Old World Blues (CLOSED ATM)

[Skall]

Gail decided not to comment, preferring to remain neutral until she had interacted with someone herself.


She sat down perpendicular to Bear, her posture straight but comfortable and her fingers loosely laced together, waiting expectantly on the council before her. One eyebrow was slightly arched, and she tilted her chin up, her blue eyes catching the warm rays of the afternoon sun, but didn't melt her frigid exterior.

[Romulan_Furry]

Skye never moved from where she was, never twitched, never moved a muscle aside from her breathing. Not even to turn her head to so much as look around. Her hands were settled in her lap, her legs perfectly straight, and her back propping her upright. It seemed... unreal. As though she were frozen in some way.

[Blaiiine]

The head URA brass, a lieutenant colonel, activated a projector one of the marines brought in and loudly coughed, attempting to rein in everyone's attention. "Hello everyone, I am Lt. Colonel Reems and I'll be your mission handler. We gathered, or more so hired, you today to retrieve something," Reems, a gray furred lupine, said. He pulled up a slide containing intel and coordinates but no images. "Now, from intel we have gathered, it appears the pre-war government was working on an experimental weapon. We have no images but have gathered a location from these coordinates." Reems continued, pulling up another slide showing a picture of a fortified pre-war military base. "This is Redstone Arsenal, located outside of what was Huntsville in Alabama. We believe the weapon was shipped to this location a week before the bombs fell. Your mission is to recover the technology and return it to our current location." Reems pulled another slide, showing a map of the western United States. "Now, outside of the Rockies, it becomes Hun territory. I'm not going to lie, where you're heading is Hun country and you'll definitely see combat. We hired a few of you with that in mind," Reems said, looking at Skye and Blaine. He turned off the projector and looked back to the group. "Now, any questions before we discuss payment?"

[Romulan_Furry]

Skye remained silent, mentally studying the images she saw. She considered her words before speaking [though she never removed the breath mask], "What do we know of the specific area we're headed for? Anything to watch out for - such as pre-war traps, security measures, or defenses?"

[Rayleonarde]

A small, cloaked figure shuffled quietly into the briefing area. Ray's huge, worn cloak dragged the floor, which seemed much too large for his size. Hiss head craned up as he took up a residence in the corner, the red lenses of his goggles glaring in the projector light. He looked like a withered old man, a mistake many had made and few survived.

[Blaiiine]

"All we know is there is a critical-level Hun colony in Huntsville, but that's it. Not going to lie, you're all going in blind," Reems replied, sighing. Blaine scoffed and mumbled, "Typical, only guarantee is a crapstorm." Blaine examined the male in the cloak, not recognizing him. Reems discussed payments, $1500 now and $1500 on return. They were to be given two vehicles and supplies for the first trip.

[Romulan_Furry]

Skye did not respond to the comment about going in blind. She ignored Blaine's comment about a guaranteed s***storm. When the briefing was done, she scribbled something down in a sizeable notebook, then seemingly stuffed it somewhere in the back of her cloak. After that, she briefly held her left hand - which was gloved, just like her right - to her lips, then picked up her rifle and headed for the exit, but at a rather slow pace as she eyed Blaine and spotted the cloaked newcomer.

At least now, she wasn't the only one wearing a cloak.

[Skall]

Gail licked her lips. Their "mission" was so cloak-and-dagger she had to bite back a hiss, instead narrowing her eyes into icy slits.  What exactly is this government's agenda? Why do they want this bomb? More questions buzzed in her mind, but those were the two most important and, judging by the brusque manner of the meeting and the infinitesimal amount of information available, would never be answered.


The scientific feline normally didn't believe in intuition, but the small consortium of leaders and military personnel immediately set off warning bells in her mind. The entire situation just seemed strange and off-putting, which made the fur on the back of her neck raise. Clearly, the URA didn't contact the other three using official channels--having resources from the outside instead of military would be financially no skin off their noses. If one if them got hurt or killed, the URA wouldn't be responsible. Which begs the question of why she was dragged in with them. There are plenty of more capable doctors whose patients weren't identified with toe tags. Why her?


Sighing inaudibly, but keeping her gaze trained on Lt. Colonel Reems, her stomach knotted with a mixture of curiosity, suspicion, and anger.

[Blaiiine]

Blaine picked up his rifle and stopped at the door, looking to the rest. "Alright. I'm heading to the vehicle depot, see what we're working with," He said before walking off and heading down the stairs.


Once he reached the depot, he found the two vehicles. One was a modified Humvee, complete with a .50 caliber mounted machine gun and plate armor. Blaine instantly fell in love, taking a seat in the driver's seat. The other vehicle was a modified technical, a salvaged truck with a smaller machine gun mounted in the bed of the truck.


Blaine finished stocking the vehicles with ammo and fuel, leaving room for personal effects. He activated the radios in the vehicles and waited for the others. They'd still need to stop at the market and collect other supplies like food and medicine.

[Romulan_Furry]

Skye was the first seen, taking the passenger seat next to Blaine after throwing her bag of supplies in the back. She sat in silence for a good three minutes, then turned her head to look at Blaine. She looked away after staring at him for thirty seconds, then slowly reached a hand up to her breath mask, pressing two buttons on the sides. The mask made a faint click and hissed as she removed it from her snout. She then slowly and softly exhaled, as though she had held her breath until now. She breathed momentarily, then looked to Blaine again. "I wanted to apologize for my behavior in the corridor. It was wrong of me to threaten you, and I am sorry," she said to him, her voice soft and with a subtle shaking of her breath.

[Blaiiine]

"S'all right. It's a pretty stressful thing we do," Blaine said, leaned under the dashboard as he wired the ham radio in. A few crackles of electricity and Blaine exclaiming as he shocked himself, then the Humvee roared to life. As he did a once over of the main gun, he looked back to Skye. "So, are the stories true about you? The whole sword slinging stuff?" He asked before adding, "I've heard about it in bars around URA territories."

[Romulan_Furry]

"What stresses me out... goes much deeper than what we do for a living," Skye sighed, her voice still soft. "But I'd rather not get into that now - not here, when the others could show up any moment." When Blaine asked about her sword slinging, she chuckled softly, then moved her cloak aside to allow him to see her katanas - sheathed and attached to her belt. "The stories are very true. The 'sword slinging' is the primary reason many fear me. A few tribals down south saw me in combat against two dozen raiders armed with makeshift swords and thought me to be a god." Skye scoffed. "You'd think that's good, but their interpretations of what I tried to tell them left... something to be desired." She shook her head, then commented, "Fortunately, that particular story never made it up here. Even if it did... who'd believe it?"

[Blaiiine]

"I hardly believed the ones I heard, no offense." Blaine said as he took his seat at the wheel. He lit another cigarette and then slid on his Mechanix gloves. He climbed back out and took a salvaged music player off one of the depot shelves. Attaching it to the inner console of the Humvee, he looked back up at Skye. "Music is a must. Keeps you from wanting to throw yourself beneath the wheel when road tripping." He chuckled, climbing back in the driver seat. Blaine then waited on the rest of the group, checking his watch.

[Rayleonarde]

Ray shuffled out behind the others, and immediately moved to the front of the Humvee he was to ride in. The raccoon then doubled over, his paws pressed against his head in some form of prayer. Ray muttered quietly to himself as well. A strange sight indeed, but it was a common Ra'onni practice. He believed that the vehicles were metal-clad beasts to be treated with reverence and care.

[Blaiiine]

"Hey, cloak guy. You're riding in the technical," Blaine said, pointing to the black pick-up truck. "No offense. We just need the truck for whatever the hell we're lugging back. The doc is riding with you." Blaine said, hopping out. He set his rifle inside the Humvee by his seat. He walked over to the male in the cloak and asked, "So what's your name, guy?" He held his hand out, gesturing to shake the others.