05-16-2016, 10:42 AM
As the palisade came into view, Carmelita finished binding her wounds. They had another ten or fifteen minutes until they were going to reach the wall, and she put her shirt and jacket back on over her bandaged wounds.
She turned and looked at Chip in the morning light. The girl was lanky, less than a head shorter than Carmelita, but her face looked very young. Carmelita could see why she’d thought the girl not yet a teenager, even if Chip’s attitude and demeanour suggested she was quite a bit older. Her soft purple fur was covered with a kid’s shirt and tight shorts, adding to the illusion.
“How old are you?”
“Seventeen.”
There was a moment of silence before Carmelita pressed her next question.
“So what were you doing in the middle of the desert?”
“I got lost.”
Again, Chip did not seem eager to extrapolate on the subject. Carmelita sighed and rested her muzzle on her hand, looking out of the window at a cloud of sand on the horizon. Her free hand tapped her shock pistol in time with the clinking of a loose wire on the side of the tanker.
Chip coughed.
“So… you said you were an Inspector? EPD?”
“Oh madre de dios, no! I have way too many morals to work for those brutes. I’m a prime, I came from a world with an international policing association. Got to go round the world, chasing bad guys and taking them in.”
Chip smiled, two of her three eyes looking at Carmelita while the third watched the road. One of them flicked down to look at her shock pistol.
“So you use stun weapons and stuff? Like an ionic dispersion and anode-cathode relay?”
“Last time I read those words I was reading the manual… How did you-?”
“I’m real interested in mechanics, electronics, all that jazz. When we get back to town, I’m going to try and find an auto repair shop or something.”
“I’ll make sure to stop by.”
“Are you going to be a deputy, then?”
“I was thinking of trying to cobble together something similar to Interpol. Get the law enforcement agencies to work together against corruption, terrorism and so on. It’ll take a long time, but it’d be worth it, don’t you think?”
“If you’re fighting corruption, does that mean you’ll be giving the Empire the middle finger?”
“I was intending to be a pain in their behind, yes.”
The two grinned together as they slowed down for the gates. A horse trotted up, the sentry checking them over and waving them inside at the sight of Carmelita’s deputy badge.
As they maneuvered slowly through the streets, Carmelita spotted Roland making his way towards the cab. She opened the passenger door and shuffled into the middle of the cabin, giving him room to hop on up and talk. Chip glanced his way before returning all her concentration to navigating the crowded streets.
Roland looked at Carmelita.
“Did you find the J and T Gang?”
Carmelita pulled the map from her jacket pocket, pointing out the markings she’d made and the route they’d returned by.
“A lot of them are lying battered and bruised, if not dead by crash, along this route. They’re operating out of a vehicle bunker here, and there’s a good five more tankers hidden there. But you’ve got a bigger problem than that.”
She frowned at the shattered windscreen and passenger windows, wishing she could ensure no-one overheard what she was about to say next.
“You’ve got saboteurs plugging the aquifer and employing the gang to stop water shipments. I think I know where the tunnel is: gather some people you trust and get them to the mining shop next to the aquifer rigs.”
“If you’re correct, they’re trying to undermine my town. I’ll gather up some deputies and secure the area, go in and try and stop them from doing anything drastic once they realise the jig is up.”
“Understood.”
Roland hopped back out of the cab, striding purposefully away. Carmelita turned to see Chip with an impressed look on her face. She tilted her head questioningly and Chip smiled and shook her head, continuing to drive. With a shrug, Carmelita got ready to move.
She turned and looked at Chip in the morning light. The girl was lanky, less than a head shorter than Carmelita, but her face looked very young. Carmelita could see why she’d thought the girl not yet a teenager, even if Chip’s attitude and demeanour suggested she was quite a bit older. Her soft purple fur was covered with a kid’s shirt and tight shorts, adding to the illusion.
“How old are you?”
“Seventeen.”
There was a moment of silence before Carmelita pressed her next question.
“So what were you doing in the middle of the desert?”
“I got lost.”
Again, Chip did not seem eager to extrapolate on the subject. Carmelita sighed and rested her muzzle on her hand, looking out of the window at a cloud of sand on the horizon. Her free hand tapped her shock pistol in time with the clinking of a loose wire on the side of the tanker.
Chip coughed.
“So… you said you were an Inspector? EPD?”
“Oh madre de dios, no! I have way too many morals to work for those brutes. I’m a prime, I came from a world with an international policing association. Got to go round the world, chasing bad guys and taking them in.”
Chip smiled, two of her three eyes looking at Carmelita while the third watched the road. One of them flicked down to look at her shock pistol.
“So you use stun weapons and stuff? Like an ionic dispersion and anode-cathode relay?”
“Last time I read those words I was reading the manual… How did you-?”
“I’m real interested in mechanics, electronics, all that jazz. When we get back to town, I’m going to try and find an auto repair shop or something.”
“I’ll make sure to stop by.”
“Are you going to be a deputy, then?”
“I was thinking of trying to cobble together something similar to Interpol. Get the law enforcement agencies to work together against corruption, terrorism and so on. It’ll take a long time, but it’d be worth it, don’t you think?”
“If you’re fighting corruption, does that mean you’ll be giving the Empire the middle finger?”
“I was intending to be a pain in their behind, yes.”
The two grinned together as they slowed down for the gates. A horse trotted up, the sentry checking them over and waving them inside at the sight of Carmelita’s deputy badge.
As they maneuvered slowly through the streets, Carmelita spotted Roland making his way towards the cab. She opened the passenger door and shuffled into the middle of the cabin, giving him room to hop on up and talk. Chip glanced his way before returning all her concentration to navigating the crowded streets.
Roland looked at Carmelita.
“Did you find the J and T Gang?”
Carmelita pulled the map from her jacket pocket, pointing out the markings she’d made and the route they’d returned by.
“A lot of them are lying battered and bruised, if not dead by crash, along this route. They’re operating out of a vehicle bunker here, and there’s a good five more tankers hidden there. But you’ve got a bigger problem than that.”
She frowned at the shattered windscreen and passenger windows, wishing she could ensure no-one overheard what she was about to say next.
“You’ve got saboteurs plugging the aquifer and employing the gang to stop water shipments. I think I know where the tunnel is: gather some people you trust and get them to the mining shop next to the aquifer rigs.”
“If you’re correct, they’re trying to undermine my town. I’ll gather up some deputies and secure the area, go in and try and stop them from doing anything drastic once they realise the jig is up.”
“Understood.”
Roland hopped back out of the cab, striding purposefully away. Carmelita turned to see Chip with an impressed look on her face. She tilted her head questioningly and Chip smiled and shook her head, continuing to drive. With a shrug, Carmelita got ready to move.