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Post by Sandy Bell on Jan 21, 2016 17:46:17 GMT
Sandy lay naked sweating and joyful, halfway on the floor and halfway on the collapsed bed, then leaned over and kissed Volodja again, saying with a laugh, "Well, there goes the last of our scrip. It should just about pay for this bed. Don't mind my saying it was well worth it!"
Sandy's tanned and pretty face grew serious then as she said in a low tone, "It really has been too long Volodja. I love you more than life itself, but we need to find a way to make more us-time. Maybe a long trip with just the two of us to a tropical locale..."
Sandy laughed hearing her own words, then looked at him with wide blue eyes and a huge grin, saying, "But I guess that is what we have! Hell of a vacation, but lets make the best of it!"
Sandy reached over to Volodja's groin, stroking his little soldier until it stood and saluted again, then straddled him riding him like a wild bucking bronco until they both gasped and collapsed in a pile of human limbs - exhausted but happy.
Meanwhile, the human street urchin that had showed Sentenza where the lovers were had proven himself a true entrepreneur by showing Commander Kima of the Votan Collective where they were as well. In fact, Commander Kima and six of his elite commandoes stood outside the Dirty POW in full uniform with all their gear as the tall muscular commander gave the urchin a ten scrip note for his information.
"Hey, I thought the bounty was a million script," Complained the boy.
"First, hand me back my wallet," Said the Commander in a stern and heavily accented voice, but when the boy complied the square jawed Irathient smiled and patted the boy's head, answering, "I will tell you what I tell my own son, who is about your age - read the fine print of any agreement. Sandy Bell must be delivered to me alive to get a million scrip and the bag of diamonds." As the boy scrunched his face and began to mutter curses under his breath, Commander Kima's smile grew kinder as he took another ten-spot from his wallet and handed it to the boy with a wink, "However, since you have proven yourself capable, I will give you something better than a one-time award: A steady paycheck, for at least as long as I am in Lima. You report to me every morning at the Votan Collective Embassy with information about what is going on with the criminal element of Lima in general and as to my target in particular, and I will pay you ten scrip each and every day. Deal?"
"Deal!" yelled the human boy as a big grin crossed his dirty face, grabbing the ten-spot and quickly disappearing down a nearby ally.
As Commander Kima watched the boy's back until he was gone, he turned to his entourage and said with a laugh, "And that is why the Votan Collective will eventually rule this planet: Humans as a rule only have greedy and selfish motivations!"
His soldiers, Irathients all and all loyal members of his clan, echoed their commander's laughter, until they noticed his face had become impassive again, then stood at attention awaiting his orders, which he promptly issued, "Sargent Maas, you take Commandoes Joshee and Egaan and cover the back exit. You other three will come with me. Do not fire unless fired upon. Do not kill except to preserve your or your brothers and sisters-in-arms lives. Remember: Even though Lima is populated with the incorrigible and the decadent, it's populace are still considered civilians and Lima itself is considered an independent city-state with we its guests. Now go!"
With that said, Commander Kima and his three men entered the Dirty POW with weapons at the ready and like they owned the place, as the other three commandoes stealthily made their way to cover the bar's rear door.
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Jan 21, 2016 18:20:51 GMT
Sandy Bell and Volodja Uljanov dressed again, still looking each other with longing eyes and wishing that their moment of happiness could last forever, but weird sounds from downstairs - caused by Dirty POW's customers who were thrown out by members of Votanis Collective commando squad and soon the only client who remained was one really short Liberata who hid himself - made them hurry up. Sandy and Volodja grabbed their weapons - mostly knives, the one shot pipe pistol, Sentenzas Magnum, Marcels sleep dart pistol and Volodjas sapper shovel - and sneaked downstairs...
___________
PERU, LIMA,
DIRTY POW
10 AM
"All clear, Sir" reported Corporal Vosloo. "Ready to proceed."
"Not so fast, Commander," said soft voice behind them.
"You may proceed indeed, but with your hands up and guns put on the floor," continued other.
"This time we have an advantage. Am I correct Mr. Wynd?"
"You are, Mr. Kyd. And these gentlemen are kind enough to let us get our property. Any objections?"
Commander Kima turned slowly around to find himself staring into two gun barrels. Mr. Wynd and Mr. Kyd decided to continue their operation from the point they were kicked out from Dirty POW and claim Sandy Bell and Volodja Uljanov to themselves. Commander and his men retreated to the middle of the bar room because being held in gunpoint was something they didn't expect to happen, but Commander had an ace on his sleeve.
"We have a bit different opinion about that, " was said by someone else and three Irathient commandos appeared from the back of the building, pointing their guns to Mr. Wynd and Mr. Kyd. "Lower your weapons, step back and let us capture Captain Sandra "Sandy" Bell. Then you have a chance to leave this place alive."
"I don't think so,"said Mr. Kyd. "Would you be so kind and explain them our reasons of refusing their kind proposition."
"With pleasure, Mr. Wynd. These marauders took our diamonds and ruined our private business. And we have their Commander in our sights, so one wrong move and he will get the first bullet."
"Mind if I join you?" asked voice of Sentenza politely.
He was following Sandy and Volodja to downstairs where he confronted bunch of armed humans and Votans and one of Votans turned his gun towards him, forcing Sentenza to pull out his new Magnum and aim it back at the guy who threatened to shoot him.
"Some of you are standing between me and my targets. It's a matter of professional honour that I will be the one who captures señorita Bell and eliminates señor Uljanov," explained Sentenza his point of view.
"I am afraid that we an not let that happen," said Mr. Wynd.
"Mr. Uljanov has some sentimental value for us, so he stays alive," added Mr. Kyd.
"We seem to have a conflict of interests," said Commander Kima. "We should find a peaceful and satisfying solution for all of us. How much do you want for getting out of here, gentleman?"
"Nothing, because we won't leave, no matter how much you are willing to pay. Right Mr. Wynd."
"Absolutely, Mr. Kyd. There are more valuable things than money. Our principles about business ethics are one of these things. And nobody ruins our business and gets away with it."
"Can I shoot someone already?" asked Sentenza. "I am getting bored."
"NO!" yelled rest of humans and Irathiens altogether.
Have you ever heard about Mexican standoff? Even if you haven't, you probably have seen it in films.
It's is a confrontation among two or more parties in which no participant can proceed or retreat without being exposed to danger. As a result, all participants need to maintain the strategic tension, which remains unresolved until some outside event makes it possible to resolve it. And this typical standoff was about to have that fatal event which triggers the following chain of events.
BANG! That was a signal for a general fire fight to start, because tension in the Dirty POW grew with every second and after reaching into the highest point, it needed only a small impulse to lead everyone into the open conflict. A gunshot was even a stronger signal than necessary to make everyone to take cover, find something to shoot with and open fire (except Commander Kima and men who entered with him, because they were unarmed and had to lay low and wait until gunfight ends). The fact that the first shot took out the only source of light (the Dirty POW didn't had any windows and it's stone walls were really thick) made things even more complicated, because nobody had a night vision gear with them, so they had to aim at muzzle flashes risking to be caught into friendly fire.
Bullets trashed the interior of Dirty POW, making Volodja to mutter: "Nothing new under the Sun. As I remember, I arranged something similar in Defiance, except this time they got into this without my help, plus that one tiny but damn important problem: How the hell we will ever pay for the damage if we can barely compensate the collapsed bed to Mama Rita?" He felt guilty, because his shot from the pipe pistol was the one causing all this trouble. "The good thing is that they totally forgot about us, as it seems, so we could leave any time we want if we maintain a low profile, but what about Mama Rita and her place?"
"I wouldn't be worried about that, young man. My insurance will cover all damage royally, even that collapsed bed and the lamp you shot. Except for these two items, you didn't broke anything. Besides - I was planning a redecoration for a long time and waited someone who is willing to burn the whole place down, so I could rebuild it with insurance money," said Mara Rita. "Come with me, young ones," she continued, pulling Sandy and Volodja with her.
Down in basement which served also as a warehouse for smuggled goods, Mama Rita handed them couple of soft packages. "Your clothes," she explained. "Unfortunately I could not get you any weapons in such a short notice. Take one of my dinghies to get into the daylight. You can leave it to the other end of the tunnel. And remember - you are always welcome in my humble house after I rebuild it. I won't say "Vaya con Dios", because I expect to see you again! Instead of that I wish a good luck to both of you!"
Mama Rita hugged them both before opening a hatch, leading into the underground grotto where couple of boats and dingies were floating at the end of the tunnel, leading to the Rímac River. Both of them waved to Mama Rita who grinned at them before closing the hatch. Sandy and Volodja sat into the dinghy, Volodja took oars and and started to paddle them out from there while shoot out above their heads continued without any significant results while Mama Rita was sitting in the safety of her hidden warehouse and already calculated cost of building materials...
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Post by Sandy Bell on Jan 22, 2016 3:00:33 GMT
Sandy Bell held the nickel plated .357 Magnum at the ready as she thought she saw hundreds of pairs of small pricks of light gleaming in the dark tunnel as Volodja rowed the boat towards the Rimac River through the sewers below Lima. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination or a possible real danger, but she kept the gun at the ready anyway, even though she knew there were only six bullets left in its cylinder, with only knives left when the bullets were spent. Even so, Sandy was pretty happy, in that not only did they get out of a pretty harrowing situation alive and unhurt but that she was again reunited with her beloved. Sandy would have been the first to admit that she would rather be in a small boat in the sewers of one of the most corrupt cities in the world, chased by numerous enemies, but with Volodja, than be in the most opulent palace and completely safe with all the best amenities and luxuries human and Votan cultures could provide without him.
Meanwhile, Commander Kima was not happy, although not happy was probably too mild an appraisal of his emotions, as he stood with folded arms looking at the collapsed bed in the loving couple's former room. Not long before in the barroom below, he had commanded his men to stand down and managed to convince the bounty hunters to retreat safely with the rational argument that by now and especially after all the gunfire, their prey was gone and that if they killed him or his men, there would be no bounty for anyone even if they caught Sandy Bell. He was still amazed that with all the shooting in the bar, no one was killed or even injured with all the gunfire, except for the bar itself which was completely destroyed.
The Irathient commander looked to the much shorter plump Irathient woman standing next to him, whose fat arms were also folded, and grimaced as he said, "Of course Mama Rita, the Votan Collective will pay for all the damages to your establishment."
"Yes, they will," Replied the woman, the tone in her voice only slightly hinting at a thinly veiled threat that made him not want to find out what would happen if they didn't. "If I had know it was you down below shooting up my bar, I would have grabbed you by your ear like I did when you were a child and hauled you to your mother!"
"I give you my word as an officer and a gentleman that if they do not, I will pay you from my personal funds," Said Commander Kima rather stiffly.
Mama Rita smiled broadly, her cheeks getting rosier if that was possible as she said, "Pftt, Nabaktǝ Kima, don't act so high and mighty with me! I knew you and your family when they lived in Lima and you were just another urchin on the streets! They were good people, and I was happy when they saved enough money to take you and the rest of your family to immigrate to the Capital City of the Votan Collective. I hope they are doing well. By the way, why are you after that young couple? They seemed like a nice Ladd and Lassie to me. I hope it isn't because they are human."
Glad that none of his soldiers were in the room at the moment, for he liked to keep his history his own, Commander Kima looked down at the floor, much like when he was younger and Mama Rita had caught him doing something wrong, but moments later he looked up at her with intense yellow eyes that had the glint of steel in them as he replied, "My parents are fine, as is my brother and two sisters Mama Rita, but as to that couple, I cannot say any more that I have my orders from the highest authorities in the Votan Collective to capture Sandy Bell. I did not even know she had a companion when I got my orders. I heard one of the bounty hunters call him Volodja, do you know any more than that about him?"
Mama Rita merely shrugged as she shook her head "No", her eyes never once breaking from his steely gaze. Finally, Commander Kima broke the stalemate and looked out the bedroom window staring at the Lima skyline that had not changed since his youth, before looking back to her and then as he stood stiffly, clicked his heels and bowing slightly to her saying in his thick accent, "It is good to see you again Mama Rita, although I wish it had not been under these circumstances. I will give your regards to my mother and father, and please do visit me if you ever get to Capital City."
Mama Rita laughed heartily, then gave him a bear hug which after a moment's hesitation he returned as she said, "Don't be a stranger, Nabaktǝ! And think about giving those young lovers a break - couldn't you just... look the other way!"
Commander Kima sighed, replying, "I must do my duty. As I said, my orders come from the highest authorities in the Votan Collective. I must obtain Sandy Bell, alive and unhurt, and I must do it soon, or face the consequences myself."
With that said, he gave Mama Rita another curt nod, then marched downstairs to the bullet ridden bar, gathering his soldiers and heading back to the Votan Collective Embassy, hoping that either they or the bounty hunters would soon find Sandy Bell. Until then, Commander Kima knew that his next plan of action was to find out who this mysterious "Volodja" was.
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Jan 22, 2016 13:49:19 GMT
"Volodja
By the time you are reading these lines I am...Not dead, you imbecile! But on my way back to USA and this time for real. I let Moira to alter the log of a local airport, so officially I was on my way when I saved your sorry ass. You ask why? The answer is simple - I owed you a favour because you found a blood donor for my lovely Lena, thus helping to save her life. Marcel Lestrange does not like to be in debt too long, so best way to return the favour was helping you and Mademoiselle Sandy back together when I got information about her location from...You know that I am discreet, so no names will be mentioned. Do not thank me overwhelmingly yet for my help. There are couple of things you should know.
Since you made me look like a fool, I decided to return the favour with percentage and accepted the offer to deliver you into Lima, because you deserved a little joke at your expense. But I never promised that I will hand you over to them, so everything is correct and we are even. My contract is fulfilled, they did not got you and I would like to keep things that way. That also means that you two are mostly on your own while I am collecting my payment for the well accomplished task. Survival course in South America will be your little extra challenge as I like to think. Survival of the fittest and so on...So it is time to prove that you are the fittest, Volodja.
And one more thing. Since I repaid my honorary debt to you, our next meeting (if it occurs) might not be that friendly as our latest one. Is this world an interesting place or not? Of course it is!
Enjoy your vacation while I am dealing with the dilemma about informing your friends about your location. To do it or not to do? That is the question. I wonder, what the answer might be.
Marcel Lestrange
PS. Would you be that kind and destroy the letter. No need to leave any evidence.
PPS. Ha, ha, ha."
"We will see who gets the last laugh," muttered Volodja after reading Marcel's letter. "Should have guessed that he has some principles left. But not too much. Marcel left a clue for us about his employers. No names were mentioned, but..."
"...These two are Mr. Wynd and Mr. Kyd, because our "discreet" Marcel described his contract enough. And that makes him a man who knows more about them than we do." said Sandy, who leaned against him they while read Marcel's letter together. "Shame that he is gone and can't tell us anything. What next, my love?"
"I guess that we do what Marcel told us - try to survive, avoid getting caught and inform our friends about the situation and as an addition to all of that, we will try to enjoy our vacation, my girl. Together!" replied Volodja and pressed her body against his as a confirmation.
"Forever," added Sandy and leaned her blond head to Volodja's shoulder.
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Post by Sandy Bell on Jan 22, 2016 17:27:54 GMT
As Sandy Bell sat with her back against the wall at the entrance to the sewer tunnel, she watched the noonday sun glitter on the waters of the Rimac River as it flowed by, trying to ignore the refuse that also flowed by with it. She felt comfortable with her blond head leaning against Volodja's broad shoulder, but when a humanoid body floated by, looking like it might have been in the river for several days, she remembered that the two of them were wanted fugitives. She didn't know who all the people were who were after them or why everybody seemed to be after them, but it was clear that whoever and why ever they were after them, they were willing to spill blood to get them, and she would rather that some innocent civilian not get killed in the crossfire. Sandy was very glad that the gun fight in the Dirty POW bar was in the morning and not the evening, when the bar would have been packed with customers. The thought of the carnage if the firefight in the bar had happened then put a chill down her spine. Noticing her shiver, Volodja asked with concern in his voice, "Are you chilled? We can open these packages Mama Rita gave us and see if there are warmer clothes for you in them. Or perhaps move out of this dark tunnel and into the tropical sunshine?" "Probably shouldn't move out until we know where we are going, and until we know that, it's best to be concealed from prying eyes," Replied Sandy, then she grinned as an expression reminiscent of a child on Christmas morning crossed her tanned face, "However, I WILL open my gift!" The expression of glee was replaced with one of disappointment as she ripped open the package with her name scrawled on it only to find a ragged poncho and old sombrero, as she sad in resignation, "Well, it IS what I asked for! Guess Mama Rita couldn't find anything else... nicer, in the short amount of time we gave her. I still really appreciate all she did for us and hope we can repay her kindness if - I mean when - we get out of this mess."  Sandy stood up, putting on the long oversized poncho over her fatigues and carefully tucking her blond hair into the huge hat. She then took some dirt smearing it on her face and arms, saying to Volodja, "Can't be a peon without some dirt!" before looking up and down the Rimac River from their position of safety at the sewer's entrance. Sandy continued speaking as she looked west, "We could take the boat and follow the river's flow to the Pacific Ocean, but I hear it may dry out somewhat up that way, or be more turbulent, depending on the season, and we might have to abandon it. We still would be in the city limits whe we got to the ocean, but we might find at the port a cargo ship to hire on with or even stowaway on that might be headed north to E-Rep territory and we could hike home from there."  Then Sandy looked to the east up the river as she said, "Or we could go upriver by foot to the mountains or even to the river's source, Ticticocha lake - there's plenty of caves to hide in around there I bet, but I also bet there are plenty of dangerous mutated creatures too, and we are not exactly well-armed."  Sandy took off her Sombrero and sat back down next to Volodja, leaning her head comfortably back on his shoulder as continued talking, "There is an airport to the North of here. I saw it from the air on my last visit. Maybe we could steal a plane, although I hope you are a better flier than me. Probably the last place we want to go is the south: Nothing but jungle and nasty creatures and even further away from home. I don't know which way would be best, only that we can't stay here as sooner or later one of the bad guys will definitely find us if we just sit here." Sandy turned her head so the her blue eyes could look deeply into his brown ones, saying with conviction, "It doesn't matter which way we go, as long as we go there together." The Sandy kissed Volodja with even greater conviction, long and passionately. |
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Jan 23, 2016 7:35:49 GMT
It took some time to Volodja to get his feet back to the ground after their long and passionate kiss. Finally he managed to do that, and he opened his package as well, finding...another poncho. His curiosity made him to take a closer look at their fabric and ornaments of their garments and mutter: "Nice!" after he finished examining them. Then he continued with louder voice: "Mama Rita gave us something more than ordinary ponchos. We both got nice chamantos instead. Let me explain, my love - chamantos are traditional decorative garment from central Chile. They are similar to ponchos and woven in silk thread and wool. The main difference between a chamanto and other poncho types stands in their reversibility, as both sides — one side is light and other one is dark — are fully finished. Traditionally, the dark side of the poncho is used during the day, while its light side is mostly worn at night." Volodja made a little pause, caught his thoughts and continued: "As long as I am aware then making a chamanto demands great diligence, because of the exquisiteness involved in the weaving of the silk and wool, plus the intricacy of the design sketched by crossing the threads. So it's a worthy gift even for the head of the state as history has proven. I wonder...what could be the story of those old chamantos, she gave us. But I guess that's enough about my lecture of local garments. I was thinking about our possible directions - the Port is most appealing, but I am afraid that whoever is after us thinks that way too. It's closest way out of here after all. Besides there are too many civilians in that area and I'd rather see them minding their own everyday's business instead getting involved with ours, which might result with the loss of their lives. I don't want that to happen to them. North is next best way, but...I have to admit that I am not the best pilot around. Marcel is way better, but that airfield has one advantage - they probably have a decent communication system, so we could try to contact our friends from the North and tell them about our situation. Maybe they even discovered even my disappearance by now. After all I left in a hurry and without saying them where I am going, because everything happened way too sudden. But enough of promoting my not that important self. Facing danger of the jungle with our light equipment is a bit challenging indeed, so going East is questionable at moment. So is South, although it would be the last direction they expect us to go...A little side jump, if I may - our tiny advantage seems to be the fact that all of our stalkers have different purposes, so they can't act together and probably do everything they can to get the prize - us, so they prefer not to cooperate. Even if they do, that alliance will be unstable and lasts only certain amount of time...I am sorry, my love, for talking way too much. Back to OUR possible actions now..." Volodja pondered about that a bit more. Suddenly he grinned before asking: "What about Cusco? It's a city in South-Eastern part of Peru and capitol of Cusco province. I always wanted to visit Macchu Picchu anyway, but that's irrelevant. More important is that they probably have communication measures as well and there should have at least road connection between Lima and Cusco left. In pre war times we could catch a train or plane there also, but I haven't seen much rail road traffic recently and I am afraid that we don't have enough funds for renting a plane with the pilot. I know how selfish it sounds, but...Maybe we could use a new scenery, my love?"  |
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Post by Sandy Bell on Jan 23, 2016 16:33:17 GMT
"Sounds like a plan," Replied Sandy with a smile to Volodja when he suggested that they go to Cuzco, "Although I'm pretty sure they are affiliated with the Votan Collective and not a free city like Lima; but Hell, who would expect us to go into the Lion's den?" Sandy's smile grew bigger as Volodja put on his chamanto, admiring his muscular body when he put it on over his head. When she saw that he noticed her noticing him, she just grinned and said, "Just admiring the scenery," Then leaned over and gave him a quick kiss, before saying, "Well, guess we better get on the road."  After spending the last of their scrip on food and water for the trip in the local marketplace, the pair of lovers made their way down the back streets of Lima to the southwest edge of the city. There were never any main roads directly from Lima to Cuzco, but there were several smaller roads that wound their way between the two, although the roadways were always threatened to be consumed by the jungle since they were not used very much. As they began their long trek down the isolated road, they heard the sounds of many strange animals just out of sight in the surrounding jungle. They were relieved to see, but suspicious as well, an old truck filled with cages of chickens in back of them coming up from Lima on the almost abandoned roadway, and Sandy kept one hand on the Magnum stuck in her waistband beneath her shirt as the rusting vehicle drew closer." "Howdy folks! Going my way? It's a mighty lonely trip without much in the way of scenery, and you would do me a favor with your company," Yelled the driver cheerfully, a diminutive Liberata in a white suit and fedora. "Um, okay... where are you going?" Asked Sandy with hesitation clearly in her voice, but believing that the two of them could handle any threat the small stranger might pose. "Oh, I'm a traveling salesmen hitting all the settlements from here to Lake Titicaca. There really is only one route that meanders southwest of Lima, and no one travels it much, so I don't have any competition for my wares to speak of!" As Sandy and Volodja crowded into the front seat next to the Liberata, he continued jabbering pleasantly, "From your accent pretty lady, I can tell you are not native to these parts, so I'm guessing tourists or adventurers, headed to Manchu Picchu. That's about the only folk who head this way these days who I don't know, and not many of them either, because there are a lot of dangerous predators around there now. Stick to the road and don't slow down I say! My name is Danny Da Vinci, and before you ask - no, it's not the name my mother gave me, but the name I took when I got to Earth. You probably couldn't pronounce my real name. So what are your names?" Sandy was sitting in the middle between the two men, and turned her blue eyes to Volodja with a questioning look, wondering if they should give their real names or not; so she deferred to him for the answer to that question. Meanwhile, a street urchin who had shadowed the lovers all the way from the sewer entrance to the road to Cuzco and saw them enter the truck, ran as fast as he could to the Votan Collective's embassy, hoping that his news might land him a profitable bonus to his daily salary. |
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Jan 23, 2016 17:59:08 GMT
"Call me Ishmael," said Volodja dramatically and chuckled. "Actually you can call me Volo. Believe it or not, but you will probably have trouble with pronouncing my name as well. This lovely girl is Alexandra (and send out an apology and explanation through their EGO link to Sandy). Allow me to tell you that she is not only pretty, but also witty. And sweet and neat. And you are quite right about Macchu Picchu. I always wanted to see those ancient ruins, lasting thousands of years already despite of weather conditions and seismic activity." Volodja didn't lie a word about their names and possible destination. Every polygraph in the world could confirm that he was telling the truth. The fact that he called her Alexandra instead of Sandy meant that he knew where name Sandra and it's derivation Sandy are deriving from. If he called her Cassandra, he would been telling the truth as well, as absurd it seems to be, because Sandra can refer to that name as well. Reason of choosing the name Alexandra was simple. He did it because it means "protector of men" in Greek. As for himself, he used derivation from his own name, stating that his friends call him Volo. Same applied to Macchu Picchu, because he wanted to visit those ruins one day. Truth from the top to the bottom. And at the same time Volodja didn't revealed too much about their persons despite his honesty. He had his reasons to do it. That small Liberata seemed to be harmless, but Volodja had seen his fair share of harmless looking guys proving to be anything than harmless. Harmless guys don't usually survive long in wastelands or in jungle, or in desert, or...And although Danny Da Vinci seemed to be friendly, the less knows about them, the better for everyone including to himself. If anybody happen to ask Danny anything about his passengers, he can tell the truth about two people whom he offered the ride but not cause much harm to two fugitives in love by telling. The truck made it's way towards Cusco in quite slow pace, climbing the hills and rolling on the jungle roads. Here and there it's passengers (who secretly held each other hands during the ride) could hear strange noises and sometimes some curious creature stuck it's snout out from the roadside brushwood and stared at them, but none of them didn't made an attempt to open the metal can and try how edible its contents were... _________ Speaking of predators... That street urchin who had shadowed the lovers all the way from the sewer entrance to the road to Cusco and saw them enter the truck, ran as fast as he could to the Votan Collective's embassy, hoping that his news might land him a profitable bonus to his daily salary when someone thrust his leg towards him while he run by a street cafe, making him stumble and land to the stone pavement. Urchin cried from pain, but not too long, because he was pulled up by pair of strong hands and he found himself staring into the cruel face of Sentenza. "What's the rush?" he asked, shaking the scared urchin. "Where are we going? Why so silent? Did cat ate your tongue? Seems that you have some important message to carry, because usually you are loitering around, slow as a snail. So what's it all about? Maybe I should refresh your memory about your priorities. Most important of them is informing ME first if anything unusual happens. Is that understood?" "Y-y-yes, señor Sentenza. I-I-I was about to find you and tell that I saw a couple getting into the truck, driven by some small guy in white and heading South East from Lima." "That is interesting. Thanks for the news, kid. Take this." And a scrip note switched owner after a quick but meticulous and hellishly intensive interrogation. "You may continue your path now." Sentenza let the kid go and watched him limping towards the Embassy of Votanis Collective. "That is really interesting," muttered Sentenza once more, paid his bill and disappeared into the network of narrow streets of the Old Town of Lima. __________ "Wasn't it a bit rude, Mr. Wynd?" "It sure was, Mr. Kyd. It sure was. But effective, I must say." "Shall we follow him?" "Naturally! I prefer to stay behind that ram." "It is more useful to let him do the wall breaking indeed." "Let them who are mighty in strength clear the path to the wise." After changing these peaceful remarks, two men started to follow Sentenza and soon they also were swallowed by the Old Town.    |
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Post by Belle Starr on Jan 24, 2016 17:30:53 GMT
SPOILER ALERT: Don't read Belle Starr's posts in MIA if you plan on playing Fallout 4! Belle Starr's world as she knew it was over. Even though it had been two hundred years since the atomic war between the United States and China and she went into forced cryogenic slumber in Vault 111, the world was still in post-apocalyptic chaos with vast devastation and roving gangs of raiders. When she awoke from her hibernation, she had found that her husband had been murdered and her infant son kidnapped and herself the sole survivor still in the Vault. She took her husband's wedding ring from his dead hand, found supplies and a 10mm pistol, and went into the radioactive wasteland that had once been the great state of Massachusetts, infected with mutant vermin, both of the four legged and two-legged variety. In the two weeks since she awakened, a lot had happened to Belle. First, she was surprised how good she was at surviving. Belle had been a lawyer and a suburban housewife before the nuclear war, so she was a bit shocked that she was able to keep herself alive, finding she had a knack at firing weapons, scavenging supplies, and judging situations where the best thing was to just run for one's life. Second, although her old home in Sanctuary Hills was destroyed, she found her robot housekeeper Cogsworth who had survived the two hundred years passage and had found a stray German Shepard dog, both who became her companions, so she didn't have to remain a lone wanderer for long. The name on the dog's collar said "Dogmeat", but Belle wrinkled up her freckled nose when she read his name, so she quickly changed it to "Vo." Belle wasn't sure why that name came to mind, but it did, and the dog was so smart and loyal, often saving her from injury and even death, that the name just seemed natural for him to her. Furthermore, the dog answered to the name, so he seemed to like it to, at least in her mind. Third, Belle had found human survivors in nearby Concord, although she had to save them from attacking raiders. She had also found some Power Armor, and although her husband had worn a similar set as a soldier in the Great War, she was again surprised how natural it was for her to not only don it but to use its accompanying mini-gun to devastating effect on the human raiders. Still, as she stood on top of a building looking down at the carnage below with the heavy weapon still smoking in her hand, pangs of regret at the taking of so many lives took its toll on her, even though the lives were those of murderers and worse. Still, she felt that there should have been a better way, and that she should have been a way to negotiate peace rather than go to war. More disturbing though to Belle was the fact that she took to the ways to war so easily, and proved herself rather good at it. Belle had led the people she saved to the Sanctuary Hills suburb, setting up a settlement there that was now thriving. Crops were planted, clean water found, defenses built, and even electricity enabled to light the homes they built there. One of the survivors, a young black man named Preston Garvey, who had proved himself a capable soldier in the Concord fight although a bit idealistic, said he was of a group of protectors formed to help defend communities in the Commonwealth like the one she had just built at Sanctuary Hills. The Commonwealth was what the area around old Boston was now called, which was just one of the things Preston taught her that had happened while she was sleeping for two hundred years. The group he belonged to was called the Minutemen, and had fallen into disarray after their headquarters was overrun by mutant sea creatures called milurks, which she found out later were really huge mutated crustaceans, and which had not only killed many of the Minutemen but also their leader. Preston obviously was infatuated with Belle, but she was still in grieving for her dead husband; but after several adventures with him and the setting up of several more settlements, he had started to call her "General" and urged her to help reform the Minutemen and recapture their old headquarters, named The Castle, which was an old seventeenth century fortress near Boston Harbor. Belle now stood on the Castle's walls in her power armor, painted in the Minutemen colors, looking down at the smoking body of the huge Milurk Queen. Belle was only alive because during the battle she had fallen off that same wall while fighting the queen; saved from the fall by her armor and several stimpaks. From her place on the shore, she was able to use the last of the mini-gun's bullets to take down the queen from afar. Many of the Minutemen that had followed her into the headlong onslaught of the milurk infestation were not so lucky, and their bodies now lay scattered below her in the central plaza of the Fortress. Belle felt that as a General, she had failed, for even though they had won back The Castle, many human lives of good people were lost. Belle was determined that she would build a thriving settlement right at this spot, and that it would become a trading center for all her settlements, with a memorial built someday to mark their sacrifice. However, that would be in the future, for today she must bury them and mourn their passing. Even more important to her, Belle felt she must continue her quest to find her abducted son and free him. Everything else was of secondary importance to her. ***** The man stared at the frozen blond beauty in the cryogenic chamber for some time. "She seems to be finally adjusting and even accepting the new memories, just as you planned," Said the woman standing next to him. "Yes, with Belle Starr, and the other two to a lesser degree, you must keep their minds occupied or they will find some way to muck up the best well laid plans, even if they are asleep and frozen. I speak with the voice of experience," The man stated with conviction, then turned to the woman asking with concern, "Have you moved the other two parts of my collection?" "They are in transit to Vault B and C as we speak," Answered the woman in a measured and unemotional manner. "Good, good..." The man's voice trailed off as he returned his gaze to Belle's Starr's impassive freckled face as she lay sleeping, seen through the small window in her cryogenic chamber.  |
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Jan 25, 2016 5:57:21 GMT
"Totally unsuitable time, place and circumstances to change a tire," stated Danny Da Vinci by his chicken truck and looked uneasily around. he had a huge (compared to his small size, of course) shotgun in his hands. Shotgun trembled slightly. So altogether it wasn't an encouraging sight at all. "What do you mean, Danny?" asked Sandy Bell while Volodja Uljanov pulled out the replacement tire from the truck and started to roll it. Danny Da Vinci swallowed some saliva before saying: "Garra de la Muerte!" (Dramatic pause) "Claw of Death," translated Volodja automatically, ruining the dramatic effect with his question: "What does it mean? We are quite unfamiliar with local legends, Danny." "It's the name of a local lizard beast who hunts travellers and feeds on them. That beast appeared after the Pale Wars. People started to disappear without a trace. Few lucky ones who managed to escape after seeing the beast told that it's a huge lizard like monster who tears it's prey apart with it's huge claws. Unfortunately my car broke on it's favourite hunting ground, so we are in a great danger here." "Breathe in. Breathe out. Slowly," suggested Volodja, lifting Danny's car up with the help of the car-jack. "We will get out of here as soon as I change the tire. Wheel wrench, please." he ordered as he was a surgeon during an operation. Sandy passed it to him, so Volodja could unscrew bolts, holding the broken wheel on it's place. With some physical effort (and few muttered curses) Volodja managed to pull the rusted wheel off and replace it with the spare one. "Almost done, Danny," he said. Danny Da Vinci nodded silently while his hands started to shake instead of slightly trembling and made his shottie to shake as well. "Done! As good as new. Hey what are you doing...?" "I can't take this tension any more," yelled Danny Da Vincy when he dropped his shotgun, jumped to driver's seat, turned the ignition key and hit the gas pedal, leaving Sandy and Volodja behind. "I am terribly sorry, folks. I am not the fighter, but merchant! See you at Cuzco! Take care!" Danny actually had his reasons to be nervous. Liberata aren't exactly famous for their courage and this particular Liberata had one dramatic event already - he was hiding in Dirty POW during the shootout, so no wonder he didn't felt overly secure any more. "Crap!" said Sandy, looking after the speeding truck. "Totally agreed," said Volodja. "We are in the middle of nowhere, there is supposedly a monster lurking around and we have a broken tire without a car as a consolation prize, few tools and...Da Vinci's code, I mean his shotgun. So we gained at least something useful - a weapon with limited amount of ammo. Not as bad as things could be." A sudden roar from the jungle made Sandy Bell and Volodja Uljanov turn their heads towards it. "Holy crap!" they said at the same time, because they both spotted a huge monster who measured them with his eyes, obviously calculating which one of them will be the first and which one the main course. Dessert was already on it's way to Cusco, but two birds on plate is way better than full meal on the run, so monster attacked them immediately.  Instead of screaming and running away inpanic, as local folk would do, it's prey stayed to the hunting ground and prepared for defending themselves. When monster rushed to their direction, Sandy Bell Blurred to one direction on the road, Volodja Uljanov to opposite one. That sudden choice, he was facing now, slowed the monster down. Sandy Bell reached into relatively safe distance and pulled out her Magnum, aiming it at monster. "Not yet!" shouted Volodja. His shout made monster to turn towards him and start to run again. Sandy had a choice now. She could escape, but that's the point - she did not want to when her lover was in danger. Instead of escaping she started her run towards the monster and Volodja. Spotting abandoned shotgun on her way, she tucked Magnum away, grabbed shottie and shot the monster to it's bottom. BANG! Receiving a portion of hot lead into it's relatively soft spot, made the monster to turn around instantly and start to follow Sandy now. This time it was Volodja who run after them and spotting the broken wheel on the road, he got an idea which made him to grin and say: "Overcharge!" After his hands turned orange, he grabbed the wheel, swung it like an athlete on Olympics would do with a disc - except instead of throwing it as far as possible, Volodja concentrated on precision - and threw it after the monster.   Wheel flew through the air and finally hit monster's kneecaps, making it fall to the ground. Sandy was by monster's side in matter of seconds, put her shotgun against it's huge head and another portion of hot lead landed in monster's brain, killing it instantly. "Wasn't that hard, if you know what you are doing," she stated. "You are correct, my love," stated Volodja examining the corpse. "We make a quite good team. Let's take a closer look of that monster now..." After studying the corpse, Volodja said: "You know, Sandy. Locals were right when they called it Claw of Death, because these "mythological" species are actually known as deathclaws. They were supposed to be large, agile and strong, based mainly on the mutated Jackson's chameleon. Deathclaws were created through genetic engineering, with the addition of DNA of various other species and meant to replace human troops in battle, as much I know about them. First attempts to create them were made before Pale Wars, and as long as I know, there was not any public records about deathclaws. But seems that someone managed to finish the experiment and let it lose. Or lost it. See the faded military number on it's claw?" "How do you know about them?" asked Sandy from him. "Because of my former line of duty, my love," replied Volodja. "After all - at certain stage of my life my job was to be man who knows the secrets and once I stumbled to the report of that supposedly deserted experiment. By my opinion someone tried to use those monsters in Pale Wars and probably lost this one. I wouldn't be surprised if we will find a site of a plane crash near by. That would explain the sudden appearance of this deathclaw after Pale Wars. After all, nobody knows how old they can live." "In case of this specimen, we can't tell how old it could grow, because we eliminated it and not too soon," concluded Sandy. "And as long as I understand, we freed this place from it's terror ended a local legend, so we did good." "Yes, we did, my love," confirmed Volodja, took his sapper shoved to his hand and started to chop off claws from the dead deathclaw. "Locals need proof that monster is dead. And we need a tissue sample and that military number. One claw for them, one for us. Sounds fair." "It sure does, my love. And what's the vacation without souvenirs anyway?" asked Sandy with a grin on her pretty tan face. |
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Post by Sandy Bell on Jan 25, 2016 19:00:03 GMT
One might think that after a life threatening encounter with a creature that looked like a demon out of a person's worst nightmare, one might think about how lucky they were to survive or count their blessings, or even ponder the world where such a creature would be created, or even think on the wonders of life itself, but that was not where Sandy's train of thought took her. Sandy was thinking about what she had just called her lover, Volodja Uljanov. "My love?" Thought Sandy to herself with a frown on her tanned pretty face as she held the Magnum pistol still at the ready, "That's so... formal! That sound like something Marcel and Lena say to each other. That's not me at all!" "Sandy," Sarge, Sandy's EGO psyche interrupted, "There are a multitude of dots on the EGO radar surrounding us as we speak. I don't know if we should worry as they are purple dots and not red at the moment, but perhaps - " "I mean I have called Volodja lover boy on occasion, but Volodja is certainly no boy and maybe he finds that demeaning," Continued Sandy deep in thought. Sarge interrupted again, "Our EGO power is still recharging, so I don't think you can blur out of here before the bogies get here but - " "Lover is kind of stale though and I will fucking NOT resort to cute little knicknames!" Sandy thought with conviction. "Really Sandy," Thought Sarge loudly over the telepathic link they shared, "You need - " "I REALLY like just saying his name: Volodja. It rolls off the tongue breaming with affection and just a hint of mystery! VO-LOD-JA!" Thought Sandy as her grin returned but still totally oblivious to her surroundings being so blinded by love, "Yeppers, there is nothing more - " Suddenly Sandy felt a sharp but momentary pain in her neck, and after she pulled out a dart from there and the Magnum slipped from her now numb hand, she stared at the small feathered barb with wide blue eyes as she crumpled to the ground. She was only dimly aware that she was being surrounded by short brown skinned humans in loincloths and carrying spears, but she had time for only two more thoughts before darkness overcame her. Sandy's first thought was: "Oh, crap!" and her second and last thought before unconsciousness was, "Why do they all have such bad Beatle hair cuts..." "Tried to tell you," Thought Sarge to Sandy, knowing she could no longer hear him.  |
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Jan 25, 2016 19:26:22 GMT
"Volodja! We got a situation," warned Sophie, his EGO psyche. "Mikey...I mean Sarge...I mean SANDY is gone. Captured once again!"
"WHAT?!"
Volodja was mentally screaming, because he lost his beloved Sandy again and his mental yell was so powerful that poor Sophie had to cover her virtual ears with her virtual hands to muffle his cry for help. Crying was only thing he could do because jungle swallowed Sandy and her capturers, leaving Volodja without a clue about their destination.
"Calm Volodja! And be reasonable as usual. We are going to find them just like in this tutorial video, I am just about to show you."
"I know that you want to ease my emotions by showing me moving pictures," said Volodja, "But I will follow Doctor's orders this time, because I need to concentrate."
"Good! Actually this one is about a Doctor indeed. Dr. Jones specifically. I know it would suit Lena and Marcel better, but times are poor..."
"Thank you for inspirational video, Sophie dear," said Volodja. "I would prefer some classical music, soft rock or 1980-s POP, but as you said - times are poor."
"If you promise that you behave, then I will play some while you are busy studying any clues, footprints and so on, you happen to find. Look for everything that can help us to find Sandy and Sarge! And here is your motivational music."
Sandy didn't mention that she tried to send the same video to Sarge to tell him that they are coming and are willing to do everything to help them out from the tight spot.
Volodja's going got tough and rough indeed. His path to Sandy was full of sharp leaves, thorns, mosquitoes and bloodthirsty leeches who probably suffered from malnutrition and stormed Volodja to celebrate the end of their diet.
Despite of that menace, Volodja kept looking for any leads and signs, the tribe, responsible for capturing his Sandy left behind, because even if local tribes are used to move around in the jungle, carrying something or somebody won't let them completely hide their tracks. A broken twig, sod with a stumble mark on it or some rocks, accidentally kicked by careless feet - for an experienced tracker these marks can tell a long story. As a matter of fact, Volodja happened to be an excellent tracker already back in Europe when he was in lead of a scouting squad, and he still was.
Volodja's troubles seemed finally paying off, because slowly but steadily he approached to that bunch of natives, who carried Sandy. Mainly thanks to the fact that his only considerable burden in addition to his clothes and claws was his sapper shovel. Travelling light was good from one point of view, because he could use his shovel to chop plants and clear a path when necessary and carrying only few items didn't slowed him down much. But from the other side it also meant that this shovel and Marcel's dart pistol were his ONLY weapons to help his beloved Sandy to regain her freedom...
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Post by Sandy Bell on Jan 26, 2016 0:36:48 GMT
Sandy woke up sitting upwards, much like she had in Lima, only this time without being tied up or with a sack on her head. Still, she hesitantly opened one blue eye to survey her surroundings then opened both wide in surprise to find she was sitting in a large high backed wooden chair that was on a four foot high dais in the middle of a large communal hut. Even more surprising to her was the fact was that she was surrounded by dozens of short Indians dressed in loin clothes of all ages and sexes looking up expectantly at her. "Um... uh... you're not going to eat me or sacrifice me to some volcano god or anything are you?" Asked Sandy with some trepidation. After Sandy asked her question, there was quite a lot of chatter in some language she didn't know, until an older Indian raised his hand and it stopped as fast as it had begun. The man who she assumed must be the tribal chief then turned to a younger Indian by his side who looked remarkable like a younger version of himself and asked what by his inflection was clearly a question. The younger man grinned widely, then answered his father loudly enough that all in the hut could hear, whereupon there was an outburst of raucous laughter from the crowd. The chief again held up his hands for silence, which the others immediately complied with, then said something in his native tongue to his son, who gave a quick nod of agreement. The young Indian took a step forward, cleared his throat, and said to Sandy as all of the natives watched her every move, "My name is Ake, and this is my father Quando, who is Chief of out tribe," Said Ake loudly and slowly in English as he gestured dramatically towards the older Indian. "We mean you no harm. It was prophesized by the wise woman of our tribe, Pucu, that a great huntress with hair of sunshine and eyes the color of the sky would kill and save us from the Devil Claw, who has hunted and killed many of our tribesmen for many seasons." Ake gestured toward a wizened grey haired old woman sitting in a corner of the hut who grinned toothlessly at Sandy, waving a worn paperback book in her direction. Sandy could just make out the title on the book, and winced when she did so. The title read, "Confessions of an Arkhunter - The Adventures of Belle Starr." "Even in this backwater of South America," Thought Sandy dismally to herself, "I can't get out from under the fucking shadow of my niece and that damned book." Still Sandy kept her face impassive as she asked Ake, "Okay, I get it, I did you a solid. Soooo - why did you shoot me with a poisoned dart?" Ake frowned and looked towards a teenage boy holding a blowpipe, who immediately downcast his eyes, then Ake answered her question, "My brother - Mapi - has never seen anyone as brave as you nor as skilled as you nor as... blond as you! We were hunting the Devil Claw to stop its murderous rampage against our tribe, and it had already killed several of out party, so Mapi had a blow dart at the ready, hoping to weaken it. However, we arrived just in time to see you give the Devil Claw a killing blow with the sacred boomstick." A big grin crossed Chief Quando's face as he held up with both hands over his head the empty shotgun Sandy had used to kill the creature, accompanied by a loud "BOOM! BOOM" yelled from the crowd, whereupon Ake continued, "Mapi got... excited when he saw you, and accidently blew his blowpipe. I assure you, you were not his target." Sandy glared with narrowed blue eyes disapprovingly at the teenage boy, who sheepishly grinned as he shrugged in apology, then asked, "Okay, I get it - blonds are a rarity here and I can forgive Mapi's mistake, but why did you bring me here?" "We could not leave you unconscious and alone in the jungle after Mapi's mistake - even someone as brave and skilled as you would not survive the night - so we brought you to our village, to honor you with feastings and celebration!" Explained Ake slowly, loudly and with many gestures, as if they would make her understand better. "Wait - alone!?!?! I was with my... boyfriend?!?! You didn't bring him to your village too!?!? Where is Volodja Uljanov?!?!" Asked Sandy in alarm, to which a confused Ake translated to his tribe. After much excited discussion in the their native language, the tribe to a man shrugged, whereupon Ake answered, "I am sorry great Huntress with hair of sunshine and eyes the color of the sky, but no one saw that you had a companion. Was he important to you? You can have any our young men to replace him if you want, or even two if you desire." Several of the young tribesmen eagerly raised their hands volunteering to be Volodja's replacement, giving evidence not only to their libido but also their understanding of at least some English, but Sandy only bellowed stridently, "Hell no! I want my Volodja! Now get your asses out there and find him!"  |
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Jan 26, 2016 7:51:31 GMT
"Sorry to ruin your possible search plans," someone suddenly said and grass covered sod started to rise and transformed into Volodja Uljanov, who began to brush his chamanto, removing all the plants from it. After discovering their village, he approached it from leeward side to cover even his smell, and used local flora to disguise himself into a sod, making completely sure that nobody noticed him coming. If someone might ask, why Volodja didn't used his Cloak power, then the answer is simple - the Cloak lasts only a limited time, but disguise stays intact for longer period and lasts as long as the wearer wants. Besides - As already mentioned, Volodja was an army scout who later became into intelligence agent and he had an expertise experience on acting in variety of environments long before, he obtained an EGO implant, because Europe did not became only a political mess after Pale Wars and Terraforming, but also a compilation of different environments and climates, including French frozen tundra and rain forests in Middle Europe. Actually the whole wide world used to be Volodja's playground before settling down in Paradise Territory. "Once again I apologize, but I happened to eavesdrop your talk and since you mentioned that the night is coming, I decided to turn myself in and avoid endangering your health during the search at the night time. Nice mop tops, by the way." "Bloody Beatles wannabes," whispered Sophie. "Actually you should say bloody Jürgen Vollmer wannabes,. That was name of that man who invented that hairstyle in 1950-s. Jürgen befriended The Beatles in Hamburg in early 60-s, when they weren't famous yet and wore the duck's arse haircuts. In September, 1961, Paul McCartney and John Lennon travelled to Paris to visit their friend Jürgen again. The first "Beatle haircut" of Paul and John happened in Paris. George Harrison got his cut when Paul and John returned. And rest is already the history of pop music. And I bet that locals invented that cut independently." After that educational conversation, Volodja turned to the crowd and spoke: "I am not the most well known man in the world. I can even imagine why prophecy didn't mention my person. A man, armed only with a shovel is not exactly a material for a legend. I am not Indy or Zorro, but an ordinary man, called Volodja. If you want to punish me for my interruption and messing up your local legends and beliefs with my presence, then I am willing to bear the punishment for that. As long as Sandy the Huntress, who killed the beast and freed you from it's terror stays unharmed, I will respect your decision about my fate. You will have my word on that if the word of an unmentioned man means anything." Saying that, Volodja tossed his sapper shovel into the ground and left his empty hands to hang by his sides, showing that he has no intentions to cause any harm to any of them, no matter what they decide to do with him and as long as they decide to punish only him for causing the trouble, not his beloved Sandy.  |
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Post by Sandy Bell on Jan 26, 2016 22:38:37 GMT
"VOLODJA!" Sandy almost tripped running down the dais and jumping into his arms, kissing him repeatedly all over his face, and then having to spit out some of the grass that was part of his disguise. Still, it was obvious to all of those in the room that she was both delighted and relieved to see him by the huge smile on her tanned face but also the look of concern in her big blue eyes. When she had finished kissing him, she looked him over carefully, looking for any possible injuries, but finding none, let loose with a sigh of relief.
"Thank God you're okay, and even more so, HERE!" Said Sandy with a grin,. "I was afraid I was going to have to kick asses and take names to get you back with me, but here you are, safe and sound, and no worse the wear for the damned journey, although you are a bit dirty, however I'm sure that was from your disguise and not because - "
Volodja took his forefinger and placed it against her lips, and Sandy quit talking immediately; then he grabbed her in a firm embrace, kissing her hard and long in a romantic manner worthy of the theater. Spontaneous cheers and applause erupted from their native audience, and Chief Quando signaled for the feast to be brought into the hut and for the festivities to begin.
"Just like Sleepless in Seattle," Whispered Ake to his brother, who merely nodded his agreement.
The only frown in the communal hut was on the wrinkled face of Pucu, the village wise woman, who muttered under her breath, "I thought Vo Kshaa was an Irathient!"
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