On The Subject Of Scrapheaps

[Huela]

February 8^th, Midday

---

A base of operations had perimeter patrols. Security measures, to keep the occupants safe from outside harm. This was no different for the Freedom Fighters, who had much to gain from protecting themselves.

When you’re only a foot tall, however, it’s a mite easy to just... totter on though. Especially if you’re paying no mind to your surroundings. And, of course, the little scrapper isn’t, instead focused on the collision-singed screw in her grasp, turning it this way and that as she blindly waddles into the closest tent. She doesn’t even look up when she finds an occupant, sidling up to their leg and giving it a firm signaling pat.

“Hey, down here. Yeah, hi, got a quick question for you.”

[Mulan]

  "Mrrmph... huh?  Whazzat??"

  Mulan bolted up from where she had been sleeping, blinking blearily into the light. She lifted a hand to her face, rubbing the drowsiness from her eyes. A sharp inhale through her nose served as a substitute for a yawn, slowly yet surely pulling her from the throes of unconsciousness.  Someone was asking for her assistance. Right, all right, yes. She was up.

  "Sure... sure." Mulan's hand flapped aimlessly, eyes still, for the most part, shut. Okay, so she was mostly up. But she could still answer a question, no problem! "Fire away."

[Huela]

“Yeah, you and yours have a Theta-Class escape pod wreck outside of your village... camp... thing— were you sleeping? Isn’t it like, noon or something?”

There’s a pressure on the woman’s legs as... something small seems to climb on her for a better look. There’s an odd little murmur here, one of thought.

“Never met a nocturnal human before... Hey, yeah, no, the crash site. Theta-Class escape pod, it’s like... absolutely caked in blood and it’s got a dead guy in it? Smells like straight ass, you can’t miss it.” The Little alien waves the screw in front of Mulan’s face, as if coaxing her to open her eyes.

“Those things are super rare for this sector, where did you guys get that? And what came out of it— you know what? Nevermind. I just want to know if I can have it. That thing’s got really high weapon capabilities, it could get really dangerous in the wrong hands.”

[Mulan]

  Mulan nodded along to the little lizard's words, her head sinking forward just a little bit more each time. "Uh-huh.... yeah..." She felt something settle on her legs, and in her sleepy stupor wondered when Mushu had arrived at camp. Well, as long as he kept out of trouble, she was happy to see him. But greetings would have to wait, the young lady that was speaking to her sounded like she was asking her permission for something. Pod. Pod, pod. Bean pod? Mulan scratched her scalp, her hair having become a rat's nest overnight. Honestly, no matter what she did before bed, it only seemed to be nothing short of a train wreck the next day.

  "Huh... oh, yeah sure..!" Mulan rubbed her eyes again, glancing down at the weight on her legs. ...Oh. That's not Mushu, though she was certainly about his height. Explains why the woman's voice sounded so close. Mulan stifled a yawn behind her fist. Apart from most of the Freedom Fighters' members, tiny talking reptiles was of the few things that didn't surprise her. But yeah, why not? Let the little lady have her bean pods. What was the harm..?

  ...Wait.

  Mulan's eyes snapped open, and suddenly she was very much awake, hands clapping to the ground at either side. "Wait, what do you mean, 'dead guy'!?"

[Huela]

Little wings flick out in surprise at Mulan’s sudden movement, and the little creature shifts slightly to keep her balance, “Uh, yeah. Looks like whoever it was got in a scuffle with the other occupant? I mean, I think it’s a person? Couldn’t tell you the species, whatever else was in there... really messed them up. It’s definitely biological material, though, and it stinks to Andromeda and back, so I’m assuming it’s a dead thing.” There’s a shrug here, a soft huff escaping the tiny creature, “I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Theta-class pods only come from very specific ships, and those very specific ships are usually used by, like... poachers, traffickers, all sorts of illegal activity. Probably wasn’t a good person.”

As the little creature slides off of Mulan, she keeps jabbering away, tail landing with a soft thud on the ground, “Besides, the Xenoplastid core in that thing can power some very big machines, or a very small one for a long time. I’m surprised that pod’s untouched, really...”

[Mulan]

  Okay. There was a lot of words in there that... well they weren't too big for Mulan, but she definitely was unfamiliar with... any of them. She blinked, brows knitted together as her mind futilely tried to make heads or tails of what she was talking about. It was a moment before it dawned on her. Pod! The little reptile must have been talking about that machine outside the camp that Zamora had come from. That made things significantly easier to understand, even if Mulan didn't quite grasp the specifics. After some deductive reasoning, Mulan lifted a finger.


  "Okay, so there's a corpse... or, what's left of one, inside Zamora's pod." She ticked off another finger. "You want a part from the pod, because it's a very powerful... battery?" Her head inclined in Huela's direction, seeking confirmation that she had that part right. Mulan chewed her lip in thought.

  "All right. We should... probably find someone with a better understanding of what it is you need."  Mulan plucked up the lizard and set her aside, and got to her feet.  She began to pull her clothes on,  tugging them over the undergarments she had slept in.  "Plus, I'm not sure I'm at authority to let you wandering around that thing. Especially," she lifted her index finger once more, as if to illustrate a point. "If it's as dangerous as you claim."

[Huela]

"Got any other extraterrestrials? What about the one that came out of that pod? What, you said a.. 'Zamora'? Never heard of it. As long as we can talk about me getting into that pod, I don't care who you take me to. That core... yeah, it's sort of like a battery? A battery and a brain. It's a complicated thing, about, ah..." She stretches her arms out to her sides, to about the size of a softball, "About that big. Runs pretty smoothly thanks to some transdimensional symbiotes that react well to the Carmotite inside. They get easy food, the stone makes energy. Really rudimentary stuff, but very reliable and powerful, and thanks to the symbiote's extensive life span and the Carmotite's decay rate, the stuff can last for centuries. Make a great programmable survival core, or, you know, a megalaser's brain."

All this babbling, but at least the little creature's waiting patiently. She's even so kind to look away while Mulan gets dressed, for decency.

"Name's Huela, by the way. Geck, and a Scrapper. Thanks for all the fuss. I heard there's a war going on and.. Well, I don't know if Earth could deal with a weapon made from that thing."

[Mulan]

"I don't know if Earth could deal with a weapon made from that thing."

  "Probably not." Mulan admitted quietly, tying up her hair. Maybe she didn't fully know the gravity of that pod's machinery, but she'd heard of the kind of power that this war had seen already. The kind of power the Legion, and the Rogues possessed. That alone was reason enough to see to the small alien's claim. Once Mulan was fully dressed, she turned to Huela and knelt, offering a polite, though recognizably sheepish smile. 


  "Nice to meet you, Huela." Mulan gave a brisk nod of her head as she spoke, supporting her weight on her knee. "I'm Mulan. Sorry we couldn't chat under more favorable circumstance." She laid her hands on the ground, palms facing upward. An offering towards Huela for a more convenient method of transportation.


  "Let's get going."

[Huela]

There’s a noise from the smaller female, and she raises a brow ridge when Mulan offers her hands for a ride, “Oh!... Thank you! Not too many people enjoy being clambered all over.”

The little alien climbs into the woman’s hands, only to scale up her sleeve to her shoulder, as if for freed hands and a higher view, “Mulan, huh? That’s a nice name. You been out here for long?”

While they were looking for someone else, it wouldn’t hurt to have idle conversation.

[Mulan]

Mulan chuckled as the diminutive woman climbed onto her shoulder. "I can imagine. But you're not the first little talking reptile I've had for company, if you can believe it." With her new companion in tow, Mulan departed her tent in search of someone more knowledgeable on their choice of subject. She took a cursory glance around the campsite, but found no one in immediate line of sight. Her lips pursed. She didn't expect it to be quite that easy, of course, but it would have helped matters.

“Mulan, huh? That’s a nice name. You been out here for long?”

  "Hm?" She glanced over at Huela. "Oh, thank you." She fell into a steady pace, keeping an eye out for anyone that could assist them. "No, not that long." Mulan had first arrived at the camp just shortly after there had been an excursion to another continent. She'd heard how it had... not ended well for the Freedom Fighters. She'd often wished that she could have volunteered sooner. Maybe she could have changed... something. Anything.

  Mulan's hand lifted towards her unoccupied shoulder, a habitual motion that had meant to worry at her hair. It was only when her fingers found no black locks to tug onto did she recall that she had tied her hair up only moments before. She gave a small hum. No good came from dwelling on the past. For now, they had an expert, or the next best thing, to find.