• Starpath: Scoundrels of the Interstellar Highway - Thread 3
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January 6th, 2426. Two hours later on Sielia. The Shipyard. "...I...I tried to clean off as much of the blood as I could..." Slade's voice...it sounds almost like it's coming from a blown speaker. Muffled...distorted. Did he damage his helmet? He must have... "...Lauren?..." Zadra...she sounds that way too. Why?...Is it me? "...Take her down to the water...get her cleaned up. I'll find a good spot..." A good spot...for what?  "...alright. Lauren...come on...please." After a moment of silence, she felt herself being tugged along. The warm, rough concrete platforms changed to soft sand as they moved from the docks to the beach next to it. Waves gently washed ashore, the sounds growing ever closer. Soon, Lauren Blackwell could feel the water licking at her feet. Her boots weren't waterproof, so she could feel the saltwater soaking in. Nice and cool, compared to the heat from above. She was pulled out a little farther, the water traveling up to just below her waist before they stopped. "...Lauren...close your eyes tight, and hold your breath...this might sting too, so get ready." said Zadra Masir. Lauren did as she was asked, and suddenly felt herself being pulled forward. She was dunked into an oncoming wave, the saltwater utterly engulfing her. It did sting, pretty badly at that. She gritted her teeth in pain as she was pulled up from the water.  "Augh, fuck!" she muttered, reaching up and clutching the back of her head. A nasty bump. It'd need stitches. "I'm so sorry! I just...I had to wash off the...you know..." said Zadra, hugging Lauren tightly. After releasing her, she dunked her just once more before pulling her back up to the dry part of the beach. Clothes were wrung out, blood that didn't rinse off was wiped away. Lauren brushed her cyan colored hair back, getting it all out of her face, before looking around. Sielia...a beautiful oceanic world. A gem in the Renegade Quadrant. The only ones that ever came here were the Reavers, Ironbloods, and Red Phantoms. She was born here, in a small concrete building that was actually quite close by. A good chunk of her childhood had been here as well...swimming and surfing in the waves, building sandcastles on the beach, exploring the jungles beyond the docks...this place was home to her. Lauren felt Zadra's touch after a moment, her hand gently grabbing her arm. "Lauren...I want you to wait right here...alright? Just...sit here on the beach. I need to go check on Slade." she said, looking Lauren over before gazing off towards the edge of the beach. At the far end of the beach were boulders of various sizes, scattered about in front of a small cave opening. Lauren had only been in there once or twice in her life, really to just explore before her mother would come hunt her down. "...A-Alright." responded Lauren faintly, before slowly sitting down in the sand. Zadra stood there for a moment, simply silent, before turning and walking down the beach. Lauren returned to looking around shortly afterwards, before gazing up at the cloudy blue sky above. ------- "Slade?...Are you in here?...Hello?" said Zadra aloud, as she slowly continued into the cavern. "...Yeah...I'm here." was the response after a few moments of silence, the voice echoing from farther in. The sounds of the waves crashing on the beach outside was amplified a bit at the cave entrance, which made Slade's response a bit hard to make out. As she moved farther in, the sound faded and was replaced by simple drips here and there. She made her way through the darkened cavern, before eventually ariving in an open area. The inside of the cave was rather cool. Damp, of course, being so close to the waters of the ocean. The occasional droplet of water would fall from the ceiling, landing in the sand or on one of the numerous rocks. Slade Beckwith was sitting quietly here, on one of the many small boulders. His exposed head was in his hands, as his helmet was across the cave, resting next to a cluster of rocks against the cave's wall. In front of him, resting in the sand a foot away, was a body wrapped in a white cloth. Large splotches of blood were clearly visible here and there, the crimson red standing out against the white. The body also appeared to be missing its left arm entirely. "...Slade?" asked Zadra quietly, as she took a step towards him. Impulsively, he straightened up and looked up at her. His face looked as though it had been chiseled in stone. "Over there...that's where I'll dig." he said, standing and pointing towards a blank portion of sand near the back wall of the cave. "No rocks...and its away from the water come high tide." he said, before looking back to her. Zadra just gazed at Slade for a few moments, studying his face. He was holding it all in, she could tell. His eye was watered up, but he downright refused to shed a single tear. He blames himself for all this, so he wants to do everything himself. "...Alright...that's where she'll be buried." responded Zadra, with a nod. -------- Slade did just as he said he would, digging a hole six feet deep in the sand and dirt beneath it. He did it alone, never pausing for a break. Never asking for help, and flat out refusing it whenever Zadra offered. Outside, Lauren remained where Zadra had told her to. Gazing out over the ocean at the sky. Taur Gorgon had arrived during the time Slade spent digging, but didn't bother Lauren. Instead, he remained with Loudmouth as Pearl came and sat with her. Pearl was a Sanghvi, and grew up practically alongside Lauren. Her shell was a lovely shade of white, thus earning her the name. Her appearance was much more humanoid compared to other Sanghvi, with rounded edges and two eye like dots on her 'face' instead of sharp points and blank surfaces. Certainly a special one amongst her own kind, and a special one in Lauren's life. She was practically her sister. Taur, meanwhile, served as a sort of stand-in father alongside Slade when her real father, Uric Corbett, disappeared without a trace. As Zadra came back to where Lauren was still sitting, she found her watching the sky as another ship arrived. Zadra instantly recognized it as an Ironblood's vessel: a large cog with a blood red iron cross was painted on the side. Likely Zhao Chang herself. A former SDF captain, famous for stealing a stealth battlecruiser with the help of its entire crew. With that crew and capital ship, the Ironbloods were born. The one arriving, however, was not the battlecruiser. Instead, this was a simple corvette. It landed nearby, somewhere nearby on the other side of the shipyard. Chang would likely arrive in a few minutes. Zadra looked back down to Lauren, and found Pearl's 'eyes' staring up at her. She simply nodded at her, before looking to Lauren next to her. "Lauren...I need you to come with me. We need to get that cut on your head fixed up. Should be a medical kit back on Slade's ship." she said, holding out her hand. Lauren took it, pulling herself up out of the sand. "Everything's just...a bit blurry. What the hell even happened?" Zadra didn't say anything for a few moments, as she tugged Lauren along. Back up the concrete ramp to where Slade's ship was sitting. It resembled a Terran bat with its wings outstretched. Wide, black, midflight. A skull was painted on the glass over the cockpit. "Zadra?" asked Lauren, finally planting her feet and forcing the both of them to stop just at the gargo ramp leading into the ship's belly. Zadra looked back to her, and after a brief moment of silence, she replied. "...You took a nasty pop to the head. That's all you need to know right now." she said. Lauren eyed her for a moment, taking note that Zadra never once looked her in the eyes. She seemed to be searching for words as well, trying her best to not outright say what happened. "...Fine...lets go fix my head before shit gets infected." said Lauren, before shaking Zadra's hand loose and walking aboard Slade's ship herself. Zadra followed quietly behind, gazing down at the ground. It took about an hour, the wound on the back of Lauren's head needing several stitches and a dose of medicinal nanomachines for good measure. Chang actually came aboard the ship as Zadra finished up the stitching. Surprisingly, Chang was quiet. Normally, you could hear her coming, spewing some old dialect from Terra. Lauren remembered that she called it something strange once. 'Chinese' or something. It was odd sounding, but she didn't care much for it. At least as long as it didn't sound like it was directed at her. "...How's the head?" said Chang, standing just at the top of the cargo ramp a few feet away from where Lauren and Zadra were sitting. "Better. Still got one hell of a headache, though." responded Lauren, before glancing up. Chang's hands were shoved into her faded great coat's pockets, and her officer's cap sat just so on her head. Pretty typical look for her, really. All that was missing was a cigarette. "Good." was all Chang said in response, her piercing eyes locked more on Zadra than Lauren. Another thing Lauren took note of. Zadra remained silent, however, but gave Lauren a pat on the shoulder when she finished the stitching. Lauren stood, reaching up and gently touching where the wound was. The gash was about two and a half inches long, and the area around it was tender to the touch. What did she get hit with, a rifle butt? She winced a bit, before looking back to Chang. "...I need to talk to Taur about the Guillotine. Come find me when Slade finishes up." said Chang. It wasn't directed at Lauren. Lauren glanced back to see Zadra nod. Chang departed a moment later, leaving Lauren and Zadra alone. There were a few moments of tense silence, before Lauren finally spoke up. "...Zadra, tell me what's going on. Now. No bullshit." she said, turning to face Zadra completely. Zadra remained quiet, trying her best to avoid talking, but she then looked up and noticed the look on Lauren's face. A mixture of anger and confusion, but her emerald green eyes were locked onto Zadra. Unwavering. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now. "...We were attacked, Blue. They came out of nowhere and just...slaughtered us. The Guillotine was boarded, and one of the marines was going to kill you...your mother split him in half before he could finish the job...I was on my way to find you two, and your mother told me to..." explained Zadra, looking back to the floor as her voice trailed off. The anger in Lauren's face faded. "...What? What did she tell you? Where's mom?" she said, stepping over and kneeling in front of Zadra. It was then that she could see tears streaming down Zadra's face. They dripped off her chin as she continued, mixing into the splotches of blood already staining the ship's floor. "...Your mother told me to take you...get you to one of the newer lifepods. You know...the ones that we put the cloaking systems on. She said that she was going to distract them...buy us some time to get away...I can still see her flighting her way down the hall towards the bridge..." she continued. She paused for a moment, going quiet, before looking up at Lauren. "...the only ones that made it off the ship were you, me, and Loudmouth. Valk fought tooth and nail to help us escape...eventually Anora herself boarded and fought her..." Then it hit Lauren. The blood Slade was talking about. 'Finding a good spot'. Her head slowly turned, drifting downward as she found herself staring at the dried blood on the floor. -------- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV4cddCniL4 Lauren remained utterely silent over the course of the next half hour, almost in a sort of trance as Zadra tended to her. Eventually, she was lead into the cavern where Slade had prepared the grave. Chang traveled with them, having left her officer's cap with one of her men outside. Loudmouth also remained outside, staying with Pearl as Taur followed the group into the cave. Gazing upon the corpse of her mother, Lauren still refused to speak. She shed no tears. Others spoke, of course, in rememberance of Valencia Blackwell, also known as Valkyrie. Zadra cried, and even broke off one of her alpha horns to place inside the cloth wrapped around Valk's body. A sign of immense honor and respect in Garlon culture. Eventually, Slade lowered Valk's body into the grave and began to fill it with the same dirt and sand he had dug out of it. Once everything was done, they began to depart one by one. Chang went first, gently patting Lauren on the shoulder as she walked towards the exit. Taur followed behind her, doing the same. Zadra, however, hugged Lauren. "...I'll be right outside, if you need me." she softly said, pausing only for a moment before following after Taur and Chang. The only ones left in the cavern afterwards were Lauren and Slade. Both quiet, both staring down at the mound of dirt. After what seemed like an eternity, Slade finally moved. He stepped over to where Lauren stood, gently taking her hand. "...she would have wanted you to have this." he said, before placing something in her hand and curling her fingers around it. It was cold, and Lauren could feel a rough texture in places. She eventually looked down at it, and found that she was now holding her mother's plasma saber. There were various scratches on it, as well as scuff marks. There were also dark red stains. Her mother's blood, smeared and dried. She stared at it for a few moments, before Slade spoke again. "...What do you plan to do?...I'll help you in any way I can." he said, glancing back to Valk's grave before returning to Lauren. Lauren finally looked away from the saber, turning her attention to Slade fully. And she finally spoke, her voice bearing no hint of emotion. "...I'm going to kill Anora Cortus."
https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/209932/bfa9d933-fef9-49c0-ab97-c24083613581/image.png Part 1 Unknown Planet, 2390 Blizzard “We’ve been running from them for a while now, John. You’d think they’d call off the search. Especially in an uncharted planet like this.” A man lit up an old-fashioned cigar with a match in the middle of winter for who knew how long. He only wanted to find someplace warm. He followed a man dressed in all white, a beige overcoat complimenting his mysterious figure. “Of course Lincoln. But you have to remember, I’ve been fighting Terrans the day I became a teenager. When it comes to them, there is no calling off. It’s only temporary till they bring it back up. We’re not running from criminals, we’re running from the authority, remember that.” John struggled through the snow terrain while shielding his rifle over his eyes. It’ll be a few hours before they got to some pocket of haven out here but so far, nothing. “You think the others are going to be alright all alone back there?” Lincoln asked. “That’s what that shuttle is for if we need them.” A female voice answered, covered in an all-white outfit following the others. She wielded a similar rifle, hardwood covering 60% of the gun. “We still have limited communication, Claire. Not to mention we’re almost out of fuel for the ship. Our option is to either wait out this winter or find another planet. And I really don’t want to find another one.” Lincoln rolled his eyes, squinting to get a clear view in the front but the snow was raining down heavily. “So long as we stay hidden and out of sight, no big movements. Resort to using radio, documents etc. We’ve just lost a big supply cache when we were still in Earth territory.” Claire marched, boots in the snow as she attempted to recall their thrilling escape. “We also had to leave people behind. It’s a bit scary to think ‘bout.” Lincoln commented. “At the very least they’ll be safe, Red. I know how you feel about them but they’ll be fine.” Claire reassured, turning to face him much close. “Claire, Lincoln! I’m seeing some sort of cave. Now I had some bad experiences with caves but maybe this one isn’t so bad.” John pointed towards a hollow opening as they got closer. Lincoln glanced at the area, a bit too morbid for the likes of him. He pressed his gun as he thought about ways to hunt wild game in there. “This better not be a trap, John. Alright then.” All three gestured for the long trail of people, “Let’s move in people!” John exclaimed. The entire group hurried to the checkpoint freezing their butts off as the climate dropped down. Shelter The group entered the cave with leftover snow on their boots, observing their surroundings for unknown danger. John went on in first, looking through his iron sights. He checked every corner and pocket of shadow but no beasts here. The only strange findings were white marks around the cave, depicting of humanoids gathering together. Lowering the rifle, he turned to everyone. “Alright everyone, start some fires and make sure you search for danger further ahead. Wild beasts, the undead or toxic fumes.” John set himself down on the floor rubbing his hands together. He and Lincoln saw several of the members rummage through the remains and sparking fire sites to keep each other warm. This place will do for now, but soon it won’t be enough. John pulled out a large journal from a duffle bag, writing 100 to the top and went down to a list of names, he scratched out several of them a while ago. Names like Neves or Carle, where ever they were they could finally rest up there. He held his rifle, grabbing a rag to polish the barrel gently. Lincoln sighed, poured himself a cup of eggnog while he raised one for John. “Merry Christmas, John. And, a Happy birthday.” He lifted the cup in honor. “Uh, you too Lincoln.” John continued while Lincoln stared at the rifle by John’s side. “Say John, what’s that gun you got there? Looks shiny but old enough for my great-great uncle to have that.” He tilted his head, wondering if they even used that for standard military in the DC. But since he was only in the civilian arm, he wouldn’t recognize it. “Winchester 9422, you know those guns you have to cock with a lever.” John brandished the silver plated rifle, showing the lever and the fingerprints. “Well, this is that. It’s old alright, but my ancestors passed this gun along for many generations. My folks did the same before God’s Refuge fell.” “Well, does it shoot plasma? Can it switch to alternate ammo types? Can it recharge?” Lincoln joked around, chuckling while John shook his head. “Nope. It carries a .22 for it. That’s pretty much it, lightweight at least. For the best.” He patted the frame. “Oldies ain’t something you’d want to fight against bounty hunters or giant scorpions. Or Luther Vandal.” Lincoln warned til he stared up at pitch black “That’s alright, we can’t afford those kinds of weapons so I use the old stuff. So whether or not you use them, treat this as a real weapon. Bullets. Kill.” John warned with two fingers holding up a .22. Lincoln attempted not to smirk, switching focus on his own items. “I’ll remember that when we shoot drones with a winchester.” He shook his head in amusement. “John, Lincoln. We’ve found people on patrol.” One of the civilians dressed in a white tunic alerted them. Lincoln raised an eyebrow then quickly waved away the man as he got up. “Great, let’s go then.” ... Several of the dwellers looked mammalian and docile enough they weren’t an immediate threat. John and several others stared at them with no idea what to do. Lincoln marched in, seeing the aliens who were confused. John shook his head, “Ugh. Xenos. Now what?” He shrugged while Lincoln tossed his cigar aside. “Anyone got a translator?” One of the Safe Heaven members passed along a holoband down the way as Lincoln kneed down. The holoband attempted to decrypt one of the aliens. It took some time while the others looked down with skepticism, some were shocked just by the sight of them. One of the aliens pointed to itself, mouthing off as the translator did the work. “Who are you, people? What are you doing here?” Lincoln raised an eyebrow, turning to John. “I think we oughta ask the same thing. But since you asked first, I’m Red Lincoln and that’s John over there. He’s leading this expedition for a new home. We’ve been kicked out of our old one but I think we’re the only ones left. “You don’t belong here, the last thing we want is more trespassers or invaders. Away with you!” One of the aliens raised a club towards Lincoln. John shook his head at the Xeno, “No you!” he pointed at. “Have you been out there lately? It’s freezing out there and we got a hundred civilians with us. The only soldier we have is John right here. I’m more of a hunter than anything else. But the point is we’re going to die out there.” Lincoln reasoned. “Not our problem mouthbreather, maybe you should think before you enter in winter!” “Listen, there’s a reason for that but we’ll do anything to stay. Just give us the word. Kids are tired. We need to rest until then. Please.” The alien narrowed its creepy black eyes but nevertheless waved for them to enter through a gate. The gate itself was guarded by a large golem, wore a suit of plate armor but had no facial features except eyes around its head. The golem marched slowly, raising a giant club. “Easy Grommy, we’ve found ourselves a bunch of Humans. They’re okay, for now.” Grommy tilted its head, “Hey.” He raised a free hand while the Creed members stared at it for a while until they were near a hideout. The area was more cave-like than the group had ever seen, only with wooden huts and cobblestone for roads. “Place looks homely despite the primitive kind, no offense,” Lincoln said as they walked on through getting odd looks from the alien locals which was a given. “We do what we can and what the Spirits give us. You’ll be staying in several huts til you leave for the morning. Are your youth starving?” “No, we have our own food. Thank you.” Lincoln said, seeing their new place to sleep in. They settled inside the tents and unpacked while John stood there, actively isolating himself from the cave.
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