RP thread : The Quest Into The Forbidden

[CB2001]

Awoke when the light hit his face, looking to find Iri gone. He found a single leather glove on the pillow next to him, a sign to him that he hadn’t been dreaming the whole previous night. He couldn’t believe that it had only been a day, and what had once been an almost-dead existence felt like it had finally had pulse once more. He picked up the glove, holding it in his hand and realized how smaller her hands were to his. Plus, he realized she cracked a silent joke, as he remembered which hand it was that had slipped into his pants that night years ago.

He headed to the bathroom, about to get in the shower when he heard a knock at the door. Chase picked up a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He opened the door to find Belle, carrying a picnic basket and dressed in some sort of swimwear. She seemed to blush at seeing him half naked again, Chase deciding to hide behind the door a bit to relieve any of the embarrassment. He, of course, remembered that she got a full on view of him naked, but he was trying to cut the level of embarrassment that Belle felt down. He understood how embarrassing it was for her. It wasn’t everyday you see your heroes bareass naked and having sex with an Indogene.

“I’m sorry, did I…” Belle began to ask.

“No, it’s okay. I was about to jump in the shower,” he told her. “What can I help you with?”

“Iri swung by my room earlier this morning. She told me to let you know that if you want to see her, she’ll be at the Tech Shop today.”

“Thanks,” he told her. “I see you’re heading out.”

“Yeah, Vo and I are heading to the beach.”

“Cool. Again, just be careful out there, if the Raiders don’t get you, it’d probably be the critters.”

“Okay, I really need to go. I’m running late.”

Belle began to head off down the hall at a fast pace. Chase hung outside the door.

“And don’t spend too much time out in the sun,” he called out, hoping she caught the last bit of advice.

He proceeded with his shower and got dressed. Chase knew they were going to need at least a week’s worth of food and water. The trip to and from Tampa would only be a few hours, but he knew that it would be best to have more than enough supplies to cover any kind of situation that would delay their trip. He negotiated with several of the venders handling food and water supplies, using his Challenger to get the supplies to the Cowboys HQ. He found Taffer at the carrier, who helped him load up the supplies.

“Where’s Rose at?” Chase asked him.

“I think she headed into town,” Taffer replied.

“So, you had a quiet night here?”

Taffer was silent for a moment.

“Yeah,” Taffer finally replied.

Chase noted the hesitation in Taffer's reply. Something happened between Rose and Taffer, though Chase couldn't be sure of what. But, he couldn't help but ask.

“Did you get lucky too last night?” Chase had to ask. “You lucky dog, you.”

Taffer was silent again.

“It was just a kiss. Wait… Did you say ‘get lucky too’? Did you get lucky?”

“Lucky in love,” he gave a sheepish smile.

“Oh. Congratulations.”

“Thanks. Gives me something to look forward to after Florida. If we make it back alive, of course.”

Taffer looked at him confused.

“What? I’m open to the possibility that we could come back, just as much as the possibility that we’ll all die. But, I’m going to do my damn best to make sure we all come back alive. I don’t know about you, but now I’ve got more of a reason to make it back. But it doesn’t mean I’m not going to celebrate being alive before going into the belly of the beast.”

Chase and Taffer exited out of the carrier when Chase noticed the Cowboys were loading up. Boss Murphy leading the ragtag group.

“Well, I’ll be,” Chase heard a british accent.

He turned to find Marcus Blink, head clean shaven, his body muscular and his skin dark. Chase remembered he was a gunner, one of the people who keep guard on top with modified fifty-caliber guns. He noticed behind him Janet Brads, a thin, mocha skinned deputy with brown eyes, spotting a

“Chase Lonehart,” Marcus told him. “Heard you were in town, wasn’t expecting you out here.”

At that moment, Laquire Blinn, a new-world Castithan with braids and a trench coat, lugging a box marked explosives, walking by.

“Hello Chase,” he said, not even bothering to look over at him, let alone stop as he hurled the box into the back of the tow truck.

Jasine Woxx, who was behind the wheel of the truck, hung herself out of the window and cussed at Laquire in Irathient for being so reckless and made some rude comment about his mother. He, of course returned with mentioning sticking a charge blade up a certain orifice in the Castithan. Murphy pulled the Cerebrus from Bay 2 and Janet pulled out a beat up Dodge Ram from Bay 3. Odysseus came out, a massive Minigun rest on his shoulder.

“Hey, Chase!” he said happily as he climbed up the back of the Ram. “You coming with us on the run?”

“Y’all heading out for Historical Salvage, eh?” Chase asked. “Where to?”

“Southwest area, about 9 miles south and 10 miles west,” Murphy told him. “If you want to, you can. You know we can always use an extra set of hand or two.”

Murphy looked over at Taffer, “Hey, if don’t mind, keep an eye on the HQ. I mean, you’re already here and am willing to compensate you for your time. That is unless you want to go with us, which we will be heading off in ten minutes.”

Chase was confused that Murphy would just allow Chase the chance to come back for a run unless it was something big.

“What exactly are you guys going for?” Chase had to ask.

“We believe we’ve found the motherlode. The one you’re father always wanted to find,” he replied. “The Serenity Mall.”

(To be continued…)

[Belle Starr]

Doctor Peters diagnosed Belle with severe sunburn, which Belle had never had before because she had always lived in cloudy areas like the Bay Area. He gave her a jar of smelly white ointment and a red lollypop, to match her skin color he said with a grin. Belle thought maybe it was good that most doctors these days were Indogene rather than human because no sense of humor was better than a bad one when you are hurting, and Belle was starting to hurt big time! Belle was starting to get uncomfortably warm and tender all over her body except where her bikini bottoms had protected her. Doctor Peters said he had to do x-rays on Vo’s shoulder, so it might be awhile, and that Belle should apply that ointment right away.

Belle was glad because she really didn’t want Vo to see her masquerading as a giant lobster, and asked the doctor to give a written message to Vo that read, ”Hi Vo! I hope your shoulder is ok. The doctor found something wrong with me and gave me medicine, so I should be well soon as long as I get rest! DO NOT COME SEE ME! Who knows, I might be like, contagious or something! Other than the giant critter trying to kill us and this, I had a wonderful time on our date! – Belle”

She hurried back on her rented ATV to the Delilah Sisters’ Hotel, rushing to the front desk and a shocked Samantha Delilah, who she asked to get her ATV back to its owner, left the picnic basket on the counter and then rushed to her room, shouting over her shoulder, “Please make sure I’m not disturbed and thank you for the wonderful picnic basket and no, I don’t want to talk about it!”

Belle got through her room’s door, put the "Do not disturb" sign on the door knob, slamming and locking the door behind her, then panting, leaned her back against it.”Ow! Ow! Ow! Belle exclaimed as the nerve receptors in her back reacted to the unwanted touch of the door. Suddenly even the beach blanket sarong became unbearable so she threw it off, dropped her bikini pants and ran to the shower in the bathroom. “Ow! Ow! Ow!” Belle exclaimed yet again as the warm water hit her sensitive skin.

If this is what’s it like to be an Indogene with sensitive skin and all, they can keep it, thought Belle as she winced in pain as she tried to gently blot the water off with a clean towel. She then rubbed the Doctor’s white ointment over all the sunburned areas which took some time. “Ow! Ow! Ow!”

Belle looked at herself in the bathroom, covered in white cream over the red areas of her body, which was most of it, thinking, “I look like a female snowman that is burning up from the inside out.” She smiled at her joke, than immediately went, “Ow! Ow! Ow!”

Belle next went into the bedroom to find somewhere that she could be comfortable somehow. She tried laying on the bed, in all sorts of positions. “Ow! Ow! Ow!” She tried sitting in the chair next to the table, in all sorts of positions. “Ow! Ow! Ow!” She tried several other places in the room, in all sorts of positions, almost always ending in, “Ow! Ow! Ow!”

Finally she tried facing a corner of the room, leaning the top of her blond head that was not sunburned against the wall, with her looking down at her crimson feet. “Hey, relatively no pain,” muttered Belle, than thought to her EGO device, Come on Alfred, haven’t I suffered enough! I promise I’ll be more careful!

Alfred remained silent, so Belle merely sighed and fell into an uncomfortable sleep as she stood braced by her head and neck in the room’s corner like a small child being punished by a parent for being bad, which to Alfred, she was.

[Keeper Riff]

Vo Kshaa waited impatiently for the results of all the scans and tests the doctor insisted should be made. He felt good, the pain in his shoulder already eased, wounds on his back were cared for and his EGO was working hard on any minor consequences that might be left. But he felt that complying with doctor's orders would be the fastest way out of the hospital and he wanted to be out as soon as possible to meet with Belle again who was seemingly upset with all this situation.

The doctor came in, writing something in his log. "Well, what can I say", he said, "you're lucky, it could be much worse. As it is now, the swelling should fade in a day or two, and all the discomfort will fade in a week. Just keep your arm at rest and it'll be fine. Quite a difficult recipe for a motor-head like you, right? You wonder how do I know? Three ATVs were rented today, you two came to me. That means the third one is still having their 'fun' as of yet. But seriously, if you feel any sharp pain or the swelling grows bigger, you should get back and show it to me immediately."

"I'll fix it in two days maximum", his EGO whispered.

"Thank you, doctor, for care and for good news too", Vo replied, "by the way, how is Belle Starr, the girl who came with me? Is she okay?"

"Medical confidentiality, sorry."

Vo nodded, thanked the doctor again for caring for Belle too, and went out. He noticed that Belle already took an ATV from the parking lot, and as she didn't wait for him probably meant she was either in a very good mood or in a very bad one. He remembered being a little too much… Irathian to her right after that fight and she could probably misunderstand it. He went to the marketplace and bought a bunch of Castithan lilies.

He checked on Belle's EGO and figured she's at the hotel. He hurried there, ran up the stairs and seen the Do not Disturb sign. He called on her EGO and Alfred said she is sleeping and asked to not disturb her. "Oh well, he thought, I hope she won't kill me for sneaking in and leaving the flowers for her."

Vo entered his room and proceeded to the balcony. He jumped over the railing to Belle's one and tried the balcony door. It was unlocked and he entered her room, trying to be quiet. He managed to see Belle standing naked in the corner of her room but at the same moment the door squeaked and Belle snapped out of her sleep and hid behind the curtain, shouting at him.

"Please, don't kill me!", Vo cried in a high pitched voice, partially covering his face with flowers in a feigned fear, "I just thought you deserve something much more substantial than just tire tracks on the ground. I hope you find them beautiful but at least they don't smell of petrohol. I'll just put them down and go away".

He put the flowers on a table and just noticed the color her skin got as her shoulder appeared from behind a curtain and asked with surprise, "Belle, what happened?" He stepped closer and saw the remains of the cream on her shoulder, and the idea just got into his head. "You got sunburn? Oh, that must be hurting."

Regardless of her tries to shoo him away, He stepped a little closer and blew on her shoulder, to make her skin a little cooler.
"Better now?" He leaned his back against the wall and added, "If you have to stand like that, you can lean your head at my shoulder, it's softer than the wall at least. Come on, I've seen you in much worse conditions, remember? If I can give you just a little more comfort, I want to do just that."

As she leaned her head on his shoulder, he blew on her shoulders and her back, cooling her skin and stroking her head.
"And for how long will you be doing it?" She asked.
"I can do it the whole day if it makes you feel better", he answered with a smile.

His face suddenly became serious and he said, "I need to say something to you. We Irathients have strong instincts of survival. Not everyone alike, but many of us do. When some kind of danger comes, it sets us focused on seeking it, fighting it and protecting everyone we care for. Everything else becomes secondary. This way it allows us to survive in the wild and overcome the dangers of the world we live in. The draw back is… sometimes it kicks in when its not needed resulting in embarrassing situations like you may be noticed in the vehicle rent store. The other thing is, when the fight is over, I need some time to recover from this 'survival mode'. You might feel I was too cold to you after the fight and when you were in life threatening conditions, it's because of that. I was too focused on keeping us safe. I don't know if you'll like it or not, but I hope you understand it at least."

He continued with more agitation, "I'll be honest. I really enjoyed our time together. I appreciate all those little things you did to make me happy and I must say you succeeded. That music box you gave me as a gift was so much personal and spot on it left me breathless for a moment. When I was a kid, I had something like it. Found it somewhere. Not in a box, just a mechanism with broken spring. Had to roll it with finger to make it sound. I remember setting missing pins back to make all notes sound. Even attached a small electrical motor to make it rotate by itself. Didn't work too good this way, the motor was too noisy it drowned out all sound. Lost it all when we were captured by the EMC. I always wondered how it may sound like when it was intact, and now you give me it, you got to imagine how I felt inside. But I digress. What I have to say is that I really happy to be with you. I like to be as close to you as you want it. But if you think we're too different, just tell me that, no problem and no offense will be taken, I can understand it too."

"On a brighter note", his usual smile returned to his face, "when it's time to apply more of your hydrating cream, I'm at your service."

[Belle Starr]

Belle had to admit that when Vo blew on her sunburned shoulder it felt much better. As she hid behind the curtain, Belle pondered what Vo had told her, Well that explains a lot! An Irathian survival instinct! Boy, I bet Alfred wishes I had one!

"On a brighter note", Vo's usual smile returned to his face, "when it's time to apply more of your hydrating cream, I'm at your service."

She smiled at Vo, dropping the curtain, closing her blue eyes and pulling his head to her, kissed him tenderly, suppressing the pain and resisting the impulse to say, ”Ow! Ow! Ow!” The kiss lasted merely a minute, but in that minute Belle’s sunburn was replaced with warmth of a different kind emanating from her heart and not her skin. In that minute, Belle was positive that she loved Vo, and not as a brother, or a father, or a best friend. Belle was sure that Vo was her soul mate for all time.

Belle blushed as she pulled the curtain back around her naked body, but smiled warmly at Vo as she said, “I love that you want to protect me. I love your good humor and sharp wit. I love that you instinctively understand mechanical things and can create wonderful asphalt flowers but can appreciate the beauty of an old music box and real flowers. I love your cyan eyes, muscular body, and even that Mohawk. I love you Vo.”

Belle then hesitated for a second, her blue eyes widening as if listening to an unseen voice.

Then tears started running down, leaving red trails in the white cream on her freckled face, saying sadly, “But that’s it, I don’t want you to die protecting me. I don’t have that survival instinct that you have naturally as an Irathian. That’s what Alfred has been trying to tell me. I’m too reckless and I’m going to get you killed as well as myself. I can live with myself if I get myself killed, but I can’t if I get you killed!” Belle wiped the tears and the cream from her face with one hand, turning her blue eyes to lock with his cyan ones, “I know that doesn’t make much sense, but know that I love you Vo! I love you too much to have you die for me! So please go! Go now!”

Vo’s mouth fell open, not knowing what to say, so instead he turned and left by the balcony, still trying to make sense of her words.

See Belle, began Alfred, her EGO device, This is all for the good! You cannot watch out for Vo if you cannot even watch out for yourself, as we’ve proven already. Don’t you feel better now!

Belle agonized as she answered, “No, I don’t feel better! I feel awful!” Belle than ran to the bed and dove under the covers despite the pain of the sunburn and the broken heart until she cried herself into a restless sleep as Alfred began the process of healing her body but not her soul.

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Belle woke up with a start. She wasn't sure how long she was asleep. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. However, Belle woke up with a clarity of mind she had not felt for awhile. Belle was sure of one thing, one goal: She must find Rose!

Belle quickly dressed in her Liberty Trooper armor, holstering her wolfhound pistol and hanging her Thorn Liro charge blade from her belt. Belle didn't even notice that she no longer felt the sunburn pain as she dressed because her mind was elsewhere: She must find Rose!

Belle quickly threw all her belongings in the room into her overnight bag, then slung it over her shoulder, heading quickly and with an efficiency of movement to the front desk of the Delilah Sisters Hotel. Samantha Delilah began to say something, but seeing the grim look on Belle's face, decided against it. Belle mechanically paid her hotel bill and exited the hotel: She must find Rose!

Alfred, please locate Rose, Belle thought to her EGO unit through the telepathic link they shared, a green dot suddenly appearing on her internal radar. If someone who knew Belle well had been watching her since she woke up, they would have found the fact that she had not once smiled since she awakened to be very unsettling. Belle turned down the street towards the location her radar indicated: She must find Rose!

[Keeper Riff]

Murphy's offer threw Taffer into a dilemma. On the one hand, The Historical Salvage mission looked very interesting and had much less criminal flavor to it than those he usually assigned himself to. On the other hand, Their troop carrier was already filled with almost all the supplies they needed, and it was a good target for anyone who might want to sabotage their main mission. And the possibility of ambush on their current base was pretty much real as it was clear to him that the VBI are still following their traces and planning something for them. Having pondered on the possibilities, he grudgingly declined the offer to participate and informed Murphy that he'd stay at the HQ.

Meanwhile, he took some time to practice in trowing knives with that set which Belle had gifted him. He was never good at it, but those knives of a very good quality and wery well balanced, so with some assistance from his EGO he noticed his skill was improving quickly.

[Belle Starr]

Belle was at a crossroads. One road led out of town towards the Cowboys Headquarters outside of Freedom. The other road led further into Freedom, and where Alfred indicated Rose was located. Belle looked impassively first down one path, and then down the other. As she looked down the path that would lead to Rose, Belle muttered, “Too many innocents.”

Belle started the slow but steady walk to Cowboy’s Headquarters outside the city limits of Freedom. She was about a quarter of the way when a black roller started to overtake her from behind. Belle knew the car was in back bearing down on her, but she neither looked back nor changed her course. One armor booted foot followed the other as she maintained her pace towards her destination. The black roller slowed down then sped around Belle, swerving to take position mere yards in front of her. Two men exited the vehicle, one from each door, dressed in the outlandish dress of raiders and carrying FRC submachine guns.

“Hey Babe,” the roller’s driver began, “Let’s par– ,” but he never got to finish his sentence as Belle had unholstered her Wolfhound pistol and fired it twice in one smooth motion, her right hand glowing with overcharge as the two raiders fell to the ground.

Belle bent at the knees over the driver’s corpse, saying humorlessly, “Don't call me Babe.”

She then took the mask off the dead raider’s human face and stared blankly at it, studying the neat red hole midway between his open brown eyes. She took the slim index finger of her left hand and poked it into the hole up to it’s first joint, pulling it out to stare at the contrast of the dead man’s crimson blood and her pale skin. Belle than took her blood soaked finger and painted a red diagonal under her right eye and across her freckled cheek. She then went over to the second raider corpse, this one a Castian with the identical gunshot hole between light blue eyes, and did the same thing to her left cheek.

Belle stood up putting her pistol back onto its shoulder holster and then picked up the SMG from the hand of the dead Casti raider. As she examined the cab of the roller, Belle found a bolt action custom headshot sniper rifle in the back seat with several boxes of cartridges. She shoved the ammo into her overnight bag and slung the rifle over her shoulder, as she climbed to the top of the roller to examine her surroundings. Belle stood to her full six foot height as she examined from afar a huge oak tree at the side of the road. Terra-forming had mutated the oak tree to be many times the size of its prewar predecessor, making it tower over the trees around it.

Belle jumped from the roller’s roof and began a brisk jog to the tree, slinging the SMG around her neck as she effortlessly climbed high into its branches. She found a large branch in which she could both perch comfortably and have a perfect view up and down the road connecting Freedom to the Cowboy’s Headquarters. She looked through the gun sight of the rifle, noting that there was almost no cover for any target around her, than she sat and leaned her back against the trunk of the tree gathering her long legs close to her body as she rocked back and forth on her haunches. Belle gripped the headshot rifle in a dead man’s grip with both hands and stared with unblinking blue eyes down the road towards Freedom.

[JadedSinn]

it can be done by tonight ill deliver it to where your staying in the morning " the indogin said and rose smiled " thank you " she said as she payed her and left the cowboys HQ as her location where shes staying.

she then walked outside. she took a few moments to look up at the sun and smile as she enjoyed the sunlight " where is every one sarah " she asked outloud and sarah gave her locations. vo was at the brothel chase was going out of range and taffer was still with the carryer. but belle was between the carrier and there present location and was not moveing... she thought about this for a few mins and shook her head.

" sarah load up a kill code for egos. something that will stun belle i dont like the fact shes siting out in the open with no one around its fishy. also perpare blur and ready cloak. we will head back to the cowbows HQ for now and send word to taffer that i think we might need to save belle from her self sooner then we hoped. " her mind allways thought of the worst. so she hoped for the best. as she made her way back tords the cowboy HQ her last message to taffer on his encripted line " un armed. may need backup if belles gone rouge. her location is " and she transmited the last known location of belle to him as she walked down the road. like belle wasent there.

befor leaveing town she stoped at a stand that had some pritty jewelry such as necklaces and earrings and even finger rings. she looked over them and sarah asked her if it was time to be doeing something like that and she smiled and replyed back " we have all the time in the world as long as she dosent move from that spot. " she told sarah though there empathedic link while she picked up a pritty saphire and jade necklace with a little dragon made of jade with saphire eyes. she smiled " how much " she asked and the guy told her she smiled more and payed for it. it was hard to find things this rare. she also bought a butterfly hair pin and had them all wraped

she sighed as she looked down the road. and shook her head . well now was better then anything. if she was going to be killed she might as well be killed with her boots on. she started walking back tords the HQ the little packages with the butterfly hair pin and the necklace both had the name on them " for belle, my friend. my companion. and my sister. love. rose. " she pertended to ignore belle. pertended she didnt see her. pertended she was not there. and kept walking. in hopes that she was wrong.

[CB2001]

Iri Sewuel headed into the Tech Shop for work as usual, the slowest day of the week being Saturday. She wore a red blouse with the sleeves rolled up to the middle of her forearms, a pair of black pants and moccasins. Iri had her collar flipped down, which was quite different than most of the other times she's worn it. She wouldn't have worn such a combination, but thinking of Chase brought her to have this particular combination. But at this time, she had something on her mind. As she ran through what she knew of Chase, hearing some of the stories throughout town about Chase that she was able to get by inquiring about him from people like Lawkeeper Weeks, Doctor Peters, Miss Mendez, Mister Jurasik and Odysseus. Some of her expectations of him were initially incorrect, having to suspect that the reason why he was running was due to cowardice, fearing what others of the town would have thought of him since his failure had lead to the death of his father. But even after his father’s death, people looked at Chase Lonehart as a kind, trustworthy and brave individual. When she had spent some time with him within the last few hours, he seemed to have those same aspects in addition to carrying a heavy weight on him, as if he had been seeking atonement for his father’s death and yet never finding it.

Curious, she thought to herself. I wonder how much of him has changed, and how much has not.

Despite just being in the field of biomechanics at the end of her life in the Votanis System, and becoming well verse in otter areas of Votan tech and regular human technology, she was always interested in what humans called “psychology”, the basic understand of how an individual thinks and acts. She had, after a few weeks of him leaving her at the University, felt something she couldn’t process at first, couldn’t at first figure out in the Indogene tongue. It was after a while, looking into what human emotions were, did she understand what she felt: it was love. She felt love of Chase Lonehart, and she carried it for eight years, much like how he carried it for her. Indogenes in general tried to keep their emotions suppressed, but being on the planet Earth, new to many of them that survived the Pale War and the lost of the Arks, allowed for the choice of being able to feel to be an option.

I do feel for Chase, she concluded. I have never felt the same of anyone else before, and most likely not to feel the same for anyone else.

It was at that moment a woman came into the store, dressed in a a long white sundress with an over brimed hat, looking like she was a hippie from a film that Mister Jurasik showed at the Library one night.

Was it called? she wondered briefly as the woman approached. Easy Rider?

“Can I help you?”

“I believe you can,” the woman began. “I need a part for an air filter system…”

The woman appeared to have confused the store, thinking it was some sort of auto parts store, until she mentioned the nanite filtration system and showing her the schematic. Iri was quite familiar nanites, which she and most Indogenes used to repair some of the implants they housed within their bodies. After examining the schematics as this woman began to point it out to her, Iri noticed that use of nanites in the filtration system was not at all different from some of the systems used aboard the Arks, which she also helped out with during the long voyage to Earth.

“Is there any way you can make this, say, in a day? If I, um… offer, the nanites to make it?”

At that moment, the woman presented what appeared to be a piece of an ark brain with nanites still intact in a glass jar. Iri picked it up and examined them. She was quite surprised a human would have gotten their hands on them and not sell them off to Von Bach Industries or someone else.

“I can have it done by tonight,” Iri told her. “I’ll deliver it to where you’re staying in the morning.”

“Thank you,” the woman said as she paid with a scrip chip. “I’m staying at the Cowboys HQ.”

Iri turned to the register to handled the transaction, and had a little smile on her face. It didn’t take very long for Iri to realize who this woman was.

This must be the other woman in Chase’s group, she concluded.

Iri handed her the scrip chip.

“Have a nice day,” Iri told her, bowing her head forward slightly.

-----------------

The Serenity Mall was something that Chase had heard of since he was young. There was a report of a new mall that had been constructed, already had all venders moved in and fully stock. But on the day they were suppose to open their doors, the Pale Wars occurred and somehow it didn’t receive any damage or broken into as being in the middle of the battlefield. After years of fighting, the terraforming eventually caused the mall to get swallowed up, leaving the entire contents inside untouched. Of course, Chase always wondered if it was nothing more than a myth, as all records of the mall’s location, as well as any documentation about it, was all lost in the war. His father and Murphy had both been trying to figure out where the mall would have been located, as well as how far down it sunk into the Earth.

Hearing Murphy mentioning that they might have found it sparked Chase’s thought process. The question of if he should go or pass it. But the temptation was too much to pass up, the possibility of seeing the fabled mall with his own eyes, and having some involvement in bringing it in. He looked over at Taffer.

“Okay, I understand you want to stay here. If I don’t make it back, keep in mind that there’s a week’s worth of supplies inside the carrier. That’s more than enough for the trip and from Tampa,” he told him. “EGO, let the others EGO units know of where I’m heading with the Cowboys, in case any of them want to join in. Murphy!”

Chase headed over to the Ford, “You said you need an extra hand, right? I’m in.”

“Okay,” Murphy said. “You’re riding in the back with Odysseus.”

Chase looked over at Taffer as he went over to his roller to retrieve his bag.

“I’m back in the saddle again,” he said.

He headed back over to the Ram, tossing the duffle bag into the back as Odysseus gave him a hand into the bed of the truck.

“Eight minutes to roll out, people!” Murphy called out.

Laquire Blinn walked by the bed of the Ford, tapping Chase on the shoulder.

“I’ve got a joke for you,” he began. “How many Indogenes does it take to screw in a light bulb?”

Chase wasn’t sure if he wanted to answer that question, but Laquire never started a joke he wouldn’t complete.

“How many?” Chase finally asked.

“Five. Four males to try to figure out what a light bulb is, and the fifth, a female, who says, ‘Just screw it’.”

He couldn’t help but burst out laughing as he headed over to the tow truck, climbing onto the back

“He waited quite a while to tell you that one,” Odysseus told him.

Chase turned to see that the Bioman had a book, wearing what appeared to be a pair of reading glasses a bit small to him. This caught Chase off guard.

“Odie, are… are you reading?”

He nodded.

“I learned how to after you left,” Odysseus told him. “Drew taught me.”

“Drew?”

“Deputy Drew Ferry. My girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend? You have a girlfriend? Pure awesomeness, Odie. Congrats on both areas.”

“Thank you,” he said with a smile as he turned back to his book.

“So, whatcha reading?”

“In the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft. Quite an interesting read. It reminds me much of our job.”

This brought a smile to Chase’s face. He had never expected Odysseus to progress so far in his life. He may have been grown to be a fighter in a war he didn’t understand, but Chase realized he became something more than what he was intended for and had progressed so far. Being able to read, having a girlfriend. Chase realized Odie started out a lost soul. Jebediah Lonehart gave him a chance a long time ago and became a quite a person in his own right.

If he can find happiness, I’m sure I can too.

“Okay, ramblers!” Chase’s ears caught Murphy’s voice. “Let’s get ramblin’!”

[Belle Starr]

Belle watched Rose walk down the road from Freedom towards the Cowboys’ Headquarters through the scope of the Headshot Sniper rifle. Belle showed no emotion except when she saw that Rose had no discernable weapon, than she raised one blond eyebrow and bit her lower lip, checking with Alfred through her mental radar that there were no dangers in the immediate area.

Rose strolled down the road like it was a day in the park, all the way in touch with Sarah and fully aware of Belle’s perch in the tree. To an outside observer, she was just a beautiful woman in a white dress and a floppy hat out for a relaxing nature walk and enjoying the scenery. In fact, she was more akin to a jungle cat tensed to spring into action at a moment’s notice. Rose did not need a weapon for Rose was the weapon.

Rose only halted for a moment when she saw the black roller and the two raider bodies in the middle of the road. She had seen many dead bodies and much stranger scenes, so she continued down the road until a much stranger scene occurred that made her stop in her tracks. Belle in her red, white, and blue armor was swinging smoothly from branch to branch of the huge oak tree like some brightly colored gibbon as she made her way down to the ground. Belle somersaulted from the lowest branch, landing on her feet and running towards Rose, holding a rifle in one hand and unslinging a SMG from around her neck with another. Rose tensed in expectation of the onslaught, mentally telling Sarah to be ready with the EGO kill switch that would stun Belle and maybe destroy her EGO, Alfred.

Then Belle did the unexpected, which Rose was beginning to think was the norm for Belle. Belle hugged Rose tightly for a second, than thrust the SMG into her hands, admonishing Rose for walking out in the wilderness without a gun.

“There are all kinds of dangerous critters in these woods. Vo and I ran into a sixteen foot sharkgator this morning,” Belle informed Rose in a serious tone, then gesturing towards the two bodies, “And then you always got to watch out for the two legged varmints.”

An enigmatic smile crossed Rose’s face, glad that her friend was not going to try to kill her but also not believing that the danger was over. “Why are you out here Belle?”

Belle’s blue eyes looked deeply into Rose’s dark ones, and said in all sincerity, “You and I need to leave for Mac Dill Air Force Base immediately. Now even!” Belle’s eyes widened as she grabbed Rose by the shoulders and gently shook her for emphasis, “And we need to leave the boys behind!”

Rose shook her head, making the brim of her floppy hat flutter, as she asked, “Why Belle? All of us are a team, and a good one at that. Each of us has skills that complement the other. We have the best chance of coming out of this alive if we work together.”

“We do, but the boys don’t!” Belle wailed, “Alfred has the probabilities figured out! If the boys come with us, it is almost certain they will die, and they will die protecting us! Alfred showed me the figures just after I kissed Vo and told him I love him!”

“Wait,” Rose was taken aback, but asked coolly, ”You kissed Vo and told him you love him,?”

“Yes, but that’s beside the point. Concentrate Rose!” Belle tried to explain, “Figuring at a threat level 10 danger, which this mission clearly is, there is a 76% chance that Taffer will die, an 84% chance Chase will die, and a 98% chance Vo will die. I rounded down by the way. Take us out of the equation, and their chance of not surviving is cut in half. And of course, if they don’t go at all, then they have a 0% chance of dying on this mission!”

Rose raised her white haired eyebrows in disbelief, “How is Alfred coming up with these numbers?”

“It’s kind of like actuary tables, based on physical and mental characteristics, and based on their actions in our previous missions together! I’m a little fuzzy on the math,” Admitted Belle, “But think about it! It makes sense! Just today Vo almost died protecting me from the sharkgator! And those are combined average figures as to the guys protecting us! Taffer’s chances of dying are much higher if he’s just protecting you, as are Vo’s as to me.” Belle scratched her blond tousled head and looked into space as she added, ”Interesting enough, Chase ‘s figures remain the same whether he’s protecting me or you. Guess he’s just a natural protector…”

“Belle,” Interrupted Rose, “There are always high chances of dying in our line of work.”

“I know that! You can’t make an omelet of saving the world without breaking a few eggs! I get that!” Belle reasoned, “And that’s fine for you and me! We are mission oriented, and we’ll get the mission done no matter what! Plus, let’s face it, we’re damaged goods! We’ll never be normal! The world won’t miss us when we’re gone!”

“But the guys”, Belle continued as tears began to form in her big blue eyes, “They will die trying to save us. It’s a miracle it hasn’t happened all ready! We are not worth dying for and they have so much to live for! Chase has just found Iri again after eight long years of unrequited love, and both of them deserve to be happy after what they’ve gone through. Vo is the kindest most wonderful man I’ve ever known, and deserves to find a nice Irathian girl who understands Irathian culture and have a bunch of Irathian babies. And Taffer – he’s got so much untapped potential! Heck, he’s got the skills and smarts to be the hero I wish I could be!”

“But Belle…” Rose began again.

“Don’t but Belle me!” Belle’s tone showed she was getting frustrated. “We have to save the guys from themselves!” Belle thought about Nolan, Irisa, and all the friends she lost in the New York terra-forming disaster, than Belle added in a soft whisper, “What’s the use of saving the world if your loved ones have to die doing it?”

Rose frowned, trying to think of a good answer to that question, but decided to buy time by changing the topic, so she pointed to her own cheek and asked, “What’s with the war paint?”

Belle looked puzzled at the question, than remembered the twin streaks of blood she had rubbed off on her freckled face, “Oh that! Kismet brought these two to attack me. I was looking at the blood of these two raiders and got an idea to maybe keep the boys from following us, or at least slow them down. We could burn these two bodies beyond recognition, than put some of our blood on the bodies, and maybe the guys will think they are us from the DNA and not try to follow. It worked in an old television show I once saw, but maybe you have to put the blood on the body before you burn it. We’ll figure it out!” Belle than added as she pointed to the black roller, “We’ll have to leave Pinky, but see I got us new transportation.”

“And you rubbed the blood on your face – why?” Questioned Rose.

“I just polished this armor, I’m not going to rub it off there, silly!” Belle answered, then looked off into space again, ”I polished it for Nolan…”

Rose wasn’t sure she bought the explanation, and she certainly didn’t think Belle’s plan to make the team think they were dead would work, but she needed time to think of a way to defuse the situation, “Okay Belle, lets first drive back to the carrier and let me pick up some equipment I need for the mission. We can burn the bodies later if need be.” Then Rose added awkwardly as she handed the two presents to Belle, “I got these for you.”

Belle read the note attached to the gifts which read, "for belle, my friend. my companion. and my sister. love. rose." Belle opened the packages and immediately put the butterfly pin in her honey blond hair and the dragon necklace around her thin pale neck. Belle then hugged Rose longer and tighter than the time before, whispering in Rose’s ear, “I love you too Rose, and I’ll never leave you, but help me save the boys.”

Belle smiled, the first that Rose had seen since meeting up with her today. The smile was genuine, but not nearly as wide or as full of good humor as Rose was used to from Belle. What bothered Rose most about Belle were her blue eyes. Normally they twinkled, now they were lifelessly dull. Normally they were laughing, now they were infinitely sad.

Rose let Belle drive them in the black roller to Cowboys’ Headquarters for Rose had much to think about.

[Keeper Riff]

" un armed. may need backup if belles gone rouge. her location is… "

Taffer shuddered as he got the message. He was not ready for this as he thought if something like is got to happen, it would happen after they got to their destination and had the dirty work done. Anyway, it was time for him to act quickly. First of all, he sent his message to Vo using their personal channel, "Haul your butt to the carrier. ASAP. Avoid the road. Once you're there, keep watch and be ready to drive it to Rose if she calls". Then he rushed to his lockbox and took his most trusty weapons — his usual nano-less SS-2 Ranger, a heavily modded bio-nano Heavy Assault Carbine, bio-nano TACC Autopistol, Thorn Liro charge blade, a set of knives gifted by Belle and a bunch of electrical grenades. He also set the right code on the lock of his EGO-disabling stim so that the only thing was left to do before it could be applied was to pull the lock off. After Vo confirmed that his message was received, he was about to put his EGO's communications offline, but received an update on the situation from Rose…