It took awhile to reach her desired destination, but she managed in a mostly timely manner. Still, after closing in on the town a bit, Ruby couldn't help but have her hand hover over her disruptor, opting at the last minute to edge around the outskirts of the town before moving inwards. A quick exterior survey wouldn't hurt, after all, and she kept her dad's lessons in mind as she walked alone along the sidewalk moving closer to the center of town.
The town, though not exactly the most modern of architecture or technology, was at least relatively safe, if from a standpoint of immediately shady elements. The streets were busy and the shops active, at least closer to the square, that is. As far as the outskirts of the town went, however, there was a fair number of decrepit and abandoned buildings littering either side of the streets, which themselves were dirtier and lesser maintained than that closer to the center and the coast. Even if it was all mostly dirt roads and cobblestone sidewalks from end to end, this area had much more dirt buildup in areas supposed to be swept, the alleys with a higher buildup of trash along bent, rusted and overflowing dumpsters and trash cans. Long forgotten bags of trash lie piled up behind buildings, just out of view from the street, out of sight and out of mind, she supposed.
It wasn't as if this more forsaken area was by any means shady, no, by all means all she got from this area is that it was simply long abandoned, but she didn't quite get that sneaking feeling in her gut that it was more crime-ridden than anywhere else in the town. Granted, her sixth sense for danger hadn't quite fully developed as her father's had, so maybe her reading of the area was just mistaken, but she really didn't feel any more on-edge here than she did at the town square. Nevertheless, she had to wonder just what made the town abandon this sector? Sure, it was lower tech than the rest of the town, but surely they could've just renovated it, right?
"Hmmm... I have to come back here after I've had my new stuffy made. I dunno why, but I'm getting this feeling in my gut... something like there's something important here that I shouldn't ignore." Ruby spoke to herself as she turned her back on the abandoned sector of town and faced once more towards the streets that would take her to the shop she was looking for. It wasn't a long walk from here, maybe a few blocks and a turn or two at most. That being said, as she did close in on the center of town, she couldn't help but compare it with greater scrutiny to the abandoned district. Better laid cobblestone paths and alleyways, a smoother, more compact dirt road, clean alleyways and a lack of broken lights or glass. The whole area was well-lit and held a warm atmosphere with a rustic appeal from a decorative standpoint although this didn't surprise her.
Still, even despite the area being so much better than the previous, she didn't get any different feeling about it. It made her silently wonder if he needed to walk her through his lessons again, but she'd been in the line of fire and in danger enough now to get a pretty good feel for an area at a glance, at least she hoped was the case. It had served her well when covering for her father on the ridge, but she was unsure if it was just a one-off kinda thing or not.
Nevertheless, after just a few short minutes, Ruby stood before the holiday-themed shop that looked so out-of-place compared to every other building in town, hand resting on her disruptor's pistol grip, still concealed by her cloak. It wasn't so much in an on-guard manner as much as it was simply her wanting to rest her hand upon something that gave her comfort. Call it silly if one would, but after everything she'd seen and been through these last few days, simply being able to physically remind herself that she had a disintegration weapon that could one-shot any opponent regardless of their strength, training or equipment did much more to comfort her than anything short of encouragement from Midnight.
As soon as she pushed open the doors, it was as if every eye in the store gravitated towards her, with a few people dropping whatever items they had in their hand to the floor unconsciously while others halted their work entirely as if to gawk. A simple cock of her head to the right as she stepped into the room seemed to kick most of the room back towards their previous actions, while she approached the counter and fished enough lien out of her pocket with her free hand for a custom order. The man manning the counter seemed to stare for a moment, before shaking himself out of his dumbfounded state and prompting conversation.
"Oh, I think I recognize your helmet. You're Mand'alor the Invincible's daughter, right? What brings you here... and all alone?" He inquired, raising a brow as she met his gaze with her visor, her expression invisible, shrouded behind silver metal and black glass.
"Hello mister, could I please get a custom order?" She got up onto her tiptoes to fish the piece of paper she'd written down her request on out of her pocket and set it on the table, allowing the man to read over it before watching a soft, warm smile settle upon his lips.
"Heh, sure, why not? I'm sure he'll love the sentiment, but something this detailed will take time. If you could give us about... maybe an hour thirty, we'll have it made and ready to be stuffed. Think you could wait that long, kid?" Ruby simply nodded, before stepping back over to the wall, lounging against the crimson and gold wallpaper as she crossed her arms and waited for them to finish. The people in the store expected her to be a bit more childlike, but to their surprise Ruby displayed a rather impressive display of patience for a girl who looked so young, height-wise, never budging an inch besides to adjust her posture from getting too lazy every now and then...
An hour thirty had come and gone, and the following couple of minutes were spent filling her new stuffy up with cotton to make it nice and fluffy. With a silent nod of thanks after holding the stuffy close to her chest for a moment, Ruby returned the stuffy to the bag before taking her leave from the store. The skies had darkened a fair bit, but she understood that if she left now, she'd still be able to make it before her father noticed she was gone... hopefully, at least. Nevertheless, she still had that feeling as if something was calling to her back in the abandoned sector, and wanted to check it out. Sure, she might get in trouble... but maybe if what she found was useful, her father would actually be proud, instead?
It took a few minutes of walking to reach the district, but as soon as she'd returned, she began walking through one of the alleyways, searching with her night vision on her helmet for anything that stood out to her. Maybe it was a weapon, or technology, maybe something else, perhaps even some accidentally discarded Beskar? Whatever it was, she wasn't quite sure just yet what she was looking for, but just knew it had to be unique.
For another hour, she searched fruitlessly for whatever it was that had drawn her to these dark alleyways, until eventually, she came upon what looked like some sort of warehouse. The windows were long since boarded up, the doors barricaded from the inside yet a small ray of light bleeding out from a crack in the wooden walls. It took another couple of minutes, but eventually Ruby came upon a breach in the walls just large enough for herself to fit through, and exploited that to facilitate entry.
The inside of the warehouse was fairly textbook, shipping containers and wooden crates she had to squeeze between and the occasional couple of rats that scattered at her approach. However, after another dozen or so minutes of navigating through the barriers in her path, she came upon a gap, too small for herself to fit through but just large and well-placed enough to allow light to bleed through and give her a partially unobstructed view of what else lie within the warehouse. The center was mostly clear, but there was a couple of wheeled cabinets, the large, wheeled-ones mechanics often kept in their garages for their tools, some of them knocked over, their contents spilled over the floor, and in the dead-center with the only light shining directly down upon it, something shrouded by a thick fabric that draped across the floor. Still, whatever was under that fabric was huge, at least 7 and a half feet tall. It warranted investigation, so she continued navigating through the mass of shipping containers and wooden boxes until she found a decent enough opening for her to squeeze through.
Stepping up to the massive, cloaked object, Ruby grasped the fabric and began backpedaling with a steady grip. She lacked the strength or size to just yank it off, but like this she could at least pull it off. After some struggle, she was allowed to look upon the object that was once obscured to her, whistling lowly as she admired the mechanical contraption. Sure, with how horrifically it was rusted and falling apart in come areas it looked like junk, but she could tell it wasn't so cut and dry. It was some sort of frame, mechanical, and with an interior space just large enough for someone in something like a jumpsuit to fit comfortably into. It resembled a human in shape, if much larger, and without any head, and seemed like it would be moved by pistons and hydraulics. An idle thought crossed her mind, that being of possibly slapping armor onto a frame such as this and the things it could be used to do in the hands of a skilled Mandalorian.
"Hmmm... super strength and endurance... give it some thick Beskar plates and it'd probably make it's user nearly unstoppable... more technology at the user's fingertips, too... could probably tote around a heavy blaster cannon with ease wearing something like this..." Ruby idly mused, pacing around the massive frame and allowing her imagination to run wild. She was sure that the Armorer and Miss Black could easily make this frame look like a joke, probably massively improve it in every way... but this was an incredible find to her, nonetheless. It allowed her imagination to run wild, and it was almost as if she could visualize the schematics in her head in vivid detail. Truly, this to her was a marvelous find.
"Found the PAF Prototype, eh kid?" She immediately drew her disruptor pistol from it's holster and snapped it onto the source of the voice behind her, holding from firing as the speaker held up his hands in a disarming manner. The figure, a male of average height and build, stepped out of the shadows and drew the hood of his poncho back. He was an old timer, she'd guess perhaps somewhere in his sixties if his face and slightly hunched stature were anything to go by. "No need for the weapon, I'll keep my distance. I'm sorry if I startled you, but you did sort of wake me up with the bonking of that metal helmet of yours against the crates on your way in."
"You called this the "PAF Prototype..." What is that?" Ruby questioned, relaxing and lowering her arm yet still keeping her disruptor on target just in case. She didn't know this man, and had no reason to trust him as of yet. Old or young, both could be extremely dangerous.
"Power Armor Framework Prototype. I pitched it to Atlas forty years ago, but they had no interest. I've worked as a vehicular mechanic ever since, but I do return to this warehouse where it all started every year or two and wonder how my life would've been different if Atlas had adopted my invention." The old man explained, smiling somberly as he looked upon the rusted power armor frame. It explained a few things, such as why this light was on when all others in the area had long since died and why he was here, but it didn't explain who he was.
"Okay... but who are you? Could you answer me that question?" Ruby inquired, continuing to keep her disruptor on target while she took a singular step back, bracing her stance as she refused to take her eyes off the old man.
"Ah, of course, that seems to have slipped my mind... you may call me Nero Astarte. I'm afraid that frame is really the only thing of interest about me, im a fairly normal and bland person, otherwise." He chuckled as he stepped around, resting his hand on the opposite side of the frame and wiping some dust off the metal, taking a few flakes of rust away with it. time had clearly not been kind to this machine, but it held form fairly well, considering it's age and lack of maintenance.
"This frame... how much would you want for it?" Ruby questioned, bringing a curious look to the old man's face.
"Hm. Admittedly I've never quite thought about selling it to anyone other than Atlas, and they they've rejected me every time... still, I have been trying to get rid of it for some time. Everyone else who's seen it has called it junk, worthless. If you're truly interested, you can take it, I can't maintain it anymore, and I'd rather it end up in the hands of someone who'd actually care... do you? Do you truly care?"
"I do. I believe the Mando'ade, my family, will benefit from this. Even if just from the idea, having a baseline to work off of, a legacy to build from, will help a lot. I believe that-" Before she could finish her statement, a massive explosion demolished the front warehouse doors previously barricaded, forcing both herself and the old man to duck down to preemptively avoid getting hit by any shrapnel at their level. Snapping her attention over to the smoke, her eyes widened as dozens of Mandalorians flooded into the room, with a bright blue flame glowing through the smoke.
Gulping lowly, Ruby lowered herself down to her knees while the old man was immediately taken to the ground by ten ARC Troopers at once, forced up onto his knees before having all of their blasters pointed at him despite his confused protests. Her kin continued to flood in, establishing a perimeter and clearing every corner of the warehouse before her father finally stepped through the smog that obscured her vision.
"ROOM CLEAR!" A commando roared as he dropped to a knee, taking up a scan as he and his squad formed a perimeter of about five meters around Ruby. She was shaking slightly, especially since she knew if he'd rallied what she now counted to be over half the Mando'ade, she must've REALLY had him worried. Given everything that had happened and all he'd done to protect her so far, she understood why he acted to aggressively and in such an overt fashion this time, but couldn't help but hope he'd at least hear her out as he approached. That being said, his semblance was manifesting as a veritable whirlwind of light blue flames around him that did truly scorch the ground in a small radius around him.
"Oh... I'm so dead." Ruby thought idly as he approached her, hands balled into fists as he stepped up to her and crossed his arms. She could tell he was many things right now. Livid, worried, exasperated, panicked, but most of all, hurt... it made her feel awful.
"Ruby... WHAT THE HELL?!. Do you have even the SLIGHTEST idea how worried I was when I saw you were this far away from the Covert? We don't know if those psychos have actually ceased their pursuit or not, I thought you'd been taken from under our noses! Why didn't you tell me you were going, you know I would've dropped everything for you?!. Do you not trust me?" Midnight exploded, his anger more than clearly evident. Gritting her teeth, Ruby forced herself not to cry under her father's anger and the pain he held in his voice. Truthfully, she didn't think about how it might hurt him, her not telling him where she was going, especially given the circumstances of late.
"No! Daddy, please, I do trust you, and with all my life! I... I just wanted to..." Ruby's gaze fell to the floor, weakly pulling up the stuffy she'd made from her bag and holding it to her chest. However, it was large enough that her simply hugging it wouldn't cover up most of it, and seeing it made Midnight pause for a moment, his semblance finally starting to die down as it seemed he was calmed somewhat by what she had.
"That's... me... Ruby, you did all this because you wanted to make a stuffy... of me?" Midnight knelt down and allowed his daughter to hand over the stuffy, taking him off guard with the sentiment behind it.
"I... I just wanted to surprise you, dad... I'm sorry, I didn't... I don't wanna hurt you..." She began to sniffle as the tears she was holding back began to break loose, drawing a low sigh out of the older clone as his head dropped, before returning his gaze back to Ruby. He set a hand on her shoulder, before pulling her in for a hug, his hand lowering to gently rub her back.
"No, it's... it's fine, just... don't give me a scare like that again. Next time, just tell me where you wanna go, if I can't go with you, I'll have one of our kin escort you. I don't wanna lose you, I can't." He held her for a few moments, before turning his head over towards the old man, raising a brow from under his mask. "Who's that guy? He didn't try to hurt or kidnap you, did he?"
"OH! No, nononono, he's the owner of that "Power Armor Framework Prototype" behind me! He said he'd be willing to give it to us, but we can't just not pay him for it!" Ruby explained while wiping away her tears, prompting Midnight to nod to his ARC Troopers that held the man at gunpoint. Without hesitation, the clones helped him onto his feet, dusted him off and promptly apologized while they withdrew their guns. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as they let go of him, but he still seemingly needed to brace himself against a steel beam to support himself while he regained his composure.
"Apologies, sir. I saw my daughter was alone after so long on the run, and thought she might be in danger." Midnight offered his apologies to the man as well, but he merely waved them off.
"There's no need, I understand the lengths a father will go to protect their little girl well... so you must be the "Mando'ade" she mentioned? Her family?" He breathed, accepting the arm a Commando offered for support so he could approach. "She said you and yours would get some use out of my old works?"
"Hmmm..." His eyes turned over towards the old, rusted frame as he raised a brow from behind his visor. If he were being honest, he was curious as to just what his daughter saw in such an old piece of technology... perhaps a baseline to work from? He wasn't sure, but if he knew anything about his little girl, it's that she was not to be taken lightly when it came to understanding technology. If she saw potential in this rusted old suit, who was he to argue when he didn't even understand his own disruptor as well as she now did? "My daughter is insistent that we pay you for this despite your offer to just give it away. We can pay you handsomely for this, if Ruby truly thinks it's a worthwhile investment."
"It is, Daddy! Imagine being able to use a heavy blaster cannon like a rifle, and not be weighed down by heavy Beskar plates thanks to the frame! Besides, we could incorporate WAY more tech into this, maybe even shield generators and the sort!" Ruby pleaded, receiving a small headpat as her father rose upright to look the man in the eye, albeit towering over him a few inches.
"Well... I suppose having enough to allow my family to live easily, move out of a lot of their bad conditions into better places and pay for education wouldn't hurt..." He mused, tapping his chin with his finger before Midnight laughed slightly, giving the frame a few taps with his fist before turning back to the old man.
"Given the potential my daughter sees in it... 5 million lien. Does that sound fair?" The man's eyes nearly buggered out of his skull at the offer, before bowing before the Mand'alor respectfully with teary eyes.
"Yes! Yes, more than fair, sir! With that much, My family and I would be set for life!" Midnight chuckled slightly at that, before getting on the net and instructing those still at base to retrieve 5 million lien and another gunship. Once he was done with that, he shook the old man's hand to affirm the deal, and began reconsolidating all their personnel and equipment to head back, albeit after they'd loaded up their new toy...
A low sigh escaped his lips as he fell back in his bed, armor offloaded at the foot of the mattress and his daughter in his arms as he started up at the ceiling of the MRAP. When they presented the Power Armor Frame to the Armorer, he felt a little more confident in the purchase as she seemed almost giddy to start examining it. In the morning, he'd lend Ruby over to her so they could start dissecting it, hopefully get something a little more useful out of it in due time. Still, for now, he'd been up ever since they'd arrived in New Mandalore, and he wanted to catch up on some sleep. Ruby seemed to be on the same page, albeit she hadn't been up as long.
It was strange, he thought, that his semblance kicked into overdrive like that despite there not being any immediate danger. Perhaps it also kicked in under conditions where he was trying to protect something, and the value of that something to him dictated how much it boosted him? It was all just theory work right now, but he couldn't dismiss the possibility. If his semblance activated under such conditions as well, he knew he absolutely needed to practice some more. There was a power within him he couldn't deny, and he'd be damned if he didn't bring it out and hone it to perfection.
Despite the events with Ruby today, his end was hardly any less busy. Rikka had returned, successful in her endeavor of securing contracts for the Mando'ade, Davian too with securing enough supplies to last the whole Mando'ade months without resupply, and Marcus had returned with thirty construction and engineering droids, and another fifty mining droids, high quality ones that were made specifically for the job, as well, not just reprogrammed Atlesian Knights as most companies used. Supposedly he'd gotten them all at a pretty great discount, too, being able to afford all 80 droids for less than what they'd paid for that frame. He'd say they overpaid for the frame at that, but then learned that Marcus had somehow secured a 90% discount. With that in mind, he was allowed to reassess what they paid for the frame, and ultimately decided it was at least reasonable.
Now, with everything they needed to get to work acquired, it was high time they got to work making this outpost a home. Sure, it would be long, hard work, and there'd be plenty of sleepless nights in the immediate future... but it would all be worth it, soon. If current predictions were correct, they'd have most of their facilities carved out and an electrical grid established within a week's time, and he was honestly pretty excited to hear he'd have a home to call his own forevermore...