001 Vertebrae | Audio Only

[not_doing_puns]

Just push this button here and… how do I even…?

[The voice on the line is smooth and deep, putting one in mind of old television announcers, though this is marred by a brief crackle of static as he lets out a startled breath of steam noticing that the phone is indeed working.]

Oookay guys. Thanks for telling me it was prank The Spine hour.

Again…

For

Comments

[likemichael]

video

[Dean has a little grin on his face. As much as he's missing his own brother, he's damn glad Rabbit's brother has shown up for his robot counterpart.]

Hey! The Spine? Rabbit's here. The Jon isn't, but you'll find your big bro around, he'll probably contact you as soon as he hears your message.

[He pauses a second.] You need the "big explanation" or did someone already get to it for ya?

[not_doing_puns]

video

[Hey, guess who figured the video out aaall by himself?

This guy right here. without breaking the phone unlike some creaky copper menaces]

So wait... what you're saying is The Jon has no supervision other than Michael Steve and Sam?

That's... going to go so very well.

[He considers, but well, no one's really told him much of what's going on yet so...] Might as well. Doesn't seem the folk in charge are fond of good explanations.

[likemichael]

[Dean is impressed, definitely. Rabbit mangled his phone the first day...]

Looks like. Here's hoping The Jon doesn't take this chance to do everything you guys ever told him not to do.

[He's sure his own little brother would be doing everything he ever said not to do, if he is alone. Or he's quit hunting, again, and that idea is depressing.] Alright. Well, this is Mandalus. Alien planet, as it happens. We're all brought here from our worlds to help save this one from a giant Serpent that keeps trying to kill everyone. If this world goes poof, every world goes too, so we're kinda screwed if we don't help out.

I figure you'll get the daily run-down from Rabbit, but you've got a couple cards they gave you as well as the phone. One has some cash on it, the other is a key to whatever room they threw you in. You can get on the train, it's free, and they'll take you to the Residential District, where the apartments are.

[not_doing_puns]

[Give The Spine a few more hours. He'll manage it somehow.]

...That sounds exactly like what he'll do. Hope Michael knows to hide the whipped cream and syrup.

[Well an alien planet is not the strangest idea he's heard, not living with the people he has his whole life.]

So what we've all been drafted to fight or something? [That idea does not sit well with him, not one bit.]

[likemichael]

[That earns a little laugh and Dean shakes his head a bit.]

Sounds like The Jon is trouble. [He's sure it's just typical to have a family black sheep.]

Yeah, most of us. Some people are here for other reasons, like medical and technical support. Most of us are fighters.

[not_doing_puns]

He's a good bot... just not always on planet Earth with the rest of us. [He chuckled fondly, shaking his head, though that second subject sobers him up real quick.]

Hm. Just what I didn't want to hear. [Huffs a soft sigh of steam and gives his head a shake.] Well what happens, happens. Not gonna say I'll be gung-ho about it but I'll keep others safe that need it.

[Someone doesn't like fighting. Guess who that might be!]

[likemichael]

Yeah, I hear ya. [He nods a bit.]

That's all that anyone can really do. Things get pretty nasty when they throw down and I figure we just try to keep as many of us alive as we can, until they come up with a strategy that'll work.

[not_doing_puns]

Better than doing nothing. [And this just makes him concerned for Rabbit all over again.]

What sort of nasty are we usually talking?

[likemichael]

Damn straight.

[He sighs faintly.] First time it happened, an army invaded. Barriers went up between districts, and a lot of folks died. It got crazy. It was pretty much martial law, only without the badass car chases or gang tattoos. [He shrugs a bit.] This time, one of the head honchos got herself eaten by the big bad and monsters got let loose all over the place. Things only really started cooling off yesterday.

[not_doing_puns]

[Well that doesn't sound good at all. And the idea of monsters is not the strangest he's ever heard. So he's just gonna focus on the practical stuff.]

Sounds like they've been keeping you on your toes. Anyone been figuring out how to keep it from happening again? Contingency plans?

[likemichael]

We've had a lot happen since August, so we're mostly trying to stagger back onto our feet. The end of August and the beginning of September was when the army hit us, and things have been shaky since. I figure right now, we need to start coming up with that contingency plan, before the next strike.

[not_doing_puns]

Yeah, that'll definitely leave you reeling.

[He frowns, thoughtful.]

How were things barricaded? I imagine it wasn't just physical, given it's pretty much impossible to throw up a complete physical barricade in a city. Too many buildings and sewers and such to slip through. Best contingency plan I can think of just with what you've told me is having some sort of way of keeping up communication, picking a group of people that in an emergency are good at thinking on their feet to keep everyone else up to speed.

[likemichael]

Forcefields. We have no idea how they work, and only one of them was damaged by a guy who got himself killed doing it. It wasn't until after the fact that things even cooled off and the barriers came down.

[He shrugs slightly.] It ain't a bad plan. You should get it out there. I'm just a fighter, I'll deal with any conflicts but running things this big is way above my pay grade.

[not_doing_puns]

I'll have to take a look around, see if the equipment is even there, not to mention safe ways to run the signal. [Someone is in brainstorm mode now. Hey don't judge, it's helping without risking killing people. He's all for that.]

[likemichael]

[Dean chuckles a bit. If he's helped get someone onside with the cause, then great.] Awesome. You should look into that. If you need a hand at all, the name's Dean.

[not_doing_puns]

Good to meet you, Dean. I'll keep that in mind.