Wasteland II : Z-Factor

[Quiet_Cool]

Dexter

The desert was getting to him. He'd been traveling on foot for far too long, and he was used to the cool environment The Tank provided.
THe heat and the sun...more unbearable than he remembered them being.
It was part of the job though.
He trekked on, leaving miles of undistinguishable sand behind him, each inch looking identical to the inch behind it, to the miles behind it, save for his footprints, which were swept away every now and then by a gust of wind.
WHere was he? He wasn't sure. He'd followed the Doc's directions, well, he thought, but perhaps not perfectly.
He saw her then, topping a dune ahead, walking straight for him.
Human, it looked, but he knew he couldn't be certain.
He shrugged. Had to take chances out here. It was the way of life on the surface.
He raised his right hand in the air, waving it back and forth to get her attention.
"Hey!"
But he kept his left hand planted firmly on his rifle.

 

[Lady_Siren]

Nalia turned her attention away from the hostile presence for a moment when she heard a shout up ahead. Another one? no this one was human and he was heading towards her. Cautiously she kept her hand near her gun. She walked towards the man her senses overwhelmed. A few minutes ago she had been along lost in the desert. Now she had two men following her, another one somewhere near by. A man right in front of her and some hostile presence hiding near by. One of the men had to be friendly, at least she hoped. She reached the man in front of her still unsure. "Hello" she said her voice holding an accent different then this newcomer. "You are a friend right?" she asked unsure how else to put it. She really hated depending on strangers but she was out here alone and really had no choice in the matter.

 

[Guest]

Satra...

"Damn it all to Hades!"

Satra raised a brow and glanced over at the man sitting at one of the computer terminals in sector 11.

"What's up Jude?"

"This damn thing keeps on crashing, it's like working in a time warp here." He growled kicking at a rock near his foot and yelping appropriately when the rock didn't give. He pulled his foot onto his lap and rubbed the pain away.

Satra tilted her head his way. "One would think that using your abilities to further the future of mankind would be enough to help you persevere without complaint Jude."

Jude grunted and glowered at her from his seat. "You know as well as I do I'm only here because you engineered it. I was happy where I was, Zed treated me well."

Satra smiled a knowing smile. "Ah yes, chief lackey to the great one, the one who, may I remind you, managed to kill your family because of his ego."

Jude's complexion paled as he recalled the explosions as Zed waited for the first missiles to hit Zion before calling for a counter strike. That first missile was all it took to take out the entire sector where his family lived. Satra could be so cold sometimes. Colder than Zed even. "I told you not to mention them ever again."

"So you did, must have slipped my mind." She turned back to the reports she had been reading. It was enough though. Jude was put back in his place. He hot wired the back of the consol to reboot, all the while hoping that one day, he'd get to pay Satra back for getting him into all this.

*************

Zed...

"8, 7, 6, 5..."

Zed sat back in his throne. A grin of childish delight on his face.

"Bring up a visual on Satra's progress."

"Yes Sir!"

On the consol before him an image flickered to life. Satra being held up, barely by that Thallon and... what on earth?

"Number one, why is there a HORSE in our cell's and no one the wiser?" He barked.

"Sir?"

"Do you even CHECK your visuals any more?" Screamed Zed.

"Sorry Sir, nothing came up on our monitors... I... it..." He stuttered.

"Scan bio thermal's, see if it shows up then and send down a garrison. I want that thing, whatever it is, contained."

"Sir, yes SIR!"

Incompetence, he was surrounded by incompetence. He gritted his teeth as his commands where carried out. Satra, Satra, Satra, why did you have to leave me? You were one of my best men, now... now I'll have to destroy you.

************

Sage was focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. The being that was helping them kept changing before her eyes making her feel dizzy. She clutched at Thallon, but she noted that even he wasn't too steady on his feet.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Dexter

A friend?
"Yes," he shouted back.
He started to move faster, hoping the woman wouldn't take his actions as hostile. He pushed the weapon so it hung on his back instead of near his hands, wanting her to realize he had no intention of using it.
As he neared the girl, he realized that two people followed her, though from this distance, with their bodysuits and masks on, he couldn't tell their gender. Luckily, this girl had spoken up, and her voice had given her away.
"Um," he began, "Are they with you? Who are you? Where are you from?"

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Thallon

Finding it hard to move while helping Sage along, I staggered into the ahll with her, then started down the corridor there, unsure which way to go.
Madge had to be there somewhere, I thought. It only made sense. Sage and I were here, and it seemed this was a high-security level, though by now, we should have been under pursuit.
"Denoitnem, which cell is she in, do you know? A brunette, athletic build, long hair, dark skin. Her name is Madge..."
I hoped he knew, because searching through the cells one at a time might be too time consuming.
"Thallon? Is that you?"
The voice sounded familiar, though hard to make out through the security doors. I grabbed the keys from Denoitnem, leaned Sage against the wall and staggered hurriedly toward the door the sound had come from.
Fighting with the keys for a moment, I got the door open. Madge looked out, her arms and face bruised here and there, often badly.
"What...?" I began, thenh thought, no time...
"Come on," I insisted. "Let's go."
As she hurried out the doorway, an odd sound began to emit from the ventilation inside the room."What's that?" I asked.
"Probably gas," she replied. "C'mon, let's move."
SHe was moving quite well, not sign of drugs in her system at all. That was good. We had a long journey ahead of us.

 

[Lady_Siren]

Nalia frowned when he asked who she was. "My name is Nalia.. I think. THose men behind me I don't know who they are, my ship crashed and I thought I was stranded alone then all of a sudden those two men popped up. There is another one hiding somewhere and something else not human on it's way. Don't ask me how I know this because I couldn't tell you" she took a deep breath "so who are you?"

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Dexter

"My name is Dexter, but everyone in The Tank calls me Dex," he replied. "That's all I should say for now, at least until I know ho you are. Besides, if there're more things or people out there, then we shouldn't stay idle too long. Perhaps it is best that we speak with these two humans..."

 

[Lady_Siren]

Nalia looked back towards the two men then nodded. " I cannot tell you who I am because even I don't know the answer to that. And I agree with you we should speak with those two men" She shuddered "what ever the non-human presence is it's getting closer" she started back "come on lets see who these men are" she glanced back at him "Oh by the way, nice to meet you"

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Madge

We were moving, but not so quickly as we needed to. Thallon appeared to have been drugged, staggering more than walking, and while Sage appeared distracted by some other method. Distant, her eyes not quite focused or there.
"Now what?" I asked, turning to face them as we neared the end of the cooridor.
"Unless they changed the make-up of the prison," Thallon began, then paused, wrinkling his brow in thought, the drugs still playing with his head some it appeared. "Then once we get out of the high-security wing, we need to move in a straight line. We need to get to either the top floor, or the bottom. The top will be the launch pad for air vehicles, the bottom a departure port for ground vehicles."
I nodded, turning to face the odd shape-shifting creature. It seemed like, as far as the humans here were concerned, I needed to take control. This creature was someone Thallon and Sage seemed to know, but I would keep my eyes on him, just in case that judgment was inaccurate. At any rate, I had to trust him...it.
"We need weapons," I noted, looking around, making sure no guards had come to greet us. "Where can we find them?"
"Not here, save for whatever the guard was carrying," Thallon returned. "A bat, I believe. No other weapons would be near the high-security wing, not with the risk of the inmates getting hold of them."
I nodded, then quickly gathered up the bat.
"We'll have to move fast, get out of here before they get too much time to prepare to stop us. I think the odds are greatly against us," I said.
THey seemed in agreeance, so I closed the length of the corridor and peered into the next one.
"It's clear, let's move..."

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Lunden/Andidria

We moved closer as the two spoke ahead of us. I wondered who they were, but more than that, I wondered where this extra prescence was, the one that wasn't human.
As we moved closer, one turned to us, waving a hand above its head.
"Well," Coulter began, "Looks like they want our attention."
"Wave back," I instructed. "But we're not advancing any further until I tell home base what's going on."
It sounded good to him, I could tell. Protect home base, let them know that these people/creatures were out here. Mostly, I wanted back up. I was trained for this, but it was dangerous. Why risk my own life when others could be out here?
I reached down to my belt and switched on the communications link.
"Home base, this is Scout team three, copy?"
SIlence, then I repeated myself and got a response."Scout team three, this is home base."
"We have three life forms in the East quadrant, roughly three miles out. Copy?"
A second, then, "Three life forms, three miles out?"
"Yes," I replied. "Two humanoid in appearance, the other unseen and unknown. Signs suggest a nonhumanoid creature. Are there any of our own out this way home base?"
A minute of silence this time. "Negative, scout team three. No expected visitors either."
of course not, I thought. There were never any expected visitors. No one even knew the place existed so far as we knew, which was how we wanted it. Only trusted personel entered or left the bases here.
"Suggested course of action?" I asked.
"Approach with caution," the voice returned. "Back-up is on its way."
"Copy," I replied, irritated.
Approach with caution. Approach was not the word I was looking for.
"Alright, COulter," I said. "They'll react better to a man should things get aggressive," I said. Thinking of Satra and her unbelievable presence, I knew that was bullshit, but having someone in front to absorb the worst of the action was my best option here, and Coulter's male ego would take those words strongly to heart, I knew. "I'll back you up."
He nodded, and we moved closer, him in the lead.

 

[chewbacca71]

Weasel

Using the scrubbing machine for the fourth time this week, Weasel cleaned up the vomit and blood off the floor. It was amazing the amount of bodily fluids that exited a body right before their life left the body. The prison had plenty of machines that were capable of cleaning this up, but the sadistic guards seemed to love to see Weasel suffer.

Weasel moved quickly to avoid the kick of a bored guard. In the past, he had moved slower and ended up face first in a pile of such putridescense that it defied description. His face betrayed none of his emotions as he used his normal screen to keep the guards at arms length. "Omma , gumma keep scrubby flowr wiff this theeng. Maybeee ness teem safe teem an uzz mee tongee. " His brainless pratter had oftimes kept the guards off balance, they did not know how to take him.

He heard one of the guards talking through his communicator and was able to make out parts of the conversation. A jailbreak, sounds like fun. Maybe this is my chance to leave these guards far behind. Weasel turned back scrubbing the floors, his long attenuated fingers making some adjustments to the machine that may be of use in the future. He smiled a sly expression onto his face as he imagined the guards suprise. This earned him a quick cuff in the back of the head by one of the guards. "Stick to your work you little useless weasel, before we cut you up and have to clean up all of your blood. "

Weasel sighed and went back to work, the tones of stupidity coming easy to his overworked brain. It seems that he may be stuck here forever surrounded on all sides by steel and the depressing sadism of the guards. Then as fate would have it, Weasel heard the sounds of rapid footsteps coming around the corner. He stood close to the wall in anticipation, his machine at the ready.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Madge

There should have been more guards. I noticed that right away. It was almost as if they'd been purposefully called away.
I shrugged it off. You never really knew what was going on, not in prisons like these, not with men like Zed running the show. Other breaks could have been in progress.
Still, it seemed odd that more guards hadn't been brought in. Especially considering how important Thallon's odd friend seemed to be to Zed.
I'd come to hate Zed, whom I'd only heard of in good light until our meeting a few months back. It seems this Satra had far more to do with his reputation than he himself did. I wonder what happened to her, and the others.
Just then, as we moved down the hall, two guards stepped out in front of us, neither seeming to realize what they were moving into. I quickly struck the first down, hitting upside the head with the small baton I'd taken from the fallen guard in our wing of the prison, then quickly moved in on the other guard, kicking him in the groin and sending him doubling over before striking him on he back of the head with the baton. He hit the floor right next to the other.
Poorly trained, I thought, grabbing up thier weapons. Two semi-automatic rifles, two side arms, and a baton apiece.
I distributed them to the two humans, assuming the shapeshifter would speak up should he (IT) need a weapon as well.
Thallon took one of the semis and a baton, handing Sage one of the side arms and a baton. I kept the other items, being the most aware just then.
As I moved ahead, I wondered just how many guards there were that so few were coming after us.

 

[Lady_Siren]

Nalia watched the two who were followering her get closer. She kept her hands visible and walked slowly and deliberatly. She didn't want to give these guys any reason to think that she was hostile. Calling out she waved at them "Hey!"

 

[chewbacca71]

Weasel

Weasel must not have been the only ones that heard the footsteps. The two guards that were near him moved closer to the wall. They heard some noises and the sounds of bodies hitting the floor coming from around the corner. The guards readied their weapons in anticipation. Weasel quickly snuck up behind them and picked up the floor cleaner.

He had modified that ultrasonic cleaning array to short line into a concentrated beam of far greater power. Putting this beam near the ears of the two guards caused there brains to boil out of their ears. The two guards passed into the next life without any idea of who had hastened the journey. The silence was defining as the two bodies gracelessly fell to the floor. Weasel started to gather their weaponry when the persons making the footfalls came around the corner.

 

[Moneytalks]

Satra...

"Sir, we have a report from scout team three. Two humanoids and one possible non-human, all unidentified."

Satra looked up from her reports. She didn't frown but the news had her attention.

"Any expected visitors?"

"Negative Sir. We've sent back-up Sir, there are no other scouts in that vicinity."

"What sector are they patrolling?"

"Intersect Alpha Nine, Beta Six Sir."

Satra's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Which back-up team did you send?"

"The only available team was team nine Sir."

"Send team eleven."

"Sir, they're," the look was all he needed to stop him finishing his sentence, "yes Sir! Team eleven, you are required as back-up at co-ordinates A9-B6. Desist current deployment and report there immediately."

"This is team eleven, confirmation, you want us to stop current deployment and report to A9-B6?"

"That is correct eleven, immediately, orders from the top here."

"Roger that base, ETA 10 minutes."

"Sir, 10 minutes to intercept."

"Good, re-route nine to sector 12, they'll need to step in for eleven for now."

"Very good Sir."

Satra turned on her heel and headed towards Walter's quarters. Looked like things were getting busy outside. They needed to talk about this.

 

[bobo_daclown]

Denoitnem:

"You Yumans are so reliant on your weapons. We must now make a run for the roof of this building. I came in through the ground floor, but that place is crawling with guards and security check-points. The roof is your only hope." Shaking his head as though throwing cobwebs out of his mind, Denoitnem looks at the others. "Well, will you rely on my judgement?"

 

[Moneytalks]

Zed...

"Sir, garrison is in position!"

"Good, tell them to hold, the escapees are heading their way."

Zed switched on his personal monitor and ran several scans of the area himself. That horse had changed before his very eyes into a dead ringer for Thallon only dressed in a strange kind of old-world outfit. Whatever it was, it held talents that Zed found intriguing.

Finally he found a scan that picked up the creature's bio-signal. He smiled in delight.

"Patch me through directly to Garrison One."

"Sir, yes Sir!"

"Garrison One on line Sir."

"This is Zed G-1, arm your weapons to N-A-C. That should be able to hold the alien. It won't be enough to hold the Humanoids or the Andromedian but it will make their transit harder."

Zed snickered.

"Aye Sir, nuclear array capture confirmed."

"Good hunting G-1."

Zed nodded to his number one to close the direct patch. He sat back to watch the show.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Thallon

The drugs were wearing off a little at a time, but I still guessed it would be a while before I would be back to my old self. And that meant that I was fairly dependant on those around me.
Madge and Denoitnem were the most aware of us, and I held good faith in them both.
I glanced to Madge, who waited, listening, then looked to the shape-shifter, saw myself looking back, and replied. "The roof it is. But let's find another way up. The guards should be filling these halls soon enough."
As we talked, speaking quietly, Madge turned the corner and stopped dead, eyeing the strange man with the cleaning equipment, but not raising her weapon all the way just yet. I glanced him over, not seeing any sign that he would be our enemy.
"All we ask is passage, and that you give us time before telling anyone you saw us," Madge said, hoping to negotiate with the man.I waited to hear his reply.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Dexter

I walked closer to the two who approached, the girl beside me, her looking like a living shadow of myself.
"We mean no harm," I added, as they came closer.
I could make out the two pretty clearly by then, and the one in the back seemed to be female, while the one in the front looked taller and more heavily built. My guess was a male and female, both human, but one could never really tell out here. THe body suits were fairly effective at hiding figures, and now and again, the sun played tricks on your mind, as it had mine in the few long days since leaving The Tank.
"Keep your arms where they are," a male voice ordered, and I was confirmed with my first estimate.
"Any sudden moves, we'll be forced to fire," the female behind him added, confirming my second.
I stopped, letting the size me up as they came within a few feet of us.
"They look hamrless," the male said, lowering his weapon slightly.
"I need names, and intentions," the female said.
"My name is Dexter," I said. "The rest I cannot tell you."
I debated for a moment, wondering what the risks were of asking, then decided that, without asking, I would never find who I was looking for.
"I am in search of a group calling themselves, The New Republic."

 

[chewbacca71]

Weasel

Weasel looked up cautiously as the three figures turned the corner. Two of them had on prison outfits while the other just seemed strange. He thought to himself that this may be his ticket out of here. Zed only kept his most important prisoners in this section or so the guard had bragged to him. Weasel decided to throw his lot in with these escaping prisons.

"Don't worry, I will not try to stop you. I am looking to escape this place myself. My name is Weasel. I have a way to get out of here, if you dont mind a little danger. Ok, so let me rephrase that, if you dont mind possiblly getting killed. I have some information too that you may find interesting. So are you with me? "

 

[Lady_Siren]

Nalia raised her hands high "I really mean you no harm. My name is Nalia. All I wish is to find somewhere where I can relax and think things through. What planet am I on?"

 

[bobo_daclown]

Denoitnem:

"Weasel, is it?" Denoitnem scans the other refugee. "I fear no passage out of here; but, my friends are quite drugged and I refuse to risk their lives on a hunch. Tell me your plan and we'll see."

 

[chewbacca71]

Weasel

I heard through the prison grapevine that there is a group of people out at the Caves of Carnush, that are against Zed. They are trying to create there own city. They are dug in so deep, Zed and his men have not been able to find them. I think this would be a good place to take your drugged friends. I know the passcodes to get on one of the prison shuttles. We can take the shuttle and get to the Caves. If these prisoners are as important as the guards made them seem, then the rebellers will be happy to have them.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Madge

The Caves of Carnush? Could that have been where...?
I looked to the shape-shifter, still weary of him. We needed a plan, and this strange man had one. It wasn't perfect, and it relied all too heavily on his own shoulders, putting our lives in his hands, but it was a plan, the only one I'd heard so far.
"I think we should at least try it," I suggested, but waited for other responses.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Lunden/Andidria

The New Republic?
I eyed the man who'd called us by our technical name. I wondered if I should know him, and wondered more how he'd found us at all.
I flipped on a link back to the base.
"We've isolated the two humans," I stated. "Both appear harmless. One requests information on which planet she is on..." I trailed off, thinking that it was too far-fetched a question for her confusion to be fake. "The other claims he is in search of a group called the New Republic. Copy?"
"Copy."
"Female's name is Nalia, but she seems devoid of other information. Male's name is Dexter, claims he cannot tell us any more than that. Third lifeform still unidentified. Copy?"
"Copy," the voice returned. "Relaying information. Situation stable?"
"Situation stable." I returned.
"Give us a moment to tell the higher ups..."
"We don't intend to injure you," Coulter told them. I wished he would be quiet. he had a habit of forgetting that I held command status in certain situations.
"Then what do you intend?" Dexter asked."If you don't do anything stupid, we won't either. Where's your friend?"
Dexter looked at Coulter, puzzled.
He looked to me. I shook my head, waiting for headquarters to get back to me. It didn't often tak eSatra long to make decisions. Hopefully this third party wouldn't be a problem too soon.