Closing the passenger door, Roadkill exited out the far side. Jason was nearby, leaning around the front of the rig, protected by the engine block and ram plate.

Everyone seemed to be in a degree of cover, as far as Roadkill could see. Peter was behind the truck, Jane was in the back of the technical, manning the Ma-Deuce and sweeping the darkness with her flashlight. Rowan, Sullivan and Smoker were hidden in the back of the trailer. Jason, of course, was beside him.

In the light of his flashlight, Jason saw a figure in rags standing about 20 yards away. Holding a minigun, steam hissing off the barrels as rain struck it. It appeared to be missing it's head. A wisp of smoke curled up from the stump of the neck, as well as the odd spark.

Marshall's Note: Okay, now combat's over.

"Shooter is down guys. Repeat Shooter is down." Jason walks over to the body keeping it covered with the P90c until he gets close enough to be sure it didn't have a second head or something.

Peter looked around but didn't see what was causing the disturbance. He was about to call out to ask what the hell was going on. That was about the time the minigun went off. Peter hit the deck, knowing the difference between his own machinegun and that thing firing their way. But it wasn't shooting at him. He got back up into a crouch and the thing was dead by the time he brought his gun up to bear again.

"I'm gettin' too old for this shit."

In reply to Peter Firecrow (msg #82):

Jane chuckled at Peter's comment.  "That's ok.  I'm sure there will be more opportunities for you to shoot things.  Besides, out here?  Dead does not always mean dead."

Roadkill looks towards Jason.
"What, are you kidding? Who fired? who killed it?"

Roadkill looks around again confused.

"It just fired that gun, did it shoot itself?"

Roadkill heads towards the front of the truck and points his gun at 'the thing' to help light on it.

Jane doesn't immediately stand down.  She hadn't been kidding when she had told Peter that in the area they were at some things weren't dead when they appeared to be.  It was better to stay on guard longer just in case.  Besides, she was still pissed off for them waking her up when she had been snuggled so nicely into Peter.  That by itself was grounds to want to shoot something.

  "Yeah no idea Roadkill it is missing it's head and it had one when it shot at us. It has sparks as well as blood shootin out of his neck. No idea what it is at the moment. The minigun is Hellstrome Industries. His head is just gone. Not shot off plain ol' gone."

In reply to Jason Sinclair (msg #86):

Ian hops out of the trailer looks around.  "I hope that was the only one around here.  Anyone heard of anything like this?"

In reply to Sgt. Ian Sullivan (msg #87):

replying to Ian

"no idea. It wanted body parts and can handle a shotgun blast from point blank"

roadkill keeps his moss pointed at the figure as he moves towards it

"i got this side Jason"

Still wary he makes sure to arch to his left so as not to be walking directly towards the mini guns current firing position.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:48, Mon 28 May 2012.

Head banger going off is Rowans opinion

There didn't appear to be any more of what it was out there.

Whatever it was... it was wearing rags for clothes. With waxy white skin gleamed in the rain. Aside from the smoking 12mm Minigun clutched in its dead hands, there were no other visible weapons. The linkless auto-feed ammo belt fed under his left arm to a backpack. Some sort of stubby boxlike shape peeked over the left shoulder.

Smoker hops down and comes over, cautiously. There might be something worth scavenging, after all.

In reply to Smoker Nix (msg #91):

Smoker approached the eerily-frozen figure. The man appeared to be an automaton underneath the patchwork human skin.

It's head was there, it had just had just tipped back and fallen off, laying behind it's feet. Aside from the minigun it had a box-like grenade launcher sticking up behind the left shoulder, from the ammo backpack.

Fascinating... what kind of control mechanisms does it have? Smoker's curiousity got the better of him as he took a closer look.

In reply to Smoker Nix (msg #93):

Ian, using his flash light is looking around as well.  He is making sure that what ever it was was alone.

In reply to Sgt. Ian Sullivan (msg #94):

Jane still stays with Baby although it is uncertain if it is because Peter was there, Baby was there and a bigger gun than the SAW, or she just didn't want to go looking at anything creepy right now.  They were all valid reasons and she could even add on to it that she didn't trust something not to jump out at them.  In the end she still kept searching with the flashlight and stayed on watch while the others decided if it was safe(r) or not.

"Well that's nice. It's a Tin Man. A rogue Combine Automaton that grafts body parts onto itself. Means the gear is likely chipped. Jane can you come get it? At the very least the ammo. I don't want a big thump going off and alerting the bastards that we are coming." Jason shifted his focus from the dead bot to the woods around him.

In reply to Jason Sinclair (msg #96):

"What are the chances that there is more then one of them around here?"

In reply to Sgt. Ian Sullivan (msg #97):

Looking at the mini gun and then at the top of the truck

"Damn that would look good up top there. What has to be done to dechip these things as a mini gun would be totally worth it"

Roadkill goes over to Jason and give him a friendly punch to the shoulder

"Put it on your bike even"

"It won't be a trivial task to dechip them," muttered Smoker, checking to see if they were indeed chipped.

Peter made a face. A rogue automaton grafting human parts on to it? Disgusting, even for the Wasted West! He shook his head but couldn't help himself from moving towards it when he saw Scavenger Smoker going. He stopped when the discussion of Black Hat chips was brought up. He moved back to the technical.

"Stupid delusional would-be conqueror booby-trapping everything."

In reply to Peter Firecrow (msg #100):

"Ok ok ok. Lets sort this shit out. Scavenge away and I will check with Gillies to see what time it is. Get going Smoke"

Roadkill walked over towards his truck. He stopped and turned to everyone and  spoke.

"The time we have now is the last time we will all be together. Do not fool yourself. Make your peace with your friends as this"
He points to the automation "can pin us down and make us ineffective, therefore me, you, all of us will die."
He looks at Rowan, Jane and Peter
"Those that you seem to love will die"

He looks to smoker and nods
"And those you know and trust. Those that we can clearly trust. "
He looks at Ian and Jason, pointing as he says Jason's name. The one man that came to his aid, The new Templar.

Tomorrow and the next day will be like no other"

Roadkill turns and heads back to the truck and says one last thing that he would never usually say

"Thank you Jason, You are a good man"

<quote Roadkill>


Rowan inclines her head.
"But in the end it is the one thing we have that the Terror of the west can not match our love for one another".
"Lets be on our way shall We?"

"Bitter much, Roadkill? That kind of talk is what turns folk into road gangers intent only pleasing themselves until their short lives end, making a short life shorter and end in violence and self-loathing."

He shook his head and walked slowly around his truck, inspecting it for any damage the automaton might have done.

In reply to Peter Firecrow (msg #103):

Rowan climbs down out of the truck and walks towards the Autominatum,, curious to know what made it go, then hearing the warning about boby traps apruptly alters course to the pick up, and takes cover behind it