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[Junk XIII] The Operation (K 6-3, S 6-3)
A few weeks have passed since the "sub-committee" began work on the laws of the Ascendant, and Zero and Hump went south with Amazon. In that time, more and more folks have been arriving and begging for places to stay, wanting a piece of the limited resources and technology. The Bay is full of refugees and wanna-bes, spilling down the big ramp and underneath it, tents and shanties set up all around the shade of the big ship.
Things are getting tight, and Nezzy's gang and the Candies have been working constantly to keep things at a simmer. Small gangs of kid thieves, mugging, food theft in the market, all are becoming a common occurrence. These are the growing pains of the community. The question is, will it fall into an oppressive oligarchy, or can you find a way to navigate this minefield? Because when it comes down to it, there isn't enough. Not enough space or food, not enough resources.
But let's catch up on your personal time spent.
Kiddo,
I know you've been working hard on those laws, trying to stay safe for the baby, and setting up your new place. First of all, roll your Moonlighting. Let's see how things are working out for you and your crew.
Now for the nitty gritty. Why don't you roll +Sharp? On a hit, choose options. On a 7-9. choose one to be true. On a 10+, choose two.
- earlier today, Zero, Amazon and Hump returned with a very messed up Rinso and some trucker named Aquafina, they were attacked by Wendys and barely made it to Salt; he's in a room in the infirmary right now
- you may write a law about punishment for theft of property that has passed through council and is being put into effect
- you may write a law about distribution of resources based on contributions to the community that has the support of the majority of the council and is awaiting a final vote
Stitch,
You've been working on the laws, too, but you're also trying to rehab so you can resume your daily activities. And of course, the specter of Ollie's surgery looms over you, too.
Why don't you roll +Sharp, too? On a hit, choose options. On a 7-9. choose one to be true. On a 10+, choose two.
- Your rehab went amazingly well, you've resumed full function with your legs, walking normally
- Metro has completed work on the communications station here in the Ascendant and it is fully functional, but he needs to complete the relay to get a signal off this rock
- you may write a law about public health expectations that has passed through council and is being put into effect
- your tests on the water and blood samples are done, you just need to finish analysis on it (no roll needed, just want a scene for that later)
Ollie's operation is this afternoon. Everyone is pretty excited for it. Stitch, you've already received blood transfusions from Hump, and you'll need Janco to assist, and the operation will take several hours, so you're going to have to trust in your couple of nurses to keep a lid on the rest of the infirmary. Ollie's recovery will take some time as well, but since Janco was able to keep it contained, this (single) lung removal should take care of the cancer.
So let's see some rolls on the above.
Then Stitch, I want a roll +Cool to see how hectic things get in the infirmary while you're in the O.R with the only other doctor. Kiddo, you can totes help on that.
Things are getting tight, and Nezzy's gang and the Candies have been working constantly to keep things at a simmer. Small gangs of kid thieves, mugging, food theft in the market, all are becoming a common occurrence. These are the growing pains of the community. The question is, will it fall into an oppressive oligarchy, or can you find a way to navigate this minefield? Because when it comes down to it, there isn't enough. Not enough space or food, not enough resources.
But let's catch up on your personal time spent.
Kiddo,
I know you've been working hard on those laws, trying to stay safe for the baby, and setting up your new place. First of all, roll your Moonlighting. Let's see how things are working out for you and your crew.
Now for the nitty gritty. Why don't you roll +Sharp? On a hit, choose options. On a 7-9. choose one to be true. On a 10+, choose two.
- earlier today, Zero, Amazon and Hump returned with a very messed up Rinso and some trucker named Aquafina, they were attacked by Wendys and barely made it to Salt; he's in a room in the infirmary right now
- you may write a law about punishment for theft of property that has passed through council and is being put into effect
- you may write a law about distribution of resources based on contributions to the community that has the support of the majority of the council and is awaiting a final vote
Stitch,
You've been working on the laws, too, but you're also trying to rehab so you can resume your daily activities. And of course, the specter of Ollie's surgery looms over you, too.
Why don't you roll +Sharp, too? On a hit, choose options. On a 7-9. choose one to be true. On a 10+, choose two.
- Your rehab went amazingly well, you've resumed full function with your legs, walking normally
- Metro has completed work on the communications station here in the Ascendant and it is fully functional, but he needs to complete the relay to get a signal off this rock
- you may write a law about public health expectations that has passed through council and is being put into effect
- your tests on the water and blood samples are done, you just need to finish analysis on it (no roll needed, just want a scene for that later)
Ollie's operation is this afternoon. Everyone is pretty excited for it. Stitch, you've already received blood transfusions from Hump, and you'll need Janco to assist, and the operation will take several hours, so you're going to have to trust in your couple of nurses to keep a lid on the rest of the infirmary. Ollie's recovery will take some time as well, but since Janco was able to keep it contained, this (single) lung removal should take care of the cancer.
So let's see some rolls on the above.
Then Stitch, I want a roll +Cool to see how hectic things get in the infirmary while you're in the O.R with the only other doctor. Kiddo, you can totes help on that.
Comments
(Rolled: 2d6+3. Rolls: 4, 5. Total: 12)
OOC: Rolling sharp for infirmary.
(Rolled: 2d6+3. Rolls: 5, 2. Total: 10)
(Rolled: 2d6+3. Rolls: 3, 4. Total: 10)
OOC: Opener. Roll+Sharp. +1XP
(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 4, 1. Total: 7)
You're pacing back and forth, waiting for Stitch to come out of surgery, VB, Hump and Zero all around, too. Rinso comes limping in. You'd heard he was here, but this is the first time you've seen him. His face, the left side of his face, it looks bad. He has his left arm in a sling, his right ankle is bent at an odd angle.
He looks at you, and VB, too. All of you really.
What do you do?
I'm just worried someone else moves in on my turf, and puts some bullshit law about killing people suspected of theft, or something.
Of course I also had my first "ultrasound" with Stitch, I needed to get new shirts to fit over this bloated belly, I redecorated my new home with Vee, I organized security and scav rosters with Star and Spree, I helped my Dad get ready for his surgery, and not twenty frakking minutes ago I learned that my Ma' came riding back into town with Hump and Rinso, with some random frakking trucker chick no less, as my Dad is being wheeled into frakking surgery!
I am a frakking train wreck!
So you can imagine what I look like when I see Rinso limp into view from some other exam room... I give him a long hard stare, like a deer caught in the headlights.
Part of me wants to run over there and slap him — but instead I immediately look down to his right hand... No missing pinky... What the frak? I'm frozen there, looking him over, afraid to move. Where the frak was he? What the frak happened to him? ... I don't see that trucker chick...
I lean forward, like I wanna go to him... But I can't take that first step. I fumble for Vee's hand, and squeeze it tightly, not taking my eyes off Rinso. I swallow hard.
"Rinny?"
You'e in the OR now, with Janco. Really, you should have three nurses assisting, but you don't have that luxury. The surgery was complicated, and the lack of helping hands only extended it. You're tired, so is Janco.
Janco says, "I think that's it, Stitch. I'll handle clean-up and wheel him into recovery. You want to go tell the family?" She begins cleaning the workspace, then looks back up, you can tell she's smiling behind her surgical mask, "Good work, Doctor."
What do you do?
VB holds your hand fiercely, and wraps a protective arm around your waist. Hump calls out, "Hey Rinso!"
Rinso nods to Hump, but his eyes flick between you and VB. He hobbles forward, eyes quickly welling up, "Kiddo, Vee, I've missed you two so much." He holds his right arm out, hoping for you to meet him, to hug him, hold him.
What do you do?
I haven't let go of Vee's hand. He missed us? He wants me to hold him? Where the frak was he a month ago, when we needed to be held?
I want to slap him... But images of my reunion with Ma' flash through my head – the crushing pain of being criticized like that, after having been through hell... I look to Vee, uncertain, and wordlessly tell her I don't believe what I'm seeing – that I don't accept he's really back.
... But I turn back to Rinso, and open my mouth to speak; but the words get stuck in my throat, and all I can do is hold out a hand, summoning him to us. I squeeze Vee's hand tighter.
If he truly missed us, then he can come to us.
Rinso does't stop, he keeps moving forward. Sure, he realizes that holding his arm out was a stupid idea and he lets it drop. He closes the distance, and puts an arm around you. He smells like the road, and dried blood and sweat. He doesn't say anything, just squeezes.
VB pushes at him a bit, "Ease off, Rinnie. Remember the baby?"
Rinso falls back a step, worry on his face, "I'm. I'm sorry." His eyes are wet, a few tears have fallen. "I tried, Kiddo. I was gonna finish the list, the whole thing. All I had left was Walmart. I came back south, through Boomtown and... you two were gone. I lost my mind! Jack, he talked some sense into me, and I came straight up north, to come after you...
VB scowls, "We were just fine on our own, Rinso Fathead. We didn't need your slow ass coming up to save us. Kiddo runs security round here, and I'm a frakkin cook!"
"That's... that's great." Rinso says with shock in his voice, not sure what else to say.
I ditch the mask and bloody gloves, along with the slightly less bloody gown and walk out to the waiting area with a big smile on my face. Everyone's eyes lock onto me- a mix of hope and fear and all sorts of emotions they won't admit to themselves. I literally beam at Kiddo- I am thrilled to be able to give her good news.
"Ollie is fine." I tell them. "I did have to remove his entire lung, but the surgery went very well. Once he builds his strength back up he has a very good chance of..." I taper off. They don't want cold clinical prognosis. "He could be up and about making trouble like the rest of you in the next week or two."
Wait... is that Rinso? What happened to his foot?
Rinso breaks off from his talk with you, "See Hump, I told you he'd be alright! Stitch is a miracle worker!" He laughs a bit, which looks painful since the left side of his face is one big scabbed mess.
I point to Rinso and jerk my finger down, telling him to plant his ass in a chair. I'm going to have to fix whatever the hell he did to himself, and I'd really like it if he didn't make it any worse.
"Stitch, it can wait. You just got out of surgery." he says.
That list... Walmart... Jack? Like wanderer Jack? I duck my head down, and furrow my brow in concentration — What the frak is he saying? That Jack convinced him to come up here and find me? I don't get time to process it all before Stitch comes out and announces the good news though...
I needed to hear that. The tension in my neck releases a bit — Vee can probably feel that — and I lean into her, slipping my arm around her waist and pulling her into a hug... I give her a kiss for good measure, too.
When the elation of my Dad being on the mend finally slips out of the spotlight, and I realize I'm going to have to deal with Rinso, I look to Vee for strength for a moment. She has been, and continues to be, my rock. I turn back to Rinso when he talks about Dad, and I nod appreciatively.
Talk later. Yeah. That sounds like a better idea. "Ok," I whisper hoarsely, "don't go anywhere this time." I didn't say that to be mean... I do want him to stay put.
I follow him over to Stitch, with Vee on my arm, and give her a hug as she schools Rinso. "Thank you, sweetie... Thank you so much."
Rinso quirks a brow, starts to ask how you'd know, but keeps his mouth shut. He reaches out to take your hand, and says, "Thanks for helping Ollie, Stitch. You're a good friend."
I nod at Rinso and let him take my hand. "I can have a nurse look at you today, but I likely won't be able to do anything about your injuries until tomorrow at best. Try and stay off the foot, ok?"
OOC: Read Rinso incoming.
(Rolled: 2d6+3. Rolls: 6, 6. Total: 15)
Rinso nods, "Sure, doc. No problem. And I can wait. It doesn't hurt much at all."
Kiddo,
VB kisses you again, with joy, with passion, too. She's elated at the good news for Ollie, and more than happy to share it with you. The exclusion from seeing him stabs her a little. She doesn't say anything, but you know her.
OOC: Is Rinso here to stay?
If Kiddo says Rinso needs to clear up Walmart, then he'll go. He has no idea how to clear up Walmart, except to turn himself in. And that means he'll be hung, since he killed three guards helping Cherry escape custody. He could maybe buy somebody off to change the records, but seeing as how Vicks, the head of security lost Webriot, his own son to that crime, he doesn't think even that would work. But to earn his chance to be around Kiddo and VB and their baby, he'll move heaven and earth. He already tried taking a contract out on Vicks, but Sapphire laughed at him. He's out of ideas right now on that. And so damn tired of the work, an the List.
But if Kiddo agrees that he's done enough for their baby to be safe, you couldn't pry him away from here.
OOC: Did Rinso ever have feelings for me?
VB shakes her head no, "No, dumbass, you're gonna make your mom go in there and see him. I'll be ok. Ima go scope out this Aqua-whatever-bitch, see if she's been frakkin our boy."
Stitch,
Yeah, he does have feelings for you. He considered kissing you that night, but he was worried that you sort of thought of him as a big dumb kid. He is attracted to how smart, kind and selfless you are, and he's really happy you ended up with Metro. He would have probably messed things up for you.
The part of me that sees Kiddo as my own child- it's small, but it's definitely there- can't see past all the pain he's caused her.
OOC: What was Rinso's absolute lowest moment in his life?
Walking away from the greatest love in his life, the mother of his child and also his best friend to go murder people from his past that he wanted to forget. Being told he almost lost a baby he didn't know he could father because of his past, and throwing all of it away on a desperate plan to try and make it right.
Coming back to Boomtown to find Kiddo, you and VB had left was a very, very close second.
VB grins, "Oh, if she's frakkin him, Ima stomp Rinnie's ankle. He can frakkin have her if that's how it is." She pulls your face down to give you a hot kiss, then says low and serious, "Don't nobody hurt you and get away with it, Momma."
I stand up- smiling a little bit because I can stand- and walk over to Kiddo and VB. "Come on, let's go check on your dad." I hold out hands for both of them. VB is obviously family- I feel bad for excluding her before.
I look up at Stitch when she comes to get us to go see Dad, and smile at Vee when she invites her too. "See? Trucker chick can wait!"
Rinso nods, like he gets it. And there's a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
Both of you,
VB narrows her eyes, like maybe she was looking forward to prying into this lady's business. But she's not going to turn this down. She takes your hand, Kiddo, glances over at Zero, who is standing against the wall, a smile on her face, but she looks lost.
Whoever is coming I bring to Ollie's bedside.
Of course, you have to wear masks and wash your hands, but in moments Stitch is pulling back the small curtain divider and there he is. He's pale, the years have worn on him. But he looks like your dad without the breathing tube. Slightly deflated, maybe.
Zero's standing there, and she sees him, squeezes your hand so hard it hurts for a moment. And without a free hand to wipe at her face, the tears just fall. Her nose reddens and she sniffs, but she won't let go for a long time.
Finally, after a small forever, she looks to you, Stitch, sniffs once and says, "Thank you, Stitch." Then she looks at you, Kiddo, and says, "Thank you, my daughter. You saved us both."
After they have a few long moments, I go about looking at the equipment to see how Ollie is doing. "You're welcome to wait. He should be awake within the hour." There are a few chairs here, we can pull some more up.
VB pulls a chair out for you, Kiddo. Then one for your Ma and then herself, too.
With the exception of that little bit before coming in here, I've been pacing ever since Dad went into surgery... I dunno about everyone else, but I need to sit the frak down. I thank Vee for the chair, and sit next to Dad. This has been a long time coming.
Janco comes in after a few minutes, asks for your help with something. Once you get out into the hall, she says, "Hey, I didn't really need your help, I was just giving you an out if you wanted it." She smiles, "It can be tricky, sometimes. Being there with them, but then, you're the doctor. Anyways, if you want to do rounds, that's great. But I can keep a handle on it if you want to go back in." She pauses, "What do you want me to do with Big Hunky out there?"
I laugh when she calls Rinso Big Hunky.
I roll a wheelchair over to Rinso. "Come on. I'll take a look at you in an exam room."
When Stitch steps out, there's a long quiet moment. Then your Ma asks out loud, to the room, maybe, or better yet, to the gods. She just asks, "How do I ever make up for cheating on him? For abandoning him?" She sniffs, and swallows once.
There's quiet again, like she's fighting to say more, or maybe fighting to stay silent. She looks at Hump and then you and even VB. Then, "It wasn't just him that I've hurt. I've left you all for the road, for the ride with the Candies so many times. My whole life. Whenever drek hit the fan, I left him to deal with it. And the moment all of you needed me... to step the frak up. I sent one frakkin message out to you and just... just... frak!" She breaks then, unable to hold her head up and look. She leans forward, plants her elbows on her thighs and buries her face in her hands and sobs.
I look to Dad lying there on the bed, quiet as ever. Nobody loves my Ma' more than that man. I'm sure there's a way they can fix this — and if anyone knows what that is, it's him. I look over to Vee — gods I hope I never do that to her — then back to Ma', and reach out to put a hand on her knee.
"Ma', you didn't even know... That night in the caf, you thought I was shooting Dad. That asshole has been lying to you for a year straight, and using that frakked up bullshit of his to twist you up inside." I take a deep breath, "we need to sort that out. Stitch knows how to do that... She says her boyfriend is really good at helping people think straight after stuff like this."
Rinny pops into my head, and how Vee stuck with me through all this. Being there goes a long frakking way, in my books. "I know when Dad wakes up and sees you, he's going to be happier than he's been in a long time. He knows who you are, and he believes in you — he always has." I grab Vee's hand, and give it a squeeze, "Dad needs you now. You can do this. Stay here, and I know this will work out."
While you're talking, Hump rises quietly from his chair and walks over to put an arm around Zero. She stiffens, but doesn't pull away.
VB squeezes your hand back, she's so torn up by Zero's sadness. This is a woman she's always idolized as being strong, maybe even indestructible. But right now, she's shattered.
Zero looks up, blinks away a few tears, "I'm sorry for leaving you. All three of you. All those times, I shoulda been there. I won't go away again, ok?"
Hump answers quick, like right as soon as she stops talking, "It's okay, Ma. I love you. WE love you, you're here, it's okay." He buries his head into her shoulder, and she reaches up to pat the back of his head, thankful for his unwavering love. Then she looks to you, Kiddo.
Please go here.
Then, Kiddo, you hear a soft groan. It's coming from your Da. He's waking up.
What do you do?
At one point or another, frakking Heath asks if I've got my own bike yet — joking, of course, but I don't frakking know that. Vee says "nope, but she's a real good rider!" and Heath says, "Well Kiddo, you can borrow my ride any time you want!"
... Vee thought we should take her up on the offer. I was too high on juice and licorice to disagree. So fast forward maybe 20 minutes: picture Vee and me on Heath's bike, engine idling, and me trying to figure out how to lift the kickstand without the bike falling over. Ma' was heading up to the shack to fetch something or other, and catches me about to open up the throttle.
I don't think I ever saw her move that fast before. Well, except that night I shot Branigans.
My face is buried in my hands, my face beet red by the time Vee's done recounting the tale to Hump — who was, like, two at the time — but I jump out in surprise when I hear Dad's groan.
I lean forward, and watch him wake patiently.
"Well, I 'spose y'all want an encore or somethin'?" he says weakly, then coughs. The corners of his mouth turn up into a smile.
"No, babe," Zero says, "You aren't allowed to come off stage yet"
Hump springs up from his chair to his father's side. VB is hanging back with you, and Zero is stuck, like frozen, not sure what to do.
What do you do?
There are lots of tears, and yeah, he tears up, too. Because he survived. You're all together again.
--END SCENE--