He thought fast, scanning through a thousand encounters he'd experienced in the wild for any tactical options or oversights to come up with a plan.  Nothing unpracticed.  Running into transients and even mutants was not all that uncommon, especially on the open roads.  The more he considered, the less likely it seemed to him that a healthy, wandering hitchhiker was caught roadside after dark this far out.  Could be someone who unfortunately broke down while out on patrol or a stranded merchant on their way to or from Wicks.  They'd have to be diplomatic, but also be ready to defend themselves.
     Not too likely they'de be "from" Wicks, as they would be heading out into the east from there and there really was nothing or no one but trouble in that direction.  Trouble, that is... and the Argonaut.
     He reached up and flipped a switch activating the vehicle-wide intercom.
     "Tyler, I need you back on the bridge fast.  We've got a situation upcoming.  Bring your best girl.  We may have a party for her."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:26, Thu 11 Apr 2019.

    Tyler, thinking fast, he ran to his room and pulls a case out from under his bed.  He opens it and inside is a pretty big gun, he calls her "The Bushwhacker" but the real, technical term is the "f-71 tabor battle riffle".  It's an assault rifle with a tactical scope that aims about 40 feet away with perfect vision. It has a 6 bullet clip with a pump action reload. you press a switch in the middle of the gun and the gun splits into two pistols with half the clip ammo (currently in the gun)one with the scope. Tyler picked-up the gun and 5 clips and ran to the bridge as fast as he could with Fenrir next to him. he got there and stood at attention ready to make a move on command.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:30, Fri 19 Apr 2019.

     Phineas twisted in his chair to scope out the young man's interpretation of "get ready".  He was satisfied that Tyler was capable of defending the Argonaut.
     "Get up top pronto", he said turning back to pilot the rig. "And don't forget to wear your breather!" He shouted as an afterthought.  He slowed the Argonaut down to a crawl as the lone figure loomed up visibly just ahead.

As the Argonaut slowed down the figure became more visible.  The once unknown figure became more recognizable as a human male.  Upon closer inspection the man looked to be in his early thirties and sported a gray long sleeved shirt and tan pants and didn't seem out of the ordinary, for someone walking in the evening away from civilization in the middle of the apocalypse.  He seemed to have a sort of stagger that only a drunk man would have.  the realization of this made the whole situation less tense but still off putting.  Who is this man? why is he so far from Wicks? According to how far off the Argonaut was from wicks the strange man had to have been traveling for a few hours.  Phineas planed his next course of action....

Phineas punched up a dual display on his main screen, setting the roof of the Argonaut on one and the forward facing camera dead-centered on the walker.  He toyed with the limited telescoping function of the display to try and get a sharper image of the mans face.  As he dialed in the resolution and focus, he grumbled to himself "What's taking that kid so long" as he kept one eye on the rooftop display, waiting for Tyler to get in position.  It didn't look like it was either appropriate or within the mission statement of the Argonaut to simple accelerate past this lone traveler in the night without so much as a hail, and they'd already slowed down enough to show that he had not gone unnoticed.  Phineas activated the exterior loudspeaker and hit mute.  A conversation, covered by Tyler and his expert aim, was probably how this encounter was going to go down... at least at first.  Phineas has been in the wild long enough to know better than to expect all to be as it first appeared.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:59, Mon 06 May 2019.

     As Tyler was running to get to the roof, Fenrir bites down on his pant leg and wouldn't let go.  Tyler desperately tried anything to get him off and nothing would work.  As Tyler was getting frustrated and very angry he finally said "Fenrir, if you don't let go you will be sleeping in the kitchen." and Fenrir let go and walked away wining.  Tyler realizing what he had done he went up the elevator with a guilty conscience and a sad expression.  He walked out of the elevator and on to the roof and sat down in a chair with a good, clear view of the road. Tyler picked up a small box next to the chair on a panel that seemed to have buttons and control sticks on them.  After he picked up the box he pressed a butto0n on the side of it and said with a sad sniff "Tyler here, I'm ready for instructions." and put the box down back were he found it.

     In the control room, Phineas heard Tyler's report over the intercom and glanced at the rooftop monitor to confirm.  The Argonaut inched forward now at a speed not much faster than he could jog at a comfortable pace.  The roadside figure now loomed into the front-facing floodlights and HAD to know that he (she? it?) had been spotted.  Whoever they were, they weren't even apparently concerned and had made no effort to duck into the bushes or run away.  Out here, at this time of day, that was potential suicide.
     As Phineas poured over four decades of wilderness experience and thousands of tactical scenarios he had studied in both his academy days and in private study, his worst fear became a growing suspicion that this person was not all there was to this scene - that he was bait with many more lying in wait somewhere in the shadows. Hopefully, just an old man's paranoia.  Tyler was their best insurance policy.  Despite his lack of discipline and occasional recalcitrance, Phineas was glad to have him on his crew.  He trained the swivel cam on full zoom at the stranger, eyeing the monitor intently for some kind of ID or reaction on the strangers part.  He pulled the Argonaut up close and began cautiously to bring her to a full stop.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:51, Fri 31 May 2019.

As the Argonaut came to a stop so did the man. Now almost eye to eye you could see the man was, in fact clearly drunk. He was a fairly short portly man with a small handlebar mustache. on the screen you could see the man sigh and walk towards the door of the Argonaut with a clear look of uneasiness on his face upon seeing Tyler pointing that big gun at him.  Freya came over the intercom
"you want me to open the door captain?" everyone awaited his command

"Tyler!", he hit the vehicle-wide intercom, "ONE sign of unease on this guy and you put him down, GOT IT?"

Phineas noted on the roof cam that Tyler nodded his acknowledgment without so much as taking an eye off the scope on his rifle.  'Practiced ease', Phineas thought to himself and settled a bit more comfortably into his command.

"Freya, you keep your distance.  Understand?  I don't want that guy within TEN FEET of you until we know what's going on here.  He may need a more gentle voice than either of us boys have to offer, so you just see what he has to say and MAYBE... we'll let him on board for a trip back into town.",  He paused to make sure those words sunk in, "Ready?"

Freya nodded also into the overhead cam and placed her hand on the locked exterior hatch release control, gulping silently to herself.
 Phineas punched up the exterior com system and cranked the volume down so as to not alert the entire countryside of the following conversation.

"Hold it RIGHT THERE, sir.  We mean you no harm, but if you want trouble, you've encountered the right crew.  Its suicide to be out here this far at this hour.  We are ready to render assistance, but I'm going to ask you to stand back a bit and DO NOT approach my staff...", with that he flipped the unlock mechanism for the starboard hatch and the panel under Freya's hand turned green.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:07, Fri 31 May 2019.

The strange man backed up and waited for the door to come down.  Once down he slowly walked aboard, again nervous of the man aiming the gun at him.  Once in he sat down on one of the benches in the mud room awaiting the captain to come down and question him.  He does not move, he only hangs his head.

     Phineas and Tyler walked into the mud room and saw the man sitting on the bench.  They made small talk and assess the situation.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:06, Fri 14 June 2019.

Talking to the man through small talk you find out his name is Milford Ike.  You also find out the he's a construction worker for Wicks and that he has a girlfriend named Sarah who he describes as "A big angel with flowing brown hair and eyes as red as a fire."  He is 32 and was born in Wicks.  you also find out he was and still is a prominent figure due to him being one of the few locals and his record of helping making and fixing some the buildings.  however despite all this small talk everyone both of you, and Freya who joined in about halfway through the conversation, still have one major question on your mind.

     "But... what the hell are you doing here?", Phineas thought to himself.  Trying to be polite but stand stern and resolute as possible, he folded his arms across his broad chest and planted his boots wide.  Tyler was silent most of it and deadly with that rifle, so he was glad to have the kid on his flank.  They must have posed an intimidating encounter for the seemingly unarmed and disoriented person before them.  Tic and Tok clicked in on automated legs and stood in the back side by side.  Watching.  Tok was holding a bioelectric suppressor in one robotic pincher
     Freya soothed the conversation, as usual.  Phineas found a pause in the interchange and switched the subject.
     "Freya", he said.  She snapped to him eye to eye.  "Run a quick search on Milford Ike, please."  And turning his attention to the newcomer, "We need to seal up and get moving before we get into any trouble.  We'll be able to take ya back into Wicks, but I can't leave you in this outback.  I ain't allowed.  Droids!"
     The two little automatons went rigid, looked up and beeped.  One little light flashed once on their metallic heads.
     "You two keep an eye on our guest.  Don't mess with him.  Just don't take your eyes off him.", Phineas snorted as he put his goggles back over his eyes and stepped into the lift at the center of the mud compartment, "Tyler close us up.  I'm gonna get us moving.", and with that, he hit the button on the lift and rose up into the deck overhead where the cockpit was.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:04, Sat 22 June 2019.

after a short while wicks became more and more visible off in the distance, it's bright yellow and pale pink lights glowing beyond the initial buildings making an unintentional wall.  As the sun grew even more dim off in the west the lights grew even more brighter.  It was strange being near a town at night, the light pollution causing the sky to look barren.  Phineas was too used to seeing the many stars that line the heavens.  all seemed quiet except the low rumbling of the tires on the broken concrete.  Milford sits awkwardly staring at the two Droids with their un-moving gaze.  but just as soon as the silence started it was interrupted by the sound of the comms system poping in the pilots cabin giving Phineas a little start.  luckily for everyone else the comms were able to concentrated into one area so no one else heard it.  "Sir.." Freya's voice came a little after the pop "I've got some records on Milford Ike.  It appears he's had a very good record for a man of his age and current situation.  He's a big contributor to the Wicks community and is well known there as a good man.  as he stated hes 32.  unfortunately we don't have much on this man due to it being harder to document average citizens, as you know.  however i do have something i think you might want to know: there is currently an investigation being done in Wicks for a supposed murder.  it started just two hours ago. a man named Jeremiah smith had supposedly fallen from a beam on a construction site in wicks.  there was evidences of hand prints on the back of the victim suggesting he had been pushed.  further studies show that he was intoxicated, other than that they don't know who killed him. before you make a judgment it should be noted that many people there knew Milford and Jeremiah were best friends since childhood."

     Tyler left shortly after Phineas, and walked to his room and put his gun away.  He sat down on his bed and looked out the window as the Argonaut approached wicks.   Fenrir walked into the room and started to lick Tyler on the face.  Tyler laughed and threw his toy across the room and started to play with his dog.  After a while he stopped and started to read a book about sharpshooting and techniques on rifles.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:34, Sun 23 June 2019.

     A sudden sense of dread washed over Phineas as he heard the last part of Freyas report.

"Thank you", is all he could muster into the comm system in response as his finger slipped off the transmit button.  He sank into his chair as he pondered the obvious implications.  Putting an inevitable two and two together, he knew what he had to do before reaching the outskirts of town.

     He pressed the button again and said, "Tyler, could you come up and take the wheel please."  Then he leaned forward and punched up the only image of Jeremiah in their database - a cold, citizens mugshot, tinted green and overexposed.  He switched the image over to the laboratory printer below and then went below to pick it up.  He then turned to the mud compartment and approached their guest one more time.  He was gripping the bench with white knuckles, obviously disoriented by the movement of the vehicle and by what looked like classic signs of inebriation, but was that also fear that Phineas sensed in him now?

     "Do you recognize this man, Milford?" and he tossed the freshly printed image onto their hitchhiker's lap.

Milford looked ad the photo on the lap.  His eyes widened for a second then changed back to normal. Although he did a great job at hiding his clear terror on his face his voice clearly gave away his feelings.
"Yes I do me and him are good friends and we've worked on many building and construction projects together, why do you ask?"  his waving voice made it clear he new exactly what Phineas had learned but if that was the case then why was he hiding it?  Why play dumb?  there was clearly something going on here and whatever that was Phineas needed to figure it out quick because their destination was coming up and soon.

     "NO MORE GAMES, MILFORD", Phineas barked in his deep 'interrogation tone'.  The two mechs stepped forward, tense and cautious.
     He leaned forward for emphasis and twitched his handlebar mustache with flared nostril and a sideways snort.  "I don't have time for them and I DO have the authority to pursue justice matters in this region, so I suggest you come clean with me, or you could be hogtied on suspicion of murder before we even REACH Wicks."
     He thrust the printed image of poor Jeremiah forward again, this time with a bit more force.  Then with a much more subdued, almost whispered tone, "What happened to your friend tonight Milford?"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:13, Fri 02 Aug 2019.

  Tyler, still in the cockpit, was driving the vehicle very nervously due to the fact that he doesn't drive in the cockpit that much.  With his rifle by his side and Fenrir on his other, Tyler was shaking very nervously but with the help of Fenrir on his side, he was comforted by the dogs warm and smelly breath.  After a while he stopped shaking and focused on the stuff he read when he first got on the ship.  He jumped when he heard the small, distorted shriek of Phineas and jolted his dog awake and he started to run and jump around barking at everything.  Tyler yelled at Fenrir to stop and lay down. He stopped and instead of laying he just stood there and stared.  Tyler laughed and then realized he wasn't watching the road or anything on the dash board.  He heard beeps and sirens then freaked out and put his hands on the wheel and clicked a few buttons and everything stopped.  He realized also that Fenrir was starring at the lights instead of laying down, petted him and went back to driving.

The echo of Phineas's voice puts every one on edge, though most of the people on this rig have not been here long they know when you mean business.  The man in front of you, clearly still drunk and unstable, begins to weep
"Man it happened so fast. We were celebrating and then he walked on that stupid girder and I reached out to grab him and next thing I new he had hit the floor!" By the second sentence he had become almost incomprehensible.  This whole situation was starting to feel very wearisome at this point and with only ten minutes left until they were at Wicks Phineas had to figure out something to do with this guy.

     Phineas paused a moment, frozen in place at the depth of the moment.  He 3-dimensionally ran through scenario after scenario in a matter of seconds analyzing the possibilities of the next few hours.  He took a step back, locking his steel-blue eyes on the wilted man before him under furrowed, bushy-grey eyebrows.  He thrust his jaw forward in final mock determination, then stormed off with a frustrated grunt.
     "Watch him.", he said almost to himself as he passed the two droids and swiveled back to the center of the Argonauts 'mud room'.  He lifted his head up over one shoulder, glaring back at the accused man.  Then he grabbed a thick-knuckled hand around one of the four control posts and twisted with a jerk of the wrist.  The small platform of metal, sitting on the deck plates, lifted into the air with a buzz and carrying Phineas up with it.
     'Nothing reliable will come out of this guy until he sobers up', Phineas told himself.  'What if this man is telling the truth?' 'Would the town be out for blood in retribution?' 'Would Ike serve a sentence for trying to save his friend?' 'Or was there an actual, genuine murder that occurred in Wicks this evening?'

     He pondered a dozen other questions as the lift popped mechanically into part of the deck on the second level.  While the lower deck was mostly metal and durable materials, the upper deck was far more plush and comfortable.  Behind Phineas, the living quarters were cozy and relatively clean.  A small kitchenette and food storage across from a private nook with table and bench.  A small library, a games panel and 4 closet-sized private living quarters all trimmed out in red, cream and shiny chrome with red carpet on the floor.

 

     In front of him was the control center of the Argonaut.  Two seated stations at the very front of the vehicle looked out through a narrow, glass portal that spanned the width of the font end.  Soft lights and pulsing readouts flickered all over with two smaller, wall-mounted stations occupying the walls on both sides.

 

    The glow on the horizon under the dark sky indicated Wicks approaching.  Tyler and his dog were manning primary control on the right.  Phineas pounded up to the chair behind him, rubbed the top of Fenrir's head and poked Tyler in the shoulder.  The younger man shot up dutifully and moved over to the copilot's station, his dog following along with him.  Phineas plopped down into the seat and sank in, settling his grip on the steering wheel.  He had a lot to think about and little time left to do it.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:34, Sat 30 Nov 2019.

Sooner than Phineas had hoped the gates of Wick appeared.  The almost inaudible sound of the engine was able to be heard because of the silence all throughout the Argonaut.  Recent events had put everyone on edge.  The large metal and concrete wall that surrounded Wicks made it clear that this was a government helped city.  The two large turrets on either corner of the wall visible by the Argonaut would look intimidating to travelers and raiders but for Phineas they were just another standard wall turret.  strangely the turret on the far left corner looked new and clean as apposed to the one on the opposite corner which looked rusted and run down, something Phineas thought a little strange.  Perhaps one of them had broken?  A closer look at its bright blue, white and gold coloring symbolizing the Rona flag meant that this was actually probably the work of one the the guards.  The evidence of this comes from its intricate and lovingly done paint job. as the Argonaut came closer and closer the details of the four large gates became more and more clearer.  The were large, just a little bit taller and wider than the Argonaut.  the size made sense considering the four gates opened up into four docking areas for larger vehicles to fuel up and do repairs.  in the middle of the wall was a much smaller gate roughly the size of two and a half humans tall for those with small caravans rather than large vehicles.  The size of the wall also became apparent as they moved closer.  It was huge, easily the length of four, four and half football fields and the width of five. The wall itself was fortified but not much as the other major cities. As the Argonaut drew closer there was a hail from the town control tower. on the other side of the speaker Phineas could hear a somewhat young sounding man with a stern but slightly quieted voice "On coming vehicle state your name and vehicle code."
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:42, Thu 21 Nov 2019.

     Phineas snapped out of his deep thoughts and attended to the moment.

     "This is Argonaut T-68432 inbound from zone November-Epsilon-9er requesting debriefing, custody transfer and resupply; Agent Emrys commanding (badge ID 339 Alpha)."

     The light of the green and blue screens underlit Phineas' face in the fading dusk with soft teal light.  The Argonaut dutifully slowed her forward momentum crawl on final approach to the city's massive front gate.  Tyler went to work bringing drive systems to nominal, prepping myst-core temperatures to idle and securing various onboard mechanisms to docking mode,  All the while, Fenrir absent-mindedly scratched behind one ear with an undignified back leg.

 
This message was last edited by the player at 10:53, Sun 15 Mar 2020.

On the other side of the line Phineas could hear the young man gasp a bit. " Argonaut you are clear for docking bay 2 dock 7, and if I may sir it is an honor to meet you. Welcome to Wicks." The big doors to the left of the Argonaut make a deep creaking sound as the open up, allowing passage into the town.

"Argonaut confirms"

Phineas smirked a bit as he let go of the comm button.  He was too tired and deep in thought to be any more amused.  'Its an honor'.  He'd heard it so many times before.  One thing he knew for sure is that in these dark times, people needed something to believe in.  He'd been a part of quite a few successful campaigns.  Even pulled off a daring rescue once.  Maybe people remembered that he was instrumental in clearing out the badlands before the Great Settlement began.  In any case, the younger generation had gotten it into their heads that Phineas T. Emrys was some kind of "hero".  It irritated him slightly, but he knew they meant no harm.  He allowed the notion only because it gave them hope to do so.  Maybe someday it would even inspire a "real" hero.  As far as he was concerned, the real heroes were the everyday families and citizens who dealt with the hardships of Blackwall life and still managed to edge the boundaries of civilization outward, pushing back the darkness with each passing year.

He glanced over at Tyler as the Argonaut carefully slid through the city's enormous main gate under the bright docking lights.