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Questions from a stranger
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Ranger Center - Entrance[south, north]
You step into a small, barren room which appears to be constructed out of
reinforced metal and concrete, stretching off in two directions, to the north
and the south. Above you is an abandoned security camera, which appears to have
been broken for years, and overlooks the northern part of the room. When
looking to the north, you see, past several steel doors, miles of barren and
crumbling land, your view being cut off only by the limited size of the glass
set into the doors. To the south though, through a large steel door which
appears to be jammed open, you see a long, darkened hallway which pulls at your
attention, and strangely, makes you want to traverse the halls.
Against the eastern wall of the foyer stands a young woman, her head
bowed onto her chest, long brown hair obstructing view of her face. Her arms
are crossed tightly around her abdomen below her breasts. Her right foot is
planted firmly on the floor while her left offers balance, crossing her right
leg at the knee and being held against the wall. Her duster is hung open and an
end of the metal coils hangs loose, down to the floor.
A figure steps in. 6'3 of black, dusty metal, and red leather. The man, or
woman, seems to be currently dressed in a full body suit of armor, with a red
trenchcoat shrugged over it. Even the head is kept out of view by a strange,
angular helmet, the only thing interupting the general design of it being a
mohawk like row of short spikes, and a thin dark green visor. A soft breath
sounds from behind it. He just stands there, hands held into the pockets of his
coat, seemingly looking around
The woman looks up at the sound of the boots inspecting the man that
has just arrived., one of her eyes peeking out from behind the cascade of hair,
catching the light and flickering a rainbow of colors. Behind her natural veil
a smile crosses her face. She rubs her back against the wall scratching an
unseen itch and goes back to facing the floor, one eye trained on the figure.
The thin, green visor strangely flares up more brightly for a moment, before
the armored head is turned slightly towards the figure of the woman. Standing
silent for a few moments more, just the sound of his deep breath being heard,
he suddenly draws his hands from the pockets of his coat, both gloved in black
leather, and slowly reaches up. Disapearing behind his collar, and fiddling
around for a bit, a sudden click and soft mechanical hiss is heard. Reaching up
further, he grabs the side of the helmet, and slowly pulls it off, before
holding it under his arm by his side. His face is now in view, the hardened
visage of a true wastelander. Dark tanned skin, slightly tarnished by the
enviroment and middle age, short, black hair, equal color shadow on the chin,
sharp, angular features, giving him kinda a romanic look, or maybe slavic, and
a set of pale, light grey eyes staring out from beneath bushy eyebrows,
currently set on the woman.
Suraya jumps at the hissing sound, both feet coming to rest on the floor, the
metal around her waist clattering loudly on the floor, her arms falling back
into a crossed position though. She turns to face the man, her highheeled boots
scuffing on the floor, her face is now fully revealed. Nothing spectacular
about her features, low-set wide jawbones and sturdy neck muscles give her the
appearance of a farm girl though. A light blue bandana hangs over her thin
cotton tee shirt, accentuating her chest slightly by having it's point hang
strategicly. "You scared me there for a moment", she speaks quickly, her voice
soft and timid. She reaches up and undoes the knot on the bandana, pulling at
the tie before sliding it around behind her head and affixiating it as a catch
for her flowing locks. "What brings you stranger?"
The set of cold, pale eyes keep idly set on her, shiftly slightly to look her
over. His expression stays stern as he responds, "Not my intent." His voice is
gruff, and laced with a thick accent of somekind, russian, "I am here to gather
information." His eyes break away, and travel around the room for a moment,
before setting her eyes back on her, "Maybe you can provide."
The sound of foot-steps echos through the Ranger Center once again as a woman
walks into the Ranger Center, mumbling incoherantly with a look of scorn on her
face. Blood-stained bandages cover her left shoulder and lower torso, a freshly
stitched wound on her left hand looks rather badly done and infected, The
remenants of her trench conceals any other noticable dressings or wounds.
Taking note of the 2 other individuals she slumps herself in the foyer,
eventually sitting on the east wall, wiping the sweat that covers her face with
a piece of cloth, she lets out a long sigh of relief staring blankly at the
wall opposite her
Suraya looks at the other woman, a hint of contempt in her evershifting eyes.
She turns back towards the man, cocking her head slightly "Well, I don't
know.." she looks down at the floor and mumbles softly "..I'm kinda new myself"
before looking back up at the man and smiling sweetly. "Maybe I can though..
what do you need to know?"
Viktor lets his gaze fall briefly on the wounded woman, and his expression
still stays the same, not showing any concern, contempt or whatever might
be expected, "Politics.. Who is currently in charge, for one." He looks
back at the ranger, not returning her smile.
Lianna takes a canteen of water from her trench and takes a large gulp before
removing her slashed beret and emptying the rest of the water onto her
head, she takes deep breath and lets out exhales rather loudly. She then
suddently starts to cough out some blood, the look of pain and agony
riddles her face as she clutches her chest and collapses onto the floor.
Suraya takes a step backwards, the man's gaze and pointed questioning driving
into her. She recovers quickly though and processes the question "Umm oh
blah.." she sticks her tongue out, hanging her mouth open comicly "Don't you
think we should take care of her first? I know the answer but it seems to have
slipped my.." she stutters for a moment "..m-mmind"
Viktor glances at the wounded one again, and just shrugs lightly, broad
shoulders rolling, "None of my concern.. But call a medic if you so wish, i
will wait." A light smile only briefly crosses his face, before fading away
again. His stance shifts slightly, making himself a bit more comfortable.
Lianna gasps for air as the spasms start to recide, soon her breaths are deep
sounding, downing whats left of her water and drops the canteen, the hollow
steel canteen clanks and rattle as it hits the ground, closing her eyes she
tries to slow her heart-rate down, taking deeper and slower breaths as she
seats herself to an upright position once more.
Suraya gasps as the woman falls over, not even waiting for the man to speak she
dashes off down the hall, running blindly through the compound in search of
assisstance. After being gone a few moments she returns with two men dressed in
lab coats and carrying a stretcher. They glance around the room as they enter,
gazing fixiating on the armored man, one of them gasps silently, the other
merely looks inquisitevly. Both men quickly dismiss the armored man and go
about talking quietly to format a plan. Suraya turns back to the man, her face
blanch white, her chest rising and falling with deep breaths "I'm very sorry..
I've never seen someone die before but I have a doctor friend who can fix her
up real good..", taking a deep breath and pushing hair out of her face, she
begins to fiddle with the bandana again "... Sanguinis"
The two field medics check the ailing womans pulse, blood preasure, and wounds
under the bandages, you can barely make out what they are saying but pick up
some words like, "Sledge hammer ...... torso........ knife.... stabb....
slash..." The medics place her onto a streatcher and start to ferry her towards the infirmary.
Viktor simply states, "You get used to it." In response, and proceeds to watch
the medics work, in silence, with a blank expression, still not
showing any signs of concern or anything. looking back at the ranger
briefly, he says, "What about him."
Suraya nibbles on her thumb as she watches the medics, whenever they leave
vision she turns back to the man, a small drop of sweat sliding along her
temple and tracing it's way down her face to fall from her chin and explode on
the floor far below. "He is uhh umm our leader", her breathing begins to slow
down but she is still obviously shaken.
Viktor nods a bit, "That's what i wanted to know." He smirks slightly as he
continues to watch her, and states, in a slightly commanding tone, "You
will have to get used to watch comrades injured or dead, if you want to be
part of a group that sometimes have to use force, or defend from it." His
smirk fades again, "Now, where might i find him."
Suraya straightens up, taking a deep breath and glareing at the man, her eyes
meeting with his. "I doubt I will ever get used to it" she says softly, her
voice quickly freezing though "On the other hand, I do not know where you can
find him." She shakes her head defiantly, the long tail of har, accentuating
the movement as it flutters over her shoulder, the chain on the ground rattles
slightly as she shifts her weight "I am new here, as I mentioned before.. thats
one bit of information that I can not give you"
Viktor doesn't seem to be bothered or taken back any by her glare, and just
simply states, "Trust me, you will get used to it." Glancing around for a
bit, he says, "Now, it would be helpful if you provided me a place of rest,
it is late, and i am tired." He smirks slightly, "If there is any problem
with it, just tell your superiors that General Viktor Gorchev would like to
rest here."
Suraya sighs, fumbling the name around in her mouth for a moment trying to
decipher the information "I've never heard of you.. but since I know your name
you might as well know mine." She steps forward and holds out her hand, it
appears tiny next to man but she doesn't seem to mind "I'm Private Suraya
Jessica Almada..." she states proudly "..since your a general I guess I better
do what ya say huh? I've been bunking in the infirmary and letting them check
my condition. Got caught in a sanstorm the other day". She smiles sweetly and
looks down the hallways, noticing noone she lowers her voice a notch or two
"Say.. what are you the general of? One of our units or another group?", she
looks at the mans armor, trying to discern an organization.
Viktor glances at the hand, and brings one of his own up to idly shake it,
showing off his iron grip. Looking town at the slightly shorter woman, he
responds, "Commander of Spetsnaz, other group, but in alliance with
Ranger." His expression stays stern, and rather cold, together with his
voice. Some new features might be more notable from this distance though,
like the strange dark blue barcode on his left cheekbone area, or the long,
pale scar crossing his face, among others.
Suraya looks at her hand, flexing her fingers slightly and drawing in her
breath as they respond "Oww..your pretty strong aren.." she cuts off
midsentence as the statement strikes home "Commander of the Spetsnaz thats
rather impressive" she downplays the title, but her eyes glint in admoration "I
had a friend that was under your command. She's gone now" her voice drops as
she says the last sentence but picks back up again "Thats in the past though."
She turns and looks down the hallway to the south "I think the dormitories are
that way"
Viktor lets his hand drop again, and nods slightly, "It is not a easy job, and
we face many threats, but i keep losses at a minimum." He nods again, "Now,
if you would excuse me, i will go to rest. If you see your leader, or
anyone else of use, send him over to me." With that, he starts to walk
away, silent but for the sound of his boots, and a soft wirr coming from
his armor.
Suraya watchs him leave, here ears twitching at the mechanical noises "What an
odd fellow" she mouths under her breath.
Suraya takes her long hair in both hands, untieng the bandana carefully before
letting the cascade fall over her chest, blanketing her abdomen in the flowing
locks. She pushes back against the eastern wall again and slides down it to a
sitting position. She ties the rag around her eyes before leaning heavily
against the back wall. She lets her breath out slowly, as she places her hands
firmly on her crossed legs and sits quietly.
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