[Triskavanski]

Raven gives him a cold incredulous look. "Just because I don't do what you want me to do, does not in anyway make me lesser. I am my own person, I call the shots. Not you. Not Aztech Corp, Not some spoiled elvish bitch with a daddy complex. So thanks for the offer, but no thanks. I'm not about to be your little toady, running at your beck and call just because you think following your orders, your way, your goals, is somehow going to make me more. I don't believe even for a second that is what you truly think, You just think I'd be a useful pawn. I'm not your pawn. She slowly begins backing away from Webster. She didn't mind doing good, but well, It was, and would always be to better her position, the fact this chick didn't see that, and worse, insulted her for not following her way made for a rather moody raven.

[ismilealot]

@ Masquerade  Sam turned and walked away. Soon emergency vehicles were on the scene and a crowd collected to see and speculate and gossip about what happened.

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena laughs at the concept of people in the Barrens having that sort of money.  "OK.  So if get some part of money for mage and can only get one thing, then Yelena and Arc pitch in to get rigger thing for head.   Yelena can wait to go where Tsina Molovna is.  Not as important now.  I saw many people come to fight mage and monster because they live there.  Yelena not live anywhere and wants that.  At least for a while."  She tries to remember conversations.  "I not remember about therapy, but glad to leave here.  I need practice with guns and I am wanting a smoke and some vodka very much." 

Yelena laughs.  "Arc, Yelena lived in small detention cell then small prison cell for years.  Your place cannot be bad as those places.  And the company is much better."

[Csjarrat]

The news hit him like an earthquake, he'd not even recognised Fallon's body after the fight. He'd been so focussed on the ritual he realised he didn't really know much about what had happened last night at all.
Either way, the man he barely knew had seemed genuine and caring, even if the residents he sought to protect weren't approving of the law's presence.
He dialled up a local florists and had them deliver a huge bouquet to the precinct he worked with.
He signed it up;
"With the greatest condolences for the loss of a great man,
From Mage Turnstall and all in the barrens.
Your sacrifice will not be forgotten."

He knew it was only a small gesture, but he felt he had to mark his passing somehow.
He spent the morning calling around the hospitals of the city, trying to track down where his two badly wounded companions had gotten to and started looking for places to rent over a lunch of soy-noodles. He spotted a nice place out in the villages and booked an appointment for a couple of days time to view it.

A couple of days passed as he helped out in the soup kitchens and bought a few items he needed, catching up with Nbungu and touching base with Lil' Mik to see how things were progressing on their side.
Johnny was doing much better after a few days rest, some care and magical support for his wounds and was soon up for heading out for a beer.
The contact from sam webster was most interesting.
A regular income could seriously turn his affairs around and it sounded like the work would fit his skillset.
//That sounds good to me. Let me know when and where. Warm regards, Mage Turnstall//

[SgtBoomCloud]

Yelena laughs at the concept of people in the Barrens having that sort of money.  "OK.  So if get some part of money for mage and can only get one thing, then Yelena and Arc pitch in to get rigger thing for head.   Yelena can wait to go where Tsina Molovna is.  Not as important now.  I saw many people come to fight mage and monster because they live there.  Yelena not live anywhere and wants that.  At least for a while."  She tries to remember conversations.  "I not remember about therapy, but glad to leave here.  I need practice with guns and I am wanting a smoke and some vodka very much." 

Yelena laughs.  "Arc, Yelena lived in small detention cell then small prison cell for years.  Your place cannot be bad as those places.  And the company is much better."

Arc gave a little laugh at the elf's strange concept of therapy, shaking her head.  "I kinda doubt the nurses here would take kindly to alcohol and gunfire in their rehab ward, aha.  But I get what you mean: I'm killing for a good smoke right about now."  She put a hand to her forehead, pressing in a little bit, backing away with a little cringe as she realized she used her metal arm.  This is gonna take some getting used to...

"Then it's settled.  We'll hook you up with a cot and consider me a fraggin' roomie, omae.  ...I don't wanna take your share if I can help it..but I appreciate it, Yelena."  The concept of sharing money with someone was a bit...foreign to the girl.  Growing up, she was given very little to call her own, and was raised that accepting help from others always came back in the form of inflated debts to repay.  A genuine gesture of aid is difficult to accept after that.  "And like I said, consider yourself fraggin' warned when you get to the place...I'm a drek housekeeper, and a worse cook, aha~"

[Mercy Merchant]

"Yelena has no idea what new skin will do to gun skills.  I might not be good without practice much."  Her voice gets softer.  "Yelena only knows killing and playing sax.  Somewhat limited skill set.  New skin might have hurt both and I cannot tell."  She lies quietly, tears coming as she considers what her life will be like without being able to use her beloved rifle or sax. 

She stops to think.  *Damn.  What would Yelena do if cannot shoot or play.*  Shaking her head she scolds herself.  *Quit groan.  That only leads to another form of death.  I will survive and find something.*  Wiping her eyes, she smiles and looks over at her friend.  "So.  Yelena may need new life if not able to shoot.  Can train?  Maybe need an assistant?"

With a new determination, Yelena begins exercising her fingers, trying to move them in intricate patterns.  She moves her arms and fingers as if playing her sax, listening to the music in her head.  Ignoring the pain, she pushes through her exercises to get a feel for the skin and muscles.  She needs to stretch the skin to battle the combined effects of the grafts and her drug induced inactivity.  Now that she is awake more than asleep she wants to start her own recovery.  *You almost died before, when Tsina Molovna shoot three times in the chest and threw into river.  But did not die then.  Remember what had to do to live and relearn after recovering.  You can do this.  You can learn again.*

She looks over at the human girl.  "Look Arc.  Can move fingers.  Mage girl lost and we won.  We will survive and live again."

[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc watched silently, politely averting her gaze as she watched the Russian tear up over the realization of just how Mich they had to undergo to stay alive.  The elf had to pretty much rebuild her skin...and with the bandages thinning, it was likely tomorrow that she would see what she looked like.  That had to have been quite a cause for anxiety at the very least, and the last thing she needed was some breeder gawking.

Arc did, however, raise a brow at the query of needing an assistant, followed by a retort of a chuckle.  "Hah.  When the work is good, assistance don't hurt.  If youre wanting, I'll teach us what I know.  Hell, I think Ima focus on how to keep those pretty guns of yours in top shape at least...clean, in order, software bug free.  Even how to patch and maintain armor.  Null sheen, Omae..."

When Yelena began to practice and test her manual dexterity and movement, Arc couldn't help but smile.  "heh...looks like you won't be that worse for wear.  Lucky~". The human lifted her hands up, stretching the digits and testing the motion, but froze as she looked down to see her cybernetic arm staring back at her.  Her smile vanished, jaw setting hard as she fought down her inner feelings in reaction to this: this arm, a further symbol of how she was imperfect, marred permanently.  A lone tear trailed down her cheek. And she fought hard and quick to wipe it away before being noticed.

"Yeah...survive.  we survivors, Yelena.  That much I gather.  Take more than a lethal blast to geek us, amirite?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Quick, but not quick enough.  Yelena noticed the tear from her friend.  She also noticed that Arc was trying hard to not let her see, so she decided to wait to mention it.  After all, Yelena is no fragging mind doc; she cannot even really manage her own emotions.  She does respond to the girl's comment.  "Yes, my new friend.  We survivors.  We do what it takes to go on.  Indeed take more than worst of mage girl magic to kill us.  And she is dead, so we were stronger."

She thinks over what the human had said.  "Is nice to offer Yelena a place to live and training.  But do not feel you need to do just for me.  But if really want to, I work hard to learn new skills."

[Imveros]

Feathers message sat unanswered in his com call queue as Johnny wandered around the hood in an almost daze. For a second he thought he had found his way into Issaquah. The area was quiet, people were getting along, and he hadn't seen even one drug deal or mugging in the few hours he'd been out. Johnny couldn't decide which thought was more troubling, that this beast scare had tamed the wilds or that this was just the calm before another storm. Still Johnny could use a few quiet days. How do they all do it? Just go back to normal like nothing ever happened? Gang wars, crime waves, the knights, all those make sense, but what do you do when you live a world where you life could end at any moment from something straight out of a horror trid? Johnny kicked some rubbish out of the street into an ally You keep on kickin, wither its ally rubbish, or tentacle beast's faces He looked around and took a deep breath Heck place even smells friendlier. I'll take wet dog over rottin garbage any day

He looks down at his comlink, Maybe i am ready for that drink

<<To; Feathers>> Nah haven't heard from any of the other yet. You wana grab a drink somewhere? Compare some notes, and see if we cant just enjoy the calm while it lasts? You got a place you like to hole up at? If not, i know one over in Touristville. Not sure if its your speed, but its never dull.

[Csjarrat]

sounds good to me, could do with a change of scenery. Say 8pm tonight?

[ismilealot]

@ Feathers & Johnny  >>Mage Turnstall and Johnny Lash, I'm hoping to meet you Friday or Saturday morning to ask you to investigate the activities of a club that has come to my attention. Suffice it to say that if you are willing to undergo this task pay would be modest, but you would be doing all of the Barrens, and potentially all of this region a deep service. Mage Turnstall, with regards to your request for information on your two companions they are at Harborview Medical Center for Research and Advancement. In the Dunkelzahn Building, floor 15, room 1534 beds A & B. I will alert the staff to your name to allow you entrance.<<

@ Arc & Yelena The next day the two of you are just finishing up breakfast when a cheerful blonde human in an obnoxiously cheerful yellow scrub uniform comes in and says, "Good morning! I'm Tracy and I'll be your physical therapist. First thing we're going to do is evaluate your core strength and reflexes to see where you're at and what we need to work on in terms of returning you to species baseline." You quickly find out that the obnoxiously cheerful yellow is a lie and Tracy is a sadist that pushes you hard to do more when just getting out of bed is a killer even with the special augmentation bands that she applies to help augment your own muscles. And when you complain Tracy says, "I know it hurts but while I can speak to the nurse about a small dose of pain medication, enough med to completely knock out the pain will put you to sleep and that's counter-productive to your therapy goals for today. So, I'll go speak to him now about a dose of something non-narcotic and let him also know you'll need something stronger once we're done." True to her word Beau, your nurse for today, comes in and programs your med pump for something, but it barely takes the edge off. You each finally get into your wheelchairs and Tracy starts you on chair excercises over at the large window so that you can enjoy the view. A light dusting of snow is falling that Tracy tells you isn't really making it to the ground when you hear a smooth male voice say, "Good, I'm glad to see the therapy going well." You both turn and see a tall slender good looking man leaning against Yelena's bed. Yelena recognizes him at once. Sam Webster! Well, at least she's  going to get paid for this job even if she'd never been able to contact him. He looks over at Tracy and says, "I'm Miguel O'Shannassy, their POA. I'm just going to watch their therapy for a few moments." Tracy smiles brightly and says, "They're doing very well. They're just going to do some reps on some basic exercises. I've got to go check on a few other patients and I'll be back in a bit." She leaves then and Sam smiles and nods as he watches her go.

     Then he turns to you and says, >>I'm glad to see you doing so much better. First things first, congratulations on being part of the team that successfully eliminated a huge threat. Second, your share of the bounty on that mage is 50k each. Third, I'm hoping to interest you both in a job. I've been impressed by your resourcefulness and abilities, as well as your abilities to look beyond yourselves and to the needs of others. The pay is modest, but the rewards go beyond pay in that you will once again be helping people do what they can not do for themselves. I'm not going to put any pressure on you. I want you to think about it. More than that, I recognize that you still need to rehab. and may not be ready for this job on time. Either way, think on it & let me know.<< he smiles then and watches you exercise for a few minutes before he leaves.   

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena wants to push herself to find out what her limits are and what is needed to go past them to get back to what she was, but the demoness in the human's body seems bent on killing the two of them.  She calls out, "Ты садистские пытки, [You are a sadistic torturess!]"  Still, Yelena knows it is for her own good.......it just does not feel like it right now.  She allows the woman to do her job.

Her emotions run a gamut when Sam Webster enters the room.  She is pleased that he has remembered her.  When the therapist leaves she turns to him.  "Nice to meet you Miguel.  Какие frag — ПД?, [What the frag is a POA]"  She listens to the man speak.  "Do we thank for the care we have here?"  She is stunned by the amount of money he mentions.  "Is that addition to care here?"  The talk of a job is strangely enticing.  Until now she has never thought much of helping others.  All has been for herself.  But seeing Arc and the others working to remove a threat to their home had got her thinking.

She waits for 'Miguel" to leave then turns to Arc.  "Arc!  Think of money.  It is good, but job will be working for someone we do not know. Arc thinking to say yes?"

[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc gave a small smile at Yelena on the affirmations, continuing their conversation until one or both of them fell asleep once again.  The human's thoughts drifted back to that very expensive means of enhancing her skills, and howmany cars she would have to fix to work up that price.

On the morrow, Arc already felt a sense of dread at Tracy's demeanor, the trap instinct going off in her brain when she opened her cheerful mouth.  And rightly so.  Her body ached as she did the motions and exercises, getting out of bed and standing up.  She groaned, putting a hand on the bed to steady herself.  "mother fragging hell, either I'm still working off drugs or I've put on a hella lot of weight.  Jeez.."". She bit her lip and set her jaw, the groans and cries of her muffled as she fought through it.  The gangs used to best her regularly, the scars on her back proved it; this rehab was not any worse.

When the man entered, announcing him as their POA, Arc paused, looking at him passively.  The initials didn't match, but she got the idea this man was like all those spy tries, and familiar with aliases.  When the nurse Tracy left, the human wheeled up to him.

"First off, I guess I should say thanks or some Drek.  We should be dead, we get that.  I can't speak for her, but if you want me in, I can't exactly say no after all this investment, huh?" . She grinned, lifting her arms in a shrug.  However..you have access to that bounty?  If I'm gonna do this kind of work, I need to be better suited...think I can get hooked up with a control rig here on my dime?"

After the response and the man leaves, Arc turns to Yelena.  "Like I said, he put a lot of money into me...into us.  Where I come from, that means a debt I need to repay.  Working for him will handle that Drek, nuff said"

[Imveros]

<<To; Feathers>> Sounds like a plan. Here is the places address. You may want to dress down. It's not exactly a trendy kind of place, but the beers aint watered down and its never borin
<<Download attached map file>> BuckhornExchange.exe [yes]/[no]

Johnny starts walking back towards his new hab Hah monsters are one thing but i bet the mechanical bull will eat Mr Feathers alive. I'll need to take some vid for the chat groups. Gotaa hustle if I'm going to make the bus over to touristville though. Johnny tries his signature block eating stride and his legs almost give out beneath him Oh yeah cant keep forgetting, almost killed by magic tentacle man. Drek. Work you piece of junk Johnny lightly pounds on his legs and then knocks his skull like a door.

As Johnny nears the hab a young orc girl approaches him I've been lookin for you mister Johnny racks his brains for how this girl knows him Drek she was with that orc family wasn't she? the girl gives a big toothy smile. Pa said it was you that saved us from the monster thing the other day and he wanted to give you somethin to show our thanks. You know our house is the only one still standin, more or less, after that big explosion! Her smile fads slightly, it aint pretty but its yours! Pa found it after the explosion all beat up. He yelled for five whole minutes looking for its previous owner before taking it and fixing it up. My pa can fix anything you know! Johnny looked behind the girl at the beast hidden behind. It had obviously been a bike at some point, the scorpion logo still visible on the fuel tank, but it had to be made out of no fewer than three different bikes. Pa says she purrs like a kitten. A kitten with a cold, but she still purs. Look he even made these for it! She runs her hands along the stylized bull horns obviously made from broken building struts. She's perfect Missy. Tell your pa thanks. I wont forget this one. What should we name her? The girl looks deep in thought then raises her finger I know we should call her Princess! Johnny wrinkles his nose drek she will want tastles and a pink paint job next Johnny looks down at the girl with a smile How about we name her that but keep it our little secret?

Johnny gets on the back of the metal monstrosity and turns her over. Sick kitten is right, but Princess has got some power to her. Drek now I'm callin it that. Thanks there. I'll give her a test drive and tell you how she rides Cute kid. Least now i don't need to worry about catchin that bus. Lets find somewhere to gallop Johnny pulls out and drives towards touristville while the little girl jumps and waves as he drives off

>>Mage Turnstall and Johnny Lash, I'm hoping to meet you Friday or Saturday morning to ask you to investigate the activities of a club that has come to my attention. Suffice it to say that if you are willing to undergo this task pay would be modest, but you would be doing all of the Barrens, and potentially all of this region a deep service. Mage Turnstall, with regards to your request for information on your two companions they are at Harborview Medical Center for Research and Advancement. In the Dunkelzahn Building, floor 15, room 1534 beds A & B. I will alert the staff to your name to allow you entrance.<<

Wow this Sam character knows a little bit more about me than I'd like. Least he knows where the others are. Maybe feathers knows more about him.

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena considers her friend's remarks.  "Yes.  Was much money spent on us.  And that means debt, even to Yelena."  She thinks long and hard on her next comment, but finally realizes that Arc is more important.  "Arc?  Listen.  In whole life I had three people want to help Yelena just to help.  Priest man who hid me three years and was killed for it.  Then sax man, who loved Yelena for five years.  Now you.  You helped Yelena when not have to."  She has to stop for a moment to let the emotions die down a bit.  "You Yelena's friend and probably only friend.  I owe much to Arc, so no secrets.  Man is not who he says.  I know him as Sam Webster.  He was man who hired Yelena to kill mage girl. He told Yelena that he is part of some powerful group.  I not think he is bad man, but man with secrets.  Now he pay for us to live and we owe debt to him and group.  Is what you want?" 

She waits a moment then laughs, "Sam Webster is very good in bed if Arc wants to try him out."

"But about money.  Bounty share will pay for rigger set, but no extra for drones or rigger connections to car and bike.  Please let Yelena help.  I need to spend some to repair bike and probably need more guns for replace what I had, and maybe a nice bed and maid service, but that should leave much to give to Arc.  Let me give."

Yelena lies down in her bed, stretching out and relaxing.  "Ooooh.  Feels good to lie down.  Muscles ache like when back with Nikko in Siberia.  Had to keep moving to stay ahead of Russian state thugs.  Learned to travel light and carry all with me."  Even in bed and sore, she could not stop doing the small exercises for her fingers.  She hears the familiar whine of the machine she was hooked up to and realizes that she will be asleep before long.  She had started to hate that sound as it meant more time robbed from her, but now things have changed.  She welcomes the drug-induced sleep as a way for her body to recover from the therapy.  Yelena Petrovna would survive.  And she would learn to shoot her rifle and play the sax again.  She was sure of that now.