The Frozen North: All Aboard!

[Elbeyon]

Rime looks at Doc. "Huh?" She isn't surprised to see him, but she didn't seem to fully register him walking toward her. She seems unfocused. "Oh," she says as she thinks. "My lightning magic's usability depends on whether the walls are concrete or metal. Did you happen to glance down in the bunker and notice which?" She goes back to sorting through the item piles. If Doc looks at her work all the piles already look organized. She moves items back and forth senselessly while searching them. Doc is a Doctor! Rime is suffering from shock.

[DigoDragon]

"To be frank, I didn't look into the bunker yet," Doc answered. "I want to make sure any injuries from the fight got taken care of. I noticed you were off on the side here by yourself."

Doc will try to hold Rime's hoof. "Hey. You look a bit shaken out of sorts. Why don't we sit down and clear our heads? I reckon you could use a break."

[Elbeyon]

"I am not one of the ponies that got," she searches for a word, "injured." Rime keeps shuffling items around with her magic. She offers no resistance in her double booted hoof. When he asks her to take a break the items drop to the ground, and she sits down. "All our precious loot is sorted anyway."

[DigoDragon]

"Yeah, reckon you sorted it like a boss," Doc agrees. He pulls out his water canteen and offers Rime a drink as he sits with her.

"You been in many fights, Rime? With ponies shooting each other like we just had?"

[Elbeyon]

Rime shakes her head. "I have no thirst."

"Yes. No. I thought I was in a lot of fights. I got shot at once with a gun for a class demonstration. I have trained mind and body for combat. No pony ever got super seriously injured though..."

[DigoDragon]

Rime shakes her head. "I have no thirst."
"Yes. No. I thought I was in a lot of fights. I got shot at once with a gun for a class demonstration. I have trained mind and body for combat. No pony ever got super seriously injured though..."

Doc puts the canteen away. "Alright, well how are you feeling? You seem a bit... distracted. Not all there. I'd of expected you'd be with the others interrogating Hawk and Miss Sunshine over there. You like to converse. At the moment you seem a bit... ah, closed off I would say."

[Miltonian]

Golden clears her throat. "And I suppose it wouldn't help if I told you that I learned of this bunker's location from a...inebriated pegasus stallion who was talking about receiving 'signals' from old Imperial military channels that he and a mare he talks with over in the Amethyst Institute had pinpointed on the map, would it?"

Black Hawk's lips twitch upwards. "Ah. So it's an open secret now. Great." She sighs. "Explains the robots. Signal must have turned on the wake-up switch. Started them marching out to pre-determined points around the..." Her eyes widen. "...Over two dozen sentry bots, in good condition with no sign of degradation from age, just rolled out into the Frozen North on Celestia-knows-what mission."

Golden sneaks a nod to Oddy. She has done everything Golden asked of her. However, she inclines her head towards the Crystal Mare, a subtle request that Oddy get the mare to talk if she can.

Pepper, however, takes point on that. In response, the mare shrugs. "Heard there was robots," she drawls, "Stallion you shot reprogrammed a few before. Figured a robot army would be nice, so we came a'galloping. Turns out, the robots are somepony else's army now. We were just going to loot whatever remained and torch the place."

Golden glances over with concern at Doc and Rime.

[Elbeyon]

"No. You do not understand. I literally can not get thirsty today."

She shrugs and keeps holding his hoof. "Mad. Afraid. Sad. Guilty. Except, it is all under ice. I can see the feelings, but I am not touching them. Doc, there were not suppose to be any ponies out here. I did not wake up this morning expecting to fight ponies. I was expecting to fight robots. Maybe. Feral ghouls at the worse if the depot was infested. This was suppose to be a my first freelancer job. Simple. No pony was suppose to get injured."

[tonberryking]

Pepper looks from afar at Rime and Doc, wondering slightly what's gotten the other mare upset but can't quite hear from this distance. And she's occupied, anyway, as she contiues interrogating. However, one may note, she is in the process of loading more armor piercing slugs into her shot gun, one at a time until all seven new shells are within.

"Well, apparently there aren't two dozen anymore" she coldly looks at the crystal mare, one shell making a rather loud click as it's loaded, "One's a pile of scrap out over yonder, but what did you and your gang find if not the robots? You make it sound like somepony else scooped them all up with out a fight. Seems pretty suspicious to me; your buddies didn't just load that truck of yours--theirs now-- up with rocks and some buck's porn stash they found in a janitor's closet, did they?" she loads the final shell, "What exactly did you find, 'Crystie'? What was in there that made your other cohorts abandon you over?"

Spoiler: ooc/rolls

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Dunno if I need another interrogation roll, but here goes:

(3d6)[11]

[DigoDragon]

"No. You do not understand. I literally can not get thirsty today."

She shrugs and keeps holding his hoof. "Mad. Afraid. Sad. Guilty. Except, it is all under ice. I can see the feelings, but I am not touching them. Doc, there were not suppose to be any ponies out here. I did not wake up this morning expecting to fight ponies. I was expecting to fight robots. Maybe. Feral ghouls at the worse if the depot was infested. This was suppose to be a my first freelancer job. Simple. No pony was suppose to get injured."

"Ah, first freelancing job. Well, I been around the barn a few times myself, and there's two things I learned about the wasteland that I can share with you," Doc tells her. He takes in a breath. "The first thing is that it's a pony-eat-pony world outside the city walls. Literally with feral ghouls. There ain't many nice folks out here. Now, I always try an talk things out when I can, but when words fail... sometimes you have to shoot to kill, cause 9 out of 10 times it's about self-preservation. No one on this team woke up this morning ready to go shooting ponies. Robots and ghouls? Sure. Other ponies? Not expected, but at the same time these kind of encounters sometimes happen. Don't feel guilty about the ones you may have hurt here. They likely had no hesitation to kill us. We just bury the dead and try again with negotiations next time. We got each other, and no one is gonna expect more out of you than what you're capable of doing."

"Second thing I learned, don't ever fool yourself to thinking you're too big for feelings. Ponies are not robots. We all feel sad when we fail and excited when we succeed. I can't tell you what to feel, but I'm just letting you know that there's no shame in showing emotions. Don't bottle it up. Ponies are kinda like... like think of a steam valve. You keep your emotions inside too long and the pressure is gonna make you pop. Let the steam out a little at a time. It's good for the soul."

[igordragonian]

Oddy wink to Hawk. "Well, if you ever feel lonely.." and bounce off, without a scene, just like the team with the drug baron, who didn't liked her fishnet leggins, so she simply slipped out.
Personality isn't much diffrent. Is it?
She smiled michivously and walked toward Crystal Mare and wishpered.
""My mission for those clowns is over. I ak free for k'hire."

----

Deception(?) 14? (Mythweavers again with his thing. Urgh)
(3d6)[5][2][3](10)

[tonberryking]

Pepper gives Oddy an even more sour and angry look than normal as she hits on the other pegasus.

"Don't take anything the reindork says seriously. She's insane." she offers to Black Hawk... almost... apologetically? it certainly wasn't as dry as it normally is...

Weird.

"Pe--Urgh. P-onies call me Glint. Glint Eastwind, by the by." she swears. Don't screw up your alias on the second day, idiot...

[igordragonian]

Oddy look back and laugh.
"Of course! I just forgotten to charge forward with blazing guns and no plan! Oh sillly me!"
She decided, she can't for now to win Glint anyway, Glint won't buy Bloody Mary's character, when she already seen Oddy beyond the curtains.
Being in a group was quite the struggle. Who to focus her charms on? Which character to be?

[Miltonian]

"They abandoned me because somepony with a shotgun was killing everyone else," she replies snarkily. "Oh, and we didn't get to explore the bunker. You showed up before we got the chance."

"Can confirm that," Black Hawk says, "Don't know about the rest. They were too busy securing the area and making sure the robots HAD marched off before they dared enter. That, and serenading me." She clears her throat. "Oh, and there were more than two dozen robots. I'm talking two dozen Sentry Bots. I can take out a Ponitron, thank you very much."

Spoiler: Sentry Bot

Show

She looks at Oddy. "I'm sorry, is it the military look? I've heard some ponies are into that." She pats her jumpsuit, which has the former insignias of the Enclave torn off and a rough metal hawk sewn in their place. "It's not exactly well pressed, but I guess it's a uniform." She turns to Pepper, eyes alight. "Glint Eastwood!" A wide grin comes over her face. "Hay yeah! I saw those movies as a filly! My dad loved them. Had his whole collection on a special shelf in our quarters and everything. You're named after an important piece of Equestria's history, Glint."

The Crystal Mare whispers back, "And I'm ready to start a bidding war. You like chems? We have a lot of chems."

[igordragonian]

Oddy is interacting with the others covering she small wishpers she share with the crystal mare.

"Well, da. Also, you are mysteriouse and angry. Classic material of attraction. I never seen Glint so nice before.' she say with a giggle and wishper to Crystal Mare.
"Not much into it, but it can be useful I guess. But I am looking for-"
She look at Glint and giggle at her expriesison assuming she is embarezzed a bit.
"I am looking for connections, powerful friends in the right and wrong places. Do you k'have something like that?'

[Elbeyon]

Rime sits and listens. Though, she is mostly quiet. "I did not expect this to happen." She motions to the grave. "The mare said she was going to kill me. She would have if I gave her the chance." She frowns and goes silent. The idea does not seem to help.

"I am not too big for my emotions..." She sighs. "I will crack the ice, get in touch with my emotions, and act like a proper boss. I can not set a bad example and have ponies worrying about their leader. I can not sit here while there is important business to do. There is a job that needs doing. Ponies are depending on me." She sighs more aggressively then stands up. She thinks for a good five seconds then says, "Thanks, Doc."

[tonberryking]

Her facade finally cracks as "Glint" blinks back a show of mild confusion. Guess what she's never seen?

Uncle Arrow, you bastard... you TOLD me this name wouldn't draw any attention.

Guessing he allowed himself his one joke after all; to the others, the coal gray pegasus' expression gives away alot. More curious is that with Doc having to administer a stim pack, Pepper's cutie mark was finally visible: two shotgun shells (one with a 'crown' of force over the rim, a burst if you will...) over a stately looking shield. Has little to do with shininess or the east winds...

"...I didn't pick it..." she says sullenly, her mask returning, "But we should get organized and explore the bunker, deal with at least some of these killer robots before things get even more out of hoof..." Her wings flutter, a motion that barely hides her embarrassment, "I don't suppose you dropped that plasma rifle of yours in the bunker?"

[DigoDragon]

Rime sits and listens. Though, she is mostly quiet. "I did not expect this to happen." She motions to the grave. "The mare said she was going to kill me. She would have if I gave her the chance." She frowns and goes silent. The idea does not seem to help.

"I am not too big for my emotions..." She sighs. "I will crack the ice, get in touch with my emotions, and act like a proper boss. I can not set a bad example and have ponies worrying about their leader. I can not sit here while there is important business to do. There is a job that needs doing. Ponies are depending on me." She sighs more aggressively then stands up. She thinks for a good five seconds then says, "Thanks, Doc."

"We can't predict everything that will happen," Doc reiterates, "But consider the flip side of the coin; you should be able to depend on us as much as we depend on you. Regardless if you are a boss, business partner, or what, we are a team. Like a well-crafted spell, it only works if all the pieces are working together to do the magic."

Doc really hoped his magic analogy wasn't messed up. He didn't know a lot about spellcasting.

"Would you like some help organizing loot and burying bodies?"

[Elbeyon]

"You ponies are a good group. It is a fine team." She thinks. "Maybe, not as coherent as an actualized spell, but I understand your meaning."

She frees her hoof and sets it on the ground.

"I have already buried everypony. Six in total. The loot is sorted. We should get back to the team."

[DigoDragon]

"Yeah, let's rejoin the main group. You can always come to me if you need someone to talk to."

Doc will walk with Rime back to the team.

[Miltonian]

The Crystal Mare's eyes narrow. "Honey," she says, "You can't even begin to imagine the ponies I know in all the wrong places. What sort of 'trouble' are you looking to get into?"

Black Hawk sighs heavily at the mention of her plasma rifle. "Yeeep. Left it inside. Not that it'd be any use if I COULD have gotten to it. It turns out that, down here, you need things like 'heat' and 'water purifiers' and other things that, wait for it, run on battery power. Guess what uses batteries as ammo? A plasma rifle. Guess what ran out of ammo when I had to use all of it to set up a basic powerplant? My plasma rifle." She snorts. "So yeah. Finest tech in the Wasteland, turned into a doorstop until I can find more batteries."

Golden slips over and looks at Rime with concern. "Are you alright now?" she asks.

[DigoDragon]

Golden slips over and looks at Rime with concern. "Are you alright now?" she asks.

Doc nods, but will let Rime actually speak for herself here. He does approach the main group and holds up a hoof.

"I heard something about finding batteries? Maybe we could hunt down a sentry bot and take theirs?" Doc suggests. "If we can corner one, well outnumber and hopefully outgun it. Rime might have a spell strick up her sleeve too that could help."

[igordragonian]

Oddy elbow her qith a smile.
"You know, I want to be welcomed anywhere. Get the missions which pay well. But k'how would YOU have such connections?

[userpay]

When the subject of the sentry bots Roxy looks at her handgun uncertainly. "I don't think my pistols got the oomph to deal with something like that, the ponitrons maybe but I haven't had much reason to go plinking at machines." Roxy stows said piston and starts reloading the partially spent magazine. "Buuuuut... There might be some batteries in the room the bots came out of right? Or something to charge them?"

[tonberryking]

"So, do you have any of the ammo you splurged on left over? What did you even buy in town?" Pepper regards Rime but thinks the better of involving herself, merely hoping Doc is both a therapist as well as a physician kind of "doc" for the moment. Instead she asks this of Black Hawk, ambling a little closer, her gun arm folding back up over her shoulder in a fluid motion.

"Gotta be honest, my Pranci here is probably the only gun that may penetrate a robot's shell unless you bought a magnum or two. But while it's not much compared to a laser rifle, I could get you equipped with something better than a puny pistol. You ever shoot a carbine, soldier?"

[Elbeyon]

Rime returns to the group dragging a piece of earth with all the loot piled on top. She puts a hoof up as if to stop Golden from worrying. "Everything is settled." She puts on a brave face for Golden. "Thank you. There is still much work that needs done." Rime isn't trying to be cold. She is trying to say they can talk about this later.

[Miltonian]

"Assuming we can find just one," Black Hawk mutters, "And not a group of three that decided to have a little target practice with their buddies down at the E-bar."

Golden pipes up after Roxy. "That's right! If a whole new area opened up, who knows what is there, waiting for us to salvage it. And if the robots already left." A sly grin spreads over her face. "That means its unguarded."

"If they all left," Black Hawk counters.

"If," Golden agrees, "But we won't know that until we get in there, will we?" She pats Rime on the shoulder and whispers, "If you need to take it slow, just stay behind the rest of us."

Black Hawk chuckles wryly. "Nah, I shot all the ammo I traded for. That mare got the better end of the deal, though. I was down to hitting robots with my hooves. That's how I got my armor slagged." She hesitates, but straightens into a more formal, military posture. "With all due respect, after TRYING to shoot your 'ballistic' weapons for several days of combat, we're all safer if I don't touch one again. Ever."

==

"Get me free and you can find out," the Crystal Mare replies, "I would think my reputation would speak for itself, honey. I'm Strawberry Lemonade. Maybe you've heard of me?"

[DigoDragon]

"Well, in the best interests of the safety of Rainbow Resort (with loot being a consequence of our brave actions), let's go take down whatever sentrybots remain in there."

[tonberryking]

"Hold up."

Pepper leaves Black Hawk's side to float/hover in front of Doc, her wings spread in a block.

"First, give me a minute to reload up on ammo; I think my gun and the unicorn's magic are possibly the only things that could actually drop a robot on sight.
And as much as I like my pranci, it takes forever to reload." What we're gonna do is canvas this place nice and proper. Me... Black hawk..." this may be the first time she's ever addressed a pony by name,"and her," she nods to Rime, should take point... that is... if you're up to it." Again, this is to Rime. Though Pepper's a hard ass, she's seen and dealt with plenty of first kill shocks. Her own is deeply buried in her memories, "if it means anything; we're hunting robots. It won't be the same as shooting other ponies, let alone living things. But if you can't... Well... we come up with another plan. Black Hawk, was there any kind of armory or security office in the bunker? Locked or not-- any place you didn't check out since you had a much better gun until recently?"

[DigoDragon]

Doc removes his Roamington 700 hunting rifle from it's covers and reloads two bullets into the tube. "Alright, reckon reloading first is good idea."

Once reloaded he puts his rifle back under it's covers. "Ready."