MISSION: BAD COMPANY, PART 2

[ximilian]

● ● ● M I S S I O N   4 . 2

INTRO • THE DREAM DEFERRED • YOUR WAKE UP CALL • FYI

// INTRO. WELFORD BRANSON  

It is barely past twilight in Scorpion’s Bend, the twin suns having just set, taking their light with them — but the moons delay, and so darkness lingers over the town as Lan Xichen’s conversation with one Welford Branson comes to an abrupt end. At the same time, all around the town, the team will notice the town natives around them stilling — some freezing in the middle of a sentence, a man with a fork in the air, a woman mid-step on the street, some youngsters with their mouths open in laughter. All of them become statues in less than a heartbeat; still, eyes vacant, like everything that made them seem alive has been taken away.

And then — a reverberating sigh, echoing heavily in the ears of all the Orbers. What follows are words, spoken by a chorusing voice now familiar to most of the team —

“Well now you’ve done it.”

The orb’s echoing sound is filled with disappointment, even annoyance.

Some may see that amidst all the frozen townspeople, an old man runs, clawing at his thinning hair. Some of you may hear his words, muttered, desperate:

“I don't understand, I thought 'twas just a bad dream, everyone was fine, don't understand, what in the name of the Eight could've done somethin' like this —”

The disbelieving mumbles trail at his wake, making it clear he does not know what is going on at all — in fact, you may have a better idea as to what has happened than he does. But as you turn to follow him, open your mouth to yell at him to stop... everything around you shatters.

The lights in the buildings grow dim and break; the smell of food disappears; the horses in the stables simply fade away. You notice that if you were wearing or carrying something you bought while here, it too disappears, your clothes turning to those you had on upon arrival, all equipment shimmering away slowly.

But perhaps most importantly… the frozen statues of people crumble into ash right in front of you. It may fill the floors of the now-silent, dusty and worn-down houses, or it may blow away with the harsh desert wind — whichever it is, sans the team, the town of Scorpion’s Bend is now devoid of people.

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// PART I.THE DREAM DEFERRED  

The town that now surrounds the team is very different from the one it used to be — the houses are quiet, filled with sand and dust; doors broken, tables turned over, drawers open and mostly empty, aside from anything not valuable. The beds in Thornbush Inn are ragged, insects of various sizes skittering along the floors. The Saloon is dusty, furniture broken, and a lone piano stands in the corner, half its keys having crumbled away. The door to the Mayor’s office is ajar, a banging sound repeating as it hits the wall in time with the wind.

1.0   In the corners of the Sheriff’s office, the school and the church, the embera slither along, searching for food; owl-shrews hide from the Orbers on the streets, while feathered coyotes howl at the five moons now lending their light to see the town’s destruction better. The team may be the only living humanoids, but they are not the only living beings in the town anymore; in the absence of people, animals have made the town their home. And coexist they must, now, to survive the rapidly dropping temperature of the night that has fallen upon them.

2.0   The next morning, as the moons disappear underneath the horizon and let the two suns bring out their scorching rays once more, the team wakes up to the reality of having to survive Scorpion’s Bend… with very little supplies. So search the empty houses, for they still stand; the fire that has burned away the people has not touched the buildings… but they have not been immune to the passing of time, or the harsh weather in the desert. You may find clothing, basic equipment, pots and pans left on a now-cold stove; but no valuables, no money, no gems, no jewelry, no weapons.

But amidst your search through the town, remember that what you need, first and foremost, is to find water and something to eat — it will not be long until the suns are high in the sky, and some of you are already in desperate need of proper nourishment, without being left to endure the scorching temperatures the days on the planet of Badrock bring.

3.0   But should you want to brave the heat, you’ll find it is now possible to leave the town and venture out into the desert. Out there, the rock dragons search for prey, while bald vultures circle above your head in groups of three or four, their shrieks growing in volume the farther you walk. If you show weakness, any weakness, they strike — and the dragons, sensing their chance, are not far behind.

And when you least expect it, the ground underneath you trembles, like a small earthquake is approaching you… and then you see it: from the sand, a whale surges up, then another, and another, arcing through the air like suspended there, before the sand swallows them once more. Should you get too close, you too may be swallowed underneath the sand; unless you’re very, very careful, or have in your arsenal something else that may help you to deal with these near-immortal giants that have swam across the deserts for hundreds of thousands of years.

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// PART II.YOUR WAKE UP CALL  

Time passes at a snail’s pace without the comforts of the town you were used to. Scorpion’s Bend is now a wasteland you must survive, and it clearly isn’t easy. Some of you might question whether retrieving the orb is still an endeavour worth pursuing after all of this, but the rest of you know that it is. That you’ve come this far and you’re nearly there; you just need to band together and form a gameplan.

As the suns begin to set over the horizon on yet another grueling day of scorching heat and rough, dry sand in the ghost town of Scorpion’s Bend, you might begin to hear a distant thunder that has nothing to do with an oncoming desert storm or otherwise. It rattles at the already weakened structures of the old Saloon and the General Store, bits of broken glass and debris vibrating with the raucous sound of clattering hooves, feet, and paws. And as the sound of the invasion grows louder – you’ll hear the unmistakable manic howling and bellowing in accompaniment: these are the Bouldersnakes that some of you have already heard much of.

4.0   The Bouldersnakes are not a group to be taken lightly, and have garnered the fearsome reputation that they now hold for a reason. Kicking up dust, they arrive like a cloud of chaos in different sizes, shapes, and forms. Some have the ability to shrink and grow in size to match their opponents in physical size and weight. Other Bouldersnakes are agile and quick; and others yet are superhumanly strong and robust – either way, they make for formidable opponents when you, yourself, have been weakened from weeks of a lack of proper nutrition and sleep. The individual members of the Bouldersnakes are like a band of bloodthirsty brothers: from all walks of life and all colours and creeds, with a severe and mean streak to them, who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

What goals, you ask? Should you listen carefully, their leader, riding a winged lizard-like creature, shouts to their underlings:

“Find it! This is where it told us to come to. We missed it last time, but no more! I don't care what we have to do, we're getting our hands on that thing!”

As it so happens, you are not the only crew in search of that elusive orb; the Bouldersnakes have been tracking down the whereabouts of this mysterious and all-powerful object themselves, burning through towns – quite literally – to get it. News that Scorpion’s Bend has seen a resurgence of life and might still be the resting place of the orb has the bandits seeking out the town again. Their first round through Scorpion's Bend about a year ago had them coming up empty-handed (save for a few bits and baubles), but this time they are determined to find what they've come here to find. Though if there’s anything left here to salvage... they’ll ransack as they please.

Whether you confront them head-on or they catch you in hiding, they won’t easily back down from a fight. It will be best to keep your distance if you can manage it, and hope that they’ll pass you by. But the Bouldersnakes have their weaknesses too: once maimed, they still bleed, and none of them are immortal, though they are notoriously difficult to kill based on their talents alone... and when they carry weapons, too, well — those not accustomed to battles may find it best to hide. And even for those with fighting experience under your belt, teaming up with your fellow Orbers and combining your shared skills will be your best chance at survival.

5.0   By the time the suns have disappeared and the moons have risen, the Bouldersnakes invasion will make the bandit attack from the other night seem like a childish tussle. The Bouldersnakes don’t play nice and have adapted to the harsh lands as ruthless survivors. They arrive like a wave, many equipped with weapons: guns, sabers, pistols and small knives. A few others have engineered their own specially crafted weapons made of metal and magic (in the shape of guns, blow-torches, and blades) that wield a special element harnessed from mined ore called ‘pulsefire’. It is this pulsefire, glowing a deep blue (like the hottest colour of flame), that has the capability to destroy all living beings and allows the bandits to systematically ravage unsuspecting towns down to ash, reap its benefits (either for the town’s riches and wealth, or and especially: for any supply of ore), and then leave without a trace.

The best way to fight against pulsefire is to acquire weapons of pulsefire of your own and best a Bouldersnake before they best you. (Think high stakes, noon-time duels of the pistol.) Of course, this is a very risky and very dangerous affair as one shot by pulsefire could mean your untimely demise and the element itself isn't easy to put out either, so it might be best to work in teams to strategically disarm and swipe a pulsefire weapon to use before they manage to overwhelm you.

NOTE:   If your character is alive, your character will be vulnerable to the effects of pulsefire. Unliving things such as buildings and infrastructure will not be affected. Pulsefire has a slow spread-rate over unliving things, but its effects on the living are instant. Once in contact with the element, pulsefire quickly consumes the living body and spirit until it is turned to ash. Putting pulsefire out over unliving things is relatively easy, but once pulsefire has touched the living, there's little to no chance of making it out in one piece.

All through this, you must still remember your goal — it is not to stay in Scorpion's Bend, or even fight the Bouldersnakes, but to find the orb... and that means finding Welford Branson. How will you convince him to give you the orb, when all signs point to him not even knowing what it is, or what it has done? That is what you must decide... if you survive the Bouldersnakes in one piece, of course.

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F Y I

• The events in this log take place ICly right after the end of the NPC thread.

• The voting for how to get the orb is now open! Please head HERE to submit your idea for how the team should proceed to get the orb, or +1 others’ ideas.

• The conclusion of the mission and the return to the station will be posted on February 13.

• If you have questions about anything in this log, please direct them HERE.

• And finally, your soundtrack for this log: ♪ ♪ ♪

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Comments

[naloxone]

[ her hands still under his exploring touch, letting him find what he needs to ground himself. when she feels the desperate pull of his hands, she presses her palms all the more against his clammy skin, like it would somehow let the heat from their joined bodies permeate through to the calm the storm in his mind.

at his confession, her heart aches, thumbs sweeping across the high points of his cheeks, wiping away those phantom tears. ]

There's no ash here, Takeshi.

[ her voice is quiet, sincere. tipping forward till their foreheads touch, till a subtle shift of her head has their noses brush. if touch is what anchors him, she'll not be greedy. ]

It's just you and me. I promise.

[kovach]

[ she moves in closer to him and he breaths her in, the softness of her voice ringing out to him in tandem with the soothing guidance of her touch, planted palms framing him securely and steadily between them. with the brush of her nose, her breath fans against his lips, warm against the biting chill of the cold desert weather.

it's just you and me. and he believes it. nothing else needs to be real except this.

and for a moment, that's all he allows, not even taking a chance on speaking again until he knows for sure, until his heart slows down to something more comfortable. if his hands move, it's only to roll light caresses to the back of hers, thumb offering lazy circular strokes to the bone of her wrist.

(if i lose every other memory, just let me keep this, his mind briefly wanders.)

with a swallow, he finally parts his lips to speak again. ]

I've been seeing it more often again. Ever since we lost the town. [ he sighs, letting his breath wash over hers. ] I keep thinking about ... old man Branson. Way he lost everyone he cared about and survived, living in his guilt. Way he couldn't save anyone, so a part of him tried to forget it somehow.

[ quiet again, and then, ] What if — what if that's just me too? What if I can't save anyone and I just get stuck with the ghosts?

[naloxone]

[ for a brief, dizzying moment more than a dozen answers come swarming through marta's mind, desperate and tripping over each other in an attempt to be the right answer, the perfect string of words to make this all better. she can't help it, it's reflexive; to hear the hopelessness and despair in his voice and want to help, find some sort of balm to soothe the pain.

she wants to tell him: it's not your responsibility to save anyone. but she knows that wouldn't make a difference, not to him, whose heart is bigger than he pretends, whose shoulders have grown too used to carrying burdens that were never meant for one person to bear alone.

or say: don't focus on the past or the future, just think about the present. but their very purpose here is based on a deal meant to fix one of those, so what good is pretending neither exist when you'll only be made to think about it again in time?

or maybe: that won't happen to you, you don't deserve it. what does she know of "deserve"? and does any universe even bother to follow such rules anyway?

in the end, her answer comes in a quiet, defeated whisper. ]

I don't know.

[ for better or for worse, all she can ever do is answer honestly. ]

Whether or not that happens, I can't say. But —

[ but.
she told him once, and she had meant it: if nothing else, she will carry his hope for him. ]

— But ghosts aren't meant to linger, Takeshi. [ it's hard being the one left behind. ] They need to rest, so you can too.

[kovach]

[ even if he poses the question, he doesn't seek an answer her, doesn't expect her to somehow fix him. that's not on her to figure out, and even he thinks that's too impossible of a task even for himself to figure out. but above all, he does know she'll be honest with him, in ways that have nothing to do with the physical condition that prevents her from even being able to; it's because of who she is, the way she believes in the things she tells him.

he doesn't care to grasp onto hope, not when he knows everything he's entitled to soon lose, but she keeps him from giving in completely to the defeat.

ghosts aren't meant to linger, takeshi. his eyes open so he can look up to her, her face out of focus from how close to it he is, her forehead still warm where it's tucked against his own. with her here, he can't look around the room to see if anything else remains to haunt him. right now, there's no ash, no quell.

it's just you and me.

but then he hears her again — two hundred and fifty years is long enough. move on. even if he doesn't see her, quell always remains. ]

All I've got left are ghosts. [ whether they're meant to linger or not. maybe he's the one not willing to let them go. out of desperation? guilt? he doesn't know anymore. his fingers curl around hers to hold them, pulling her hands gently from his face. but he doesn't let him go, peering down to the way he clutches them loosely. ] Sometimes it isn't ash. Sometimes — sometimes it's them. I see them. Hear them. My sister — Reileen — she'll ask what I'm doing with myself. And then, Quell — [ quell. ] I loved her. [ he admits without a thought. like marta should know. ] She tells me to finish the mission.

[ he looks up to her again, swallowing, eyes still glossy but honest. ]

I can't rest, Marta. I don't think I know how. I don't even know if I'm supposed to.

cw: suicide mention

[naloxone]

[ even now, after everything they'd said and shared, there's still so much about him she doesn't know. his is a world and a life so different from hers, pulled right out of the very science fiction novels she'd once lost her head in on quiet fall afternoons spent reading in the company of the only other person who has cared to know her. even her imagination can't hope to comprehend all that he's gone through, all that he still carries... but loss. loss she knows. ]

Some nights I still see him too. [ him. harlan. by now, kovacs knows about the blood on her hands. he's probably figured out it's the reason she's here. ] Holding that knife to his throat. [ in her ears, sometimes, his final words still buzz, as clearly as they had the last time she'd seen him: everything's going to be ok. i promise.

slowly, she sucks in a shaky breath, but wills her tremors in her hands to steady so she can curl her fingers around his own. she summons the resolve she'd had that night, the same one she pulls on every time she finds herself wondering if she can do this. if she can do any of this.

for harlan, she thinks. ]

Let them be your reason, if you need it. Let them be what keeps you going forward. You don't have to let them go, Takeshi. Not completely. Not if you aren't ready for it. [ her hands squeeze. ] But don't let them be what holds you back. It's not fair to you. It's not fair to them.

[kovach]

[ she talks of harlan and he knows, recalls the pain of her tremble when she told him her guilt in what had happened to him, something that came about like unlucky circumstance for the person that least deserved to witness it. of course she knows all about ghosts, about seeing the things that can't be changed while grasping on the one chance of doing just that. if she didn't, she wouldn't be here.

her fingers squeeze and he peers down at their joined hands, hers smaller than his own but wrapping around like she wants to cover them whole, like she's trying to stop the ache from spilling — either his or her own.

it's in knowing that which keeps him from admitting why it doesn't make a difference, why there's nothing for him to be held back from. his eyes look up to her again, fighting through the darkness to seek out the hazel stare that's come to know him so well, and he wants to admit to her everything, to tell her how selfish he's been with her, how it's all on a timer for him, but while his lips part to speak, nothing comes out.

instead, he closes his mouth and swallows hard, letting the words shift around on his tongue. ]

Yeah, I know. [ none of it's fair. and there's a small part of that in the reason why he'd changed his deal too, like he knows that bringing them would have been against everything they'd wanted, everything they fought for. but even now, he still doesn't know how to be in the aftermath of those losses. who is he without the envoys? without quell? and soon, who will he be without those memories that made him?

if he eventually loses all of himself, who is it that marta will see right in front of her?

without a thought, he slips one of his hands free, raising it to brush back a lock of her hair, slightly messy from sleep, tucking it back against her ear as the tips of his fingers graze her cheek before he whispers. ] I saw you.