RP thread : The Quest Into The Forbidden

[Belle Starr]

Belle had to admit that Rose's stealth device on the pink troop carrier was pretty cool. Rose really did think of everything. Belle just wished that her motivational speech had worked as well as Rose's cloaking device. Chase and Vo had looked decidedly unimpressed by Belle's speech and Rose disappeared as Belle was signing paperwork for the carrier's release. Furthermore, nobody knew where Taffer was.

So much for hitting the road immediately, Belle thought in dismay. Guess I don't have to write down my four-T, no five-T, motivational speech. No, we are not having fun yet!

As Belle walked to the hotel where the others were staying as she recovered in the hospital, she wondered if they were even a team any more. Everybody seemed to have their own agendas and were off doing their own things. The mission seemed to get lost in the shuffle, and she blamed herself.

I broke the team's momentum when I got stupidly injured, She thought sadly. I just had to grand stand with the turret gun!

Belle got a room at the hotel, and poured a hot bath as she hummed Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold" to distract herself. But once in the tub, she again focused her thoughts on herself and the team.

I'm so jekkin broken! Belle thought. She began to tear up as she stripped and got in the tub. I'm a liability to the safety of the team, Maybe I should leave them when we get to Defiance. Sooner or later I'm going to get one of them killed as they try to save me. Maybe I can stay with Nolan for a while.

Maybe you should abandon this mission Belle, affirmed Alfred, her EGO device, For your own good.

Belle's cold tears turned to steam as they hit the hot water of her bath.

[Keeper Riff]

"It's good as new!", Vo exclamated to the team as if he was selling the carrier to them, "I did some upgrades too! It's air-tight now! With air filters and rebreathing system! The downside is… the gun is not. That means, the turret seat is now in its own cabin, connected to the hull through air-tight manhole. So anyone who fires it, should definitely have its armor on with its own rebreather when it comes to poor air conditions. Or control the gun remotely, it's possible too… when we get the gun, I mean. So… yes, where is Taffer anyway? Anybody seen him?"

He looked around waiting if Taffer would appear from some shadowed corner emerging from his Cloak and dropping his usual remark like "To see Taffer is not an easy thing, especially when he does not wish to be seen", but he didn't. He tried to locate his EGO and it returned nothing.

"Okay, I must say something about him," said Vo with reluctance, "he has some compulsive idea that his EGO is spying on him and could rat him to someone. So sometimes he turns off all communications and disappears like that. The only way to contact him when he does is to broadcast a message encrypted with personal code he shares with some people. I have one, maybe some of you have received one from him, I don't know. So, when we'll be ready to go, I'll contact him this way. If someone really needs to contact him personally, I'll contact him too. For now, I'm saving the call for emergency situations. I trust he won't leave us behind."

He went back to his room. He didn't like it in this city, the closeness of the prison and the whole criminal underground snake pit left a special a mark on the look of everything here, making the place completely unlikable for him. When Belle took her speech he hoped they will hit the road as soon a possible but it turned out their departure got delayed again. He took a quick shower and then dropped on his bed with his EGO playing some ambient music to his ears.

[Keeper Riff]

Taffer was following Dr. Mvraa as she were exiting the hospital. He felt he had a new puzzle in his head but too few pieces surfaced to be connected with each other. The doctor could be an another piece or a key to connect some of them. She took a seat in her Dodge and started the engine. Taffer was ready for this and followed her in the car he rented proactively. It was a two-seat buggy-type vehicle — the one he was promised had enough boost power to compete with Dodge, on a short distance at least. He planned to follow her to her home and find a way to get a copy of her access card.

Suddenly she made a sharp turn and her dodge ran straight to the gate leading out of the city. Taffer followed, keeping his distance, his EGO has put a marker on the car, so he wasn't too afraid to lose her from sight. He drove out of the gate without any hassle and that reassured him it wasn't him who caused the sudden change of her route, otherwise he'd be stopped at the gate by its security. The doctor were definitely in a hurry: her dodge was boosting at full speed, so Taffer had to cut the next turn using the advantage of his buggy's off-road abilities to not fall too much behind. But when he got back on the road her Dodge was nowhere to be seen. "She didn't go through here," her EGO informed, "but according to her average speed and distance she already should. Maybe we should… Okay, that will work too," she told quickly, seeing that Taffer already followed the road back to the city. Another turn — and he saw her dodge standing on the road shoulder, a smoke was coming from under its hood and out of its windows. Taffer stopped his buggy and rushed to the Dodge. The door didn't open when he pulled the handle, so he had to cut the lock catch with his new charge blade. Dr. Mvraa spilled out of her car, coughing badly. He helped her to get in his car and rolled it a little away from the dodge which already started to burn with open flame.

"Thank you," she muttered after she caught her breath.

"What happened?" asked Taffer, already knowing the answer as his EGO was giving him results of the scan.

"I don't know," she replied, "The smoke just went from the dashboard and all doors got locked somehow so I couldn't escape."
"I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to help me a little more than you did right now," she continued after a moment of hesitation, "I'm afraid one of my very good friends is in dangerous condition and I need to get to him as soon as possible and probably take him to the hospital."

"Have you called him back?" Taffer asked immediately.

"No, he just dropped me a message which said…"

"Call him back. Now," Taffer interrupted her with heavy emphasis on "now".

"Ehm… It shows 'no carrier'," she looked at his hailer with surprise.

"Try my one," Taffer handed her his hailer, the one he bought for cheap, probably stolen from someone. He took her one and pulled the battery out.

Dr. Mvraa entered her friend's ID and made a call. Her eyes widened in surprise while she was talking.

"He's okay. He never sent that message. I don't understand," she told quietly, almost whispering.

"The message was fake. Someone sent it to get you out of the city. And rigged your car to burn away with you locked inside. It was an assassination attempt."

"I can't believe. Who would…"

"Someone who knew your friends. Someone who knew which friend you'll rush to without questioning. Someone who knows where you work and when you come home. Someone who has access to your car without setting off the alarm. Someone who can disable your hailer so that you couldn't call for help."

"Why are you so sure it was all staged? That's… insane. Maybe the car wasn't rigged, maybe it was just an accident…"

Taffer shook his head and pointed his finger at the back of his neck. Doc's eyes widened in surprise for the second time. "I've uploaded the scan data to my hailer. Should be enough to prove that it wasn't just an accident. You could give it to authorities and report an assassination attempt. Or give it to press. Or have it for yourself. Or throw it away. Your best bet right now is to find some friend you can trust and your enemies might not know of. Your friend you just called is out of the question. Unless he's ready to just jump in and run away with you somewhere far away from where you both live."

"Funny thing, he suggested exactly that about a month ago," her mouth twisted just a little which Taffer could interpret as a sad smile.

"Then you may call him and ask if the suggestion is still valid". Seeing she took his hailer again, he nodded and took her malfunctioning one. He went to the still burning Dodge an threw the device into it. He waited outside until Dr. Mvraa finished talking and then took the driver's seat again.

They rolled along the road again to where her friend lived. While on the way Taffer explained her some basic tricks about how to communicate anonymously through public relays and general tips on staying low while being on the run. He also instructed her to download all the data from his hailer and throw it away as soon as they get together with her friend and do the same for her friend's one as it could be tracked too. They found her friend already in his Durango and ready to move. To his surprise, he happened to be an Irathient.

"May I ask you, why do you help me so much?" she asked when they were about to part ways.

"Let me just say, at least one of your patients would be very upset if you ended up dead after you patched them up," he answered and added to himself, "and I don't want us to be remembered here as death-bringers."

Only on his way back to the hotel he remembered he never stolen her access card in the end. That means, she was not a key but just another piece of the puzzle.

Once at the hotel he turned his EGO back on for communication and send a message to the group that he'll be ready for action after a few hours of rest.

[CB2001]

“And there is Chase’s Challenger, looking better than ever,” Chase noticed the fake smile on Belle. “I was just telling Rose that Chase would find a way to retrieve his car and fix it, and so you have!”

Rose frowned and followed with, “No you didn’t! You just hired Varus to send some men to go get it. I heard you on the hailer.”

The statement cause Belle to seem a bit panicky, “Rose is mistaken! I was… just setting up another job with him for when I get back. Yeah, that’s it!”

Chase looked at Belle a moment, wondering why she would want to send Varus’ men to get a car that was beyond recovery.

“It’s not the same car,” Chase told her. “Rose scuttled the thing to the point where it was mostly unsalvageable. What you see here is mostly a new body that the junkyard had, parts from another Challenger of the same year model and parts that could be salvaged from my Challenger, including the engine block. But I managed to grind out a deal that included some upgrades. And most of my spare weapons and shields were recoverable.”

He pulled off Old Faithful, placing it on the roof.

“It’s going to take me time to get used to it, but as the old saying goes, home is where you hang your hat.”

Belle broke out into some sort of motivational speech, trying to rally up everyone to get on the road. Chase certainly wasn’t feeling it.

You came on the mission to make sure these people came back alive? EGO asked. Maybe you should have listened to Darwin’s theory of evolution and allow it to take it’s course.

Can it, Chase told it.

“Anyone seen Taffer?” Belle asked.

“Other than the prison, Vegas is known for two things,” Chase replied. “Gambling and prositution. So, take your pick.”

Vo then came in with his explanation about Taffer, about how his paranoia about his EGO unit and how Vo could contact him when it was time to leave.

Everyone headed to the hotel they were staying out, despite the delay that came up. But, it was necessary. Chase pulled the Challenger into a parking spot, figuring that if this was going to be his vehicle from here on out, he was going to have to spend a night inside of it. Though he felt uncomfortable that it wasn’t in a secure location, at least the odds of being eaten by Hellbugs or assaulted by 99ers, Raiders or the Grid out here in the Vegas area.

But before he was going to settle into the car for the night, he knew he needed to make an apology. He knocked on Ms. Sinn's door. She opened it. He could tell she had been crying, her eyes slightly puffy.

"We need to talk," Chase told her.

He took a seat at the table across from the bed, where she took her seat. Chase took a moment to collect his thoughts, arrange things in a way that she would understand. He looked at her as he began.

"I apologize for my anger towards you about my car," Chase began. "You need to understand something. That Challenger was more than just a car. It was my home. Nine years ago, when I left Freedom, Alabama, all I had with me was the clothes on my back, my scrip chip, my rifle and my roller, which was a '71 Dodge Challenger. That's what I had with me when I went to Defiance, and what I had when I left it. When I got to the Columbia area, due to where I was staying, I sold off my car and my rifle, thinking I was going to be staying there for the rest of my life. While I was there, all I had was the clothes on my back and my scrip chip. When the Von Bach talent agent found me, and convinced me to go to the Bay, they gave me a new set of clothes and weapons. My existence is limited to what I have, which is at a minimum."

She nodded, understanding.

"And when it comes to the Bay, between those who already live out there, those who came on the New Freedom, the E-Rep and enemies out there, there is only a limited amount of places one person can stay. Not all of us can have a trailer at the Crater like Belle. And not all of us can find a bunker like you. The rest of us are stuck with wherever we can find a safe place to sleep. My roller is not just a roller. It's my home. Everything I have left, was inside the car when you crashed it. It's the only thing of a roof over my head I could have in the Bay. And you scuttled it."

Ms. Sinn's head lowered, her eyes adverted as well.

"When I asked you that question in the carrier, I wanted a real answer. Because I trusted you with my roller, a vehicle that has seen so much throughout its existence on this Earth a year before I was born, the closest thing to a home I have. And if you couldn't even do something as simple as that, how do you expect us to trust you with our lives in Florida?"

She sat quietly for a moment, before looking at him.

"Can I speak now?" she asked.

Chase nodded.

"It was not my fault," she began. "I was trying to flee the incoming attach when a Volge landed in front of me. It came out of nowhere. I had no time to react. I'm sorry, but there was nothing I could do."

Chase thought for a moment about her comment.

"Ms. Sinn, that doesn't make any sense," he told her. "The EGO units give you a heads up of incoming Volge from overhead. At eight seconds prior, you get a verbal warning. At six seconds, the estimated spot of landing is shown on the scanner. After that, they show up. I've been in my fair share of Volge swarms at the Quarry to know the exact timing. Your EGO should have told you that it was incoming, and you should have avoided it, even more so with the enhanced reaction time that the EGO unit provides."

She opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it again. Her eyes rolled up, an indication of her trying to recall the moment of the crash. This confused Chase. He began to wonder if she got the indication of incoming. He knew that her EGO gave the others the indication of incoming. But that was from ground level, not airborne. Ms. Sinn got up, walking away from him with her arms across her chest. Chase began to wonder something, recalling a problem he had with his EGO once. He looked over at the table, finding an ash tray and a book of matches. Chase picked up the book of matches and tossed it up and in her direction. The matches landed on her head, which caused her to flinch. Chase got up, and spun her around.

"What the hell?" she yelped.

Chase held his hand above her head.

"Does your EGO sense my hand above your head?" he asked her.

"What?"

"Ask your EGO to confirm the placement of my hand above your head," he told her.

She was silent, looking off to the side as she checked with her EGO. Confusion crossed her face as she looked back at him.

"It doesn't read it," she told him.

Chase let go of her and sighed.

"When was the last time you had your EGO checked? I mean a full diagnostic?"

"Um," her eyes rolled back up in thought. "About a month ago. Before we went to Silicone Valley."

"Did you have Erin check your EGO while you were in recovery?"

"I assumed she did," she replied.

Jesus Christ on a pogo stick, Chase thought.

"My apology still stands," Chase explained. "But for a different reason. Your EGO must have been damaged from the encounter at Silicone Valley. The EGO units don't have a self diagnostic program because if the EGO is malfunctioning, it wouldn't be able to analyze itself proper. Think of it like trying to find out if there's something wrong with your eye, but you're unable to really know if there's a problem with your eye because you can't see the inside of your eye."

"But, that's not possible," Ms. Sinn replied. "EGO units are perfectly designed. They wouldn't be able to have a flaw like that."

"Not true. I've done my research on the EGO unit during the Nim Shondu incident. During my first week, I noticed something odd happening with my EGO. I passed by a small battle between the Volge and Raiders in the middle of one of the roads. I managed to avoid the conflict by the skin of my teeth. About half a mile away from there, my EGO then stated, Look out! I went to Top-Notch and had Erin run a system's check on my EGO implant. She noted that there was problem with the memory buffer, so that when it came to scanning and reaction, it had a delay of 25 seconds between picking up the signal and giving notice. She fixed the problem, and my EGO's response system is much quicker. Just because they're perfectly design doesn't mean they're impervious to damage and malfunctioning."

"So, Sarah didn't tell me it was incoming because she didn't sense it," she replied.

Chase nodded. "Your EGO has a blind spot. It can only see anything at ground level, not anything that's up above you. That's why you didn't react to the book of matches I tossed, which the EGO would have alerted you about before it landed on your head. If it had been working properly, you could have avoided the collision all together."

Ms. Sinn took a seat on the bed once again.

"It's a good thing it was just my car was lost," Chase said. "If you hadn't wrecked it, we now wouldn't have known. And that blind spot could have gotten us killed when we get to Florida."

She sat quietly once again.

"There's two things you can do right now," Chase replied. "You can find someone to fix it while we're still here. Or you can wait until we get to Defiance, and Doc Yewll can handle it. I guess it really depends on the type of bedside manner you prefer."

He knelt down in front of her, looking at her in the eye once more.

"This is why I was hard on you," Chase told her. "We haven't even remotely near Florida, and we've discovered a fixable flaw in your EGO. If you want us to trust you, you have to be on your A game, just as much as you expect us to be on ours. And most importantly, you have to be prepared for Florida. It's not like any Arkfall, or Swarm or any encounters you've had in the Bay. I hope that this problem helps you out, because we need a leader who knows how serious this can be, and expects everyone including herself, to be in top shape. And the reason why I came is because I give too much of a damn about if all four of you come back from Florida alive. The last thing I want to see is your names on the list."

"The list?"

"The list of people who have gone into Florida and never came back," Chase told her. "The last time I saw it, there were two-hundred and twenty three people's names on that list. And that was nine years ago. Who knows how many more names have been on there since then."

Chase stood up.

"Again, I'm sorry," he replied. "Think about getting your EGO fixed."

Chase left the room, closing the door behind him.

How lucky/unlucky can one group be? Chase thought.

His EGO told him about Taffer's message about being ready for action after a few hours rest.

Probably for the best, Chase thought.

[Belle Starr]

Belle slept fitfully in her hotel room bed as she gave her nightly report to her uncle, Mr. Greenstreet, in the VBI bunker in New York. She was not conscious of giving the nightly report, and would not remember any of it in the morning, but some unconscious part of her mind must have realized what she was doing.

Belle, a colleague of yours, a Mr. Taffer, interrupted a black op of ours tonight. Have no fear, our operative was watching from afar and is following the target, who will be eliminated. It has caused the operation to become - complicated.

A cold chill went up her spine and Belle began to shiver, although she was unaware of it.

Mr. Taffer may have to be eliminated, stated Mr. Greenstreet as if he was issuing the bottom line of a business report.

You can't, replied Belle.

Belle, I know you are emotionally attached to your team, but you also know that VBI protects its assets and -

You misunderstand Mr. Greenstreet, interrupted Belle. Whatever you throw at Taffer, he will overcome it. He is the ultimate professional. He will out think you. He will out gun you. And in the end, he will kill you.

Belle could tell from the tone of his voice that Mr. Greenstreet was neither happy with her conclusions nor her interruption, We know he has an EGO implant, although he has somehow found a way to keep us from tracking it from afar, but so do you Belle and you have had years of subliminal training, so you could kill him for us.

No I couldn't Mr. Greenstreet, Belle stated in a matter-of-fact way, Taffer would kill me without hesitation or remorse, and I would have both, so even if I somehow survived a hostile encounter with Taffer, which is doubtful, I would then be useless to VBI as an asset because I would be a basket case.

Hmmf! We may have to test that Belle! We may have to test that, Mr. Greenstreet replied with a hint of irritation in his voice. Now, tell me everything you know about this Taffer!

[JadedSinn]

what happend in the VBI base and what was to come ::

after chases apolagys she opend up the case that she had hidden under her bed. inside was ark tech ark tech that no one should have it was an ark brain one that she had been tampering when sence childhood. no one had ever asked her what vbi fasility she had exscaped from. let alone knew. the vagas one housed the ark tech she needed to get out of paradise. and a few others in other places housed the tools she needed to use it. but at this point. the brain that was in the case was dorment. she sat down on the bed and took it in her hands.

" we need to fix you sarah " she said sadly " chase says your damaged. " sarah fought the idea " im not broken iv never been broken im... im broken arnt i rose. im no use to you any more... if im broken replace me dont try and fix me i dont want to be fixed i want to stay me " rose smiled and took her left hand and cuped the back of her neck where sarah was located the old scar long faded " i could never do that sarah . lets do this to gether. you whipe the ark brain and then we will brake it down and use the ark tech to install the repair system you need the ark brains nanites will also help with the healing if im wounded " she told sarah and smiled as she closed her eyes.

sarah smiled inside her vision the " image " of her kneeling and cuping the arkbrain filled her sight as she held the dorment ark brain in her lap. there was suddenly a high pitch high octive noise that only ego units would pick up due to the sub sonics of it. it was the ark brains screams as it was being erased. but only sarah and rose would know what it was and others might ... come runing to find out.

after every one barged in she looked at them as thay perpared to kill her for scareing the crap out of them and she smiled " sorry just doing some self maintnace. didnt think every one would hear it. " she was still in the robe.. and it was ... just... open ... enough ... to make people .. ponder and ave a few good dreams latter. she blushed when she cought one of the men trying to peek and closed her robe befor moveing her hair from the back of her neck " bella can you help me. after i open the unit place the dead ark nanites near sarah so she can rewrite them and install them into herself. " she leaned her head forwords and with her bionic hand crushed the outside caseing of the ark brain the shell was filled with a silver dust witch she handed up to bella who promptly put it near the scar on her neck.

rose had done this befor with other upgreads. she refused to have someone else tampering with her ego . tampering with sarah becuse it ment that thay would have to take her out . this way sarah was able to upgread her self. and she was able to keep her friend alive and safe.

a single hair like strand of silver came out of the heart of the scar and down into the ark nanites as soon as it touched them the tray of nanites came to life as there code was rewwriten and thay suddenly climbed the little string and into the back of her neck rose sharply inhailed not from pain but more from the cold feeling of nanites corsing though her self and though sarah.

as soon as the tray was empty and all the needed nanites where inside her body nad inside sarah. the small silver hair disappeared back into her neck and she looked down at the remaining ark tech and droped it back into the case that she had removed it from. and smiled at every one

" we leave in the morning get everything you need to done befor then once we leave we wont be comeing back thouh here for some time "

and after that she shooed every one out of her room


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

the next morning she was wating in the carryer. she liked a few of the upgrades but tinkered with the hatches for the turret it didnt open and close fast enough so she made her own ajustments . chase wanted to check on her ego and threw an apple at her head when she wasent looking and her hand shought up and cought it. " shes better this morning " she said as she finished the ajustment on the carryer doors and hatches she also took the time to make an ajustment on the active camo and on the fold out bed that was hers in the carryer.

once every one was asimbled she looked at chase " i think you should leave the charger here where it can stay safe chase. and just ride in the carryer. something tells me . its not going to beable to stand up to me driveing it agine let alone where we are going . oh and . " she walked over to him and handed him what looked like an MP3 that was filled with music just like the music that chase had in his car. " i stold everything on it. " she said with a smile as she climbed into the carryer driver set " its great being me " she then started up pinky as every one climbed in and drove it though the city back to the main gates.

at the gate every one was given back there weapons along with the turrets gun she remounted it nad held up the trafic leaveing the city for a good 2 hours while she did a full arms check right there in the middle of the road this scared alot of the people behind them and they desided to go home insted of leave or go back to there motel and not leave. after arguing with a gard over the fact that a gun or 5 where missing the guard managed to perduse them after fidning out thay had been miss labled and places in the wrong place.

once everything was back in the carryer she let someone else drive. as she sat down and started field striping every gun that she had gotten back from guards inorder to clean them. it litterly takeing her mins to do each gun her speed of brake down and puting it back together like a solder on a battle field. after doing this with all 45 of the small arms and shot guns she then proseded to do it to all her larger guns and the rockit launchers and detanaters she had brought puting them all back in there respect full racks after each cleaning and makeing the inside of the carryer smell like a gun shop. she pulled out her FRC NorthStar Flare and smiled as she took her time takeing it apart the new mod on it adding up to 13 shot clip and a higher fire rate. she humed to her self as she worked.

once done it was her turn to drive agine. thay where heading south by south east tords Albuquerque NM witch would be there next stop on the trip. it wouldnt be a long one it would be a refull stop and also an over night. rose was a stickler about driveing at night and didnt want a repeat of last time thay stoped in an odd place happaning agine.

so timeing it right thay arived sometime mid day and she rented the rooms agine for them this time giveing every one there own room, she took off from the group after the rooms where rented at the small road side motel and took off into town on foot to go find some fun. thay wouldnt see her agine till the next day when it was time to drive agine. and when thay would be reaching defiance sometime late that comeing night.

================================================== ===============================

while driveing to defiance on day 2 after leaving vegas mr greenstreet would reseave news of there HQ in vegas inploding on its self all staff accounted for as alive. but the reason behind the destruction was unknown. it was beleaved that someone had gotten inside and planted some bombs in stratigic locations though out the fasility and someone else had warned the staff to avacuate the night befor. but the caller and bomber left no trase. and no one would know forsure just who did it.

[Belle Starr]

On the way to Defiance, Belle sat on top of the troop carrier, her feet dangling into the open manhole on its roof. She kept her eyes tightly closed as she rode, listening to the steady roar of the Carrier’s powerful engine that somehow relaxed her. Taffer warned her that she was a great target for snipers and razor rain sitting up there, but she poo-pooed him. Belle relied on Alfred, her EGO unit, to warn her if any danger might exist. Furthermore, she had changed back into her Liberty Trooper armor, complete with her excellent 7th Legion shield, and that gave her a great deal of protection. Belle enjoyed the wind blowing on her freckled face and through her honey blond hair, and it gave her some time with her thoughts. She had heard that Joshua Nolan was once again the law keeper in Defiance. Belle had a checkered past with Nolan, as he liked to be called, and she was nervous about possibly seeing him again.

Belle had first met Nolan as a nineteen year old novice ark hunter when he befriended her on the ERS New Freedom. He had invited her to eat meals with him and his daughter, Irisa, on the long trip from New York to the Bay Area. In the beginning, she thought she might become best friends with Irisa, since Belle thought they were about he same age, although it's hard to tell the age of aliens. Whenever Belle attempted to girl talk with her, Irisa merely started fingering the tip of her throwing knife, so Belle quickly gave up on the BFF idea. However, she always enjoyed talking with Nolan, because he always treated her as an equal, never laughing at her ideas and aspirations, despite her immaturity. He even led her and his daughter Irisa to the relative safety of the ejection chairs when the flying ship went down over the Bay Area, although they got separated when her chair malfunctioned and didn’t immediately eject.

The second time Belle met Nolan, she was a seasoned ark hunter of six months, already patrolling and clearing dangers like raiders and hell bugs off the highways of Paradise, but sometimes taking jobs from Varus Soleptor, the local crime lord, to finance those patrols. She had already created her carefully structured public image of a red, white, and blue armored hero of the people, but privately she still had a school girl crush on the much older real war hero Nolan. Belle fairly jumped at the chance to team up with Nolan when Varus hired them both to retrieve an alien jewel. Quite naturally they ended up making love several times during the venture, and a bit of a surprise to her considering she had not long ago been sexually assaulted by three villainous ark hunters. He was her first real love, and as a tender and sensitive lover, helped her get over the brutality of her first sexual encounter. Unfortunately, he also stole the jewel after pretending to give it to her to give to Varus, thus making her look foolish and angering Varus immensely.

Belle smiled as she joked to herself, Yep, Nolan screwed me both literally and figuratively.

The third time she met Nolan was quite recently. Belle had heard that he had again become the law keeper in Defiance, but he was looking for his missing daughter, and followed her trail to the Bay Area. Through local Law Keeper Cooper, he arranged a meet with her to ask for her help in the search. First thing she did when she saw him was to knee him in the groin, knocking him to the ground. Nolan probably thought it was because he had stolen Varus’ jewel from her, but it was in truth because he didn’t just come out front and ask for help. She didn’t give a jekk about Varus’ jewel, but was hurt that he didn’t know her well enough to know that she would always help a friend in need. They mended their fences, and landed up in bed several times until his search for his daughter led him out of the Bay Area.

Belle assumed Nolan had found Irisa when she heard he was again the law keeper in Defiance. Belle knew he wouldn’t abandon the search for any other reason, even as she knew that he did not feel the same intensity of love for her as she did for him. He is Nolan. She had no doubt that if she was in trouble, and he could help, he would, but he would never be a one-woman man.

Never, ever! Thought Belle sadly. She indeed had mixed feelings about going to Defiance!

[CB2001]

The morning sun rose over the eastern horizon as everyone was getting ready to leave. Chase had a good night's sleep inside the car to make sure that any future sleeping on the mountain top of Mount Tam was a comfortable one. Even with the cramped space, which still had been an issue due to the car's interior, it still was. Ms. Sinn came down, carrying her things with her. Chase began to wonder if she had gotten the blind spot fixed, and knew only one way to check. When she was facing away from him, he tossed an apple up and towards her. If she hadn't fixed it, it would certainly bounce off her head. With quick reflexes, she reached up and caught it without even looking. She turned around and smiled at him.

"She's better this morning," Ms. Sinn replied.

Chase nodded at her, glad to hear the blind spot was fixed.

"Glad to know," Chase replied. "We need our leader in the best condition."

She turned back to check in on the others. Just as Chase had moved the duffle bag to the front passenger side seat. Though his LAW hat was inside the carrier, he chose to continue to wear Old Faithful, just to keep from switching between hats on the journey. Ms. Sinn came up to him.

"I think you should leave your Challenger here, where it can stay safe, Chase," she told him. "And just ride in the carrier. Something tells me it's not going to be able to stand up to me driving it again, let alone where we're going."

"Bad idea to leave it here," Chase told her. "I just got this thing ready to rock and roll. The last thing I need is someone stealing it while I'm away. Trust me, it took three days and a crew of five to put this thing together. I've heard that the chop shops here would strip it down and turn every inch of it into scrap metal in less than an hour. Besides, I think this machine may be too much for you to handle anyway."

Chase chuckled at his own joke as he slid into the driver seat.

"Since we're heading to Defiance, I know there's a garage there with someone I trust who can store it there while we're gone. Not to mention, when we approach the status field, you'd give those on guard a freakin' heart attack and with big freakin' guns drawn and pointed at the carrier if you just road up with it. If I go ahead before y'all and let them know you're coming, they'll be more likely to not break out the big guns and not want to change their underwear afterwards."

Chase looked up at her.

"Also, just something for you to consider: if we're going to Tampa via the Gulf of Mexico, there are more than likely boats that can haul this Challenger than the carrier. If we're not, then just let me know when we get to Defiance, and I'll leave it there."

She nodded, getting his understanding. She seemed to have a better understanding about his actions than she probably did during the Grid arkfall in Silicon Valley, maybe even more so with his concerns about Florida.

"Oh, and..." she stated as she handed him the VBI Player. He figured she may have snagged it from his car without him looking, possibly when he took the keys to the front desk for check out. "I stole everything on it."

Chase couldn't help but chuckle as she smiled at him.

"You know, this thing does EGO connection, meaning I can transmit music from this thing as we ride."

She shook her head as she headed over to the carrier and headed up into it. Chase pulled the driver side door closed, waiting for the carrier to roll ahead of the Challenger so he could follow until they get close to Defiance. They got past the old and falling apart Las Vegas sign, seeing the back side that says "come back soon" or something like that. Chase checked his hailer to see if he could still dial out to frequencies in the Bay. He called up one that he wasn't particular fond of.

"Soleptor Enterprises," he heard a male's voice over the comm.

"Mister Soleptor. This is Chase Lonehart."

"Who?"

"The man you hired to handle some product from Tarr Traxx a while ago."

The air was silent for a moment.

"Ah, yes," Chase could hear the realization in his voice. "How are you, Mister Lonehart?"

"I'm fine, thank you very much for asking," Chase replied. "I need to discuss with you a transaction recently made earlier today by a Miss Belle Starr."

"Yes, yes," he said. "I've been making some calls to gather a crew to recover your roller."

"I'm calling to let you know that the action is not required. The roller has been salvaged and is in working order. We appreciate your time, and expect a full refund transferred back to Miss Starr's account."

"I'm sorry, but the request is non-refundable, be it completed or not," Varus told him. He could hear the light chuckle from Varus on the other end.

Chase had to chuckle, because he knew he was going to drop a bombshell on Varus.

"Do you know where I'm calling you from, Mister Soleptor?"

"I do believe it's Vegas," he replied.

"Close," Chase replied. "I am on the main route across the Storm Divide, heading east."

"Okaaaay," Varus replied and drawing out that word.

"I bet you didn't know a little something about me, Mister Soleptor. Long before I came out to the Bay, I spent a year in Defiance. I used to play cards with a man whose name you're probably familiar with. This man, whose wife you know, was probably one of the small few people I respect. And, I also respect his wife, who hired you to handle shipments. One such shipment, which was taken by Raiders, was one I attempted to recover."

Again, there was nothing but silence on the other end.

"Y-you... you know Datak and Stahma Tarr prior to being hired?"

"Yes," Chase replied. "In fact, after I failed to recover the shipment that was destroyed by the Raiders, Ms. Tarr offered me a chance to be a part of her organization. Naturally, I try to keep my options open, as you are just as much a client as she is, despite the lack of jobs you've sent my way. So, now, I am torn between my old friendship wit the Tarr family and my duty as a hired Arkhunter for you, as I will have no choice but to fill them in about how you've allowed multiple cases of Tarr Traxx deliveries get jacked and scattered throughout the Bay area for anyone to break into, rob and burn the case. In fact, I've seen one at Muir Processing Plant, as well as one at Coit Tower."

Chase could hear the gulp of a lump in Varus' throat. He knew he had him over the barrel.

"I've got a while before I get into Defiance," Chase told him. "It'd be a shame to end our professional endeavors on such a sour note upon my arrival, all because I chose my old friendship with the Tarrs."

"Nononono," Varus replied in a state of panic. "How about I give that non-refundable deposit a full refund to Miss Starr? If she asks, I'll tell her no harm, no foul! Please, if it will keep my dealings with the Tarrs intact, I will!"

Chase couldn't help but smile.

"You have until I get to Defiance," Chase told him. "If I don't hear from Belle about your generous refunding of all of her scrip, well... Have you ever had Datak Tarr come to you with burning eyes, a calm face and his hand in his pocket? A little fact, when he has his hand in his pocket, he's actually gripping his Castithan charge blade, and when he does that, he intends to use it."

"I-ah-I-ah..." Chase could hear his breathing becoming panicky. "Look, I-ah-I-ah..."

"Just do the refund, Mister Soleptor, and everything between us will be done and your dealings with Tarr Traxx would continue on. Thank you for your time."

Chase hung up, he finally bursted out laughing. It was true that Chase knew Datak, as he used to play cards with him. He saw Stahma a few times when she came by the Need/Want to see her husband. The fact was that she didn't seem to recognize Chase during the lost shipment incident, but she did offer to bring Chase into the fold of the Tarr family should he decide to. But, Varus wouldn't know he was bluffing, and he was sure that little rat would refund Belle's money for the recovery job she was trying to hire him for, and he probably give her some exuse that it was some sort of kindhearted gesture on his part, as long as it kept his partnership with the Tarrs intact.

You know how to bluff very well, EGO told him.

I know, he replied. Ain't I a stinker?

Though, I wouldn't mind seeing Datak once again, Chase thought. Maybe he still plays at the Need/Want.

Chase told EGO to switch on the full broadcast, telling the other EGOs to let their users know that if they like, they could listen to the broadcast should they want to. Knowing Ms. Sinn, or even Belle, they'd probably be listening to their own music and not be interested in much of the old world music he listened to. The Player started with "The Saints Are Coming" by The Skids as they got on the main route, heading east towards old St. Louis, home of the still standing Gateway Arch. It would be a while before he would get to see that arch once again, an arch he hadn't seen in eight years.

[Belle Starr]

While Belle was sitting on top of the carrier enjoying the wind in her face and the music transmitted from Chase's EGO unit, she received a call from Varus on her hailer.

"Varus? I was just going to call you later today. About that salvage job I hired you for, the item is no... oh, you know. Well can you see it in your heart to give me at least a partial... What? A full refund? But You never give refunds - I mean - Thanks, that's swell! I really appreciate it Varus! I owe ya one! Yeah, yeah, I'm SURE you will collect!", Bell giggled nervously like a schoolgirl on her first date, then added in a serious tone, "But you know my terms, nothing illegal or that will hurt innocents... Okay, we'll make arrangements when I get back. Tootles!"

Maybe my luck is turning, Thought Belle, then smiled as she elegantly hopped down into the interior of the pink troop carrier.

"Hey Gang! Varus just gave me a full refund! Man, Hell has frozen over! Cray!"

Belle beamed happily at her friends in the carrier.

[Keeper Riff]

Taffer jumped out of his bed as he heard the high pitch noise in his head. His EGO informed him promptly that it comes from Rose's room. He darted to her room with a charge blade in his hand. The whole incident with Dr. Mrvaa just came back to his mind. It was a long hallway to cross and he saw Vo Kshaa was at the door in advance of him, flinging it open. He rushed into the room behind Vo's back, only to see Rose fiddling with some arktech device, telling them she was just doing some self-maintenance. He excused himself for sweeping his eyes over open parts of her body and smiled with corners of his mouth when she blushed and closed her robe. The next scene attracted his attention even more. He watched carefully all the Sarah's repair process, trying to catch all the details, doubling with his EGO scan. He smiled as he pondered on the result. He thought he found a corner piece of the puzzle.

___________________________

On their way to Defiance he was mostly driving the carrier, switching places with Rose several times. When she was working on her weapons, he thought he's lucky he didn't have that large collection. All his weapons he took to this mission were frequently used and well-maintained. He tuned his EGO to Chase's broadcast and enjoyed his choice of music despite the fact he had never heard most of the songs before. He also pondered on what he would do once they arrive at Defiance. He had an appointment with Doc Yewll, which would cost him the other half a million scrip, and he also would probably check the local underground for news. He didn't expect anything spectacular as he heard Tarr family are still in power, and after a single meeting with Stahma they were second on his no-deal list, Zaitsev being the first. And maybe there will be other pieces to his puzzle, you never know what piece of info may present a good food for thought.

___________________________

"Well, that's indeed a terrific news!", said Vo, turning to Belle, "I've never seen Varus giving a refund to someone who's not pointing a gun at him! Taffer, you're being challenged!"

"How many times I have to tell you you're talking about me too much?" Taffer responded from his shotgun seat, but his tone betrayed him laughing too, "And it was not Varus, it was just his look-alike, I told you, he uses them sometimes."

"Hmm, I think I can continue this stroke of your luck Belle and give you your sword back," Vo reached his belt and took the charge blade off, "You see, I took it with me in Vegas to give it to you once you would be out of the hospital and completely forgot about it. So yeah, here it is," Vo handed the blade to Belle, with the shy smile.