Forums » General Roleplay » Guide (1x1 with Chuck227)

She hadn't expected the large man to be quite so fast, nor quite... so large. She was facing some sort of part-mechanical, blue-blooded giant. And yeah, that was most definitely some kind of gun in her face. It wouldn't do her or anyone else any good if she were dead.

Kyra scowled and jerked her hand back. Rather than trying to attack further or simply fleeing though, she held her hand out. "Fine," she snapped, glaring right up into his strange glowing eyes. "You were defendin' yer property. Or yer government's, whatever. Now gimme my knife back and tell me what it is you want. I'm sure it's not just some sappy story about me being alone."

Zeke wasn't about to take his gun off of her for a moment. While he did a good job of appearing indestructible, having a knife rammed through his fleshy bits hurt. A lot. His weapon tilted slightly in his hand as he used his bottom two fingers to agonizingly pull the knife from his squishy hand by the hilt. He then took hold of it and held it out to her, blood soaked and all.

The alien might have entertained a story just to try and 'humanize' himself a bit more like his survival training dictated. But, now that she'd gone and put a knife in him, Zeke was eager to cut to the chase. "Frankly I could care less who you are and you can keep your story to yourself. What matters to me is that you have significant knowledge of this world and its dangers. I require a guide. If you help me, my government will pay you bounties that are so amazing that I have great difficulty even describing them in this language. I assume that your obsession with wealth, which drives you to salvaging and thievery, is tied into the selfish need for personal advancement. If that is the case, then your reward will make you the most affluent individual on this planet."

Kyra snatched the knife and, not really wanting to have contact the strangely-colored blood, bent down to wipe it on the bottom of one of the dead one's sandals before putting it away. His stated disinterest in her "story" was one less thing to piss her off, at least; she'd had no plan of telling him a thing even if he'd pressed. The word "thievery" earned the man another sharp scowl, though.

"We ain't damned thieves," she hissed. "We take what we earn. Maybe you'd know that already if ya' hadn't killed them. Jus' be aware that your cowardly assumptions could end up just as deadly to you."

She started nudging through the dead elves' belongings with her foot, well aware that it was pointless to attack him while he was on guard.

"Gotta say, you've an interesting way of asking for help," she said bitterly. Kyra looked at him once again. "An' even if ya' hadn't killed this pair, I'd still have to refuse that offer. Seeing as ya seem to be, mm, pretty alone here, I really doubt yer important enough for a bounty like that. Oh, and that's never-mindin' that I have no way t' know your kin's 'riches' would be any use here in the desert."

Mumbling more to herself, she added, "Sounds dull as hell anyway."

Zeke seemed incapable of understanding her argument. He didn't seem to be accusing her of thievery in a chiding way. He was simply stating what he regarded as a fact. They took things from other people. Ergo, they were thieves. But, perhaps he was being a little closed-minded.

As far as killing went, the alien still seemed to think he had been totally justified in pulling the trigger. While it made sense that she would want to paint her people as hardworking 'collectors' who had just been poking around his highly advanced spacecraft to 'earn' things, Zeke seemed to think that even if he'd explained his situation.. he probably would have gotten the same result. A bullet in his head, or a knife in his back.

That was the problem with individualistic societies, which was in his mind.. every society that wasn't the Valtradi State. "I'm not asking you for help. I'm not that foolish. I'm offering you a business opportunity. While you are correct to assume that a single Valtradi is not of much consequence to an empire that spans many hundreds of worlds.. I would very much like to survive this ordeal. My species possesses a level understanding that is many centuries above your own. Take this, for instance." he said, tilting his handgun upwards. "This weapon generates the material from which stars are made, and then focuses it into a blast. Observe." He squeezed off a shot to his right, which aside from the spectacular effects of plasma, also left a strange glass formation on the surface of the sand.

"It is a weapon more powerful and sophisticated than anything on your planet." he said, nudging the rifle with his foot. "And.. it is merely my sidearm. I will not downplay the usefulness of your knowledge of this world. I absolutely need it to survive, and to eventually, return home. If you help me, I have much to offer you in return."

"More powerful and sophisticated than anything here, huh?" she said, looking unimpressed - though she had to admit, the little thing appeared to pack quite the punch for its size. She'd come across a few roughly similar weapons, but if the blob of glass and the holes in the bodies were any indication, they were toys in comparison. "You're worse than a ****in' Moonie."

The man seemed to have decent things to offer, but that was the only thing he had going for him. Rude, murderous, generally annoying... If she didn't figure he'd shoot her too if she refused, she'd have already left. She considered her situation - and finally realized he hadn't meant he came from another land. She cursed.

"Wait. Wait," Kyra said, now irritably baffled. "You... Yer from another planet?"

Zeke's plasma weapon was fairly lethal. It tended to melt right through armor, flesh, and bone without any trouble. Without any recoil, the pistol was also very easy to shoot. It had limited range, though.. and its power cell wouldn't last forever. Not that she needed to know that.. No matter. At least he had a primitive rifle to experiment with. The idea of shooting someone with a projectile weapon held the same sort of appeal for the alien that a human hunter might garner from using a bow and arrow. Given the technology level, maybe he could even find one of those to kill someone with here, too. There was a silver lining to every crash landing..

"Yes. I was born on Kamrino, homeworld of my people and the seat of power for the glorious Valtradi State. It was once a desert, like this world. Only.. more than eighty percent of the planet's surface is now cityscape, there are no sand worms, and there are no.. 'moonies'. What is a moonie?"

She might have mocked his words, were she not still recovering from the shock. Sure, the idea of other planets was fairly common, but nobody ever really thought about travel to them. There were enough things to worry about down on the ground. Yet here was a man claiming exactly that - that he had come from one of those other planets. Suddenly, some of the silly old myths she'd heard about "the beginning" seemed a little less silly.

Or, the man was just a warped demon like her and had lost his mind with it. That seemed much more plausible. She merely nodded and shook her head.

"Annoying," she said in answer to question, then sighed and went on to clarify, "Moon Elves. Pompous b****es, the lotta them. Look, I don' care 'bout either of pretendin' to like each other, but if I'm gonna even consider yer request, yer gonna help out.

She pointed out where the dead sandwyrm lay. "Dunno about you, but here in our desert, we don't like to waste. Being the giant you are, you get to bring back as much of that sandwyrm as you can, so we can prep it. So long at you ain't too slow, you should be able to make a trip there an' back safe enough. Trips after could be a risk, but you'd prob'ly be fine."

Hands on her hips, she stared at him expectantly.

Zeke didn't like the idea of venturing back out onto the open sands as his artificial gaze followed the direction of her finger. But, he would have to leave this little sanctuary eventually, and he would need to eat. The cyborg took a moment to gather up all of the spare ammunition for the rifles, and leave her with nothing more than her knives and an empty firearm. She might convince him to walk out to his death, but she wasn't going to shoot him in the back, at least.

Despite his size, the alien did seem able to move pretty quickly over open ground. The sand bogged him down some, but not as much as one might think. It wasn't particularly hard to find sandworm, either. She had blown most of it all across the desert, and he simply followed the elaborate pattern of blood-soaked sand to its epicenter. The base of the worm still laid exposed inside of a large crater. Zeke figured that the non-exploded half would do.

After a moment or two of deliberation, he reached to dig his fingers into the rugged flesh of the creature, and haul it both forwards and out of the sand with a slow, measured pull. The sand actually aided him here, as it was easy to lean most of the way over and put his weight into the work.

Although Zeke did appreciate this creature's capability for bloodshed, it well.. was just vile. Plus, he'd fed it a local not too long ago. Hopefully the man had been sliding around in one of the worm-parts that had been vaporized in the blast. Regardless of that, and the fact that his hand was beginning to throb as the effects of pain-dampening wore off, the cyborg managed to tug the creature free from the sand. Once it was fully surfaced, Zeke was able to drag it back towards solid ground without a whole lot of trouble.

She watched as he gathered up most of what could be easily used against him; if she weren't still so upset, she might have been amused. The guy was certainly cautious enough - not that she really held that part against him - but at what point would he decide practicality outweighed caution? Would he have any faith in a contract if she did decide to help him out - and could she trust him to uphold it?

It wasn't until he was gone that she realized it might have been a good idea to mention Sand Elf funeral practices to him; it was the sort of thing that tended to bother outsiders. She shrugged it off. Worst that might happen is he'd be disturbed enough to try killing her. Kyra knelt by the bodies, examined the wounds, and pulled her knife out. She made short work slicing through and salting them, though she avoided the flesh immediately around the wounds as a precaution.

From her pack she pulled a couple collapsable black metal boxes with glass lids. Wire racks were inside each, and she fit as much of the salted strips in as she could without hindering the dehydration process. What didn't fit lay in salt for the time being, until she could swap out the strips.

As the cyborg approached, he did look somewhat irritated by what she was doing. Sure, eating one's own kind was somewhat disgusting. But, his people practiced a sort of 'funeral rite' that was fairly close. Their dead bodies were broken down by nanomachines.. Every single bit was recycled. Every nerve ending, every carbon atom, and every cybernetic component. So, while cannibalism was fairly barbaric and disgusting to witness, he didn't have any moral or ethical objection to it.

Zeke was simply mad that she'd bullied him into dragging a dead worm carcass all the way over to the high ground to eat, and then opted to just eat the readily available dead bodies instead. The giant looked about ready to say something, but instead he simply sat down nearby and held his tongue for awhile. Perhaps he was going about this the wrong way.. "My people have a familiar practice. Our bodies are broken down by small machines and recycled so that we may still be useful to the State after death." he explained as he wiped the worm-goo off of his hands and onto the pants leg of a nearby body. "Tell me more about your people." Zeke still wanted to ask why she had acted differently than the rest of the group. To a Valtradi, non-conformity was considered both selfish and dangerous. But, his previous attempt had earned him a knife through his hand. Perhaps it was best to avoid that topic, least he earn a knife through his brain while he slept.

Kyra moved on to rekindling the remains of a fire - left of the other Sand Elves, she assumed - to begin cooking some of the remaining meat for a more immediate meal. Rather than holding it on a stick this time, she paced it in a copper tin and put it directly in the fire. She said nothing when he mentioned his people, though there was a slight, momentary change in her expression and nod of her head as she silently acknowledged that at least someone out there was practical.

When she glanced up at him, she noticed he appeared to be sitting comfortably, doing nothing in particular. And there was the worm - or part of it, anyway - just sitting there. She very much doubted he had nothing to cut with... but she slid him a knife just the same and set down another copper tin and some more salt for him, separate from where the rest of the elf-meat lay. "If ya plan t' eat, get cuttin'. You've no right to taste my kin."

She watched the fire as she considered his question - namely, whether or not she wanted to bother answering him. But, perhaps it would help...

"We're merchants," she said at last. "Survival is based upon trade. Outsiders consider us t' be dangerous, but necessary."

Kyra poked at the fire. "We like it that way. Fewer of 'em break their contracts and more of 'em keep useful when we help 'em travel. The deeper ya' wanna get into the dessert, the more ya' need a Sand Elf clan t' keep ya' alive." A smirk played across her lips. "Still plenty a' idiots challenge us in the pits though, trying t' show off. We make much money from it."

She considered her words, how everything she said referenced numbers, when he had already asked why she was alone. Should she fail to kill him again, believing her part of a larger group could potentially place others at risk - not that the man seemed the least bit reluctant to condemn others anyway. Kyra looked over to him, her face devoid of emotion.

"We don't have scouts. Bein' alone is just deadly as bein' in too large a group. I am alone because I became a hazard to my clan. Satisfied?"

Zeke wasn't in any particular hurry to eat. With all of the excitement, it had slipped his mind. While he could go for awhile without food, water would quickly become a pressing concern. The Valtradi had evolved on a desert world, but an efficient water-retention system didn't mean that he couldn't die of thirst. "That's fine. I could have probably eaten all four of you and still been hungry, anyways." the giant remarked as he set to work on the worm.

A wicked-looking mono-filament blade extended from his mechanical arm with a sharp hiss, and the cyborg used it to cut the creature's durable hide open. Once he had made his incision, the knife came in handy to cut away at the much more pliable meat. He worked until he'd cut a flabby, almost gelatinous cube of worm meat that dwarfed the copper tin she'd given him.

Zeke figured that worm meat would need all the salt that he could possibly stand to be edible, and so he used every bit that she offered. "Nomads then. Warriors, merchants, opportunists. At least, that's how it sounds to me." he remarked as he placed the plate on the fire next to hers with his cybernetic limb. It didn't seem to mind the heat as he pushed the tin into the perfect place.

"I find it strange that you exhibit signs of respect towards the people who cast you out. But, in the interest of civility I will not press further." he mused. His own people tended to execute and recycle hazards, not send them away.. It was an odd concept for the alien. But, primitives would be primitives. "This meal would be more pleasant with water." he remarked as he poked at the bubbling worm meat.

Three elves and a sandwyrm - the big man was certainly confident in his appetite. Having no reason to believe otherwise, Kyra remained blissfully unaware of the third elf he'd already killed. She nodded at the terms he applied to her race, though.

"Right. And now, next time ya' try callin' us thieves, you get another hole," she said with a glare, then turned her eyes on the fire once more. High as the sun had already risen, the fire seemed like little more than dancing orange silks. If this thing were indeed a vessel, perhaps they could take cover in while the sun was at its peak - provided the thing didn't turn into a hotbox. Getting back down was likely to be tricky enough as it was.

She briefly considered explaining her exile further, telling the man that they had only done what was necessary, and how even then they had been merciful. He'd already mentioned coming from a city though, so Kyra doubted he understood true loyalty.

"I'm running out," she said, instead addressing the issue of water. She patted the... thing... they sat on. "Saw this thing on my way to a settlement to restock. If you've got water, I'd be happy t' know. Else ya' better get to suckin' those juices."

She did have something that would help pull cleaner moisture from the meat - even the box presently making the jerky had a compartment to salvage the lost moisture - but she left that unmentioned, in part to fish out any admission that he already had a reserve of water, and in part because she hoped to see the yellow giant sucking on the raw meat.

Zeke, and all of his kind, were loyal to their government in a way that could only be described as closed-minded fanaticism. But, considering that he was the only Valtradi on the planet, his current loyalty was just to himself. He needed to return to the Valtradi State.. so that he could get back to doing its bidding. With any luck, one of the projects that he would oversee in the future would be productive enough to erase the memory of this.. setback, and the resources it would take to recover him.

The cyborg was content to cook his worm meat thoroughly. The idea of getting a parasite from a giant worm carcass was not pleasant. His artificial immune system made Zeke largely resistant to such blights, but.. why tempt fate? Besides, the more he cooked the stuff, the better it smelled. Eventually he worked up the courage to cut a chunk away from the still-cooking mass and take a bite. Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad.

After a few more tentative bites, the giant quite literally devoured his meal. He took a moment to wipe the residue off of his face and hands, but he used the same dead-guy surface as before, and only growled in annoyance. He pulled an elaborate head-dress off of the body, wiped his face and hands on it, and then tossed it back over the man's face.

Zeke sat for a moment considering her words.. and then set about cutting himself another chunk of worm flank. "I doubt I could draw much moisture from it. Especially with all of this salt.. " he grumbled. The Valtradi did like to eat, and he also seemed to learn relatively quickly, because his next helping took a lot less time to get cooking. "There's very little left from the wreck. I don't mean to sound rude either, but your species doesn't have enough knowledge to use anything in this derelict. The alloy that it is made from is several centuries past your level of understanding. No tool or process that you possess would be able to cut it." he said offhandedly.

"But.. perhaps you can use this." he mused, tossing her a simple airtight foil pouch that was most certainly filled with purified drinking water. "Consider it a downpayment." He had tried to scam water off of her first. And, he didn't really like the idea of sharing anything with her besides a bullet. But.. he needed a guide, and he needed to show that he had something to offer. "How much would five hundred of those water bags be worth?"

"They may be dead 'n skinned, but I'd appreciate a bit more respect for my kin," Kyra hissed with a scowl, slowly spinning a knife in her hand. If he wanted "civility" then he was going to have to be a little more civil himself. It was bad enough that she was unable to use the traditional funerary herbs.

She used her poker to pull her own meal from the fire and was careful of the copper tin. When she put a piece of the meat in her mouth though, she froze for a moment. It had been awhile since her last visit to the desert, but it had been much, much longer since she had tasted that flavor. It was only because of the presence of the stranger that she forced herself to begin chewing again and pretend that all was fine. His words helped to bring her back to the present as well.

"Nice how ya know nothing 'bout the people here, but apparently everything 'bout the tech. I bet ya' think I've never seen a cyborg before, too," she said, with more than a little snark, though the last part was more to herself and half-mumbled.

Her hand snapped up when he tossed the pouch, and she quirked a brow as she examined it. It was clearly filled with fluid - strange for a flexible casing - and wobbled slightly as she tilted it back and forth. She sniffed it but was hardly surprised to detect nothing through the foil. Kyra was startled at the number stated, but hid it behind wary interest. "They'll be worth a lot more if ya' prove it won't make me sick 'r dead."

The Valtradi shrugged, but he would endeavor to cut her fallen kin a little wider of a berth. In all fairness, she was being quite tolerant of him, especially considering that he'd killed them in the first place. Zeke couldn't imagine what it would be like to eat his own kind. But.. yesterday he would have had difficulty imagining what is was like to eat a giant sand worm.

About the only thing that could interrupt his second helping was the mention of the word 'cyborg'. The alien quite literally spit out a mouthfull of worm as she mentioned it and then glanced over at her incredulously. His eyes weren't exactly emotive, but he was clearly surprised. He had assumed that her level of understanding regarding him was something along the lines of 'sky-god'.. not quite.. 'cybernetic organism'.

If the level of technology was up to par, it would make trans-world communications easier to facilitate. But.. on the flipside, people would be much harder to fool. "If I wanted you sick or dead, I could have shot you in the gut or in the face at any time." he snapped back. "But.. uh, I assure you that it is purified water. If you don't believe me, toss the water back. I'll be happy to prove it to you." Hopefully water was that valuable here. It would be easier, and a lot cheaper for him, to give her ten-thousand gallon tank of water than it would be say.. one ton of gold.

His reaction to her words about technology amused her, at least. Just how dumb did the man think she was? While some of what he'd done and had certainly seemed strange, she'd seen enough in her travels that it wasn't inconceivable. So far his most outlandish claim was that he came from another planet, and she still had serious doubts about that.

Kyra was hesitant to let go of was was, indeed, probably perfectly good water, and so she had hoped he would pull out another pouch as proof. When he didn't, she grudgingly tossed the pouch back.

"How long ya' plannin' on making yerself a nuisance for me, anyway?"

Zeke carefully cut the pouch open, and drank about half of the water. He contemplated acting out a long, drawn out death by poisoning, but it was probably best that he didn't. Instead, he held the pouch out towards her to keep the water from spilling out. "Here, see for yourself." he offered.

Her question had him thinking quietly for a moment. "Just until I get off of this rock. I'll need to make contact with the nearest fleet. Is there... a hub of science and technology anywhere near here? A research base, or perhaps a city?" he asked. The more high-tech, the better. "I'll need to construct a device that will allow me to send an emergency broadcast.. and it'll need to be sent from a point of relatively high altitude."

She watched his throat to be sure he swallowed, and accepted the pouch back when offered. After sniffing it, she shrugged and gulped some down. It tasted a bit different than she was used to - most notably, an almost stale lack of taste. Then again, it was probably cleaner than what she usually drank.

"Don't s'pose ya've got any containers 'at can actually be closed again?" she questioned with a lopsided frown.

Finishing off her chunk of meat, she moved over to the hotbox the strips were in and switched out the fresh jerky for the still-raw strips. The jerky was stored away in a previously empty pouch.

"Best place I know for tech's Nova Terra," she said as she worked. "Nasty place, though. Huge. Dirty. Mostly full'a idiots 'at either somehow think humans're the only folks around, or else wanna kill what's not human. Pro'ly not a good place for someone tall 'n yellow as you. Ya might be able ta make due with a cloak 'r somethin', though."

She sighed and and sat back down.

"There's always the tunnels under it, but they kinda make me sick. Also, creepy as hell. Most of the... things down 'ere seem t' be harmless enough, but they can really screw with yer head."

Zeke had to admit that a canteen, or something close, would probably be really useful.. Valtradi rations provided a normal duty cycle's worth of food and water. But it would be wise to preserve water out here.. If he came across more.. well he'd just have to drink it right then. "Unfortunately not."

The alien finished the rest of his worm flank without much trouble, though he resisted the urge to drink anymore. Despite his size, his body retained water fairly well. His species had evolved for desert survival, but due to modern contrivances he lacked her expertise. Still, at least he wouldn't be her albatross for the length of the trip. Or, then again, maybe he would.

"Hah, humans." he grumbled to himself. His species viewed humanity, or at least the human coalition of Earth, in a special sort of way. They had been the State's most formidable rival to date, and their cowardly treaty-forming and dangerous individualism filled the aliens with both a curious respect, and loathing. A capable species to be sure, but one that would need to be re-educated.. or annihilated by the State.

"It seems like they spring up everywhere. They are like the galaxy's weeds. Or, perhaps they are the project of an ancient creator race.." he mused to himself. "None-the-less, we shall disguise ourselves and then utilize these tunnels. I would rather be frightened and sick than shot apart and dead."