Ain't that a Kick in the Head?

[MikeRyan]

"Heh, you two would have proboably killed eachother pretty fast, faster than a Yao Guai on a fish I'm sure. Tell me friend, how was it back home? I never really visited Shady Sands. Is it a nice town?"

 

Morgan tried to avoid big towns as much as he could during his escape, in case any bounty hunters where there so he had missed a lot of places during his travels.

[DemonLady]

"I... Versing, you're an idiot. I meant dangerous as in INANIMATELY dangerous. Like part of the room's gonna fall flat on-top of you. Why do you think we have our guns? I'm EXPECTING hostiles in there."

 

Cathy leaned up against a wall, setting her gun down upright by her leg.

 

"And what in the blue Hell is a fish? Some kinda Mirelurk?"

[Flipout6]

"I was under the impression we had our guns because it is common sense not to go ANYWHERE unarmed. Ever. Even on a trip to the Tops I have a concealed pistol up my sleeve and a razor in my boot. That ring-a-ding any bells? Oh, dear God, don't ever let me say that again." Versing shuddered. "Nah, I knew what you meant." He said honestly. "...But depending on the nature of the danger I might still shoot it. If it's a land mine, for example." Then Cathy mentioned her lack of knowledge surrounding fish and Versing cracked up. "HA! HA HA! I'm the idiot? A fish is this scaly thing that lives underwater. Can't breathe regular air, it's like us staying underwater too long, eventually it'll start to suffocate. It has these wing-like body parts called fins." Versing was struggling to come up with a simple explanation. "Really now. They're not much like mirelurk's 'cause as far as I've seen they don't murder you on sight. You can eat 'em too, I'll shoot one sometime and cook it so you can try some." His smile stuck to his face.

 

He turned to Morgan. "Hell, I'm surprised that YOU out of all people don't want to kill him, given your past with his fellows. Anyway, last time I was in Shady Sands-which was, what, five years ago? holy crap, I'm old- It was freaking massive, encompassing miles and miles of land, it's getting close to being the size of all the downtown DC ruins here. And I'm not just talking about the little bit you can find around the capital building up to the Potomac, I'm talking ALL of the ruins, stretching for miles past Rivet City. I'm quite frankly amazed that we can feed all those people, the water we drink in a year would drop the Potomac's water level at least a meter. At the center you have all the political centers, with a statue of the Vault Dweller, the guy who originally got Shady Sands off the ground over a hundred years ago. Hundreds of merchants on the outskirts of the city. Used to be a slave den, too, until a pair of tribals wiped them all out and freed the slaves. That would be the Vault Dweller and Sulik, they were instrumental in the Enclave's defeat on the West Coast.

 

"Sorry, I'm getting off topic. It's hot as hell in there, as hot as the Mojave except with all the heat condensed from the buildings and people. You got fountains everywhere, merchants and restaurants on every corner, and a hell of a lot of housing. You also have NCR High Command somewhere near the DD`s-Deception Dens, what the troopers call the Government buildings and courts- Which is where all the Brass hangs out if they`re too valuable to be sent over to the Mojave. I personally find this to be a hell of a strategic flaw, considering the Mojave Outpost is only a hundred miles or so east of our capital city, and if the Legion punched through they'd have a clear shot at the Capital with only the ruins of Vault 15 and Junktown to get in their way. Anyway, the richer folks tend to live closer to all the important places while the poorer folks live on the outskirts, but it's such a jumbled mess that you'll find exceptions everywhere. I mean, sure poor folks live on the outskirts, but that's also where most travelers hang out and the farms are set, but the city is constantly building new houses and expanding. Every day you'll find the streets jammed with residents and tourists, Sundays especially, since a good chunk of the NCR population is religious. Oh, we have a lot of churches, too. Police quarters is a mile or two north of the Governmental buildings. Don't PO those guys, they got Riot shotguns and the odd lucky SOB has a Gauss rifle. Not the models you find around here, either, superior models left behind by the Enclave and then put into production by the NCR." Versing took a sip of water, his mouth was dry from all that talking.

 

"Problem with the locals, as it has been since before the days of that tribal- The Chosen One- and his friend, Sulik, I think it was? Anyway, the people there are friendly enough to NCR folks, but if you're a foreigner they get all in your face about how 'superior' the NCR is to the rest of pretty much everything. Load of bull. But they're self-righteous flag-thumpers that constantly go on about how great the NCR is, almost to the extent of Vault City's inhabitants about their own settlement. Keep that in mind. Even you, Morgan, they'd probably consider some 'tribal scum' or 'Legion worm' just 'cause you used to be a slave. Not all of them, but a lot of them, especially the old-timers who've been around since Tandi's time. I'm a bit of an exception from them. Bitter Springs has done that to everyone who was there. Me, Boone, Major Dhatri, First Recon, everybody."

 

"Sorry to fry your brains with all that talking, but does that help you out any? Hell, maybe I could take you there sometime."

Edited January 15, 2013 by Flipout6

[MikeRyan]

"Actually cathy, a fish is smaller than a mirelurk, much smaller. They are more common outside of D.C. I've discovered. We used to eat a lot of fish back home, caught from the rivers. Some areas where hit less by the radiation than others you know? Some are quite tasty and some just tasted likes garbage. But if you had luck you found a big one that fed you for days.

 

Sometimes, I miss home."

 

Morgan looked into the distance for a while before turning to Vers "And that sounds tempting my friend, maybe I will join you there."

[tokyobiohazard]

Ferox raised his eyebrows at Jackson and wiggled his fingers inside his zap glove. "Well, I left my pumps back at the barracks, so looks like I'll have to give up on that life, huh?"

 

Axelle, too, had never heard of a fish before, and tried to put together a mental image with what Vers had described. The end result was a bit scarier than she figured a fish must have been, and she shuddered. Upon hearing about Shady Sands, she felt a little angry that there could be a civilization like this anywhere in the country. "I've heard some pretty far-fetched rumors about cities before. Oasis, Commonwealth. But that one sounds like something out of a book, not reality. I wouldn't believe it if I heard it from anyone else. Morgan?"

 

She poked his shoulder. "Morgan? You're from the west. What's it like where you came from? Did you have all those things or is it just Versing's too-good-to-be-true city that's like that?"

[DemonLady]

"Excuse me for not knowing what a frickin' fish is. I don't exactly go fishing all the time. Jerk... And the Potomac's drained, honey. We only ever get enough rain here at this time of the year to give it tiny puddles. We'd need one of those good, month-long hellions of a rain storm to refill the river... And hopefully not flood the rest of the wasteland. Y'ever seen this place during a downpour? Where we're standing right now becomes quick sand. don't even get me started on what New York's like. It got hit REALLY hard during the war, there're either gigantic holes that fill with water and create lakes, or there're dirt-covered pit-falls that become LIKE water. If you step on one, you're dead. You'd be safer hunting a Legendary Deathclaw than you would walking through Times Square during a downpour. And Axelle, I'll assume you know Oasis is real? I've been there. The commonwealth... The Brotherhood sent me, two initiates and my then-girlfriend/CO to the commonwealth to see if we could gain some knowledge on their secrets. All we ended up doing was blowing up half the Commonwealth Police HQ's building... Pretty F-In' cool light show though, I'll tell ya."

 

Cathy took a deep breathe, figuring she may've killed everyone with boredom there.

 

"And we'll see what happens in five years. Maybe we'll all go to the NCR's capital. Though I have one person vendetta on the West Coast..."

 

She looked up from the ground with a noticeable glare, fire and hate in her eyes.

 

"I'm gonna personally stick a shotgun up Ceasar's ass and pull the trigger."

 

Cathy went back to looking down, then snickered.

 

"Oh, and gamble 'til I'm either rich or homeless."

[MikeRyan]

Morgan let out a puff of smoke from his cigar and looked at Axelle.

 

"Naw, that's mostly in his direction. I come from more...humble origins. Native if you so wish. If you hadn't guessed already my survival knowledge isn't just from traveling, but my dad taught me all he knew before, well you know."

 

He took another drag from his cigar and then kept speaking;"Sometimes I could be an walking encyclopedia, but I tend to let others answer since I'm trying to forget that horrible part of my life."

 

"But yeah there sure are big cities like that. But I tried to avoid them mostly, bounty hunters tend to find the bigger places more interesting than the small towns."

[Flipout6]

"Heh, you know some people over there have the gall to complain about what they've got? I mean children, including my six-year-old self, may have, but there are some fully-grown adults who complain that they want more. I mean sure, you ask me the rich are too rich and the poor to poor, but hey, nothing's perfect. I don't know if they've even been to the Mojave, let alone the Capital Wasteland or the Pitt." Versing shook his head. "Arrogant, spoiled children with an adult's body. Sometimes I can't believe the NCR, to be honest." He huffed. "Anyway, can I shoot something yet?"

 

 

Jackson laughed. "Ha! Good one. Wait, think I heard something..." He decided against using his bat, and drew the .32 pistol that usually laid dormant in its holster. He checked the number of rounds in it, and then clicked the chamber back into place and crept silently along the wall. Tracing the source of the sound, he discovered it sounded like a robot. He lifted the pistol and looked around the corner. It was just a Protectron. Jackson aimed carefully, and then fired the pistol three times into the glass casing on its head, shattering the glass and all the wiring inside. The protectron dropped to the ground. "Just a protectron." He said. "At least, that's what I think." He replaced the round in the pistol's chamber.

 

Versing shuffled at the gunfire, hoping that Jackson was okay (far as he was concerned, Ferox was cannon fodder.) But he supposed there'd be screaming if they weren't, and if they yelled they'd attract the attention of everything in the building.

[DemonLady]

[[i'm getting this biatch goin' again, you lazy mothertruckers. >:O]

 

"Ooh, gunshots! Suspencefuuuuuul. They've got 5 minutes, then me and Axelle go in and they lug their stuff back to the Tower."

 

Cathy idly spun her Colt around on her index finger, buying time while waiting for Jackson and Ferox to hurry up in there, not one for standing around TOO long; Plus her Med-X is going to go to Hell in a couple hours.

[Flipout6]

Jackson continued his search of the building, encountering little other resistance in the few rooms he searched but eventually gathering enough lumber and supplies to carry outside. He managed to stumble his way outside and only bumped into Ferox two or three times. As he got outside, he put the lumber down for a moment and looked at everyone else.

 

 

"Got my bit, now we just gotta wait for the skirt-wearer to grab his.

 

 

Versing laughed a little bit, but otherwise stayed silent. He suddenly felt utterly peaceful, although he supposed it was just because he was surrounded by his dearest friends and they didn't have the danger of enslavement bearing down on them. He rested his head against the wall, cherishing every moment that he DIDN'T have to fear for his life.

Edited February 18, 2013 by Flipout6