FalloutJack

Metroid: Final Protocol

Others in the group were a little too slow to act. Possibly because of seeing this new strangeness in the other half of the room, perhaps due to other reasons. It didn't matter, for now. The situation unfolded as it did, with Kaze sending a large shot of acid at the huge eyeball, right after his chucking the security gate at it. The result was some clear damage to the creature's surface. No, it clearly did NOT have any particular defense against acid. There was some kinda' screech, and then Cass jumped on top of the dragon to fire into the bodies of the 'humans'. these were not zombies. These were X-replicated human forms. Not very sturdy in comparison to some of the other creatures they've taken the form of before, and that's why Cass' weapon blew them apart, and that the globs of X soon flew free as the remains melted.

Now, Kathrine was having trouble getting past Kaze, especially since Cassius was on his back, so that climbing was also out of the question. Cass had elected to climb so that the dragon couldn't crush him. Zen did not really care. He launched himself into a slide between Kaze's legs and under his bulk, emerging out the other side and focus-firing his three eye-beams at the eyeball until its structure gave up for ghost and melted away into another hovering blob of X Parasite. That appeared to be that, EXCEPT...now, the actual armor door was pounded into - once, twice, thrice - before a few missles hit it and it just blasted open! There was a MASS of zombie flesh molded together, crawling on many disfigured limbs and pointing the business end of several weapons, missle launchers and blaster rifles!, straight ahead at them.

Zen immediately acted, leaping up to take a slash at it with one of his blades to disable one of the three missle launchers as it harmed its discolored flesh, then firing at it with lasers from one side of the room. This was to divert it from everyone else so they could get in and concentrate fire. And given that this creature was not use to any sort of human-level intelligence or tactics such as a distraction, it immediately unloaded on him. Zen avoided most fire by dropping prone, but he was taking a few hits at this point. The room was not large for maneuvers and he was acting as a decoy.

NCQuest - A Mecha RP: The Defense of Darwin (BeeNCQuest)

Villain Sheet

Villain Sheet

Name: Hirohiko Fujiyama (But everyone calls him Dread)

Age: 21

Gender: Male

Appearance:

Dread makes no attempt to hide who and what he is. He is, in reality, just a human being, but doesn't think in terms of that. We'll get to that later. What he defines himself as physically as someone who seems built enough to go from zero-to-kill-you in a second. He looks like someone who looks down on other people as garbage, and wishes nothing more than to toss them into a bonfire and light a match. He's strong, he's pale-looking, he has scars from basically the life he's led, and he doesn't seem to care. The only real important identifiers on his body that make him stand out are the tattoos he has on both of his arms, that of a black mamba's head on his shoulder spitting out a series of black vipers down his arms.

Personality:

Ah, here we go, the million-dollar psychosis. Dread was just simply wrong from the start. For some reason, he just started regarding those closest to him as slaves, all people around him as prey, and everyone as disposable as trash. In fact, he hates to even be around people, as they make him feel dirty. Not as in some prick who's arrogant as hell and calls people garbage all the time. No, he hates you, and he wants nothing more than for you to die. If you're not giving him something he wants, you're being looked at like a body on a surgical table. You're an animal, which is ironic because what HE is...is a monster.

Dread believes that the word and the definition of 'human' was only put there to make such creatures feel smug about themselves, that they're not any better than any other being, except for him because he's putting you in his place. He believes that people should all be below him, and he enforces this in the oldest way, by fear or by force. Dread wants you in two places, in fear of him or preparing to die. It isn't some sort of plot to seize power. He has no ambition higher than everyone cowering in his presence as he walks by. It is highly-unlikely that he can get along with anyone, which is why Red-Star decided to use him.

Backstory:

He was born in Japan, and in one of the worst sectors that Red-Star owns in such, although the word he would use was...produced. He has no real ties to his parents, and he did not like the name they imposed upon him. It felt limp, weak, dirty... Of course, you don't think about that in your earliest years, but Dread developed wrong as a child. He was a scavenger with an over-developed feel for violence. He bit people. His parents tried to get him out of that and he snarled at them. On some instinctual level, Dread felt this world was shit, and he was right about that much. However, alot of the things that he determined after that were horrible... When he decided on his own moniker, things got worse.

He developed in a survivalist mentality of kill-or-be-killed, except he did not think of himself as a human trying to survive. He thought of human beings as weak hanger-ons and that he should kill them for their stuff if they didn't immediately hand it over. Time passed like this, and you can imagine that his parents didn't last long. Nurturing behavior wasn't his thing. They were a resource, and when they ceased to be useful to him...snap. Naturally, you could expect that even in the worst sectors of the Red-Star, they would eventually become aware of a guy going around, methodically killing people who didn't just cringe at his presence. Dread wasn't like a ganger who surrounded himself in toadies who will follow him and he wasn't like someone trying to start an underground movement to take over. He was just death and terror. So, they picked him up and said "We want your kind of talent in Red-Star. We will give you things you want if you handle situations the way we want. You may find it most rewarding.".

The fact is that Red-Star is just as bad as him, but a little more controlled and alot more ambitious. They are a corporation that is taking the world and forcing every part of it into product, with no care for human concern or freedoms of any kind. You're there to feed the machine. Dread cared little for their plans, on the whole, but it seemed they wanted him to be better and more capable at what he does, and to extend such acts to more people. That was fine, but if they crossed him, it was going to be a bad day for all.

Tactical Preferences and Skills: He has two modes of combat, methodical and vicious, and he is very good at both. He really has no care for anything beyond asserting himself as a dominant creature, and therefore looks for the means to definitively put himself there. If you are dangerous in a complicated way, he wants to take apart everything that makes you strong until you have little to nothing left. If you are simply deadly in a straightforward way, he will overpower you with little care of what happens to his body, except for the most basic of self-preservation. Anything that isn't life-threatening makes no difference to him, so he'll power through.

Notes: Red-Star has Dread under constant surveilance in case he turns against them, but he knows they're always watching him.

------

NC Sheet

Code-name: Ursa Nova

Appearance:

Ursa Nova is a melee assault machine with mid-range attack options. It is designed to close in on targets and never give them a moment to think as it viciously attacks with its built-in weaponry. It is essentially a hunter-killer of high caliber, both durable and surprisingly agile, for all its mass and destructive capability.

Body Type: Variable Bipedal/Quadroped.

Type of NC: Heavy Assault

Equipment & Armaments:

Claws/Teeth/Grinders - All of the noted sharp points of Ursa are heated to the point of being able to more-easily tear into any target, like dumping lava onto a car, but with the force of a crusher. The clawed hands and feet CAN melt the ground around them upon contact with it, and it is possible for Ursa to scoop up bits of the landscape, mold it into a molten projectile, and throw it at an enemy. This is essentially a parlor trick, but it can be dangerous if caught unawares. The mouth of Ursa is designed to clamp down and maul its target until either torn off or forced away somehow. The grinders are essentially heated saws and drills in one, useful for backhanding opponents and tearing whatever's hit to bits. While it is technically possible for this machine to burrow because it's a bear, it is not practical for it to do so.

Heat/Plasma Jet System - This is a fully-integrated system working with both jet engine technology and plasma-flame projectors. Ursa Nova is very often on fire, so much so that a rain storm or even a blizzard will not make it quit. It is a heavily-insulated machine with flame ports on the torso and in the palms of the machine, as well as in the mouth. These ports project high-heat plasma supplied by the heavy reaction units inside of the beast, any of which could be turned up to thrust-capable levels of force, though the actual jet engines for maneuvers are in the feet and in the lower back (retractible ports there). Heat-dispersion vents to remove internal heat are located in the back near the shoulder haunches, keeping the pilot at normal temperatures. They purge with force, so jamming them is unlikely. As a result, Ursa adds intense plasma flames or bursts to its attacks, at will.

Energy Shield - Because Ursa is a heavily-armored unit, it can come under attack from a distance while closing said distance, so it makes sense to apply the use of an energy shield to protect it. The envelope gives it the ability to tank even harder hits and dissipate excess internal heat in case attempts were made to prevent this from happening. Since this machine is designed to tank hits in the first place, there can be nothing more galling than watching it recover from attempts to disable it and being unable to reliably harm it.

Prototype Overcharger - Ursa Nova was given an Overclock Engine that was a prototype for the NC, Id, one that had failed to work to acceptable standards. Once the working model had been produced for Id, though, this model could be properly repaired and placed in another NC. It has all of the same uses as the one from Id, plus it has been meshed with Ursa's heat-dispersion system.

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

Isaac hadn't really gotten any luck trying to flag anyone down for a bit of help, at least not until Michael returned, along with a Staff Sergeant. It wasn't good news. Apparently, Middleton wanted Lucia back at his side. Was it because they were both Assani? Somehow, it didn't seem likely that there was really any loyalty to your people going on here, except maybe to the Atlantic Federation itself. It was a bit hard to place Middleton, except as sort of an asshole of a commanding officer, a man with reputation and duty before common sense and decency in his head. To return Lucia to him was...a little too much. Hell, when Michael woke her and she was told herself, she too objected. However, orders...were orders. Middleton would only get cross and shoot someone, perhaps, and then he'd repeat the order. How did Isaac know he'd do that? Because he'd made this girl shoot someone herself. With a heavy heart, Isaac allowed her to go, allowing Michael to reassure her as best he could and adding...

"You're one of us now, Lucia. Don't forget that."

Hopefully, that would help her in dealing with what lay ahead, be it the war with the Imperials or her war with the Lieutenant. She didn't have one pillar. She had many. That was, sadly, the last nice thing that Isaac was going to see for a while. It was a calm respite after having to Holy Shit his way across a battlefield and nearly get shot all-throughout. Whoever made it through this war, he was buying the damn drinks! He came back to the group with the others - Jean, Kalisa, Diana, etc. - as Jean was still talking with them, berrating himself for some other perceived failing.

"Jean, at some point, you're going to have to accept that it's your first day and that you're doing okay. We're here, we're alive, we're..."

POW!

Oh no...

POW!

Oh shit... How could he have forgotten that?

POW!

Isaac's eyes widened as he suddenly realized in the forebrain what he'd been seeing and forgetting to remind himself. Artillery! There was no artillery here! He'd assumed that the reason it stopped and that they had the machine guns to deal with was that they had problems, like they were actually out of shells and needed to re-supply, or someone had been incompetent with them, or something! He didn't even think about them as he got here! Did any of them? Did anyone think 'Hey, there aren't really any cannons here...'. No, they didn't, because the cold and unforgiving war sat right in the middle of their minds, drawing them from the rather important details. Now, what was that shout they taught him in basic training? Oh yes.

"INCOMING!!"

His warning came in at about the same time as Jean and Michael shouted. They had only two choices run, exposed to the world with no cover at all and hope that nothing hit and nobody could shoot you...or take cover and hope that the trenches do the job that they were most certainly intended to. Everyone dropped or dove for somewhere to use as protection as the shells plummetted loudly and destructively. One had been a little too close to Isaac's spot in the trenches. It'd been around the bend, not too far from where he and Lucia had been asleep, but the bend had prevented him from taking any shrapnel.

The blast had knocked him senseless, though, or near enough.

It was the concussion, really. A blast around a corner doesn't lose ALL of its force because it hits the corner, just a considerable amount. If you're close enough, you will still be affected, and that was why Isaac was suddenly holding his head, hearing nothing but a whine as he'd felt something thump his entire body. He'd never been near an explosion before, and to those of you who still have never been around one...he wouldn't recommend it. Someone pulled him back so, so he wouldn't suffer anything like that again. The world started to come into focus on...

"Britta?"

She was saying something witty, but he couldn't hear her at the moment. For those whose senses were still about them right now, she said "And a nice day to you too.", putting on a smile, though she'd obviously been winged by something and was trying to put on a good face about it. She was also making a comment about how hard it was to dive properly when they weigh you down with all these bullets for this machine gun. Isaac would've agreed if he could hear her properly. When the last shell struck, his hearing was starting to return...as was his sense of pain...which gave him a headache.

"Agh..."

_{"That bad, is it?"}

"What? ...yeah."

They got up. Isaac had to remind himself that his team looked after him too, as Britta went to tell the others that the two of them were alright-ish. Hmmm. He hadn't been paying close attention before, but did it seem like Diana was a little attached to Jean now? Well, ties will be formed, he guessed. This all seemed normal to him. He was pretty sure that nothing strange would come about from that... Then, rather unexpectedly, Middleton was here to direct them to get back down the hill, and that he was apparently staying up here to make sure everybody else got back down. That was fine with him, but it didn't seem right that he was STILL talking down to Jean. Well, maybe he'd talk down to him later, too. Couldn't be sure. It DID seem like the Lieutenant hated them all, somehow. Still, they were leaving now, presumably before the cannons - which they must've sent further back in the Imperial lines - were reloaded.

"Alright, we're moving! Michael, Daniel, Kalisa, Britta, Diana - Everybody! Out, out, out!"

He was mostly naming names of people he's actually learned the names of, hoping that everybody just caught on and got out like they were ordered. Everyone started moving out of Hill 58 and back down the way that they came, advancing now back to the lines they started in. Because he was still a Gunner, he fell in to be the support for everyone, in case something happened, right alongside Britta.

"Now, what were you saying before? Because I couldn't hear."

"I was pointing out how hard it was to get around with these heavy packs and guns we have to lug around."

"Yeah, I'm starting to notice that, just now."

But they would make it back. He just hoped that enough of them made it...

NCQuest - A Mecha RP: The Defense of Darwin (BeeNCQuest)

*Drops this innocently into the room...*

Villain Sheet

Villain Sheet

Name: Hirohiko Fujiyama (But everyone calls him Dread)

Age: 21

Gender: Male

Appearance:

Dread makes no attempt to hide who and what he is. He is, in reality, just a human being, but doesn't think in terms of that. We'll get to that later. What he defines himself as physically as someone who seems built enough to go from zero-to-kill-you in a second. He looks like someone who looks down on other people as garbage, and wishes nothing more than to toss them into a bonfire and light a match. He's strong, he's pale-looking, he has scars from basically the life he's led, and he doesn't seem to care. The only real important identifiers on his body that make him stand out are the tattoos he has on both of his arms, that of a black mamba's head on his shoulder spitting out a series of black vipers down his arms.

Personality:

Ah, here we go, the million-dollar psychosis. Dread was just simply wrong from the star. For some reason, he just started regarding those closest to him as slaves, all people around him as prey, and everyone as disposable as trash. In fact, he hates to even be around people, as they make him feel dirty. Not as in some prick who's arrogant as hell and calls people garbage all the time. No, he hates you, and he wants nothing more than for you to die. If you're not giving him something he wants, you're being looked at like a body on a surgical table. You're an animal, which is ironic because what HE is...is a monster.

Dread believes that the word and the definition of 'human' was only put there to make such creatures feel smug about themselves, that they're not any better than any other being, except for him because he's putting you in his place. He believes that people should all be below him, and he enforces this in the oldest way, by fear or by force. Dread wants you in two places, in fear of him or preparing to die. It isn't some sort of plot to seize power. He has no ambition higher than everyone cowering in his presence as he walks by. It is highly-unlikely that he can get along with anyone, which is why Red-Star decided to use him.

Backstory:

He was born in Japan, and in one of the worst sectors that Red-Star owns in such, although the word he would use was...produced. He has no real ties to his parents, and he did not like the name they imposed upon him. It felt limp, weak, dirty... Of course, you don't think about that in your earliest years, but Dread developed wrong as a child. He was a scavenger with an over-developed feel for violence. He bit people. His parents tried to get him out of that and he snarled at them. On some instinctual level, Dread felt this world was shit, and he was right about that much. However, alot of the things that he decided after that were horrible... When he decided on his own moniker, things got worse.

He developed in a survivalist mentality of kill-or-be-killed, except he did not think of himself as a human trying to survive. He thought of human beings as weak hanger-ons and that he should kill them for their stuff if they didn't immediately hand it over. Time passed like this, and you can imagine that his parents didn't last long. Nurturing behavior wasn't his thing. They were a resource, and when they ceased to be useful to him...snap. Naturally, you could expect that even in the worst sectors of the Red-Star, they would eventually become aware of a guy going around, methodically killing people who didn't just cringe at his presence. Dread wasn't like a ganger who surrounded himself in toadies who will follow him and he wasn't like someone trying to start an underground movement to take over. He was just death and terror. So, they picked him up and said "We want your kind of talent in Red-Star. We will give you things you want if you handle situations the way we want. You may find it most rewarding.".

The fact is that Red-Star is just as bad as him, but a little more controlled and alot more ambitious. They are a corporation that is taking the world and forcing every part of it into product, with no care for human concern or freedoms of any kind. You're there to feed the machine. Dread cared little their plans, on the whole, but it seemed they wanted him to be better and more capable at what he does, and to extend such acts to more people. That was fine, but if they crossed him, it was going to be a bad day for all.

Tactical Preferences and Skills: He has two modes of combat, methodical and vicious, and he is very good at both. He really has no care for anything beyond asserting himself as a dominant creature, and therefore looks for the means to definitively put himself there. If you are dangerous in a complicated way, he wants to take apart everything that makes you strong until you have little to nothing left. If you are simply deadly in a straightforward way, he will overpower you with little care of what happens to his body, except for the most basic of self-preservation. Anything that isn't life-threatening makes no difference to him, so he'll power through.

Notes: Red-Star has under constant surveilance in case he turns against them, but he knows they're always watching him.

------

NC Sheet

Code-name: Ursa Nova

Appearance:

Ursa Nova is a melee assault machine with mid-range attack options. It is designed to close in on targets and never give them a moment to think as it viciously attacks with its built-in weaponry. It is essentially a hunter-killer of high caliber, both durable and surprisingly agile, for all its mass.

Body Type: Variable Bipedal/Quadroped.

Type of NC: Heavy Assault

Equipment & Armaments:

Claws/Teeth/Grinders - All of the noted sharp points of Ursa are heated to the point of being able to more-easily tear into any target, like dumping lava onto a car, but with the force of a crusher. The clawed hands and feet CAN melt the ground around them upon contact with it, and it is possible for Ursa to scoop up bits of the landscape, mold it into a molten projectile, and throw it at an enemy. This is essentially a parlor trick, but it can be dangerous if caught unawares. The mouth of Ursa is designed to clamp down and maul its target until either torn off or forced away somehow. The grinders are essentially heated saws and drills in one, useful for backhanding opponents and tearing whatever's hit to bits. While it is technically possible for this machine to burrow because it's a bear, it is not practical for it to do so.

Heat/Plasma Jet System - This is a fully-integrated system working with both jet engine technology and plasma-flame projectors. Ursa Nova is very often on fire, so much so that a rain storm or even a blizzard will not make it quit. It is a heavily-insulated machine with flame ports on the torso and in the palms of the machine, as well as in the mouth. These ports project high-heat plasma supplied by the heavy reaction unit inside of the beast, any of which could be turned up to thrust-capable levels of force, though the actual jet engines for maneuvers are in the feet and in the lower back (retractible ports there). Heat-dispersion vents to remove internal heat are located in the back near the shoulder haunches, keeping the pilot at normal temperatures. They purge with force, so jamming them is unlikely. As a result, Ursa adds intense plasma flames or bursts to its attacks, at will.

Energy Shield - Because Ursa is a heavily-armored unit, it can come until attack from a distance while closing said distance, so it makes sense to apply the use of an energy shield to protect it. The envelope gives it the ability to tank even harder hits and dissipate excess internal heat in case attempts were made to prevent this from happening. Since this machine is designed to tank hits in the first place, there can be nothing more galling than watching it recover from attempts to disable it and being unable to reliably harm it.

Metroid: Final Protocol

Well, I am not, so I have to buy things.

Metroid: Final Protocol

Same. And now that my Christmas shopping is done...

NCQuest - A Mecha RP: The Defense of Darwin (BeeNCQuest)

Terra Laedo

The facility was quiet, or about as quiet as a military structure might be, all surveillance quietly watching for any possible intrusion. Strangely, though, today it would find that the reverse was occurring. For soon, there was the sounds of gunfire, explosions, and then a loud SLAM!! The outer wall of the facility suddenly expanded and tore apart, revealing a glowing palm from within a smoke-filled room.

Alarm sirens began to sound as a red Neural Combatant emerged. Humanoid, with spikes and edges that would cut anything they touched, and flight system to increase its travel options. This machine was the new gem in the army of the the Red-Star, an NC simply known as Id, a machine of killer instinct designed to work in congruence with a pilot capable of meshing with its input at high levels and withstanding the strain that came with it. Well, it worked...but the pilot had no intention of flying their colors.

Her secondary generator needed a moment to cool down before being put to the next task at hand. This escape plan would utilize Id's capabilities to the fullest, and deliver her from this country, this corporation, faster than they could have any hope of containing her. She made for the coast at normal speeds, firing behind her with a stolen plasma rifle whenever she had radar contact. Accuracy was not as important as occupying them. If she delayed too long here, they could mobilize more NCs, or even someone capable of standing against her at an equal-footing. That could not be allowed.

While Id made for the southern coast, the radio had been full of chatter on her wavelength. Red-Star command, those of whom were to have been her comanders, demanded she return immediately or face destruction. She ignored them. Her attention was more on the enemy combatants who seemed to have forgotten they were on the same channel as her, at least until an officer shouted at them for being incompetent. It was an honest mistake, but a foolish one. It let her in on a few of their plans, bought her some extra time. Soon, the red NC was in position...and stopped.

It was time, the big push. Terra activated flight engine overclock-

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The base intercom whistled, halting the dream prematurely. Well, not so much a dream as a recent memory. This was her reality now.

This was Haven.

"All NC pilots to the Operations Room. I repeat, all NC pilots to the Operations Room, immediately."

She had been asleep to recuperate energy that she needed, to re-organize her brain, and to try and put behind her the unfortunate facts of her escape from the Red-Star facility. As Terra sat up from the bed in a black tanktop and cargo pants she had received from supplies, she had on a glum face because putting it to rights. Can you guess which two out of the three goals were achieved in her sleep? If you're wondering how her escape ended, half the base knew the details, by now. She overclocked her propulsion engines with the special generator outfitted to her NC and outran the Red-Star forces, from Southern Japan to the Northern tip of Australia, where she was naturally spotted by Havenite forces and simply waited for them there. She did not so much as surrender as agree to be escorted Terra did not give up control easily, the reason she pretty much demanded to be on speaking terms with someone in charge to be treated decently, instead of as a prisoner. After all, that was why she was here.

Getting out of bed now, Terra ran her hand through her hair and got a handle on her mood. She was projecting a depressing sort of blue when she sighed, and that had to stop. They didn't see that, but it was apparent to her, and she didn't want to feel that or really show that. They needed her to be in control. She needed to be in control of the situation. Since this sounded important, she elected to get into the only uniform she had, her white and black flight suit, the same one she had come in. It was supposedly reminescent of something from an old car show, but while some people had referenced it to her, she never really saw, so who could compare? The way they described this 'Stig' character, he didn't seem human, anyway. Terra was genetically-engineered and everything they've said about him was far more implausible.

One thing that had surprised her, coming into this place: Although people were uneasy about her before, the people of Haven were a kinder breed than those she had known in her life. Well...apart from her parents. Still, it was unexpected, and one of the reasons she'd opted for sleep was that she needed to figure out how to deal with this. These were all strangers to her. Indeed, the commanding officer was most pleased to see them, while her commander punished tardiness in her peers. People shoudn't run meetings late, though, so this was all a mixed message to her. At least the meeting could get started. It looked as though Red-Star had followed her, or even if not, they had much invested in this area.

It's the price you pay for free intel and a fully-equipped pilot. People start to notice you.

It had been her intention to come to Haven for a long time, never really seeing any wisdom in Red-Star's methodology. This, she had kept to herself and her plan was executed without warning. It was the only realistic way to do it, even if neither side was prepared to deal with it. Now then... This base was basically surrounded, at least insofar as the water was concerned, and only the reactive barriers were keeping off the heavy stuff, but then...these did not repel other forms of attack. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the enemy - their enemy, her enemy - would use other tactics to try and bring the shields down. Commander Narra's briefing was startling at least one of the other pilot, especially at the mention of breeding slaves. The other girl's breath took on nervous yellow waves that stood out among the dull gray hum of machinery around them. Despite all this, the Commander himself was in high spirits, speaking with waves of calming green.

Terra made it a point to not be influenced by others, but it was nice to see that command was keeping its head in this situation. Narra began to name off some expected enemies that, frankly, were already well-known to her, and her to them. It was unfortunate, but training in the same army will allow others to understand things about you. Still, he was rather pleased with himself, in that he'd managed to bring in some reinforcements and obtain the knowledge that he had. You can guess where at least some of that came from. Something that Terra didn't like, though: Commander Narra seemed to want pilots and NC's captured almost as much as Red-Star did, though for different reasons, such as interrogation and resources. That said, it was problematic. And furthermore, he continued...

Damn. If they really want me to curb the more lethal half of my training to their own ends, this is going to make things complicated. My NC is certainly geared to destroy. It's modular to any handheld weapon, it has deadly capabilities as much as versatilities, and- Wait, WHAT did he just say?

For once, Terra was properly confused, and...she wasn't really hiding it, either. She tilted her head to the side a bit, looking at the commander like he'd grown a third nostril. He'd assured them that the barriers would hold against missle bombardments and the usual preliminary attack moves, which was why he wanted them to spend the time they had before deployment on a...social meeting? And...their options were... What was going on here? Is this how things were here? A bar, a coffeeshop, a bathhouse... Finally, after taking all that had been said in, THIS was where Terra broke her silence.

"Commander, this puts me in a most awkward position. I don't know anybody or really much of anything about Haven, Darwin, or - let's be honest - Australia. I don't know how to even approach this. I haven't really done any of those things. And apart from that...don't you have any tea?"

Metroid: Final Protocol

@SimpleWriter Ahem... Stuff! Things!

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

Alot goes on in a short amount of time. That's for damn sure.

Isaac was not aware of the fact that Jean had gone off to hear from Middleton, or knew when he'd gotten back. All that had happened in another section, while he was essentially trying to help Private Lucia regain some of her sanity. This was day one, certainly, but day one was alot more for some, than others. For Isaac, day one had been when his country turned on him by forcing him into the service. Day one had been when they took him from his family, his friends, and his responsibilities in order to transform him into a killing machine. Day one was when he began to hate his country, and when he was done defending it from Imperial bullets, he was going to tell it how much of a coward it was for telling a farmer to go fight when other more-willing people were obviously out there, all of whom have to EAT. Alot of people were gonna be put in their place when he was done. That's what was getting his ire up, and that's why he didn't have the same shock as other people. He'd already been stunned on some levels, so he'd been able to power through the rest to get this far.

There was alot of difference between him and Lucia. Anyone could see that. He didn't know her story at all, but clearly their induction into this hellhole wasn't the same. She'd been put through training, possibly with the growing fear of war ever-present in her mind, and then while ffacing the same tension as the rest of them all, in comes Middleton, who gives her an unthinkable command. Isaac didn't know why the Lieutenant would do that to anyone. It was completely unnecessary, since anyone who's been through training would've been told the penalty for desertion and treason. Namely, that you either hung or shot, dependent upon whether they want to spare the bullets or not. They won't knife you. That's too personal. Well...maybe Middleton would manage it. He was cold as ice. He'd ordered a girl even younger than he was to execute people who were afraid, who might come back even though they might only be throwing themselves at bullets uselessly otherwise. No one should have to do that. If there was anyone who had less of a reason to be in this war than him, it was Lucia Farris.

You could really argue that with alot of people, but then this was day one and Isaac didn't really know everyone else's story, to be fair. They'd all been through a charge with each other. That's it. They hadn't had time to bond much, although the Lance already felt a certain protective instinct for these people. He wasn't going to judge how much they deserved to be here against his own problems. For all he knew, the 15th Atlantic Rifles were a motley crew of unwilling people recruited into a great mess of a war and flung full-force at the Imperial threat without care. That was why he needed to care. They just wanted an attack wolf, but they didn't understand what rearing a wolf was like. You have to address ALL of the instincts, understand the camaraderie that goes with it. They need unification, caring for one another, and they needed outlets for aggression that was something other than fighting for their lives. And whatever that outlet is has to be cared for so that it doesn't break, especially if it turned out to be a person. You don't want a pack omega in a wartime situation, but if it happens, you have to build that person up so they don't feel that way. The tension-breaker probably had to shift, and that's why...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Isaac wasn't aware that he was drifting off as he started thinking up ways to handle the group so that their people wouldn't break. Not long after Lucia succumbed to sleep, trying not to dream of the girl she'd had to kill or the Lieutenant who'd ordered her so - like he was right there and she was being ordered to execute her on the spot, and that the girl was herself - the Lance-Corporal also ran out of energy, which was kind of why time passed him over a bit. Michael had gone to help Franz and Mila - or Mimi - the crazy lady had frozen at the sight of him. He wasn't aware of Jean's girl trouble or that Daniel was chastizing people. That was all stuff that happened under the observation of Britta.

The female Gunner had been patrolling as she'd been asked to, namely to give people the chance to do what they were doing: Recovering from the shock of battle and trying to piece together their senses. She had seen Jean heading off and she had seen Isaac helping Lucia, and she had seen things developing in the former Imperial trench where people had penetrated. Things being the way they were, she kind of wanted to bring other Lance-Corporal to help sort out things with Jean, but as she had been watching things unfold herself, it might've been better if she did so herself. Really, Jean's words were to be taken to heart. They should appreciate what it's like to think and act like normal human beings in the face of the uglier side of things. It warmed the heart to hear him say so. The Gunner stepped on over as Daniel left.

"I appreciate you saying that, Jean, and I agree that we should all hold onto whatever humanity we have."

She remembered now how she saw even the toughened Isaac showed some of his true self on the way here, the way he was now using that humanity to reach out to Lucia and let her know that it was alright to be human, that they should strive for that as they look after one another.

"If you want, I can see about talking a little sense into him. It was a human being worrying about others that got us up this hill, not the whistle and a man shouting 'Go'."

Britta wasn't sure if she'd really get through to Daniel, exactly, but the words that this squad lived by AS a squad and not just as a loose collection of fighting soldiers dictated that she try to reach him. She just wanted Jean's opinion on whether it was better to let him stew for a while before confronting him, or doing it now while it was still fresh in mind.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Isaac awoke with a start. It wasn't because of anything he'd been dreaming. His dream had been of the Atlantic Rifles getting wolves to imprint upon them as he and his whole family all helped them. You could say that he really thought of those creatures too much, but you don't raise them without them raising you, a bit. You get attached and you become influenced by it. Nothing can make you appreciate nature more than someone who lives with it always, and that's what they were.

And I guess that's why I fell asleep in this trench. I can sleep almost anywhere, really.

He looked around. Everyone had moved off. There wasn't any explosion or fighting - might've been some shouting, but he didn't hear it - or anything like that. What'd startled him into the waking world so suddenly was a physical jolt. It was Lucia, right next to him. Honestly, he was just planning to let her rest, keep an eye on her or let somebody else do so while he was busy being a Corporal, but he'd fallen asleep and he'd been stationary human contact. He imagined nobody wanted to disturb them because it would disrupt the recovery that was going on. What Isaac didn't know was that he had introduced a foreign element into the so-called experiment that Middleton had engaged in. He was completely unaware off what the Lieutenant was trying to do, of course, but he'd done it: He'd instilled the notion that people could care for and take care of each other in war, that people are not meat puppets to be sacrificed to the bullet, as it was to the sword in days of old. This would undoubtedly alter things in a way that he did not like.

What a shame that Isaac was unaware...

He'd probably do it more if he DID know, though. Let's be perfectly honest there. Now, the Lance-Corporal moved to get up, but as he tried...well...there was a whimper and he felt his arm get caught. Hoo boy... This was gonna take some explaining. Isaac pulled out his machine gun - NO, NOT WHAT YOU'RE THINKING, GOD DAMMIT! - and held it up so he could wave it around, trying to flag someone down.

"Hello? Anyone there? I kinda' dozed off and I don't know what's going on now."

NCQuest - A Mecha RP: The Defense of Darwin (BeeNCQuest)

@Stern Algorithm I should point out that she didn't literally kill them. She knew they were as good as dead when she left Japan. They were a most regrettable sacrifice with no alternatives she could see.