Futuristic Horseshoes & Ion Grenades

[Solar Daddy]

Salvo peeked into the compound, raising an eyebrow; at least, he tried, but he wasn't human anymore. No more eyebrow to raise, as unfortunate as it was for Salvo to convey his confusion. Standing in the wake was Cassie, who seemed to stand tall and proud considering she was facing at his posse. She'd joined them from the inside, which, in any other situation, would have Salvo aiming his six gun at her chest just in case she tried something. He definitely would attempt to snatch the gun from her hands - luckily, Salvo had a small heads up of the undercover agent infiltrating Baker's gang. He only had a blurry, poorly cropped photo, a short description, and a general location to go off of. It was pure luck that Cassie hadn't been caught in the crossfire, otherwise they'd be down an informant and an ally. When the handshake was offered, Salvo stepped forward and proudly grabbed one of her fingers, shaking it in an excessive motion. Sure, Salvo knew how to shake hands, but it was always fun trying to get flesh-and-bone people to feel uncomfortable in a social situation. Salvo could play up his naïve robot act, ensuring not a single, living soul knew what Salvo could and could not do correctly. Chaotic dumbassery was a skill, and if he could keep others thinking he possessed the innate nature to make the world bend to him, then he'd do it. After all, he did have a hole in his head, one of only two members here that could survive such a thing. It maybe spiked his ego a bit, as well as his self image. "Yeah, I know of her. Well, only a bit. Got a dossier update a few minutes before I got shot. Earth Gov doesn't tell me shit 'til I need to know of it."

"Nice to finally meet you, Nova." he tipped his hat, which still had a smoldering hole through it. An occasional spark also popped out from his dome. "Damn shame we didn't nab Baker. Didn't expect him to actually be here, let alone this sector. Just chasing a lead, is all. Lucky you didn't catch some lead though. Unfortunately, it seems your undercover work might be blown. Best for you to stick with us for now, I'd say." Salvo peeked back behind her, stepping a few feet into the compound. With his hands on his hips, Salvo gave the same sound as a whistle. "Well boys, I gotta say, I think we did a pretty good job. Outlaw hideout - pacified. Baker - runnin' scared. Posse - unharmed. I'd say I'm pretty good at this whole law enforcement thing." Salvo's ego was visible for a bit as he looked around. After a moment, Salvo turned back around to face the others. "Well, Cassie, you've probably got the best idea on where Baker's goin'. Mind givin' us your educated guess on where that might be?" As Salvo waited for an answer, he whistled sharply, which pinged Killroy to return to him.

 

[0stinato]

‘Slipped out, what-- where did he go, was he on foot or horseback or?’ Del stuttered to Cassie, though her dialogue with Salvo was her priority. He quailed for a bit, running his fists up and down the strap of his demolitions pack, looking between Salvo and Cassie, and trying to keep his eye on the battlefield in case some new wave of guys came blasting through a doorway. Despite his vigilance, he failed to pick up on Billiam’s approach, and took the slamming pat on his shoulder in much the same manner as a pole of bamboo would take a wrecking ball. He was just embarrassing himself at every turn, apparently. Could hardly speak to Cassie in a cohesive way, was unable to shoulder a congratulations in any sort of masculine manner, and here he was, worrying in the middle of a battlefield instead of making a decision.

‘I’m… I’m doing fine,’ he said, trying to straighten himself as he turned to Billiam, but the man had moved on already, throwing words to Cassie then calling his horse.

That’d be the choice, then. Follow Billiam’s lead, and do it quickly: Billiam was a shooter by the context Del had picked up, so he could mount up and ride with no problem. Del would have to spend a few moments securing the his gear to Big Tug’s tack. He huffed, setting his eyebrows in a determined scowl, approaching his mount and patting him with an open hand. The beast looked over his shoulder at Del, gave a guttural grunt and straightened himself, patient in the heat.

‘We goin’ after him then?’ Del popped his head round the rock Big Tug was stationed behind. ‘What if he’s going somewhere more fortified, or a trap? You know how many stories end with an ambush in a canyon?’

All Del really wanted was a sit down and a grubby glass tumbler of something warming, where the group could say they did their best and at least they’d rid the area of Baker for a while. That was worth celebrating somehow right? But by Salvo’s questions, and the general eagerness of the others to catch this sonuvabitch, calling it a day looked unlikely.

He’d have to deal with it then.

‘I’m… I’ve still got enough stuff to blow up another wall or such, if’n it’s needed, I’m good to continue,’ he smiled, hoped his expression was convincing enough, and tried his best to lie. With another deep breath, he mounted up, straightened his poncho and pulled his hat down against the weather.

--
Interactions: fickleglory Kabboom Solar Daddy

 

[Dragongal]

Everett looked Cassie up, then down, then up again. Why did she seem familiar...? Maybe it was just her hair, he tried to convince himself. Or her eyes. The gun? The weasel. Something. Ohhhh, this was going to nag at the back of his head for days trying to figure it out, he could already tell.

The weasel attracted Sliver's attention more than Everett's. The man noticed and acknowledged it, the dog watched it. He had been happily thumping his tail in the dust and enjoying the pets. Glowing cyan eyes followed a little metal weasel shuffling around her shirt before appearing on her shoulder. Thankfully typical hunting instinct didn't exist in this dog because he just kept an eye on it, watched it move, and when it held still for a bit, Sliver gave up and trotted over to stand beside Everett, who was rifling through the pockets of a dead bandit. Nothing, not even an ID. Just a pen, some spare bullet, and a pack of cigarettes. Well, I might as well keep two of these things, he thinks as he leaves the pen behind.

Billiam was clearly hankerin' to head out to find Baker. Not without breaking Del's ribs first, but nonetheless he seemed excited. Enthusiasm was... good to see. Better than horror or panic, that was for sure. Del didn't seem to have the same confidence - the kid radiated stress like heat off'a furnace. Maybe he wasn't cut out for this work... but he was here, now, with them, so the only choice was to keep him safe. And Billiam's trigger happiness was not helping in this endeavor.

Everett stood and patted Sliver's head as he walked over to be closer to the others. In his more casual cadence he sighed, "Don't be gearin' up just yet now. We'll have to try to guess where he is and see if it's even worth headin' out today. We don't have the supplies on us for an overnight hunt. Might be able to find some around this compound, but let's determine if it's worth it, first." He flashed a reassuring smile to Del, "We can take a break for a few minutes. I'll make sure we ain't headed for a canyon, first, I've got maps and so does Salvo. We just gotta know the general direction first, if miss - Nova, I think I head Salvo say? - can give us a heading."

Everett pulled out his tablet to start finding maps. He looked between the group, especially Del and Cassie, and said, "Though, we have a moment to breathe, we should take it, and I think introductions are in order again. I'm Everett Warren, I'm a detective with the System. This is Sliver, my hound. If he goes beside you in a battle it just means you need another pair of eyes on you."

Solar Daddy 0stinato fickleglory Kabboom Huntertabbysandshark3

 

[Huntertabbysandshark3]

C.O.R.E
Interaction: Dragongal​

core let out as much of a mechanical sigh as the old machine frame could muster that was. everything had gone about has smooth as one could expect from the situation at hand and for how old the he was. “Hu reminds me of old times but err don’t exactly have time to be all… nostalgic.” Core said quietly going over the damage to the frame that the old AI currently inhabited. and looking over at the other’s the huge machine slowly made its way towards Everett looking down at them. “Hu so a detective that could be useful hu wish i still had my old network coverage might have helped also um hi” core would say sorta rambling a bit before moving away as old memories caught up with the Bot

 

[fickleglory]

Cassie wasn't expecting her arm to shake like hell. Her polite smile faded to an awkward toothy grin. Where’d they pick this guy up from? She gave a chuckle and took her hand back. Her pointer definitely felt a throbbing in its joint. Cassie’s lips puckered in discomfort as she gave him a side eye. “Mhm, I agree, Sheriff.” she rubbed her knuckle with her thumb.

“Baker slipped through because you decided to try blasting through the front doors.” The spark that leapt from Baker’s head caused her to flinch. “Lucky for you, outlaws are just greedy hoarders. I don’t expect him to part with his resources and funds anytime soon.” Cass noticed the mechanical hound eyeing her small companion. The weasel peaked out of her hair and looked down to Silver. Cass liked more animal-like traits for her pet. It’s twitchiness gave life to the visible little gears in it’s joints. It made squirrely chirps before returning to its nest of hair. She watched the dog return to a man knelt by a dead outlaw. The kneeling man sifted through the dead man’s pockets and was weighing on what he intended to keep. Her eyes rolled as she huffed a black lock out of her face. Back to the crew. “I don’t know how many know of his hideout, but I gambled some conversion out of them.” she pointed to the mountain range. “The boys called it “The Gorge”. They said it was built into the mountain Northeast from here and nestled in the ridges.”

Her eyes scanned across the posse and their steads. That reminded her. Peggy did not join her on this excursion. That also reminded her of the girls. They're probably shaking in their boots. “There are a couple of saloon girls here. We should escort them home if they aren't riddled with holes.” Cass began to make her way to the stables. She’s gonna need a ride back to town.

Solar Daddy​

Dragongal​

 

[Kabboom]

Billiam gave his mulehorsething a pat on the snout - the thing wasn't programmed to respond to such stimuli, so it just took it like a... well, robot. Billy ignored this unnatural display of bare-bones programming and carried on with his bravado. "Attaboy, horsie. We're gonna catch us sum' Bakers today." With an alley-oop, he'd already hopped on.

Everett's words reined him in though. With a slightly disappointed look on his face, Billy slumped into his saddle. "Arright. Imma keep watch then, in case our Baker boy has some more friends." Truthfully, he just wanted to stay on Horsie for a while - he didn't like scampering on the ground all day. He did give one earnest try at scanning the horizon, but it yielded nothin' but dead dirt.

As he saw C.O.R.E. lumber past, he gave the thing a holler. "'Ey, slow down there bucko. Where ya goin'?"

Billy looked over at the new kid, the one with the poncho that blew up the wall. He might as well strike up a better conversation. "So uhhhh, hey pardner. Where ya from? I'm Billy, but you can call me Bill."

Dragongal Huntertabbysandshark3 0stinato

 

[Dragongal]

Everett idly brushed his fingers over the top of Sliver's head as he listened to Cassie's answers. He stopped to listen to Cassie's answer before pulling out his tablet with a, "'The Gorge,' you say?" He swiped around on the map a few times and marked a spot with a red dot. "This is probably the spot... or somewhere near there. We can make it there by early nightfall if we leave now."

What to do... come back tomorrow, or continue with the attack? If Baker was given too much time, he'd be able to reinforce his - hopefully humble - abode. Given that they weren't about to get reinforcements... that wouldn't be good. Everett sighed, put away his tablet, "Okay. Everyone, loot what you can - in groups, mind, don't be goin' off alone - then we're off for Baker. If you come across someone who surrenders, take their weapons and send them to stand in the center of the compound. If they don't surrender, defend yourself. If it's a civilian, make sure they're actually a civilian, take any weapons and send them to the center of the compound too, we can't afford to get hoodwinked... As for the girls..." He paused, hesitated, looked at Sliver for a moment then back up to the group. They couldn't just leave them. It wasn't an option. "We'll have Breq take them back to the town. There's enough horses in the stables for all of the companions, I assume."

 

[Dragongal]

The Sheriff's group was quick to sweep the compound and find anything of worth as well as anything still alive. The rest of the saloon girls were found safe - scared but safe, and all of them completely unarmed. The one or two remaining members of Baker's posse dropped their weapons and surrendered immediately, ending up in titanium alloy tracking cuffs courtesy of the System. Breq was to take them back to the ships that Salvo and Everett had arrived on, and the saloon girls back to the town where they would be interviewed at a later time to determine if they were just saloon girls or if they were actively involved. Everett figured they could wait - not like they could go far with the tracking bracelets that were clamped onto their wrists. Information from Cassie fickleglory would help determine the arrests and charges but again, that would come later. "The girls will be fine if they're innocent," he assured her. "They shouldn't have been with this posse anyway but... I won't hold them as accessories to murder and the like if they didn't actually do anything. I'm sure some of them needed to survive, thought it was safer to hang around the ones that seemed to have all the power."

Everyone in the group found a case of bullets for their preferred weapons, and some more cases for guns nobody in the camp had. There were explosives, a few sticks of cheap TNT and some poorly stored chemicals. Some mechanical parts lay around, nothing too fancy or expensive but plenty that could maybe be used if it was given a polish and some consideration. Any of that stuff that Everett found he offered to CORE Huntertabbysandshark3 Billy Kabboom and Del 0stinato . For his part, Everett did his best to find and collect any identification for the posse - IDs and bank cards were plastic gold for him. He did keep a medical pack that he found, though - hopefully someone in this group would know how to use it better than he did.

Once the compound was cleared, the group grabbed their horses to head off after Baker. It would be at least an hour long ride for the group. By now the villain had surely settled into his cavernous hideout, but the law was on his heels now.

And the law was bored.

Just as they were setting off, Everett called over to Salvo Solar Daddy , "Are you going to be okay travelling with all that damage you've taken? You're still throwin' sparks!"

 

[Solar Daddy]

Salvo spent his time gathering up some of the saloon gals who permeated the compound, hiding behind odd corners or under tables. Salvo had the perk of being mostly metal, meaning even if one pulled a gun on him, he could eat the damage and incapacitate the aggressor. Luckily, it never came to that, and the three gals he found came out without any fuss. Salvo found a case of ammo that chambered his gun and restocked his nearly empty reserves, as well as pocketing a few bank chips in the process. For the Sheriff's office, of course. at least, that's what he'd tell any of his posse that prodded in his business. The gang members were dead anyway, and any confiscated funds would go right to the System's big ol' bank. It did more good directly in the hands of the people, which included himself. It was the sincerest form of corruption in his book.

Once they sallied out on their robotic mounts, Breq travelling off to Deadweight separate from the rest of the group, Salvo did the equivalent of cracking his neck and sighed. Then Everett's question permeated his internal processes, or thoughts, whatever the hell they were called in a robot. "Pardon? Oh the, this-" He motioned to the jagged circular hole perforating his skull. As he did so, another spark flew off. "It's nothin', s'long as I get a good robodoc to patch the important stuff eventually. I'll cram some aluminum in there and sand off the edges so it's nice n' pretty again. Don't worry; the ladies'll love a good skull dent. Though it may not look as dashing on a flesh n' bone, like yourself. Heh, guess I'm the inverse of Billy over here?" Salvo motioned to Billiam's horn sticking out of his head with a robotic chuckle, sounding a bit more like a glitch in his voice.

 

[Huntertabbysandshark3]

C.O.R.E
INTERACTION​

CORE let out as much of a sigh as the AI could muster all things considered its long limbs picking through the scraps with some kind consideration form everett there where even some parts for his chassis so that was good. Wonder if there are any other big irons lying about in the dust around here... must be badly damaged though seeing as I can't talk to them..." CORE mumbled to itself. Loading what useful bits it could onto some small compartment on its body as it moved along with the rest of the group. "Eh I wish I had better hands dont really self repair wasn't um part of the big irons... they where just really really tough honestly... so ppphh.. good thing I have a few spare bodies err if we need more eyes and ears I can always activate them they are a bit on the rusty side though..." CORE commented hoping to find somewhere that the old AI could actually prove at all useful as opposed to kinda annoying at least it precived itself and kind of annoying thought this was fair more likely to just be its own anxiety bleeding in then the actual truth of the matter.

 

[Dragongal]

The journey to The Gorge was indeed an hour long, and thankfully it was an uneventful hour. Sliver picked up on the scent of Baker and his boys early on and led them down the quickest path. The dust on the ground muffled the clatter of metal hooves and the setting sun cast long shadows among the crags and peaks of the land. The Gorge was by the mouth of a canyon, one that had been partly industrialized with a winding, descending ramp back and forth to the bottom. Holes were carved into the walls, now long abandoned and dark. By this path down, where a large hill arced up beside the path at the top of the canyon, the gaping maw of a cave hewn into the stone let out just a hint of light.

Before the group moved out of the cover of a rocky outcropping, Everett held up a hand to indicate they stop. "This is too easy..." he mumbles to ( Solar Daddy ) Salvo and the rest of the group. "They knew we'd follow... either it's abandoned, trapped, both, or... they're waiting for us." He looks to the group. "Before we step out and risk our asses, what do you all think?"

 

[Kabboom]

Billiam

Billy was not far behind the Earth-slicker Everett. His ride had taken him on the same path, but certainly not with the same quality. Everyone in the group would've heard the louder-than-usual whirring of his robot horse donkey, and also him quietly going 'ow' with every three or four steps - either the suspension got hit with a stray bullet, or it just failed on its own. Either way, Billy was rocking up and down on his ole' ride, and he was in no mood to keep going on the dinky thing.

He hopped down, ready to rock and roll. "Well, I reckon they're waitin' for us all wit' a trap and such. Howabouts I stay here, y'all flank 'round, see if ya find anything? That or, we just go in guns blazin'."

 

[0stinato]

Big Tug, dragging her hooves lazily behind the other horses in the group, huffed a bit as her rider pulled her to a stop. The dust here was irritating to both her tech and biological systems, so her snorts came in wet heavy breaths. But she was thankful for the quiet. It made a change from all the running around and shooting that had occurred an hour before. She had been calmed by the ride, having to do little more than follow Everett and Salvo while shouldering the burden of Del and his kit. But her rider was still bothering her, running the rein between his fingers and occasionally tugging at her as a result. When his fiddling became too irritating, she pulled her head down in an arc with a warning whinny, and shook the dust form her mane. To her reassurance, she received a gentle pat on the neck. That was the only way Del knew how to apologise.

He picked up the rein again, keeping it this time clenched in his fists. Up until now, he was content to just carry on in denial, assuming things would all turn out fine. If anything came charging at him, there were others around to defend long enough for him to do something with his gear. But Everett was more experienced and if he thought something was wrong, Del wasn't one to argue.

If Del had a hideout in a gorge, he knew he'd rig it with all kinds of traps. Being walled in, you had to make sure your aggressors would face heavy wounding at least before they got to you, so you could just pick them off before they got close. And you could do anything with a gorge: provided you had multiple methods of escape, or even supplies long enough to last you, you could even rig a few unstable walls with explosives to bury an attacker or block the road down. Traps were a certainty, Del decided.

'Everett, sir, eh... we've followed the trail your canine picked up, if I provided a bit a' gunpowder or blastin' gum, do y'think he could sniff out any explosives that might'a been buried at all? That way, if we or jus' Billy go in this way, we'll know what t' expect and what places t' avoid? Don't want Billy gettin' blown up, after all. Otherwise, a flankin' manoeuvre sounds like our best bet for catchin' 'em off guard. Place like this, you'll have weaponry trained on any openings around you,' Del offered his piece as he pulled the metal case onto his lap. Big Tug, not enjoying the new additional weight bearing down on one point, pulled her head down again.

Del produced exactly what he'd suggested, a handful of gunpowder and a small tear of adhesive explosive gum, used to hold charges in place. It could be possible that Baker had used something else to rig the Gorge, but in his own experience, nothing got the job done better than a few well-placed blasts.

--
Interactions: Dragongal Kabboom
Mentions: Solar Daddy

 

[Dragongal]

It was a brilliant plan, one that was thoroughly thought out by the team. Despite the many, many potential risks Everett tallied up, this was the one the team determined to be most likely to succeed. Its best aspect was that it was fast. Baker and his men had already had too much time to hole themselves up in that cavern - hell they may have already gotten to the drinking and celebrations part of the night for all the team knew.

Naturally, precautions were taken. Once it had been determined that there didn't seem to be any sentries at the mouth of the cave, Sliver was sent ahead to sniff for explosives just at the entrance. He came back with an all clear and by then the deputies had finished the jerry-rigging needed. And by deputies that mostly meant poor Del. With the equipment on hand he fashioned a few small bombs - not large enough to damage the cavern, but enough to cause damage if they landed near an individual be they human or not. Salvo was elected to be the one to throw these once they were lit.

The group stood to the left side of the mouth of the cave, their horses a short distance away. Salvo threw the handful of small bombs into the mouth of the cave, down what seemed to be a long, straight, empty corridor, then stepped back with the group and waited.. and waited....

Just as Everett was about to ask if they had lit the explosives correctly, the ground shook and a burst of sandy air blew out of the cavern. Shoutign could be heard immediately after, some shouts of distress others shouts of anger, and it sounded like they were approaching the team now....
0stinato Huntertabbysandshark3 Kabboom Solar Daddy fickleglory