Protecting the Truth
From Shazrasha
| Stats | |
| Characters | Leah, Tallulah, Esme, Eikre, B-08, Kalla |
| Duration | 7 days |
| Quotes | None |
Esme Leet and Kalla do some shopping in preparation for the expedition out to the wilderness. B-08 decides to locate some weapons for himself but only finds some very unreliable pistols. In an effort to ensure that everyone is well equiped Esme takes the guns to the factory mechanic and trades her doctor's skills for repairing them. They quickly make a deal for two days work, one per pistol.
She leaves the journalist in the capable hands of the rest of the group and sets off stays at the factory.
Tabatha Sway lives in a small house that doubles as an office where people can come with stories. Sometime around early afternoon they hear a crash above. B-08 races up to find that someone has thrown a ball of flaming rags through the window. Picking it up he throws it out the window. Kalla spys it starting to burn the wall across the road and hurries to put flames out with a bucket of water. Luck is not with her however and it turns out the rags are covered in oil that sends the flames higher when the water hits causing Kalla to suffer harsh burns on her arms. As the fire brigade turn up Eikre runs to fetch Esme to treat Kalla's burns.
Having treated her Esme returns to the factory asking for someone to fetch her when she is done there. The rest of the group decide it is time to try to find out who is behind the trouble. Tallulah, Leah and B-08 head towards the Bear Pit a place where the underground criminals are likely to hang out.
Standing outside is a huge bear acting as bouncer but it is not the mutant that they seek. Once inside they realise that this is mostly a mutant bar with leaning towards having a mainly animal crowd. At the centre of the room is a large square stage for fighting within. A skunk and an ox are fighting within as several people are egging them on.
B-08 decides to find the male lynx taking bets and tries to get info about the fighters from him. Tallulah walks to the bar and asks to enter the bouts. The female lynx smiles and enters him in a bout later that evening against a contender of his choice. Leah is watching the room in general when she spots the scarred bear they are seeking talking to a hidden figure in a doorway at the back of the bar.
Meanwhile Kalla leave Eikre to watch Tabatha on his own as she goes to fetch Esme. Much to their surprise when they return Tabatha is nowhere to be seen. It is quite a while before Esme cathes her sneaking in the back door. Furious at such a blatant act of disregard for the groups efforts to protect her Esme gives her some choice words. Tabatha ignores her however and explains that she was talking to a source and their presence would have scared them away.
Tallullah starts his bout against a female lizard and does well in scoring hits but in the end must admitt defeat as she can take more damage than him. The group decide to take him back to Esme to be treated. However before they get the chance an explosion rocks the Bear Pit. B-08 manages to avoid most of the blast but Leah and Tallullah are thrown across the room. Though Leah recieves injuries to her torso she is still awake but Tallullah is not looking well. The stitches that the pit medic put in his leg have ripped and a new gash is bleeding profusly. Unconcious he is unaware of his fate. B-08 hunts for the medic in the crowd to find her stitching together a young mutant near the stage. Convinving her to come help him B-08 returns to Tallullah's side. Leah however is in shock and will not calm down.
Back at the Journalist's home Eikre and Esme are hit by sling shots though Kalla hits the deck before she gets any further harm. Barackading the door the group try to work out what to do next. Eikre moves out the back door and checks for tracks. He finds a heavy footprint by the front door and informs the three inside.
Tallullah is an inch from death when the medic finally stabalises his condition. She tries to treat Leah but she is screaming too much so the medic leaves her for more injured patients. Picking Tallullah up B-08 starts to make his way back to Tabatha's.
On arrival the doctor hurries them in and treats Tallullah's wounds while deriding Leah and B-08 for having allowed him to fight.
The next morning Tallullah regains conciousness and, after Esme chases out B-08 to earn moeny to repay his debt to her, Tallullah explains about the explosion. Still mad Esme tells Leah and Tallullah that they owe her too. Esme then goes to the factory to finish her second day of work.
When Tabatha states that she needs to see a contact Eikre agrees to go with her. After when they come back Tabatha types up a story while working on a piece of machinery at the same time. B-08, who has come back from getting work, convinces Tallullah to read the article. He states that Tabatha is writing an account of the explosion with detailed eye witness accounts. B-08 then mentions that there seem to have been some mutant hate crimes recently.
Tabatha finds the cylinder that the group finds of great interest but states that she has no idea what it is or does.
