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[Junk XIII] Talk to Me (K 7-5]
Kiddo,
After setting up the deal with Armour, you head back to the Ascendant the next day, a team of engineers and workers who have the title of engineers with you, led by Onida, also a van of some pretty nasty looking sick folks, "the sick bus", driven by Dulux. The ride is uneventful. You realize that with the increase in traffic to the Ascendant, a kind of path is slowly coming to exist, just by the number of vehicles tamping down the scrub.
Reminder, this is Dulux,
This is Onida the engineer:
I assume you let Metro and Nescafe work on organizing the help, right? Not your area of exertise?
Let's skip ahead to when you arrive in the infirmary to talk to Bilo, yeah? Which Candies are with you? Do you ask Rinso to help, or let him resume his duties at the infirmary and stay close? The infirmary has a bunch of new patients, by the way, casualties from The Bay. It's been four days since you left, and the place hasn't fully recovered.
Bi-lo is in the conference room waiting, unless you do to his cell. He's been beaten, not horribly. He looks tired.
What do you do?
After setting up the deal with Armour, you head back to the Ascendant the next day, a team of engineers and workers who have the title of engineers with you, led by Onida, also a van of some pretty nasty looking sick folks, "the sick bus", driven by Dulux. The ride is uneventful. You realize that with the increase in traffic to the Ascendant, a kind of path is slowly coming to exist, just by the number of vehicles tamping down the scrub.
Reminder, this is Dulux,
This is Onida the engineer:
I assume you let Metro and Nescafe work on organizing the help, right? Not your area of exertise?
Let's skip ahead to when you arrive in the infirmary to talk to Bilo, yeah? Which Candies are with you? Do you ask Rinso to help, or let him resume his duties at the infirmary and stay close? The infirmary has a bunch of new patients, by the way, casualties from The Bay. It's been four days since you left, and the place hasn't fully recovered.
Bi-lo is in the conference room waiting, unless you do to his cell. He's been beaten, not horribly. He looks tired.
What do you do?
Comments
The chat with Bilo — I asked for two Candies to come and stand guard while we chat with him. They're more so there for intimidation than anything... Rinso can go back to working his day job. I don't wanna get in the way of that just yet. I walk into the conference room strapped, and sit down across from Bilo — not waiting to get down to business, I speak plainly. "So you're with the Black Rock clan... You're beholden to the cult, and you bombed our home. What do you have to say for yourself?"
He answers your question in a miserable, but stubborn tone, "Nothing."
I sigh, and lean forward, "give me something, Bi-lo. Anything. Do you know how many people died, and may keep dying because of what you did?"
He sighs, "The Cult came to us when I was a boy. Some of our people spoke for the water. Some of us only heard it. I heard the Chosen years ago, and swore myself to protect them. Now the winter comes, and the Chosen want this ship to be their new home."
Bi=Lo looks up at you with his tired eyes, "You refused the Chosen twice, Kiddo of the Council. The Chosen do not ask three times. Now, war has begun. Many have died. Many more will die. There are Beholden among you now. More will learn the joys of the water now. It is only a matter of time. You should speak with your Council and come to a trade now, save your lives. The water is good. You will be happy."
I hate to have to keep a tally... Especially if I'm going to have to kill them all...
I lean back in my chair, "we don't want your frakking water, Bi-lo. Tell me who is beholden here, and who let you into the hold, and I'll let you free."
He starts laughing. At you. At Costco. At Mamba and Spunk. Just laughing.
I give him an indifferent look, "tell me what I want to know before she hands it to me, and you can keep yourself from reliving that experience. I'll even let you go, if you co-operate peacefully — just like I said."
What do you do?
OOC: Reading Bi-lo. Roll+Sharp. +1XP.
(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 6, 5. Total: 13)
Q1: Is that an accurate and exhaustive list of people not loyal to us?
"Is there a way our people can co-exist without drinking the water?"
I'm thinking I should return the favor.
Q2: If I tell Bi-lo my plans, will that make them known to the water cult?
I lean forward on the table again, "the inhabitants of the Ascendant demand reparations for the attacks made against our home. You can either pay us the sum of jingle required to repair our home, pay for the water we've lost while we repair our filters, and cover the costs of treating our wounded, or you can reveal to us each and every member of your clan currently operating within the Ascendant. They will be recalled to your home, and never allowed to step foot in this place ever again. Beholden or otherwise."
I cross my arms over my belly, and lean back in my chair, "You'll have one full season after I set you free to deliver that exact message to your people. Failure to comply before the spring, regardless of whether they heard it or not, will mean war between us."
I turn to Mamba, and explicitly say this for Bi-lo to hear. "Get the whole gang, and bring me Buckingham, and Brita. I want them in the brig before sundown. If they fight back, beat them senseless, but keep them alive — I need them to ID anyone they've worked with."
Why don't you Seize those two by Force, Kiddo?
(Rolled: 2d6+1. Rolls: 6, 6. Total: 13)
An hour later maybe, you're in the same room right outside the brig, a bruised-up, lip-bleeding Brita is sitting in binders at one of the metal tables beside a relatively calm-looking Buckingham, also in binders. Nezzy is here, with du.
Who's with you, Kiddo? How do you open this up?
"The people they let in? They're just the beginning. I sent a message back to their people, letting them know we want reparations — they're going to reject the chance and go to war with us. I need these people to finger every single traitor we have under our roof, or any plans we have are just going to fall apart."
She crosses her arms, "Santi needs in on this. This is nothing a pregnant woman needs to be dealing with, Kiddo."
She looks at you for a moment, "You know, I took a risk bringing you into Council, what with your age, and those Candies being green and all. Especially with your Ma being attached to Bran like she was." She nods once, "That. That turned out to be a good call." She goes about getting Santi here, and takes du into one of the cells of the brig in the interim to have it out with him. You hear the echoes of their conversation. Nezzy doesn't yell, she doesn't have to. du though, he's pissed. Super. Frakking. Pissed.
Santi shows up maybe half an hour after du's beating Brita for answers. It is vicious. Are you going to stand by and let him beat her to death like this? He's using his fists, breaks her nose, rips off one of her ears. She's covered in blood and snot, Kiddo. She's talked all she has to talk. They paid her to see the decks, slipped her some jingle for a private tour, then they hit her with a stunner and left her to take the fall. It doesn't fall apart, no matter how many times he beats her and asks her different ways.
Oh and by the way, du has a stiffy. He's getting off on this. Santi is just watching. She knows.
Kiddo, are you doing to let Brita die like this?
(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 5, 5. Total: 12)
OOC: Did Brita know what she was doing, showing those people around?
She figured they'd steal some drek or maybe they were casing the joint. She had no idea they were going to blow the water system. She knew she did wrong, she just didn't know how wrong.
Q2: Is Brita a threat to the safety of our hold?
If you want to pick nits, she's a threat because she takes shortcuts and she'll take bribes. Will she open the backdoor that wide ever again? Well, hell no, but she has no expectation of surviving this. She knows this is just a game, and she wants it to end.
In the pods, punishment for treason was a death sentence. Dad hated the pods.
Q3: Is Brita irredeemable?
Ma's pistol slides out of its holster in a practiced fluid motion, and a muted pop reverberates off the walls as I pull the barrel away from Brita's head. I'm sick of this. I'm sick of finding these people who can't think ahead more than where their next meal comes from. They're dangerous, and they're a risk to my family.
I look to Buck, with fire in my eyes, and pull out a rag to wipe the blood off my gun. "If you can think of a terribly convincing reason for me to offer you an out, Buck, you should say it now... I'm told Santi's much better at this than du is."
He sits up straight, not military straight, but serious, looks you right in the eye when he talks, "About a Junkfall ago, I was guarding a caravan that was hit by the Big Rock Clan. They outnumbered us, and they had a couple folks hidden in my caravan, too. Figured I was as good as dead, but everyone who surrendered, they drug off to their bigass lake under the hill they built."
Buckingham has this far-off look, like a junkie coming off a high, "They made us drink. Of all things, they made us drink water. Some of us heard the Water Cult talk in our heads. I was one of them. Beholden. The ones that didn't, they slaughtered, right then and there. Then, those of us who heard, we carried the bodies of the six who didn't. I carried a woman's body, Aoc. She wasn't much to look at, but she made a really great curry, she liked to whistle. I liked her."
"They made me dance to their tune, and I craved the water. They made me come here to work, and keep my mouth shut." His voice grows bitter, "Then, when the job was done, when you killed the rest and I lived, the thirst left me. The Cult left me high and dry. And now... here we are."
What do you do?
(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 3, 3. Total: 8)
OOC: Is he telling the truth about not being beholden anymore?
Mamba takes Buck to the brig. What do you do?
You head down the hall of the infirmary and hear him playing as you get closer. He strums low, out of respect for the other patients, but you know they love his music. Most folks do. There's another person playing harmony with him, must be Hump.
That's confirmed when you come into the room. As soon as you come into his view, Hump looks up and misses a note. He stops, looks to Ollie with an apology, then tries to catch back up. He's singing the song lightly, not committing to it, almost the way a dancer mouth the words of the song she's dancing to. What's the song?
Your dad looks up, not missing a thing, and gives you a wide smile. Its a smile you haven't seen in a long time, isn't it? He's sitting up in the bed, has some fuzz on his head and looks so much better now. Has his color, still too thin, but he doesn't look like dried paper anymore.
What do you do?
I swing into Dad's room with a big smile on my face, and pull a seat over to Dad's bed. I give him a kiss on the cheek as I sink down into the chair. I don't wanna interrupt their song. It's good to hear Dad play again — and even better to see him recovering.
When the song ends, I clap for them — giggling cheerily. "So when's Stitch gunna let you come home to us, Dad?"
I smirk playfully at them both, "have you guys seen Ma' lately?"
Hump blinks, "Yeah, she was here earlier. Dad's been making her sleep in a real bed, her back's been hurting."
Your dad grins like mad when she kicks a little. He talks to her in a low voice for a bit, ignoring the world and just crooning to her.
I look over to Hump, "Is she running with the Candies again? Or just out and about?"
Ollie chuckles, "Hush now, y'all. A lil harm'ny z'all I ask, yeah?" He's still feeling the kicks of the little babe in your tummy, Kiddo.
I wonder what Ma's up to — probably something incorrigible. I was hoping I could bring everyone out to get some fresh air... It's a little warmer today than usual for this time of year. I guess I can just stay in.
"Can you play baby girl a song, Daddy? I wanna make sure she hears good music..." I know I needed to be there when Nezzy was dealing with Brita and Buck — but I feel really bad that my little girl had to be there too...
Hump leans in, watching. He knows he'll never be as good as his father. But he'll never stop trying. How hard it must be to be the progeny of a man considered by some to be a legend.
Baby girl approves, it seems. Even though she's protected by the womb, the sounds reach her, and she quietens, lies still. You've reached the point where you sometimes feel her happiness. Of course, having your dad here, playing to you, it creates your own, so the two of you, you and baby, you bounce the joy back and forth, back and forth.
This is a wonderful moment. Of the two of them, Kiddo: VB and Rinso. Who do you think would most appreciate this with you?
Vee, on the other hand – she's watched me like a hawk this whole pregnancy. Sent calls me momma, and doesn't like it when I do stupid shit that affects baby girl... She doesn't like this kinda music though, and she likes it when baby girl moves. I know she loves me, but I really don't know how I got so lucky to have her love me... She doesn't like women... She just loves me. I don't know why – but I know she would understand and appreciate it.
I think it's probably Vee – but only because Rinso doesn't get this pregnancy thing... Maybe I should bring him to that next ultrasound. Maybe that would help him understand.
Once the song's done, and Dad's had his fill of chatting with baby girl, I'll give him another kiss and turn to Hump. "Can we chat a minute in private sweetie? Apartment business."
Please say fixing her bike... And also not be lying about it.
There's a distinct lack of staff in the hall right now, Kiddo. You just noticed that it's pretty much Rinnie and that's it. There are a few patients just quietly walking in the hall, some elder woman next room over who is talking to pretty much nobody, a girl in a wheelchair wheeling herself away from you, towards the exit, nice and slow.
Presuming Hump agrees, I'll walk up behind that girl in the wheelchair, grab the handles, and whisper, "Where you going, sweetie?"
Then you're heading up to the wheelchair girl. She has a badly broken ankle form the fight in The Bay. She may never run again. She looks up at you with her soft brown eyes when you take the wheelchair. "I'm going to pee. The bathroom in my room is all nasty, hadn't been cleaned in days."
I'm disgusted that the girl's toilet hasn't been cleaned in a while. What the frak? I knew Stitch was busy, but that's frakking unsanitary. I smile down at her, "c'mon sweetie — you can use my bathroom, and I'll get some folks to clean up around here."
Do you tell anyone you're taking Yama Ha, or figure things will work out on their own?
I press the button to go up to my apartment, and stand up straight to stretch my back a bit as we wait.
The lift stops on your level. You push her along the clean hallway to the door of your flat. She looks all around, "Wow, this is really flash..."
As you open the door, she asks, "How you workin the toilet with no water, Kiddo?"
Yama answers shyly, "Dunno. Just the infirmary for now. I figure my Uncle's stuff is all gone now." You help her get into the bathroom, it seemed a little urgent by the time you wheeled her in.
When she's done, she doesn't flush, and hops over to the chair. The toilet isn't flushed, like you asked. She says, "I can, ah, wheel myself back."
"I like kids okay," she says right away when you ask. Then, "Would I get food and stuff for watching Omo's babies?"
The lift opens on the infirmary level.
You wheel her to her room, and Rinso is walking out as you come up. He has an angry face, and he smells like bleach. "Holy frak of all mountains, that toilet was awful! I'm sorry, little girl, it is clean now, don't you ever let us frak up like that again."
He stalks off to do more work. When you wheel her into the room, which she shares with two other people, Yamam says, "He's really hot."
There's a young man in the room, a bit older. He's been staring at you, all moons-eyed. Last patient is a really sick boy, some kind of breathing tube in him. It's a dreary place.
Zag's holden up in a cot hotel, in a room with a piss bucket and, well, a cot. Your mom has a chair sitting by her, Zag is covered in a cold sweat, looking miserable. Your mom gives you a grim nod of greeting when you come in. Are you alone? It's like a prison cell in here.
What do you do?
She slides off the chair, onto the ground, scoots near you, takes your hand. "You alright, Kiddo?"
I'm sorry, I'm just a little moody I guess...
"Better than Zag, I guess... I spent some time with Dad earlier, and he played baby girl a song... I got shit on at Trench, and broke a deal with Armour. Came back here to find out the assholes in charge of that attack a week ago are going to fight us tooth and nail for this place, and that two of our own opened the door for us. I watched du torture some poor girl that didn't know any better, and had put her out of her misery... Then locked up a guy who was actually frakking guilty 'cause he's too valuable to kill."
At one point or another I slouched forward, cradling my belly and looking off into the distance. "She jumped when I put a bullet in that girl's head, Ma'... She's not even born yet, and she's heard a woman being tortured... I don't even know if we'll be able to keep this place safe from those wackos by the lake. Am I messing up my baby girl's life before she even gets here?"