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RP: Land of Dreamers [Land of Dreamers Chapter Zero-H] Into Chaos

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Kokuten

The Pixel Knight
Inactive Member
Home Team

Laruslan, Maekardan
Around the Dry Oasis Bar
Paralov 6th, 936
23:54 Commonwealth Standard Time


The sky dulled into a warm orange as the people of Laruslan started piling into their make-shift desert tents, and to the Dry Oasis, the settlements only commercial establisment and one of the only three standing buildings. Smells of fresh-cooked meals wafted in the air some people prepared dinners, and sounds of already rowdy drunks seem to drown out Sura's, the machinist, usual overtime work. The repairs on Hanadi's Sehaya were taking up all of the young Reesh's attention, and as the sky darkened into a burning-orange color, the light show generated by his tools was an amazing event to the little children that stood outside his window.

As it was though, most people were suprised to see a shuttle bearing the mark of the Temple Guard parked behind the Dry Oasis. About an hour earlier, Na'Subir Alasur and Najat Al-Haradim had arrived to answer a call made by the doctor in town about a Freespacer who had survived the Orbital Elevator incident. Since the Freespacer had left the care of the Ivouri, the two them spent most of the hour asking around for information on her where-abouts. Most of the settlers and nomads were unsure when they heard a designation and a name, but they caught on 'to strange-looking hornless person' much faster. The information they got was a little more than they asked.

First of all, the Freespacer was at the bar, but on an urgent note, there was the fact that a gang of xenophobe bandits like to pay visits every once and a while. It was especially at this time of day that they came by to get a drink and cause some ruckus.

Second, there was word that Hanadi Istislah was in town. Some of the nomads had mentioned that the woman was an archeologist of sorts, who made her trade scooping up relics from the olden days. Plus, there seemed to be word that she had a young Sund Wakir boy in tow that needed a home. Right now, she could be found sitting around at the bar, waiting for Sura to finish the necessary repairs on her sand-crawler.

Third, was about an Eyr Ranr that Zahrah Ahmada had brought into town begrudgingly the day before. He seemed like the slow sort, but nice enough. They said he seemed displaced, but they weren't sure; something worth looking into.

And with all that, the two holy warriors vigil found themselves at the face of the bar. It was eroded, stone building that stood up against the sands with a few people going in and out at their leisure. Yet, the in and outing stopped as several people halted their paces to gawk at a sight some had only seen once or twice in a lifetime. The Temple Guard was a famous group, and to see even one, or two for that matter, was an amazing oppurtunity to some. Yet, with their strong sense of duty, the two Guard had little time to converse with the people and bask in their attention.

Upon entering, and standing at the door for a moment, they could notice that the place wasn't too shabby, there were several metal tables and chairs scattered along the uneven floor. Lining the wall were booths where people could sit, and at the center at a rounded table, was the bar. It was the kind that protruded from wall and stretched to the center of the room. Behind the table, was a thin, weak-looking girl, with black-hair and a dusty eyepatch resting over one eye. The Sund Wakir girl didn't look like much, small essentials, and rather typical looking face. She shyly carried out drink orders, and just as shyly snapped the fingers of anyone desperate enough to cop a feel. A large sign hung over the center of the bar, pointing down to where the bartender usually poured drinks. It said:

I am Nada Rahimah, despite my appearance, I will fuck you up if you try anything unusual.

It was late afternoon, the sun was still overhead and the heat unbearable to some. The Dry Oasis as it was called was anything but. The bar seemed to stock a never ending supply of drinks with little in the way of actual food. Something the woman had thought of as she sat with her little charge at a somewhat grubby and old table. Even though actual meals were not served they did have an assortment of snacks for patrons, which, she'd bought for both herself and the boy. Albeit she'd had a hard time finding anything other then booze for him to drink but thankfully she'd 'convinced' the bartender to check in the back. So now they were contentedly sharing a rather large bag of Reiz Chips, Hanadi a Grand Mazerin Stout in front of her in a frosty mug and a soda in front of the boy.

"Maybe I should've let you go hunt us some breakfast, huh?" she mused, looking to her little friend, patting his head slightly while reaching for another of the golden brown crisps.

Another of the guests in the Dry Oasis just so happened to be the person the Temple Guard duo had been asking after as well. The red head had made her way into the bar earlier in the day, pretty much sampling a few of the exotic beverages native to the Iruotl System. As she sat on the barstool though, her normally creamy cheeks were tinged a light pink, the potent drinks playing havoc on the delicate balance of her system.

Najat, on the other hand, stayed very near the exit. She seemed very uncomfortable with the concept of a bar, much less being inside one, and leaned slightly on the doorframe with her faelraig dangling from one hand. The other was above her eyes, helping them adjust to the darkness inside as she scanned for anyone who might look like who she and her mentor were looking for.

Roshan, in his typically thick skinned manner, was completely ignoring the posted warning against trying anything "unusual". Specifically, he was sitting at the edge of a bar stool, leaning against the counter and asking a torrent of questions. About how long the bar had been open, about how they got their liqour...

It also looked like he wouldnt be satisfied until Nada told him the name, composition, and brewing process of every single drink in stock, all of which the planetologist absorbed with the most rapt attention, as if each and every new tidbit of information were some magnificent and wonderful discovery. Which it was, of course, with his outlook on life.

Nada simply ignored Roshan, only giving him attention from the corner her eyes as her face turned red. She walked over to one of the more dusty looking individual. Apparently, this drunk fellow hadn't been able to read, as one of his fingers rose up and graced Nada's chest. As quickly as he had, though, the man's fingers had snapped under her quick grip. Causing him to howl in pain.

"Ah, you fuckin' mute bitch!" growled the drunk, sliding off his stool for a moment, waggling his his hand in pain. He had trouble keeping himself standing straight as he hobbled around the left and right before crashing into the bar again. The sulking alcoholic looked up for a moment at Nova, noticing her lack of horns. "Ey... who let this alien in here?"

While this went on, Geruud bounced up and down in his seat at the mention of hunting. Though, before he went on, he stuffed his face full of chips, his hunger manifesting in a beastial manner. "If yough gihve me guhn, I coulh' hunn' anything!" Geruud said through mouthfuls. He swallowed his food for the moment, and then started to chug down his soda.

As Geruud went ape on the chips, Na'Subir scanned the room as Najat, did, wordlessly grading the girl on her performance thus far. He gave her a short look before scanning over the room again, spotting the drunk, and watching him wreck the mild peace that loosely held the room together.

Forgetting her search for a moment as she spotted the rowdy drunk, Najat hefted her weapon over her shoulder and strode through the bar, her path the one of least resistance through the people and furniture, though she simply pushed by whatever was in her way. Once she had made her way to the counter and the drunk, she laid one hand on his shoulder and exerted the very slightest bit of pressure. "Is there a problem, sera?"

"N'on a your business, baldy." replied the drunk, looking at her, but not really. His eyes seemed to be following the other three Najats running up and down the walls around the room. "What is my business, is that this here... alien lady is bringing her xeno germs in this bar!" said the man, getting progressively louder as he turned to Nova, almost like he was attempting to get her attention.

At the loud "Alien Lady" comment, the Freespacer did whip her head around, and around, and around, looking for just who it was making all the noise. Here she was, minding her own business drinking these really weird drinks, one of which she now was in the process of drinking had been on ice with a weird little stick thrown in. The taste though was simply fantastic, the thought crossing her mind as she finally caught sight of the drunkard and a bald person standing right there with him.

Nova took off her sunglasses, having had them on inside of the dim bar despite it nearly making her blind, and squinted bleerily over at them. Her cheeks had gotten a little redder, and she was swaying slightly in her seat, the odd jumble of trinkets in her hair clinking and chiming away as she did so. Of course though she could understand some of what was said, but not all. Both in part due to the software version of the language translation and the fact the man was stinking drunk. The Freespacer though merely offered the drunk man a cheery wave though despite the situation.

Hanadi couldn't help but give Geruud a little thump on the nose as the boy stuffed his face with chips. The woman wore a somewhat stern expression both due to the fact it was getting somewhat rowdy in there, and the possibility of having to deal with an upset stomach.

"Take it easy on those chips, I know Neesh who don't eat nearly as fast as you. Besides, Bukor frowns on being a greedy little herdtitan. I may have to put on a spit and roast if he doesn't slow down." The last she said with some small affection as she rubbed his back now.

Geruud looked up at Hanadi innocently, already having another mouthful of chips stuffed in his mouth. He tilted is head, chewing, with his mouth closed at the very least.

"I'hm noht gwehdy! I'm Garoo!" the little boy said defiantly as he once again swallowed down the food, and guzzled some more soda.

Roshan perked up at the mention of there being an "alien" in the bar. "Wait? Theres one here? Where? What do they look like? I wonder how many sets of arms they have...it would be so awesome if they had four arms! Or six!"

Either ignoring, or more likely simply not noticing the rising level of hostility in the atmosphere, eagerly attempted to locate the cause of the ruckus. Probably as dangerous as the xenophobes actually, if he found her. If only because of all the questions he would ask.

Najat looked over at the 'alien' the drunk man was gesturing at. She blinked a few times, then peered closer, realizing that this was, in fact, the woman she was supposed to find. There were more pressing things at the moment, though, and she turned back to the drunk with narrowed eyes.

"The Freespacers," she said in a level tone, "are our allies. The only germs they have are the ones that bring the disease of xenophobia to our people." Her hand squeezed more firmly on his shoulder. "I think you owe her an apology, sera."

"I don' owe her nut'n." The drunk said in a disgruntled tone, dissatisfied with how she was taking tone with him. "These, things--" said the drunk, as he threw a hand up to point in her face, but instead, put a fist into poor Nova's chin. "Ah, shit! She even hurt my hand!" the violent man shook his fingers under the strain.

While Nova had still been in the process of waving to the man, she suddenly felt a very sharp pain in her jaw and chin. The Freespacer let out a grunt of surprise, arms flailing wide before she fell off the barstool, her drink flying with her. Her head hit the ground along with the rest of her body, seeing stars, the girl groaned soon after while stirring slightly on the dirty floor.

Hanadi had been about to lecture the little boy when she saw a rather strange girl introduce herself with the not so clean ground. Upon further inspection, she did however catch sight of a person gripping a man on the shoulder, a military-grade Faelraig in their hand. It didn't take long for her to put two and two together though as the Laiz Pistol she kept at her side soon found a hand resting on it.

The other hand found Geruud's head giving it another pat. "I know you are, you keep eating like that though, and you'll get a tummy ache and then I'll have to eat all those herdtitan steaks and floatcrab meat by myself then." her voice sounding down right dreary at the thought, though in reality it was more for his benefit.

"The Saints teach us to take everything in moderation." Najat's hand moved from the drunken man's shoulder to his collar, the woman's muscles flexing as she picked him up off the ground. "And I have had enough of you, I think." She carried him back to the Dry Oasis' door and dumped him unceremoniously on the ground outside.

"Huh.." Roshan paused in his alien search to turn back to Nada. "Do Temple Guards regularly work as bouncers? Very diverse training!"

Of course the drunk's errant punch also showed him where his "alien" could be found. On the ground a couple feet away, where she had landed. Roshan leaned over. "Does this happen to you often?"

Nova's answer to Roshan's question was a shuffling of limbs, a low groan of both pain and shock, and now a hacking cough. She'd been mid swig when the man coldcocked her, so now her throat burned something fierce. Really she had no clue Roshan was even hovering over her right now.

With the drunk man taken care of, Najat returned to the bar and crouched down next to the fallen Freespacer. "We found you," she said flatly, looking at the rather inebriated woman. She offered nothing more illuminating, at least until she looked up at Roshan. "And you, too. You will come with us, yes?"

Roshan looked up, puzzled. "Have I done something to attract Miss Bouncer's attention? I didn't think I was being annoying. Or disruptive." He looked over at the bartender he had been pestering with questions for the better part of thirty minutes. "Was I?"

By the time Najat had returned, and having just spoken to the drunken Freespacer who gurgled in reply, the girl was in the process of sitting herself up. She wasn't particularly successful in this as her face was soon plastered right against the Temple Guard woman's knee. Nova mewled pitifully at her rotten luck, even going so far as to drum her hands on the ground petulantly.

The burly guardswoman jumped in surprise as Nova's face impacted her knee. She winced in sympathy and carefully put her arms underneath the smaller woman's shoulders, dragging her into a loose sitting position. "That looked... painful. Are you alright?"

Nova was in the process of working her injured jaw, wordlessly opening and closing her mouth as Najat got her into a seated position. The Freespacer just squinted up at her, her eyes slits. "W-H-Wh-What?" she stammered rubbing the side of her face, hiccuping slightly with a grimace twisting her lips.

"Clearly you are not alright." Najat looked over towards the door, where Na'Sabir stood. "Master! What am I to do with her?"

As Najat looked to her master, the Freespacer did the same squint over at Roshan. "W-Whos you?" her Saalsari thickly accented, slurred due to the alcohol and the simple fact she still was seeing some rather pretty stars.

"Oh!" He looked back down at the alien. "Roshan Javaid, planetologist. Nice to meet you! You're the friendliest alien I have met, I have to say." He extended a hand to shake.

"Make sure she is in stable condition, and we will evac her to the shuttle." chimed Na'Subir, his voice ringing with an authoritive tone that seemed to catch the attention of most of the people in the bar. It could've been because his aura as a true leader, or simply the fact he had said nothing the entire time he was there.

The Freespacer merely looked at the outstretched hand with a funny look on her face. She knew the custom of a handshake and all, and decided she'd go right along with the gesture. The girl held out her own hand, shaking his with her metal one, except...she missed by two feet and was shaking hands with open air.

"You require medical attention, Miss Freespacer," Najat said, speaking slowly and loudly without using small words at all. She stood up and offered the girl her hand. "...will you need to be carried?"

Roshan simply took it all in stride, laughing and shifting his hand over to where Nova had aimed. "Neat arm. Do all aliens have those?" He seemed perectly oblivious to both Najat and to the imperious presence of her master standing near the entranceway.

Nova just blinked as suddenly, her arms were crossed, having given her real one to Najat, and the fake, cybernetic one to Roshan. The confusion evident a moment before the cybernetic arm was released. "Naaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh." was her answer to Roshan. "I-I-I blews meself up some." stating matter-of-factly as she briefly struggled with her own weight while pulling on Najat's hand to lever herself to her feet. When she'd finally managed though, the Spacer fell forward, right into the Guardwoman, tattooed face pressed against the other's. Nova actually giggled at this, finding it rather amusing before she just seemed to hug Najat for no more reason then just to do so.

"Guh!" Najat's dark face fllushed a deep red, and she caught the Freespacer, holding her up but further away from her body. She tried to hide her embarrassment and failed, instead giving Nova a very strange look. "...what are you doing?"

"I 'unno!" came Nova's response, clearly she had no idea now though. The Freespacer's head just tilted from side-to-side while being held at bay smiling a somewhat drunken, goofy smile, hair in disarray, eyes clearly misted over by all accounts, stone cold drunk.

As Najat's skin contacted Nova's, her expression changed somewhat to one of bogglement and something near pain. She shook her head a couple of times and her face hardened, though not without sympathy written over it. "Can you walk, or do you need to be carried?"

Roshan nodded at Nova's response to his query. "Makes perfect sense." But upon seeing the unfolding comedy, he too burst into laughter.

"C-Carried?" Nova slurred as she looked at Najat then. She wore a lopsided sly smile all the while. Carried? Hell, she could live with that! "Shure! You gonna carry me with them muscle arms'a yours?" for emphasis she patted one of the woman's biceps with her free hand as if just to make sure they were actually real.

"...errr... yes... generally, people carry things with their arms. You are... very drunk." Najat seemed satisfied with her rationalization as she put one arm around Nova's waist and the other on the backs of her knees, picking the Freespacer up easily. Charge safely in hand, she looked at Roshan. "Are you accompanying us?"

Roshan looked thoughtful for a moment and smiled. And then he turned to look at Na'Subir, a hopeful tone in his voice. "I don't suppose I can get carried to?"

The Freespacer didn't complain one bit as she was lift up and into the arms of the Guardwoman. She just seemed rather satisfied, her head spun a bit since it was all so fast, but that was over soon enough. Instead of expecting a very simple carrying out, Najat would soon feel the Spacer's head burying itself against the other woman's chest, as if cuddling, in truth, Nova had never been drunk before, and was feeling rather tired and wired at the same time.

Najat's eyes went wide, her expression changing again to one of intense discomfort. She quickly trotted back to the door and Nu'Sabir. "Master, I am... her... inebriation is... starting to bleed off into me, I think...! Can we... hurry back to the shuttle so I can stop touching her, by the Saints?" Her flush had crept down her neck, even disappearing under her vestments.

"I believe that would best." Na'Subir nodded, before a large crashing sound was heard out side. Following that was the sound of metal girders bending under some intense weight and the screams of people in the settlement. Immediately after came crashing sound from the direction of where they had parked their shuttle, and then another, even worse sound after that.

And then, silence.

"Argh, this means things are about to get unnecessarily exciting..." Na'Subir said bitterly, judging by the evidence of the sounds.

Hanadi had been leaning back in her seat, mug in hand, a rather relaxed and contented expression on her face. While the mug was half empty, and right mid-sip, sounds assaulted her calm. The woman spluttered beer into the mug avoiding nearly choking as she looked down at Geruud then at the wall. "What in the name of the Saints was that?!" she said aloud, not even caring who heard.

Najat strode to the doorframe and peered outside, her arms unconsciously holding Nova closer to her. "...that sounded... extremely bad."

Geruud threw his arms around the archeologist, his usual courage nowhere to be seen. He held the woman tight, "Hana-Ser! Nok'nista! It's the Nok'nista!"

The woman's free hand automatically went around Geruud, and tried to shush him. "Now now, it isn't the Nok'Nista, those only come out at night and I don't think they'd want to tangle with you." she cooed, patting him on the back while holding him there. "Besides, they'd have to go through me first."

"S'all the racket?!" Nova squeaked in surprise, having been awoken from her drunken stupor. She stirred in Najat's arms, squirming a little before finally calming herself enough that she began to dose off again.

Roshan turned back to the bar, still, for some odd reason, smiling. He lifted a finger, "Can I have the strongest drink you have please?"

Nada raised a hand, shyly, rubbing her fingers together, apparently asking for compensation.

"Um...one second." Roshan rummaged through his pockets, trying to find whatever cash or loose change he had, ignoring entirely the scene around him. "Um...lets see...I don't think this is enough...aha!" His eyes lit up as he was struck by an idea.

"You can put it on Zahrah's tab! I should be able to pay her back at some point..."

Nada stared at him for a moment, considering that offer. He looked Eyr Ranr, and so was she. Eh, they're probably related or something. thought the woman as she placed a heavy looking bottle on the bar.

"Yay!" The planetologist eagerly grabbed the bottle. "Thanks Nada! When you see Zahrah next time can you tell her I'll pay her back soon? Thanks!"

With that he opened the bottle and took a small drink, just as he had done with the strongest drinks in all the other bars he had visited in his years of wandering. For one blissful moment a dopy grin spread across his face. And then his head slammed into the bar counter, Roshan out cold.

Hanadi had decided to pick Geruud up, carrying him along with her to the bar. Her mug was empty, and she wanted another. Even though with the best synthetic organs money could buy, she couldn't get drunk, but by the Saints she liked the taste. The Curdatl woman easily toted Geruud one-armed up there just as Roshan went out cold, the archeologist giving Nada a questioning look.

"The hell you give him, Nada?" she asked the barkeep, even going so far as to kick the man's foot with one of her own. "Mind fillin'er up again?" Hanadi, not paying the planetologist anymore mind afterward while she held out her empty mug, as long as those sounds didn't come in here she was perfectly fine.
 
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