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Post by Endicott on Feb 9, 2015 18:44:58 GMT -5
"Now why would you want to do that?" She asked, raising one of her eyebrows again. "The Slavers have never been a priority of the Brotherhood of Steel. If they had, then Paradise Falls would ceased to have existed quite some time ago."
Adan could not agree more there. The Brotherhood, though, had mutants and Enclave to deal with in the past six years and Paradise Falls was a little low on the hit list.
"I'd do it with a squad myself, but we still have the mutant threat to eradicate, as well as the numerous raider groups terrorising the wasteland."
"More importantly," Straton continued. "Why should I let you accompany me? I don't have the slightest inclination as to who you even are, let alone where your loyalties reside. Despite your claim to the contrary, you still strike me as a defector from the Brotherhood of Steel...or a member who is thinking of defecting, at any rate. Why would you have any interest in helping me and not joining the Outcasts?"
Adan had considered this himself; why didn't he joined the Outcasts. But then he remembered they were bigoted opportunists, who only had progress in mind. They had that old western mentality, and Adan loathed that even more than Lyons' mantra; he was stuck in a corner, effectively. Adan placed his hand on his chin, in thought, trying to compose himself.
"Because I want them dead too. That alone should be enough insurance, shouldn't it? I'm just a knight looking to slay some dragons, and Paradise Falls is full of them. Outcasts, Lyons; they're all bullshit... speaking of which, I don't even have the slightest inclination of who you are, do I?"
Adan left that open, implying for her to open up.
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Post by Ambassador SteelPlate on Feb 10, 2015 8:26:47 GMT -5
"I'd do it with a squad myself, but we still have the mutant threat to eradicate, as well as the numerous raider groups terrorising the wasteland."
"Excuses," Straton shook her head. "Maybe I could have accepted that before the Enclave was defeated, but they've been gone for awhile now. You have time to worry about Raiders but not about the Slavers?" She shook her head again. "So very odd. Everyone, except the wicked, seems to despise the Slavers and their dealings, yet everyone seems to have an excuse to why they haven't eradicated them. Only the Regulators seem to attempt to do the job, and yet, they haven't succeeded either. The Slavers would stand virtually no chance against the Brotherhood of Steel. If the Brotherhood can't spare one measly squad for the task, then God help us all."
"Because I want them dead too. That alone should be enough insurance, shouldn't it? I'm just a knight looking to slay some dragons, and Paradise Falls is full of them. Outcasts, Lyons; they're all bullshit..."
"How noble of you," Straton replied in a rather dead pan manner. Something about this man didn't suggest that he liked saving lives out of the good of his heart. So far, he had expressed his hatred of the Brotherhood, the Enclave, the Slavers, the Outcasts...it seemed he had bitterness towards everyone. No wonder he was "lonely". Not to mention the smell of alcohol reeking from his power armor. It just didn't make sense. Why would this man want to destroy Paradise Falls? What reason did he have? He surely wasn't doing it for anyone else, so maybe for himself? Was he trying to atone for something? Sheer boredom? Was he "slaying dragons" just for the sake of "slaying dragons"? And, for that matter, why was he willing to go on a potentially lethal mission with someone he'd just met not five minutes ago?
Still...Straton could use another gun in taking down Eulogy Jones and his headquarters. A gun wrapped in power armor was even better. A highly trained gun wrapped in power armor even more so.
"... speaking of which, I don't even have the slightest inclination of who you are, do I?"
The Agent reached into her coat pocket with her free hand and whipped out her badge, flipped it open, and held it up. She did this in almost one motion, with her speed and sleight of hand.
"Agent Straton," She said. "F.B.I." She put the badge away as fast as it had been produced. She didn't expect the Knight to really know what the 'F.B.I' was. Nobody did, but she didn't care. "I make it my mission to eliminate the wicked of the Capital Wasteland." She paused. "Taking down Raiders isn't too hard, nor the average murderer. But I'm only one person. When the groups get larger, more organized, and better equipped, it's not quite as simple. The Slavers have always been in my sights, but it's a delicate situation with them. They have hostages; men, women, elderly, and children. Simply going in haphazardly would cause them to eliminate what they perceive to be a product and nothing more. In order for my mission to be successful; those that they have captured must be rescued."
Another pause.
"I could use another gun at my side," She admitted. "But if I'm going to let you follow, then you have to answer my question. You say you want the Slavers dead...but why? Why do you wish to slay those particular dragons? What's in it for you? You wouldn't for Elder Lyons, you wouldn't for Protector Casdin...so why would you even want to waste the time?"
If he was doing it out of sheer boredom, then she'd rather not drag him along. This was not a mission to be taken lightly; this was the liberation of Slaves, of people who had been locked in cells for a good portion of their lives. Agent Straton had worked with the Temple of the Union...though they had never met her and didn't even know she existed. More than a few slaves, who had been on their way to Paradise Falls (whether because they were fresh captures or were being shipped somewhere) suddenly found themselves at the Temple of the Union when their "escorters" suddenly were executed. This was a matter she took very seriously and she couldn't allow it to fall apart.
She waited for his response.
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Post by Endicott on Feb 11, 2015 13:40:06 GMT -5
"Excuses," Straton shook her head. "Maybe I could have accepted that before the Enclave was defeated, but they've been gone for awhile now. You have time to worry about Raiders but not about the Slavers?" She shook her head again. "So very odd. Everyone, except the wicked, seems to despise the Slavers and their dealings, yet everyone seems to have an excuse to why they haven't eradicated them. Only the Regulators seem to attempt to do the job, and yet, they haven't succeeded either. The Slavers would stand virtually no chance against the Brotherhood of Steel. If the Brotherhood can't spare one measly squad for the task, then God help us all."
Adan gave off a sardonic smile, almost in agreement with her sentiment.
"Raiders are more abundant than the Slavers, and pose more of an immediate threat. Slaves can be rescued, corpses cannot. The mutant threat is still at large and the goddamn Aqua Pura shipments make up quite a few men short of a decent...-"
Adan stopped, chuckling to himself as more and more excuses leak from his mouth like a waterfall on a snow-capped mountain.
"Bah, who am I kidding. Lyons won't spare the men because he's lazy, and Casdin could give a rats ass from what he tells me... but I do. I feel responsible..."
Adan paused before continuing, his glasses slipping down the ridge of his nose as he looked down at the ground for a moment. Could he trust her with that information? Maybe... but not now. It would jeopardise their business relationship, and if he was to atone for what happened in that dark place he would need to keep quiet...
"How noble of you," Straton replied in a rather dead pan manner.
"Is it so wrong of me to want to do some good? Hell, like I said, Lyons just sits on his aged, blubbery ass and acts like he's the second coming of Christ; the new Messiah, just because he stopped the Enclave and the Mutants... but the Enclave never enslaved anyone in their whole campaign in D.C., and the Mutants don't know any better when they capture people.. as horrible as it is. I've wanted to do it ever since The Scour-... I.. I just feel it needs to be done."
That was a close call... Adan wasn't a young man anymore, and his censoring abilities weren't up to scratch; he was never silver-tongued, but his lips were never so loose. The mysterious stranger wouldn't likely even know of the incident, and maybe even sympathise with Adan, but as far as he was concerned the reason The Pitt exists was his fault entirely, and by extension Paradise Falls...
"I just want Jones dead, alright? I've met ex-slaves, and their... stories, are disturbing. I don't want to stand here and let it happen. Do I need to have a leader behind me to want that? Do it need to be in the form of orders, or are good deeds just nonexistent these days?"
Adan's tone was scolding, but not aggressive. It wasn't always easy to explain his motivations for doing things, seeing as he didn't seem to particularly favour anyone... but, that's only because they're all pricks.
"Agent Straton," She said. "F.B.I." She put the badge away as fast as it had been produced. She didn't expect the Knight to really know what the 'F.B.I' was. Nobody did, but she didn't care. "I make it my mission to eliminate the wicked of the Capital Wasteland." She paused. "Taking down Raiders isn't too hard, nor the average murderer. But I'm only one person. When the groups get larger, more organized, and better equipped, it's not quite as simple. The Slavers have always been in my sights, but it's a delicate situation with them. They have hostages; men, women, elderly, and children. Simply going in haphazardly would cause them to eliminate what they perceive to be a product and nothing more. In order for my mission to be successful; those that they have captured must be rescued."
Adan paced a little back and fourth as he replied, caressing his grey, wisened beard. The old servos of his armour began to wir a little as he did so, showing just how aged they both were; the armour and it's wielder. It barely even reflected light, now that it was so dark, and this only represented something insidious and horrible... but, that's another story.
"F.B.I.? ...You can't be. They're pre-war, from what I can tell from the Citadel's logs... we would've ran into you by now, surely?"
Adan was disturbed, astonished and concerned with her mental health. There's no way she could work with a pre-war agency that hasn't shown a trace since the day the bombs fell... could she?
"I make it my mission to eliminate the wicked of the Capital Wasteland." She paused. "Taking down Raiders isn't too hard, nor the average murderer. But I'm only one person. When the groups get larger, more organized, and better equipped, it's not quite as simple. The Slavers have always been in my sights, but it's a delicate situation with them. They have hostages; men, women, elderly, and children. Simply going in haphazardly would cause them to eliminate what they perceive to be a product and nothing more. In order for my mission to be successful; those that they have captured must be rescued."
Adan simply nodded at this, seeing as there was no need for any input here. The slavers needed the die and their captives needed to live; what could go wrong?
"I could use another gun at my side," She admitted. "But if I'm going to let you follow, then you have to answer my question. You say you want the Slavers dead...but why? Why do you wish to slay those particular dragons? What's in it for you? You wouldn't for Elder Lyons, you wouldn't for Protector Casdin...so why would you even want to waste the time?"
With a grim expression, morbid in all aspects, Adan let out a sigh and sat down on a nearby rock, as he began to mumble just audibly and with great shame.
"It's my fault..."
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Post by Ambassador SteelPlate on Feb 14, 2015 11:10:22 GMT -5
"It's my fault..."
A silence followed this comment, and one of Agent Straton's eyebrows raised in response to it. She'd only gone on for so long because she wanted to see his reaction to her questions. He'd almost said something about the Scourge, an event that Straton had only limited knowledge about. She'd heard of the Pitt, yes, but she'd never been, but knew that it was awful place, full of slavery and woe.
Finally, after a moment, Straton finally replied...
"Those who peform 'good deeds' without being ordered to are becoming rare these days," She said, finally pocketing the Pulse Grenade. "Most people have ulterior motives...and most of those aren't well intentioned. I, however, have a duty to protect the good people of this country...even if the 'country' died with the bombs of the Great War." She paused and looked at Adan
"Who are you, then?" She asked, knowing that he still hadn't introduced himself.
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Post by Endicott on Feb 20, 2015 18:36:57 GMT -5
Those who peform 'good deeds' without being ordered to are becoming rare these days," She said, finally pocketing the Pulse Grenade. "Most people have ulterior motives...and most of those aren't well intentioned. I, however, have a duty to protect the good people of this country...even if the 'country' died with the bombs of the Great War."
Adan still didn't believe there was any way she could have been around since the Great War, and didn't really want to bring it up; if she was from before the war, it was likely a very long story and something which would be best kept unknown to his already-troubled mind... though perhaps in the future, it might be a fact he'd come to know. Still, he was surprised she didn't want to press further after his comment, seeing as it was rather ambiguous and certainly suspicious in his mind, but maybe like him she didn't need the weight on her mind.
"We all have our duties... mine have been left unattended for far too long."
His voice at this time was raspy and hoarse, a symptom of his alcohol withdrawal, but even in the croaky haze that was his voice there was clarity.
"Who are you, then?" She asked, knowing that he still hadn't introduced himself.
It took a while for him to stand up from the rock he'd been perched on due to his aging body and the weight of his armour, but mostly due to his weakness from drinking and having slept poorly.
"Knight Sergeant Adan Krawiec... so-called servant of the Brotherhood of Steel and White Knight wasteland warrior with too much time on his hands and too much grey in his hair to be called a white knight."
The cynicism was sharp and potent.
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Post by Ambassador SteelPlate on Mar 9, 2015 11:58:08 GMT -5
(I didn't forget about this thread...YOU forgot about this thread......yeah...uh...*walks away awkwardly*)
"Very true, Adan Krawiec..." Straton replied. "We certainly do have our duties. And, presently, mine are to find a resolution to the Slavers of Paradise Falls. I plan to do whatever is necessary to eradicate them and rescue their hostages. Finally, when that is done, Paradise Falls itself shall burn to the ground, so that the Slavers shall never reclaim it."
She turned from Adan and began to walk away.
"If you wish to help..." She said as she went. "Then meet me tonight at the Senecca Station south of Paradise Falls at Midnight. We can talk more then..."
(My next post will move time to midnight...)
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