Welcome to the Pub!, Care for a Drink? Options

[Layrinn]

"Thanks! Maybe I'll sing another one in a bit... Here, lemme get that for you..."

Layrinn snaps her fingers and produces a tiny Foie to light Necron's smoke.

"Well... if you're buying, I guess I could go for another round. Why don't we ask Harbringer if he wants something?"

She turns to Dive, who seems to be lost in his whiskey...

"Dive? Got any idea where he's been lately?"

[Dive]

"No, no one has seen him for a while, last I talked to him he said he was doing a contract for The Lab. But that was over two months ago."

Dive turns to the shelf behind the bar and produces an aged bottle of wine.

"He looks like he could use some of this, would you mind taking it to him Rinn?" Dive smiles but there is a noticeable look of concern evident in his eyes as he glances at Harbinger. He feels the appearance of the Fomar has unsettled the atmosphere in the pub.

"ok let's get back to drinking, this round's on Necron!" Dive prepares more refreshments and downs another shot, keeping an eye on the dark figure.

[Layrinn]

"Oh. S... sure thing, Dive."

Layrinn took the bottle and two empty wine glasses from Dive. This whole situation seemed strange to her... why was everyone acting so weird? And why didn't anyone know where Harb had been? It was beginning to make her a little uneasy. Rinn flashed a nervous smile to her friends at the bar and moved slowly towards the dark solitary figure in the corner of the pub.

Rinn became more and more unsettled the closer she got to Harbinger. What the heck is going on? Why am I so nervous? It's just Harb... he's my friend. Still... something just feels... wrong.

Layrinn finally stood across the small table from Harbinger. She leaned over a little to try to look him in the face, and smiled as best she could. "Heya, Harb. It's been a while. I, um..." Rinn faltered for a second. She held up the bottle of wine and the glasses a little, "Uh... you wanna share a drink?"

[Retehi]

*Notices all the crazy-ness he missed, and looks around dazed*

*Walks in, sits down, and puts up legs on table*

A martinee please, shaken, not stirred...

... with a side of bacon.

[Dive]

"Hey Sarge, glad you could make it to Happy Hour. Feel free to take the stage for the next song"

Dive prepares Sgt. Retehi's Martini and looks up to see Layrinn approach Harbinger's table. The Fomar looks up at the Hunewearl and stands, reaching for a chair.

"Please sit down Rinn, It's always nice to have company when drinking." His voice came out hoarse and sounded strange to himself. He notices apprehension in Rinn's face as she smiles and sits.

"To Pioneer 1." he raises his glass to Layrinn's and sips the wine. The bite of the liquor stings his throat and he fights back a cough. Layrinn sips her wine and nervously looks over the Fomar, noticing scorch marks and rips among his robes. He looks around the room and sees old friends talking and laughing, taking comfort in their revelry.

"I see not much has changed at Headquarters, how have you been my friend?" He reaches for the bottle to refill Layrinn's glass. Suddenly the room seems to darken and he tries to focus, spilling the wine. He feels conciousness slip as he slumps back in his chair.

Dive sees this and runs over to offer aid.

"What happened Rinn? He looks terrible"

[Bryn]

The mechanical doors of the Apocalypse bar slide back, and a soft rush of displaced air temporarily musses Brynhilde’s perfect coiffure. She pauses in the doorway, quickly setting her hair to rights, and surveys the bar.

Miscreants, vagabonds, and scoundrels…all companions and friends, are gathered in boisterous camaraderie. Shrugging off a fleeting moment of disappointment as she realizes there are no androids present to provide company, she makes her way to the bar only to find it unattended.
Glancing around she sees her friend Laryrinn, furiously blushing and hovering over an obviously inebriated Harbinger.

“Interesting”, she thinks, arching a groomed eyebrow, “all this time I didn’t believe ‘Rinn favored m.....fomars.”

Walking over to ‘Rinn’s table, Brynhilde interrupts the bartender, and imperiously taps him on the shoulder with an impeccably manicured fingernail.

“Excuse me…serving person…Dive,” She flashes what she believes to be a winning smile, “If it wouldn’t be too much of a bother, would you mind terribly much bringing me a single plumb, floating in trifluid, served in a man’s hat?”

Brynhilde then notices Harbinger’s extreme pallor as well as his ragged clothing and realizes that he is not simply passed out from excess, but that something is seriously wrong.

Panic wells as she turns to Layrinn.

“What is going on here?!”

[Layrinn]

It all happened so fast, Layrinn could barely think straight. Shock, confusion, and concern were written all over her face. She stood supporting the unconscious Harbinger, holding his head in her arms and stroking his matted hair as if that would somehow soothe whatever ailed him.

"Oh, Bryn!" Rinn's words came tumbling out as she desperately tried to explain to her friend what was going on. "I... I don't know... no one's seen him for months and then he just showed up here all of a sudden and Dive gave me some wine to take to him and we were just talking and he passed out and.. and... Bryn, he looks really bad. What should we do?? Should we take him to the hospital?"

Rinn looked plaintively to her friend, grateful for her appearance. She'll know what to do...

[Henge]

Scion grabs a few Star Atomizers from behind the bar and rushes over to the table where Rinn and Harb sit, anxious to discover whats going on. He then administers a double shot of star atoms after checking Harbs dangerously low vitals...

Harb, you look like a Delbiter dragged you in... what happened?

[Dive]

"Well he should be stabilized for now." Dive says to his companions sitting at the bar. It had been an hour since Harbinger collapsed, and after some initial confusion, they had managed to get him to the Med-Bay and somewhat coherent.

"He was mumbling something about a Polar Relay Station, and a conspiracy. This has got to be related to the mess that the Lab made concerning the Seabed Facility." Dive looks around to see if anyone needs a refill and pours himself a double.

"It looks like he was in one hell of a fight." Earlier in the Med-Bay they had managed to remove Harbinger's outfit and gear to inspect it. Telltale blackened patches and perfectly rounded holes caused concern. He had been hit with multiple Photon beams of some sort as well as some incendiary blasts.

"have any of you ever been to this Relay Station?"

[Layrinn]

Layrinn idly stirred her drink and sighed. She was finally starting to feel like herself again after all the confusion, but she didn't feel much like drinking anymore. She couldn't seem to focus on the conversation at the bar... Harbinger's semi-conscious words kept repeating in her head.

"Seabed... conspiracy... D-type... mutation..." What does it all mean?

Rinn's tall ears perked up at Dive's mention of a polar relay station. It startled her out of her daze and she turned to face Dive.

"Wait, what? What relay station?"

Dive took a long pull on his drink, "You know what he's talking about, Rinn?"

Rinn shook her head. "No... I hunt Sil Dragons up north all the time, and I've never seen anything like that before. If there's something up there, it must be very well hidden. Or maybe...." Her words drifted off as she fell into deep thought once again.

Dive blinked and stared at Rinn expectantly for a few moments before nudging her elbow. "Or maybe what?"

Rinn looked puzzled for a moment, her concentration suddenly interrupted. "Huh? Oh... well, it's a long shot... But once when I was up there, I thought I saw something funny... like, blurry. I figured it was just my eyes playing tricks on me. O.. or something with the atmosphere, like the aurora you see in the sky up there. But just now... thinking about it... about how it looked... it reminded me of the camouflaged Sinows you see around the Central Control Area. I dunno... Maybe there is something up there, and I just never noticed it before... something that someone doesn't want to be found."

[Mute]

*A roguish stranger enters through the bar's rear entrance in a slow, yet alert fashion. From the sign of the rifle he checks at the door, and the handgun, which, to the experienced Tekker, appears to be a Ruby Bullet, at his side, this character appears to be a RAmar*

*The RAmar, clothed in a dark uniform with a completely masked face, finds a vacant seat towards the furthest end of the pub and awaits his bartender*

*The bartender eventually makes his way to the obviously new face and begins to manifest his gift of gab*

"Well I haven't seen you around these parts before. Welcome to the pub lad."

*The RAmar continues to glance at the bartender, almost as if he was looking through the fellow*

"Ok then, what'll it be?" *The bartender begins to reach for some of the more popular drinks at this season*

*The RAmar finally looks up, and it can be noticed that the figure is wearing spectacles within that protective head casing. In a strangely muffled voice, accompanied by what seems to be a strong Russian-type accent, the RAmar responds*

*Being the only one to make out the request, the bartender gives a look of perplexity. After he shrugs, the bartender goes to concealed door and removes a very odd... almost ancient looking flask. The bartender then proceeds to pour a glass of liquid from the flask, which appears an almost smoky grey*

"Here ya go buddy, knock yourself out."

*The bartender proceeds to dibby up the meseta charge on the new character's tab*

*The RAmar, noticing his appearance has drawn a bit of unwanted attention, gives a quick glance over his shoulder towards the crowd. Then, as if nothing mattered, the RAmar unhinges his mask slightly and takes a swig from the glass. At this, all the men in the bar give an almost puzzling look.In the effort of drinking, a small vile reveals itself from the visible hip of the character. Two words can be made out from the closer patrons*

They read: PARASITIC CELL

...

[Henge]

Walks behind the Bar as if he was at home. and pours himself another drink, shifting an eye towards the new occupant. Summing him up for a short period. Scion then finishes of his drink by slipping two suprizingly clear icecubes into the dark bronze colored liquor. The Fomar then strolls over to greet our new guest.

"Greetings Friend, Welcome to my Establishment. Enjoying your drink?"

Scion takes a drink from his highly polished glass, then glances over his shoulder in Dive and 'Rinn's Direction. as if something caught his ear. Then returns his attention to the RAmar again.

"so whats your story?"

[Bryn]

"Have any of you ever been to this Relay Station?"

Fingernails carve half-moons into Brynhilde’s palms as her hands curl into fists. She hides them quickly in long, tapered sleeves as frigid memories assail her in this place of warmth.

An endless descent of snow coils downward from a cruel slate sky. The Sil beast’s roar of angry frustration is heard in the distance, and is echoed by the actions of a human ranger, a friend,
...His name was Cal….
as he throws his broken headset to the frozen ground and gives voice to his rage. Her power….gone. Her hand searches desperately through concealed pockets,
.....It was a long time ago......
only to find empty vials… their energy spent. Not even power left for the warmth of flame.
..... You were never there......
Kneeling on the cold ground, as snow helixes around her, all seems lost.
.....Is it real?.....

No.

Brynhilde gives herself a quick mental shake and refocuses on the bar. Odd thoughts often came to her of their own accord, and she had grown used to dismissing them as manifestations grown from her dependence on the chemicals needed to replenish her power, and the mental repercussions of too many battles.

She had never been to a “relay station”, and she had never had an association with a human ranger. Most likely his image was brought on by the appearance of the newcomer that had just entered the bar.

Regardless, this now was real. These people were real. If her presence were needed in an endeavor of theirs, she would of course come. But still, she could not entirely suppress a feeling of dread. As she looked at ‘Rinn’s open expression of excitement and curiousity, it seemed very likely that she would soon see the very place that had left Harbinger so wounded in body and spirit, for herself.

“So”, she says to Dive in a cool, controlled voice, “has there been any word on how Harbinger is faring?”

[Retehi]

::I look up from my dank table in the corner of the pub, only to say...::

Y'all so much better at this stuff then I am.

::slurs out::

gimmE a vodka! stirred and shaken!!...

(time to have a bit of fun, bwhahahah)

make it a pitcher of vodka! *coughs*

[Dive]

"Bryn are you alright? It looks as if you have seen a ghost." He see's her relax as his words seem to settle her and she takes a deep breath recovering her composure.

"Harginger is stable for now. I think it's best if we let him rest and recover his strength." Dive takes a seat next to Brynhilde and Layrinn as he see's that Scion has the bar under control. He turns to Layrinn and notices the stranger, now seated, talking to Scion. He shifts his attention back to the Hunewearl.

"Very interesting Rinn, I have been near the polar caps a few times but I never noticed anything like you described." He keeps an eye on the newcomer as he downs another shot, peering for any glimpse of his face beneath the weathered mask. The stranger unhinges his face plate momentarily to empty his glass, as he does Dive notices a glint off something attached to one of his belt clips. He barely makes out words printed on a small vial. This Ranger is well skilled it appears. he thinks to himself.

"I know for a fact that the Lab will not give anyone access to their database, we need to find out whatever we can about this Relay Station. We need someone with the skill to hack into CALUS." Dive says under his breath so only those close can hear.