Peter sighed as Rowan jumped things ahead by herself. He quickly and discreetly got his shotgun ready and made sure he wouldn't be in Jane's line of fire. He made it look as if he was making sure things were safe since their ride was coming, trying to act casual.

Jane wanted to shake her head but didn't really have time for that.  Rowan was impulsive at times and she guessed that this was one of those times.

Jane got up and casually strode over to where Rowan was, making sure that her weapon was in her hand but not directly pointed at Winnie.  Anybody who knew weapons knew that she didn't have to move it much to shoot if she needed to but otherwise Jane was quiet and waited.

Waiting was part of the job requirement.  She must remember to tell that to Rowan some time.

In reply to Rowan Dawson (msg # 106):

She looked coolly at Rowan, Jane, Peter and Smoker.

"I am Winnie Franklin, and I am a Templar. Simon can back me up on this. He knows me. Isn't that right, Sir?"

In reply to Winnie Franklin (msg # 110):

Roused by the commotion, Simon slowly made his way over.

"What's the meaning of this? Yes, Winnie, I know you. I'd know if you were someone else." He smiled, but it was a tired smile.

In reply to Simon (msg # 111):

NPC'd:

Rowan looked from Simon to Winnie, then back.

"Apologies, Grand Master. There must be some mistake, and I would never dream of questioning a such a good friend."

Still looking dubiously, she politely stepped back to avoid further confrontation.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:04, Wed 05 Feb 2014.

In reply to Rowan Dawson (msg # 112):

Meanwhile, the truck drew close.

They could recognise the rig: it was Roadkill's! There were a couple heavily-armed guards riding on the trailer. One, wearing a ghillie suit, looked very familiar.

In reply to The Marshall (msg # 113):

"Well I'll be. Looks like Schaeffer caught up to us at last."

Jane bowed her head to Simon.  "The long road gets to people at times.  Making sure we know who we all are is but a safety precaution."

Smoker jumped up.

"Roadkill!" he yelled with delight and started running towards the rig.

Peter, however, did not back down. He stayed at a bit of a distance with his gun at the ready. He spoke in an even tone to Simon, but his never left Winnie.

"You know Winnie, yes. But that is not her. My apologies, Simon, but you have been sick and out of sorts. Your judgment may be clouded."

In reply to Peter Firecrow (msg # 117):

He'd hired Peter and the others for his protection. He owed him the benefit of the doubt, if he felt there was something wrong he'd hear the man out, at the very least.

"You don't need to apologize for anything. Go on. What are your suspicions?"

In reply to Peter Firecrow (msg # 117):

She cooly looked down the barrel of his gun.

"I get it. We're all tired, we've been walking for days, at night, in the cold. But if I were some kind of imposter or assassin, why would I have waited so long to make a move? You're not !along sense."

Peter smiled at Winnie. "Oh, I could think of many reasons."

To Simon he said, "Firstly, Trejo noticed that Winnie didn't know the story about the Defiler and she should. Secondly, didn't she used to live in the fallout shelter? She should have been able to give us information, or go herself. Of course, it's possible that could be attributed to long journey tiredness." His voice made it clear he didn't too much of that possibility.

He didn't take his eyes off of Winnie, but he spoke and clearly directed his voice. "So. Let's be sure, shall we? Rowan, could have Trickster give Winnie a sniff please?"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:04, Thu 06 Feb 2014.

Jane stopped and had been listening to Peter.  "Perhaps Trickster just needs to sniff all of us.  I'm willing anyway.  If things aren't right in the group, might as well eliminate everybody at once right?"  She turned and smiled at Peter, knowing that he was still looking and on guard with Winnie.  "I know that there are those that I trust completely and some that I'm still learning about.  Seems like as good as time as any to do this."  She knew that she trusted Peter and a few others and it would be good to take care of this now.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:05, Thu 06 Feb 2014.

Meanwhile, seeing the truck approach, Trejo used the recognition code he was provided. Just because it looked like their friends were approaching, it could be anyone inside.

Receiving the correct response, he stepped into the road flagged it down.

As the truck slowed, a pale-skinned woman with a truly impressively-sized war-maul strapped to her back jumped down from the cab. She began to limp towards the group, though the stutter in her step looked old; like something she'd dealt with for a long time.

She raised a hand as if to indicate she meant no harm, then looked back to the truck to see if others were disembarking as well. Finally, she looked back to the group.

"Greetings, ladies and gents. Here for a rendezvous, and I suspect you know with whom. I'm Kira."

Smoker, who had come lurching (what passes for running with him) down as soon as he'd seen the familiar truck, stopped at the sight of this Kira, peering past her at the cab.

"Is Roadkill here? Is he?" he said excitedly.

In reply to Smoker Nix (msg # 124):

Smiling, Roadkill stepped down from the cab. "Sure thing, buddy! Sorry for being a douche, I had a lot going on. I've quit drinking. Hard liquor."

The truck idled behind Kira. The mercs on top kept watch, including the guy in the Ghillie suit who looked like it could be Schaeffer.

Kira was happy to see that Simon seemed okay, but he seemed very tired and drawn since she'd last seen him when she was last at the temple in Boise. The rumours she'd heard about his being afflicted by some illness could turn out to be unfortunately true. The Librarian/counsellor/consigliere of his, Fred, seemed relieved to see him as well.

She also saw her good friend and fellow Templar, Winnie Franklin. She'd taken her in as her own Squire and finished her training after Kinney had failed. Strangely, the woman seemed to be looking through her. Winnie must just be under a lot of stress and she wasn't the most emotionally demonstrative person to begin with.

There was, however, a better explanation as to why Winnie was distracted. Some brainer that she didn't recognise dressed in Infantry Battle Armour was holding an autoshotgun on her.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:27, Sun 09 Feb 2014.

Kira slid the huge maul from her back and hefted it. "Winnie, do we have a problem here?"

Rowan moves between Simon and the developing problem quietly and with out fuss or anouncement

In reply to Kira 'Valkyrie' Herja (msg # 127):

Looking at Kira blankly for an instant, Winnie the smiled and shrugged. "Nothin's going on, sugar. I think someone's just a little cranky after walking a few days.

"Come on, let's get in the truck already. Combine patrols are all over this area, I bet, even this close to Junkyard. Let's not push our luck."

She sneered at Peter. "Give it a rest, tough guy. Let's just get on the damn truck."

OOC: While Ian's modem was out, Peter asked her to have Trickster sniff Winnie again, in fact, all of them. Does Rowan want to do this?

Peter's face remained impassive and he ignored the new woman he didn't know. To Winnie he replied, "Even closer with you communicating our position to them likely." He noted that it took a moment for Winnie to recognize the new woman. He wondered if it was like a computer accessing files or a creature accessing memories of its host. Gods, he hoped it wasn't a parasite. That would make things much more difficult.

"Rowan? The...creature is correct. We do need to get moving. Could you please have Trickster sniff the thing impersonating Winnie please?"

"Good to see you, man. And that's probably a good idea. Not drinking when driving, that is."

In reply to Peter Firecrow (msg # 130):

Pissed-off now, Winnie turned and stalked off towards the truck, daring someone to stop her.