Buildin&#x27; the Final Frontier

#art #art of ben #MERLE #docteurfail #accurate

[One day, Ben will find out how that goddamn robot works. He's nothing if not resourceful. XD

Thank you so much! They look fabulous! <3 <3 <3]

#dell #family #facts about ben #yes good

((Dell and Ben are cousins now.

This is a thing that was decided.))

((So before I remembered that the age gap between Dell and Ben is only about a year, I entertained myself thinking about toddler Dell toting baby Ben around with him. Like, when the Clarks bring their baby over to the Conagher house for the first time, Dell doesn’t entirely understand and thinks they’re dropping off a brother for him. So when they’re introduced, little Dell hoists Ben up from under the armpits, says “Fank you,” and just walks away with him.

He is most put out when they later take his new baby away from him.))

[I will accept this headcanon, yes.]

#facts about ben #dell

New Year's at the Observatory: Setting Up

coldbloodedred-blog

"Oh! Hardly…" Queenie laughed out a cloudy breath, then glanced skeptically down at the Engineer. "Oh, don’t look at me like that, sweetheart, you’re enough of a social butterfly for all of us! I’m coming for the people-watching. And the drinks, of course." She shrugged lightly, ducking down into her scarf. "Besides, you always yell at me for trying to scare them…it’s only good fun."

It wasn’t entirely true, of course. There was one conversational goal she’d established for the evening, but she wasn’t quite ready to jinx it yet.

"I wonder if either of those little girls will be here. Seems like they both got quite a scare the other week. I suppose I can try to be gentle — oh MERLE, that’s wonderful! Ben, look how fast he’s finished! Gosh, if we could only get him to dig us a pool.”

She shifted a little closer back to the tree trunk. “Oh, Ben, imagine — if we were anywhere else. Champagne. Lights. Crowds! We could find ourselves a pair of Ivy-Leaguers and be completely indiscreet…” The Spy trailed off with a sigh, plucking a pinecone from overhead and tossing it off into the brush.

#cove rp #new years party #observatory #queenie

"I ain't ever met a decent-lookin' Ivy-Leaguer that looked at me twice, s' I don't know how lucky I'd be there. But it sure would be nice t' be somewhere big an' flashy with dancin' an' all. Maybe when all this is over, I'll give up th' inventin' business an' make th' best damn nightclub th' world's ever seen." Ben laughed, only partially joking. Owning a nightclub wasn't exactly something he'd never thought about before. In fact, he'd been thinking about it even when he was still working at NASA, and it was an option he'd been heavily considering prior to being contacted by RED.

Pushing away from the tree, the Engineer went over to inspect his counterpart's work. "Yeah, ya know, it might not be a bad idea t' do a li'l landscapin' with him around th' base. I love projects. Ya want a big rock to sunbathe on, Miss Queenie? Heh. Nice goin', MERLE. Stand-by mode."

MERLE complied and went into the ordered mode, and Ben looked around trying to decide what else they needed to do to get set up. "I figure most a' both teams'll show. JT said 'no way'...until I told him th' BLU Spy was bringin' food. He couldn't say 'yes' fast enough then. What d'ya think? Anything else we need that I might be forgettin'?"

New Year's at the Observatory: Setting Up

coldbloodedred-blog

Queenie uncrossed her knees and crossed them again, perched on a low-leaning tree limb. “Why don’t you have the robot do it…” She took another cigarette out of her case, waving it at the general expanse of the clearing where Ben stood. “Or just…blow it out of the ground or something.” She opened her lighter with a sharp click. ”You must have some kind of shortcut. We’ll likely freeze without one.”

She admired the Engineer’s dedication toward sportsmanship. If she’d had her druthers (and the bases had been as close by as they once were) Queenie would probably spend more time with the BLU team as well, if not in a somewhat more antagonistic fashion. Their Engineer was just so entertainingly jumpy when he suspected her presence. “Who’s catering this thing?”

#cove RP #new years party #observatory #queenie

"BLU, though I don't know how many a' them're goin' t' show. Th' Spy an' Dell will for sure, since they were th' ones who offered t' bring food, an' I took 'em up on it. I ain't s' good at makin' appetizers an' little food an' whatnot like them, an' I didn't want t' try botherin' Leo with it. He's got enough on his plate as it is. MERLE!" Ben called over his shoulder at the currently inactive robot Engineer. When it had come to manual labor, the robot was surprisingly useful and took instruction well, which Ben had only discovered after he'd been blown to bits numerous times trying to get into its inner workings. Pointing to a spot on the ground, he instructed: "Clear a hole here, about a foot deep an' four feet in diameter. Flat, ya understand?"

The robot grinded and chugged for a few moments as it processed the commands and then confirmed acceptance, waiting for Ben to move before beginning its work. Sidling over to Queenie, the human Engineer leaned against the tree near her. "So, Miss Queenie! Ya lookin' forward t' socializin' with anyone in particular tonight?"

New Year's at the Observatory: Setting Up

Neither RED nor BLU had been back to the bunker since the falling incident upon mutual agreement: they'd wait until the respawn zone had accurately been expanded to encompass the area. The Engineers from both teams had agreed to wait until after the holidays to begin that work.

When Ben wasn't busy taking care of interpersonal relationships between his not-so-compatible teammates, he was trudging out to the observatory to put on the finishing touches. A real party had been long overdue, and given the state of morale around these parts, he'd bet his life that everybody could use a party. Hell, everyone could use a party all the time. That was just one of life's givens, as far as the Engineer was concerned.

Once he'd finished, Ben sent a message through the line they'd specifically designated for bunker communications between teams and invited the BLU team to a New Year's party at the newly completed observatory. There was plenty of bad blood between most of each team, but he hoped that at least a few folks would be willing to mingle under the promise of free-flowing booze and good company.

And that was why--despite acknowledging how hostile the feelings were for BLU and RED--Ben chose to spend his day setting up for the party, confident that at least a few folks would show closer to midnight. He had already strung up spare holidays lights and hooked them up to a generator (not yet turned on) as well as set up empty crates as tables for food and beverages around the clearing surrounding the observatory tower. At the end of the clearing furthest from the tower itself, Ben stood with his brow furrowed slightly as he stared at the ground and turned around in a little circle. "Wonder if I have enough time t' dig a li'l fire pit..."

#cove rp #open RP #new years party #observatory

What Happened After - RED Infirmary

[...]

“Sedated.” Jonah didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Of course.” He turned his head into Ben’s shoulder, closing his eyes with a soft, despairing sigh. “What the fuck am I going to do?”

#cove rp #retroactive #bunker aftermath #jonah

“Beat your brother soundly about th’ head an’ shoulders?” Ben rubbed at Jonah’s scalp a bit more, trying to soothe his friend. It was a tough situation with him being so close to his brother and his brother hating his lover so much. Leo wasn’t the culprit of the animosity, however; it was all JT.

“JT’s just goin’ t’ have t’ learn t’ accept Leo like th’ rest of us. Even Marcus considers him a RED now. I mean, it’s been a goddamn year, ya know? He just...has t’ stop thinkin’ that Leo’s goin’ t’...turn us all over t’ BLU an’ ruin everybody’s lives. Have ya talked t’ him about it? An’ I mean really sat him down an’ made him listen. I don’t think he’d listen t’ anybody but you. An’ maybe Pips, but Pips ain’t exactly th’ confrontational type if ya know what I mean.”

“I’ve tried...god knows, I’ve tried. He thinks I’m brainwashed. You gotta understand, JT...he’s never had anybody but me. Everybody else -- just...went wrong.” It was no use trying to explain. Jonah wasn’t even sure he understood all of his brother’s coping mechanisms, himself. “I don’t mind apologizing for him. I don’t mind defending him, either, I just wish Leo…”

If any one person were to catalyze JT’s crazy, why did it have to be Leo?

“Well, JT is a handful, I’ll give ya that.” They’d never really talked about this, how JT’s behavior affected Jonah. Just what kind of life had they had that would lead the younger Rogers brother to be so off-kilter? As far as Spies went, JT was competent, did his job well even, but Ben had never seen a Spy so...oddly unhinged. He wasn’t evil or even flat-out insane; he just had a very skewed sense of reality. And it sounded like being part of RED wasn’t even the thing that really pushed him to become like that. It had to have just built up over the years. How long had Jonah carried this burden? Their whole lives? That was no way to live, and if he wanted to share some of that with Ben, then the Engineer would be more than happy to be a sounding board for his best friend like Jonah had been for him after he’d lost yet another boyfriend.

“Ya know, Jonah, maybe Marcus could help. He’s got...medicine an’ whatnot here. Maybe he could prescribe somethin’ t’ balance him out, make JT a li’l more reasonable. Or hell, maybe he just needs t’ see Leo be a hero for RED. I mean, he knows how much Leo means t’ ya, right? Ain’t it just th’ BLU thing?”

What Happened After - RED Infirmary

[...]

Jonah nodded mutely, the Engineer’s words having set in motion the creeping realization of how close his brush with death had actually been. “I know,” he murmured, a little roughly. “I know you did your best…” He grasped for words a moment before swallowing hard. “Ben, can you…could you just put that fucking pot down a second? I just…I need…” He gestured vaguely, anxiously, struggling to remain composed.

#cove rp #retroactive #bunker aftermath #jonah

“Oh… Oh, yeah…” Carefully, Ben set down the pot on a little bedside table of sorts then stood up from his chair. It was awkward, given that Jonah’s bad side was still healing--not terribly damaged like it was down in the bunker, but Marcus has just said to be cautious with it, and it’d be fine in a few days--but the Engineer still managed to hug him warmly, one hand softly rubbing soothing circles on his healing side.

“I’m real glad you’re all right, Jonah. I don’t think ya realize just how important ya are t’ everybody on this team. We’re family.”

Jonah wasn't used to truly fearing for his life -- not since he'd left the jungle. Ben's confident hand on his side was a comforting reassurance, confirmation that he wasn't as damaged as he'd feared. He managed to worm his good arm around Ben's side, leaning into the smaller man with a shaky breath. "Family," he echoed with a faint laugh, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the Engineer's shoulder. "Thank god for you, Ben. You got me out of there. You, and Dell and his Spy. You got me back safe."

“You’re welcome, partner.” One of Ben’s hands moved up to scrub through Jonah’s hair, massaging his scalp a little. “T’ be honest, it was a group effort. That li’l boy Scout a’ theirs made that rope chair t’ bring up th’ girls, but we wouldn’t’ve been able to do that without Leo’s muscles. I already thanked th’ lord for those muscles just t’ look at, but he’s damn near strong as a Heavy.”

Ben slowly petted Jonah’s head, bits and pieces of the incident flashing through his mind. The panicked shouting. Trying to make something happen without any way of testing it. Being so unsure of everything they were doing just to try and save Jonah’s life. The entire thing was harrowing, and he hoped he’d never have to go through something like that again.

“I don’t know if we could’ve even done all that without th’ Spy. Dell told me he’s kind a’ their leader, an’ I can see why. He may have a big ol’ stick up his ass--an’ man, I’d like t’ see that, I tell you what--but he can make a decision. I don’t think I could’ve done that. Not with everybody around me panickin’ an’ such. Bein’ a leader’s hard. I ain’t cut out for that. Leo would’ve done good, but… You were down there, an’... He couldn’t make any decisions, I’m just goin’ t’ be honest here. I ain’t never seen him like that.”

What Happened After - RED Infirmary

[...]

“If I look like I feel…I don’t want to know how bad I looked before…” Jonah swallowed, then cleared his throat, then blinked up at the ceiling for a moment in an effort to clear his head. “I feel a little bit like crap, to be honest.” His shoulder was still immobilized, arm in a sling against his body, and it made him feel off-center with an overwhelming need to crack his spine. He’d never been a comfortable back sleeper. “I’m trying to remember what happened…there are holes, though. The girls. Did the girls wind up okay?”

#cove rp #retroactive #jonah #bunker aftermath

“Th’ girls…? Oh! Oh, yeah, yeah. Both them BLU girls walked out on their own two feet, s’ they’re prob’ly all right. Ain’t heard nothin’ about them since.” Setting down his spoon briefly, Ben reached over and patted the Sniper gently on his good side. Jonah wasn’t exactly strapped down to the table, but he may as well have been, for all intents and purposes: he wasn’t allowed to move much, given his state of injury.

“T’ th’ best a’ m’ knowledge, everybody’s all right. Ain’t neither a’ them s’ badly fucked up as you. That li’l Pyro had a pretty good bump on th’ head, talkin’ nonsense, but just loopy, mostly.” The Engineer took another noisy mouthful of soup. “She was real worried about ya. I was thinkin’ about lettin’ ‘em know you were all right after ya got released from here. Marcus was thinkin’ tomorrow maybe, if you were feelin’ well enough. Might need some earplugs t’ cover up th’ fightin’ between JT an’ Leo, though.”

“God…” Jonah sank back into his pillow. “I just...I don’t understand why--” He broke off, shutting his mouth with a frustrated huff, disappointment heavy in his throat. “I wish they could just put it away for once. For fucking once, Ben -- Christ, if I ever wind up in a coma they’ll murder each other.”

JT and Leo’s squabbling had become an everyday frustration, but some days it was acutely painful. Knowing that even after a fresh start away from home, away from the war, he still couldn’t have a peacefully-coexisting family -- it was difficult to accept. “You’re the only sane person I know right now -- wh...what are you eating?”

“Chicken noodle soup. I made a big ol’ pot of it earlier while we were waitin’ t’ hear about ya. Marcus locked everybody out a’ here. Pips got JT t’ go back t’ his room an’ kept him there. Leo slept in th’ common room. This pot I got here--” Ben lifted it up and tilted it just enough for Jonah to be able to see into it, “--is some I warmed up by itself. Ya want a bite? Marcus didn’t say nothin’ ‘bout you not bein’ able t’ eat.”

#accurate #facts about ben #submission

What Lies Beneath [complete]

[Here’s the full version of this RP scene from beginning to finish, in case you’re trying to read it all. :) ]

((The full version of what Dell’s been doing. Too fantastic.))

#cove rp #bunker #full scene #geoff #shannon #hotaru #dell #philippe #leo #jonah #MERLE #marcus

What Lies Beneath

[...]

"In a minute, darlin’." Taking the girl’s face in his hands, he gently tilted it up to look at him, lowering his voice so only she and Philippe could hear. "How’s Jonah?"

Hotaru answered with wide eyes and a thick whisper. “You have to fix it…”

"We will, sugarbug. It’s gonna be alright." Letting her lean on him, he looked back to Philippe. "Ben’s got his PDA, an’ I’ve got extra metal. Someone’s gotta get down there an’ set it up."

theitaliansoldier-blog

As the Soldier secured the boatswain’s chair, a small frown etched itself across his face. Why was everyone acting like this was over? Jonah was still down there.

Then Philippe glanced over at him for a brief moment, and the look in his eyes was so full of pity that Leo’s entire world came to a screeching halt. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. He was sure even his heart stopped beating. Why the fuck would anyone be looking at him with pity?

And just as suddenly, Leo gasped for air. He knew things weren’t right when Shannon was the one doing all the talking. It definitely wasn’t just a broken leg and a broken rib. Fuck! How much worse was it? The Soldier moved quickly to grab Shannon’s shoulder to stop Geoff from taking her away yet. “What’s wrong with Jonah? How bad is it? Is it really that fucking bad? Tell me!”

The Scout’s eyes grew big and teary, but she said nothing, bottom lip quivering before she opted to bury her face in Geoff’s chest.

His eyes met with Philippe’s again, and time seemed to slow down as he turned to reach for the rope seat and release it so he could go down and get his lover. Hands grabbed at him, pulling on his arms, his shirt, his torso, hauling him back from the edge of the pit. “NO! You let me go! I have to get to him! Get your fucking hands off me!”

"Leo! Stop!" Philippe had one of Leo’s arms in a death grip. "We will bring ‘im back! We just cannot retrieve ‘im ze same way as ze ladies…"

"Fuck you! I’ll get him myself!"

"We aren’t strong enough to get you down zere! We need you up 'ere!” Still struggling to hold onto Leo, the Spy looked back at Geoff and barked out: “Get ze girls back to ze base! NOW!”

"You can’t do this to me! Fucking let go!"

Ben put his back into pushing Leo away from the edge as Philippe tried to talk sense into the Soldier. His heart pounded a mile a minute in his chest, adrenaline kicking in again.

He and Dell had worked so hard to try to amplify the respawn signal, and his own meter indicated it reached the bunker, but then it began flickering, and they just couldn't be sure. The chances were good that it had worked, just... It wasn't absolute. They weren't completely positive it would work down there. If they had more time, maybe. Maybe. But Jonah didn't have all the time in the world, and they'd had to work fast.

"I don't want t' lose Jonah either! But we have t' use th' teleporter!" The words practically burst from his throat, strained and uneven. "It's th' only way! An' you're too goddamn heavy for us to lower! Get your shit t'gether!"

The Soldier lurched forward but ultimately stopped struggling, slumping down until his face rested for a long moment on Ben's shoulder. Voice softening, the Engineer held him up now more than held him back. "Leo... We're goin' t' have t' send down th' Spy. We'll send him with m' PDA an' th' metal. He can...take care a' Jonah, I promise..."

#cove rp #bunker #geoff #shannon #hotaru #dell #philippe #leo #jonah #MERLE

What Lies Beneath

[...]

Philippe nodded in acknowledgement. “We can boz use zis. Monsieur Chandler! Over ‘ere, s’il vous plait. Open zese crates wiz ze Engineer and see if zere is more of use.”

A test. It had to be a test. That, or the Spy was still peeved about both Scouts tag-teaming him in the argument against any sort of truce with the opposing team and this was his idea of punishment. Geoff wrenched the lid from the crate he’d been working on with perhaps a little more force than was necessary, then lifted out a gallon bottle of what appeared to be medical-grade disinfectant. He held it aloft for the others to see. “Cleaning supplies. This stuff got a shelf life?”

Before either could respond, a low rumble shook the room. A second followed it, bringing a light sifting of dust from the ceiling. “…the heck?”

Underground, it was difficult to determine the direction of the sound. The Scout tilted his head, listening for any further disturbance, but all was quiet again. Philippe and the RED Engineer looked equally puzzled.

"Oh, shit.” Geoff’s eyes widened as a thought struck him. Dell was upstairs with that robot RED had scored from the company upon their transfer here. More than one of the BLUs had seen the thing go off like a bomb on the field, fail-safes engaging as soon as anyone got close enough to incapacitate it, and they all knew their own Engineer had been wildly curious about what made it tick.

"You don’t suppose Dell…?"

"Surely, 'e would not..." But Philippe knew how curious Dell was, and the BLU Engineer had been left alone with the robotic RED for quite a while now. He released the walkie-talkie from his belt, eyes still on the ceiling.

"Goddammit, I told him not t' mess with that ol' rustbucket! An' I oughta know. I've tried it enough times an' been sent t' respawn more often than I'd care t' admit. Goddamn robot. Ya'd think Dell'd know better..." Ben yanked the walkie-talkie out of Philippe's hand then pressed the call button. "Dell! You got your ears on? Y'all all right up there? We heard an' felt somethin' down here, an' I swear t' god if you've gone an' gotten yourself an' that robot blown up, I will tan your hide!"

#cove rp #bunker #geoff #shannon #hotaru #dell #philippe #leo #jonah #MERLE

Something about the Engineer’s words seemed to ring true, despite the lingering sense that his presence out here just after their discovery of the bunker was far too convenient. Geoff frowned in the direction Ben had indicated. There was nothing to be seen from this distance, and the Scout was tempted to call his bluff and go check. Then again, he’d mentioned perimeter alarms, and although he’d declared them non-lethal that still left a lot of possibilities open. The man was a RED after all.

Even if he was leveling with them, though, he was far too close to their recent discovery for comfort. It sounded as if he was just as unaware of what was up there as they had been, and while they could hardly prevent him from investigating on his own, Geoff wasn’t inclined to help him out on that front. At least it was getting dark.

"Hiking." He exchanged another glance with Shannon and shook his head. "Not building a thing."

"Th—" Shannon blinked, glanced at the Engineer, glanced back at Geoff, then back at Ben once more. "—a-at’s right! Not a thing! And that noise was swamp gas…" She trailed off with a grimace and a slow shrug. Not the best improv she’d managed to pull off, but at least it wasn’t remotely close to ‘creepy abandoned building in the woods’.

"Anyway, you probably shouldn’t go any further north. There’s nothing there."

A long pause. A squirrel barked.

"…we should go."

"...Li'l lady, there ain't a swamp within a hundred miles a' this place." Ben just stared at the female Scout, eyes slowly narrowing. Sure, they spooked easily, but he'd be a monkey's uncle if he couldn't tell they were hiding something. Spies were good actors; Scouts...not so much.

However, no one had ever said Ben wasn't a fair guy in all of the Engineer's life. He'd let them go and head back to the observatory for his gear...and then do a little snooping around tomorrow. Because he'd bet sex for the rest of his life that those two little BLUs were up to something...or had found something.

"But yeah, I don't think there's any reason y'all should stick around. 'Specially not after dark. That sun goes down quicker'n ya think. Y'all just head straight towards it, an' you'll end up on BLU's side a' th' battlefield. G' on, now..."

#cove rp #shannon #geoff

[...]

Nodding agreement with Shannon’s outburst, he glanced around their immediate area, assessing the terrain for options if this suddenly got ugly. The Engineer was empty-handed, but his jacket could be concealing a firearm. Shannon’s announcement that she was carrying came as a relief; he kicked himself mentally for not having done the same.

"How ‘bout you mind your business and we’ll mind ours," he said, his tone neither harsh nor particularly friendly.

"Oh, for cryin’ out loud… I asked first, ya li’l shit. Ya ought t’ be answerin’ me.” Ben rolled his eyes and shook his head. The only thing more paranoid and full of piss and vinegar than a Scout was a really shitfaced Demo or a Soldier. Most any Soldier. In any state. He grumbled under his breath. “Leo said y’all were nice. Dell’s nice. Even that li’l ol’ hotpants Spy a’ his ain’t rude… But y’all got t’ go an’ threaten me straight off th’ bat. How d’ya like that…”

Shoulders dropping with a weary sigh, the Engineer focused his attention between the two of them, not wanting to give either one the majority. “I’m afraid I can’t just let y’all go about your business, son. D’y’all know where we are? We’re ‘bout a hundred yards off th’ edge a’ th’ respawn zone by m’ estimate, give or take a few yards, an’ since I’m typically th’ only one out here, I got a right t’ know when I ain’t alone. I’m workin’ on a private project back thataways, an’ I got non-lethal perimeter alarms for safety, but I didn’t need those t’ hear th’ ruckus y’all were makin’. Now… You tell me what th’ hell y’all’re doin’ out here makin’ enough noise t’ wake th’ dead…”

"We have a right to be out here, same as you!" It stung a little to hear the Engineer use Leo’s name, and Shannon wasn’t sure what to make of her former teammate’s endorsement being acknowledged. "A-and we are nice! BLUs are nice! We build things, you know…that’s positive!”

But the mention of a private project had pinged her radar, and she shifted a glance up at Geoff. Engineers messing around outside base territory was the same shade of suspicious as an inexplicable bunker up in the woods. And there had been no tracks, after all…maybe building materials for the bunker had been teleported in by RED?

"So what’s this private project? How much stuff are you building out here anyway?"

"Not that it's really any a' your business, but it's private in that it ain't for th' company. I've been wantin' t' build an observatory for ages now, an' that's what I'm buildin'." The RED hooked a thumb back in the direction from which he came. "Far enough away from th' battlefield not t' get hit accidentally, but still well inside th' respawn zone. Ain't a big buildin', more like a tower than anything. Don't see how that'd make any difference t' y'all, though."

Ben honestly wasn't too high on having to explain himself to a couple of BLU Scouts, and his patience wore thin. "Look here. I just want folks t' be able t' look at th' stars. I was goin' t' offer BLU a chance t' use it, too. Neutral territory an' all. 'Course now y'all are makin' me reconsider that generosity. An' ya still ain't answered m' goddamn question. What're y'all doin' out here, an' what th' hell was all that noise you were makin'? Don't tell me y'all are buildin' somethin' out here, too..."

#cove rp #shannon #geoff

"You first!" Shannon shot back, pushing into Geoff’s side, not sure if she wanted to hide behind him or get between him and a potentially dangerous adversary.

Of course, it was one of RED’s less-threatening members. And an Engineer was far less of a threat without his machines. Especially against a pair of Scouts as tall or taller than himself.

"What’s a RED doing by himself out in the woods? You got a Spy hiding around here somewhere? Don’t you even think I’m not armed — no funny business!"

Ben, Geoff remembered reluctantly, that’s his name. He’d seemed pleasant enough, both during the Scout’s unwilling stint as a RED himself, and while BLU had been RED’s unhappy guests following the destruction of the BLU base at 5Gorge. But since it was part of Geoff’s weekly job description to fill the man with shot or cave his skull in with a baseball bat every chance he got, and since Ben’s same warm attitude also extended to a number of REDs the Scout would willingly do the same to on OR off the clock, it was far easier to think of him as a threat.

"How ‘bout you mind your business and we’ll mind ours," he said, his tone neither harsh nor particularly friendly.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud... I asked first, ya li'l shit. Ya ought t' be answerin' me." Ben rolled his eyes and shook his head. The only thing more paranoid and full of piss and vinegar than a Scout was a really shitfaced Demo or a Soldier. Most any Soldier. In any state. He grumbled under his breath. "Leo said y'all were nice. Dell's nice. Even that li'l ol' hotpants Spy a' his ain't rude... But y'all got t' go an' threaten me straight off th' bat. How d'ya like that..."

Shoulders dropping with a weary sigh, the Engineer focused his attention between the two of them, not wanting to give either one the majority. "I'm afraid I can't just let y'all go about your business, son. D'y'all know where we are? We're 'bout a hundred yards off th' edge a' th' respawn zone by m' estimate, give or take a few yards, an' since I'm typically th' only one out here, I got a right t' know when I ain't alone. I'm workin' on a private project back thataways, an' I got non-lethal perimeter alarms for safety, but I didn't need those t' hear th' ruckus y'all were makin'. Now... You tell me what th' hell y'all're doin' out here makin' enough noise t' wake th' dead..."

#cove rp #shannon #geoff

Shannon absently handed the cookie bag over, taking the soda and twisting it open with a thoughtful expression. “Well, we came pretty far south…and the battlefield respawn goes for about a half mile, so maybe we’re over there by now?”

She was momentarily stalled by a mouthful of foam from the over-agitated bottle, and paused to wipe her chin with the back of her hand. “I don’t know why they don’t mark the boundaries better…especially around here, with a big old pie-slice of tough luck in between the zones.” Of course, who really knew whose territory they were on now that they’d discovered the bunker.

A squirrel scrambled up a tree. Otherwise, the woods were quiet.

"Maybe we shouldn’t tell everyone right away…I mean, maybe Philippe has some intel on what this place used to be, and we missed the memo?"

"Mm… maybe." Geoff noticed the foam and twisted his own soda open slowly, listening to the hiss as he considered the idea. "Maybe we weren’t even supposed to get the memo. But then, they never told us not to come out here.”

Although, he thought with a wry smile, doing so would have just about guaranteed they did, and Philippe would surely have known that as well.

"I don’t know, though — you know Dell and Lola would have been all over it, even with just the little we saw. Maybe even Lenny. Underground bunker, already powered, safe distance from the base? They could do all SORTS of stuff with that."

He took a long swig and stepped forward, offering a hand to Shannon as they walked. The leaf litter crunched pleasantly under their boots, and the remaining sunlight slanting through the trees laid a lovely golden glow over everything, but the Scout’s mind was still on the bunker. ”We’re going to have to tell somebody if we want to see what’s past that door — Dell’ll notice if so much as a screwdriver goes missing, and I imagine Lola’s the same way. And if we try to just borrow ‘em they’d want to know why.”

Preoccupied as he was, it took him far longer than it should have to notice the motion off to their left. A figure, moving on an intercept course with their own. Geoff halted, suddenly battle-alert again, giving Shannon’s hand a warning squeeze when she began to speak. He pointed by way of explanation.

Whoever their fellow traveler was, he was making no effort to be furtive. Now that they had fallen silent they could hear him whistling as he walked, and he rustled through the fallen leaves with no apparent concern. Nothing about him seemed to suggest any threat.

But as he stepped out of the underbrush and into the last of the light, they could see that the work shirt beneath his heavy jacket was plainly RED.