Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn

[Chai_T3a]

"We're here." He said the moment Kairo was sure Rufus was awake.
"Welcome Back." He smiled before exiting the Cricket. He'd leave Rufus to take out the cage once he was ready to exit the vehicle.

The cold night air hit him as he exited the vehicle. He stood close to the door of the Cricket, stretching out his cramped limbs as he waited for the other man to get out.

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus emerged shortly after with his helmet hooked to a strap on his belt, and the cage in his arms.
The colonists gasped at the sight of the critters, and made whispers at Rufus's helmet.

He only rolled his eyes, and made for the large tent housing the Expedition's scient team.

 

[Chai_T3a]

The hushed whispers in the crowd reminded him that Rufus still had that helmet. He’d become so used to that thing, that he had forgot how much of a taboo it was to possess one. A bit of a frown formed onto his face. It had been naive of him to think that the problem was resolved after convincing Rufus to come back. Getting him back was one thing, convincing the rest to accept Rufus seemed even tougher.

Thinking that it would help to have a familiar face with him. Kairo jogged to catch up with Rufus.
“Hey. I’m sure they’ll warm up to you at some point.” He said once he was to Rufus’ side.
“They’re.”
He looked back at the crowd still gathered at the cricket.
“Just....not used to this.”

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus scoffed.
"Kairo . . ." He pointed to an empty space between two tents.
"Look at all of those fucks I give. Just look at how many they are."

He entered the makeshift lab, and gentlt set the cage in a well shaded corner.
"Specimen delivery!" He announced to the three coated science officers analyzing foliage under a heat lamp.

Kairo would recognize one from Helen's lab when he turned. His ID named him as Dr. Henry Eivenburg.
"Who are you?" He asked them both, but gawked at the critters.
"What . . . Where did they come from?"

Leonard perked his ears up and chittered curiously at his new surroundings.
Ezekiel was still splayed out in his nap. Frederick stood close to them both glancing between the humans.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo was not expecting an answer like that. He shut himself up just as quickly as he had began talking. Saying anything further would only lead to an argument. Besides, there didn't seem to be much time to talk as the two of them had quickly confronted Dr. Eivenburg.

He gave a shrug when Dr. Eivenburg asked his question.
"You're gonna have to ask him." He pointed at Rufus. It wasn't completely necessary since they were pretty much standing right next to each other.

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus told the story of how the triplets were caught trying to open a can of meat last week, and how surprisingly docile they had been.

"Until lately, that is." He concluded. "Frederick's been paranoid lately." He looked at the strange primate, who huffed in response.

Dr. Eivenburg approached, and Leonard immediately hopped to the corner of the cage closest to the encroaching man with gleeful curiosity.
Frederick snapped his jaws, and Leonard backed away with his ears lowered submissively.

The researcher only smiled.
"Very interesting display of communication." He noted.
"You said one of them was named Frederick?"

"Yeah. The tall one. The charmer is Leonard, and the one with the beard is Ezekiel." Rufus smirked at the creatures.

Eivenburg eyed him.
"Peculiar names."

"Named them after Pre-Republic folk heroes." Rufus admitted.

 

[Chai_T3a]

He'd heard this story once before, so he spent the time given looking around the lab. This place must have gone up not too long ago, as he didn't remember this building to have been here this morning. The republic really did manage to get things done quite quickly. He'd only listen back into the conversation once Rufus had finished his recount. The last part was something he found interesting. Naming the critters after Pre-Republic folk heroes. That sounded like something Rufus would do.

"They're probably the smartest things I've seen since....well. Nevermind." He shook his head.
"I'm assuming their's probably some kind of reason that Frederick's been so off. And its probably not cause of us." He looked over at the three critters.
"But that's just my opinion."

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus looked at Kairo.
"So far, he's been the protective one, but yeah he's been a bit jumpy since yesterday."

Eivenburg glanced back to the triplets.
"I'll study them further." He waved them off. "You may leave."

Rufus rolled his eyes.
"You're welcome." He turned for the camp outside. "Where can a guy get some food NOT from an MRE?" He asked no one in particular.

 

[Chai_T3a]

He gave Eivenburg a quick wave goodbye as he began walking out. The show of kindness slowed him down a bit, and again he was forced to jog lightly to keep in pace with Rufus. He wasn’t completely sure if the man even wanted his company to begin with, but he’d figured it’d be best to stick around. He’d only been at base for a day himself, but having someone with a bit of experience on your side never harms anyone.

“ I haven’t had actual food since landing.” He said once he caught up.
“Might’ve got a shipping of actual food when we were gone? I wouldn’t get my hopes up though.”

 

[Da Doofus]

"Anything sounds better than salty meat in a can." He stuck his tongue out. "Couldn't hurt to nab a drink too." He nudged Kairo with an elbow.
They were close to the camp's border, moving along the wall.

The yelping of the triplets came again, from behind them.

"Oh Jesus." Rufus covered his ears. "What the hell is that for?"

The orchestra of high-pitched cries ceased when another sound joined the fray from the jungle.
This one roared a sound riddled with primal aggression in a thunderous boom.
Given the activity in the camp, few aside from Kairo and Rufus would've heard it.

Once the responder from beyond the walls finished its roar, silence came from the critters further in the camp.

Rufus could have sworn that roar sounded familiar.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo had instinctively covered his ears at the sound of the trio. Even from a distance, their calls were loud and deafening. It wasn't until the three had stopped that he cautiously removed his hands from his ears.

What he heard next wasn't much better. He wished he would have kept his ears covered.

He wasn't sure if he'd ever heard a sound like this before, but the best thing he'd be able to compare it too was an angry beast. It sent shivers down his spine. It took everything he had not to instinctively yelp in surprise. He stood there in silence, his senses tuned into the roar coming from outside the walls.

"Uuuh....Probably that." He answered in a nervous tone once the roar had concluded. He pointed at the wall with his thumb to emphasize that it was the sound coming from outside.

"Definitely glad we're behind walls right now." He admitted.

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus dwelled on the sound in his mind.
"That sounded almost like . . ." He shrugged his own ponderings away in favor of the promise of a drink.
"Yeah. First time I've been happy to see barricades." He chuckled.

Stryx was in the distance coordinating construction with the crew captains.

"So what's Chief Stooge like?" He asked Kairo as they approached the mess hall.

 

[Chai_T3a]

"Stryx? He's a good guy." He diverted his gaze to look at Stryx, he wasn't surprised to find him still tirelessly working. Good was probably a bit of an understatement. They definitely lucked out to have him leading the mission. He wasn't entirely sure what would have happened to Rufus if it was anyone else. There was one thing for certain though. The outcome definitely wouldn't have been so favourable.

"It's probably not hard to tell that he cares about his crew a lot." He looked back towards the front as they entered the mess hall.

"You think you and him will get along sometime?" He asked. "Not telling you to drop the nickname though. I like that."

 

[Da Doofus]

"Well I'm not going to move in with the guy, but hell, we may as well get along."
The two entered the now-bustling mess hall, and already faces were staring at the man wearing an aging leather jacket in favor of the Noah jumpsuit. The helmet on his belt was probably another factor.

Rufus paid it no mind, and approached the bar.

 

[Chai_T3a]

"That's the spir----" His words were cut off by the sight of the newly installed bar. If this was some sort of cartoon, his mouth probably would have hit the floor. They really had gone above and beyond. Out of anything that they could have built, there had to be a bar? Then again, there wasn't anything to complain about. Having a place to unwind at the end of a rough day did sound pretty nice. He really did miss a lot in a single day.

"Are we absolutely sure this isn't a five star restaurant?" He mumbled to himself, as he followed Rufus to the bar. Sitting down on a simple stool, he looked around curiously at the selection of liquor and brews on the shelves.

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus tapped on the counter with a knuckle, and a feminine Syndroid stood from behind the counter cleaning a mug.

"What'll it be?" She asked plainly.

"Shot of whiskey." He requested.

The sentient robot turned to retrieve the shot glasses.

"So how've you been?" Rufus asked Kairo as he was admiring the admittedly simple alcohol selection.

 

[Chai_T3a]

The sound of Rufus's voice directed at him broke him out of his thoughts. The question the man asked was tough to answer. He wasn't even entirely sure how he'd felt in the time span since their last meeting. Everything had just been so fast paced that he hadn't been able to think of that.

"It's been alright." He said. "Pretty tiring with everything going on, but it's nice to have some kind of purpose." His eyes caught a bottle on one of the shelves. He wasn't any kind of alcohol expert, so he had no clue what the thing is. But the bottle looked appealing, and that was a good enough for him. Once the syndroid came back, he'd make sure to ask her about it.

"What about you? I imagine that it must have been a hell of an adventure being out here for so long." He turned to look at Rufus

 

[Da Doofus]

"Ehhhh . . ." Rufus shrugged. "It was less life threatening than my last gig." He admitted. "Although I did get some good documentation on the local wildlife."
He patted his helmet.
"I put a camera in it." A smile dominated his expression. "Saw a long-necked turtle thing grazing with a herd of Cerataurs.
He pointed at a recently stiched hole on his pants.
"Also saw what raccoons evolved into."

A filled shotglass arrived, and he downed it.
"Thanks, doll." He nodded to the Syndroid.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo gave the bartender a smile once they locked eyes. He pointed at the bottle on the shelf.
"I'll get...whatever that is. Thank you" He asked politely, then turned back to look at Rufus.
"Helmet cam. Smart idea!" He continued the conversation. "I bet the stuff would make a great documentary."

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus laughed loudly.
"Yeah getting my ass bitten by a giant rodent is going to be an educational monument for the future."
He let his fit of chuckling pass, then fell silent.
"You do know it's going to get ugly, right?" He looked at the colonists in the mess hall. "Sooner or later, the same old bullshit will start festering.
Infighting and all that." He took another shot.
"Why I don't do towns, but hell . . . What choice do I have? My plan's fucked."

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo's drink had arrived, and he again thanked the Syndroid for her service. It remained untouched, at least for now, as the conversation took a much more serious tone. Kairo couldn't help but frown as Rufus brought up the inevitable hardships that were to come.
"Yeah. I understand" He said as he stared into his drink.
"I'd like to think that we'd be beyond that though."
He grabbed the shot glass and took one tentative sip. A burning sensation in his throat as the small amount had gone down his throat. It's taste wasn't all that bad, and he found himself downing the glass.
"Who knows. Maybe we'll be to busy trying not to die to be at each other's throats."

 

[Da Doofus]

"Six in one hand . . ." Rufus said, pouring another shot. "Half dozen in the other."
He downed it and set the glass upside down on the counter.
"Sooner or later, it's gonna slip that a lizard guy got on the ship, and Jameson covered it up.
Won't matter what's going on out there." He pointed in reference to the wilderness.

 

[Chai_T3a]

He didn't really have much of a response to that. He knew Rufus was right. It was inevitable that the piece of information would slip out, it was only a matter of time. He didn't want to think about how people would react to that information. He still remembered how naive he had been back in the training camp speech. How he had wanted someone to mention the Guest. Now, that idea sounded like the dumbest thing he'd ever thought of.

Still, he couldn't stop himself from hoping that the public would be able to handle the information. Maybe, just maybe, society wouldn't destroy itself. He wasn't sure if he actually believed that, or if he was just in denial.

"Guess it just depends on how people will react then." He said, swirling around the newly poured drink in his hand.
"Hopefully not that badly." There was a forced nervous chuckle.

 

[Da Doofus]

"Well that's wishful thinking my friend." He picked up the shotglass once more to clink it with Kairo's in a sarcastic toast.
Once the glass had returned to the counter, he stood.
"Glad to see you out here man. I'm going to find a bunk to crash in."

 

[Chai_T3a]

"Good luck with that." He swivelled around on the chair, giving Rufus a smile.
"The bunks kind of suck. Just warning you." He added on