Bringing the Goods (Invite only)

The group was to meet a mile south of Old Loosa at high noon and the two running the show were already there with several bags full of gear, food, and of course the drugs they were taking to the Village that was about five days of traveling if anyone didn't mess up to badly.

The time was two hours from the departure time when the tow slavers from Loosa arrived with a few extra things in their packs.

Aura sat down on one of the rocks at the looking at the male slaver she was paired with to run this entire deal and groaned inwardly. She pulled out her cowpony repeater and started to look it over and check all the bolts for it. She sighted down it aiming at Shemik's head with a slight smile then called out "Pay attention idiot, I heard we have a few good ponies tagging along. So watch yourself." She put the repeater back down and turned towards south to await for the helpers to show up.

Mek had never done a job like this. He thought that after the previous job, he was done with slavers and all their ilk. All it took was the rumor of a hefty cap reward though, and the old ghoul found the time to walk to Old Appleloosa. It's not like he had anything better to do anyways. He had nothing to accompany him, and the only sound he made as he trudged along was the combined noise of the hiss from his pneumatic leg and the napalm sloshing around in his flamer tank. He could do nothing but pass the time adjusting the straps on his metal helmet and humming tunes to himself. He felt like burning something, but he just didn't know what.

He squinted his eyes from inside his helmet. He could have sworn he saw two figures in the distance. He had no doubt that they could see him as well. One of them had a rifle drawn, and he produced the nozzle of his flamer as he walked, releasing the safety valve. He humored the thought that these could be his employers. The way they seemed to be waiting around for somepony definitely suggested that. He continued his walk towards them, wary of any scents or vibrations that could give away an ambush.

Spectre had of course been waiting, ever before the two organising this job had shown up. The whole thing had sounded dodgy to the zebra, and he had no idea what they were transporting or how much attention it could attract. But he really needed the caps, work had been light recently so he was running low on supplies. So there he waited, hidden behind a few rocks a short distance away fro the pair, making use of his time tested camoflauge of rolling in the dust of the particular land he was in. It was simple, and effective at long distance, which was where he was right now. For the moment.

He heard voices, one of them had said something, telling the other to watch himself, for there were 'good ponies' coming... Spectre smirked. Not the good ones you need to watch He thought to himself. Before figuring he should go and meet the two he assumed were his employers, if not, well they would soon have a bad day, and be left all over the place in a wonderful fashion. He noted the large figure approaching in the distance. The two ponies would surely spot him too, not like he was trying to be subtle. A good opportunity while the thing had their attention, not one the zebra was likely to pass up.

Spectre slowly rose from his cover and began moving towards the pair, the mare had turned her attention south, while he approached from the north. He slowly moved, watching both the two ponies, and the figure of what he could now see to be a diamond dog in the distance. He placed each hoof carefully until he was no more than 20 feet from the two ponies. "I hear you are looking for help." The zebra finally spoke, to the two ponies it was almost like he had appeared from nowhere. He had the name 'Spectre' for a reason, lucky for them there was usually a violent murder after he appeared, not this time... Not yet at least.

Shemik was leaning against his spear, saving his energy for when it was needed. He was genuinely wondering where Black has gotten the load of drugs for the deal. Well... no, he actually wasn't. After the initial curiosity, he slumped into his normal state of mind, not bothering himself with such irrelevant information. Caps were caps, and if only thing he had to brave those few days were Aura's foalish attempts on playing the tough guy here...

He mentally shrugged and looked at the mare. She was pointing her gun at him. Something inside him was telling him to smack away the weapon and beat her on the spot for behaving like a five year old, but... that, given what he heard about her, do little good. There were other spots where one could hurt, and often lot more exposed than one would expect.

Shemik gave Aura a bored look. "Aura... if you want to shoot that thing, you first have to kock it." He took great delight in the sentence, savouring every word. Shemik had an accent, something he clung to despite his years in Capital. What remained of it hinted at his origins from somewhere up north, around Stalliongrad. He placed accents of the words always at the first syllable, the words seemed to cut off a bit to harshly and his k's went out too hard. It was by no means preventing him from being understood, but it gave strong hint of not being from around here.

"I hear you are looking for help."

Shemik didn't even bothered to look away from Aura. "Besides, we have business to attend to."

Aura growled some at Shemik at the word he said that she found rather unpleasing to the ear. Her body language changed from the relaxed demonear from before to one of slight anger as she stood up and saw a large diamond dog approaching with it's flamer out and let out a small growl seeing that it was a male. She felt a mygrain forming in her temples already and the was two males to deal with. She turned around at the voice of Specter with a start. She had her repeater aimed up and aimed at his face while holding her breath before letting it out at the sound of Shemik talking about the busniess she had acquired via some female contacts she had.

She aimed the rifle down some before calming down some, she was still pissed that someone had snuck up on her without her knowing and a filthy male at that. She took a few deep breaths before finally walking over and sitting back down. The rifle was still raised at a slight angle towards Specter and she called out to Mad "Hurry up there doggie, I need someone to sick on a zebra for being dumb enough to sneak up on an armed pony." She let out a small laugh looking at Shemik and smiled wide "To busniess it is then sir."

Mek's ears perked up. Was someone yelling at him? The only word he made out was doggie. He'd have broken the skull of whoever said that if they weren't paying him. He could see the figures better now, and decided to put his flamer away. There was a unicorn mare, and from the looks of it, those were definitely his employers. His pace increased to a mild jog, and he was in front of them in no time. He took off his helmet so he could see his employers better, and he wasn't surprised. His dead eyes floated from the unicorn mare to her male companion, and to the zebra. He gave his six foot seven frame a nice stretch before extending a rotted hand for a shake. "Name's Mad Mek. Ah came fer da job." He muttered in his raspy voice.

Bone flapped his wings as they carried him across the wasteland. He didn't like to fly this close to old loosa, too much competiotion with the slaver, but a job offer brought him out here. From his bird's eye view he could see the other from the job beginning to gather. Bone head banked and began his decent, Landing just behind mek and started to walk with the dog. "I'm here for the supply run." The griffin stated.

Topaz showed up, looking around it seemed to be a caravan job...Topaz softly spoke to herself "okay Topaz be friendly there's no reason to be nervous...." Then she smiled. "Is this the caravan? Hope I'm not too late...."Topaz ear twitched then stopped and waited for anypony to answer her.

Hark allowed herself to walk toward the meeting place for the caravan she was to accompany. A job, actually. In which she would be paid good caps. The thought excited her. As she approached, her paces were slow and deliberate, each spaced evenly and timed perfectly. She could already see the lot she would be stuck with: a mish-mash of wasteland races. Oh boy, she thought, not too happy with such diversity. She sighed as she walked, keeping her pace and spacing.

In no time at all, she had reached the place, looking between the company she would accompany. It took her a few moments to speak. "... Yeah, I was promised work," she said in a very even tone.

Collateral Damage made himself known to the others by simply walking in silently. He didn't look at anypony in particular, nor did he speak. He didn't really intend to anyway, not now, at least. This was a job, just a job, nothing more, he came to work in exchange for whatever he was to be paid with, not socialize.

He arrived at the rendezvous point quietly, leaning on the rifle he had jammed in the ground.

Spectre let out a quiet chuckle at the unicorns reaction. "I'm the dumb one? You to ALLOWED yourselves to be snuck up on by this here zebra" Uncaring of the weapon pointed at him he pointed a hoof at Aura. "You... Were busy watching the bear, while the scorpion approached unnoticed." He then gestured at Shemik. "And you were busy taunting your companion, instead of looking in the directions she wasn't. Both big mistakes on your own parts, both meaning I could have killed you both at any point in the past 2 hours and 17 minutes you have been here. Do I care about the gun you are only now pointing in my face? No, are you going to shoot me? Unlikely, not right now at least, maybe you will try later, I would advise against it."

Spectre turned his attention to the others that had arrived, the large diamond dog ghoul. Tough, reliable, and sure to make a good distraction, as he had done already. A griffon, he looked capable, definitely able to handle himself. Spectre would be carful around him, definitely did not want to get on the creatures bad side. The other arrivals were more ponies, not surprising, though one... Topaz, the name he gathered from when she spoke to herself, she seemed nervous, likely didn't do this often. Perfect...

Shemik slowly shook his head, looking on the ground. He stopped leaning against his spear and looked at Spectre. He smiled at him a warm smile, showing that he was by no means afraid of the zebra.

"Yes. I'm by no means not believing that you were sitting in the dust for hundred and thirty seven minutes, watching Black try to provoke me. And yes, you kould have shot us the whole time. Yet you didn't. That my friend, is the relevant part. You kan try to be ever vigilant, yes. But even better is removing the needs to be, such as knowing half of the dangerous things by name here. Or by being valuable enough to not be hurt."

Shemik chuckled.

"That, and by being lucky, of kourse. Or rich and being able to hire eyes to watch for you. Something we both klearly understand, as you are here for kaps. Now, to business then. We have few day trip ahead of us. A little settlement in Manehatten, korrekt, Black?" Shemik asked towards his mare associate.

Aura felt herself getting closer to the urge to bash Spectre and Shemik on the back of the heads and dragging them off to Loosa. Her friends would just help her drag them in. She looked up and didn't say a word to either of them as more of the appilcants arrived. She looked the griffin over and smiled, he looked like the muscle she needed to transport the two biggest bags. Looking over Collateral made her think of mainly escort duty and scoot for the skies above. This was going to be a long trip dealing with these bunch of misfit males.

Aura smiled seeing the shy mare and knew that getting her to talk would be fun, while the other one seemed a bit knowledgeable and timid. She got up from her rock and walked over to the two and stood in between them and set a hoof around each of their necks and looked at them both. "Welcome dears, this is the caravan you were told about. I am Black Aura." She looked out at the males sneering "That is Miss Black to all of you, SHemik included. I am the boss of this caravan and you are all hear to help me get supplies to some friends past Manehatten." She looked back to the mares and winked "You two can call me Aura. The pay is five hundred caps each and anything you find on the way." She let the mares go and walked over to the bags and picked up two lights ones and hoofed one to Topaz, while the other she handed to Hark. She snapped at the males "Two biggest bags go to the ghoul and the bird. The rest of you grab a bag and let's get moving." She grabbed her own light bag and went back over to the mares and started heading NorthEast from the spot and hoped the two would walk with her seeing as the other option was males. She mentally shivered at the thought.

Spectre couldn't help but smirk as Shemik spoke. "Finally! somepony with an understanding of how the wastes work. I can see that working alongside you shouldn't be an issue. More than can be said for some others i've worked with." He looked at Aura as she spoke, already he could tell that this job was going to be interesting, and if the unicorn continued to act so... Unprofessionally, it would just get all the more entertaining.

He took a bag and slung it over his back with a chuckle, it was heavy, but nothing he couldn't handle. "Such titles are how I address ponies in Tenpony that hire my services, not ponies like you. If being called Black, or Aura is to painful for you, I will call you 'Mare' or how about 'Unicorn.' Perhaps when you have earned yourself such a title as 'Miss Black,' you will hear me call you it. Now if we're done with such silliness, shall we be on our way?"

Spectre's tone was sarcastic and slightly mocking, it was clear he had no time for such pathetic actions, and intended to make it clear to Aura that he wasn't going to take any crap she threw his way. He had been in his line of work in some way or another practically his entire life, he very much knew the way the wastes worked. And he knew full well that Aura was of no threat to him.

Bone head stepped up and grabbed one of the large bags in his talon, the load inside being a manageable haul for the muscular griffin. He listened to the fighting between the zebra and the unicorn. He chuckled when specter suggested a name for the dark mare. "I for one think Unicorn is an excellent name for her." The large bird added. "Let her constantly be reminded of her inferior place on the food chain." He looked to the mare and licked his beak before letting out a hearty laugh. "I never thought i'd say this to a zebra but I think i'm going to like you." Bone said to specter as he walked next to him.

Hark was a bit surprised as Aura's foreleg came around her neck. She nearly jumped out of her own skin in surprise, however all she physicay did was tense up quite violently and suddenly. She listened Aura speak, taking note of her change in expression and tone when addressing different genders; the sneer toward the males and the favoritism toward Hark and the other female were also dead giveaways. Even though Hark didn't really agree with such extreme sexist values, she went along with them just so she could reap the benefit.

She grinned and winked toward the one wishing to be called Aura as she hoofed a bag to Hark, which she gladly took in her telekinetic nimbus of orange, slinging it across her back as she watched Aura bark more orders. Hark also took interest in the conversation between the zebra and the griffon, finding their distaste for living to be funny. She glanced toward them, giving them an 'Are you crazy' sort of look. This was held for mere moments, however, as Aura returned to the two mares and began to move. Hark followed close by,trying not to talk, to let Aura start the conversation first.

As the heavy looking bag was shoved over to him, Mek wordlessly took it in his outstretched hand and tied it to his belt without so much as a grunt. He had wondered what was in it, but he knew it wasn't his business. He also knew that this unicorn couldn't hope to survive the trip if she kept treating the bulk of the fighting force like inferiors. He supplemented that inner thought with the mental image of himself lifting Aura up by the neck and slamming her horn first into the nearest wall. Under the bandana that covered his mouth, he grinned to himself. Through his visor, his eyes traced Aura's form, less out of actual attraction and more to spite her. She was edible. Definitely. "When do we start?" He asked as his gaze turned to scan the others in the group.

Topaz Edge happily carried the light weighted bag. Though it wasn't a surprise that Aura had a different personality between mares and stallions. So she felt comfortable to talk with the black unicorn and tries not to be nervous or shy "H-hello there Aura, I'm Topaz Edge librarian and I scavenge a little!" Topaz walked alongside Aura, she felt somehow safe to be with her and of course she taught if Aura had some kind of grudge to males.

But at the moment Topaz didn't care about Aura's reaction to males so she kept walking on along with Aura and the other unicorn mare.

Most of the cargo was with mares seeing how Aura trusted no one else. While the other bags jsut held one or two of the drugs they were transporting. Since Mad Mek and Bone Head didn't check the bags find they were carrying live cargo. Inside of Mad's bag was the form of a sleeping yellow pegasus mare. Bone's bag contained about the age of five. Aura knew about the foals since she was the one who was taking them to an new home away from Loosa. The group didn't hear the foals until they woke up an hour after departing from the meeting location.

The filly poked her head out of the bag and looked right at Aura and called "Mommy, we're hungry."

Aura made some small talk with the mares as they traveled, mainly talking about small minded stuff. SHe made one comment towards the end of the hour that was directed towards Bone Head. The topic was how to successfully take down an enemy. She looked right at Bone Head and smiled while speaking "Just take a hoof, knife, or a bullet to where it hurts the most to take down a rogue male." She giggled turning to the others waiting for a response. When she heard the word "Aura" she froze in place and turned towards Bone and rushed over to collect the two before the griffin could harm them. She immediately ran to hide behind the diamond dog ghoul with them and stood there looking at the others.

Spectre glanced at the griffon. “Life is full of unexpected events, makes it more... Interesting. As to you liking me, I would reserve that judgement till a little later. But I can see that us working together shouldn't be an issue.” He walked with the group, staying mostly silent unless he was spoken to, and heard everything Aura talked about with the mares, most of it he didn't pay much attention to. He was mainly listening for the same reason as always, to make sure they weren't planning anything. Though her last comment interested him a little, and gave him thought.

Though his tone this time was less mocking, and more like genuine advice. “Unless your enemy has prepared for such things, and has the force of will to battle through any pain to get the job done. Bullet or knife through the neck is a better idea. Instant paralysis if you hit the spinal cord, makes them nice and helpless as they bleed to death in front of you. Leaving you to do with them as you will in their final, pain filled moments.” Spectre hadn't even looked back as he spoke, though a slight grin had grossed his face as he spoke of such efficient murder.

Then there were two foals, Spectre had heard one of them speak and had snapped his head in that direction. He looked at the little filly, then watched as Aura rushed over and took them both away. “Hardly the sort of place for a family outing.” He looked first at Aura, then at the two foals. “You're paying me to escort your cargo, not play babysitter, keep those kids out of my way and they won't get hurt... I will not be held responsible for my actions if they aggravate me.” Spectre then turned away and carried on walking.

They'd better not bicker the entire time we're here....
Collat had a bag thrown over his shoulder, walking along with the group rather slowly, slower than he would be comfortable with. He took a few glances at the foals and shook his head.

Taking out a small chocolate bar, he broke off a peice and offered it to the child, a slight smile breaking over his face in an attempt to look nicer. He was strangely good with kids, despite his usually reclusive behavior.

[Foal at Heart, +3 RM]

Mek had decided that he would stay quite during the trip, but the sudden input of a voice that did not belong to anyone in the group gave him a slight jump. He was beyond paranoid, and far from sane. He placed a hand on the flamer nozzle, ready to unhook it from his back in a moment's notice. Then he saw the fillies, and he immediately thanked Celestia that he hadn't decided to fire a gout of flame in the voice's direction. Before he could ask anything, Aura had ran behind him holding the fillies. He assumed she wanted him to protect her. "Ah dunno wot's goin' on 'ere, an' ah'm gonna assume dat none of ya are gonna do anyfing stupid." He said as the flamer went from his back to under his left arm in a one-handed grip. He always had a soft spot for fillies. "Aura, if Ah open me bag, an' deres sumfing in dere other than medicine 'n chems, we'z gonna have a talk." He growled as he took the bag off his belt with one hand and unceremoniously dumped the contents on the ground, intent on seeing what's inside.

Bone listened to the females talk and to the zebra's advice. Deciding to throw his two bits in he said, "I find that a good clop to the back of the head works best. Tends not to leave any permanent damage if you want to interrogate or sell them later." The griffin's attention was diverted when the weight in his bag shifted and the head of a filly poked out. "What the fu-." The bag was wrestled out of his grasp before he could finish that train of thought and aura took the two young ponies into her care. "OI! This job didn't say anything about moving live cargo." He lifted one of his talons and grasped the handle of "Lil Miss." He was prepared for the possibility of the unicorn mare turning violent now that her secret was exposed.