( closed ) said you would never give up easy

[gevurah]

Date & Time: from early to mid-january
Location: various locations
Characters: kate & various
Summary: doing things and running into people: the rp life.
Warnings: there will be some violence eventually
Notes: while there's prompts for those from the CR meme, if anyone else wants to do something don't hesitate to ask. feel free to PM me on this account or through plurk.


Raiden

[ Richard Lawson's parting words have left quite an impression on Kate.

Don't let them find you.

Her nights are a lot more restless than usual. The bottle of wine she gifted Ros is tempting, but she knows better than to turn to alcohol again while there are pressing matters. As usual, she dons her layers and boots and heads outside. She goes for a jog again today. Without any kind of workout facility she relies on the cold terrain.

The shelters are her first pit stop. They need to be cleaned out and stabilized, but at the forefront of her mind the UE's stash of bombs render shelters useless if they can easily drop another nuke on them.

If they know they're here, why haven't they? She stands with her hands on her hips, lost in thought. ]


Lightning

[ She's grown somewhat rusty with hunting. In spite of her intensive training that pit her around and against the world in various death traps and unfamiliar land, until last year she's lived a life of luxury.

The elderly woman she and Roslyn have been residing with lent her copper wire to ensnare rabbits with. She stalks the snow covered land for a rabbit trail, following their footprints into a good clearing where it appears they pass through.

As quickly and quietly as she can, she cuts down branches thick enough to hold any large rabbit. When she's done with setting up the branches and placing the wire, tying a noose and letting it hang in the center.

There are heavy footsteps in the distance. Yeti, she concludes, and hopes they don't frighten off the rabbits. ]


Seiya

[ Another grey and cold morning, but Kate's out for her usual jog. She warms up with basic stretches outside her current residence and half a minute after she's completed them, she's off. She sticks to a familiar path, edging along the outskirt of the town, but never wandering too far off.

She breathes through both her nose and mouth, but exhales through the latter only. Always breathing through the stomach or diaphragm to ensure she's getting enough air.

It's not always the most quiet run; there's always someone, be it Transport or one of the locals. A yard away from her she can hear dogs barking and the loud crunching of snow as the dogs run forward, pulling along a large sleigh with dead their master and his bag of what appears to be his hunt for the day. ]


Actual Damsel Martin

[ Today's jog is quickly disrupted by deep rumbling and the ground beneath her shaking to a point Kate nearly loses her footing. She stands with feet spaced out, applying as much weight as possible to keep herself upright while her eyes scour the clearing to spot whatever large animal it is stomping across.

It doesn't take long, but it's not exactly difficult to miss the mammoths bursting into the clearing. She's ready to hightail it out of here when she catches a glimpse of something else running ahead of the pack.

No, not something. Someone.

Kate's heart is almost ready to leap from her chest as she shouts: ]

Martin!

[ There's no hesitation, no second thoughts. She breaks into a sprint to meet the boy halfway, maneuvering with her bag to dig into its content, reaching for the grappling hook she always has on hand.

Cue. ]


Roslyn

[ Kate shudders one last time as she pushes the door in behind her. She notes the silence in the house, cocking her head to one side curiously and wiping excess snow off her boots on the rug. Then she begins to undo the buttons on her jacket, angling her head the other way. ]

Anyone home?

[ Home. It's almost laughable. God knows how long this setup will last this time. Lawson's disappearance reminds her the kind woman who owns this house may someday vanish before her own eyes. It's an unsettling feeling, not knowing it will happen and if it does. ]

Ros?

Comments

[gevurah]

Similar, but I'm not an expert.

[ Her gaze extends to the ceiling. ]

I hadn't realized anyone else was looking into these buildings.

[devotedtothecore]

...it's well and good time someone did, anyway.

[ Still watching her, he sticks the notebook between his teeth for a second, adjusting the strap round his forehead, before taking hold of it again. ]

They're soundly made. Walls thick enough and reinforced to deal with heavy impact. Good insulation for heat and sound. Most of the old fixtures for power lines and plumbing are still intact, though the actual components need to be replaced. Either removed by scavengers or rusted to scrap.

[ Sounding disgruntled at the last bit, though he knows he honestly shouldn't have been surprised. ]

[gevurah]

My main concern is whether or not it's safer to utilize underground shelters within the city or scoping out the mountains, but that means being cut off from any and all resources.

[ Not to mention the Transporter pad would be far from them. ]

Renovating will take some time. Do you know how long? We'll also need people to act as a line of defense in the case trouble makes its way here.

[devotedtothecore]

...

[ Bluntly: ] That depends. Who are you with?

[gevurah]

[ Her eyes slowly fall on Chrysos, surveying him in the empty seconds as silence lingers between the two. There's not a trace of emotion to be found on her face, but her eyes are bright with a steely resolve. ]

Anyone who needs to be protected.

[devotedtothecore]

[ He meets her eyes unflinchingly, a few moments longer... and nods, with an approving look, as the hand on guard falls to his side.

It's not an answer he was looking for, but it confirms a few things. It'll do, for now. ]

Within the city, there's always going to be the risk of proximity to the local population. But as you've said, it makes supply lines easier. Would be better if we could have our eggs in more than one basket. There's a second location out on the outskirts that's already fairly established. Others might know a third site further in the mountains.

[ Turning to look over the expanse of the warehouse again, gesturing at it all with one hand. ]

As for how long it'll take... that's anyone's guess. It depends on who we have on the job. Tools and materials are a bit less of an issue, I've made a few contacts. It's more like to come down to manpower.

[gevurah]

I would prefer not to involve the locals, but...

[ It's a risk. There's always risk in war. If they can set up shelters, the locals can use them. While she understands she won't be able to protect everyone she's not about to write anyone off. ]

Manpower might not be too much of an issue. Do you know Kang?

[devotedtothecore]

Kang?

[ ...he takes a few seconds to think about it, filing through names and faces in memory. ] I'm afraid not. Who is he?

[gevurah]

An engineer. Before the bomb, him and I and a few others were rebuilding a temple. He was a major asset to the restoration.

There's also Tony Stark. He could help with the power lines.

[ She's not quite sure how to describe Tony, but she bears no ill feelings toward him; she simply doesn't know the man as well as she would like. He did help with the rover, which is enough at the moment. ]

[devotedtothecore]

[ Kang. Tony Stark. Two quick scrawls in his notebook, lest he forget. ]

From a technical perspective, or labor?

[ Expertise is something they're honestly not lacking, but it's the side of things involving breaking down walls and shaping steel... that'll be the challenge. ]

[gevurah]

Stark's more technical, but that's as far as I know.

[ She had a lot of kids offering to help her with the synagogue last time and they did a pretty good job with basic labor. ]

What are you thinking?

[devotedtothecore]

...the more hands, the better.

[ And while some of those hands could do the work of a hundred-- from what he's seen firsthand-- his thoughts aren't far from Kate's, in terms of the idea of basic labor. ]

Planners are vital. But to put one person's blueprints in place might be the work of ten, twenty men. It doesn't take a trained engineer or a superhuman to lay a brick or plaster walls.

With enough help, we could have a reasonable base of operations in place and running in under a month.

[ If this were back home, he would've said at least half a year. But with the kind of people they have among the Transports...assuming they would be willing, he wouldn't be surprised if it was a matter of weeks. ]

[gevurah]

We're about to get a new batch of Transports. Might be more available hands once they've arrived.

[ They'll also need to settle in, but she hopes there are some willing to jump into the fray. There are too many that are more than unwilling and would prefer to sit on the sidelines, which means the small number of them working toward a solution have to not just double, but triple or quadruple their efforts. ]

We still don't know much about this land or the current UE. The AI's archives aren't up to date.

[devotedtothecore]

One hopes.

[ He's not particularly optimistic about that, given the common reaction he's seen with new Transports to being whisked away from their homes and planted here-- at least, the previous Here-- and he remembers how long it took to get himself in some semblance of "settled" enough to truly engage in what was happening around him. (Even now, he's not sure he'd call himself entirely so.) And now, with the original Initiative responsible reduced to a handful of people in a run-down building...

...he lets out a heavy breath, an edge of frustration to it. One thing at a time. ]

We don't. And the sooner we move to fix that-- the sooner we're able to move-- the better for all of us. We'll need the infrastructure to support scouting missions on the ground, we can't rely on shuttling back and forth between the moonbase for the long term.

[ Lest one of those trips turn out to be the unlucky one that gives their existence away. ]

[gevurah]

The moon base was never meant to be used long term.

[ This is not a fact she can prove, but she states it with such firmness it may as well be "true".

Zombies and recycled air is not the way to live. Survive. ]

We should also get in touch with the clinic and its staff and volunteers. We'll need them to be prepped in the case of an emergency, too, but that can come after the shelters are set up.

[ She pauses, as if forgetting something. ]

Kate.

[devotedtothecore]

[ He holds no more love for the moon base than she does (even now recalls the close shave, back then, and his left calf twinges with a phantom ache), and so does not debate the point. The wind bites, here, but at least it carries fresh air with it. ]

I'm not familiar with all their staff. [ The clinic, he means. ] But it's a primary concern to get them a place established and equipped as well, yes.

[ ...ah. Right. Introductions. ]

...Chrysos. [ And then more formally, shoulders firming and back straightening, like a solder or warrior declaring himself: ] Chrysos Kineas, of Cepheus.

[gevurah]

Talk to Ashraf. I believe he heads the clinic.

[ Memorization of important names is something she learned a long time ago, even before her globetrotting training.

Kate pauses again, mildly surprised by the title and his presentation. ]

Just Kate. Kate Kane.

[ Well, Katherine Rebecca Kane, but nobody's allowed the full name ultimatum. ]

Good to meet you, Chrysos.

[devotedtothecore]

[ A corner of his mind reminds him, as he holds his posture a moment longer, that it's all little more than a gesture of pride, petty and meaningless; his homeland is a word of no meaning to anyone else walking this planet (a thought that never fails to leave a slight hollow in his chest, in its wake.)

Still, even so. An Engineer makes known his origins, and by his works does honor to them. No matter what corner of the world (or multiverse) they're in.

At least here, the name Kineas means about as much as Cepheus does.

He lets himself relax, feeling (and looking) a little awkward, now that they're past the point of being entirely wary of each other. A nod back at her. ]

It's good to meet you as well. ...thank you for the tips.

[gevurah]

[ There's the soft crackling of dirt and small bits of rubble under her boots as she moves closer to him. ]

Seems like you've already got it.

[ She isn't the one who set up the bunker in her own penthouse. It was mostly her father's work. ]

[devotedtothecore]

[ He tucks the notebook away in a pocket, the pencil beside it, and tugs his jacket a little firmer around him. ]

..."got it"?

[ The turn of phrase doesn't quite parse. Got what, exactly? ]

[gevurah]

[ It earns a soft and amused smirk from her. ]

You know what you're doing.

[ She explains, motioning with her hand vaguely. ]

[devotedtothecore]

[ And that in turn earns a faintly disgruntled look from him, and folded arms. Not his fault there's all these strange figures of speech running around. ]

I see.

[ ...honestly, he wouldn't say with absolute confidence he knows exactly what he's doing, but things'll take better shape as they move along. ]

If it's accomplished, it won't be by my hand alone.

[gevurah]

[ Kate nods; it's always a frustration that so many are unwilling to help, but people like Chrysos help soothe over some of those irritations. Even better: he seems familiar with this sort of work or has done his homework. It's not only pulling their weight, but having to find people who know what they're doing.

She finally stands by his side, eyes flicking upward to regard the ceiling. Sturdy enough, but she can't help but think of what happens if a bomb is dropped... ]

It'll go faster with more hands.

You do this back home?

[devotedtothecore]

[ He takes a step away to shine his light on a pile of rubble in one corner; a casual, almost absent move, but one that keeps him at least an arm's length from her, and moves his face out of view. Back home, and what comes to mind are mazes of spinning steel and churning copper, the whistle of steam in sweltering chambers, the rumble of a thousand gears in concert as he moved among them, repairing, upgrading, maintaining...

...for a purpose. And this, too--- this empty, unlit lot, where breath mists and freezes in the air-- there's a purpose for the work to be done here, too. Even if the view's a different story. ]

...it's not my chosen field. I specialized in mechanics. [ A hand rummages in a pants pocket, pulling out a small cardboard box. ] But every apprentice spends at least two years in construction. The art of building that which lasts.

[ A tap against his palm, and he tugs out a stubby, hand-rolled cigarette, sticking it between his teeth. ]

Though shelter against explosives of continental magnitude were never a factor to be considered.

[gevurah]

[ Her gaze darkens considerably for a fleeting moment. It fades quickly, but the stoic expression remains. ]

These won't hold in the case of a bomb.

But we need to gather intel on the UE and how this land ended up the way it is first before making our move against them.