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Post by Taaru Masako on Mar 24, 2011 10:26:22 GMT -5
<<As long as you don't step on both rails at once, you'll be fine, yeah? Just wanted to check as a basic precaution.>>
They make their way deeper into the tunnel, the sparse lighting of the station giving way to utter darkness.
<<Switch to nightvision,>> he mutters, queuing the command with the flick of an eye on his HUD. The tunnel is suddenly awash in green light.
They continue for about 15 minutes, checking corners and pausing every so often at a suspicious sound.
<<Hey, take point for a sec.>>
He bangs his thigh with a clenched fist, and the storage compartment there snaps open. From it, he pulls what appears to be a very large ring of some sort....too big to fit on any of his fingers, let along hers. It is attached to a piece of hemp string.
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Post by Jet Almeara on Mar 24, 2011 10:52:38 GMT -5
"Thats hardly comforting" Jet muttered mostly to herself as they continued along the trail, switching to nightvision as he did and creeping along in silence, both freezing to investigate every sound that reached them - most of which turned out to be the scurrying paws of numerous pests that had moved in since things went downhill.
"Alright" she told him with a slightly puzzled voice, glancing at the object he pulled out curiously for a few seconds before taking over the lead duties, though she keeps an eye on him as well simply for curiositys sake.
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Post by Taaru Masako on Mar 24, 2011 10:56:19 GMT -5
He holsters his rifle on his dorsal mag plate, freeing his hands to untangle the twine. That finished, he grabs the not on one end and starts swinging the ring around in a circle at his side.
Nothing happens at first, but as it gets up to speed, a haunting wine emanates from the contraption, bouncing off the tunnel walls and echoing down the shaft. He keeps this up for what sound like irregular periods of high and low pitched notes, determined by rotational speed. Finally he stops, and listens.
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Post by Jet Almeara on Mar 24, 2011 11:10:23 GMT -5
Listening to the whine he was creating Jet wasn't sure if it was pleasant...or not, in any case she was jut a touch worried that it would draw unwanted attention - of course so far they hadn't come across anything even remotely suspicious in the tunnel and surely he wouldn't go out of the way to call some down on them. she she decided to trust him and paused when he did to listen. "And...what exactly are we listening for?"
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Post by Taaru Masako on Mar 24, 2011 11:15:28 GMT -5
He stows the object in the thigh compartment again.
<<A response...>>
But none follows...
<<Hmm....no dice.....I take it you or your family are from the highlands then, huh?>>
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Post by Jet Almeara on Mar 24, 2011 11:23:32 GMT -5
And even as he asked the question Jet found that she knew the answer - it was funny how that worked out, funny and a bit unsettled for someone who always liked to know the details before hand.
"A town along the Spree" She told him, the Spree being a large river jet found out - what he wouldn't give for a nice river right about now, Jet liked rivers - water of any sort really, but rivers were especially soothing. Not that one would do her any good at the moment - without her abilities a river wouldn't garner her the advantage they normally did.
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Post by Taaru Masako on Mar 24, 2011 11:34:39 GMT -5
<<It's called a crower,>> he says, patting his thigh. <<Shepherds use it in the highlands to stay in touch. The sound can carry for miles, and the different pitches allow a sort of code. We used em a lot as kids. Luckily, the drones don't recognize the sound as anything out of the ordinary.>>
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Post by Jet Almeara on Mar 24, 2011 11:53:36 GMT -5
Well..that made sense she supposed, in an old fashioned and completely mundane sort of way. Having grown up in first the Jedi Temple for all of her childhood and then the ruckus environment of the CCC for her teen years Jet had never be a part of anything so..mundane as the experience Taaru described. It left her feeling somewhat lacking from a certain point of view.
Of course the rookie recalled an entirely different childhood and merely nodded. "Well...there might still be someone out there" She offered , though it seemed a weak string of hope even to her.
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Post by Taaru Masako on Mar 25, 2011 16:38:51 GMT -5
They keep moving, eventually passing by another underground station, this one in even worse shape than the last. With power out through vast sections of the city, the river running through it has started reclaiming parts of the subway system, with no pumps to stop it. Despite the knee high water in places, they don't stay long.
By way of conversation, and in some desperate attempt to make the best of a crummy situation and exercise conversation skills he had not had the luxury of using for some time: <<So the Spree, huh? Did you live there, or just your folks? Never been to the Spreewald before....all I really know is that its famous for its pickles or something...>>
One of the difficulties of being a Thruvaran was that you could never really tell how old another Thruvaran was just by looking at them. The long lives granted by the eugenics programs of the Pendulum wars existed on a spectrum: The unaltered averaged the typical lifespan for homo sapiens sapiens, while some of the more recent bloodlines introduced during Thruvar's long war of independence could push two and a half centuries.
What this meant, practically speaking, was that Taaru didn't know how old the Rookie was, or if she had been alive when Thruvar was still a civilization. The fact that the eugenics program and Thruvar's destruction were incredibly touchy subjects to any Thruvaran meant that asking for someone's age in Thruvaran culture was to be approached very delicately, or not at all.
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Post by Jet Almeara on Mar 25, 2011 17:16:16 GMT -5
Okay seriously Taaru? Jet thought to herself even as the Rookies memories lent her sufficient information to answer with. I'm in here mucking about in your mind and of all the memories you decided to share with me - you chose to have me slog through flooded tunnels - which would have been allot more fun if I had my powers by the by - and talk about a forest famous for...pickles? Inwardly she sighed a little bit though the complaints were really only half hearted, she was quite sure that something would happen to make this memory relevant to her search.
And until she found out what that was well..she supposed she'd have to talk about pickles. Though the rookie didn't seem to mind - she was of the opinion that the only thing worse then slogging through water filled tunnels was slogging through water filled tunnels in silence. "I lived there too" She informed him "Was an old family home...and yes, the pickles - though honestly I never liked them much" She admitted "At least at the time"
Funny how things you didn't even think you liked would be the things you wound up somewhat missing when you didn't have them anymore - oh well. It was a sentiment Jet could understand and relate to fully.
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Post by Taaru Masako on Mar 25, 2011 18:02:29 GMT -5
So she had lived there, which meant she was one of the altered bloodlines, and at least in her mid-40s to have remembered any of it, if not older.
<<Yeah, I know how that is. We were supposedly known for our wheat beers, but I never liked the taste of them, 'cept in hot summers.>>
Keeping a conversation going was harder than he remembered. He looked up ahead through the green-tinted darkness to give him a pretense of something to do, and noticed the outline of what appeared to be a dead train car.
<<Stalled train up ahead, I think. So uh,.....you ever make it out to the highland states?>> he says, nodding his head in the direction of the train.
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Post by Jet Almeara on Mar 25, 2011 18:27:47 GMT -5
"Looks like it" she agreed squinting ahead herself for a few moments to observe the outline. Stalled train on a dead railways track was hardly something to be suspicious about Jet reminded herself, but Jet didn't like it without her force abilities she was all to aware that someone or something could easily be lurking about in said car - she had to remind herself that Taaru still had his and surely he'd notice if that were the case.
Not that she could really do anything if he didn't so she turned her attention back to the conversation. "Not really, honestly I didn't travel far from home in those days, all of my siblings had gone off to join this or that and so I stayed home - someone had to learn how to run thing there" or so it had seemed at the time at least, the whole effort was pretty much pointless given what had happened but that was an old wound now and while still...painful...she didn't really feel the need to go into a rage filled tangent anymore either. "How about you? Did you travel much?"
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Post by Taaru Masako on Mar 25, 2011 18:42:28 GMT -5
<<Yeah, with my dad. He went on a lot of trips for his work and would take me with him when he could. I was gonna inherit the family business, after all. That, and family vacations now and then.>>
The silhouette of the train grows larger, and flickers of light become apparent inside.
<<Must still be drawing some current from its batteries....,>> he remarks more too himself.
<<So how'd you get into soldiering?>>
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Post by Jet Almeara on Mar 25, 2011 18:56:44 GMT -5
Okay..the train was really starting to worry her, the notice of lights inside were makings Jet's instincts all but sit up and scream - even without the force...but what could she do really?Nothing but keep walking forward with Taaru and hope for the best? It seemed so. Though the rookie was curious of nothing else which Jet supposed was a start "maybe we should check it out?" she questioned before going on with the conversation "well I can promise you it wasn't my first choice, but after...well you know...I didn't really have much of anything left but I did have a whole lot of anger to burn off - it made sense when I made the decision"
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Post by Taaru Masako on Apr 16, 2011 23:06:31 GMT -5
<<We'll have to...not a lot of room to move along the side...>>
He gathers his rifle in the alert carry position and checks the charge on the powerpack, which is synched to his HUD.
The rookie's answer warrants a morbid chuckle.
<<Guess I can't say any different. A lot of things make sense in the heat of the moment. Its only with experience that you realize the truth of the matter...>>
He breaks into a light jog.
<<Stack up on the left side of the door. You breach, I'll clear.>>
A metallic ding rings through the tunnels as his shoulder pauldron hits the rear of the train.
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