It was the afternoon and 3 men were talking in a large tent, it was located outside the main walls but still within the defense perimiter, the 3 men happened to be cousins, and they also happened to be leaders of the Outcast Guild. They were nameless shadowy types, never seen in normal towns or transport ships, always hidden away, only speaking when they need to. They are the most infamous group in the Free Land, so they dont want more than a handful of people to have even heard their voices. In order of youngest to oldest, they are The Deputy, The Sheriff and The Marshall. They are all in deep discussion and debate about the new recruits to their guild, 7 pilots are have been waiting in the common room waiting to be seen by an official.

The Marshall says a series of words that are interpreted as a direct order to his two younger cousins, who reluctantly comply with his decision. They all nod to each other and get about their business, the Marshall returns to his barracks via a squad jeep and the Deputy and Sheriff head to the Common room. They both stood in the middle of the room that was fairly cosy with sofas and a coffee machine, the pilots were already talking but the entrance of the two men brought about a silence. The Sheriff who was dressed like a wild west bounty hunter with his hat very low over his face spoke first.

Dang it, this room is kinda studdy aint it? I'm the Sheriff, I'm one of the 3 founders of this tidy little operation we got runnin here. Now normally we'd have Guild Recruitment process ya, but me and the Cowboy got something else in mind for ya. He gon run you through a little exercise and I need a couple of yall ears. So I'm gonna ask Hawthorne, Alexi & Nate to join me in the War room real quick. I'll leave the rest of yall with the Deputy.


The Sheriff lead the 3 soldiers with him to the War room which was only a few doors down the hall, it was where all major operations were planned and it was almost unheard of to bring new recruits in. After showing them all a seat he took his place at the head of the table and cleared his throat. When he spoke his voice was deeper, and his accent seemed to dissapear.


Okay....before we go any further, I need to know.....why did you decide to join the outcast guild?


Back in the common room the Deputy who was dressed like a farmhand pulled up his belt braces with his thumbs and let them snap against his chest before taking a quick look around, the room.

Okay you guys, ya'll wanna have some fun? Head to the hangar where yall have parked and get inside your mechs, meet me by the flatland are near the back of the compound. Got a surpside for ya!

The young man flashed a cheeky smile and skipped off toward the hangar direction.

---

---

Amongst the individuals in the large, stuffy, tent, a giant hulk of muscle and meat sits in a tiny chair as waits patiently for a briefing with the Outcast members. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Seymon Maxim is an imposing man to say the least, with arms as thick as tree trunks, sporting a dome-shaved head, with stubble coating his lower jaw and sideburns, and an imposing look that can freeze anyone in their sights. He has what seems to be a permanent frown curving downwards like he is always displeased 24/7. It's not too often that you see this man smile. After all, Alex does come from the Northern Frontier, a cold and brutal place where the strong and cunning survive. Obviously one can tell he's of the former, with some of the latter sprinkled upon the large vanilla blob of ice cream.

He wasn't the only N.F soldier in the room, though perhaps one of the most high ranking of them inside, let alone in the entire room. Alexander can recognize two more fellow Frontiersmen, both whom he remembers fighting alongside. To his left, he can see Hawthorne Balthazar, the white-haired staff sergeant who he himself had promoted years ago. He even knew his mother before she died tragically in battle. It reminded him painfully about his father's death, Erik Maxim Vadimir, perhaps one of the few things they have in common other than blasting full force into the enemy. To his right, Alex can see the blond, slit-eyed, Cassius Makarov, a supporting sniper who indeed has a deadly reputation. The two hadn't seen or talked to one another much, in fact, according to records, he was supposed to be dead after his whole squad was utterly devastated, but with no sign of major pieces of his mech, it seemed he must've been an MIA after all.

Everyone else in the room he does recognize... they being from other nations. One was a female pilot, the other a rather handome man. As he glances to the next person slightly to his left, he then sees another familiar face. But this time he seems to be frowning a little more than usual, though he didn't express much of it. Captain Nathaniel James Mason II, a Theux state captain, was one of his opponents during the Great War of Orio. Seems like he's gotten some new legs too, after one of Alex's minigun bullets somehow managed to rip his legs off. It was a bit vivid in detail on what happened, but he figures they came from that confrontation. He must be really pissed off on having been robbed with a regular, non-robotic life style, where as Alex has no augmentations whatsoever. It's best not to bother him, let alone look at him. If anything, a close eye should be on the look out for any treachery steaming from his soul, if he has any to begin with anyways.

Already deep in his train of thoughts, he suddenly sees a western cowboy looking fellow come into view. He apparently is known as The Sheriff and asks for Hawthorne, Alexi and Nathaniel to come with him inside. For a second, Alexander thought he was up and was only called by his nickname, but looking back it was clear he mean't someone else. The word "psychopath" instantly flashed in his head when he saw the man walk towards the door. To Alex, he brings a bad vibe. Then again, he must somehow be good in battle, perhaps "crazily" good.

As the men walked inside, he and the others were left with the deputy. Said Deputy then mentions them to come to the hanger and suit up in their mech for some 'fun'. With a grunt, the shaved bear silently stands up as he follows him to the hangar bay.

Well, well, well! This was a pleasant surprise, wasn’t it? So many familiar faces gathered around in such close proximity. Some Hawthorne knew in person, and some only through hearsay. There only seemed to be one fellow that he knew nothing about. Standing off to his right was the ol’ Fluffykins himself, Lieutenant Colonel Maxim. Hawthorne felt some form of relief that his absence from service was an entirely legal one, not so for dear old Cassius however. Ah, Cassius, the prodigal sniper whose life was supposedly cut short in the midst of an ambush that left his entire squad in ruins. On his very first mission too. Simply tragic. Speaking of running away… Yeah, there she was. Olympia Marston, always good when a quick fix or a bit of stress reduction was needed. He made eye contact with her from across the room and wiggled his brows a bit. It’s only been, what? A few years with zero contact?

“...gonna ask Hawthorne, Alexi & Nate to join me in the War room real quick. I'll leave the rest of yall with the Deputy.”

He eased his gaze away from Olympia, pushing off from the wall he was leaning against with mock gusto to follow the given command. He studied the two companions entering the war room with him. Nate, Hawthorne immediately recognized as a potential threat. Anyone who knew anything about the guy should be aware that he was involved in some sort of black ops gig during the war. Hawthorne isn’t anyone however, and he dug up a whole lot more than just that. Jackal Squad were spooky guys, man. Alexi, Hawthorne definitely saw as a threat under the right (or more accurately, wrong) circumstances. A psychopathic, bloodthirsty, cutthroat mercenary that extorted her own clients for money. She was also probably wild in the bedroom… but still, psychopath. Hawthorne had heard all about her from multiple sources, especially the little stunt she pulled upon her apparent capture. Now, however, she was back and badder than ever. Hawthorne hoped if he crossed her path often, it would be over coffee or something, and not at end of her mech’s sword.

“Okay....before we go any further, I need to know.....why did you decide to join the outcast guild?”

Oh boy, Hawthorne was all over this opportunity. “So,” He began, his voice slightly sing-songy, though with a sturdy base. “Are you practicing for some sort of play, ‘pardner’? Your accent’s gone. Or… is this a fake accent? And the one back there was the real one?” Hawthorne paused for a moment, before his face lit up. “It doesn’t really matter anyways, that’s the correct answer, isn’t it? But if it does matter,” Hawthorne began slowly, taking a step toward the Sheriff and speaking in a conspiratorial manner. “Tell me, alright? Anyways,” Here now he reclaimed his previous position and tone of voice. “Why did I decide to join the Guild…? Will a ‘why not’ suffice? Or do you need my entire life story followed by hearing about how long I’ve been looking forward to this opportunity? I’m here because I want to make money and maybe kill some mech pilots.”

In other news, another 364 bodies were uncovered in and along the coastal city of Epsilon, the place where most of the conflict had occurred for the Therux State. "We still have search parties roaming the old city and its coastal waters for any remains of those fallen both of military and civilian life." Aurther LeBeau, Commander of the Therux National Guard stated as him and Jay LeBlanc, Director of Homeland Security work together to return many back to their homes. "We just want our son back. He needs to be at peace." Klaire Bennett mournfully stated, her husband comforting her on her side.

Tensions between both the Hylo Empire and the Therux state have never been higher. Local officials and its police force have been-

He cut off the news feed on his forearm screen, not wanting to hear anything else. He was tired, having to get up fairly early for this "interview he thought it to be. His landlord had suggested that he go to this guild. "You need a good paying job and they are basically family to each other and they pay well. It'd be good for you to get back into that kinda crowd. Lord knows you need it NateyNate." Chelsea, ahhh Chelsea. She was a great girl and a wonderful landlord hence why Nate hung around and helped her with the buildings upkeep when he was available to do so. Before he came to this place he had found work as a Mecha Mechanic for Bradford and Stevens, a local mecha shop used to help keep up the old farming mechs that stopped in. The job was great but the pay sucked, putting him in several positions that would have compromised his living arrangement. Luckily, Chelsea was thankful enough to let him go a few times in exchange for the work he put in at the complex and she was right. He needed a new job that paid and maybe some people he could relate to. He had heard about the group when he was at SolarMoon, the bar downtown. A few of them were former Orio Veterens and others just damn good at doing some shady work but who was he to complain about shady work.

So there he was, sitting amongst some people he hardly knew. Except for one and that was vaguely. The large bald headed Frontierian. He wasn't exactly sure who he was since Nate had a tendency to arrive early almost everywhere but he seemed familiar. He looked down from him and saw a few others and to his side a few more. More Frontierians, great. At least they weren't Hyloins, he didn't care much for them. He wasn't surprised to see a woman amongst them. His sergeant was a woman and a damn fine solider and pilot. He sighed as he reached into his top shirt pocket for his cigs. He withdrew one stick and lit it, inhaling heavily before letting out a plume of smoke. The old veteran looked towards the ground and rocked his metallic foot back and forth, listening to the mechanics in it.

reeet, errrr, reeet, errr

'Needs to be tweaked a bit.' He thought to himself. Running a metal hand through his head, he leaned forward, cigarette in mouth and withdrew a small toolkit from his opposite leg. He tapped the side of his temple as the metal contraption on the side of his face lit up and a light crossed over his eye. If one looked closely, they could see it was meant to keep track of the statistics and maintenance schematics of his augmentations, though he had put extra work into it, giving it a military boost.

"Left Leg: Ankle Bearings and hydraulics" He spoke the command and the screen in front of his eyes flickered in color as it brought up the schematics to his leg and specifically to his ankle. He moved his foot a few more times before it popped up with an answer for him.

[Ankle adjustment: 1.3 psi] it read on the screen and so he set to work, fiddling with his leg, adjusting it to where it needed to be-

REEEEERRRRRR His heel hit the ground with tremendous force, caving in a small piece of concrete.

"Too much.." He muttered as he set about fixing his mistake.

After about 15 minutes of this the foot was back to normal and soon enough he was asked to follow a, bounty hunter? No surprise there. This area of the Region were chalk full of them but nonetheless he followed silently, his HUD on his screen still up. Should turn that off now he thought to himself, didn't really need the screen on to make a digital scan of the area anyway. As they entered he took the furthest seat, its back towards the wall while facing the door. The action came normal to him after all, special forces training and experience. Soon enough the question came through...

“Okay....before we go any further, I need to know.....why did you decide to join the outcast guild?”

He went to open his mouth but stopped as one of the others spoke up. Good, at least he could then gather his thoughts together and hear what the others had to say. His expression remained stoic as the man, assumed to be Hawthorne, spoke. He watched him carefully. His posture, the way he talked, the tone of his voice...He was still a rookie in Nathan's eyes plus the unneeded question about the accent made him seem childish. Nate's eyes then turned to the other one. A woman and he had the strangest suspicion by the way she held herself, she would be a handful. Nathaniel took out another cigarette and lit it, a long drag followed before he leaned forward with a smile though his eyes seemed to give off a different feeling. "Honestly its because of what I have heard around town. Pays good, good crew.. Stuff like that." Another drag.

Plus I don't want the landlady getting on my case about rent. Mech Mechanics don't pay all that well despite the "competitive pay" they place in the ads." He chuckled lightly as he leaned back in his seat and looked at the table and coughed, clearing his throat.

But yeah, I agree with Alexi here as she brings up a good point. I have heard about your capabilities in defending this region from the other three nations. You seem to do a rather good job at it and if what Alexi says is true and you are the closest thing to having a militaristic infrastructure then I consider myself to be a great asset to your guild, sir." His eyebrows lowered ever so slightly but spoke with enough confidence behind them that his expression alone spoke truth. All he would need to do is back it with his experience.

Cassius Makarov

Cassius wasn’t very nervous when he had first decided to come to the meeting. After all he had been through, this wasn’t much. No, he only became nervous once he saw some of the other people that had shown up to participate as well. He recognised some of them from his days in the military. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Seymon Maxim, an intimidating hulk of a man. Over 200 confirmed kills and a look on his face that seemed to give the impression that he wouldn’t be opposed to adding to that number. Then there was the more intimidating of the two, Staff Sergeant Hawthorne Balthazar. It’s true that Alexander was a far more physically intimidating man, but there was a different air about Hawthorne. Almost like he enjoyed to fight, a sentiment that Cassius was never able to share. The men defiantly noticed that he was there, but they didn’t seem to say anything. Perhaps they didn’t know who he was? Maybe they knew but didn’t care. Either way, Cassius was nervous to be around soldiers from the Northern Frontier. They could fairly easily report his current location to the Frontier. But after a few moments, Cassius put that thought to rest. If they were here, then they must not have too much to do with the Frontier these days. As he began to look around the room at the other people that had joined him, some men came into the room.

“So I'm gonna ask Hawthorne, Alexi & Nate to join me in the War room real quick. I'll leave the rest of yall with the Deputy.”

He watched as the others got up and left. He took particular notice of a man that that had been talking to himself earlier. It seemed as though the man had several cybernetic parts, somewhat rare around these parts. He had to be a military man of one sort of another, but it seemed as though Cassius was unaware of him. Come to think of it, there really wasn’t anyone else in the room that Cassius recognised. His intel seemed to extend to officers of his own nation, but not much beyond that. He wasn’t in active duty long enough to have gathered the military information that others seemed to be privy to. The others that were left in the room with him and Lieutenant Colonel Maxim didn’t seem like military types. They had more of a vagabond vibe about them, not that Cassius was any to judge someone on their values. The past is the past, and right now, everyone in this room was an equal, and even a possible ally.

“Okay you guys, ya'll wanna have some fun? Head to the hangar where yall have parked and get inside your mechs, meet me by the flatland are near the back of the compound. Got a surpside for ya!"

This was a little disarming to Cassius. Get into your mech for some fun? Something about this put him on edge, there wasn’t much fun to be had in a machine designed for the destruction and decimation of other people’s lives but it seemed as though this might be some kind of initiation, so he simply stood and followed the man into the hanger. As he walked he glanced over to the Lieutenant Colonel and offered him a knowing nod. Cassius might have abandoned his post and disgraced himself, but he was still a military boy at heart and an officer of rank deserved respect, his father had been sure to teach him that. The others however, Cassius wasn’t sure about. Both the man and the woman gave off a vibe that he wasn't totally sure he trusted. Cassius was a little naive about the things beyond the military world, but he tended to trust his instincts whenever he could. Never the less, he walked over to them to introduce himself.

“Hey, my name is Cassius” he said as he smiled and offered his hand out to the woman first. “It looks like we might be working together, so I thought it only right to introduce myself” He was a little nervous, he had run across a few people in his time traveling that had been a little less than welcoming to new people, so he always took care to be on edge when introducing himself. You never know what someone might try when they think you have your guard down.

So, a girl can set out on a promising adventure, mecha in tow with plenty of opportunity, and end up in a boring room full of couches, some military uniforms, a comical hulking Northerner in a tiny chair, and a liquid drug machine. Olympia was so full of boredom that it was practically spilling from her mouth, paired with an occasional chortle at the situation. 'I hope giving up the trade was worth this Outcast shindig after all.' She thought over the decision as she picked at the edges of her gloves, all the while analyzing the faces in the room. One was bound to to be a client, she was sure.
She shifted her eyes around, recovering the sight of some standard gun loving fellas, a curious bloke drawn into a handy screen on his even more curious arm, and a wildcard crumpled peacefully on the couch. The red beret caught her eye, as did the chaotic storm she had brought in, before she decided to take a catnap. Olympia briefly pondered what a handful (or two) this chick might be, before her gaze fell on a handsome white haired guy leaning on the wall. He seemed to be looking at her for a moment, and she looked back. A smirk spread across her face, joined by a pair of raised eyebrows as she recognized Hawthorne Balthazar. Boy, had it been a while since she put her...eyes on that spectre of a man. Olympia scoffed, a question or two climbing out of her throat before it was stopped by the sound of a voice shattering the stillness of the common room.

“...gonna ask Hawthorne, Alexi & Nate to join me in the War room real quick. I'll leave the rest of yall with the Deputy.”

'I suppose it'll have to wait 'til later.' She watched him walk past, followed by the bleary nutcase and the smokey bionic man. The leftover bodies in the room with her seemed to spectate as the chosen few made their exit, and she wondered what she might have in common with them. It seemed that the farmer boy was about to tell her.

“Okay you guys, ya'll wanna have some fun? Head to the hangar where yall have parked and get inside your mechs, meet me by the flatland are near the back of the compound. Got a surpside for ya!"

...or not. What was with this guy, anyway? Fun is great and all, but this just sounded goofy. Nevertheless, something to break the monotony of sitting in silence was welcome enough, and a romp around in her mech definitely couldn't hurt. She stood up and smoothed over her pants before striding behind, intent on getting to the hangar as soon as possible.
Once within, a rogue hand presented itself to her, belonging to the blonde soldier. “Hey, my name is Cassius. It looks like we might be working together, so I thought it only right to introduce myself”
Why not? She flashed a grin and grabbed his hand, giving it a firm and enthusiastic shake. "Sure sure, let's do the right thing for your sake, Cassius. I'm Olympia." She gave a miniature bow and popped herself back up, her grin now simmered down to a dimpled smirk. He was obviously a Northerner, and the military type, but he seemed to have some softer edges with a little politeness. Fair enough.

The Deputy had a bounce in his step all the way to the hangar, he didnt say anything apart from a couple greetings to the staff they walked past but he couldnt quit grinning, as if he was playing a joke in his head that no one else would get. He seemed to have a fidgeting problem, kept snapping his belt bracers and then began to hum some sort of country tune as they neared the mechs which were in the garage. As they stood among thier Mechs, Deputy turned to face the group.

Turns out my cousin has taken a special interest in yall, he gotta have some important talk with the 3 that went with him, but yall get to stretch those metal legs and get down in the mud with some pals of mine.

The Deputy leaned against Cassius' machine, the Angel and pulled out a data pad, he chuckled to himself as tapped on a few icons and brought up a hologram. The image of a mech design filled the space in front of him.


So this right here is the series of Colos-I uh mean Mechs used by the O'Brian brothers, they come from a friendly hick family in the mountain area of the greenlands, thier granny makes one hell of a pumpkin pie too! I've asked them to come help with a little friendly face of with yall, all 4 will be remote controlling these guys and trying to take you out, but remember its just a training match so no need to soil your dungarees over nuttin, once you are all in your mechs those garage doors fly open and comabt starts right away so no dilly-dallying, kick some ass yall!

With that the deptuty grabbed his datapad and skipped away laughing to himself as he faded into the dark hallway leading up the hangar garage, the match would commence very soon.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________





The Sheriff's voice had settled in its new deep tone, his eyes were still hidden under the brim of his cowboy duster, but the blue lights of his digital map table was reflecting off his eyes just enough to give them an inhuman glow. Hes head didn't move as the 3 pilots spoke he listened in complete silence and focus before speaking back. He ignored the question about his accent.

You are right, we are the strongest registered power in the fortune reigon, not big enough to be an army, but weve definately made a name for ourselves even across the pond. But thats mainly because of the nature of what we do. We take jobs and requests from the local people and keep the area clean where we can, but every now and again we will get something big, something that our regular members cant handle....

The sheriff stood up at his table and a screen flicked on behind him with the profiles of all the 7 pilots clear on the screen.

Most of the people wanting to join us are teenagers looking for a thrill, small time security workers who arent happy with their pay and ex cons on the run, or junkies looking to make money. Luckily most of the jobs we get even a child could do, guarding towns raiding old elementum mines, shit like that. But we just got a tip off about something very big.....it seems like that only hours after the Western Coalition has ended this week, there has been strange happennenings in Fortune reigon, it has to be connected. And if I'm totally honest, you 7 wanting to join is massive godsend, most of you are ex military and you all have exemplary combat records, not to mention Mk2+ Mechs, you are essentially over qualified to join the Outcast guild, but you are just right for this assignment.

The screen behind him flickered off of the profiles of the pilots and on to a map of the Fortune Reigon and it zoomed into the middle, where the Swamplands are located.

Basically, there has been a disturbance at Helen Tower, which was what set the great war in motion in the first place. We have identified, Mechs travelling from this unknown base in the swamplands, at first we though it was a regular bandit hideout, but the Mechs all seem to have the same markings and only travel from this base to helen tower and back. We would like all 7 of you to have a look at that. I know there is no official ranking in the guild, but we would like you 3 to be in charge of this little group as we feel your experience lends to it the best. You can decide between yourselves the hirearchy.....Any questions?

The Sheriff sat back down, totally still.

This. Was. Fan. Fucking. Tastic. Hawthorne Balthazar, the Hawthorn Balthazar, was being asked to lead a squad of mech pilots, one of whom was technically his superior. Oh boy, he could only imagine how Fluffykins would react to that. Hawthorne wondered what Olympia would think of all of this too. Would she be impressed? Probably just indifferent, but it didn’t really matter either way. He had no clue what the other two would say. Cassius was probably just happy to stay out of the spotlight. Trench coat guy? No idea.

What did Jackal-boy and Alexi think about all of this though? Hawthorne found it hard to picture the latter commanding anyone, but maybe she’d take to it well. Who knew. Nathaniel, on the other hand, Hawthorne could easily see commanding others. Hawthorne wasn’t too shabby in a leadership role himself, now that he thought of it. If the three of them could figure out some sort of dynamic, particularly one that benefited himself, then the whole operation might turn out to be an effective and entertaining source of income. God damn this was getting his blood flowing! A potential threat almost always wound up in a fight. Hawthorne was yearning to shoot up something strong into his veins and tear apart the metallic shells of his opponents to grind the flesh inside to a pulp.

Hawthorne let out a short, predatory chuckle more akin to a bark than a laugh, his grin a sickening slash of wolven hunger, which he gradually coaxed back into a more relaxed mien. He took a few steps towards the Sheriff. “Well why the fuck not? Sounds like a good bit of fun, eh?” He whirled around to face his associates, arms spread out at either side of him. Oh, how Hawthorne loved the dramatics. “Whadda you say? Alexi? Jackal-boy? Think the three of us can lead this ragtag band of veterans and criminals into glorious combat against our woefully outclassed opponents?”

Nathaniel listened quietly to The Sheriff, a slight twitch of the brow to show a bit of annoyance from his profile being up on the screen but thankfully almost his entire profile had been wiped from the database say for dates and times, everything else was encrypted to the point encryptions had encryptions. Nothing showed except for [WARNING! Classified Intel, Security Clearance DOD1Alpha Only!] and that was most of the profile. But this was not a major problem. He looked down at the table in front of him and tapped it, bringing up a hologram of the same information and map that was shown on the screen in front of them. He sat there, analyzing the "Swamplands". Indeed they were swamplands though they seemed a lot like the marshlands south of Therux's capital city. Then he turned his attention to the profiles. He skimmed through them, taking note of each pilot and their mechs strengths and weaknesses until-

"Son of a bitch..." He muttered before slamming his fist on the table. That's why the one large pilot seemed familiar...The Great Heavy. That son of a bitch was within their ranks and he owed him for his legs...But that would have to wait. It didn't take long for him to regain composure before skimming through the rest of the profiles and after which he sat back and ran another hand through his hair.

-but the Mechs all seem to have the same markings and only travel from this base to helen tower and back. We would like all 7 of you to have a look at that. I know there is no official ranking in the guild, but we would like you 3 to be in charge of this little group as we feel your experience lends to it the best. You can decide between yourselves the hierarchy.....Any questions?

One thing the military taught Nathan was multitasking so of course he heard the short briefing but had a few words to put in.

"So your saying that these mechs have been commuting back and forth between the tower and all have similar or the same markings. Do you have a picture of these marking and/or cross checked them with any known paramilitary teams or mercenary groups? What about as far as company mechs? Over my time as Captain I have learned that the best intelligence is intelligence properly gathered. However, I am used to going into situations with little to no info but that was due to the fact I had no other choice of action."

He sighed and remained silent for a long moment before nodding.

"Looks like we're going back to-"

“Well why the fuck not? Sounds like a good bit of fun, eh?” Hawthorne whirled around to face Nate and Alexi, arms spread out at either side of him. Oh, how Hawthorne loved the dramatics...and apparently pissing off Therux Captains. “Whadda you say? Alexi? Jackal-boy? Think the three of us can lead this ragtag band of veterans and criminals into glorious combat against our woefully outclassed opponents?” Nathaniel's eye twitched as irritation made its way on his face, hidden behind a smile.

"What do I think? I think first off "Accent", you need to address me as Captain or sir. I'm not your fuckbuddy, I'm not your friend." Hawthorne had earned his first nickname, from Nathaniel at least. Nathaniel pointed towards Hawthorne with an open palm, a basic sign of an officer lecturing a subordinate. It was seen in bootcamp a lot. Though, he wasn't sure if it was the same in the other nations.

Secondly, you need to unfuck yourself and let that boner you popped fucking sag about this goddamn mission, its not that big of a deal. If you want to lead you need to be level-headed because so far you haven't left a very good impression on me. So far you have shown more immaturity and childish behavior than I have seen in any staff sergeant I've come across and this is just a mission briefing. Now, I don't doubt your capabilities in combat or with your leadership skills but I don't want you getting like this when we get out there. Now, I will also add though I like your enthusiasm and your ambitious attitude but bring it down a bit. Anyway-" He ended with a genuine smile. Hawthorne reminded him of himself when he had just gotten into the Recon Battalion. Ambitious and ready to go. It was a good trait to have, in doses. He looked at the two.

"I would vote to lead this mission however I am not as familiar with the Fortune Region as Alexi seems to be." He gestured towards her.

"She said she has had run in with this guild in the region on many occasions so I will assume that you operate a lot around here hence why I would recommend you for Captain of this squad. Now, I have seventeen years of combat experience in some very dangerous places and completed over fifty plus missions successfully with only 2% of them being failures. With that I feel I should be second in charge, also offering suggestions in combat that are effective and efficient. "Accent" I feel you to be third in charge. Once again this isn't due to any mistrust about leadership skills but it would be a good starting point seeing as how you're still young and need a bit of guidance as far as that goes but I don't doubt you are fully capable of handling this. This is my opinion and please speak up if you feel different about it." He sat back and awaited ideas or disagreements with his plan.

Alexi watched the man give his briefing, barely reacting to any real degree. However, those swamplands did bring back some memories. It was the scene of an ambush, when she was given the task to attack a rival smuggler group who were transporting illegal drugs out of the Fortune Region into the other lands. It had resulted in the annihilation of the smugglers, some local fishermen, and one very pissed off swamp monster. The images of the violent beast thrashing about, gnawing on her mech, its massive mouth filling up the camera feed in her cockpit.

Alexi gave a small sigh. Ahh.... good times. She focused again back onto what the man had been saying, having not really payed attention for the most part. To her pleasant surprised, she and the others here had been chosen to be leaders of this operation. Shocking as it may be, Alexi didn't really have much experience in leading men. Often times, the closest she's come to that was being hired to train a militia or two. Honestly, even she recognized that she couldn't employ the same.... "methods" she used back then, so this was shaping up to be somewhat interesting.

The "I look like a bouncer for a five dollar strip club" Nathan criticized the lack of any real useful intelligence. If anything, this briefing showed why Alexi had no trouble in the past when she came up against these Outcasts. Once again, good times, but now was not the time or place for a nostalgia trip. Before Alexi could add to what Nathan was saying, or really, before he could even finish his sentence, horny dog Hawthorne leap to his feet and showed his flair for the dramatic. Whirling around, arms outstretched, boy was he just BEGGING to be kicked in the balls now. The urge was now more powerful than before, but Alexi kept in check. She'll put a knife in him later, especially if he fucks up. That's when Nathan began to tear into him, making Alexi snicker from behind him. He then mentioned her role in all of this.

"She said she has had run in with this guild in the region on many occasions so I will assume that you operate a lot around here hence why I would recommend you for Captain of this squad." he said. Alexi perked up at this. Well, he wasn't wrong, so fuck it, why not. She shrugged and let him continue. "Now, I have seventeen years of combat experience in some very dangerous places and completed over fifty plus missions successfully with only 2% of them being failures." Alexi made a jerk off gesture as Nathan said this, rolling her eyes. When he finished, Alexi shook her head.

"Blah, blah, fucking blah. Man, do you just masturbate yourself like that all the time? Are you that insecure and lacking in confidence that you need to remind us about how awesome of a soldier you are? Well I bet my kill count is way higher than yours, and no, I'm not counting noncombants.... well, okay, I'll count them as half a point, cause like, fuck, you can burn through some ammo if there's enough of them, but you get what I mean.

Who the fuck cares about 'leadership skills' anyway for this? I mean, as you so obviously made sure we noticed, you know that Alexander is part of this, right? The big fucking Frontier dude who was... what was it... oh yeah, a Lieutenant Colonel? This is a merc group, not a fucking regiment, so try not to bring the politics from your silly little military career into this." she said, in a very mocking tone. Sighing, Alexi continued, this time a bit more on topic.

"Ugh, anyway, yeah, I got no problem leading this op. I know the terrain and so long as none of you steal my kills, Goatee man stops measuring his dick in front of us, and the horny dog stops acting like his boner will pierce the heavens, then I think this can be pulled off without a hitch." she finished. Alexi stood up with a stretch and a yawn. "Now where was the coffee machine?"

Oh boy. These people were no fun, not a bit. Hawthorne momentarily creased his eyebrows at Nathaniel’s comments. Where did this complete stranger get off lecturing him? That’s not to mention the bullshit about calling him captain, or sir. Fat chance, Jackal. A nickname warrants a nickname, so a dog you shall remain! Nathaniel would warm up to Hawthorne once he saw him in combat though, then there’d be no more pointless lectures educating Hawthorne on the finer points of being a “leader”. He began his rebuttal, his voice laced with contempt but not quite dripping with it. “If you hadn’t noticed, Nate, the guy that took off your legs, he’s the one that promoted me to Staff Sergeant. I’m here for a damn good reason.” Hawthorne sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. When he began speaking again, his voice was significantly more relaxed, almost indolent. “I can’t help that I enjoy fighting, and I can also understand that someone like you would be on the stricter side, but trust me, I’ll handle myself out there. I’m no stranger to combat, not by a long shot.”

Hawthorne shifted his position so he was facing both Alexi and Nathaniel at the same time. “I agree that we should defer to you Alexi, whenever navigating the Fortune Region, but don’t count out Olympia. She was the other chick back in the common room. She’s a native. Anyways, how does hierarchy among the three of us make any sense at all? If you hadn’t noticed, we’re only in charge of four people. I think a direct democracy between us, the leaders, would be most efficient for the size of the group we’re managing. Either that, or one of us takes complete charge while the other two act as subordinates second only to them.” He smirked. "If you two can agree to the latter, I'd be happy to call whoever lands in charge 'sir'." Hawthorne was used to serving under others, but they didn’t need a first, second, and third in command for a group of seven.

---

---

Alexander looks upon the mech holograms that were displayed in front of him. They looked more like your typical Mk IIs back in the Northern Frontier, having very basic design and such. As the Deputy giggled his way down the hall as soon as he was finished talking, all the giant man could do was snort at this response. He then gets on his mech's launch pad, temporary home of the glorious "Brutiska", or "Bruticus". She was an old mech, but an incredibly hefty one at most, fitting the giant that is Alexander. Smirking, he climbs into his mech and straps himself in, chuckling a bit as he issues the activation protocol.

"да*" he says with a deep lumbering voice, as he flips on a few more levers, 'Puny mechs are no match for my glorious Brutiska. Go easy on em, he says... heh... I'll break 'em allllll in two anyways."

With that, he proceeds to take the mech out front to the matching round, his giant mech thumping heavily with each giant step. It was great to be back with his only love. He loved this giant mech. And he can only imagine that she loved him back just as much. This may simply be a training match, but Alexander has fought through so many battles, it doesn't matter if it's training or not. He'll rip them apart as if they were real enemy opponents. No minigun this time, which was unfortunate-ish, but he can still very easily hold out on his own with his big metal hands. He chuckles again at this thought as his mech punches both knuckles, ready to do combat with these measly mechs.

(*Yes in Russian)

Cassius Makarov

Cassius was glad to see that his first impression of the woman might have been a little off the mark. She seemed polite enough as she introduced herself, a little crass but nice enough. He returned her smile, and was about to offer his introduction to the man next to her, when their Deputy began to address them again. Apparently the other three were being told about something that they were not privy to at the moment, but that wasn’t of any concern to Cassius. He didn’t care for rolls of leadership; they were too much work all in all. Too much responsibility that he didn’t want the burden of bearing. He had to do his best to not call the man out for leaning on his mech though. Cassius was very protective of the Angel; it was a gift to him for being a good soldier. It was pretty much he only thing that he had taken with him when he ran away too, so it was his most prized possession.

But it seemed as though they were going to take place in some form of practice combat. Cassius was very careful to listen closely to the exact words that were spoken. They were being remote controlled, which meant that even in the case of this combat, they didn’t have to hold back. But since it was a training mission it might not be applicable to simply destroy the enemy, that might be going too far. So Cassius decided that he would simply render the enemy mech incapacitated rather than destroyed, it seemed to be what the mission was calling for. It also meant that Cassius could go all out without worrying about hurting anyone that wasn’t specifically an enemy. Cassius was a stickler for details, choosing to do exactly what was required of the mission, never more, never less. Either one could result in unwanted results, so he was careful to do his job exactly as ordered. The enemy mechs were a fairly basic design, fairly well reinforced from their appearance. Possible structural weak points include joints, so that would be the first target. He was suddenly snapped out of his thought by the sound of the large lieutenant colonel taking his place in his mech. It seemed like the man was confident in his abilities to the point where he didn’t have to think the mission through the way Cassius did.

“Well it looks like things are about to heat up. Try not get hurt” Cassius said with a wave to the others before he walked over to the Angel. He pressed a button on a remote, and a hatch opened up in the chest of the mech and dropped a set of cables and a harness. He slipped them on before he was hoisted into the mech and strapped into the cabin on its chest. The machine quickly whirred to life and the screens inside started displaying information like the engine heat, ammunition levels, selected ammunition type and things of the sort. He performed some quick diagnostics before moving the mech over to the door. Its steps were much lighter than the thunderous clangs of the massive mech in front of him. He took a few deep breaths as he got himself prepared. It had been a few years since his last real combat situation, and even if it was a training situation, he was nervous. But he was even more excited.

“Man, it’s been too long since I stretched my legs.” He said as he started to warm up the large thrusters on the Angel’s back. The mech lowered itself down and got into a starting position in anticipation for the door to open.

“Let’s not mess this up.” He muttered to himself with a slight grin, eagerly awaiting the doors to open.

The Deputy's speech irked her just a little. Maybe it was his demeanor, with the goofy habits and mannerisms, the snapping of his belt bracers, the twang and drawl of his speech. Still, she was eager to rush into combat all the same, and would gladly engage a fight with these cousins of his. She looked around, sizing up her comrades as the Deputy dismissed himself.

The soldier she was talking to had waved himself off, and Olympia nodded her head in acknowledgement as she strolled casually to her own mech, thumbs tucked into her belt. Ah, what a beauty. Eris waited for her in the hangar patiently, shining and angular against the dull panels of the room. She reached the leg of her mech and ran her hand along it, a giggle of glee bubbled from her chest at the prospect of a challenge.

The foothold into the carriage dropped down from the back, inviting her inside. She stepped into the slot and wrapped her hand around the cable before it quickly hoisted her into the back of the giant. When Olympia jumped inside and sat down, the straps began to affix themselves to each of her limbs. Before long, she was as a puppet master would be to a marionette. A large, metallic, and ridiculously deadly marionette.

She could barely sit still. With the touch of a button, Eris breathed in life and displayed the world to her in lights and calculations. She took it in, a cocky grin pulling up the corner of her mouth. As Olympia held up a hand, Eris' arm whirred and swung outwards, the crimson blade proudly showing itself off before her eyes. She was determined to make valuable scrap metal from those dummy mechs.

Colossi, the man had said, though he tried to backpedal. A vocal quirk that he shared with Leon’s father and grandfather. A Hyloan quirk, mixed in with that country bumpkin crap. Was the “Deputy” Hyloan? If he was, he didn't want anyone to know, and for all Leon knew, he was the only one with Hylo blood in him to notice that slip.

But then, it didn't matter much; let the man have his pretense, as long as his money was good.

Everyone was embarking in their mecha, their colossi, in preparation for the combat drill. Was it training, or was it a test? Apparently there were three of their number who needed neither. Leon only knew two of their number by sight(the only women, oddly enough) and he only liked one of those. There were a lot of military looking fellows here, and that made him a little uncomfortable. There was no military in the Fortune Region, and Leon didn't know what to think of these foreigners.

The Sioma was parked in a crouched position, awaiting its pilot. As he approached, Leon extracted a slim device from a hidden compartment on the hardened holster that his pistol was kept in. With a click of the device, the cockpit unfolded and Leon climbed up into it. He noticed that some of the others had fancier methods of getting in, but the Sioma was one of the smaller mecha in the room.

As the front closed around him again, Leon inserted the key device into a slot just above his monitors. The key unfolded with a click, revealing a camera. The camera recognized Leon’s face, and the key allowed the mech to come to life.

Leon opened up comm channels as Sioma stood up, and spoke, looking into the camera so they could see his face if they chose to use visual links.

“Good to be flying. The name’s Leon, for those what don't know me. Looks like only two of us are equipped for down and dirty fighting. I think we all know which ones.”

The air was cool and clear. Birds, fluttured off the fences and near towards the forest, some of the military staff quickly rushed inside, but there was no panic, this was a normal routine. Once again the training ground would host an exhibition match. 4 Large Blue Early Mk2 mechs from the 'FlankThunder' series awaited the garage doors of the mech door to open, they were piloted by 4 brothers (from youngest to oldest) Dill, Mickey, Jerome and Parker. The Mechs were all a slightly different shade of blue, with the oldest having a dark blue paint, getting lighter towards the youngest who was a sky blue coat. They all seemed to be armed with the same weapons, a Carbine style assualt rifle and a mid length lance type weapon.

Parker:
Okay kids, stay frosty, yall know whats at stake here, we cant afford to fuck around and get our asses kicked out here.

Mickey:
Fuck that, I'm gonna tin-can these military hogs, yall here some of em are frontier? I never thought I'd be so lucky.

Dill:
You mean we gonna get to fight a couple Cold-Fingers from the north? This is gonna be the best damn away game weve played!

Jerome:
Just keep your head screwed on kiddo, you know these guys have been picked for a reason, just play tight and remember our training, I want this overwith. Ready?

All 4 Mechs adopted battle stances as the the garage door began its unlocking mechanism. They were all the way on the other end of the battlefield.

Throwdown Theme!

The Garage doors were now open, the O'Brian brothers decided to send Dill and Jerome charging forward straight down the middle, while Parker took off in the air for an elevaated view, finally Mickey began to race to the left to try and catch the flank.

The field was covered with large empty ammo crates and discarded Tanks which were perfect for cover, and the brothers were going to use that to their advantage.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Sheriff looked back and forth between the somewhat squabbling pilots, he expected there to be a smoothing out period where they learned to work together, but he offered his answer to Nate's question while the were still speaking.

The Marking has been described as a bird symbol, but no one out in the field thought to get a picture, this is what I mean about having a bunch of rookies and idiots in this guild, its difficult to gather intelligence when no one on your team is intelligent. You're just going to have to investigate for yourself, now as you are aware your fellow pilots are currently in our training area outside having a match against four other pilots. As much as I'd love for us all to watch and cheer them on, I'm afraid youll have to go on ahead. You see not just anyone can access the helen tower, you need a permit. But since this western coalition has just been disbanded we cant get one through our regular means. You'll have to obtain one off a security official in the town of Barker not too far from here. Babs McCallister is your contact.

The Sheriff began to walk with them towards the side door which lead to the front entrance where their 3 mechs had been moved, it was clear he wanted them to leave immediately.



Now this operation will require some diplomacy, the town is just along this road, but a lot of the local folk arent always trusting of the guild, especially when we want something, thats why it makes sense for only 3 of you to go along, it will look less threatening. If you follow this path at a steady pace you should be there and back within a couple hours. Try and use discretion. Good Luck Pilots.

Cassius Makarov

The lead up to the battle seemed to drag on and on, and Cassius couldn’t tell if it was actually taking a long time or if it was just nerves. The thought of battle was invigorating. He could feel his blood pumping all around his body. His heart was beating out of his chest and he could hardly stop himself shaking. But as the doors began to unlock, the nerves suddenly quietened and he heard a voice over the communication systems.

“Good to meet you Leon, my name is Cassius. I’ll cover you guys from above, so I'll let you know if you are getting flanked.” He said as he switched on his comm systems. He chose to omit the visual link as he was pretty sure that his nerves would be too obvious if they could see his face. He did some final checks before the doors suddenly slid open in front of him. In an instant, the Angel charged forward and jumped out the door. It suddenly shot up into the sky as quickly as it could and began to survey the area. There was plenty of cover and a nice amount of distance between the sides. The cover would make his job a little harder, but not impossible. As he looked down the scope of his rifle, he saw that the enemy had split up. There was a unit taking to the sky, a unit that seemed to be separating from the group, and two that were pushing forward.

“They seem to know what they are doing…” Cassius muttered to himself.

“There seems to be someone coming around on your right, and two in the middle. I’ll try to take care of the one that went airborne” He said reported to the others as he aimed at the one that had taken to the air. The mech seemed like they weren’t built for use in the air much due to their hefty design, but their armour was an issue. But, this one wasn’t in cover. Pretty hard to take cover while you are airborne, you either had to be quick, or invisible. Cassius took a deep breath before he aimed for the joints at the shoulder. They seemed to be a spot that was lacking in the overall armour, so he decided there was the place to aim for. He switched to an explosive round, and lined up a shot on the arm that was holding an assault rifle

“One shot is all it takes… Carefully aim… and breath…” He muttered as he let out a deep breath before pulling the trigger and firing a shot. The loud bang of the gun was a lot louder than Cassius remembered, it seemed like the silencer on the rifle had degraded. He would have to get a new one made, but he didn’t have time to think about that now. His plan was to cloak and move away, but he needed to wait for the right time. His cloaking device wasn’t the finished model, as his mech was only a prototype. It would only last a few seconds before it would have to recharge, so for now he simply observed to see whether his shot had hit its mark.

"Blah, blah, fucking blah. Man, do you just masturbate yourself like that all the time? Are you that insecure and lacking in confidence that you need to remind us about how awesome of a soldier you are? Well I bet my kill count is way higher than yours, and no, I'm not counting noncombants.... well, okay, I'll count them as half a point, cause like, fuck, you can burn through some ammo if there's enough of them, but you get what I mean.

Who the fuck cares about 'leadership skills' anyway for this? I mean, as you so obviously made sure we noticed, you know that Alexander is part of this, right? The big fucking Frontier dude who was... what was it... oh yeah, a Lieutenant Colonel? This is a merc group, not a fucking regiment, so try not to bring the politics from your silly little military career into this."

He simply smirked as she went off on her rant.

"First off, yeah of course I do, and I think of you in the process and I prefer to raw, no lube. Secondly, no, that information wasn't directed at you but the one who hired us. Thirdly, I am now quite aware that the Great Heavy is among our group and civilian kils don't count in my book..." He stayed silent for a moment before speaking up again.

"and since you want to put your two fucking sense in as well without giving any significant input I'm going to say this. I will have no problem on this mission overriding any commands you give if you compromise the integrity of this collective group and put us at risk. Finally, should you turn your guns on me, I'll shoot you in the head myself with two-hundred and fifty fucking five millimeters of HVAP round. See if you recuperate from that hole in the fucking head now-" He looked at Hawthorne without skipping a beat.

"I'll agree. I was under the assumption it was going to be at least a squad sized group but if you're saying there's only seven of us I can agree on a democratic leadership instead of the traditional ranking system and if this Olympia is a native her and Alexi should be in charge of the navigation bit for sure." The sheriff spoke up and he nodded.

"Bird? I'll look through my database and ask my contacts if they know anything about group with a bird emblem though I personally haven't heard of any. With the Helen Tower, how guarded is this thing because I'm use to infiltrations. I could go on ahead while these two get the permit, that way I can relay information back to the rest of the group. Surveillance and Target Acquisition. Is there anyone else in that field of work on our team?"

---

---

As soon as the opposing garage doors opened, four blue mechs made a clear approach as they ran towards them. Two went down the middle, while one went for high ground, and the other trying to catch the flank. A clear grin glistened upon the former colonel's face as he quickly tries to choose which mech should be his own priority. Just then, Cassius announced on the comlink to the other teammates that he'll take the mech that is now airborne. This is a wise choice, for he has the sniper rifle in hand, capable in taking out opponents at long distances. Then again, these mechs should be easy to take out as long as they can hold their own ground. Alexander rushes towards the two incoming mechs as he roars with a majestic battlecry.



As he approaches his opponents quickly, the colonel activates his mech's shield gauntlets as he locks onto the right mech, perhaps the mech of Jerome. He can easily take down both of them if given the chance, but today he should play fairly and let each mech get their share of one-fourth of the mechanical pie. As he rapidly approaches the mech, he fires his back rocket launchers to make the opponent get stunned and/or distracted. And once he gets close, he then raises his right fist as he attempts to punch the rival mech squarely in the face, demonstrating his mech's pure physical power in the process.