Fallout PbP: The Blood-Dimmed Tide (In Character)

[glimmerrat]

Jim presses a stud on his pip-boy, and a line of what looks like binary scrolls across the bottom of the screen. The image flickers and then shifts into grey-scale. Certain areas, such as the remains of camp-fires, are highlighted in white, but other than the chugging turret and the odd radrat, the place really is deserted.

[MilitiaJim]

"Inbredsonsofmotherrapingghoulblowing Blackhawks!"  She sighed loudly.  "Let's at least go over there and make sure none of the stuff they left is what we need.  I'll need the Stealth-Boy so I can make sure they didn't reset the turret."

[Gentry]

"A'ight," Hondo shrugs. "Let's get over there. Jim, mang, how many guys would you say used to be there?"

[glimmerrat]

Jim crosses his arms and squints. "Hmmm... looking at the size of the site... campfires... err... about a dozen, i'd say. Parker?" He glances quizzically at Andrew, who scratches his bandaged hand before replying. "Maybe a dozen. That'd be a large raider group, though. A major base. One turret indicates a much smaller force, and lets face it, it isn't very deep into their territory. No... no more than six-to-ten. Sir." He looks quite confident, and pleased with his assessment.

[Girlfriday]

"Well, beings as i've just given up my future for an empty camp, who's up for going for a swim?" Elsie looks pissed.

[MilitiaJim]

Alice shook her head.  "As much as I wonder what a swimsuit feels like, and looks like on you, I do not want to swim in radioactive, Mirelurk infested, waters in the dark."

[Gentry]

"It ain't so bad, Elsie," suggests Hondo. "At least this is an easy trip now. And think about how the overseer's going to react when we come back and you've got these Brotherhood dudes with you. That'll be some funny shit, mang."

[glimmerrat]

About fifty hours later, it's all done and dusted. It took two lengthy trips, two of the SMGs in trade to the ferry crew, and a whole lot of blood, sweat and tears. There was also a very close call with a pair of mirelurks that would've been funny if it weren't so terrifying... especially as you've now discovered that Hondo screams like a girl.

You find yourselves standing around in front of the great monument, surrounded by piles of building supplies. There are dirty plastic sacks full of cement and sand, and several heaped coils of steel wire. The scribes stand about, looking over the haul and periodically nudging something with the end of a boot. "Looks like its all here..." says Jim. "Want help getting it onto the elevator, are will you be staying the night?"

[MilitiaJim]

Memories of the taste of Mirelurk ichor still a bit to fresh for comfort, Alice grimaced and spat. "The Overseer can send his goons up to do the last hauling.  I want a nice long, hot shower and a real bed."  She looked around at the Scribes.  "Maybe we can get you guys in for a bit of downtime too?"

[Girlfriday]

Elsie stands next to Jim and crosses her arms. "I ain't going back down there. You guys can if you like, but they won't let Tex in, and i'm not leaving him here on his own."

[Gentry]

"Yeah, mang, we can tell the Overseer it's here and shit," Hondo nods. "We can get another crew to haul it. Come to think of it, we probably ought to make another trip or two and fortify the whole damn island. May as well let people come see the sun or whatever. For now," he adds, looking up at Lady Liberty, "I actually wanna see the view from this senorita's crown. Anybody up for a climb?"

[Antilles]

Franklin looks up at the statue when Hondo mentions climbing it, and nods agreeingly. "Yeah, I'll join you. Looks like an interesting climb. Stowing everything else in a corner of the camp, he takes his climbing gear and gets ready to climb the statue of liberty. Passing Elsie on the way over, he tells her in passing "I'll stick around a little while longer, at least until they're done loading the supplies into the Vault. Least I could do, y'know?"

[glimmerrat]

After a very long climb, Frank and Hondo reach the top of the great monument. The staircase is steep, rusted, and surrounded by a veritable forest of scaffolding. At the top is a viewing platform; it looks like it used to have windows covering the viewing ports, but must have since been removed. Greg's bedroll is here, along with a high-caliber bolt-action rifle that looks to be in surprisingly good condition, a battery-powered lamp, a metal canteen and a small pile of well-thumbed books. Despite the fog outside, the view is nothing short of spectacular.

Alice, meanwhile, heads downstairs to see if she can summon some of the Overseer's goons to come and move the building supplies. After a lengthy wait by the Vault door, the speaker on the control panel crackles to life with the Overseer's voice. "Hello? Is that Ms. DeVresta? Ah, excellent! Um... I have you on camera, but I don't see any building supplies. You do have them, don't you? I explained quite clearly to Ms. Moore that I can't risk opening the Vault unless you have the supplies stacked up outside and ready to be carried in."

[MilitiaJim]

"You, you can't see the cement dust coating me?  Is this thing even on?" She pulled off her safety glasses and moved her face in towards the camera's lens until nothing would be visible but her eye. "You don't care about the crap that tried to EAT us," Alice turned around and stalked back to the elevator.  "Since you don't believe me, I'll send down ONE bag of cement.  The last two hundred TON meters are Your bloody problem."  She stomped onto the elevator, angrily jammed the up button and waited while the elevator ascended to the surface.

(click to show/hide)

Though Alice will respond to a response.  Perhaps even not just cuss it out.

[Girlfriday]

Elsie sits out front of the statue, trying to teach Tex to 'sit'.