-There Are People Just Like Us-
Day 5
Taylor's propaganda posters were pasted on every single wall in The Refuge. Slogans of every kind with illustrations captured Jaynis' attention. Taylor and Jaynis had the whole brotherhood idea going on which made sense considering two brothers were leaders of The Refuge. During the three days that had passed, bandits had been entering The Refuge with intentions of staying. After lengthy procedures the bandits who entered The Refuge were given clearance into the town and assigned buildings where they could live. Taylor and Jaynis noticed many of these bandits if not all of them were part of Krom's army. Unknown to Jaynis and Taylor before the bandits arrived that Krom had been killed in his canyon. Taylor and Jaynis knew about Krom naturally as they were bandits but they had never seen him. What they did know however is that he was Baron Flynt's second in command. Now that position was vacant it meant that resistance in the Rust Commons East would be minimal. Taylor couldn't help but think about the easy path to Baron Flynt that was now open. Taylor shook the thought out his head and escorted another batch of bandits to their designated building.
The population of The Refuge increased with twenty-five bandits. Taylor and Jaynis' army was forming before they even knew it. The bandits who joined understood the philosophy of the town and the propaganda posters. They liked the idea of a controlled, perfect and powerful society built by real leaders. Not just one leader with a vision, not just two leaders with a dream but two leaders who were tied together with the natural bond of brotherhood. All the bandits knew about the Kobb brothers and their rivalry. This motivated the bandits; this sibling rivalry had created this society and their new relationship. One of the propaganda posters had an illustration of two stickmen who represented Taylor and Jaynis shaking hands with a Bullseye drawn on both of their heads. A message was written above the two of them which read, What Doesn't Kill Us Only Makes Us Stronger. This became a favourite piece of art amongst the population and put them firmly beside their leaders.
That evening Taylor rallied up the bandits to join him in the basement where Taylor had killed the hiding party when they took over the place. The bloodied corner where the corpses once laid had black tape running from one end of the corner to the other creating a triangle space. Like a space you would find in a museum where you weren't allowed to cross. The blood symbolized the desire for vengeance, vengeance against those who have wronged you. On the walls behind the tape a message was written with a white marker pen, Enemies of Bandits Must Die. The scene sat well with the bandits. Jaynis was standing on a slab of concrete which posed as a make-shift podium. He stood there with his arms crossed watching the bandits fill the room. The basement wasn't quite big enough to house everyone so the ones who couldn't stand in the space had to sit on the stairs looking through the banisters. Taylor stood beside the taped corner with his arms crossed as well. Jaynis cleared his throat and addressed the bandits.
"Erm… I've never given a speech before so I'll just speak out. Taylor and I used to be loyal bandits to Baron Flynt." That name created murmurs of anger and head turning. It was good for Jaynis and Taylor to know these bandits disliked him as much as they did. "We followed every order, sometimes we changed the orders a little to suit our needs but the ending was always the same. We completed the order. You all know by now that Taylor and I have hardly ever gotten on the same page. That I can't deny, always trying to kack each other off. We always had respect for one another buried under layers of hatred. Not too long ago I put my hands on him and nearly killed him. Taylor survived and survived with flying colours. Because of this Baron Flynt tried to kill us both off in Treacher's Landing. We escaped and he thinks we're dead. We had only one option and that was to work together and get out alive. We did that, we struggled through that Scythid infested swamp below this town to get here. We murdered everybody here to call this our home. That corner there is a testament of our brutality, we are bandits. Released by the Dahl Corporation and running free on Pandora. This is our planet. How about this, we build an army, take one town one at a time. Soon, Baron Flynt will fall and we'll own this planet." The speech was received well by the audience, they were all in.
The bandits left the basement and split up all over The Refuge. Taylor joined Jaynis outside the building with a smile on his face. "How much of that was bullshit?" Taylor laughed a little after that remark and Jaynis knew he was joking.
"The bit about me respecting you. Seriously, me respecting you?"
"Sure, I like the thought about Krom being dead. That means that Baron Flynt is easy to get to somewhat." Jaynis sensed that Taylor had more than just thinking about it on his mind and pounced on Taylor's thoughts.
"Don't try anything stupid, he doesn't need to know we're alive. If he knows we're alive he'll hunt us down and we could do without the hassle for a change." Jaynis stared down his brother with warning, Taylor had thought about something stupid and even worse he had let his older brother know. Feeling stupid, Taylor left Jaynis alone and walked out of view through an alleyway. Jaynis was impressed with his speech, the bandits seemed comfortable with his plans and he could tell he was working towards something good. Something that could blow the winds of change his way.
Day 7
Darkness had blanketed Pandora and Taylor had snuck outside his building and crossed the main entrance courtyard. He opened a door that opened into the garage. Five Runners were parked and brimmed with fuel. Taylor couldn't get the thought of killing Baron Flynt early out of his mind. Jaynis had warned him but Taylor saw this as the perfect opportunity to show he was the more powerful brother. They were getting along and starting an army, they both liked that. Power always hung over the heads of both brothers and once you've experienced it once you want to have it again. Taylor was no exception and he was hungry for power. Power over an army of bandits was great but power over Baron Flynt's demise sounded much sweeter. However, Jaynis told Taylor that Baron should not know that they are still alive. Taylor realised the importance of this and to ensure Baron Flynt wouldn't know in the event that he was compromised, he brought a bandit balaclava. If Taylor was taken alive by Baron Flynt then there would be a much larger problem. Taylor didn't consider that possibility but he kept the balaclava so if he failed the attack and had to run away Baron Flynt wouldn't be any the wiser. Taylor jumped in a Runner fitted with a rocket launcher turret on the back which could be operated manually or automatically. Taylor turned on the ignition and slowly drove the Runner out of The Refuge. The engine was humming a steady rumble that wasn't loud enough to wake anybody up. Happily, patrols hadn't been assigned yet so everybody would be inside and only Jaynis or Taylor had access to the garage so anyone who did see the Runner driving off or Taylor walking about they wouldn't need to ask questions. Taylor jumped out and returned to the garage to close the garage door and the shutter door that had opened automatically for the Runner to drive out. For some reason it wouldn't close on its own. Taylor walked back to the Runner and left The Refuge for the Salt Flats gate to kill Baron Flynt.