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Post by Taaru Masako on Feb 1, 2011 12:23:28 GMT -5
He accepts the powerpack and cycles the spent one out of his rifle, unspent tibanna gas hissing from the seal. He rams the new one home, and with some satisfaction, checks the power meter to see it as FULL.
<<You've basically answered your own question, Frischling. You want experience, then you have to experience. But you're definitely better off with me than your squad. It so happens I'm headed to the telecomm tower, too.>>
He gestures for her to follow: A downed drone wasn't a high priority for investigation, but he didn't want to chance it. He'd only pieced together what he new about how the drone net functioned from observation alone...
<<I'll take point. Watch the sides and rear.>> he says, moving deeper into the market, towards one of the alleys snaking between buildings.>>
<<I take it HIGHCOM didn't tell you what you were supposed to DO once you got to the telecomm tower?>>
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Post by Jet Almeara on Feb 1, 2011 12:38:54 GMT -5
Well it was nice to not be killed and stripped for supplies Jet thought with some bemusement as he readies his weapon - she hadn't really thought he would..not really really...Or so she told herself.
She was more then willing to let him take point as well - he knew the area far better then she did and would be less likely to wander them into a trap on accident. She took this as fact because otherwise he wouldn't still be here to begin with. following him towards the alley she does as she's supposed to and keeps an alert eye to the sides and rear as they went.
His las question however brings forth an uneasy realization, while she didn't know exactly what she was supposed to do at the tower..other then to get her superior there so that he could follow through on the mission...she had a vague feeling that whatever it was that superior was supposed to do wouldn't be...good..for anyone left behind.
Of course..that superior was likely dead and that problem moot..but it was still a distasteful feeling to her and she wasn't entirely sure she should share it with Taaru. "Of course not, I'm not high enough on the ladder for that sort of information I was just supposed to make sure my superior got there...which seems somewhat moot given everything you've told me" true enough..but not the entire truth and knowing so left a sour taste in her mouth.
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Post by Taaru Masako on Feb 1, 2011 12:43:37 GMT -5
He leads them into the aforementioned alley, sweeping it with his optics before advancing down it.
<<So you're not with a Heereseinheit? Why's that? Any other Thruvarans in your group?>>
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Post by Jet Almeara on Feb 2, 2011 11:48:38 GMT -5
A few moments of silence met the end of his questions before Jet was able to sort through the flurry of answers that came to her regarding this subject, the answer she got however wasn't really one she was looking forward to saying and while she didn't really have much of a choice in the matter - he was only here playing a character after all - that didn't mean she had to like it. Not for this warriors sake, the fact that she had managed to disgrace herself in the past was of no concern to Jet..but she worried that it would make Taaru harder to deal with and this memory about as jolly and fun as the last few had been. Oh goody!
"Not anymore, they won't have me...so no" She told him in a rather defensively toned voice.
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Post by Taaru Masako on Feb 2, 2011 11:58:55 GMT -5
He doesn't give any indication that her answer was unsatisfactory as he stacks on the far corner and sweeps the connecting street beyond the alley, making sure to check reflections in building windows for any drones around street corners.
She can only hear his breath over the crackle of the comm for a few seconds, before he answers with a non-committal: <<Uh huh.>>
Satisfied with his sweep, he looks at her over his shoulder.
<<Looks like you made the right choice, then. You've not been stuck on this shabla ditch of a world for 4 months.>>
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Post by Jet Almeara on Feb 2, 2011 12:35:37 GMT -5
"I guess so...though I wound up here in the long run regardless it seems" She replied as she scanned the area behind them for anything that might have decided to wander in their direction "What about you? Been wandering out here alone or are there others?"
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Post by Taaru Masako on Feb 2, 2011 12:46:25 GMT -5
That's not a question he wants to answer, because he'd have to think about it. So he doesn't.
<<I don't know>> he says plainly, but with the inflection of someone who clearly hoped this line of questioning wouldn't continue, now or ever. He was stunned by her naivete, and would've yelled an unending stream of invective at her for being so blind to the conditions on the ground, and what he and the others trapped in this city (if there were any left) had been through. But he was too exhausted, so he stuck to the immediate objective of getting out of the open.
<<See that metro station entrance across the street? I'm gonna go check it out. If its open, it'll be much easier to get to the telecomm tower underground than above. Stay here and cover me.>>
He checks around the corner one last time, then jogs across to the stairs leading to the metro station, rifle at the ready should there be surprises.
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Post by Jet Almeara on Feb 4, 2011 13:24:45 GMT -5
It was pretty easy to pick up on his dislike of the question she had asked - sure it might be a hard one to answer and his non-answer was an answer of sorts anyways, if there were any other survivors then there wasn't many of them and that was information she wanted to have regardless of his feelings about it. that said she was willing to let the matter go before she upset him anymore...not that she had a choice because he was trotting off across the street anyways.
Offering cover at least was a familiar and well known activity...something that even her lack of the force in this memory world wouldn't bother her, though given the choice she would shed the Armour - with its suffocating helmet and cumbersome if well designed body - and retake the force again in an instant. Not that it really seemed to be an option at the moment and so she settled for what she had, watching the area for any hidden threat and awaiting Taaru's signal to follow - if he didn't run off and leave her here.
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Post by Taaru Masako on Feb 4, 2011 14:29:41 GMT -5
A click over her comm, just as a distant peal of thunder rumbles through the city. Looking towards the west, she sees a storm front moving in, black smoke from the burning city mingling with the clouds, its edges already beginning to obscure the ships in orbit.
<<Looks clear. Trying to force the lock now....>>
A metallic crunch.
<<Got it. Come on over.>>
A rifle and golden visor pop up over the edge of the stair's railing, providing cover.
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Post by Jet Almeara on Feb 4, 2011 15:06:49 GMT -5
well it looked like he had found shelter just in time she thought to herself as the storm approached - and he hadn't abandoned her which considering the wretched landscape she found herself in was a nice plus. Though she had yet to figure out what this had to do with why she was here..and she hadn't seen any sign of the nightmare creature either.
She supposed it was wasn't worth worrying about for the moment - she didn't have any control where his mind led her and she assumed that the purpose of this memory would show itself in time - for now she'd just continue to play her part. Taking one last cautionary look over the street she ducked her head and sprinted for the metro entrance he was covering her from.
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Post by Taaru Masako on Feb 4, 2011 18:16:58 GMT -5
When she arrives, he points her towards the entrance with a nod of the head. It's immediately apparent that he not only forced the lock, but the entire gate that had barred most anyone else from the underground transportation network. It lay mangled to one side, partially torn free from its guide rails.
He follows her in, taking point once more.
They walk through tiled tunnels, holo-advertisements flickering and casting eerie shadows. None of them have either of the two Thruvarans on record, so they default to the generic broadcast instead of the personalized algorithm most Serennoans would be used to.
They happen upon a small kiosk store. He signals for them to hold, then examines the lock on the gate drawn down over it. He grabs hold of the whole lock assemblage, and crushes it. An observant eye would notice that he isn't wearing a standard issue gauntlet with his armor.... while the unnamed Helljumper doesn't recognize it, Jet does: It's the ornate crushgaunt Taaru had used during their duel at the Mansion.
He removes bits of the broken housing, then fishes out the bolt from the wall, lifting the gate up and ushering her inside.
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Post by Jet Almeara on Feb 4, 2011 18:41:44 GMT -5
Jet found herself agreeing with the helljumper she was currently sharing time with as they marched along the empty tunnels..the tunnels were creepy. Jet wasn't a fan of crowded city transit systems or walkways at the best of times. Generally she avoided them like the plague...but when she did go to them she expected them to be crowded...not empty.
The echoing of their footsteps was vaguely creepy in the empty tunnel, the flickering ads just made it worse. When he motioned for them to stop she eyed the store for a few moments before her attention was drawn to the gauntlet he wore, she recognized it instantly - it was older then he had though it was then..or he had kept the outward appearance the same through later generations of building it. Either or..she found the familiar item somewhat comforting and was unsettlingly aware of the absence of her sabers. Since the helljumper doesn't recognize it she merely makes a benign comment "Nice Gauntlet"
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Post by Taaru Masako on Feb 4, 2011 19:31:29 GMT -5
<<Family heirloom,>> he responds to her unvoiced question. <<Wasn't as lucky as some expat families to inherit the aliit'la beskar'gam. But lucky enough to have this, I guess.>>
He looks at the gauntlet as he flexes it, then up at the interior of the kiosk: Priorities first.
He replaces his rifle on his dorsal mag-plate and starts wandering through the sparse few aisles, looking for any kind of food that hadn't yet spoiled. By the smell wafting in through the atmo-filters, he could tell that quite a bit of it had.
Luckily, most of the things in a little place like this had enough preservatives to last a while, and it wasn't long before he returned to the front of the store with a collection of instant meals and canned items.
"When's the last time you ate?" he asks, setting his findings on one of the pay counters.
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Post by Jet Almeara on Feb 4, 2011 19:55:53 GMT -5
She nodded slightly at his explanation for the gauntlet - for some reason Jet had always assumed he'd built the crushgaunt, but then given his penchant for tinkering that hadn't been a far flung assumption, clearly it meant something more. Well you learn something new everyday...or in her case allot of somethings in one day, at least she assumed it was still in one day - Jet wasn't entirely sure how long she'd actually been under at this point, or how time here related to time outside. If he kept thinking about it she was going to give herself a headache.
The helljumper picked up things Jet had missed in his words however and as she knew them so now did Jet - Taaru's family had been well off, that wasn't a fact Jet found surprising and in any case the next revelation made her just a touch uneasy. Jet hated Mando's...personal experience had given her an intense and rather narrow minded outlook towards them. Mostly as far as she was concerned they all deserved to be shot on sight. Of course she would be lying if from time to time she hadn't maybe suspected this to some degree...She'd just been ignoring it in blissful ignorance until this memory had come along to shove it in her face. It was Taaru she reminded herself and not some random Mandalorian maurauder, he wasn't even full mandalorian, possibly not even mostly Mando and she would do well to forget that she had ever learned this unfortunate fact. He was Taaru, one of her last true friends and allies. Such things were more important. he was a little disturbed that it bugged her at all and did her best to put her mind elsewhere. The helljumper also picked up some vague area of birth that went with his accent but this meant little to Jet so he filedi t away but otherwise ignored it for the moment to answer his question.
"Before we jumped, At least i think so..things got a bit fuzzy after the crash landing I made, i woke up on the street a bit away from my pod but I'm pretty sure I passed out before I got the chance to have a snack" she quipped.
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Post by Taaru Masako on Feb 4, 2011 20:03:58 GMT -5
The humor completely evades him...or, at the very least, he doesn't find it particularly hilarious.
"Uh huh."
He draws his combat knife from his chest sheath and stab it into one of the canned soups sitting on the counter, cutting a rough triangle into it, then setting the can in front of her.
He gets busy with doing the same to a second can for himself. When he finishes, he wipes the knife on some tissues he found, and sheathes. He then reaches for the clasp on his helmet to unseal the neck ring, but he stops right before pulling it, looking in the direction of the kiosk's entrance.
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