your message out, but I think they need their space and time at the moment." he says.
Amethyst stops a moment, turning her head back as she realizes that the pegasus isn't following. A distressed mewl emanates from her throat as she turns and stomps back, placing her hands around one of the pony's forehooves and pulling it gently to nudge her to move. "We can talk in a bit! Let's go, we've already overstayed our welcome..."
"Oh, okay then!" Firecracker chirps as Amethyst practically drags her away. She stands up to all fours once more and turns to pronk her way back over to the truck. "Tell Johnny it was niceta meet him if he doesn't come back, Talky!" she calls back over her shoulder as the little group goes back to their vehicle.
Shortly after they leave the building the rifleman walks up to the door that Johnathan exited through and the Agents entered and closes it before walking back down the hallway. A few minutes pass and Johnathan returns with an older gentleman. Johnathan speaks, "W-we've returned." he states then take a breath. "This is Prof-" The older man glances to Johnathan and he imediently cuts himself off then continues "Mister Jackson. He knows what we're willing to trade and for what." He older man steps forward, "Greetings... creatures?" he says.
As they return, Willy smiles "Greetings, my name is Willy, and these are my friends Amethyst and Firecracker...were from Fairhaven, California a bit south of here." he says trying not to look nervious. "We came up this way in search of some salvage to help with the nanite projects in town and was wondering if we could possibly trade for it, especially solar panels."
Amethyst pulls the strap of her messenger bag over her head, the bag hitting the ground with a metallic thump. The kitten girl straightens her clothing and gives a nearly inaudible mewl, looking a bit restless. Regardless, when the two humans emerged from the building once more, she raised her flushed cheeks and offered a soft smile, her feline ears folding back. She clasps her hands together in front of her, keeping quiet, as she was sure that her companions would do plenty enough talking.
The second Johnathan returns, Firecracker bounces up and down in place, waving her forelegs over her head to call attention to herself. "Oh! Johnny! Over here! Hiya!" she shouts out, as if he was going to go anywhere other than the truck where the three agents were gathered. Once the duo arrives, she greets them happily once again, "Hiya, again, Johnny! And hiya to you too, Jackie!"
Mister Jackson sighs as he sees and hears the hyperactive pegasus. "Greetings Willy." he says. He does not extend a hand or aproach closely instead opting to stay several feet away and speak loudly. "Our solar panels are unlikely to be available for trade unless you could provide a more reliable source of power. Now that being said we have a small excess of food and have had success in salvaging materials and recreating some machines. Should you be interested we may begin negotiating for them." he states.
Willy nods in response to this "I see, and I understand about the Solar Panels, especially in the...disconnected world it had become." he says "I would be glad to see the machines you speak of though, if it is fine." he says, his curiosity a bit peaked.
Amethyst looks at each individual as they talk, her tufted ears twitching. As Willy finishes talking, the kitten girl nods and takes a single step forward, raising her voice. "That would be agreeable." She says, affirming Willy's desire to see the tech. "Our mission is to collect solar panels and other technology, as well as scout the area. While it is unfortunate that the solar panels are in use, perhaps there are some broken, or obsolete panels available?" Her ears perk up inquisitively, though her voice remains soft and non-aggressive.
"Got any games?!" Firecracker asks excitedly after Jackie mentions the recreated machines. "And what kinda stuff didja find? Where'dya find it? Where's the food? What kind do ya have? Got any pie? Can I have some?"
Mister Jackson takes a breath and says, "We have developed some devices to aid us in reconstruction and maintenance tasks in the absence of the powered machines that existed a decade ago." he looks over the three of them and their truck, "Though it seems that your settlement in Fairhaven may be a bit ahead of us in recreating technology from before the apocalypse." He hums a thoughtful tone for a moment, "Did you drive from California?" he asks.
Willy nods to Mister Jackson's discussions before shaking his head. "Ah, no actually." he says remembering. "One of the companies we work with has a Headquarters in Woodfield. We were airlifted there and then took the truck up the Interstate from there." he says. "The road, while worn down from neglect, was serviceable enough."
Amethyst brushes a lock of hair back from her face. "We took quite a trip to get here. It wasn't easy. So, do you mean construction equipment?" She asks, cocking her head to the side. "Cats and the like?"
"I didn't know cats were good at construction!" Firecracker interjects, blinking at Amethyst's words before redirecting her attention to the two humans. "Oh yeah! Why's everyone else hiding anyway? Just cause it's all dark and scary and weird furry hairy people showed up in a truck for unknown mysterious reasons?"
Mister Jackson shakes his head, "No, we don't have things quite like that. We do have some pulley systems and some electric motors to make using them a little easier though." He turns his attention to Willy, "So there are several functioning towns... why has it taken nine years for survivor groups to come this far? It mustn't have taken you more than a few hours to make the commute from Woodfield in a truck." he says then thinks to himself for a moment. "We may have something in our library that would be of interest to you if your... you said corporation, yes? If they're looking for technology."
Willy scratches the back of his head. "I...don't think I have an exact idea why." he says to Mister Jackson's question. "Though expansion out from the cities has been slow...and well...alot of people...are more interested in..." he tries to think about the best way to answer it. "pleasuring themselves and other and don't really care about the outside world." he says before hearing the second part. "I would be interested in that yes." he says.
Amethyst looks over at Willy, blushing a bit at his roundabout way of explaining. "W-well, it's not only that, though that is an issue. It's also incredibly dangerous to venture out too far. Who knows what the nanites have done to people, and what could be out here." She sighs lightly, lifting a hand to one of her ears. "I was human, too, before this all happened."
Firecracker looks back and forth between the people as they talk, quickly getting bored of all the talk of construction and technology and not pies! Setting her sights back on the younger man with the lamp, she asks, "Hey Johnny, whatcha do for fun 'round here?" She looks around curiously, seeing if she can spot any fun-looking stuff from her position.
Mister Jackson nods in acknowledgement of their answer then says, "Alright, if you would accompany me to the library I'm certain that we will have books that are valuable to you." he says as he begins to walk. Johnathan begins to get nervous when Firecracker approaches him. "I-I mostly read and play chess." he says and takes a half step away from the pegasus.
Willy nods and slowly follows Mister Jackson, hoping that the discovery is useful. He was starting to feel doubtful about if he was going to have much success with this mission, though there was alot that could still happen.
Amethyst follows as well, neglecting to pick up her messenger bag. She seemed more comfortable than before, though something still seemed to unnerve her. She watches as the pony and human interact, giggling a little. "You really have nothing to fear. She's mostly harmless, unless you're an aggressive creature who comes at us in a lustful rage."
"I already toldja ya don't haveta be all scaredy scaredpants," Firecracker giggles as she pronks alongside Johnathan, big poofy pink mane and tail bouncing up and down with the rest of the mare. After Amethyst speaks, she smiles and nods, "See! Mostly harmless unless you're an aggressive lustrage guy!"
Mister Jackson leads Willy acrost the small field to the Library, "We've done the best we could to maintain the Library, most of the books are still here, and in readable condidtion since before the apocoplypse. Feel free to browse for something you want to trade for." he says. Meanwhile Johnathan still looks nervouse, "That's nice to know. Is she an intelligent... horse or was she human before this all happened?" he asks.
Willy chuckles "Unless something really strange happened, human yes. All who are within the cities in the end were fully human before P-Day...and then...well whatever was released I think had a creator with really strange images of the world. In the end in some ways we still are, the form very much a guise." he says as he continues to be lead to the library.
Amethyst nods. "What Willy said. The nanites only change what's on the outside... With enough practice and dedication you can even shift your own form..." The kitten girl's hazel eyes scan her path, and closes her eyes, walking slowly... As she does so, her ears and tail shorten, deforming, until they disappear entirely. The now (mostly) human female then speeds up, catching up with a flutter of her wings. "I haven't gotten the hang of how to get rid of these yet... But they do more good than not." She looks to the group. "So, this library, was it a public library or was it part of a college campus or something? I'm only wondering because it would be amazing to get some more specialized texts."
"Horse? I'm not a horse, silly! I'mma pegasusus!" Firecracker corrects the oh so wrong man with a little flutter of her pink, feathery wings, "See?" As the little group approaches the library, she quickly scans the area. "Hmmmmmm, what's the most boringest books here? Boring work people love boring work books!" she comments, mostly to herself. She looks over to the two humans that aren't Amethyst nearby as she bounces along to ask more directly, "Where're the boring books? Or even better! Those blueprint manual thingies! Boring people love those!"
Mister Jackson and Johnathan hum an interested tone. Mister Jackson says, "This is the campus Library and as I said we whent to great lengths to make sure it stayed in good condition. Whenever the world ends centuries of knowledge tends to get lost and some of it never recovered so we're doing our best to make sure it doesn't happen this time." as they reach the library. "Johnathan, could you watch the Pegasus? Willy and Amethyst you said your names are, correct? You two may search the library, with my supervision, to see if there are books your organization would be able to use." he says.
Willy nods "Thank you for allowing us access." he says before he works his way down to what he believes is the Techincal Reference section. Sifting his way through the various guides, he works his way down through the Ps, until something catches his eyes. Pulling the book out, he smiles as he reads the title "Eggbert's guide to setup and operation of Photovoltaic power panels." Carefully sifting through it, he can see that it is something they are looking for, and thus looks back to Mister Jackson. "Mister Jackson, I believe this would be helpful to us." he says "So I would be happy to trade it for one of the protective glass cases we brought along. They are very good at keeping electronics protected from nanites and other things." he says.
Amethyst walks through the library as well, her hazel eyes scanning the rows of books. She takes out a couple, only to botch the pronunciation of the titles, her head tilting confusedly before placing them back. "These are more specialized than I thought..." The girl notes with a light sigh. When Willy finds something, though, she perks up, walking over. "A protective glass case for a book?" Her eyes travel the cover and title and she then giggles. "Oh, of course! You think that will help us back home?"
Firecracker is left alone with Johnathan as the others go into the library. "Oh! So now it's just me and you, Johnny! So we can talk all about all the fun stuff! What'cha like to read? Is it funny stuff? Or is it like adventure stuff? Fantasy? Comics? I like comics! There's all sortsa comics to read! And they're mostly pictures insteada words so you can have a whole buncha pages with only a little buncha words and a lotta pictures with stuff happening that you look at ad not read but it's kinda like reading cause it's in a book but it's pictures so it's kinda more like watching insteada reading but you read too and there's all sortsa fun stuff like BANG POW ZOOM SPLAT WHOOSH!" The rapid-fire words are accompanied by equally animated actions from the bubbly mare as she bounces in place, swinging her forelegs around to punctuate her words.
Mister Jackson humms when the offer is made of him. "I would like to examine this glass box of yours before agreeing to anything but as is we are far from being able to make use of that particular book and if your corporation could use it then it may very well be better off with you." he says as he gestures for them to follow and walks to the exit. Meanwhile Johnathan is trying to avoid physical contact with the pegasus and when there is an oppertunity to do so he says, "I mostly read science fiction and mechanical engineering books. It'd be nice to see some of that fictional stuff made reality and I'd like to help fix the world once Gonzaga is more intact." A minute or so later Mister Jackson reaches the exit and says, "We're going to their truck to examine a good they want to trade for a book." and Johnathan begins to follow him, keeping Mister Jackson in the light. Upon reaching the truck he examines the box, tapping on it lightly and examining it from various angles, "And you say this thing would keep sensitive things safe should they have to travel through one of those nanite fields?" he asks.
Willy nods in response to Mister Jackson. "Yes, it's required for us to be able to transport them as the areas we work in are within the Nanite Bubbles." he says. "They are in the end something that helps many of use function out of normal human ranges at times.
Amethyst reaches down and picks uo her messenger bag, slinging it over her shoulder. "The nanites like to eat technology if you're not careful. Having a protective box would definitely help you if you ever travel to places where there may or may not be a nanite presence." The girl says Matter-of factly.
"Sciencey stuff can be fun and so is fictiony stuff! So sciencey fictiony stuff is like, doubling the fun!" Firecracker concludes happily as the group makes it back to the truck with their new book! "Oh! What'd we get?" she asks Willy and Amethyst, flying up into a hover to look over Willy's shoulder and inspect the book. "Is it a boring blueprinty manual thingy?"
Mister Jackson hums as he considers the box and the book, "Very well this is an acceptable trade." he says, noting that they have one box for the book to be placed in and smiles slightly at Willy. He steps back from the truck, still holding the box. Johnathan nods in agreement that science and fiction are fun and still keeps his distance from Firecracker. The agents then pack up the book in the spare box and start the truck. It starts up well and Willy drives them home. He somehow managed to keep the truck smoothly rolling along scarely jostling anything even on the roughest of portions. After a few hours it is well after midnight and they've returned the truck to the Promethean safe house and walked to RSXs Headquarters in Woodfield where Neil is waiting for them. "Ah, you took your time. What have you managed to collect?" he says to them.
Willy smiles with the glass case in his hands. "Well, we had a bit of an incident in the university. It looks like someone of the survivors of P-Day have made themselves shelter on the campus, and as part of it, they are maintaining the campus' library." he says "We were able to work with them and get a technical manual on solar panels." he says "Cost us one of the glass cases, but I can cover the cost of replacement if need be."
Amethyst seems a bit sheepish, her hands holding onto the strap around her torso. "I-I feel kind of guilty for not coming back with the actual tech, but the locals relied on them for power and if we had taken them, we would be the ones in the wrong..." She sighs lightly, brushing back a lock of hair. "Hopefully the information contained in the book will be enough and we can create our own via our own means."
"Bye bye, Johnny! Bye bye, Jackie! Say 'Bye bye' to Talky and everyone else for me!" Firecracker says to the humans as she hangs out of the window of the car as they group gets set to leave. The whole way back, the pegasus once again hangs her head out the window to let the wind blow in her face and whip her mane around behind her.
Once back at base, Firecracker listens to the others before adding in, "Oh! Now that we know peoples are there we can go back over and over and keep trading with em! But I don't think they like all the hair and stuff." She looks down at her pink coat and then back up to the clockwork fox, "But they really like machiney stuff!" she says with a smile. "You should go next time! Oh, and say 'hi' to Johnny and Jackie and Talky for me!"
Niel take the box and peers into it to read the title of the book as he listens to the Agents explain and notes Navara, who had been watching the truck, climb into the chopper and dose off. "The cases are replaceable to a limmited extent." the Clockwork Fox says, "But I believe the value of this manual will outweight the loss of the box." he continues. Looking up from the box to Amethyst, "It is always a little sad when one can't get what they set out to get. Still you've managed to come back with something useful when some groups would have just lost the truck and boxes." When Firecracker mentions the idea of Neil going to Gonzagas campus he shakes his head, "I don't think that would be wise... being made of metal cause aches without a bubble to keep everything running smoothly. Now I'll make sure that you're aproprately compensated for this success." he says as he climbs onto the chopper for the flight back to Fairhaven.
