The alleys and aliens of Lemarcha (Invite)

[Faclan]

LaxKnight

Chris Hyde - Wandering Beard
City of Lemarcha on Telios III, 80% Human
Eh?

Would the fighting and hate ever end? Would rebuilding ever fix the old hatreds? Would he finally be able to get home to Earth?

Probably no to all of those.

And that made Chris sad as he walked the streets of the pretty modern city, dusk starting to roll in and most people already home or otherwise off the streets. Off work and just settling in for a restful night with their own people. Humans taking the best apartments of course since it was there city and they got the best deals. But to the councils credit they did give the Aliens decently fair shakes when it came to housing. They just had further to go before they got to where most of the work was happening. Mostly office stuff for a lot of large companies that had places here to have some work done as Lemarcha was pretty close to a lot of trade routes. But the main trading city was further up the river. Here was the more quiet city with less ships landing and unloading cargo but a lot more residential places. An old tramline connecting the two and of course roads and cars.

Hyde looked up from his walk toward his apartment to smile as some Unggoy drove past in a civilian warthog, woooing to each other as they shouted about 'Paydays!' and 'Party!'. It was good to just seem them able to do that, and that the police car following not far behind hadn't pulled them over already as they were still within the road rules. But then it was back to walking after moving to the side to let some Humans move past him.

Hyde himself worked right near the city center in the 'Help' building. Helping new arrivals who wished to live there, answering questions about the city and the planet, and helping with anything else work or living related. His language and cultural knowledge helping a lot even if there were some pretty good translation stuff there for the other workers. He was just happy to be able to help both Humans and Aliens now. And they recently finally hired an Alien, a Sangheili but still - so Hyde was in pretty good spirits today despite the large overarching worries about life and the universe and everything. Not to mention ONI seemed to have finally left him alone at least for a little, thank Gods.

The beard currently in just jeans and a simple brown jacket with a backpack over his back for his folders, personal items, thermos, simple snacks, a small road survival kit due to slight paranoia, and other information about individuals who wanted to live here. But he was distracted from his normal walk when he heard a squawk come from the alley way he was near by.

Kig-Yar, T'vaoan - he was sure of it. The scientist quickly getting more focused as he headed for the souce of the noise. It sounded like it was in pain or fear, and the Kig may need help!


(Probably somthin along these lines; Downtown Portland and feel free to have the person who was 'talking' with Tori either shove past Chris or exit through the back alley.)

[LaxKnight]

Faclan

? - T’vaoan Warrior(?)
City of Lemarcha on Telios III
Bleh

The beard heard two gunshots, the squawk of an alien, and the patter of running feet coming from the alley. When he turned into it he would find no one there but a T’vaoan lying on the ground in a small but developing pool of their purple blood. Chris has seen many T’vaoans and Kig-Yar in his lifetime but this one was different than most he’s seen. He can tell they were female from the amount of feathers and their body frame. She seemed to be clad in worn Murmillo armor with some blue detailing. She wore no helmet and he can see some scars and burn marks on her skin. Her feathers had blue dyed tips but the greyness of them told that she was on the older side.

There were several things that marked her out from the average T’vaoan however. She wore a kilt of some sort of red, black, and brown plaid and on her belt he saw a Plasma Pistol along with a M6D Pistol. They were both in their holsters however for lying next to her hand was a sword, seemingly ancient thanks to the engravings but extremely well maintained. On part of her bandoleer on her back she had...skulls? We was no bone expert but Chris knew what a human skull looked like and had a good idea of what a Kig-Yar’s did too. Judging from the rest of them, she seemed to have one of every species except Yanme’e. It gave her an overall barbaric appearance that was only enhanced with the gunshot wound on her chest.

Purple blood was coming out from her left chest. She was breathing but unconscious.

[Faclan]

Chris Hyde - Wandering Beard
City of Lemarcha on Telios III, 80% Human
So many emotions!

The gunshots nearly made Hyde flee but the fact he then heard running made him stop. Was this a robbery? Some kind of smash and grab before fleeing? Thats how the saying went right? But someone may be hurt so he ducked into the alley to try and find out what had happened. It was a pretty big one and the running was going away from him so he was probably safe...probably.

He found a T'vaoan female flat on her back, well mor on her side since the off putting skulls made her lay a bit awkwardly. She had been shot, that much was obvious...But she was clearly armed for somthing very dangerous. She honestly looked like some kind of veteran fighter turned criminal. Did he really want to try and help a criminal and likely get stabbed or robbed when she woke up?! And if he called an ambulance what then? Have her get thrown in prison?

But what if he did nothing?

...It was a lot of blood...like a lot and it would probably kill her or leave her too weak to get help if she awoke. An ambulance could probably save her but it would be risky this deep downtown. Ughhhhhh. Chris currently umming and ahhing at the first turn from where the gunshot had taken place as he looked at the scene. That gunshot would probably also draw other people here too....

FUCK IT!

Quickly mover over to the T'vaoans' side and crouched down, doing his best to remember all those aid training that ONI had given him he first removed his backpack and set it beside before dumping out some contents, thankfully dry ground, before nodding at the little aid kit. He then took out his phone and set it beside the kit to start calling for an ambulance. With that ringing he then removed the T'vaoans pistols and sword, nice sword, and set them behind him so he would hopefully not be murdered when she woke up - though her claws would easily do that.

Next was removing the bandolier so she could lay down flat. But before laying her down fully he needed to get off her chest armor to better get at the wound which thankfully he knew how to do. A few clips and snaps later he had managed to split the chest and back armor so they could fall away from her chest. With the wound now exposed, Hyde's hands getting quiet bloody, he laid her down as carefully as he could before pulling out a flexible plastic square and pressed it firmly against the wound before taping it down on every side but the bottom.

Man he hoped he was doing this right just as his phone beeped at him and a voice came from it.

"911 what's your Emergency?"


(Hope that works, not super knowledgeable about this kind of aid D: . Decided to stop it there in cause you wanted to stop that call :>.)

[LaxKnight]

? - T’vaoan Warrior(?)
City of Lemarcha on Telios III
Bleh 2.0

As the phone rang he heard a cough coming from the T’vaoan. It was followed by a few more then she croaked something. It was in her language but the former ONI Xenolinguist knew it well. “Bastards,” she coughed again. Thankfully she didn’t spit up any blood. She then opened her orange eyes and looked to the Beard. “Who are you?” she asked in his language weakly.

[Faclan]

Chris Hyde - Wandering Beard
City of Lemarcha on Telios III, 80% Human
Not clawed, doing well.

"I have a gunshot victim here, T'vaoan, she seems to be able to breath but is hurt."

"Name sir?"

Glancing over as his patient coughed and groaned out something about bastards Hyde was glad to see she could still talk, that was good.

"Christopher Hyde - I work at the visitor center in the city center."

A moment for that to be clarified before the voice replied.

"Alright Chris, keep the Kig-Yar as calm as you can, we have your location from your phone and are sending an ambulance." And with that the phone hung up and Chris was asked a question by the female. The beard currently kneeling beside her keeping pressure on the wound and trying to not appear threatening. Thankfully Lemarcha was more accepting of its alien population than other places he had been or he would have had to lie about who was hurt. Doing his best to smile but not showing off teeth as he knew the Kig's were weirded out by that he responded.

"Chris, try not to move to much you've been shot," wow dude who would have guessed, its not like she was SHOT or something! Doing his best to ignore his brain shouting at him he kept his position before trying to speak up again. "How are you feeling? Any other injuries? An ambulance is coming soon to make sure you're ok so stay calm." Glancing around a bit he but his lip before, shrugging, he was too curious not to ask. So turning back to the T'vaoan he spoke in her own language. "Name? And was it a Mev-ut?"

[LaxKnight]

Tori Pek - T’vaoan Mercenary
City of Lemarcha on Telios III
I Know You!

Her eyes widened with recognition when she heard his name. She then coughed a few more times. She seemed remarkably calm. It was clear this wasn’t the first time she’s been shot. The bearded man, who she now knows a Chris, told her to not move, since she’s been shot and keep calm, both things irrelevant since she appeared to be doing both. At that she laid her head gently on the pavement and focused on trying to stay awake. Her orange eyes widened again not necessarily because of surprise but recognition and confirmation. “I know of you. The Gel speak of you lots before I left the War. The ONI bearded scientist who speaks our language,” she spoke in her own tongue but paused to coughed again, “My name is Tori Pek. I am not a hunter. Just a simple mercenary now.”

She coughed. “Not as young as I used to be,” the T’vaoan equivalent of a smile flashed weakly on her beak before she coughed again, “I am lucky you are here. Please keep talking to me, Chris. I must not fall asleep. I feel I won’t wake again.”

[Faclan]

Chris Hyde - Wandering Beard
City of Lemarcha on Telios III, 80% Human
Uhhh...

Yup, definitely a warrior or she just knew what to do in a situation like this. Though it probably wasn't for a medical reason as Kigs weren't the most doctoral people he had ever known. He was always up for being surprised though. It was probably more that you should stay calm so you could react if the enemy returned, and to stay quiet so as not to give away your injured position. Eh - it was working either way.

He was more surprised however when he was apparently known by this Kiggle, named Tori pek, and his confusion would be known pretty evidend on his hairy face if Tori could see past it. But he did chuckle when she mentioned how she wasn't as young as she used to be.

"Aren't all of us Old war codgers? And not a problem, always happy to talk to aliens even if the circumstances to this one are a bit more bloody than I'd like. But I hope your mercenary job isn't too ruined by this injury...though it was probably to kill someone so...uhhh..." Still keeping pressure on his simple covering for the wound he tried to quickly change the subject. "Gel...uhhh," Good ol Beard. "Sorry been a long day and kind of focusing on this - who were they again? But nice to meet you Tori."

[LaxKnight]

Tori Pek - T’vaoan Mercenary
City of Lemarcha on Telios III
When Is That Ambulance Coming?

His lighthearted, or what she viewed as lighthearted, talk about the situation caused her to chuckle but it then turned into a short coughing fit. Her eyes were filled with confusion when he couldn’t recall the Gel clan, some of the most powerful of the Kig-Yar. She figured a man who knew their language would at least also know of the Gels. “Understandable. Duress makes things hard to recount sometimes. I’m sure though you would remember Vala Gel who also works at that Help center. She makes delicious brownies,” the thought warmed her eyes and a small smile appeared on her face before she descended into another coughing fit. “I don’t want to die like this,” she said after she recovered, “This is no warrior’s death.”

She then looked to Chris. “When they arrive, please come with. I don’t trust them with T’vaoan anatomy and I feel you have a better idea than most here,” though her voice was raspy and high pitched, almost like a stereotypical witch, she spoke in perfect and clear English. She wanted to be sure her request was clear to him.

[Faclan]

Chris Hyde - Wandering Beard
City of Lemarcha on Telios III, 80% Human
Woosh.

"You would know better than me, I didn't really have that many high octane..err..high stress times during the war. I mean when the insurrectionists had me that was up there but on the whole I was just sitting in a lab or a ship going over radio broadcasts to translate. Till they got computers to do my job. But I remember now, the ones known for their skill and arm blade things. Good conversationalists despite that fighty reputation." He then frowned when she coughed again and actually moved to hold Tori's hand as he kept pressure with his other hand. "Don't worry Tori, the ambulance will be here soon and you'll make it - and no problem I'll stay with. I think I'd have to anyone since I may be a witness and first person on the scene. But even if I didn't need to I'll come."

-A short wait and ambulance loading later-

It turned out that Chris was asked to come anyway since he had been the first to arrive. So as the two Human medics were seeing to Tori and loading her on a stretcher he was picking up her weapons and armor that he had removed as he was sure she wanted them. Her chest had been wrapped in some bandages and his little plastic cover had been left on to be replaced by something better once they arrived at the hospital. But with her loaded up Chris climbed into the back and helped shut the doors as he sat beside her stretcher. Waiting for the ambulance to start moving before he smiled at her and held her sheathed sword out to her, before shaking a bit. "Think you want this back and likely with you, I would imagine its important and now know its heavier than it looks." Once it was taken he leaned back a little and was glad he was able to wash all that purple blood off his hands - it did not smell good.

Running a hand through his pretty long hair he sighed and smiled as the ambulance trundled along toward real care. "Glad its going well - anything you want to know about me and what mission did you come down here for?"

[LaxKnight]

Tori Pek - T’vaoan Mercenary
City of Lemarcha on Telios III
That’s Kind of Important

Tori grabbed his hand with a firm, clawed hand. Chris could tell she was relieved. She simply stared up into the dawn sky. When the ambulance finally came she was hefted up into the vehicle. No one commented on her attire or asked her questions, time was of the essence. They began wrapping her wound with gauze and bandages and all she could do was lay there and bleed. Something she has experienced before but it was never a good feeling. She felt the vehicle move as they went on their way but she couldn’t look up to see if Chris entered. However she squawked with glee when she saw him with her most prized possession, her sword. So happy that she almost didn’t hear his question.

“I was actually there to try and get one. As you can see it didn’t pan out,” she spoke in her native tongue then switched to English to say, “I am thankful you grabbed Heart Reaper. Hold on to it for me, noble Chris. I am in no condition to wield it and I very much doubt your hospital would let me keep it on me. I will find you after this.”

[Faclan]

Chris Hyde - Wandering Beard
City of Lemarcha on Telios III, 80% Human
Shiny sword.

Nodding when she said to keep it Chris picked it back up from the stretcher with both hands this time and set it beside him. He was tempted to take its out of its sheath and examine it, see if it had any runes or otherwise on it. But he felt that that would be an affront to the swords honor. But the urge was even stronger when he found out the sword had a name. Sounded like it had a history too and so probably was full of runes and stories, and probably didn't smell too good but that was beside the point. But he huhed when she said she was here to get a mission.

"Clearly, as I am not knowledgeable in the field of mercenary work I won't try to guess how talking about work led to shooting the potential worker. If you would prefer you could tell me about your blade, it seems like it has quite the history to it." He said, remembering that he was told in situations with wounded people to keep them as awake as possible, and while Tori seemed fine at the moment best not to let her slip into the danger zone if at all possible.

[LaxKnight]

Tori Pek - T’vaoan Mercenary
City of Lemarcha on Telios III
Bleh 3.0


Tori could tell that Chris was interested in her blade from the way he handled and looked at it. It was a rare thing for a Human to get their hands on a Pek sword and live to tell the tale. He then heard him ask if he could hear the sword’s tale. She was about to speak when one of the EMTs shushed her. “Don’t speak. Save your strength. Just focus on staying awake,” they said.

Well, that wasn’t very fun. However they could suddenly feel the vehicle retch to a halt. The doors burst open and in almost a flash Tori was taken out of the ambulance into the ER. If Chris cared to follow he would find he would make it only to the lobby before he got turned back by staff. After a bit a couple of policemen came by to ask Chris questions about what happened. The Beard gave them the little information he had before they bade him farewell. He would wait the whole night only to find a nurse come out looking for a next of kin for a T’vaoan. She would tell him that the surgery went well but if he inquired if he could see her he would be informed he couldn’t because she was asleep and recovering. After he left her his information he would eventually find himself at work, no more word from the hospital or the T’vaoan.

[Faclan]

Chris Hyde - Wandering Beard
City of Lemarcha on Telios III, City Help Center.
Tired beard.

Chris looked really excited to have a story time, moving to the edge of his seat and leaning forward. Who knew how many conquests a sword could be a part of. The legends of its legacy. It could be hundreds of years old if not older! But then the EMT's shut that idea down...Though they would know best. So he nodded and went back to a more relaxed way of sitting and smiled at Tori.

"Its ok Tori, I can wait as I'm sure its a great story."

The trip soon ended and Chris followed the gurney inside but was told to wait in the lobby. Understandable. Taking the wait time to have a little nap as he had a feeling he would be here most of the night. Which turned out to be a smart move as after the police had arrived and he told them the little he knew, that the shooter was unknown to him but he was sure the T'vaoan knew, he had a gooood amount of time to wait before he was told that the surgery had gone well.

Always good to hear.

But he wasn't allowed to see her. Made sense, and looking at the time he needed to get going if he wanted to make it to work on time. So he asked the female to give Tori his best and left his pad contact details before heading out to start the walk to work.

He picked up a breakfast meal from one of the places downtown on the walk over and spent some time in the bathroom when he arrived to try and make sure the blood smell was fully off him and that he didn't smell too badly. But with limited tools and tired he could only do so much.

Thankfully it seemed to be a very quiet day so far so his current state didn't matter too much. Thought it was still early morning and had a lot of the day left. So he was happily to chow down the egg sandwich and apples in peace as he wondering when Tori would wake up...

[LaxKnight]

Vala Gel - T’vaoan Help Center Advisor
City of Lemarcha on Telios III
Brownie

Chris wouldn’t know what the fate of Tori Pek would be until around lunchtime when he would receive a phone call from the hospital, informing him of her release. While it may have calmed his nerves a little bit she didn’t appear for awhile. He then heard a knock on the door. The door cracked opened slightly but it wasn’t Tori. Instead it was another T’vaoan who he worked with, Vala Gel. “I hope I’m not intruding too much,” her voice was rough from age but had a friendly air that told of a warm heart, “You seemed distraught today so I thought I would stop by and check up on you.”

He could smell something delicious as she waited behind the door for permission to enter.

[Faclan]

Chris Hyde - Wandering Beard
City of Lemarcha on Telios III, City Help Center.
Sugary pick me up?

Thankfully for Hyde he had only gotten calls so far today, so no-one had seen or smelt anything about his crazy night on him. He would sure sleep well tonight. Sleep well and hopefully happily once he found out Tori was ok. Though a niggling doubt had begun to enter his head as lunchtime approached. What of Tori was 'evil'? What if she was some kind of hired murderer, not that he didnt know a lot of those, who had been there to kill? She sure seemed nice but people had lied worse to him before without much effort so that wouldn't be new. What if...what if.

Thankfully he was taken from his ponderings by a pad message, saying that Tori had left the hospital, and then shortly afterward a knock on the door and then a beak poking through it. Thankfully it was Vala and not Tori as his mind was running rampant with the idea that she was coming to tie up loose ends. Hyde smiling and taking a breath when he recognized who it was. He waved her in as he leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair.

"Hi Vela...it was just a crazy night." He gave a sniff and smiled. "And I smell some of your glorious sweets, maybe one for me today?" Once she was inside and closed the door he cleared his throat and begun the tale he was surprised the office didn't know about yet. "I was heading home last night and heard a gunshot, I'm surprised myself that I ran to the scene and found a T'vaoan there shot. A mercenary by the name of Tori Pek - with a fancy sword." He paused to see if the Gel had heard of her before continuing. "I helped her injuries until the ambulance arrived and then went with her to the hospital. To my knowledge the surgery to remove the bullets went well and she was recovering. But I had to leave if I wanted to make it here on time - sorry if I stink today. And just now heard she had been released from the hospital." He rubbed his eyes after removing his glasses and yawned, would be a long afternoon shift for him. "Thanks for coming to check on me Vela, I really appreciate that."