Badlands

Arlayna glanced back again, this time to see that everyone was following her and Owen. She turned around to face the front and grinned, then jumped a little when she heard an unfamiliar voice. She turned to see who it was quickly, and looked over him briefly. Then she turned to Owen, patting his arm to get his attention. "Someone was late, Owen. See? Right there..." She turned to point, not really caring whether she would be called out on being rude, or even if Owen was looking. She looked back to Owen, to see whether or not he was paying attention. "So we've got another person in the group..." she trailed off, realizing she was only pointing out the obvious. She knew Owen wasn't exactly good-tempered when she pointed out the obvious too much. Her hand trailed to the bottom of the scabbard on her back again as she glanced at him, then moved so she wasn't so close to him. She hadn't heard anything from him other than the fact that he was a little late.

Instead, she allowed herself to fall back, away from Owen, and more towards the rest of the group. She glanced over Storm's mechanical arm curiously. "Why do you have a mechanical arm?" she asked, curiously, sounding more like a child as she asked, simply for asking such straightforward question, when it might be obvious that he had lost his real arm at some point. She glanced at the other two to make sure they were following, then back to the mechanical arm. She hadn't seen one before, so she was of course going to be curious about it.

As Owen walked onward, he glanced back momentarily to see if everyone was following, which they were, for as far as he knew. He knew who was all in the group so far, but didn't know if he had left someone behind or not. He wasn't particularly interested in any of the conversations anyone was having, so he didn't pay attention to what anyone said... aside from Arlayna, that is. He was always monitoring what she said, sort of like an older brother, but without actually being related to her.

When he heard an unfamiliar voice, he ignored it at first, figuring it belonged to someone already in the group, but he hadn't noticed. When Arlayna said someone was late, an angry look came across his face, but not that you could see it. He thought about leaving the newbie alone, but decided against that. He turned around and saw the new guy, looked him over, then walked over to him. Owen walked up very close and grabbed this new man by the collar, lifted him into the air, saying, "Hey. Unless you want to be left behind or shot, leave with the group next time. I'm in a moderately good mood today, so I'll let it slide this one time. You won't get so lucky next time, so don't be late again." He dropped the man, turned, and began walking ahead of the group again.

A few moments later, Owen stopped, looking around without a word. He drew his gun and continued looking around, before focusing on something in the distance. He could see something moving, and he knew not to trust anything. Ever. Not even if you got to know it better. He put up his left hand, fingers straight up, signaling for the group to stop. A small click was heard, and the eyes on Owen's helmet lit up, magnifying his vision temporarily. A second later, the light turned off, and Owen said, "NCR troopers. Everyone be prepared for a firefight." He put his hand down and began moving forward, checking his sides for any signs of an ambush.

Storm raised an eyebrow at Arlayna. He wasn't surprised by the question she had asked, infact if he had ever met a person with a mechanized limb he probably would have wanted to ask that very question, what had surprised him was the child-like audacity with which she asked him. You wouldn't usually see a legionary ask a question like that so innocently, as Owen chewing out the newcomer in the background seemed to emphasize, so Storm decided to humor her. He raised his right arm and tapped on the rusted metal plating that covered it, "I lost this arm... Six? Yeah, about six years ago... To start off have you ever heard of the settlement Bunker Hill? Well I was-"
Storm was cut off when Owen raised his arm signaling the party to stop. Storm froze for a second then let his left arm drop from his mechanical arm down into his duster, resting it on his hunting rifle, ready for action.
"NCR troopers. Everyone be prepared for a firefight." Owen warned everyone.

Kidas growled to himself, he very much detested being lifted up like a little kid by his collar and threatened. Most other people would have not lived long enough to touch him and if they did they wouldn't enjoy the outcome. Kidas fumed behind his black mask as they walked, next he.. no there wouldn't be a next time, armor or not this overly macho agressive turd in a sardine can wouldn't have a chance to threaten him. Kidas slid the whiskey bottle out of his cloak pocket and took a sip. He caught the signal from the "tin man" to stop. He announced the presence of NCR personel of in the distance.

"Before we try to assault them we need to evaluate the situation." Kidas warned crouching beside tin man. "You and I are most likely the only ones trained for offensive combat, they most likely have service rifles which can clearly out perform our current weaponry, and we are in the middle of the day in the desert the only cover around are two foot tall rocks and i know you can't crouch that low, I suggest two things, one avoid the fire fight at all costs which shouldn't be difficult given our distance, or we use this fancy NCR armor of your's for a bit of distraction."

Kidas hated just immediately running into battle without atleast alittle scouting first. It may take longer but scouting could save your life and many others. And It seemed as though all tin man wanted to do was just run out guns blazeing. Even the heavy armor wouldn't be able to stand up to a whole sqaud unloading on him, and no one else owned armor of the same strength.

Jackie watched the next scene of events pass in a blur. Another male to add to the group of hostile warriors. Warriors? Yeah. Right. She stifled the chuckle and scanned the desert. Everything seemed static but she knew better. Under the best silence there was proof of life. Her hand cramped, aching to hold her blade but it was only a habit better left alone. She raised that hand instead to sweep the hair off her forehead and back out of her eyes as they continued to watch the surroundings with interest.

She spotted the raised hand and her muscles tensed, coming to a complete stop. She felt the dirt and sand shift around her feet as the minor breeze stirred it. "NCR troopers. Everyone be prepared for a firefight." Jackie inhaled sharply and instinctively shift closer to the person she trusted more in the team, even though it was nothing more than a raindrop of trust. She took a few steps forward to stand next to her fellow female, Arlayna. From what she had learned so far of the others it would be better to have Arlayna at her side than any of the boys. They seemed tricky but then again Arlayna could play innocent like the rest of them. Her hands ghosted down the pluck the guns out of their holsters without a sound. The left hand kept the dominant position over the right because if she had to move in close, which she hoped not, the blade was handled by the right. So her right hand remained ready and submissive as a second attack or a defense. A natural trained habit she supposed. Better just to be ready for whatever.

Her attention turned to the newcomer as he tried explaining something to Owen. She gave pause thinking it over before she glanced to Owen. The boy had a really good point and from the ways things looked from behind, Owen was going to get them killed. Running into battle was dangerous when you didn't know what kind of caliber your enemy was. From the rumors about NCR, it would have been a hell of a losing battle. Her teeth sank into her lower lip drawing the faint tang of blood but she ignored it. We run the risk of them spotting us. If they can do what Owen just did then with open space on all sides it wouldn't be best to run. They could also call it in that they spotted us but their could be a way around that. She bristled but of course she stayed silent to see what their fearless leader would say.

Storm dropped his hand from his gun, what the black clad newcomer has said made perfect sense, they were out trained, out manned, and out gunned, this wouldn't go down well if they didn't come up with a plan.
'Avoiding all unnecessary conflict is critical, especially since I've not been in top fighting shape since that last fight in the arena...'
Storm glanced back at Arlayn, who had been joined by Jackie, before he stepped forewords and spoke up, "Owen, can you tell how many there are? I doubt there'll be too many, since it's not likely for the NCR to launch a full on assult party so close to a Legion base, there are so many more efficient ways to take an outpost than brute strength, but if they aren't an assault party then they're either NCP's transporting goods or a scouting party... It's easy to rule out non-combatees for obvious reasons, which only leaves a scouting party... Which may or may not be a good thing depending on whether or not their CO is in a good mood today... Anyways, we probably won't be able to stay out of their sights, so I'm thinking we either take up a very aggressive formation, I'm sure that's your strong suite Owen, and hope they aren't looking for trouble, or try to look like an insignificant gang of refugees being escorted by a ranger, and once again hope they aren't looking for trouble... Those are two options that don't include fighting..."
Storm took a deep breath after his uncharacteristically long speech, and waited for responses. He knew they weren't the best of plans, with a very low likelihood of success, but they were all he could think of at the moment, he hoped someone else had a better idea of how they could avoid conflict as he stood there.

At this very opportune moment, yet another Legion soldier came galloping from the direction of the camp, a frail, bird-like girl trailing behind him like a a ragdoll flapping in the wind. One of her hands was gripped tightly by the soldier as he dragged her along at an impossible pace for her small legs, the other was tightly gripping a crown of dead flowers that she was attempting to keep on her head, even as the withered petals streamed behind her. He could be heard huffing and puffing agitatedly as he tried to aggressively explain, "Sorry we're late but this little bitch wouldn't sto--Oh shit, fuck, is that?" He thoughts interrupted by the sudden realization of just how opportune their sudden appearance was. He almost threw the girl's arm from him like it was diseased, reaching immediately for his gun holstered neatly on his hip. "Shit," he repeated, sweat dripping heavily from his face.

The young girl, however, seemed completely oblivious to the tension radiating from every body as if it were heat and the eyes no doubt dissecting her small form. She seemed more concerned with something in the direction of the camp. "But, but, but, but," she repeated over and over again, raising a thin, limp arm indicating their camp. At a first glance, her presence would have been quite perplexing. Her appearance was rather queer and out of place. Barely 12 years old, the battlefield hardly seemed like a place for a girl. A closer inspection gave no answers, only more questions. She wore a giant, navy blazer--perhaps her fathers? What kind of father would allow their daughter in an environment like this? It swallowed her wiry form and hung to her knees. Underneath, a thin white nightgown billowed in the dusty wind, yet it seemed saturated in something filthy. Mud or blood, or possibly a combination of the two. Army style combat boots, comically small, protected her tiny feet, while her black hair skewed any possible glimpse of her face. Her ragamuffin appearance was definitely a product of this desolate world, but this didn't explain the katana strapped to her back.

Her figure slumped in defeat, and her bottom lip seemed like it might be quivering. For a moment, it seemed as if she were going to burst out into tears.
"But--," she whispered hoarsely once more, her bewildering mantra, "I think they wanted to play," she finished. All at once, her head snapped up, and her strange "face" could be distinguished. She wore a mask, completely hiding her features but for her giant blue eyes which darted and skittered, searching desperately for a playmate. Her eyes flitted across everyone's anxious faces and landed on Luke. Ignoring all the others, she glided to his side and placed her small palm in his hand without looking at him a second time, instead, eyes fixing on distant enemies, imagining that they were no doubt discussing their plans in the same frantic manner that this small group was.

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Owen turned back towards the man, hand raised and pointing, but then he stopped. He let his hand fall to his side, and momentarily thought things through. Storm also argued reasoning against just rushing head-on, or at least as far as Owen could tell. After a quick sigh, Owen turned back to the direction where the NCR troops were, and another small click was heard, then the eyes on his helmet lit up again.

He looked around the area, making note of everything there, and making audible comments. He wasn't really trying to, it was just a habit. "I see one NCR trooper is loading boxes into a vehicle, and another one's helping him. I see one packing the boxes with small, wrapped packages. Not sure what they are, but if the NCR is involved, it couldn't possibly be good. I see three with large guns, and the ones loading the boxes only have handguns. ..wait, two more came from around the back, and both have large weaponry as well."

Another click was heard as the eye lights turned off, and he turned back to the group. "Eight troopers, five of which have service rifles. The other three only have handguns." He said aloud, his attitude almost seeming to calm down. Almost. He placed one hand on the area where his chin was and his other hand under his elbow under his chin, and began to pace. He growled a bit and let out a particularly angry growl, directed at those who had shown up late. At this point, he was angry enough to go over and punch someone's face in, but he held himself from doing so. He let out another sigh, before glancing around the group. "I have an idea, but I can bet none of you are going to like it." He said, letting his hands down to his side.

"Since I have NCR Ranger armor, I could pretend that you are all prisoners, and that I had just recently captured you, and I'm transporting you to an NCR outpost." Yes, Owen can be thick-headed (and is most of the time), but that doesn't mean he can't come up with a plan from time-to-time. "So, any questions?" Owen asked with such firmness that it was clear he wasn't expecting any questions, and that he would go with the plan he came up with anyway..

Arlayna sighed, but held backa frustrated look. And here it looked like she was about to get some sort of a story for an answer to her question! Still, she glanced ahead, tilting her head to one side as she looked over what she couldn't see in the distance. All she saw were little moving specks; they were far too far away. She looked back as another person was added to their group, and watched her curiously as she protested. She grinned, looking back to Owen. "But what if they do want to play, like she said?" she asked, head again tilting to one side. "Can't we just play instead?" she asked.

And this was about where it was figured she was insane; her mind was little different from a child's. She glanced around to group, glance falling on the girl a little longer, then back to Owen. "And why do we have to pretend to be prisoners? Isn't that kind of like lying?" She knew that, by arguing with Owen, she had probably made him a little angry at her, but she wasn't overly worried by that fact. After all, she had done this sort of thing before and still gotten away alive.

Jackie had been watching the fraction of their team approach. The little girl with the soldier was a surprise but she had been dangerous close to that age too. Plus if the little girl had enough spirit then it would be possible to get in a sneak attack on the enemy using her as bait. It seemed cruel but she deemed whatever that helped important. Her attention remained on the girl who had taken a liking to Luke before transferring her ample gaze to Owen who explained his own plan. "I find that acceptable." She glanced towards the distance where flecks of people did exactly as he said. The square shape must have been the truck and the moving dots were people. Her hands tightened on the gun then relaxed, altering between nervous and calm.

She growled and looked to Arlayna who had lost her nuts. Perhaps she could find them soon, preferably before we go into battle? "Play? What NCR battalion would play with the likes of us? No. They wouldn't play with us but they would rather put a few new holes in our suits. Lying is a good thing when it can keep your clothes nice and pretty. Okay?" Her eyes switched between watching Owen who seemed to be getting angrier by seconds and Arlayna who still seemed to have lost more than just her nuts. Was she purposely being naive? Jackie shook her head and side-stepped away from her the tiniest bit, not enough to be noticeable but enough so that if Owen got pissy she could get out of the way. "Guns-a-blazing was never the best way to win a war. Strategy is needed."

As not but a child, Lana understood she didn't have much say in something like this. In fact, she barely ever listened to the mutterings of adults. Instead, with wide eyes, she surveyed their faces, cataloged their movements. Her demeanor might have been taken for the fear of an overwhelmed little girl, except that her body remained so relaxed. She admired the women she would learn to call Jackie and Arlayna--it was a rare treat to see a female. She had only seen a handful in her life, and each time they died very quickly at her hands. But these two didn't look like those women. They acted like men. Arlayna grinned, and suggested playing. Lana was visibly surprised, radiating joy. She liked her. She contemplated this and let her mind wander, before uttering aloud, despite Jackie's protests about games:

"So it'll be a game?" to no one in particular, cocking her head to the side. "I like games," she announced, "is it pretend? I play that sometimes."

Storm nodded, happy that Owen had taken his suggestion.
'That's good, I hopefully won't end up dead the day I leave my shackles behind... but he said they were transporting something, which went against my earlier assumption that they were scouts... What could they be moving? And why would any sane NCR commander allow a transport truck pass this close to a Legion base? Something smells fishy...'
Storm spoke up on his worries, "Owen, I think we should try to give them a wide berth anyways, something doesn't seem right..."

"So it'll be a game? I like games," Storm heard behind him, "Is it pretend? I play that sometimes."
He turned and was faced with not a face, but a eerie hand painted mask. Storm stepped backwards, startled a little, but when he saw the mask was attached to the apparently frail form of a young girl in an oversize sports blazer he calmed down.
'Is this another member of our rag-tag group? Seriously, the legion sending children on life or death missions... I thought they were ruthless before, but now I just...'
Storm shook his head sadly, then crouched down to eye level with the girl, staring through the eye-slits of the mask into her blue eyes he spoke softly, "Yes, it's a pretend game... We're pretending to be the big grumpy man's prisoners until we pass by a group of soldiers. Once we've passed them we're free, and we can do whatever we want again. But if the soldiers find out you're not really a prisoner you lose the game, and you'll be caught and taken away..."
He forced a smile for the girl, hoping she would listen to him, stick to those rules, and not let everyone be caught.

Arlayna tilted her head to one side as Storm knelt down to talk to the girl, explaining that it was just a game of pretend. She looked up as she thought about it, then nodded to herself. If it was just a game, then that was fine. Especially if it was just a game of pretend. "Sounds like fun. When does the game start?" she asked, glancing between Storm and Owen. Storm had said it was a game...but Owen seemed to be leading the group. She paused as something else dawned on her. "...He's not grumpy...he's never grumpy..." she commented, confused. She hadn't seen many that didn't have a similar disposition, and so that just came off as normal to her.

Storm was probably right. Something sat unsettling in Owen's mind, mostly about the cargo in the boxes that the NCR were loading. Another thing immediately shot to the top of his list, which was, Why in the world are the NCR so close to the Legion base? If they just came up the hill, they'd be able to see it. This was a very unsettling thought, making him want to get all the more closer. He thought the whole 'prisoner' thing would work, aside from one minor problem. He had no cuffs to chain up the "prisoners" in.

He glanced around momentarily, before hearing the conversation about this being a 'game.' This was typical forArlayna, so he just went along with it. He almost laughed, almost being the key word here, then turned back to Arlayna and said, "The game starts soon, but first, we need something that can act like handcuffs. If we could find some wire fencing, that would be great." He looked around, but didn't see anything in the immediate area. If need be, they could go around, but Owen wanted to get in close and see what was going on. "Anyone have anything we could tie around your wrists? Anything at all?" He asked to the group.

Lana was used the the sort of reactions Storm gave. She knew she was a monster, it was something that had been ingrained into her skull by the words of everyone she had ever known as well as blunt force trauma. She understood that this was how people reacted to monsters. The fact that he continued to address her, kneeled down even, startled her. What a queer turn of events. A goofy grin grew beneath her mask, though it could only be implied through the twinkling of her eyes.

"Ooo!" Lana squealed, clasping both hands together in front of her. "That won't be hard at all to pretend! At all!" She assured Storm. "In what part of the game do they go to sleep, though?" She asked, giggling, "That's always my favorite part." Her eyes took an eerie pleasure in this 'part of the game.' It was clear that she was describing their deaths, and she seemed to understand that this was not a game you played with everyone. It was a prohibited game, one only acceptable for those prescribed as appropriate playmates, which made the forbidden fruit all the more desirable for Little Lana.

As the Grumpy mechanical bear suggested tying their wrists, Lana became very somber, and the impish glint disappeared from her eyes. All mirth dissipated from her tiny frame as she reached for her tiny satchel of treasures. "I have a treasure we might use," displaying what looked like some old computer wires, their protective coating resembling thin primary colored crayons she laid out for them. The wires were thin; They would barely be long enough to surround a person's wrist and definitely wouldn't realistically contain anyone. "But not me. You're not allowed to do me." She seemed very firm on this matter, tiny voice mimicking the authority she had heard before, tiny hand thrusting towards the Grump Mechanical Bear.

Arlayna looked over the bright wires, tilting her head to one side. "Sleep? They go to sleep eventually?" she asked, glancing at Owen, confused. In what game did anyone actually sleep? She could understand pretending to sleep...maybe that was what the girl had meant, she decided. She looked back at the girl. "But that won't be fair; the point of the game is for everyone to play. You won't be playing if you don't get tied up, too!" she complained, glancing at Owen, then back at the girl. "Everyone else is going to be pretending...you won't be pretending if you don't..." her voice trailed off into a mumble as she realized that almost no one else listening would really care.