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WHO: Drifter | Various
WHAT: Monthly Post
WHERE: Around Dualis and in the Swamp, More might be added
WHEN: January
WARNINGS: Probably violence and some food issues.

A.) IT'S NOT BRAIN SURGERY
CLOSED TO LORNA
DATED TO AFTER THIS

He's not happy to have learned what's in his head, and honestly? It's worth the risk. What if it kills him? He's got too many damn things in his head already. Does he want that big AI having access to any of 'em? Nah.

He's compared the Head to Rasputin before. Now, he puts a lotta stock into the endgoals of the warmind; more stock than he'd put into any real person. The thing wants to fight the darkness, and hell, it doesn't wanna get used by the Vanguard! Who wouldn't agree with that? And it reaches far and wide in its conflict, stretching its sattellite tipped fingers to the edges of their home system.

But the Warmind? When it decided to copy people, it was volunteers. People who donated their memories and way of thinking to create immortal warriors of a kind. Even there it one-upped the Head; when it saw it was losing the war, it let 'em all go to go do their own thing. Some of those 'exo's it made, robot copies? Became the greatest badasses that third rock from Sol had to offer.

But even then, catch Rasputin in a mood? Bust in on him where you're not wanted? And there's hell to pay. The Warmind stuffed some damn fool Iron Lords full of nanotech when they decided to breach one of his facilities and take weapons without asking. Personally, if you ask Drifter? Don't be a damn punk and think you're slick enough to fight a centuries old AI with a fist and an ax. Didn't work out too well for those Iron Lords.

Drifter doesn't much want to turn out like those poor fellas. Even if none of the voices in his head come along for the ride, even if his ghost refuses to get attached to some smartass just because it looks like him, he doesn't like the idea of his thoughts and memories just spilling out to where it doesn't belong. The moments he held little Yu through her dying breaths are just as much his as knowing how to access paralell universes. He doesn't want the Head to have either. He doesn't want the Head to puppet him to use that for himself.

So? How about a trial run he thinks. Rip that thing out, see if he comes back. Tell that pretty little thing with the shaved head if he makes it. See if she's willing to risk standing up to the pressure. Let his ghost scan some brains. That's the plan and it sounds good to him. Now to wait for his surgeon. On a rooftop. Best place to get a voluntary head injury.

B.) SWAMP MONSTER HUNTING
OTA
DATED EARLY IN THE MONTH

He'd heard about the swamp, but hadn't got to investigate much. Time for that to change. Out there were definitely parts he needed for additions to his weapons, and he was ready to go exploring and/or hunting.

He's back in his armor, big furry shoulder pads, leather(ish) chaps, thick belt with his hand cannon tucked into it and all. Somewhere between space traveller stereotype and old lone traveling warrior. Drifter's pretty good at wearing his business right upfront. He doesn't lie about what he is.

Can't be blamed for what people get themselves into.

Unfortunately, at the moment, getting themselves into something means they're gonna be marsh treading. And he needs the fangs off a man-eating swamp seal. Honestly, better than the alternatives. It could be gators. Could be boring, too, which is even worse. He's out in the swamp with a rented boat (that clerk, by the way, seemed keen on asking for insurance because he seemed to be pretty sure it wouldn't be coming back). There's some squishy ground to walk on, though, and he's abandoned the craft for the moment to travel that.

C.) SWEEP YOU OFF YOUR FEET
CLOSED TO NICK
DATED TO EARLY IN THE MONTH

He's been prepping and making weapons for the Heart for a couple of months now. And, to be honest, it isn't fair to the lady that's been kindly enough to introduce him to them that his focus has been mostly on them.

He shows up late at the bar, just when Nick's about to get off work, and slams his hands on the bar. This time wearing his Western fusion shtick, at least, not looking like a ratty space mechanic freak as he knows he damn well can.

"Come on, Darlin'. I wanna show you somethin'. No time like the present." And maybe he can tell her about the damn fool, if successful, thing that he did for himself.

D.) SO I HEARD THERE WAS A MAN WITH A FORGE
CLOSED TO SEIFER
DATED TO JUST AFTER NAPS

Drifter can generate his own heat and some minor transmatting. Honestly? Makes it a little easier to be a wanderer with his work. But generating ones own heat is exhausting. Work work work, all the time. It's drawining, and he has to wait a good ten, twenty minuted between big surges. He's about sick of that.

But, apparently, there's some fella with an actual forge out there. And Drifter? Needs a piece of that sweet action, thanks. He follows word of mouth in his own particular way (some shady deals, some strong-arming, some fair trades of 'useful' goods) until he finds the man and his forge.

He makes a pretty blatant show of not sneaking in. He just wants to be friends here, right? They got a lot they could do for one another. Who is ol' Drifter to pass up some alliances with potentially talented people. It could work out just fine for the both of 'em.

Trust.

But, he's gotta admit, this is a tad more mannequins than he's used to. Hell, last time he saw mannequins standing around in a deteriorating setting? They were target practice for Fallen. Spoilers: It didn't help 'em. He gets to the front door of the 'recycling center' and knocks... and thinks he hears a dog? Damn, now he doesn't even know if it's someone's pet or an actual person.

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"Brother if you like dyin' the whole freak thing still stands." He gestures to the mannequins. "But, I digress, just give me a second and I'll get your layout."

Drifter hates showing his ghost. Normally he never would. The thing's been hiding out in private for literally centuries, ducking into dark corners. Honestly, he's delighted that Drifter's actually letting him out to see people. Sure, he can't talk anymore, but he likes the acquaintanceship.

Drifter holds out his hand and a drone materializes over it, about the size of an apple and armored. It tips its "head", tilting so it looks like it's looking at Seifer quizzically, and then it scans him.

It creates a holographic display of Seifer's brain in red schematics, blue lines and bright white indicating where the chip is and the sensitive parts connected to it. Lots of little nerves connected to the thing.

Then it makes a little external drive, another chip of information, and drops it into Drifter's hand before vanishing into the air with a puff of glowing 'smoke'.

"Hey, hey I didn't say I like it! Jus' that it wasn't the worst thing," Coming back to life was arguably the worse experience of the two.

At least Seifer has no idea what this kind of ghost even is, he just sees a robot. Which he frowns at, slightly suspiciously, but he knows ultimately that not all robots are part of the Head's collection. Probably. "Got your very own space drone, huh?" Drone technology wasn't very strong yet in his world, so seeing one like this was a treat.

He frowns even more at the scan, seeing that the chip is indeed in a difficult to reach region. Why couldn't they just be right up near the skull where they'd be easy to extract, huh? But... never mind that, he might have to see about what he can do about that chip later if he wants to go against the Head more openly. For now... "Hey how's it just make stuff outta thin air like that?"

"It's called 'transmatter'. In this case, my little friend there could take a little bit of matter that existed in the world and change it to suit his purposes. But he can only work small scale here.

"Now, I can build larger tech. Transmats that can move a whole person from place to place. Seems like I'm limited in distance. Now... in our line of work? Making a quick getaway is pretty important. So if you do me the favor of lettin' me use your forge, Brother? I'll make sure we always got an out. Ya dig?"

He'd add in an 'unless you sell me out' but considering the stakes there's only one reason anyone would sell anyone else out here. And that's if they weren't right in the head anymore.

"Shit, that's useful." Transmatter is something they need back home! Imagine what they could do with it? Teleporters for one, who doesn't love teleporters? Unless they're run by Sorceresses, then they tend to be awful.

He nods in agreement. "You're right. An exit plan's gonna be important, what with the bullshit that's rampin' up here. In fact, I've been thinkin' about picking up and moving shop. You in for a little real-estate huntin'?"

Of course the real estate he's thinking is way outside the city, get themselves further from the Head's clutches. Ideally even something more defensible than an old abandoned warehouse. And hey, Drifter's in luck, Seifer's many things but disloyal isn't one of them. Drifter does him good, he'll do the same. Barring any unfortunate brain interference thanks to that chip. In that case please be gentle when tasing him.

"Yeah? Feelin' uneasy about the place?" He looks around. Well, if Drifter was able to find it, maybe someone else could. "Sure. Helps to have a storefront anyway. A place that's 'legit' for people to go to, while you do the work elsewhere."

Drifter dusts off his hands.

"Good, sounds like we can do business."

"I don't have any doubts that any place within the city ain't outta reach." The tunnels may mask their signal, but they wouldn't protect them for long. They'd be trapped, and prime targets for being gassed out. Or just gassed.

Somehow he doubts the Head's really interested in keeping them alive anymore. "I got some valuable equipment here, hard to replace. Rather put it somewhere I don't gotta worry so much about that." Even if it meant abandoning the convenience of the city. He's trained to live off the land, he's got no qualms doing it in a situation that is growing increasingly war-like.

The last bit earns a grin and he holds his hand out to shake on it. "Sounds good. So, when do we start?"

Hey, he's into it! Drifter's made a point of scavenging. He's spent 200 years away from city conveniences. Hell, he still can't shake the smell of mechanical gear even after a ton of lava soap. He can't shake his hoarding habits, either. Or being constantly on the look for something he can strip for parts.

They can do fine off the land.

"We can start any time! I'd not recommend the swamp. But let's get out there and see what we can dig up. Is uh..."

He gestures in the general direction of Seifer's tiny pet noisemaker.

"...Is that thing generally useful for anything or is it your mascot?"

Seifer's not a fan, he prefers more modern conveniences when he can get them, but that doesn't mean he can't make it work. They made it work in the village, they can do it again. Hell, this place has a hell of a lot more to scavenge from, and with a little help he's confident they can get themselves set up with some pretty solid defenses.

"Hell nah, who wants to live in a swamp? I was thinkin' of takin' a walk through the woods. Maybe see if we can't find some natural defenses. A cave, a cliff, somethin' like that y'know?" Somewhere they won't have to defend all sides.

He frowns at the gesture, Eos chuffs in delight being drawn back into the conversation. "Ain't ever heard of a pet?" Really he's more emotional support but like hell he's going to admit that.

"A pet?" He says it almost like he hasn't, when he undoubtedly has. "My world's in such a mess you don't expect anyone to keep anythin' unless they got a reason. There's some cats around, though, here an' there. I know a woman that's got a hawk."

Well he doesn't know her. She lives upstairs in the tower with her hawk, and not down in the shame basement with him and the Black Armory vendor.

And then there's the weirdo hero with the pigeons. But those aren't pets those are just things he feeds because he likes them he guess. He can't hate on the guy. He's the only one that casually comes in to chat without seeking some sort of 'what the fuck are you up to' objective.

Anyway, as Drifter turns his attention towards Seifer and the rest of the room, behind his back his Ghost makes an appearance again to look at the dog thing, curiously following it around. "Alright then. An if we can get a teleport set up, means we'll have an exit we can shut down and big bot boys cain't follow us through."

Seifer just shoots him an incredulous look. Who the hell hasn't heard of..? Oh, never mind, that explanation makes sense. "My world ain't that bad yet, 'course the academy I came from doesn't allow 'em." So he's making up for it now. Granted he didn't exactly want Eos drug into the middle of a situation like this, but it wasn't like either of them had a choice in it at this point.

While Seifer's attention returned to Drifter, Eos happily hopped up from his water tray to bounce around in front of the ghost excitedly, as if in invitation to play. Despite all the horrors building up around them, the dog's reliably cheerful.

"That sounds perfect. Main issue's gettin' some of this heavier equipment outta here, once we've found a suitable spot to set up camp that is. Anything else we can build outta salvage." There's more than enough around for shelters, they just need somewhere good to go.

Oh he's heard of pets. He just hasn't seen that many people living hard having a completely useless one. But he looks fine, and Drifter himself wanted a pet Hive at some point. He can't judge on appearances or usefulness.

The Ghost makes a little laser dot on the ground, giving it something to chase while its person is distracted and not paying attention to what he's doing.

"Yeah... Well, I think I can make us a bigger teleporter. Somethin' that can handle the big gear. Just gotta work out some barter; barter's probably gonna be our best bet for supplies for a little while." And that's just fine with him.

Never underestimate the value of a non-judgmental companion in dark times. Eos may not be a great hunter, though he is a great fisher, he's especially good at emotional support. And sometimes that's an invaluable asset.

That little light immediately grabbed Eos' attention, and soon enough the little reptilian dog was pouncing after and attempting to catch that dot of light in his many-toothed maw. What a delightful game!

"You think so? That'd make this whole damned mess easier. 'Course, first thing's first gotta find a space to bunk down," He nods at the suggestion of barter. That's effectively how he got the bigger machines in the first place. "Say, I work with waste management which has left me a lotta opportunity for scavenging. You're welcome to whatever I've set aside in the storage area back there," A vague gesture toward a less used area of the warehouse. "Most's junk, never know what might come in handy."

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