05-15-2016, 01:57 PM
Kirsa and Carmelita had had a more relaxed conversation after she’d been officially given the once over, talking about the rumours flying around the Dataverse about the Town With No Name. After a while, Kirsa had excused herself to get back to patrolling the palisades, leaving Carmelita to decide on her next steps.
She found herself wandering through the streets in the late afternoon light. Unlike when she’d been led by Kirsa, she ended up running into a few dead ends. One of these was where she found herself by the water pumps, the large triangular rigs quiet and the pipes to the water towers empty. Peering through the links in the fence, she could see several workers wandering the site doing half-hearted maintenance.
Carmelita turned away and was about to continue walking when she saw a nearby shop front advertising maps and mining equipment. Deciding she’d want a map to mark down the location of the Jeans and T-shirt gang when she found them, she made her way inside.
The first thing she noted was a large sign on the wall loudly proclaiming that humans were unwelcome in the shop. It was prominent enough that it took her a few seconds to tear her vision away from the discriminatory poster and back to the rest of the shop. A small droid was rolling through the shop, cleaning the products with a dustpan as it went. The yellow and black striped treads and the small bucket attached to its back indicated that this likely used to be a mining droid before it took up shop keeping. She coughed politely and the droid raised its head to the door.
“Oh. I’ll. Be. Right. There.”
The voice was monotonous and slow, punctuating each word with a following pause. The robot rumbled over to the counter, where it turned to face Carmelita.
“How. Can. I. Help. The. Furred. Female. Today.”
“I’m looking for a map of the area around here, with landmarks.”
“I’ll. Be. Right. Back.”
The robot trundled away and into the storeroom nearby. Carmelita sniffed slightly as her boot squelched as she shifted, sinking into something wet and dirty. She wiped it on the wood floor, hoping that whatever it was wouldn’t stain.
There were a lot of picks, several drills and a lot of shovels in view, and she took a moment to inspect them to keep her mind from boredom. Some of them looked new, others looked as though they’d been used recently and then returned. As she pondered whether the mining helmet in the corner would stand up to a fist, let alone a rockfall, another person entered the shop, stamping their feet.
She looked over to see a strange being, some sort of stumpy four legged creature with a metallic prosthetic sticking out from its back. It looked at her with four beady eyes, staring at her suspiciously.
“Is M.I.T.E around?” the being asked, after a lengthy silence.
“He’s fetching me a map.”
“Hmph.” The being pushed its way under the counter, yelling as it made its way out of site in the storage room. “M.I.T.E! I’m going to check the mail!”
The robot returned with the map, increasing the volume of its speakers as it did so. “Understood. Dino. I. Will. Join. You. Shortly.”
The droid turned and handed Carmelita the map. “Fifty. Creds.”
Carmelita paid as quickly as possible, pushing her way out the doors. She could feel the awkwardness pressing on her from behind.
---
As the light died, Carmelita set out from the Town. Armed with a map and some supplies she’d paid for using flawed crystals, she headed back to her ambush point on foot, hoping to find some clues as to where to begin. At the point where the tanker had been detached, she was frustrated to find that the raiders had been clever enough to cover their tracks, brush marks indicating the end of the trail. She stood for a moment, thinking, before remembering that the chase had started at least half a mile further along the road.
Luck was on her side. She found the catapult contraptions still in place, waiting for the raiders to pick up at a later date. Her eyes, aided with a small torch she made from omnilium, searched the ground, eventually finding the large tire tracks leading off to the right, forgotten by the raiders. Carmelita trudged out across the dunes, sand whispering beneath her boots. The wheel tracks were faded, the wind slowly erasing them, but they were enough to point her in the right direction. Pinpricks of light shone in the sky, staring down at her. The night air bit at her fur and the landscape seemed endless.
She crested another dune and slid down the other side, ignoring the itching of the sand grains in her clothes. Ascending the next dune, she kept on trekking, hoping for something to break the monotony. Her wish was not granted, and she kept on into the night.
She found herself wandering through the streets in the late afternoon light. Unlike when she’d been led by Kirsa, she ended up running into a few dead ends. One of these was where she found herself by the water pumps, the large triangular rigs quiet and the pipes to the water towers empty. Peering through the links in the fence, she could see several workers wandering the site doing half-hearted maintenance.
Carmelita turned away and was about to continue walking when she saw a nearby shop front advertising maps and mining equipment. Deciding she’d want a map to mark down the location of the Jeans and T-shirt gang when she found them, she made her way inside.
The first thing she noted was a large sign on the wall loudly proclaiming that humans were unwelcome in the shop. It was prominent enough that it took her a few seconds to tear her vision away from the discriminatory poster and back to the rest of the shop. A small droid was rolling through the shop, cleaning the products with a dustpan as it went. The yellow and black striped treads and the small bucket attached to its back indicated that this likely used to be a mining droid before it took up shop keeping. She coughed politely and the droid raised its head to the door.
“Oh. I’ll. Be. Right. There.”
The voice was monotonous and slow, punctuating each word with a following pause. The robot rumbled over to the counter, where it turned to face Carmelita.
“How. Can. I. Help. The. Furred. Female. Today.”
“I’m looking for a map of the area around here, with landmarks.”
“I’ll. Be. Right. Back.”
The robot trundled away and into the storeroom nearby. Carmelita sniffed slightly as her boot squelched as she shifted, sinking into something wet and dirty. She wiped it on the wood floor, hoping that whatever it was wouldn’t stain.
There were a lot of picks, several drills and a lot of shovels in view, and she took a moment to inspect them to keep her mind from boredom. Some of them looked new, others looked as though they’d been used recently and then returned. As she pondered whether the mining helmet in the corner would stand up to a fist, let alone a rockfall, another person entered the shop, stamping their feet.
She looked over to see a strange being, some sort of stumpy four legged creature with a metallic prosthetic sticking out from its back. It looked at her with four beady eyes, staring at her suspiciously.
“Is M.I.T.E around?” the being asked, after a lengthy silence.
“He’s fetching me a map.”
“Hmph.” The being pushed its way under the counter, yelling as it made its way out of site in the storage room. “M.I.T.E! I’m going to check the mail!”
The robot returned with the map, increasing the volume of its speakers as it did so. “Understood. Dino. I. Will. Join. You. Shortly.”
The droid turned and handed Carmelita the map. “Fifty. Creds.”
Carmelita paid as quickly as possible, pushing her way out the doors. She could feel the awkwardness pressing on her from behind.
---
As the light died, Carmelita set out from the Town. Armed with a map and some supplies she’d paid for using flawed crystals, she headed back to her ambush point on foot, hoping to find some clues as to where to begin. At the point where the tanker had been detached, she was frustrated to find that the raiders had been clever enough to cover their tracks, brush marks indicating the end of the trail. She stood for a moment, thinking, before remembering that the chase had started at least half a mile further along the road.
Luck was on her side. She found the catapult contraptions still in place, waiting for the raiders to pick up at a later date. Her eyes, aided with a small torch she made from omnilium, searched the ground, eventually finding the large tire tracks leading off to the right, forgotten by the raiders. Carmelita trudged out across the dunes, sand whispering beneath her boots. The wheel tracks were faded, the wind slowly erasing them, but they were enough to point her in the right direction. Pinpricks of light shone in the sky, staring down at her. The night air bit at her fur and the landscape seemed endless.
She crested another dune and slid down the other side, ignoring the itching of the sand grains in her clothes. Ascending the next dune, she kept on trekking, hoping for something to break the monotony. Her wish was not granted, and she kept on into the night.