srwug_alpha_rp | (no subject)

Now that White Chalice is flying over the ruined landscape of North America again, Doctor Zero senses some good to be done. Despite, or perhaps because of her killing The Stalker Fang (a fact which General Naga has committed an unknown number of brutal acts to suppress getting out, without her knowledge) she's still loyal to the Green Storm.

Here, perched on a rocky outcrop in the painted ochre of the Mojave Desert, where pebbles of glass that were once cities crunch under your feet, she's set up a little observation post with some equipment, her Stalkers, a high powered observation telescope, and some sandwiches and tea in a thermos. Most of her birds are wheeling around overhead nearby and she periodically dons a strange, helmet-like device to look through their eyes.

It's not strictly necessary though because what she's observing is visible to the naked eye: A larger traction city chasing a smaller one. Kicking up great plumes of dust in the distance, the behemoths wheel while their airships do battle in the skies above them. Soon the smaller city is herded towards some mountains, where it's trapped. The larger one release grappling hooks to hold its prey in place and the 'jaws' of the city are brought out, closing around it the smaller. The great metal teeth pierce floor plates that are meters deep. No doubt the snout gun of the larger city, trained on its prey, is enough to convince whoever's in charge that further resistance is a bad idea.

The scene should be a familiar one to anyone who's ever watched a nature documentary.

[1]

She speaks into a portable callbox.

"Fulfill The Vision Of The Wind Flower airbase, this is Chalice Death's Head. I am observing one large mobile city hunting another in the Mojave desert. Appears to be...Amadillo hunting RumbleTexas."

"Ryokai, Surgeon-Mechanic. Continue to observe but do not approach."

You don't have to tell her twice. She's content to remain there. But while the landscape is pretty in a desolate way, the work's monotonous.

[2]

Sometime after the newly fattened city has rumbled off, leaving behind the skeletal remains of its prey, and night spread its dark blanket, pricked by hundreds of small holes of light, Oeneone's watching the sky, leaning against the legs of one of the Stalkers.

She starts to doze off before too long.

[3]

The next morning, she awakes to find Chalice has left her behind and inwardly berates herself. She opens up a comm channel to the ship.

"Th-This is Doctor Oenone Zero. I'm very sorry about this but I d-dozed off. Can anyone come and p-pick me up? I'd ride on my Stalkers but i'm afraid of what that could do t-to the equipment. Thank you very much and i'm sorry again."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oenone turned when she heard him bump into something. She came over quickly and crouched to look at the picture. A man and his son, frozen in a moment of happiness that could have lasted no longer than when this city was devoured by Amadillo. A small reminder of the human costs of Municipal Darwinism. It was the kindof thing that didn't seem so horrible when it was statistics, tidbits: such and such a city had caught and eaten this other city, that town. But up close it was so much worse.

"Kensuke...you should photograph this. I think it needs to be known."

She felt a kinship with this man who, if they were both alive, was undoubtedly trying to protect his son on Amadillo. She said a silent prayer for them.

(http://s861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/GreybillGirls/Kensuke%20Icons/?action=view&current=kensuke-aida.jpg)

Kensuke nodded, and snapped a few pictures, it was to important to bet on just one take. It was not unlike those hallowed out apartments he had explored as a child, filled to the fifth floor with water.
Kensuke shivered visibly, the harsh reality of the place, taking the joy and wonder out of the moment.
"Do you think anyone would mind if I took this?" It was a silly question, these men where probably dead, or worse, they didn't need this old photo when they had gone.

"Can we go back now?"

"Sure. You'll be saving it from ending up on whatever scavenger towns show up to eat the rest of this place. Then we can broadcast it to Amadillo and if it doesn't get censored and they're still alive, it might give them some hope."

She helped him up from where he'd been squatting over the picture and squeezed his hand before letting it go. She had to remember that Municipal Darwinism was new to him and the cruelty of it was probably just now starting to sink in to him. The Stalkers led the way back up and out.

(http://s861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/GreybillGirls/Kensuke%20Icons/?action=view&current=takenaback.jpg)

Kensuke tucked the photo into his bag, and then reached out for her hand. He didn't really need a hand, and if he tried to pull against, he was pretty such she would just topple. But it was reassuring, and warm, a motion his subconscious remembered, and he felt a bit nostalgic for a memory he couldn't recall. Just an echo of a feeling.

Once outside again the wind had picked up, and bit of paper and cloth where blowing about in the rubble.
It was chill, cold wind blew across the wounds on his back, but some how exhilarating. This day had been unexpected, and he felt something deeper than words had been found in his heart. He felt... alive. Perhaps more than he had ever felt before. All in stark contract to this place...

She remembered too, how her big brother's hand felt around hers. He'd taught her how to do this.

"Let's go back, then." She said, having the Stalkers turn towards the Chalice's signal. In the far distance, scavenger towns were approaching, the wreck from the opposite side, but none of them would mess with two Stalkers, for fear of what the mechanical men were capable of once they'd boarded.

She walked silently but with a smile, enjoying the clean air and the fact that maybe Kensuke had learned something from this.