The Road Warriors

[chaos_Leader]

After all the developments, the ram just heaved a bored sigh, and retrieved a few items out of his many pocketed cargo vest. In one hand was an electrical plug assembly with a few tattered wires hanging out. In his other was a versatile multitool from which Malloy produced a screwdriver bit. he then proceeded to work on the plug assembly while he waited for the employer to show himself. It was a straightforward, simple task; one that allowed him to be very aware of his surroundings even though he seemed engrossed in his work...

The big tough badass seemed sensible enough. The little tiger was alright, definitely the least hostile of the bunch, if a little on the klutzy side. The spook was trouble for sure, no doubt, but it looked like controlled trouble at least. Jason Patchwork "Marauder" seemed like the greatest likely hazard. The way he kept fondling his weapons like a pair of steel teddy-bears, always leering around with the nasty stinkeye, gave Terry the impression that he was possibly the least secure of them all, albeit in his own Byronic and potentially volatile way.

[Star_Dragon]

Jason wandered around, immune to the others' thoughts of him. Frankly, he didn't care - he had a reason for being the way he was. He had a reason for--

A soft clatter off to Jason's left caused him to swivel in that direction, bringing his Aug A3 to bear. He slowly approached whatever made the sound, but it turned out to be little more than the wind blowing over a small item. But Jason couldn't be too sure. He made a circuit of the room, searching for a threat. When he found none, he relaxed - fractionally. "Come on you b****rd," he grumbled to no one in particular, "Put me in a f**king ambush. I dare you."

[Fira-Astrali]

Steele's adrenaline spiked high in that insant. He'd reached for his shotgun without even thinking about it. He didn't want to kill anyone, but he was living on the edict of "look out for number one" at this point, and he had to come out swining, Fenris was more than big enough to take care of him if ever Steele was caught off guard. The seconds it took for him to step away were ages long, and it left his teeth chattering. He tried to calm himself. Could they hear it? Was he shaking? The last thing he needed was for them to see he was a little on the green side. He sat down, gun slung across his lap, a veritable "f*ck off" to anyone else who would try and uncover him.

He watcher Maurader wander stand silently, then wander around the room with his gun ready. The person was starting to give Steele the feeling he wasn't quite right in the head

Great, the last thing i need is a nutter with a gun to worry about

[Harlow]

"With The Mask and Mr. Schizophrenia here, I swear I think I'm going to die..."

With nothing left to do, Steele decided to get to know another member. "I already know the ram, and there's nothing in this system that will make me talk with those two. Let's see if that one's also insane"

The feline walked to Fenris. Hopefully, he'll be workable. "So, what about you?" he asked, facing in the same direction as the wolf, pretending little interest. "You're insane too?"

[Asper Sarnoff]

Fenris twisted his head to face the tiger. A small twitch could be seen in one of his eyes as he stared at him, for what seemed like an eternity. Slowly, a rumble started to appear from his troat, growing untill nobody could mistake it for anything but a low laughter, almost chuckling. "You can bet on it pal!" Fenris answered. Best way to keep ones sanity out on the plains, bury it."

The almost electric tension in the room was slowly starting to vanish.

Then, the door the coyote had disapeared trough screeched open again. This time, the gunslinger wasn't alone. There were two other with him too, a vicious-looking female hyena, and a slightly chubby mastiff. All heavily armed.

"Bossman's waitin' for you." The coyotes sandpaper voice rasped trough the air. "Follow me."

They were lead trough several corridors, some rather well keept with oiled doorhinges that didn't shriek, while others were in serious disrepair with walls fallen down and rubble littering the floor. The coyote was up front, the two others made up the rear guard, making sure none of them got lost in the maze of what presumably had once been an office building. From time to time, they'd pass other people, mostly guards, some office workers.

"Keep your weapons where I can see them." The coyote snarled as they approched the door at the end of the corridor. Going trough it, they found themself in a large office. While the rest of the building had at best been well kept, never clean, this room was impeccable, like a travel in time back to a time before the war. Behind a large desk of dark wood sat a person, leaning back into his chair, hidden in the shadows outside of the light cone beaming down from the single lamp in the roof.

"Ah, the escorts!" The voice was surprisingly soft, pleasant to the ears. It didn't belong to someone who had breathed sand and dust out on the plains. As the man leaned forewards and into the light, he revealed himself as a man in his early thirties. A labrador, with long, but well keept fur, almost shining like a river of molten gold in the light.

The dog laughed, a warm, heartfelt laugher that chased away any feeling of unease still present.

"Don't tell me, you expected a grumpy old fart, barking out orders and insults while chewing at the end of a cigar." The dog smiled at them. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Lex Faradyne. CEO of Faradyne Enterprises. Pleassure to meet you."

"Faradyne? The oil company?" Fenris asked, his eyes following Lex as he walked around, shaking hands with each and every one of them. Lex came around and took his. The grip was surprisingly firm for what looked so... soft. Well, one didn't get anywhere if one was a wimp he guessed. "Hehe, that's indeed our most profitable branch. The fact that a private company like us not only manage to survive in after the war, but grow, is a tribute to our hard work in finding new oil resources and recycling excisting quantities. But Faradyne Enterprise is about so much more than oil."

Lex turned their back on them and walked up to a large map, filling almost an entire wall of the office, showing Titan and the surrounding suburbs, and the wilderness beyond. "We're working for a better future, friends." Lex let a hand run softly over a portion of the map. "A future where none is preyed upon, or are without food, water, or shelter above their heads. Things we took for granted before the war. The oil is a means to finance project Eden, a complete revitalization of Titan to its former glory. A beacon of hope for a whole world." He sighed heavily. "But the challenges are many. And the fact that what pass for a goverment here, the confederacy of new Titania(CNT), are so reluctant to accept our help just makes it so much more difficult, and prolongs the suffering of those in need." He turned around again, and as if by a miracle, all the sadness his voice and actions had been laden by mere seconds earlier were vanished. "But enough about that! Your job, gents!" He made his way to his chair again and sat down into it. "There's a tanker that needs to be escorted to the Spire. The CNT outpost over there is running preciously low on fuel right now after their recent campaigns against the plain gangs, and if they can't get resupplied within a week, they'll run dry. Their generators will grind to a hault, and with them, the outposts defenses. Evacuation will be impossible as well. If the worst happens, they might be overrun by a coalition of the plain gangs, and we'll loose the outpost. Not only will that spell the doom for the roughly hundred soldiers stationed there, it will also leave the gate wide open for the raiders to launch attacks into the defenseless farmlands and villages beyond.

Now, it is vital that the tanker gets there. I have no men to spare, so I had to hire outside help for this one. You." He smiled at them once again. "The reward will be 100,000 CNT credits, paid in cash or fuel." He stopped for a moment, seemingly enjoying the shocked expression on their faces. "As you know, that's roughly the equivelant of what a good, and lucky, Road Warrior will earn in over 10 years. It'll be the sweetest deal you'll ever land."

Lex leaned foreward onto his desk. "So, any questions?"

(Okay, that turned out a bit long. Better get used to it people. When I'm on a roll, I'm on a roll.)

[chaos_Leader]

"yeah boss, I got a couple." the ram piped up quickly, "What radio frequencies does the Spire outpost use, in case we need to contact them?"

[Fira-Astrali]

The good natured demenor of the man put Steele on edge. He tried to chalk it up to the skeptisizm of her new life, but he hadn't made it for so long alone without being cautious. Still, a payout like that was worth any risk that could be lurking beneath the surface. He glanced around to see the other's reactions to their boss.

[Star_Dragon]

"I have just one question," Jason said. He cracked a wry smile, his face betraying a look of a thirst for combat. "What sort of opposition are we looking at? And for that matter, where are they? If we're going to jump into the pits of hell itself, we might as well jump with good intel."

[Harlow]

"I really hope it's 100k EACH..."

Normally, these kind of guys brought a sensation of certainty to the tiger; they normally got their debts on check and on time. He had to admit that, by listening the name Faradyne and the company's story, he got a bit taken aback, since every big company owner has it's sadistic side. Mercenaries and businessmen were two sides of the same coin. Businessmen don't kill people per se, but many do in principle after going to a country, shit on it and their habitants and then leave. (well that, and/or literally with a third paid and involved)

Steele walked slowly towards the canine. "Sir, this is a really interesting mission and a great cause you're helping with. I'd be happy to partake on this, but..." the tiger then placed his hands on the edge of the desk, arms streched and head lowered. "...Any trick? scheme? catch? fine print?"

[chaos_Leader]

"...Any trick? scheme? catch? fine print?"

It was a dumb question, and Tweak tried very, very hard not to facepalm and/or roll his eyes upon hearing it.

Of course there's a trick, catch and/or fine print, there always is when dealing with an entity of this scale. It takes different forms depending on who one is dealing with, and is very often not readily apparent; sometimes it hurts, sometimes it helps. For the ram, something like this was more like a great big gambling game than simple business: Settle in, get a feel for the situation, work the angles, find the best way to benefit from the circumstances and if need-be, find a safe escape route.

Asking dumb questions up-front won't change these aspects, and is the single most likely move to get the asker singled out and targeted by the larger entity.

[Asper Sarnoff]

"yeah boss, I got a couple." the ram piped up quickly, "What radio frequencies does the Spire outpost use, in case we need to contact them?"

"Ah, that's a problem. The outpost have chosen to uphold total radio silence, to preserve fuel and minimize the risk of the wrong people getting to know about their dire situation. You won't be able to contact them directly, and once you're on your way, you'll be on your own." Lex answered, leaning back and letting his fingers form a pyramide in front of his chest. He let his eyes glide over the others, noticing the slight unease if the biker as the fox, Jason spoke up.

"I have just one question," Jason said. He cracked a wry smile, his face betraying a look of a thirst for combat. "What sort of opposition are we looking at? And for that matter, where are they? If we're going to jump into the pits of hell itself, we might as well jump with good intel."

"Ah!" Lex responded. "There's of course not any dedicated opponents we're talking about. After all, according to the CNT, you'll be travelling trough a "safe zone"... But I'm not going to lie, smaller bands of plain gangs always manage to slip trough the net and launch raids around as they please. They're usually well armed, and tough one-on-one, but they're poorly organised and prefers preying on defenseless targets. A well prepared and armed force they'll in most cases let slip. Not worth the bother.

And then, there's also the wildlife... You probably know more than me about what's really out there. The Goras are large enough that the CNT can easily track them wherever they go, but everything else can come and go as it please. Now, I hope that answered your question."

Steele walked slowly towards the canine. "Sir, this is a really interesting mission and a great cause you're helping with. I'd be happy to partake on this, but..." the tiger then placed his hands on the edge of the desk, arms streched and head lowered. "...Any trick? scheme? catch? fine print?"

Lex furrowed his eyebrows. "What you see is what you get my friend. This job can net you some serious cash, but it won't be a walk in the park. Provided everyone do their job, you'll all come trough whatever the plains can throw your way, and get what's coming for you."

He let his arms drop down to the desk again. "Now, there's also some other matters that needs to be settled. First of, you'll obviously need a leader. Someone able to take quick decisions on the fly, and keep stuff together when things get rough. I'd like to send my right-hand man here..." He gestured towards the coyote, "...with you, but he'll be needed on other fronts. Of you, Mr. Douglas here's the only one I've employed previously, and after having a look trough your folders in the CNT registry, he seems like he'd be fit for the job. You'll receive the same pay as everyone else of course. On another hand, there's also the issue of the tanker that needs a driver. There's a small bonus in store for the one that takes that one, another ten grand, but it's important that the driver knows how to handle the rig and the precious cargo it carries. Their car will also have to be stored here till they return."

[Harlow]

The trucker spot was attractive enough for Steele to jump without thinking, but decided to stay shut and let other take it. One, he easily had the bulkiest vehicle, and he hardly had exp with those with more than 4 wheels.

"Better to let other one take that job. Hope is Jason, the less I have to talk to him, the better. Plus, he looks like he'd had fun running things over with that shit" he thought.

[Star_Dragon]

Frankly, Jason didn't want the big rig job. But one - no one else volunteered. Two - the ten grand additional bonus sounded nice. He opened his mouth to speak, but forced himself to stop. Taking the big rig would not allow him to focus on... other things. Things that made him what he is - on what gave him the name "Marauder." Given his malevolent personality, it would have been simpler to call him "Predator." All he would need then is a chance to kill Arnold Schwarzenegger. But that was another matter altogether.

So Jason remained silent, but his hand tightened on his weapons. His facial expression, originally a smile that showed a lust for battle, had changed to a cold stare. In his mind, something clicked - a memory, but he refused to let it show on his face. Outward, he remained unchanged.

[Harlow]

Remembering something the ram was talking to him about earlier, the tiger went to him. "Didn't you told me you had experience with big tankers and trucks alike? You might be fit for the job." he whispered to him. It was in no intention of throwing someone under the bus, just that the feline was a bit on the perceptive side.

[Star_Dragon]

Jason stood silently, his cold, blank stare hiding what went on in his head. Should he take the big rig, and potentially miss out on a bit of true combat? Or should he let someone else take the big rig, leaving him to eviscerate, decapitate, and generally kill anyone who got in the way? Since he had little-to-no experience driving the big rig, Jason was content to settle with the latter. He looked over his shoulder, back the way he came, and returned his attention to the employer.

In his mind, he thought, I kogdaMaroder vidit svoikh vragov , on ne prinimaet zaklyuchennykh, mnogie pytalisʹ yego ubitʹ. Mnogie pogibli za svoyu tshchetnye popytki . S kazhdoĭ smertʹyu,Maroder stal silʹnyee. Ot smerti , kto on pridetgibelʹ mnogikh . (And when the Marauder sees his enemies, he takes no prisoners; many have tried to kill him. Many have died for their futile efforts. With each death, the Marauder became stronger. From the death of who he was would come the deaths of many.)

[chaos_Leader]

"Didn't you told me you had experience with big tankers and trucks alike? You might be fit for the job."

"I said, "rig", that doesn't mean I drive 18 wheelers on a regular basis..." Malloy answered back just as quietly, then raised to a normal speaking level to address his employer...

"The set of wheels I drive is a big ugly off-road beast made to head into the deep-wild where I do scaving, and haul it all back for trade. I could handle the big-rig if that's what it comes to, but I'm not leaving my wheels here. I've got too much equipment stored there that will no doubt come in handy, plus we're going to need something for hauling supplies, and I've got the wheels for it. The only conditions under which I'll drive the big-rig is if someone else volunteers to leave their wheels behind, and drive mine instead. Any takers?" The ram let the offer hang, looking over the other four beside him.

[Star_Dragon]

Jason finally opened his mouth. "Under normal circumstances," he said, "I wouldn't hesitate to take your wheels. However, you would ask that I leave my wheels behind, which I cannot do - for reasons that I must keep to myself. Suffice to say, there is... something in my car that I do not want known unless I say otherwise. Things I would not want falling into enemy hands. And, of course, these are your wheels. I do not wish to damage them." Jason hoisted his rifle over his shoulder. "So unless you have storage room for what I have and everyone here has the common courtesy to turn their heads the other way when I load it all up, I cannot do this." He paused, staring at Malloy, then added, "Unless I am mistaken..."

[Harlow]

"I said, "rig", that doesn't mean I drive 18 wheelers on a regular basis..." Malloy answered back just as quietly, then raised to a normal speaking level to address his employer...

"The set of wheels I drive is a big ugly off-road beast made to head into the deep-wild where I do scaving, and haul it all back for trade. I could handle the big-rig if that's what it comes to, but I'm not leaving my wheels here. I've got too much equipment stored there that will no doubt come in handy, plus we're going to need something for hauling supplies, and I've got the wheels for it. The only conditions under which I'll drive the big-rig is if someone else volunteers to leave their wheels behind, and drive mine instead. Any takers?" The ram let the offer hang, looking over the other four beside him.

"Well... I think mine's pretty similar to yours. I also got an adventure off-roader; lots of trunk space and perfect for any extreme enviroment. Even though I really prefer mine over a strange one..." He could request to move Terry's belongings to his truck, but that would be too much useless work. The tiger hated to be the dead-weight or the useless one. "...Meh, to hell with it, as long as yours' auto and don't mind getting your paint ruined, I think I can handle myself in your ride..." he commented.

[Star_Dragon]

With the second volunteer, Jason stopped. Now he would be able to keep what he had in his own car. "Vatn wenn," he said. "I withdraw my volunteering." He looked to the one who just volunteered. "Knock yourself out." In a splash of Russian, he added, "Po kraĭnyeĭ mere, takim obrazom vy ne budete videtʹkrovʹ i smertʹ moego srazheniya ... mnogo." (At least that way you won't see the blood and death of my battles... much.) With this said, he chuckled in an almost sadistic way.

[chaos_Leader]

"...Meh, to hell with it, as long as yours' auto and don't mind getting your paint ruined, I think I can handle myself in your ride..." he commented.

"Don't worry about my paint, it's already shot to hell and back in a handbasket." The ram chortled, relieved that Steele had volunteered.

With the second volunteer, Jason stopped. Now he would be able to keep what he had in his own car. "Vatn wenn," he said. "I withdraw my volunteering." He looked to the one who just volunteered. "Knock yourself out." In a splash of Russian, he added, "Po kraĭnyeĭ mere, takim obrazom vy ne budete videtʹkrovʹ i smertʹ moego srazheniya ... mnogo." (At least that way you won't see the blood and death of my battles... much.) With this said, he chuckled in an almost sadistic way.

"Good," Malloy grunted at the patchwork fox with a suspicious nod, "I wouldn't trust the likes of you to even touch my rig, let alone drive it..."

He turned back to the tiger to fill him in, briefly.

"If you already got an off-roader, then the main difference you're gonna run into between that and my wheels is the simple fact that it takes up a bit more space, uses a bigger steering wheel, and sucks down more gas. Otherwise she handles like a charm. Now I know this is a weird thing to ask, so to show my appreciation, I'll go ahead and split the trucker's bonus with you... unless, for some reason beyond me to comprehend, you don't want the extra cash..."

[Fira-Astrali]

Steele couldn't help but roll his eyes at everyone's show. And the one spewing other languages all the time was getting on his nerves. He could understand everyone not wanting to leave their vehicles behind though. He only had a motorcycle, and for a moment had been about to speak up and offer himself as the driver as long as someone would stow his bike, but he caught himself just in time. No talking, Steele, no talking. Ever.

[Harlow]

He turned back to the tiger to fill him in, briefly.

"If you already got an off-roader, then the main difference you're gonna run into between that and my wheels is the simple fact that it takes up a bit more space, uses a bigger steering wheel, and sucks down more gas. Otherwise she handles like a charm. Now I know this is a weird thing to ask, so to show my appreciation, I'll go ahead and split the trucker's bonus with you... unless, for some reason beyond me to comprehend, you don't want the extra cash..."

"That's actually pretty honorable. Thank you." said the feline. He then turned to Faradyne.

"So I guess it's settled. When do we start?" he asked, clapping once.

[Asper Sarnoff]

(I need a quick break from roleplaying before we continue guys. Don't worry, not more than a day or two at most. Mood's not where it should be after I had to let go of a furred friend yesterday.

On another note. Can anyone here who's a normal member confirm that they can, or cannot see and browse the SF-O archive section?)

[Asper Sarnoff]

(Okay, trying again. It'd still be nice if anyone could say if the archive appear at the bottom board list on the main forum page though.)

"Ah! Excellent. Normally, we use our own truckers for those kind of jobs. But none were available right now. Two convoys have been ambushed and destroyed in the last couple months, and I haven't been able to find replacements yet. Now, it's been nice meeting you all, and I sincerely hope this is not the last time our paths cross." Lex smiled warmly at them. He gestured towards the coyote. "My man here will brief you on any technical details and stock you up on supplies. But now, I expect another meeting, so I hope you'll excuse me."

The coyote grunted and left the office, waving for the escorts to follow him. Once again, they navigated their way around the maze untill they found themself in another large garage area. Unlike the first one however, this was boiling with activety, welding smoke belching forth from several welders. The center of which was the tanker. A giant, long-nose 18-wheeler, the color undistinguishable from a brown coating of rust and grime. A massive wedge of sharp metal plates and spikes had been welded into a crude, brutal-looking plow at the front, and thick louvers covered all windows. Patches of iron plates had been welded on in critical places to provide better protection for the engine and the cab. The semi-trailer tank shared the tractors asthetics. Grimy, and with iron flaps welded on to cover the outside of the tires.

"That's what you'll be driving." the coyote muttered, not turning to face them. "30 000 litres of fuel, worth more than all of this shitty town put together."

They walked in between the various vehicles filling up the garage, up-armored cars, trucks with machine guns on their roofs, vans filled with communication equipment. Couple dozen grim-faced people were working on them, welding on more armor, wrenching engines and installing weapons.

Fenris whistled impressed. "You've got a small army in here."

"Faradyne's a big company kiddo." the coyote replied, "When the CNT can't guarantee safety for our convoys, we have to take matters into our own hands." He twirled around to face them.

"Listen pups. I know Fenris here has driven the route before, and know what you need to know. I have other things to spend my time on than you, so he can take it from here. Ask after Higgins for supplies." He growled to them, and before anyone could throw in an objection, he had turned around and left, dissapearing into the smoke between the vehicles and workers.

Fenris sighed. He hadn't really expexted anything else, well, the pay would make it worthwhile, and the others seemed decent enough. "Okay, here's how we're going to do it. Fusari, you go get your car and get it stashed here. After that, take Malloy's truck and come back here, we'll need to get some supplies, water and the fuel we'll need for the travel. Jason, and... whoever the hell you are..." he nodded towards the biker. "Should come and get your vehicles filled up. You'll probably have some other stuff to attent to as well. Malloy, you should look over the rig, get to know it and make sure everything's as it should be. We'll all meet up at the large billboard just out of town at sunset. Be there. If you don't show up, we'll leave without you. Now, to work!"

[Star_Dragon]

Jason nodded and headed to his car. He first popped the trunk, placed his Steyr Aug A3 in one of the duffel bags marked "R" and his Katana in another marked "M." He shut the trunk, got into the driver's seat, and brought the car to life. He drove to the car to the refueling station, then shot off the engine, beginning the process of refueling. While his car refueled, he popped the trunk again, opened the "R" Duffel, and dug around in it. It sounded as though other items were in the bag, but Jason didn't give anyone the chance to find out before he pulled out his Aug A3. He kept the weapon out, shutting the trunk, and slung the rifle across his back, before he returned to refueling his car.