Seraphina and Max opened the bakery as usual, but with a new set of eyes. Max paid special attention to those coming and going. No longer could the adventurers just accept that everyone around them was working toward the collective best interest, they had to find something to do to try and thwart RAM so they could report back that they were working toward NEOs goals.
With that in mind, Max noticed that a woman who was not a normal patron of the bakery was present that day. The woman was tall and thin wearing travel clothing and a large pack. She obviously had been on the road for a while and could have just been passing through. What really caught Max’s eye was the fact that this woman was engaging with the locals more than most travelers, asking about freedom fighters and if the townspeople felt safe. After an hour of talking with people, the woman eventually made her way out of the place and into the town. The rest of the day passed by as uneventful as every other.
That evening, the group of adventurers made their way to “Carm’s Dinner”, the other eatery in Duskberg, as they always did. Alex stopped by MiMa’s house to bring her across the street so they could enjoy dinner together. The mood in Carm’s Dinner was wonderful. The regulars for a Friday enjoyed one another’s company and Carm’s excellent food.
Carm’s is not a big establishment, but it is easy to relax in and a social center for the town. As much as Ashes 2 Ashes provides breakfast, lunch and baked goods, Carm’s Dinner provides the people of Duskburg with solid options for the last meal of the day.
Stepping through the door of Carm’s Dinner, you might be surprised, you might not be, at the ascetic of the diner. Carm comes from a long line of scavengers. Carm’s Mother and Father traveled the wastes for decades before they passed collecting various pieces of the old world, Carm’s Dinner is the distillation of that collection.
The walls are decorated with various road signs and old marketing material. One corner of the restaurant is dedicated to something that was called ‘Slushie’, while over the doorway hang the remains of various small signs that used to describe purchasable goods. Most importantly, Carm's Dinner was the only good place to get a meal if you did not want to make it yourself, and the company was always welcoming.
On this particular Friday night, Seraphina and Max took their regular seats at the end of the bar. Carm asked if they wanted the usual, and they did. As Carm brought the plates to his friends, the local chicken farmer and general heckler, BimJob, looked on incredulously.
BimJob stared at the plate making big eyes and then said to Carm, “Hey Carm, why does Seraphina’s plate look like it has so much more on it than mine? I ordered the same thing?”. Carm let the comment roll off his back and explained calmly that maybe it was just a matter of perspective; but what was it to BimJob if Carm decided to favor someone? BimJob laughed and made Carm blush after insinuating that Carm had a sweet spot for Seraphina, then paid his bill and left. As the evening went on small talk began while Max and Seraphina finished their meals. Realizing that Seraphina and Carm seemed to want to talk a little more privately, Max headed over to MiMa and Alex’s table to drop off medicine that they had acquired for MiMa.
From the booth that Alex and MiMa always occupied, a not so strange sight could be observed. Though many a relationship was started in Carm’s Dinner, not often was Carm the one starting those relationships. Alex, MiMa and Max observed as Carm cleaned up the dishes and then asked if Seraphina wanted to go for a walk when he closed the shop, to which Seraphina enthusiastically agreed.
MiMa was overtaken with maternal instinct and could not help but start down the same line of conversation that she loved to tread as often as Alex would tolerate it. Looking at Seraphina and Carm, MiMa could not help but ask when Alex was going to settle down and start a family. She only wanted him to be happy and would love to see some grandkids before she was done. MiMa went so far as to explain that Max would be a wonderful companion and it would make her as happy as she had ever been to see Alex and Max settle down together.
As they always did when MiMa started this kind of talk, Max and Alex exchanged a significant glance, and then Max excused themselves to head to the outhouse. Alex took the opportunity to help MiMa get back to her house and then headed home himself.
On their way out the door, Max could not help but stop and talk with Richard Williams the third. A local land owner and all around pompous ass, Max never avoided an opportunity to say hi.
Richard was a middle aged man who wore a Smart suit for the wealth it projected as opposed to the protection from harm and utility it provided. Richard was one of the few people in town who owned a vehicle and was the owner and operator of the pair of very modern apartment buildings that were recently built. A lot of people assumed that Richard was working with RAM and everyone who knew him understood that he spent as much time as he could attempting to raise his social standing in the RAM corporation.
As Max passed ‘Dick’ they made small talk and Richard was as dismissive as usual. When Max leaned in to clap the man cordially on the back while saying goodbye, Max slipped a well trained hand into the leather pockets on Richard’s belt to take whatever was inside. Max was rewarded with three hefty Newrubles as they made their way out the back door.
As the night went on, Carm’s Dinner slowly emptied out. Seraphina helped clean up a bit and once the place was picked up, but not completely cleaned, Carm said he would finish tomorrow before he opened and the two of them went walking.
In the light of the moon, which was decently bright that night, the two walked with no direction through a dark and mostly quiet Duskberg. They talked of all the small things that one talks about when you are more concerned with spending time with the person you are with, than accomplishing anything with the conversation. Eventually the night got very late and the walk progressed toward Carm’s apartment.
When they rounded the corner of the building toward the alley that was made by the two apartment buildings, they could see someone lying half in the moonlight, appearing to be hurt. Seraphina did not immediately notice it, but Carm told her that the person lying in the alley was moaning and calling out for help.
Carm cautiously approached with Seraphina following close behind. As they got close enough to help the person up, the injured person rose and drew a gun. Before Carm and Seraphina could fully process what they were seeing, three Terrienes entered the alley, cutting off any way of easy egress.
Seraphina recognized the woman who was now holding a gun on them as the traveler from the Bakery earlier in the day. The woman demanded to know what the two thought they were doing? She was hostile and kept putting the gun in Seraphina and Carm’s faces. The woman aggressively demanded to know if Seraphina and Max were NEO agents or thought themselves freedom fighters. The woman said that normal people would walk right past a wounded person on a dark night for fear of being robbed.
Carm explained with genuine confusion that he was not part of NEO and had no idea what that was. Serpahina took to her own defense and attempted to appear confused as well. The woman saw something in Seraphina’s eyes and posture that she did not like and began to focus on her. Seraphina backed up a bit, leading the woman a few steps away from Carm. When Carm attempted to come to Seraphina’s aid, the woman with the gun used it to slam Carm’s face, brutally throwing him to the ground.
Serahina made to help Carm up but as the Terrines laughed, the woman told her not to move. Carm rose on his own and pleaded once more to go on their way. The woman seemed to get tired of terrorizing Carm and Seraphina, so she changed to a demand for money.
When Carm and Seraphina had nothing to offer but Chicagorg scrip the woman was more than upset, calling their money trash and saying they had better have more than just this or she would need to make an example of them. Seraphine reached into another pocket of her apron and produced a pair of gorgeous chocolate chip cookies.
The woman took the money and the cookies and told them to not be seen again tonight. Seraphina and Carm agreed and then headed into the building as the Terrines and the woman made their way away.
Carm asked if Seraphina wanted to stay the night and she agreed. He intentionally offered her his bed and explained he would be very comfortable in his office chair. Seraphina called that old fashioned and silly. Seraphina said as long as he conducted himself in a gentlemanly way, she was happy to share the bed with him. Rattled and a bit exhausted from their experience, the two settled in for the night.
The following morning Max opened the Bakery. It was not often Seraphina did not do this herself, but it was not unheard of. Long about 8 in the morning, Seraphina sheepishly found her way to the Bakery and Max as a good enough friend to not comment on where she was the night before. Seraphina settled in, and as they worked, she shared with Max what had transpired the night before.
As the week went on, life did as well. The rhythm of just making it continued until Tuesday afternoon. After Max left the bakery for the day, they headed off to speak to some of their contacts about getting more medicine. Luckily, one of Max’s contacts had a supply raid already lined up.
Max got the details on a night time raid of a RAM supply convoy headed from Chicagorg to a local Terrine barracks. The next night, around a dozen people from some neighboring towns were going to hit the trucks and steal anything they could. Max agreed to help and when they shared the news with Alex and Buzz, Alex and Buzz enthusiastically agreed to help.
The following night, the three adventurers headed a few hours out of town and gathered by the road side. Geared up as they were from NEO, the plain beige Smart Suits that Max has always observed on other townsfolk who participated in these raids, suddenly seemed more important.
The Smart suits that NEO had provided the adventurers seemed to be purposely decorated to look as generic as possible. Anyone wearing one would be written off as someone who could just afford the armor. However, collected together in this group and knowing that NEO supplies this kind of suit, it was suddenly apparent that Coop had been busy in the Chicagorg sprawl recruiting as 8 of the 12 individuals on the raid were wearing the forgettable smart suits.
The raid went off without a problem. The people involved seemed almost to be trained and the half dozen Terrienes along with a few RAM soldiers did not stand a chance. The group stole everything they could carry from the trucks and then left them burning with the bodies of the RAM personnel on the side of the road.
Back in Duskberg, the adventurers tried to figure out what to do with the almost 1000 credits of food they stole from the convoy. In obvious RAM packaging, it would be challenging to fence the goods.
That Friday night, the group headed to Carm’s Dinner as usual. When Alex arrived at MiMa’s house, she was very concerned with leaving. MiMa tried to convince Alex to stay in and they would cook together, but Alex assured her that as long as she was with him, she would be safe. MiMa explained that she had heard there was a larger, more malignant RAM presence than usual in the nearby towns; they seemed very mad about something. Alex again assured her that she would be safe and they headed to dinner.
At Carm’s Dinner, the chilling effect of RAM was evident. The atmosphere was not nearly as thick with conversation and good will as usual. Those few people who were there carried hushed conversations that could not be easily overheard and the usual games being played were absent.
Carm was not overly upset but did echo what he and Seraphina had been talking about for a few days, saying that if this kept up, it wouldn’t be long before things were too bad to be able to keep the place open. Carm shared with the group that he had not received his normal shipment of food stuffs from Chicagorg and the neighboring areas; RAM had increased their policing and was stopping most of everyone who traveled the roads.
Apparently, a few hours away, a small town had been attacked by RAM. There seemed to have been an active NEO cell in the town which had performed a number of aggressive raids that led to the death of multiple RAM personnel. Instead of investigating and rooting out those responsible, RAM had barricaded the town and those that they did not arrest, they simply executed. The town was apparently still burning.
The somber atmosphere did not change, but it did not get in the way of the adventurers enjoying one another’s company and the good food. As the night went on, they all made their way back to their respective homes.
The following week was tense. RAM started sending Terriens into the town daily, not just a few, dozens. At one point the Terriens went door to door asking about NEO and more than a few people were injured as they complied with searches.
Mid week, Alex was doing errands and ran into a merchant that had a food packaging device that would vacuum seal things in strong impermeable plastic for long term storage. Not knowing how he would power it, Alex decided it was a good thing to purchase. Back in town, Buzz shared the cost of the device knowing it was the best way to repackage the food that they had stolen from RAM; that portion that they wanted to sell instead of give away.
A day or so later, Max had the opportunity to purchase a portable battery bank. The small power source would give them a way to recharge their laser weapons discreetly as well as operate the food packaging machine. Using some of their saved money and the Newrubles that Max had stolen from Richard, the adventurers purchased the power source.
The next few days they worked hard repacking the stolen goods and finding places to sell them, Alex even managed to trade some of the repackaged food for a set of four in ear radios that the group could use to keep in contact as long as they were within 50 miles of one another. This operation went very well and they made a hefty profit. As that Friday rolled around, everyone was taking stock of what they had done recently, knowing they would need to report to Coop and NEO in just another short week.
Everyone was in good spirits as they headed to Carm’s Dinner once again. MiMa was just as hesitant this week as she was the week before when Alex came to pick her up, but once again she was convinced that Alex would keep her safe. As Max and Alex walked with MiMa across the road, Alex caught sight of a vehicle coming down the road toward town quite a way off still. This in and of itself was not extremely uncommon, but it certainly was not normal. Alex assumed it was Richard in his ugly car that he liked to drive around to make sure that everyone knew how wealthy he was.
As Carm brought Seraphina her order, he awkwardly told her he did not want her to pay for it. Carm explained he wanted to take care of her needs and providing her food was one way he could do that. Seraphina did not want him to suffer financially so she insisted she would pay, but he did not back down. Seraphina brought up that she sold him baked goods to sell in the diner and so he would have to stop paying her if she accepted this. They concluded that his food being her food and her money being his money was an arrangement that neither one of them minded.
As the conversation turned from food and money to how Carm would give up his apartment to live with Seraphina, there was a noise out front. The truck that Alex had seen approaching town had arrived.
Through the windows, everyone saw the person in Powered armor get out of the truck with three Terrienes. The Power Armored person walked through the front door and announced that the diner had a problem. The female voice coming from the speakers on the helmet sounded familiar to Max, Seraphina and Carm; it was obviously the same woman who had robbed them earlier in the month.
The woman proceeded to explain to the occupants of the diner that she had a problem, that was now their problem. She had bet the Terrines that there wouldn't be more than three people in the diner, since there was 8 pieces of shit in the diner, implying that she did not count all of them as people, she still lost the bet and now owed the Terrines dinner.
She explained that the diners would need to provide money to the Terriens to cover her debt because she sure as hell was not going to. Without hesitation, the group pulled out wads of Chicagorg scrip which seemed to only aggravate the woman and the Terrines. The woman said she was going to step outside and let the Terrines handle this, as one of them smashed a stool near the bar.
As the Terrines stood menacingly ready to smash the place and the people up, Alex noticed that MiMa was struggling. MiMa was breathing rapidly, shallow breaths and was starting to sweat. Alex did not know a lot about medicine, but realized she was probably having some kind of heart attack. Ignoring the danger it might present, Alex rose and passed right in front of the nearby Terrine.
The Terreine barked at Alex and Alex told him to shut up, while continuing to approach Seraphine to tell her what was happening with MiMa. As Alex drew the attention of the closest Terrine, one of the others punched a patron and destroyed another stool. Seraphina used the commotion to quickly get to MiMa and provide her with a bit of the medicine that Max had given them all for these kinds of emergencies. MiMa calmed down as the medicine did its work.
As the Terrine aimed at Alex, Alex lunged and stabbed the Gennie through its armor right into its heart, dropping it. Max stabbed a second, while Seraphina and Buzz shot the last of them. Alex rushed to the front of the building where the woman in armor seemed to be calling for back up, obviously exasperated that this was not some simple group of villagers with no means of resisting.
Alex stalked up behind the woman and slammed his knife into the shoulder of the armor, unable to immediately get the point of it between the helmet and the shoulder pad. Buzz ran from where he sat at the bar and burst through a window dropping to a knee in front of the woman and blasting her in the chest with his laser, which singed her and loosened the helmet enough that Alex was then able to drive the knife all the way home and kill the woman. Seconds after the fight had started, the group was frantically running around cleaning up the bodies.
As they collected the RAM weapons and loaded the bodies onto the truck, Carm and Seraphina helped MiMa get home and the other patrons dispersed. Carm hastily cleaned the place up while Alex drove the truck to a good place far out of the town to ditch it. While they rode, Max accessed the powered armor’s helmet and siphoned off the frequencies that RAM had been using. Alex crashed the truck and set it on fire before they headed back to town.
The next day, RAM showed up in force. More than thirty Terriens along with some very important looking RAm soldiers arrived and questioned everyone about who was in Carm’s Dinner the night before. The town managed to convince RAM that the group who was responsible were from out of town and that the Terrines were a welcome source of law enforcement that was celebrated in Duskberg; no one here would ever do something like this. The story went that those responsible left as soon as the shooting stopped and headed far away. With a few broken doors, one fire and a number of injuries, the town survived the inquisition. The worst part was that RAM decided to commandeer an abandoned home and turn it into a makeshift police station that would now have a standing force of Terrines. Richard wasted no time inviting the Terriens into the town and providing them with money and support.
With only a week left before Coop was going to return, the group thought a bit more carefully about what they should do to further the NEO cause next.
No comments:
Post a Comment