In reply to Peter Firecrow (msg # 230):

The man's reaction wasn't new to Jane.  She got it at almost every checkpoint.  It was annoying but understandable.  She didn't back down but didn't go for her weapons comfortable knowing that Peter would take care of things, as well as others, if it came to that.

"As he said, I'm EX and have been that for a long time now.  As for if I'm chipped.  You should know that already.  All Black Hats are chipped.  Mine is still there and yes, if anybody tries to use my weapons besides me it will detonate.  I'm not in danger of my head automatically blowing up though as long as you keep me with my weapons.  If you know the rest of our group you'll know that they wouldn't have me in the group if I wasn't on your side.  That explain enough for you?"

Jane turned to Kira and nodded.  "A few of us managed to get out.  It's not pleasant."  That's all Jane intended to say on the subject so she was quiet and waited for the next part of the questions to come.  They always had more questions.  Perhaps that is one reason why Jane loved Peter.  His quietness, among other things, was comforting.

In reply to Rowan Dawson (msg # 229):

Reaching down, Schaeffer grabbed the barrel of Rowan's AK and firmly kept it pointed down. He stepped in front of her, best he could.

"Easy, fellahs. You're just doing your jobs, she didn't mean any disrespect. Been on the road, not thinking straight. Please give her a break, ya?"

"Don't worry, champ. Routine question. If you ever dealt with a Combine infiltrator cyborg, you'd understand."



The militia officer nodded, satisfied.

"OK. We get ex-Combine in here, every once in a while. Checking for chips and extensive cyberwear is a good way to winkle out infiltrators, human or cyborg. We're under high alert, for reasons you can understand, I would guess. You're good to go."

Rowan Hands her weapon to Kurt then steps around him.
Stepping along side her friend. She is tiered fed up, her words cold dripping with frost
"disrespect no not that irritation yes that is a better word"

Schaeffer didn't reply, he just smiled at her.

He hit the rifle's magazine release catch and pulled back the charging handle to inspect the chamber making sure it was empty.

Jane nodded at the military officer.  Orders were orders and it was best to be on the safe side.  It was his unfortunate duty to ask them all the questions just after they had gone through a mini-hell.

"It's cool.  You have your job.  Those scanners though.  Who do we talk to about getting to see them closer and see if we could make one or something?  It sure would be easier to know before hand what we're dealing with."

"It's fine. I can vouch for her. Would I let a cyborg infiltrator get close to me?" Simon asked. He winked at Peter.

"Thank you, Ma'am. There was no offence, you can understand why we're concerned about the Combine.

"I don't know if you can get one of these babies. Ike had them made special from a Junker. I would guess that you could ask him? Otherwise, a Junker can make one for you."

He saluted and left the cab, signalling that everything was OK and the militia could stand down, which they did.

Rowan moves along side Jane amused that the Colonel still has her weapon or at least one of them.
She chuckles "people tended to for get that she is always armed"
She ponders some thing Simon said about pretech medical aid being available here.
"Jane could this place remove the tracker"
This message was last edited by the player at 08:04, Sat 05 Apr 2014.

In reply to Rowan Dawson (msg # 241):

Smiling, Schaeffer slung Rowan's AK. "I will wait for you on top of the cab. Yes, you are always armed, my love. You can afford to be more subtle, ya?"

He climbed up on the trailer.

GM Note: The cab is simply not big enough to allow Rowan inside without her having to sit on someone's lap. So Rowan is actually outside, next to the passenger window, where Jane is sitting.

In reply to Militia Officer (msg # 240):

Roadkill snorted in contempt at the militia officer. "Great, now let's get moving."

He climbed back into the cab. "Rowan, you better get back on the trailer unless you want to walk the rest of the way."

 Rowan heads for the trailor

In reply to Rowan Dawson (msg # 244):

Jane nodded to the officer and then thought about what Rowan said.  "I'm not sure Rowan.  Should I tempt fate after all this time?  If the chip stays in it's a toss up of whether or not it will go off.  It hasn't yet so it is good and I don't worry about others using my weapons."

Peter kept his mouth shut, lips pressed firmly together. It was obvious that he was doing his best to hold his mouth shut so he wouldn't antagonize the guards. When Simon made his joke, Peter rolled his eyes and gave a small snort. Though he did seem interested in the scanners.

At this point, the Posse was all loaded up. Business returned to normal, a potential close-range firefight that was suddenly averted was all in a day's fun in the Wasted West!

All Posse members are issued transit papers for entering and leaving Junkyard's gate, good for a week. Tariffs in tradeable barter needed to enter (posted as $150 for cyborgs, $50 for everyone else) were waived.

Very surprisingly, a pair of Sky Pirate untralights passed overhead. To Jane's eye they seemed to be flying CAP (Combat Air Patrol) over the approaches to the city. A routine patrol, looking for trouble before it got to Junkyard. These were more "standard" light aircraft, not the sleek combat planes carried aboard the Sky Raider 1.

Junkyard's inner and outer walls sat nestled against the Wasatch Mountains. Smoke from countless cook fires drifted into the sky. The entire area outside the now-disassembled inner dome protecting Junkyard from the bombs was completely and strangely devoid of life, for miles in every direction. Even the vegetation was dead (and the trees had been cut down years ago for firewood). It had been over a decade after the war and still nothing would grow in the oddly sterile soil surrounding Junkyard.

The paved roadway between the outer perimeter wall and inner wall was a dense shanty-town. This zone was called "Outer Junkyard". There were billboards advertising an ultra-violent-looking sport called "Skullchucker", and by the looks of it the players were heavily cyborged (radical body mods being a well-known Junkyard speciality). Fights and other bloodsports were scheduled in not one but two locations: "The Pit", in Outer Junktown, and Hellstromme Arena, in "Inner Junkyard".

The shantytown lining the direct route to the inner gate showed considerable signs of recent damage. When Ike had made his move to bring the road gangs under his heel, some had resisted when the militia had moved in to disarm them and arrest their leaders. Such resistance had been swiftly and harshly dealt with.

Halfway to the inner gate, their escort turned right, onto another paved road that ran between the two walls.

Marshall's Note: It's likely Peter and Roadkill have visited Junkyard over the years, at least once. Possibly Rowan, although it's likely this shit-heap would offend her sensibilities. Smoker might have, if it weren't for the cost of entry.

Those who've been to Junkyard in the past would not have seem Sky Pirate air patrols, that's a new thing.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:17, Tue 08 Apr 2014.

In reply to The Marshall (msg # 247):

Roadkill followed the lead Humvee.

"Damn, never seen Sky Pirates watching over Junkyard before. Wonder if that's permanent now or just because of the summit?

"Back when I was in the gang, we used to come here, get bombed and watch SKullchucker. Hell, yeah! I'm gonna do that again if I get the chance! Ya'all can come along."

When the guide vehicle turned right, he commented, "hello, what've we got here? We takin' some kinda detour instead of going straight on in?"

In reply to Rowan Dawson (msg # 244):

Up on top of the trailer, with Rowan, Schaeffer and the merc (Jack Black) Dakota Jack commented, "I've been here a few times. Food's really, really expensive on account of they can't grow anything in or around the city. Something to do with the energy screens Hellstromme built into the Steel Sky that absorbed the energy of the bombs they dropped here, is what I heard. Best bar is the Ledge, been around a long time. It's in the inner city."

"Well, I've never been here before. Too expensive," said Smoker, looking around with interest.

Despite her earlier statements about the rebuilding of society, there was something about Junkyard that just set Kira's teeth on edge. She watched the mass of humanity, and the look of distrust was pretty obvious on her face.

When Roadkill mentioned about the detour, Kira's hand slowly went to the haft of her hammer.

In reply to Kira 'Valkyrie' Herja (msg # 251):

In the back Rowan leans against Shaffer and cuddles trickster.
She recognises the need to be here, but it does not make her any more comfortable.
"Love if we survive the coming storm I might be going back with the Templars. Some one has to help them build a town."
"And I can provided medical skills, and help in several ways"

"I noticed the air support as well. You are correct. It was not here last time you and I came through."

Peter was a suspicious man by nature. The detour and the fact that Roadkill noticed it too, set him on edge a bit. He tried to look casual as he got ready. He plastered a smile on his face as he spoke to Simon and Jane. "I have a bad feeling about this, and I hope I am wrong."

In reply to Peter Firecrow (msg # 253):

Roadkill turned off the main road, being careful not to flip the rig in what was a fairly sharp turn. If nothing else, there was far less traffic on the side road than on the main through-fare from the outer gate to the main inner gate.

He motioned towards the CB radio. "Want me to get on the horn, see why there's a detour?"

In reply to Roadkill (msg # 254):

The detour might be a good thing or a bad thing.  All Jane needed to hear was that Peter and Roadkill were suspicious.  She pulled out her weapon and started to look around for an ambush.

Peter thought about it for a long moment. He finally shook his head. "No, if it is an ambush, it will tip them off. If it is not an ambush, it makes us look ultra-paranoid." He let out a sigh. "I hope that no one would be stupid enough to make a move on Simon literally right out of the gate. However, we are much closer to our meeting now, so if they are going to try for him again....it will be soon."

In reply to Peter Firecrow (msg # 256):

From behind, Simon chimed in. "It seems to me like the best time to attack would have been earlier. If some kind of last-ditch attack were to happen now we'd have the full armed might of Junktown to back us up.

"Remember, Ike called this meeting. He has the most to gain, and Junktown is the main opponent of the Combine, along with the Sky Pirates."