Deleted

Alexandria drummed her fingers against the controls of her tank as she waited for the signal to move. The shuttle she had chartered to take her to the event had been rather eager to take her since the pilot had rented a luxury hotel room for the duration and had extensive passes. He was eager to see the fighting, and taking someone along was easy business to him. It hadn’t cost too much, thankfully. The King of Flame was expensive to maintain and even more costly to upgrade. Thankfully the tournament would provide insurance to all registered pilots, so any damage to the King of Flame would be covered.

The rumble of planetary entry caused Alexandria to sit upright within her tank and tighten the straps into proper place. They were unsurprisingly not standard in the tank. When the tank was crewed by multiple people the ability to rapidly switch positions was key if a crew member was injured or knocked out. With a crew count of one there would be no switching positions and no one to switch with. That meant that Alexandria needed to install what would frankly be basic safety equipment inside.

A slight tingle in the scar on her cheek reminded her as to why the equipment was installed. Alexandria could remember the day she gained it like it was yesterday. They had been ordered to pull back to friendly lines and reorganize, but were discovered by a scouting mech. The hull of the tank rattled as it began to unload its autocannon. The main cannon of the tank wouldn’t charge before his rounds found substantial purchase, and the side cannons wouldn’t do enough damage to disable the gun before the hull was breached. With no other options, Alexandria, being the driver at the time, floored the accelerator. The scout mech flipped over the top of the tank and onto its back behind them at the harsh impact, and Alexandria’s head was thrown into the controls, the sharp edge of the console cutting deep into her cheek. Rotating the tank on the spot, Alexandria quickly moved over to the side of the fallen mech before pushing the tank over the top and onto the chassis of the fallen mech. Locking the brakes on the right tread, Alexandria floored the accelerator again. The sound of grinding metal filled the cabin as the small scout mech below it was unnaturally twisted around several times, crushing the operator within the twisted metal.

Unfortunately, the stunt had buried the tread in the ground, and metal from the mech had jammed itself into the road wheels. They were trapped behind enemy lines. Climbing out of the tank, the gunner fumed at Alexandria for not letting him engage despite the fact that the primary cannon wouldn’t have charged in time. The gunners face only tuned redder when Alexandria informed him of this, and he began to move aggressively towards Alexandria with a fist raised.

Alexandria didn’t hesitate, with a swift and accurate motion Alexandria drew her bulky pistol from its holster and leveled it at the gunner. A loud cracking sound announced the presence of a new hole in his chest. The gunner collapsed to the ground, and Alexandria leveled the pistol at his head and fired again in mercy. The man was doomed, as Alexandria’s first shot had taken out a good chunk of his heart. Only a full hospital could fix that, and they were miles away from anything even remotely close.

By the time the memory faded, the cargo doors of the shuttle were opening. Revving the engine, Alexandria lurched forward and down the ramp of the shuttle. The sensors alerted her to another mech nearby, which nearly prompted a reflex based aim from Alexandria until she remembered that she wasn’t in a combat zone. Taking a breath to calm her nerves Alexandria instead pushed her way towards the center of town.

The insurance was only good if you got your name into the hat, after all.

Along the way, there was no cheering for Alexandria. Rightfully so. Most people were awed by the mechs more than anything else. Alexandria’s tank was rather plain compared to them. On top of that, the mundane and practical nature of the tank meant that it was very boring to look at, at least on the surface. The reactive camouflage that the tank was painted with didn’t look like much when it was shut off as a safety precaution, just dull and grey compared to the bright colors that some of the mechs were painted with. The spikes attached to the treads bit into the ground hungrily as the tank moved towards the center of the town.

Once there Alexandria parked the tank in a fairly obvious spot and got out. Locking the tank in safe mode Alexandria made her way into the offices and got to work filling out a bundle of paperwork, which disturbingly included waivers. Alexandria double checked the insurance paperwork before handing everything back in and taking an ID tag in return. Done with the office, Alexandria headed outside and hopped back onto her tank. She sat upon the front of the tank, leaning against the turret and watching some of the big monitors that were supposed to contain the next instructions. With one hand up on the oval shaped barrel of the plasma cannon, Alexandria could do nothing more than wait.

Alexandria didn’t know how long it would be until new instructions were given, but she couldn’t do anything to move time along any faster. Relaxing a bit, Alexandria zoned out a bit to wait until something came along that gave her prompt on what to do next.

The glint of morning sunlight searing it's way into the fields of solar panels reflected brightly in blinding flashes. The blurred movement between two of the large fenced-off solar fields stirred up a cloud of dust in it's wake. The open fields and dry climate made for a nice flat space to run performance trials.

The source of the commotion was young Fae Gaul, storming across open public property outside of town, testing the speed and maneuverability of her mech's chassis after the long flight locked in storage aboard a Jump-ship and Shuttle. Having arrived just a day prior, The steady thump of machine legs pounding into the dusty soil kicked up large clouds of dust that would drift on the light breeze and over the more northern bank of solar arrays. The machine was of fairly average size, and even at a distance, it was clearly armed. This was no dockyard work-mech. Two barrels glinted menacingly at the front of the chassis with the raised cockpit canopy behind it. The powered-down laser turret on top of the machine swiveled and tracked 'targets' as the machine stomped across the open ground. Two large pods devoid of munitions were quite clearly missile launchers.

Approaching the city limits and slowing to a stop just beside the major freeway that ran into the city, Fae's mech stopped short and the canopy popped open. Reaching up to wipe the back of her hand across her brow, Fae sighed and flicked the sweat away as she stared up at the sun almost annoyed. "So bloody hot here. Why are they hosting the tournament in a place like this?!" she asked to no one in particular.

"Keine Ahnung, Fraulein." a low masculine voice replied from the speakers on the inside of her helm and her Mech's cockpit alike. Glancing down at the technical readout for the performance statistics of her mech, Fae sighed, "Nevermind, Pagan..." she scolded the v.i. "... I wasn't asking you." The computer seemed to give an acknowledging tone before announcing, "Es tut mir leid."

Amused that her mech was apologizing to her, Fae snickered and shook her head, "It's fine, Pagan." she said, reaching out over the lip of the canopy and patting the machine's hull right over the bit of paint that denoted the mech's name. It was a pointless gesture, the mech couldn't 'feel' it. The impact sensors wouldn't be triggered at all by the gesture. It probably didn't even register.

Turning her attention back to the screen with performance numbers and bars she tapped her lip, "Make a note to tune the actuator in the right ankle 1 degree inward, looks like it loosened during the trip here." she said softly. "Other than that- everything seems to be going well. Can't really test the missile lock system or ECM on public property." she spoke mostly to herself. Satisfied with her little field test she gripped the control sticks and pressed both foot pedals in to set her mech into motion. As she followed along the side of the road she eventually found herself forced up onto pavement by buildings that lined the surface streets of the city. Cars, trucks, even tanks and mechs seemed to be bustling about.

Fae followed the holo-signs toward the nearest tournament enlistment facility and stepped out of traffic and through the gates of the large warehouse, converted to host the event. Unclipping her restraints and standing up in the cockpit she spotted the signup tables and then moved her Mech over to one of the empty hangars lining the walls. She powered Pagan down and hopped up over the edge, using the climbing handles welded to the main chassis to get down to the floor safely. Stretching and sighing, she had just started to turn when she found an aid standing with a clipboard ready to sign her up. Blinking at the young kid, probably working his first day at his first job, she walked over and placed a hand on her hip, "Yeah..?" she asked.

Jumping at the greeting, the boy rushed to clear his throat and spoke, "I-I assume that you're here for the wargames? If so we need you to sign these forms and enlist in the tournament. Then we'll have you take your mech down to get it calibrated and converted to safety specifi-" he found himself cut off as Fae walked up and took the tablet out of his hand, "Alright, I get it. Thanks." she offered with a wry smile, "This isn't my first time. If you can tell me where the registration station is, I'll get my Mech over there in a bit." she told him as she read along the lines of text on the digital document in front of her and then pulling out the stylus and scribbling her name as a signature.

Handing the tablet back and smiling politely, she listened to him directing her toward the vehicle verification platform and nodded. Thanking him, she turned and walked away from the parking location to a counter near the front where they appeared to be selling drinks. She jogged lightly and wove her way past the commotion of moving heavy machinery of all shapes and sizes. She got in line and looked back at everything, whistling softly at just how many people seemed to be showing up to sign up for the wargames.

As the ship was in orbit, Knoxes and his pilot Meagona waited for a transition response from the dock commissioner. Knoxes had asked if he could make a custom landing of him and his mech in a nearby glade. With a bribe of course. The commissioner hesitated then said he would consult with others.

He then came back on screen. "Fine, but make sure there is not a single civilian in the landing radius, or that mech of yours won't even save you, merc."
Knoxes only laughed in his face. "If it comes to that, I won't be the least of your problems!" and he turned the comm line off. Meagona looked at her deranged father figure. Knoxes had saved her as a girl, and trained her in the same things he was,
but had her pilot the ship instead of a mech."So, should I dock the ship at the port? Or am I going to hide it too, you maniac?" Knoxes only snickered, and walked off to the garage.

In the garage, his mech sat waiting. Hell Mantis came alive then, it's head surveying for it's master. {Hello Boss,
What are your plans for today? Assault? Espionage? Down-right mayhem?}[/color] the A.I. croaked with seemanle sarcasm. "I don't remember giving you the ability to be a smart ass, mantis. Should I check your programming once again?" he said crookedly. The mech seemed to shiver in disgust. {No, I was simply curious as to what your plans were. Plus, I've yet to adopt that concept. Yet. So, what is the job?}

"Your remember our favorite employer do you? Well, mech tournaments have reopened on this world, and I wanted a crack at it. But then our employer asked me to investigate as well. So, me and the employer both have business here. I can win the tournament and get job money in one go!" The mech shifted, as if stunned. {Fine plan with 67% of becoming 100% complete to your liking, but how do we do this within parameters? There already many registered mechs, so we would need to beat all of the ones we were given to fight. How do you propose this pilot?}

Though wearing a mask, he grinned evilly. "Do you recall the tactics I employed on Jeravous 3?"

{Yes, but I fail to connect that to- Psychological warfare again? Does that seem wise?} Knoxes simply giggled at the thought. "Some warriors in history have won whole battles simply by making a dramatic entrance. Shall we?" The mech shuddered, processing how illogical it was he came from such a ruthless and deranged, yet tactical mind. The mech picked up Knoxes, and opened to engulf in in darkness. Then, as the linked formed, a red light turned on in the monstrosity that was the Hell Mantis, for it's name sake wasn't given by him, but rather those he obliterated with it. Stories always emerge from the trail of destruction one reaps, Knoxes being no different. He hoped when people recognized his mech walking into the town after a drop that tales of his feats will spread, along with the superstitious tales that surrounded him. One time, in a bar, he heard someone say that his mech had no pilot, but that the mind that made it had become so integrated that it was the owners new permanent body. Another people said that he was from purgatory, exiled because of his greedy depth and his wrathful pain. He always loved people for that, for it gave him an edge to fighting.

Soon, silence reined. The cockpit more quiet than the vacuum of space. He felt heat, but knew he was in no danger. He finished his up-link checks, and opened his eyes to see himself looking through the Hell Mantis' eyes, and using it's ears. The ship had entered the atmosphere, it's hull holding with no damage taken. The ground came closer and closer, enough to scare a normal man to literal death. They eventually landed with a crackling boom, like a Basilisk canon going off. Dust floated around him, whilst he checked for damage of any type. None were to be found. He looked up and saw that a group of people surrounded the ship with the bay doors open. He studied them, and then turned on the speaker, it deepening his voice. "I am Knoxes, pilot of the Hell Mantis, and I am here for the tournament.
Hope to see you all there, because it will be BRUTAL! HA HA HA HAA!!!" With that, the crowd scattered, attempting to relay the news. He walked on to the town square, and, still in his mech, went to register. The person registering didn't hardly notice him. "Name?"

"Knoxes the mercenary. Pilot of Hell Mantis."

The man looked up, eyes bulging in surprise. "Knoxes! Didn't think a legend such as yourself would come to this tournament! Um, there is a registering fee of 30c, and I'll have someone show you to the preparing garage. Will that be satisfactory?" he asked with mixed emotions. Knoxes, using the claw arms of his mech, handed 50c to the man. "That will do just fine. Anything else?" "No." and he finished paperwork and called over a grease covered women. "Follow me, Pilot. I'll show the garage you'll have." and she led him there.

Deleted

Fae always hated lines. An entire city's worth of people and stalls and shops and drink halls and the one closest to her had to be backed up in the dozens of people. Taking repeated, cursory glances over her shoulder to see when she had to move up, her focus was primarily on the large warehouse converted to a signup center for the tourney. Looking over her opponents she looked bemused at some of the scrap some contestants had cobbled together in order to sign up. Of course it was dangerous to dismiss those kinds of opponents outright, but it was hard to imagine anyone winning a tournament in something other than the polished craftsmanship of a proper war machine.

Which reminded her, Pagan needed a few adjustments before she took him, ...it over to the registration booth. Turning as the 'gentleman' in line behind her gave her a nudge and gestured to the stand with drinks, she sighed and stepped up, quickly glancing over the options. "Give me one of the local specials, particularly if it's native to the planet here." she asked, "And go light on the alcohol. I do have a bit of heavy machinery to operate." she cautioned the barista in a thick accent. As she was handed some fruity colored drink blended in with ice, she smirked and passed over a credit chip for the purchase. Turning with her beverage she took a sip as she walked. Bitter. Well if nothing else it would wake her up. She always found it hard to sleep on the edge of battle... even if it was orchestrated in a stadium with non-lethal rounds.

Moving over and setting down on top of the armored foot of her 'mech, Fae imbibed her drink, watching the others filtering in slowly. She had just finished off her cup and crumpled the disposable beverage-holder into a ball, tossing it into a nearby wastebin before climbing up the Pagan's leg. She clammored on top of the main chassis up past the open canopy and called down into it as she rummaged for her toolkit, "Pagan, settle into a stable posture then lock joints, bitte- I'm going to adjust the ankle coils a few degrees to adjust as per our findings earlier. What was the exact number..?" she querried.
"Vier punkt sieben" the masculine tone replied factually.
Smiling softly, she picked up the proper ratchets and started to climb back down. "Danke." she chirped, to which Pagan replied "Bitte."

Fae couldn't help but chuckle. She came from a very purist family. No cybernetics, no robot servants, just good honest folk and hardy machinery. Adjusting to having a mech talk back wasn't horrible, but it did take a bit of getting used to and it amused her how hard the virtual intelligence tried to mimic human behavior and speech patterns. As she knelt down next to the foot of her mech, she undid the bolts holding the covering plate over the joint on slipping it off with a heave.

It was about then when a loud voice beckoned the crowd's attention. She couldn't see the hologram well through the windows- but squinting she thought she saw the source standing near the entrance up on top of a very impressive looking black mech. As the local lord introduced himself and made an offer specifically to her and all of the other contestants, she arched an eyebrow. There must have been nearly a hundred people signing up by her guess, possibly more, to invite all of them was bold. She liked it. She set about making the adjustment of 4.7 degrees to the internal coil that acted as a shock absorber for the ankle and then bolted the plate back in place. Satisfied, she climbed back up, set her tools away, then hopped down into the cockpit.

Pagan's internal lights lit up and the displays came online as it's voice announced to the internal speakers, "Zugangscode, bitte."
Fae sighed and rolled her eyes as she spoke in flawless German, "Nicht jetzt, Pagan." or 'Not Now, Pagan.'
A soft approving bloop sounded off before Pagan announced "Identifizierung bestätigt. Willkommen zurück, fräulein."
Fae glared at the screen for a moment before shaking her head and dismissing the thought. Pagan must have been running diagnostics and rebooted while she was adjusting things. Her suspicion was confirmed when she saw the updated screen with all parameters in the green. Rolling her head side to side to crack her neck she slipped the heavy helm back on over her head and cleared her throat, "Alright, let's get over to registration and then see about finding our way to the lord's keep. Oh, and... switch to mixed dialect, Pagan." she gave a few orders. The speakers in her helm blooped at her before Pagan announced, "Understood, Fraulein. Setting mission parameters."

Fae snickered as objective markers popped up on the right side of her HUD with empty boxes. "Get Registered for Tournament" and "Travel to Local Keep" both popping up. She shook her head and fired up the power core in her Mech, grasping the control sticks and setting her feet firmly on the pedals as she felt it rumble to life. With a quick adjustment of the right stick the torso swiveled to the right allowing her to see out into the alley that ran down along the warehouse to the registration station. Pressing the right pedal in, Pagan turned with two heavy thumps against the concrete before she pushed her left stick forward to set the throttle to 5%. The heavy machine plodded forward as she guided it gracefully over to the station, leaving the canopy slid forward and open.

Stopping next to the station, Fae spoke with the registers, feeding over information, receiving a contestant number and badge, and arranging for non-lethal rounds for both main guns and missile pods. She assumed they'd simply be dud missiles that would impact armor harmlessly and rubberized rounds with half powder that would register on hit sensors on each opponent, though she wasn't sure yet. She also imagined they'd have her dial back the power on her laser so that it would only scorch paint rather than melt into armor. She then leaned over the edge of her 'mech and asked, "Hey- one more thing. Could you direct me toward the local keep for the Lord's invitation?" she asked, again her accent quite heavy.

Alexandria's attention fixed itself on the presentation. The hesitation before the mention of tank commanders drew a small laugh. Alexandria was used to a less than warm welcome on most occasions, and this was no different. Patting the barrel of the plasma cannon adorning her tank Alexandria hopped up from her sitting position and stretched her back. A few pops made her sigh in relief as tension faded from her muscles. Turning, Alexandria hopped off the back of her tank and landed on the ground with a thud. Standing up from the crouching position she had taken to lessen the impact on her joints, Alexandria turned to the rear of her tank and pulled open a thickly armored hatch before climbing inside. It was cramped and dark within the tank, and took a bit of stretching to get into the rather comfortable seat. Once she was in place, Alexandria flipped a switch and the tank roared to life. The interior lit quickly with various displays. Alexandria ran her eyes across the various readings to make sure that everything was green across the board.

After a few minutes of diagnostics Alexandria nodded to herself. Pressing a button, a thud rattled the tank as the rear hatch closed and sealed itself. Pressing another button, Alexandria brought up a map of the area that she had downloaded when she had registered as a contestant. Scrolling around a bit, Alexandria zoomed in and spotted a large and well fortified area. Nodding to herself Alexandria switched on the outside sensors. The displays faded and the entire canopy lit up with an outside view. To those not as familiar with The King of Fire, it would be like sitting on the outside of the tank. Alexandria cancelled the booting up aim assistance programs, they wouldn't be needed and there was no point in freaking out the civilians or the security. Alexandria looked about and behind her to make sure that no one and nothing was in the way. With a nod she pressed both of the pedals at her feet down in order to propel the tank forward.

Moving slowly through the city, Alexandria found a straightaway that would take her most of the way towards the keep and settled in on the slow and methodological journey. Great care was taken not to damage anything in the surrounding area. There already seemed to be a bit of a bias against tank commanders from the man who had made the announcement earlier. Alexandria didn't want to provoke any further discontent and make her life harder than it needed to be.

Alexandria shifted her feet slightly to pull away from some upcoming buildings. After a few moments she began her approach towards the keep and opened a communication channel with the keep security forces. "This is Alexandria Galtemalos, registration number 7644823. I've come based on the invitation provided in the announcement. Requesting clearance for entry."

With that said, Alexandria lifted her feet and stopped the tank a good distance away. Another bonus of having cancelled the aim assistance program was that there was no power being diverted to the weapons, so a scan would show they were offline. This would help the likely skittish security forces relax.

All Alexandria could do now was wait and see what happened. Hopefully there wouldn't be any trouble.