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Chapter 15: Down Time
Dingo made her way into the cafeteria as she flipped a light switch lighting up the room, Tom followed behind her. Dingo hopped the counter to the canteen as she rummaged through the cabinets looking for something, Tom found a place to sit nearby. Looking around the cafeteria with more light made it very obvious this room was used for just about everything, washers, dryers, several sinks, a fridge and freezer. It had almost everything a household would have, it just didn't have beds or a bathroom. Soon a few others trickled in, finding places to sit while they either talked or waited on Dingo to do whatever she was doing. Tom looked over to see what she was doing. She had grinded up coffee beans and was now making coffee with them, this is probably what Morgan meant when he said "Don't touch Dingos stuff."
"Very fancy stuff you got here, gonna share?" Tom asked.
"I mean, I guess I can but I usually don't do that, so if you mention it to anyone I will gut you and splay your carcass like a trophy. Got it?" Dingo replied back as she gave him a stare filled with so much honesty before giving a soft smile as she finished talking. Tom nodded, taking her seriously as he silenced himself and let her finish making the coffee. Dingo then handed him a cup before going to sit down at a table with her own, Tom followed with as he sat across from her.
"I have a question," Tom said as he looked over to Dingo, she didn't let her coffee sit too cool, already taking sips unbothered by the heat.
"Ask away." Dingo replied back.
"What mission are you guys going on since you seemed concerned about it last night?" Tom asked.
"Oh it's that supply run, we have a few guys who live in a nearby town and we usually change them out every once in a while. They are mostly to bring us basic supplies, food, water, cleaning products etc. However every once in a while they give us ammo and info." Dingo replied back as she listed the things. Tom thought for a moment before he nodded.
"So who all are you taking with you?" Tom asked for his next question.
"Probably just a few of us, your buddy uh Kokobiel I think, I want him to come with, he seems like he can lift the heavier things and of course Morgan is coming he knows the meet up point." Dingo replied back as she sipped her coffee.
"If Morgan is a general of this resistance, who is the top dog?" Tom asked as his final question.
"They aren't here, they are at our main base but that's almost on the other side of the ring. I haven't actually ever met him but he sends in orders every few weeks." Dingo finished as she set her coffee down and looked over at him trying to get a sense of what he's getting at. It wasn't clear what he was getting at, he didn't even know what he was getting at, he was simply curious about what they did and how they worked.
"I just wanted to ask that is all and I guess I'm going to be stuck here while you guys go on that trip?" Tom said as he finally sipped on his coffee, it was bitter but it wasn't the worst.
"Yes, I have the trusted few I want and Kokobiel is simply muscle for lugging stuff around. I'm sure there's plenty others around to keep you accompanied," Dingo said as she finished her coffee and began to get up.
"Understandable, when will you guys return?" Tom asked as he watched her stand.
"Maybe half a day could take longer depending on what we run into on the way there, but I wouldn't worry about us buddy," Dingo said as she patted his head and went to the back kitchen. Tom sat as he sipped the coffee, what would he do in those few days, he thought they would at least take him with them. He knew just about no one here but maybe he could just help around or relax, he hadn't done that recently and it could probably be good for him. He looked back towards where Dingo had gone to, she had already disappeared out of the canteen, she was quiet and fast, it was quite impressive. Soon people began to leave the canteen as some came in, Tom got up as a makeshift PA system crackled to life.
"All squads and personnel report to the meeting room." A voice said over the intercoms before it turned off with a crackle. There goes his morning and probably everyone else's, he heard groans and sighs as some people turned around and others got up from their tables. Tom followed behind a group of them as they entered a large room, some tables spread out, boxes laying around, a few work benches, a makeshift jail cell, a small podium, spare tires and a pool table in the corner. People shuffled in as they found anywhere they could sit, a few people chose to stand, there were roughly 30-35 people in total in this room. Tom sat on one of the nearby boxes as he looked towards the podium, no one was currently there, maybe they were waiting on everyone else to settle.
"What do you think this is about?" Kokobiel asked Tom, he had suddenly appeared behind him spooking Tom.
"Fucking hell dude, give me some warning!" Tom barked at Kokobiel who gave a smirk. Tom sighed as he relaxed back rubbing his temples in annoyance.
"Maybe if you actually paid attention to your surroundings you would have noticed me," Kokobiel said as he sat down next to Tom before leaning over his shoulder to see the podium. Tom knew Kokobiel didn't care if he was in his personal space though he was okay with this and if he had to he could just jab him in the side. Soon Duncan walked up to the podium with a few papers as he straightened them out before setting them on the podium. There was much better lighting in this room and easier to tell what Duncan looked like, he seemed to be on the older side and was a deep maroon with patches of gray. Duncan cleared his throat before speaking.
"Today is supply day, we all know how that goes, so on today's list of goes is Dingo, Morgan, Rykard, Kokobiel, Sam, and Carly. Please report to the motorpool. There will also be a small scouting party to the sampi region, volunteers are welcome. Everyone else who can work will be helping unpack boxes and help with record keeping. Please report up here if you wish to be a part of the scouting party." Duncan said as he set down the papers on the podium. Several people started murmuring to each other as people ushered around.
Tom thought for a moment, a scouting party to Sampi, why would they go there, it's mostly snow, rocks, and ice but maybe they were looking for something. Though he didn't wish to go back there, the years may have passed but it hurt to think about home his last thought was returning to it.
"Didn't you grow up in Sampi?" Kokobiel asked as he stood up.
"Yes I did, but it's not exactly the place I would like to be." Tom said.
"Oh c'mon it can't be that bad, I'm sure getting the cold would be good for you, especially since you complain about the heat so much." Kokobiel replied back as he looked around the room trying to spot someone he could follow to the motorpool.
"I don't complain that much, plus I would like to relax, we travel too much to begin with also how the hell do they have a motorpool in this cave, no vehicle could fit through that entrance!?" Tom said as he stood up to follow Kokobiel.
"I don't know dude but maybe it could be fun, see old friends possibly." Kokobiel said back as he spotted Morgan before he started dragging Tom over towards him.
"Morgan, dude, convince your brother to go to Sampi on that scouting party," Kokobiel called out as he slung Tom over to him. Morgan sighed as he pinched the inbetween of his eyes.
"I wouldn't want to go either but I do believe that you should go with them. Maybe you could see Scarlet, I'm sure she misses you even if she gets upset at you." Morgan said. Scarlet was Tom and Morgans cousin, though she was more like a sister. Her parents had died when she was fairly young and the closest living relatives were Tom and Morgan's parents so she lived with them, she was only younger than Tom by a season making her the youngest of the three.
He hadn't seen her since he left, seven years, she probably had changed so much.
"Fine, I'll go but you owe me now," Tom said as he looked up to Kokobiel with annoyance.
"I'll make sure to get you something nice while I'm at that supply run," Kokobiel replied back as he gave a cocky smirk. Tom rolled his eyes as he went over to the podium, a few people were already there as they talked amongst themselves. He joined them as he went up to Duncan.
"Scouting party? Or trying more banter that leads nowhere?" Duncan asked.
"Scouting party, talking to you is like talking to a brick." Tom replied back in a flat tone.
"Hmph alright, join the rest while I gather your assignment," Duncan said as he flipped through the papers. Tom turned around as he joined the group, there were four of them each a different color, one red, one a magenta, one orange, and one of an oak brown. Two talking to each other as the other two listened while adding a small comment here and there.
"I just don't think beef jerky is that good to take on missions," the red one said as he gestured with his hands, the magenta one he was speaking to didn't seem amused by him.
"Well it's better than those flavorless crackers you bring, and you still wonder why you aren't allowed to pack for us anymore," the magenta one replied back, the two continued to argue as Tom made his way to the other two.
"Do they do this often?" Tom asked.
"Yep, every scouting party and every mission." The orange chupa sighed as he finished speaking.
"Yeah they really like arguing about things. I think last week was how to properly wear goggles, that was probably one of their more normal ones." The oak one said.
"Oh and my name is Cyd, the orange one is Singe, the two arguing are Yemin, and Artyom, Artyom is the magenta one." Cyd said, as the two stopped arguing with each other as they heard their names.
"Nice to meet yall im Tom, Morgan's brother," Tom said, extending a hand out to shake the others. Cyd was the first to shake his hands, Singe brushed his hand away before Yemin and Artyom shook his hand. Tom looked around after shaking hands, he spotted Morgan talking to someone as he passed over a camera, Dingo stood beside him, the chupa Morgan had handed the camera nodded before turning around and walking away. Dingo smacked the back of his head as she poked him in the chest saying something inaudible.
"So I assume you're joining us on the scouting party?" Yemin asked. Tom looked back over to them as he came back to the conversation.
"Oh yeah, I figured it would be good to get out into the cold, it's been a while." Tom replied back, his demeanor joyful now or at least trying to seem so. Sampi wasn't exactly the place he wanted to be but being mopy the entire trip would just be bad for everyone. Duncan had come down from the podium and came up to the small group before handing Yemen a folder.
"So it seems HQ has suspected the church has been going around to Sampi for, um, recruits? Seems like a dumb idea with how few people live there and most being those bumble fuck tribes, and cousin fuckers, but you're to see if that's actually what they are doing, you're just there to observe don't engage, act like you're a civie." Duncan said to the group, Tom squinted his eyes in annoyance as Duncan spoke about the people of Sampi. Yemen nodded as he took the folders before passing them off to Singe who looked through them.
"This is simple enough, when do we leave? And are we taking a vehicle or are we really gonna have to walk all the way there?" Singe asked as he closed the folder.
"A small van we acquired a while back, its only issue is it seems its fuel dial does go all the way to empty so take precautions when it gets that low." Duncan said.
"That's all for questions then i'll go grab our stuff for the mission," Yemen said as he turned away to go gather things.
"Rest of you help him with that, dismissed." Duncan said as he turned around heading off somewhere else. Tom let out a small sigh as he turned to follow Singe. The other three followed behind him, making small talk with each other.
"So why'd you want to go on the scouting trip with us?" Cyd asked Tom, he had managed to get up to him from the group.
"It's what I'm good at and I wouldn't mind seeing Sampi." Tom replied back.
"It's not bad, I grew up near it but I'm not a Sampian, but I did get to visit it when I was younger. I enjoyed the snow," Cyd said as he began to trail off, Tom had somewhat stopped listening as he zoned out as they walked.
"What do you plan on doing when we get to Sampi?" Cyd asked Tom as he gave a smirk.
"Probably see a friend, it's been a very long while since Ive seen them, I miss them," Tom said as he thought about Scarlet.
"Awe that's such a nice thing to do, I'm sure they miss you a lot too." Cyd said.
"I can only hope so," Tom said as he scratched the back of his head before stopping behind Singe who was now grabbing supplies for the trip. Tom helped carry a box to the van, it seemed to contain the most basic of rations as well as a blanket or two, he set it in the back of the van. The room they were in was probably the largest in the entire cave system, several mechanical gears running along the walls, it seemed the front end was completely fake or at least some of it, it almost looked like it would open up.
"Does that 'wall' open up?" Tom asked the group.
"Yeah, not a whole lot, maybe two warthogs could fit through at a time, it's only recently we've had it, two months I think." Artyom said as he put a box in the back of the van.
"That's pretty cool, seems like a bit much." Tom said he looked around the room to find Kokobiel and Morgan talking as they walked towards a truck. The van door shut before Singe let out a cry, Tom looked over as the door opened back up. Singe had managed to slam his fingers on the car door.
"By Omega you're so accident prone." Cyd said.
"F-fuck you, the door slipped out of my hand!" Singe said as he flapped his hand about trying to numb the pain as he looked at Singe in anger. Yemen looked over from the side of the van before rolling his eyes and going back to what he was doing. Singe stopped shaking his hand as he sucked on his finger where it hurt the most, he stepped into the back of the van as he sat down on the passenger side of the seat.
"I'll drive." Artyom said as he got into the driver's side. Tom followed suit as he got into the back of the van as he sat on the opposite side of Singe before Cyd sat next to Singe. The van started up as they began to drive before coming to a stop, the mechanical sound of gears turning could be heard through the van.
Tom looked out the window as the wall opened up leading to what seemed to be a roughly made road that slowly went up. Tom sat back down as they began traveling through, looking from the back window they could see the van Morgan and Kokobiel were in. Eventually they came up from the underground, a small dirt road that led in three directions.
"I think we're supposed to take a right here, should eventually lead us to Sampi," Artyom said as he pointed to the right before the van turned and they began down the road. Looking out the back window he could see the van behind them go straight forward, leaning out the back was Morgan flipping off the van Tom was in.
Tom shook his head as he looked over to the two across from him, they stared back as Cyd fidgeted with a coin in his hand. Singe looked Tom up and down as he sat, Tom couldn't tell if he was trying to break him down or figuring out what made him tick.
"So how long have you guys been a part of the rebellion?" Tom asked, trying to break the tension.
"A year and a half, not exactly by choice." Singe replied back as his tone was serious and stern.
"I've been here for about 8 months, it hasn't been that bad, a few run ins here and there," Cyd said as he began to toss the coin back and forth between his hands.
"I mean the worst to happen so far was losing a toe, but that's from my clumsiness, I'm no longer allowed to touch the knives." Cyd said, Tom looked down to Cyd's feet to see he was in fact missing his smallest toe on his left foot.
"I think that's a reasonable thing to stop letting you mess with knives, it could be someone else's toe." Tom said as he chuckled to himself. The van hit a bump in the road as it sent the three in the back up in the air before landing back on their asses before they all let out a groan. This ride wouldn't be horrible unless the road kept that up.
About a half an hour of driving went on before the van came to a stop.
"I got to take a leak." Yemen said as he got out from the van walking off to a nearby bush. Tom got out as he stretched his legs before going through one of the boxes with food in it. He grabbed out a packet of what seemed to be trail mix as he ate the small bag of them.
"Toss me a bag, my stomach is growling at me." Singe said as he held up a hand, he held the same tone as he always did, a flat uncaring tone, but his eyes seemed to show his real emotion, he was friendly as he asked. Tom tossed him a bag, Yemen returned to the vehicle.
"Lunch break?" Cyd asked the group as he went through the box, grabbing out a blanket and a bag with a sandwich in it.
"Yeah sure why not." Artyom said as he unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the van , coming to the back and opening the back door before he stepped in.
"Really, leaving me up here all by myself, ye bastard." Yemen said as he sat in his before he reached over to the other as he brought it down and slid over to it.
"Yknow you always complain that we leave you out, we just know how you like to brute force in and you like it that way." Cyd said as he looked over to Yemen.
"Ok you're not wrong about that but you guys make it so easy to do so." Yemen said as Artyom tossed him a bag of peanuts. Tom cracked his neck as he ate, relaxing back as he looked over the group. Strangers yet familiar to Tom, it was peaceful but not the most comfortable thing for him. The group sat as they ate before they gathered the trash in a bag before they started back onto the road, eventually getting onto a smoother road, not paved but didn't bounce every other second.
"So where are you from?" Singe asked Tom as he looked over to him.
"From around, Ive been to plenty of places in Sirca, but I was born in Sampi, small town with my family." Tom said back to him.
"So we'll be seeing your home?" Cyd asked.
"Uh, no, just the town I lived in, my home is in the nearby forest, a small forest," Tom said as he shifted in unease.
"Alright then, i'm not one to push back." Cyd said as he leaned his head back. They continued on the road for another two hours before they finally reached Sampi, the snow slowed the van, eventually they reached the small town as they parked the van behind a building before they got out.
"We're staying at a local home, we can call them friends if you want, they know it's us so just start carrying stuff to the house a little past this building." Singe said as he packed his backpack and picked up a box. Tom stepped out as the snow crunched beneath his feet, it was cold and it nipped at his fur but he was used to this, it felt great to feel the cold again. Tom lifted up a box as he began to carry it to the home, he moved fairly well through the snow as the others were slow behind him, fighting the snow. Tom waited on the others as they made their way through the snow, Singe was the first to get to him as he knocked on the door.
"Open the door, we have the bag and the owl." Singe said as he knocked. Tom looked at him in confusion before the door opened before they were ushered in, the others followed in as they walked into a kitchen area with two chupas at a table and the one that opened the door.
"You guys are late," a female blue chupa said, the same one that opened the door, a sternness in her voice with a mix of anger.
"We had issues with the snow, they didn't give us snow tires," Singe said as he set the box down on the table.
"They never have stuff for the scouting parties, you guys bring supplies?" One of the chupas at the table spoke up, a deeper blue male chupa said.
"And who the hell is this!?" The female chupa asked as shoved a finger into Tom's chest.
"Im Tom, ma'am im new, joined through my brother decided to join the scouting party." Tom replied back.
"And just who is your brother soldier?" She asked again, he was now pinned against the kitchen counter.
"Morgan ma'am!" Tom yelled out as she released him before huffing.
"Morgan did say he had a brother but he believed you were dead, nice to meet you, im Alex, I run this small safe house so you listen to me at all times, got it?" Alex said as she backed off of him. Tom nodded his head as he popped his neck, the rest of the group were staring at him in awkward silence.
"The blue one is Justin and the other is Beaver." Alex said as she pointed to Justin, and Beaver, an acacia brown.
"Welcome to your new home for a while buddy," Cyd said as he brought his stuff elsewhere in the home. Tom let out a small sigh as he grabbed his stuff following Cyd. This next week was going to be a strange one at that, but nothing he can't handle. Plus Scarlet was in the town, he would finally be able to see her, though she may hate to see him, or maybe not, Tom had always found her strange but she was still family.
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