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1:11

You're listening to The Strata,

1:14

a Beyond the Dark production. Season 9,

1:18

Ash and Steel.

1:20

Part 3. The

1:27

Strata Okay,

1:45

C. You're gonna want to take a right as soon as

1:47

you come out of this tunnel, just up ahead. Take

1:49

a right, got it. But it's a pretty sharp

1:51

turn. You might want to slow down. Yeah,

1:54

I'm all over it. Look, I

1:56

like your confidence, but you should probably- You

1:58

know, I thought driving this thing- is going to be a lot

2:00

harder than it is. It's actually pretty.

2:03

Slow down. Shit. There

2:07

we go. No problem. Yeah,

2:11

nice job. I'm starting to enjoy this

2:13

whole delivery thing. Don't

2:16

get too cocky, Si. This is your first

2:18

day on the job. If you lose concentration

2:20

out here, it could be your last.

2:22

You have to be so dramatic

2:25

about everything, Russ. Relax.

2:28

It's under control.

2:30

Well, you haven't crashed or run anyone over

2:32

yet, so that's a good start. Setting

2:35

a real high bar for me there, huh, pal? How's

2:37

the cradle going? Sure, it's fine.

2:40

Comfortable enough. But

2:42

can we call it something else? Cradle

2:44

makes me feel like a giant baby.

2:47

We could call it the ejector seat, if

2:49

you like, since I sourced the parts

2:51

from a flight cockpit in an old Millicon wreck.

2:53

Wait a second. I'm sitting in a goddamn

2:56

ejector seat? What happens if the mechanism

2:58

goes off? I blow through the top of this van

3:00

like a-

3:01

Damn, Russ. You

3:03

really are uptight, aren't you? Of

3:05

course it's not an ejector seat.

3:08

Oh, ha ha. Very

3:10

funny. Now look on your

3:12

face, pal. That was

3:14

priceless. Way to kick a man when

3:16

he's down. Down? You?

3:19

Come on, Russ. You're never down. Even

3:22

with two legs and an arm blown off,

3:24

they still couldn't stop you. Yeah,

3:27

you're right. I need to stop feeling sorry

3:29

for myself. Are you sure you're OK with

3:31

me driving? This is obviously a big

3:33

deal for you. I've spent a lot of years

3:36

behind that wheel. A lot. Never

3:38

expected to be a passenger in this van. Not

3:41

in my wildest dreams. But

3:43

it's a good idea of yours, getting back out on

3:45

the road. At least now I can do

3:47

something. Yeah. We

3:49

just have to look at the positives. If

3:52

we can get the deliveries going again, reestablish

3:55

some contacts, that's going to help put more creds

3:57

in our pockets. Give us more options

3:59

going forward.

3:59

forward. You really can't wait to get

4:02

your own place again, huh? Think

4:04

about it every night. Uh, that's

4:06

still a long way off. I'm talking

4:08

years. I'll help you any way I

4:11

can, see. Whatever you need. Thanks,

4:13

pal. Appreciate it. But you

4:15

know what? This whole situation

4:18

has taught me that I need to do more than

4:20

just rebuild a workshop. I have

4:22

to rethink my whole damn business model.

4:25

How so? Well, I mean, look

4:27

at the situation I'm in. As soon as

4:29

a few supply lines got cut, I found

4:32

myself high and dry. All of my contacts

4:34

just evaporated.

4:36

You weren't the only one. Everyone

4:38

in the strata took a hit after the ghost uprising.

4:40

Yeah, but I cut it worse than

4:42

most. And you know why? The

4:44

relationships. I didn't put enough time

4:47

and effort into the people. All those other

4:49

links in the supply chain? I think you're

4:51

being a bit hard on yourself. You don't

4:53

have to catch up with your business contacts for brunch

4:55

every Tuesday just to maintain a relationship.

4:58

I didn't do enough. I mean, come on, Ross. You

5:00

know me. I've always been one who's

5:02

more likely to sit in a back room, pulling

5:04

apart pieces of junk rather than spending time

5:06

getting to know other people.

5:07

You get on with me just fine. Actually,

5:10

Ross, there's something I've never told

5:13

you about our relationship. I don't

5:15

like the sound of that. It's nothing

5:17

bad, but I have a confession

5:19

to make. The first time

5:21

you brought a package into my workshop, I

5:23

couldn't wait for you to leave. I

5:26

was there thinking to myself, if I never

5:28

see this guy again, it'll be too soon.

5:30

How come? You're just loud

5:34

and grumpy and… That doesn't

5:36

sound like me. And it usually

5:38

takes a while for me to warm up to people

5:40

at the best of times, so when you

5:43

got right up in my face complaining about all

5:45

the shit you had to go through for the pickup… I

5:47

remember that one. Some goon hit me

5:49

on the head as I was trying to get back to the van, scramble

5:52

my optics. Yeah, that's it. You

5:55

mentioned the optics, and that really got my attention.

5:57

I wanted to know what other work you had done, and when you told

5:59

me… your whole body was alloy, I

6:04

just about lost it. I mean, there

6:06

you were. A man who was

6:08

also a living relic, I had

6:10

to know more.

6:12

Is that why you changed your mind about me? For

6:14

sure. That was the reason I booked in another

6:16

delivery as soon as I could. I

6:18

remember. You offered to check out my

6:20

optics for me on the second delivery, run

6:23

a calibration. Yeah, I was fascinated.

6:26

I wanted to see how they worked. So I

6:28

was a glorified science project for you, huh?

6:30

It sounds horrible, I know. This

6:33

is just who I am. I just get wound

6:35

up in gadgets and legacy tech. I

6:37

get carried away with it.

6:39

Well, I appreciate your honesty. It

6:41

was only after you came back for

6:44

maybe five times that I really started

6:46

talking to you, learning about the person

6:48

who was hidden under all of that alloy.

6:52

And it didn't take long before I kind of forgot the alloy

6:54

was even there. The science project thing

6:56

just kind of slipped into the background. And what

6:58

emerged and said was a friend.

7:01

First one I'd found in a long while.

7:04

See, you can make friends easy when you want

7:06

to. It's not that simple. Most

7:08

people I meet just don't get me. Not

7:10

like you do. You feel disconnected too.

7:13

Emily said something just like that earlier today. She

7:16

did? What's going on with her? She's

7:19

just having trouble readjusting to life in the strata.

7:22

I told her to give it time. Sounds like

7:24

you're just a big old magnet for

7:26

us sad loners. Just my

7:28

luck, huh? Okay, we're getting

7:30

close to the pickup now. Where are we

7:32

exactly? We took a shortcut that

7:34

brings us out on the western side of D'Aquatin. After

7:37

we hit the top of this rise, it's downhill for

7:39

a while. Then we need to take a left. If

7:41

you look out over here, you...

7:44

Shit. Oh my

7:46

God, Rust. Look at

7:48

that. Yeah, I

7:51

expected things to be bad, but this

7:54

part of D'Aquatin is just something

7:56

else. The fires must have spread

7:59

out of control. I mean, it looks

8:01

like a goddamn nuke hit. Those

8:03

poor people. Hey, Maynard

8:05

sent me wire snaps of the Commune, and

8:07

it doesn't seem so bad there, but over

8:10

this side of town.

8:11

That piece of shit Carver has a lot

8:13

to answer for. He answered for

8:15

it, and then some. I saw to that myself.

8:18

But somehow, it still doesn't seem enough.

8:20

No, it doesn't.

8:27

Don't stop here, C. Keep your foot on the pedal.

8:30

Is there a problem? It's just my instincts.

8:32

I don't like the look of some of the people around here.

8:35

I can almost smell the desperation on

8:37

them. I can take care of myself. I'm

8:40

sure you can, but your body isn't built to take

8:42

the sort of punishment I can handle. Then it's a

8:44

good thing I brought this. You're

8:48

carrying a piece? Since when?

8:51

I always kept one handy back at the workshop in case

8:53

of emergencies. Under the dust, that

8:55

is. But I can't say I ever needed to use it.

8:57

Just be careful waving it around like that. Take

9:00

it easy, I know what I'm doing. Done plenty of sims

9:03

over the years. Messing around in a

9:05

sim isn't the same as going toe to toe with hardasses

9:07

on the streets of Docketon. Not even close.

9:10

Okay, okay. There,

9:14

I put it away. Happy? Yeah.

9:17

Now slow down. There's turns coming up, and

9:20

after that, well,

9:21

this is about to get interesting.

9:40

What is it, Hallo-Well? Emily,

9:43

I was wondering if I might have a word with Rust.

9:46

No, you can't. Why

9:49

not? He's not here. Where

9:51

did he go? That's not your concern.

9:54

Well, I still need someone to fetch components for

9:56

me. I told Rust I'd handle that. What

9:59

do you need? I'll send through the part

10:01

number. Just enter the code upstairs

10:03

and it will guide you to the appropriate storage

10:05

bay. Alright,

10:09

I'm on it. I

10:11

appreciate your help, and might I say,

10:14

it's good that we've been able to put our differences

10:16

aside. What

10:19

did you say? I said

10:21

I'm glad we could put our differences

10:23

aside. Differences?

10:26

Is that what you call

10:28

it, you piece of shit? There's

10:30

no need to- You murdered

10:33

my best friend. His

10:35

situation was untenable. The

10:38

treatment I administered only accelerated

10:40

his demise, which was already a full-gone

10:43

conclusion. Some might call

10:45

that merciful.

10:46

Maybe I should accelerate your

10:48

demise, huh? Keep

10:51

talking. I dare you.

10:54

One day, I hope you'll understand

10:56

that I am not worthy of such

10:59

hatred. You

11:01

know what? It wasn't so

11:04

long ago that I was forced into killing

11:06

a giant space cockroach, whose

11:09

only instinct was to tear and shred

11:11

innocent people up until there was nothing

11:14

left but bloody piles of flesh. And

11:18

even that thing had

11:20

more humanity than you do. So

11:24

shut your mouth and hang tight while

11:26

I get your goddamn part.

11:29

I'm sorry, but I'm sorry. Okay,

11:39

aisle three, rack seventeen. Shh,

11:43

where are you?

11:45

Ah, here we go. This just be it? Oh,

11:49

one of these? Just like

11:52

the ones we had back on the katona.

11:57

What the hell are you playing at, Harlowell?

12:10

Hello Elle, I got that part you wanted.

12:13

Oh, that was fast. You're

12:15

much quicker at this than Rust. Yeah,

12:18

I'm slightly more mobile. Just

12:21

put it in the drawer and slide it through, please. Here

12:25

you go. Thank

12:28

you. What's on that

12:31

data shard you're always fiddling with? Hmm?

12:34

The red one. I've seen you looking at it and

12:36

turning it over on your fingers. You

12:39

have? Yeah, a

12:41

few times now.

12:43

I hadn't noticed. I suppose I'm

12:45

just a very tactile person. Always

12:47

happen to be doing something with my fingers.

12:50

Right. And

12:53

what about this part I got for you? What's it for?

12:57

It's just a component that I'm

13:00

using to assist with stability control

13:02

in my prototype. Nothing is

13:04

fine terribly interesting, I'm afraid. No, no,

13:06

of course not. I

13:09

have something else I need you to get for me if

13:11

that's all right. Do you mind if I give you the code?

13:14

Sure, Dr. Hallowell. Send

13:17

it through and I'll get

13:19

right on it.

13:24

At Kroger, we know the minute a

13:26

tomato is picked off the vine, the fresh timer

13:28

starts. The sooner we get our produce

13:30

to you, the fresher it is. That's why we've completely

13:33

overhauled our process to shorten the time

13:35

from harvest to home. For our tomatoes,

13:38

strawberries and salads. Because we know

13:40

how much you love fresh produce, we give

13:42

you more time to enjoy your tasty

13:45

fruits and veggies at home. So whether you're shopping

13:47

in-store, picking up, or prefer delivery, we're

13:50

committed to bringing you the freshest produce possible. Kroger,

13:52

fresh for everyone.

13:54

Thanks

13:55

for watching. Okay,

14:03

Russ, I did it. I got through the door. Russ,

14:07

are you there, pal? Are you reading me? Can

14:09

you hear me say? I dropped down for a second

14:12

after you went through the security door. Oh,

14:15

I thought I lost you there for a second. Still

14:17

here. I'm with you. Are

14:19

you getting the video feed through the headset? A

14:22

little. It's fuzzy, though. The signal must

14:24

be getting some interference. Yeah, okay.

14:27

Um, I am in a corridor. It's pretty

14:30

dark. I'm not sure what direction I should go.

14:32

Move forward. You're almost to the inner

14:34

storage area. You sure about

14:36

this? Yeah. I've been to this place

14:38

a few times over the years. Knowing pretty

14:40

well. Kind

14:42

of weird that this is all backwards, huh? It's

14:44

always been you out in the field and me watching through

14:47

a headset.

14:47

Stay focused, C. This is no time

14:49

to get distracted. I'm locked in, pal.

14:52

Don't worry about me. There's no margin

14:54

for error on this one. I'll try my best.

14:56

I'm not as good as you, obviously. The

14:59

problem is, you have to be better

15:01

than me. How come? Because

15:04

I'm packing reinforced alloy plating under

15:06

my skin, that's why. I can afford

15:08

a slip-up here and better. But you? All

15:10

you need is one string-frag tip go through your chest and it's

15:12

over.

15:13

I know. You told me all of us

15:16

back in the van, remember? You didn't listen

15:18

then, and you're not listening now. I'm

15:20

listening, but you don't need to treat me like I'm- Wait a second.

15:23

What's that in front of you? I've reached

15:25

a door. A big, gray one? That's

15:27

not it. Keep going. Okay.

15:30

Moving on. What

15:33

happens if I run into someone in here? It

15:35

all depends. If you can talk your way out

15:37

of it, that's the best option. Talk?

15:40

Yeah. Come up with a bullshit story. Try

15:43

to convince whoever it is that you belong there. How

15:46

exactly? My usual go-to

15:48

is that I'm a courier who's trying to make a delivery

15:50

but got lost and somehow ended up in a restricted

15:52

area. But not everyone will swallow

15:55

that story.

15:56

So what's the backup plan? I

15:58

make them swallow their teeth and- It's

16:00

thick. Ah,

16:02

little muscle goes a long way, huh? Hey,

16:05

if someone is stupid enough to pull a gun on me, I'm

16:08

going to defend myself. I make no apologies

16:10

for that. Hey, stop there. That

16:13

looks like the door.

16:15

OK, should I use the bypass again?

16:17

Go for it. Piece

16:24

of cake. You're doing good, Si. I

16:27

can see something ahead, Russ. Looks

16:29

like the corridor opens out into another

16:31

realm. Yeah, that's

16:33

the storage area. Head up there on the right.

16:36

You can scope out the whole area from behind one of the cloud

16:38

racks.

16:39

OK, on it.

16:47

What have you got there? Centuries? Two

16:50

guys. They're looking at something?

16:52

Probably just make it a drop off. Give it

16:55

a second. They've got

16:57

guns. Damn,

16:59

security. What's the

17:01

plan? Turn around and

17:03

walk out of there. A board? Already?

17:07

Yep. Like you give up that easily?

17:10

You're not me. Russ,

17:12

I've come all this way. Work with me. OK,

17:16

wait a minute. They'll probably leave. What

17:19

then? Do I just walk out there? Do

17:21

you have a serial number Murphy gave you for the storage

17:24

module? Yeah, right here. Memorize

17:27

it. You're not going to have time to fumble around

17:29

in your phone once you're out there. OK, 657-PR1. You

17:34

got it? I think so. Hey,

17:38

those guys are leaving. OK,

17:40

it's go time. I'm ready. Remember

17:43

the serial. Yeah, it's locked

17:45

in. Next, take out the jammer

17:48

and use the sequence I told you. Chet,

17:50

this is a lot to remember. Red, yellow.

17:53

Yeah, red, yellow, great. Got it. That

17:55

jammer's only going to buy you a few seconds after

17:57

that you can back those guys will come back. investigate

18:00

why the cameras will not fly. I'll be

18:02

long gone, pal. That's

18:04

the spirit.

18:06

Okay, I think you're clear.

18:08

Go! Okay,

18:15

okay.

18:15

Let's take a look here. Come

18:18

on, C. Find it. Goddammit,

18:20

all these numbers are almost exactly the same. You

18:23

said you had it memorized. I got

18:25

it. Here. Ten seconds, C. Use

18:27

the override. Shit, shit,

18:29

shit! Yes!

18:32

Got it, yes! Okay, now

18:34

haul your ex out of here. I'm on my way. And

18:36

don't celebrate too early. You still have

18:38

to get out of the facility.

18:39

Don't worry. I have no intention of hanging

18:41

around. See you soon. Here

19:15

it is, Murphy. Told you I'd come through. Hey,

19:18

hold up a second. I need to run a scan. The

19:20

micro beacons? I'm clean now. I'll

19:23

be the judge of that. C.

19:30

Yeah, okay. That's a bit more like it. I... Hey,

19:33

who's that in the van? How

19:35

you doing, Murphy? Rust! I

19:39

thought I recognized that piece

19:41

of junk you rolled up in. Watch it. You

19:44

didn't

19:44

tell me he'd be coming along. We're partners. Where

19:47

I go, he goes. Last

19:49

time I saw this guy, he tried to knock

19:51

my head off. You don't say.

19:53

Maybe you'd have less hospital visits

19:55

if you didn't really know. I don't know. Gentlemen,

20:01

this is business. Let's play nice, huh?

20:03

Just keep that pit thug on a leash.

20:06

Pit thug? Murphy, are

20:08

you going to take the package or not? Oh,

20:11

give me a look at it. Well?

20:21

Looks good. Perfect, actually.

20:23

Of course it does. You're dealing with the best

20:26

here. How in the hell did you get this

20:28

out of there without the proper clearance? Don't

20:30

ask. Hm. Not like it

20:32

matters. I don't care how you get it here

20:35

as long as it's on time and in decent condition.

20:37

Exactly. So do I have your trust again? Gotta

20:40

say, I had my doubts about you, but this

20:43

is good. Real good. Maybe

20:45

I can start sending a bit more business your

20:47

way after all. That's what I'd

20:49

like to hear. How

20:52

about keeping your friend at home next time, huh?

20:54

I'm not deaf, Murphy. At

20:57

the very least, I need an ironclad

20:59

guarantee that he's going to keep those metal

21:01

claws of his off my shit.

21:03

This isn't negotiable,

21:06

I'm afraid. I need him. How

21:08

come? He's my advisor.

21:12

Listen, if you need some

21:14

advice on anything, just

21:16

come to old Murphy. I'd be only

21:19

too happy to give you some quality

21:21

time. One on

21:24

one. If you're done hitting on my partner,

21:26

we really should be going. Crannit

21:28

grabs!

21:30

What did you say? Easy,

21:32

Russ. Come on, I'm listening.

21:35

Russ, stop. Your wheelchair is still

21:38

in the back of the van. So what? What

21:40

the hell are you gonna do? Crawl over here and bite him

21:42

on the ankles or something? Just relax. Damn.

21:46

What happened to your legs, big guy? That

21:49

looks nasty. It's a long

21:51

story. I guess this partnership

21:53

thing makes a lot more sense now. Yeah,

21:57

I'm helping out until we can get Russ back on his feet.

22:00

How do you intend to get him back on his feet exactly?

22:03

We're still working on it. It's not easy

22:05

getting hold of Legacy Tech these days. Hahaha!

22:10

If only you'd better out a couple of days ago.

22:12

I had someone perfect lined up for you. What

22:16

do you mean by that? There was a merchant...

22:20

More a traitor actually, who was trying to

22:22

peddle some old school shit like that.

22:24

Legacy Tech? Who was it? I

22:27

don't know. It came through the old comms

22:29

relay system. That's why it stuck out.

22:32

No one uses that anymore. The

22:34

comms relay? So it probably

22:36

originated out in the Deadlands. It wasn't

22:38

local, that's for sure. Whoever

22:40

used it didn't have grid access. It's

22:43

my guess anyway. What is this

22:45

comms relay thing? It's an old messaging

22:48

system, real low bandwidth kind of stuff

22:50

that bounces across the towers in the Deadlands. It's

22:53

notoriously unreliable. No

22:55

one in their right mind would use that thing unless

22:57

it was their last option.

22:59

And they were selling Legacy Tech? Do

23:01

you have any details? They weren't

23:03

selling. They wanted to trade for... I

23:07

can't remember exactly. A few parts, I

23:10

think. They mentioned a code word or something.

23:13

What was it?

23:15

Steel, I think they said. A

23:17

lot of the old timers use the word steel as slang

23:19

for Legacy Tech.

23:21

This could be exactly what we're looking for! I

23:23

could probably dig up the details for you. Would

23:26

you? Well, I guess.

23:31

Hello? Hang on,

23:33

slow down. What's the matter? Rust,

23:37

is everything okay? Are you sure?

23:40

Shit. Okay, we're

23:42

coming. What's going on? Sienna,

23:44

get in. Now. Something's

23:46

happened back at the lab. What is it?

23:49

No time. I'll explain on the way. Uh,

23:52

okay. Sienna, where are

23:54

you going? Murphy, send through those details.

23:57

I want to know about these traders. What

24:01

do I get in return? Yeah,

24:05

that's what I figured.

24:30

early. add free at patreon.com

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slash beyond the dark

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