09-18-2016, 02:55 AM
When I had read the reports that the War Pigs had “a small army”, I had left the papers with a laugh under my breath. My own previous experiences with mercs with “a small army” were of a few dudes with guns, pumping up their threat (and advertising themselves by proxy) with the idea of them as a supported company of badasses with all the nice armored vehicles that came along with the phrase “army” which in truth was maybe a few APCs and maybe a flyer on a good day. The only guys that had that kind of firepower were people supported by a government, official or otherwise. So as I was guided down into the opening of a cavern which I assumed was the entrance to their hidden hidey-hole I expected a few guys in lawn chairs throwing back beers together while the one FNG sprayed down their only vehicle which was more gum and well wishes than it was working parts.
So it was to my genuine surprise that the first thing I saw as I walked into the cave was a mech, guns glistening in the sunlight from a pit above us, as it walked between several parked tanks and transports, while several power armored men loitered around.
I was still right about the beer, the lawn chairs, and the FNG.
I was pushed over to the obvious leader of the group, if the fact that his clothes were the less dirty of the bunch was any indication. One Joel Aritza. He wore a patrol cap over his short, light brown hair, probably to help hide the massive scar that ran down from the top of his head, through his left eye, and down to his chin. His features were hard, with almost a permanent scowl with a few wrinkles on his almost leather like skin caused from a lifetime of frowning. He seemed unphased that a man with an entire arsenal on his back was just put before him. I wasn’t sure if his choice to not wear an eyepatch was out of image or because he still had some sight in that eye, but I wasn’t going to ask while I needed something from him.
I threw out the offer. Escape from this hellhole, he and his men just had to help me get to the portal. I sold it as best I could, some of that natural charm might have actually gotten through. But through all of it he kept a steady eye on me, which he only interrupted to take another swing from his rotgut. By the end he looked unimpressed. But I don’t think he could look anyway even if he tried.
He put his drink down, never left his gaze and with no uncertainty told me:
“No”
I stared back through the polarized lens of my helmet, thoughts ticking away as I tried to figure out where I went wrong.
“And you’d rather be stuck here, being hunted by the Empire?” I tried my best to not sound mad. I did want to know, but that’s the drawback of the gravelly voice.
“I can understand why you’d think why I would want such an offer” He started before he got up from his seat “But this universe is better to us that our own universe and as such none of us have a desire to return to it. Perhaps yours is much more fortunate, but for all intents and purposes this is our home”.
That was an idea that I didn’t quite understand then, and would be wrestling with for sometime.
“I am a prime” I pointed out, which did get a raised eyebrow from him. “I could summon something you need.
“What I want is not something some any prime can just make.” That raised my own concerns and eyebrows, but he just kept on going. ”But you are right that we can’t stay here. Not long until the bounty hunter comes back. And he’ll bring friends. We will go with you, but only until we get to the next island.
I let out a sigh as I thought over the offer. I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself, but what point was there for that? Not that I needed a point, but I still had a chance to convince him. I just needed something to offer, and the one thing I did have to offer wasn’t mine. I would have to take it up with the captain, but for now I nodded my head in agreeance.
“Alright, guess that’s worth something.” I said as I looked over to the exit “Now let's get out of here before-”
And that’s when the sound of a combat shotgun getting cocked echoed across the cavern. Everyone turned to see a small collection of poorly armed civies, the islander and the old man with them along with three non-important people with hunting rifles. All of them pointed at us.
“...before there’s trouble” I stared in complete exasperation at the bravado. I hoped they knew they would have been vaporized if they were an actual threat, and I could only tell my well worded opinion about their action “Are you fucking stupid? Did the village all drop their balls at the same time or do you really think some peashooters are going to do anything?”
“We are defending our island, we’re not tolerating strangers here anymore” Joel and I looked at each other, completely unconvinced. But despite the fact they were literally pointing their guns at us neither of us wanted to kill these two. And we were leaving anyway, it was convenient if anything.
But to Hell if I was going to get pushed around like that.
“Actually,” I said, holding up a gloved finger as my sight traced across the lights that were installed into the wall until it ended on a bit of discolored wall. Or, if my guess was right, a fake wall, “I think that you’re here because you’re hiding something down here.” I moved over slightly toward the wall in question, and I didn’t need to touch it to prove my suspicion as the lead villiger sucked air in, with the others in different points of tense while the old coot just raised an eyebrow behind his aviators. “If you wanted to kick these bozos out you could have.”
I pushed a finger into the wall, and rather than solid stone it bent to my touch. The villager’s hunting rifle raised up towards me but threw my head back in loud guffaw that bounced across the cavern.
“Don’t embarrass yourself. We’re leaving, you’re not going bug us while we do it, and if the Empire comes by you saw no one” I let go of the wall and started my way out “And for you your own fucking sake, whatever you’re hiding I better not have to come back here to deal with.
“Hold on you blighter!” Fohawk said as he brought his combat shotgun back to bear “ya fink you can just go around like-” but he stopped as I just kept on walking away.
“And that’s what happened” I explained to Captain through my PDA, sat on a brilliant jutt out of the mountain as transports flew over head.
“Seems unfortunate you couldn’t convince them to stay til the end”
“Yeah. I need to find something that’ll want. We might have some time to find something but I’m not sure.”
“What about the ship?”
I looked at the PDA as if it had suddenly turned hot pink and shot rainbows out of its monitor. That has been an idea I tossed around, but I thought it would be an agonizing tooth pull of convincing and her she was giving it to me on a platter. I stared in silent for a few seconds, waiting for the laughter to start, and when it didn’t come I actually did think she was serious. Half chance, at least.
“Is this a trick? Is this one of those hidden tests of character?” I asked and tried to poke the truth out.
“I want to get as many people home as possible. If that means giving up the ship, that will happen. I’m sure the pencil pusher would be unhappy, but since we do people like us give shit about them?” She answered, and I laughed. Partly because of the joke and partly out of relief. One problem solved. Another step in the right direction and out of this 12 year old’s fanfic.
As I jumped down from the small cliff, Old Man Henderson was waiting at the bottom. There was a short stand off between the both of us, before I continued on my way.
“I’m comin’ with ya” He said, and I couldn’t help but look up into the sky in the hope that a meteor would fall 5 feet behind.
“I don’t remember saying you could” I tried to shoot his thought down, but he kept following.
“Don’t care”
“Fair enough. But next time you point a gun at me, I’m shoving those glasses where the sun don't shine” and that was a start of a terrifying partnership.
So it was to my genuine surprise that the first thing I saw as I walked into the cave was a mech, guns glistening in the sunlight from a pit above us, as it walked between several parked tanks and transports, while several power armored men loitered around.
I was still right about the beer, the lawn chairs, and the FNG.
I was pushed over to the obvious leader of the group, if the fact that his clothes were the less dirty of the bunch was any indication. One Joel Aritza. He wore a patrol cap over his short, light brown hair, probably to help hide the massive scar that ran down from the top of his head, through his left eye, and down to his chin. His features were hard, with almost a permanent scowl with a few wrinkles on his almost leather like skin caused from a lifetime of frowning. He seemed unphased that a man with an entire arsenal on his back was just put before him. I wasn’t sure if his choice to not wear an eyepatch was out of image or because he still had some sight in that eye, but I wasn’t going to ask while I needed something from him.
I threw out the offer. Escape from this hellhole, he and his men just had to help me get to the portal. I sold it as best I could, some of that natural charm might have actually gotten through. But through all of it he kept a steady eye on me, which he only interrupted to take another swing from his rotgut. By the end he looked unimpressed. But I don’t think he could look anyway even if he tried.
He put his drink down, never left his gaze and with no uncertainty told me:
“No”
I stared back through the polarized lens of my helmet, thoughts ticking away as I tried to figure out where I went wrong.
“And you’d rather be stuck here, being hunted by the Empire?” I tried my best to not sound mad. I did want to know, but that’s the drawback of the gravelly voice.
“I can understand why you’d think why I would want such an offer” He started before he got up from his seat “But this universe is better to us that our own universe and as such none of us have a desire to return to it. Perhaps yours is much more fortunate, but for all intents and purposes this is our home”.
That was an idea that I didn’t quite understand then, and would be wrestling with for sometime.
“I am a prime” I pointed out, which did get a raised eyebrow from him. “I could summon something you need.
“What I want is not something some any prime can just make.” That raised my own concerns and eyebrows, but he just kept on going. ”But you are right that we can’t stay here. Not long until the bounty hunter comes back. And he’ll bring friends. We will go with you, but only until we get to the next island.
I let out a sigh as I thought over the offer. I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself, but what point was there for that? Not that I needed a point, but I still had a chance to convince him. I just needed something to offer, and the one thing I did have to offer wasn’t mine. I would have to take it up with the captain, but for now I nodded my head in agreeance.
“Alright, guess that’s worth something.” I said as I looked over to the exit “Now let's get out of here before-”
And that’s when the sound of a combat shotgun getting cocked echoed across the cavern. Everyone turned to see a small collection of poorly armed civies, the islander and the old man with them along with three non-important people with hunting rifles. All of them pointed at us.
“...before there’s trouble” I stared in complete exasperation at the bravado. I hoped they knew they would have been vaporized if they were an actual threat, and I could only tell my well worded opinion about their action “Are you fucking stupid? Did the village all drop their balls at the same time or do you really think some peashooters are going to do anything?”
“We are defending our island, we’re not tolerating strangers here anymore” Joel and I looked at each other, completely unconvinced. But despite the fact they were literally pointing their guns at us neither of us wanted to kill these two. And we were leaving anyway, it was convenient if anything.
But to Hell if I was going to get pushed around like that.
“Actually,” I said, holding up a gloved finger as my sight traced across the lights that were installed into the wall until it ended on a bit of discolored wall. Or, if my guess was right, a fake wall, “I think that you’re here because you’re hiding something down here.” I moved over slightly toward the wall in question, and I didn’t need to touch it to prove my suspicion as the lead villiger sucked air in, with the others in different points of tense while the old coot just raised an eyebrow behind his aviators. “If you wanted to kick these bozos out you could have.”
I pushed a finger into the wall, and rather than solid stone it bent to my touch. The villager’s hunting rifle raised up towards me but threw my head back in loud guffaw that bounced across the cavern.
“Don’t embarrass yourself. We’re leaving, you’re not going bug us while we do it, and if the Empire comes by you saw no one” I let go of the wall and started my way out “And for you your own fucking sake, whatever you’re hiding I better not have to come back here to deal with.
“Hold on you blighter!” Fohawk said as he brought his combat shotgun back to bear “ya fink you can just go around like-” but he stopped as I just kept on walking away.
“And that’s what happened” I explained to Captain through my PDA, sat on a brilliant jutt out of the mountain as transports flew over head.
“Seems unfortunate you couldn’t convince them to stay til the end”
“Yeah. I need to find something that’ll want. We might have some time to find something but I’m not sure.”
“What about the ship?”
I looked at the PDA as if it had suddenly turned hot pink and shot rainbows out of its monitor. That has been an idea I tossed around, but I thought it would be an agonizing tooth pull of convincing and her she was giving it to me on a platter. I stared in silent for a few seconds, waiting for the laughter to start, and when it didn’t come I actually did think she was serious. Half chance, at least.
“Is this a trick? Is this one of those hidden tests of character?” I asked and tried to poke the truth out.
“I want to get as many people home as possible. If that means giving up the ship, that will happen. I’m sure the pencil pusher would be unhappy, but since we do people like us give shit about them?” She answered, and I laughed. Partly because of the joke and partly out of relief. One problem solved. Another step in the right direction and out of this 12 year old’s fanfic.
As I jumped down from the small cliff, Old Man Henderson was waiting at the bottom. There was a short stand off between the both of us, before I continued on my way.
“I’m comin’ with ya” He said, and I couldn’t help but look up into the sky in the hope that a meteor would fall 5 feet behind.
“I don’t remember saying you could” I tried to shoot his thought down, but he kept following.
“Don’t care”
“Fair enough. But next time you point a gun at me, I’m shoving those glasses where the sun don't shine” and that was a start of a terrifying partnership.
![[Image: oGzCtPC.png]](http://i.imgur.com/oGzCtPC.png)