Pilatus

Mechwarrior: Disposable Heroes

Reya Wyatt

Her mind always wandered when she worked. Most tasks, particularly with battlemech systems were so prosaic that thinking about something else for Reya was almost automatic. Three screens glowed in front of her, three tablet-size computers, one weighing almost as much as a brick and two more with a hydra of wires spilling from the top and bottom coiling into the exposed inner systems of Ziska’s Raven and leading out through the open hatch to the torso where the armor plating on the sides of the machine’s birdlike frame were carefully propped open rather than fully removed. If something went wrong, she cautioned, she wasn’t sure they’d have even the basic means to reattach it, but there was enough room for Reya to squeeze underneath and that was good enough. One hand hammered away rapidly on the heaviest of the tablets that rested on her thigh, the bottom of which featured a set of basic keys used for commands and made a surprisingly satisfying snap with each press. The chattering sound filled the mech’s cockpit and she barely looked at it as monochrome green command lines blinked, changed and scrolled rapidly. Occasionally, the haughty sword and arm motif of House Liao would blink on screen in pixel art with a strongly worded warning and she would blast right by it with another command. She reached up from her somewhat comfortable position against the back of Ziska’s front folded seat, her feet propped against the rear bulkhead over the removed panels, towards one of the screens but her hand slowed slightly and her fingertips hovered over the touch screen.

The thoughts always came in a crashing line and she couldn’t put them away for long. Even doing so immediately left a sick feeling of guilt. Almost like a betrayal, like she needed to hold on, like someone needed to hold on. She wasn’t a warrior. She knew the others could just move on and deal in their own ways, it was their life, but at the same time watching them press forward; leaving the dead behind them made her feel like she barely knew them anymore. All her relatives of a similar age were male and throughout schooling all of her social associations were carefully scrutinized and curated. When she had set out on her own and bought-in with Colonel Wayne, she and Lena had instantly clicked together like sisters and now her sister was gone, just deleted from life and it felt like a physical piece of her soul had been removed. The sinister, hard-logic, inside her mind always piped in to tell her that this was a part of the business for which she had voluntarily signed-on and she could feel nothing but revulsion at herself for the thought. That logic could apply to assholes like Golden Boy, but Lena was better and worthy of remembrance. The recurring image of Lena’s empty bunk and the last glimpse of the room they shared back on the ship as they scrambled to escape the capital city cut Reya like nothing had ever done in her life. Her fingertips trembled over the small screen and she could feel tears rolling down her cheeks and she looked right through the patiently waiting prompt.

With a tiny motion she pressed one finger meekly against the weathered surface of the tablet and cried as the internal workings of the Raven reacted to her command. Unseen systems hummed and whirred around her as she buried her head in her knees and sobbed alone in the dark.

Moments passed and the Raven’s interest in its newfound programming subsided. She could hear the movement from the bustle outside and breathed in deeply, tilting her head back to stare up at the cockpit ceiling and letting her thoughts roll away again like a thunderstorm passing into the distance. This was what made her different she reminded herself. Not being smart or talented or even good looking. This was why she was different from her mother. Not sitting back home in Tabayama making court with her father’s bureaucracy sycophants. This was real, this was living. She breathed in heavily again through her nose and rolled the bottom of her shirt up to wipe her eyes, brushing some loose strands of her disheveled pony-tail away from her eyes. The habitable climate on Espia normally required a jacket and their adopted cave home was equally cool, but she had been moving around enough to be down to a tank top and her regular leggings. She sighed and raised herself up slightly and unfastened the tablet from its magnet hold shaking her head thinking to herself grimly that it had been such a week of firsts: First time running for her life, first time being shot at, first time losing someone she truly cared about and as she glanced up out the top of the Raven’s hatch at the roof of the cave- First time being in a cave.

The hard casing of the tablet thudded against the top of the Raven as she climbed out and the cool air quickly found her exposed skin and light layer of sweat. The deep mineral smell that permeated everything was again prevalent before her rather than the somewhat unique aroma of Ziska’s cockpit. She glanced around briefly, having been down in the cockpit for some time, but her first attention turned to the base of the battlemech where a proper small table had been set out, complete with a makeshift cloth and one occupant who sat reading along with a rather large calico cat that seemed proudly contented on top of the table. The very young blonde girl, no more than ten years old, looked up at Reya. “All done?”

Reya again brushed back hair that had become a mess from being in the cramped space and sat down with her legs hanging over the side of the mech. She wiped one hand over her face. “It’s ready.”

“Were you crying?”

Reya looked at the girl. Sunshine “Sunny” von Kemp was Lena’s younger sister. She had escaped the chaos with Reya. On the table next to some more books was a green Marauder action toy that she knew belonged to Sunny’s brother, Diego, who did not escape. The happy cat was Ziska’s personal pet. The great, or depending on who was being asked, infamous, General Kerensky.

“Is that Never Ending Hearts Revolution again?” Reya asked, not answering the child’s question.

“Uhhhhh, of course!” The girl smiled. Proudly displaying the front cover of the latest issue of the Draconis Combine’s most popular manga about the power of love and friendship at Suribashi High on Luthien.

“You know, I’ve been to that high school on Luthien. It’s not that exciting.” Reya said with a teasing smirk.

“Oh whatever, you went to boring engineering school at the Imperial Institute.” The girl shot back. Somehow she simply did not believe Lena had been killed and that was final. Any attempted conversation about it abruptly ended with an indignant crossing of the arms and shaking of the head, punctuated by a stern, She’ll be back. However, she did believe that Diego was in trouble and had to be saved. She missed them both terribly and Reya had essentially become her immediate caretaker.

A voice called from the otherside of the Raven and she glanced over her shoulder to see Tarak approaching. Before he could even speak, she glanced across the cave to the makeshift mechbay that had been assembled for his Phoenix Hawk. Everything that had been or was currently in service of the Green Knights sported top performance weaponry. Her weapons shot farther, faster, ran cooler and reloaded quicker than anything that could be purchased brand new on Terra. Darkly, she had thought repeatedly about how the Crimson Fists must have had a field day with the salvage after the battle for Balya Gora and that there was a distinct possibility they’d soon be facing off against some of her creations. She was going to have to get creative to give them another edge, but for now they just needed to survive. She crossed her legs and tilted her head slightly as if regarding Tarak with some amusement from her elevated position. “Trying to woo me with a mix tape, huh?”

@Th3King0fChaos

Mechwarrior: Disposable Heroes

Reya Wyatt

Name: Reya Wyatt
Nickname/Callsign: None really, sometimes goes by ‘Rey’ for short.
Age: 25
Gender: Female

Position: Weapons Engineer - Primarily Beams (Pulse, Standard & PPC)

Nationality: Draconis Combine - Tabayama Prefecture

Reya

Biographical History:

The outlying borders of Draconis territory make for a picturesque mix of wide open woodlands and mountainous expanses across the inhabited Earth-like worlds of the Tabayama Prefecture. Mining and agriculture are the primary functions of the populace in respect to the Combine economy and there is little chance of upward movement aside from being within the nobility of the interstellar trade bureaucracy. For generations the line of Wyatt heirs governed the movement of raw materials and assets far enough away not to draw the inquisitive eyes of the capital and still profitable and efficient enough to go relatively unnoticed. It was a careful equilibrium for Denton Wyatt, the same patient dance explained by his father and the same one he only practiced explaining to his daughter. Her younger brother would be the rightful successor to the Administration when he was older.

There had been female heirs before, but it was not the preferred in the Way and the arrival of Reya’s younger brother brought about some repose for Denton, however there was no denying that Reya was much different than her contemporaries. She was bored by politics, trade and customs, having few real friends, while her mind placed her easily at the top of her classes. The word “prodigy” was used regularly by her instructors in relation to her studies and it was obvious that even the most exacting curriculums afforded to Combine nobility were of little difficulty for her. If only such a mind had fallen to a male heir.. was the quiet sentiment among the local circles of nobility. If nothing else, the prospects of high-level university training at the prestigious Imperial Institution of Technology closer to the capital were essentially a guarantee and the thought of marrying her off to one of the ministry families seemed almost a waste of her abilities. It was an unexpected problem.

For Reya, there was no real enjoyment in the life of nobility. It was merely all she had ever known. If something was needed, there was a servant to take care of it. From meals, to wardrobe, to social outings- everything fell into place nicely, the same as it had for generations. As she grew older and became more self-aware of her status and much higher than average aptitude, the world of her family, their mountain feudal compound and their noble social caste became increasingly small and unchallenging. Granted there were some ideas and beliefs in the traditions she found naturally appealing, she knew the socially focused day to day life of her mother in politics supporting her father was not for her and that university would be the only other admissible path. The arrangements were made and she was accepted into the most difficult curriculum: beam weaponry and particle physics.

In some ways university was more rigorous in that for the first time in her life, she had true competition for head of the class with most of her classmates also coming from various noble backgrounds. However, from a social standpoint, the rigid structures were much the same as being back home. There were the same servants and monitors that took care of handling every small detail so that all focus could be set upon studies, only the faces were different. For the first time in her life, Reya began to feel a pang of actual revulsion towards her own nobility. Though she knew that failure or quitting were sentiments that could not even be remotely entertained, she could at least, for the time at hand, use her father’s own strategy of doing well enough to go purposefully unnoticed and she set her mind to things she enjoyed: hands on work; placing consistently at the head of lab practices, but always holding her efforts back in academics, spending her time looking for something that would take her out of the caste systems, even if just for a little while when she graduated.

The expeditionary forces always had need of capable engineers out in the distant periphery and with the increases in pirate activities the monetary reward was getting substantial for anyone willing to risk their neck on the frontier. Unfortunately, she knew no commander would likely take on a high-ranking nobleman’s daughter knowing the level of reprisals should any harm come to her. Any hope of adventure or freedom was going to have to come from outside the regular channels, somewhere where plausible deniability was going to have to be the criteria rather than the exception.

With even base-level astechs being highly desired, picking up a Combine trained engineer for a song was too good a deal to pass up, but there was a catch: The girl was going to have to set herself up and sell any prying eyes on joining something no less than just another private expeditionary force on the level, something she seemed, for some reason, to have wholly planned and was surprisingly efficient. It was an odd situation at first, something like seeing a piece of fine china set in place at an underground pub, but Reya became a regular fixture and something like a filter to new members of the crew. Her work was always top-notch, but finding people willing to put up with her eccentricities usually was a good sign that they were worth their salt. She demanded little, did her job, and once the defensive layers could be navigated, was as loyal a crewmember as could be asked.

At present, Reya has been with Colonel Wayne for about two years as an invested partner in the company. Occasionally she has to carefully deflect probing questions from her parents, particularly her mother wondering why she hasn’t married, but with her father’s main focus divided between raising up her brother in the trade bureaucracy while continuing to perform the job to Combine standards himself, it has been fairly easy for her to continue on without gathering a lot of unwanted attention. She has access to a tremendous amount of her family’s wealth and connections, but only draws from it in amounts inconspicuous enough to go unnoticed by the myriad of servants, bureaucrats and underlings that manage the multiple layers of her family’s accounting practices. With the current revolution on Espia, she has been forced to pull more and more to keep the company afloat while the Green Knights have been cut off from their contracted revenue stream.

Personality:

Despite the setting, it is very difficult for Reya to not exude the airs of her upbringing to newcomers to the squad. She can be vain, aloof, immature and egotistical. Attributes for which she is fairly self-aware and actually enjoys to some extent particularly in situations where she is confident that her understanding is the highest in the room. Conversely, she wants to be liked and trusted by others and tries to use her work rather than her status to gain that appreciation from others without having to overtly work for it socially.

Apropos, she is very hands-on and detail oriented in her engineering projects. Nothing is ever viewed as whole, only parts working together in a system that has the potential for improvement. Her tendency to over-analyze and master the peculiars of various weaponry can sometimes slow her down in the mires of perfectionism and she likewise becomes very attached to her projects. A mechwarrior returning with a heavily damaged unit, even through no fault of their own, will often receive a piercingly disapproving glare upon return.

Reya doesn’t view her investment in the Knights as a “job” or even that much of a lucrative business maneuver. Being with the company checks a number of personal yearnings for rebellion, adventurism and challenge. She’s not a warrior by any stretch, however, over time she has simply found herself more at home with her company of mechwarriors and technicians than she ever really felt in the sterile and composed backdrop of nobility.

Assets:
A bright orange sportbike that she uses to get around when they are at port.
A myriad of tools, diagnostic equipment and their associated storage.
A few worker drones and a large stereo system- tends to listen to music at deafening levels while she works.

Mechwarrior: Disposable Heroes

Reya Wyatt

Name: Reya Wyatt
Nickname/Callsign: None really, sometimes goes by ‘Rey’ for short.
Age: 25
Gender: Female

Position: Weapons Engineer - Primarily Beams (Pulse, Standard & PPC)

Nationality: Draconis Combine - Tabayama Prefecture

Reya

Biographical History:

The outlying borders of Draconis territory make for a picturesque mix of wide open woodlands and mountainous expanses across the inhabited Earth-like worlds of the Tabayama Prefecture. Mining and agriculture are the primary functions of the populace in respect to the Combine economy and there is little chance of upward movement aside from being within the nobility of the interstellar trade bureaucracy. For generations the line of Wyatt heirs governed the movement of raw materials and assets far enough away not to draw the inquisitive eyes of the capital and still profitable and efficient enough to go relatively unnoticed. It was a careful equilibrium for Denton Wyatt, the same patient dance explained by his father and the same one he only practiced explaining to his daughter. Her younger brother would be the rightful successor to the Administration when he was older.

There had been female heirs before, but it was not the preferred in the Way and the arrival of Reya’s younger brother brought about some repose for Denton, however there was no denying that Reya was much different than her contemporaries. She was bored by politics, trade and customs, having few real friends, while her mind placed her easily at the top of her classes. The word “prodigy” was used regularly by her instructors in relation to her studies and it was obvious that even the most exacting curriculums afforded to Combine nobility were of little difficulty for her. If only such a mind had fallen to a male heir.. was the quiet sentiment among the local circles of nobility. If nothing else, the prospects of high-level university training at the prestigious Imperial Institution of Technology closer to the capital were essentially a guarantee and the thought of marrying her off to one of the ministry families seemed almost a waste of her abilities. It was an unexpected problem.

For Reya, there was no real enjoyment in the life of nobility. It was merely all she had ever known. If something was needed, there was a servant to take care of it. From meals, to wardrobe, to social outings- everything fell into place nicely, the same as it had for generations. As she grew older and became more self-aware of her status and much higher than average aptitude, the world of her family, their mountain feudal compound and their noble social caste became increasingly small and unchallenging. Granted there were some ideas and beliefs in the traditions she found naturally appealing, she knew the socially focused day to day life of her mother in politics supporting her father was not for her and that university would be the only other admissible path. The arrangements were made and she was accepted into the most difficult curriculum: beam weaponry and particle physics.

In some ways university was more rigorous in that for the first time in her life, she had true competition for head of the class with most of her classmates also coming from various noble backgrounds. However, from a social standpoint, the rigid structures were much the same as being back home. There were the same servants and monitors that took care of handling every small detail so that all focus could be set upon studies, only the faces were different. For the first time in her life, Reya began to feel a pang of actual revulsion towards her own nobility. Though she knew that failure or quitting were sentiments that could not even be remotely entertained, she could at least, for the time at hand, use her father’s own strategy of doing well enough to go purposefully unnoticed and she set her mind to things she enjoyed: hands on work; placing consistently at the head of lab practices, but always holding her efforts back in academics, spending her time looking for something that would take her out of the caste systems, even if just for a little while when she graduated.

The expeditionary forces always had need of capable engineers out in the distant periphery and with the increases in pirate activities the monetary reward was getting substantial for anyone willing to risk their neck on the frontier. Unfortunately, she knew no commander would likely take on a high-ranking nobleman’s daughter knowing the level of reprisals should any harm come to her. Any hope of adventure or freedom was going to have to come from outside the regular channels, somewhere where plausible deniability was going to have to be the criteria rather than the exception.

With even base-level astechs being highly desired, picking up a Combine trained engineer for a song was too good a deal to pass up, but there was a catch: The girl was going to have to set herself up and sell any prying eyes on joining something no less than just another private expeditionary force on the level, something she seemed, for some reason, to have wholly planned and was surprisingly efficient. It was an odd situation at first, something like seeing a piece of fine china set in place at an underground pub, but Reya became a regular fixture and something like a filter to new members of the crew. Her work was always top-notch, but finding people willing to put up with her eccentricities usually was a good sign that they were worth their salt. She demanded little, did her job, and once the defensive layers could be navigated, was as loyal a crewmember as could be asked.

At present, Reya has been with Colonel Wayne for about two years as an invested partner in the company. Occasionally she has to carefully deflect probing questions from her parents, particularly her mother wondering why she hasn’t married, but with her father’s main focus divided between raising up her brother in the trade bureaucracy while continuing to perform the job to Combine standards himself, it has been fairly easy for her to continue on without gathering a lot of unwanted attention. She has access to a tremendous amount of her family’s wealth and connections, but only draws from it in amounts inconspicuous enough to go unnoticed by the myriad of servants, bureaucrats and underlings that manage the multiple layers of her family’s accounting practices. With the current revolution on Espia, she has been forced to pull more and more to keep the company afloat while the Green Knights have been cut off from their contracted revenue stream.

Personality:

Despite the setting, it is very difficult for Reya to not exude the airs of her upbringing to newcomers to the squad. She can be vain, aloof, immature and egotistical. Attributes for which she is fairly self-aware and actually enjoys to some extent particularly in situations where she is confident that her understanding is the highest in the room. Conversely, she wants to be liked and trusted by others and tries to use her work rather than her status to gain that appreciation from others without having to overtly work for it socially.

Apropos, she is very hands-on and detail oriented in her engineering projects. Nothing is ever viewed as whole, only parts working together in a system that has the potential for improvement. Her tendency to over-analyze and master the peculiars of various weaponry can sometimes slow her down in the mires of perfectionism and she likewise becomes very attached to her projects. A mechwarrior returning with a heavily damaged unit, even through no fault of their own, will often receive a piercingly disapproving glare upon return.

Reya doesn’t view her investment in the Knights as a “job” or even that much of a lucrative business maneuver. Being with the company checks a number of personal yearnings for rebellion, adventurism and challenge. She’s not a warrior by any stretch, however, over time she has simply found herself more at home with her company of mechwarriors and technicians than she ever really felt in the sterile and composed backdrop of nobility.

Assets:
A bright orange sportbike that she uses to get around when they are at port.
A myriad of tools, diagnostic equipment and their associated storage.
A few worker drones and a large stereo system- tends to listen to music at deafening levels while she works.

BattleTech: A Band of Misfits

Character Sheet

Name: Reya Wyatt
Nickname/Callsign: None really, sometimes goes by ‘Rey’ for short.
Age: 25
Gender: Female

Crew Position: Weapons Engineer - Primarily Beams (Pulse, Standard & Particle Theory)

Nationality: Outskirts of Draconis Combine, Tabayama Prefecture

Reya

Biographical History:

The outlying borders of Draconis territory make for a picturesque mix of wide open woodlands and mountainous expanses across the inhabited Earth-like worlds of the Tabayama Prefecture. Mining and agriculture are the primary functions of the populace in respect to the Combine economy and there is little chance of upward movement aside from being within the nobility of the interstellar trade bureaucracy. For generations the line of Wyatt heirs governed the movement of raw materials and assets far enough away not to draw the inquisitive eyes of the capital and still profitable and efficient enough to go relatively unnoticed. It was a careful equilibrium for Denton Wyatt, the same patient dance explained by his father and the same one he only practiced explaining to his daughter. Her younger brother would be the rightful successor to the Administration when he was older.

There had been female heirs before, but it was not the preferred in the Way and the arrival of Reya’s younger brother brought about some repose for Denton, however there was no denying that Reya was much different than her contemporaries. She was bored by politics, trade and customs, having few real friends, while her mind placed her easily at the top of her classes. The word “prodigy” was used regularly by her instructors in relation to her studies and it was obvious that even the most exacting curriculums afforded to Combine nobility were of little difficulty for her. If only such a mind had fallen to a male heir.. was the quiet sentiment among the local circles of nobility. If nothing else, the prospects of high-level university training at a prestigious institution closer to the capital were essentially a guarantee and the thought of marrying her off to one of the ministry families seemed almost a waste of her abilities. It was an unexpected problem.

For Reya, there was no real enjoyment in the life of nobility. It was merely all she had ever known. If something was needed, there was a servant to take care of it. From meals, to wardrobe, to social outings- everything fell into place nicely, the same as it had for generations. As she grew older and became more self-aware of her status and much higher than average aptitude, the world of her family, their mountain feudal compound and their noble social caste became increasingly small and unchallenging. Granted there were some ideas and beliefs in the traditions she found naturally appealing, though she knew the socially focused day to day life of her mother in politics supporting her father was not for her and that university would be the only other admissible path. The arrangements were made and she was accepted into the most difficult curriculum: beam weaponry and particle physics.

In some ways university was more rigorous in that for the first time in her life, she had true competition for head of the class with most of her classmates also coming from various noble backgrounds. However, from a social standpoint, the rigid structures were much the same as being back home. There were the same servants and monitors that took care of handling every small detail so that all focus could be set upon studies, just that the faces were different. For the first time in her life, Reya began to feel a pang of actual revulsion towards her own nobility. Though she knew that failure or quitting were sentiments that could not even be remotely entertained, she could at least, for the time at hand, use her father’s own strategy of doing well enough to go purposefully unnoticed and she set her mind to things she enjoyed: hands on work; placing consistently at the head of lab practices, but always holding her efforts back in academics, spending her time looking for something that would take her out of the caste systems, even if just for a little while when she graduated.

The expeditionary forces always had need of capable engineers out in the distant periphery and with the increases in pirate activities the monetary reward was getting substantial for anyone willing to risk their neck on the frontier. Unfortunately, she knew no commander would likely take on a high-ranking nobleman’s daughter knowing the level of reprisals should any harm come to her. Any hope of adventure or freedom was going to have to come from outside the regular channels, somewhere where plausible deniability was going to have to be the criteria rather than the exception…

Enter one Marley Swanson.

Picking up a Combine trained engineer for a song was almost too good a deal to pass up, but there was always a catch. The girl was going to have to set herself up and sell any prying eyes on joining something no less than just another private expeditionary force on the level, something she seemed, for some reason, to have wholly planned and was surprisingly efficient. It was an odd situation at first, something like seeing a piece of fine china set in place at an underground pub, but Reya became a regular fixture and something like a filter to new members of the crew. Her work was always top-notch, but finding people willing to put up with her eccentricities usually was a good sign that they were worth their salt. She demanded little, did her job, and once the defensive layers could be navigated, was as loyal a crewmember for which could be asked.

At present, Reya has been with Marley for about two years. Occasionally she has to carefully deflect probing questions from her parents, particularly her mother wondering why she hasn’t married, but with her father’s main focus divided between raising up her brother in the trade bureaucracy and giving attention to the current war developing, it has been fairly easy for her to continue on with the crew without drawing a lot of unneeded attention.

Personality:

Despite the setting, it is very difficult for Reya to not exude the airs of her upbringing to newcomers to the squad. She can be vain, aloof, immature and egotistical. Attributes for which she is fairly self-aware and actually enjoys to some extent particularly in situations where she is confident that her understanding is the highest in the room. Conversely, she wants to be liked and trusted by others and tries to use her work to gain that appreciation from others without having to overtly work for it socially.

Apropos, she is very hands-on and detail oriented in her engineering work. Nothing is ever viewed as whole, only parts working together in a system that has the potential for improvement. Her tendency to over-analyze and master the peculiars of various weaponry can sometimes slow her down in the mires of perfectionism and she likewise becomes very attached to her projects. A mechwarrior returning with a heavily damaged unit, even through no fault of their own, will often receive a piercingly disapproving glare upon return.

Reya doesn’t view working with Marley as a “job” much further than a simple contractual arrangement. Being with the “misfits” checks a number of personal yearnings for rebellion, adventurism and challenge. She’s not a warrior by any stretch, however, over time she has simply found herself as a “fit” for the group.

Assets:
A bright orange sportbike that she uses to get around when they are at port.
A myriad of tools, diagnostic equipment and their associated storage.
A few worker drones and a large stereo system- tends to listen to music at deafening levels while she works.

BattleTech: A Band of Misfits

Thinking about an engineer/tech type character similar to Naomi from the Expanse to keep the mechs in service. Got a few ideas.

BattleTech: A Band of Misfits

I'm kind of interested; I have a fair bit of knowledge of Battletech, although most of it's quite out of date; I used to be interested in the novels back in the early-to-mid 90's, and I've dipped my toes in here and there. Certainly familiar enough with the 3025-era, and with various merc companies.
Though, similar question in a vein to Letter Bee'. While I'm aware that we're playing mercenaries (tbh, one of the best ways to get a rounded experience of the Battletech setting), will we be in a more 'Wolf's Dragoons' or other more honorable mercenary company mold, like most of the ones in the fiction, rather than being a bunch of ragtag scumbags? Because ehh... a lot of games on the forum tend to be more of the latter, and it would be a nice change to see more of the former.

@Silverwind Blade

I'm kinda in the same boat. Haven't played the actual game in years.

I really have no preference as far as the pilots being lawful or borderline vigilante. Would be interesting to have a mix of both taking on the merc role for their own reasons. How the group gets along under various scenarios would be the best part of this type of game.

BattleTech: A Band of Misfits

I have been out of the game for a while, but I'll nibble.

RETRO Slice of Life - 1988

MIAMI REBELLION

Sena instantly rolled her eyes at Tony’s suave attitudes. “Don’t encourage him.’ She said to GiGi, becoming slightly amused with the girl’s boldness. It seemed like she was trying, perhaps a little too hard, to make an impression, which wasn’t necessary. Her mind mulled over a few passing thoughts as a new drink was placed next to her without a word. Whenever she was thinking, she had a habit of gently moving one finger over her lips. A motion that did not go unnoticed by Tony, however a pop-fly ball cracked off the end of the bat provided a distraction for everyone.

The ball was losing momentum quickly as it arced neatly up towards the club seating.

Sitting atop Aaron’s shoulders, Karina felt like it was within reach as gravity slowly took over, though with the considerable amount of alcohol she had consumed, her depth perception was considerably shorter than her grasp. Stretching her arms up, she bit her lower lip and could almost see the threads as it passed by her finger tips amidst the orange evening sky, however the movement was an argument in physics that Aaron’s hefty shoulders could not overcome as she craned herself backwards against his balance. Several shouts went up as it was apparent they were going to topple over.

Levi had tried to refocus his attention on Gwen after Karina’s glaring. It was nice when people weren’t star-struck. Most of the time he just wanted to have regular conversations and she seemed fairly relaxed. He was a strict analytic when it came to music. It wasn’t really art to him. You put your fingers where you wanted and plucked the strings in corresponding time to make the sound you desired. It was that simple. If people wanted a different sound, he timed his hands and fingers differently. “That’s a cool name,” He said casually, hearing the sound of the ball against the bat in the background again. “I like both of those, does the name mean anyth-”

The noise of the crowd grew undeniably louder despite his attempts to block it out as he spoke to Gwen, though what he quickly noticed was that it was the people around him in the club level shouting as he turned to see Karina and Aaron toppling over towards him like a redwood.

Aaron would be fine, but almost involuntarily he stepped underneath Karina and caught her in his arms before she could hit the concrete. Her petite frame thankfully didn’t carry a lot of momentum though he still staggered a bit catching her weight. She glanced up at him, wide-eyed, but smiling brightly. “A perfect catch.” She said looking up at him.

The ball pranged unceremoniously against the top of the metal roof of the tiki bar and began rolling towards Isabella.

Sena shook her head and covered her eyes with one hand with a sigh. It wasn’t the spectacle of them falling over: It was drunken Karina swooning after Levi again.

“And right in the middle of my man trying to talk to another girl.” Tony said, glancing over shoulder. “You okay, Empanadas?” He said watching Aaron get up and brush himself off.

“Ah, si senor.” Several of the girls that they had brought up to the box crowded around fawning over his apparent “injuries”; none hesitated to point and touch. “I think I will be okay.”

“See what I have to put up with?” Sena said, glancing towards GiGi.

@Almalthia@PrinceAlexus@Eviledd1984

RETRO Slice of Life - 1988

Miami Rebellion

There was no doubt that GiGi was going to be in possession of a golden ticket much like there was no doubt about her future employment at the Downtown Diamond. What was less obvious however, was the only slight, very slight fracture in Sena’s normally relaxed countenance of total control over any situation. Karina caught it as GiGi walked up and plucked away a slice of pineapple from her sister’s drink.

“Keep doing that and I might have to start feeding them to you.” Sena said, biting off the next one on the stick with a grin.

“Everyone is dressed so cute tonight.” Karina proclaimed with a feigned sense of defeat and motioning at GiGi. “I feel like such a slob now.” She sighed.

“Ah, no no no!” Aaron said, playing along with the theatrics. It was a game they had. He took Karina’s hand, knelt down and kissed it as she looked away and covered her face dramatically as if they were in the midst of some Greek drama set to the sound of an intercom announcer, crowd noise and the smell of funnel cake and cigarette smoke. “Senorita looks bon appetit!”

“Pick me up.” Karina commanded.

In a flash and nearly with one hand, Aaron had lifted the girl’s petit frame up over his head and placed her on his shoulders. While she felt secure with his firm grasp around her legs, the alcohol caused her head to swim and she swayed a bit before clamping her arms around his neck. She cared little about the spectacle they were creating and less about the game. Her eyes cut over sharply to Levi talking to another girl.

“Mademoiselle..” Tony said, cooly sitting across from Sena and GiGi. He seemed to have a natural flow to every motion he made that exuded style. He crossed one leg over the other broadly and sipped from his drink as the cigar burned in his other hand. “Who is our guest?” He said with a collected smile.

“This is GiGi,” Sena said, glancing up at the blonde then back at Tony. “She works for us now.”

“‘Works?’” Tony replied, eyebrows raising behind his sunglasses.

“Associates.”

“We have enough associates.” Tony said, taking a sip from his glass. “How about friends? I’m Tony.” He said looking at GiGi.

Having made his way back to the box and picked up another drink Levi shrugged at Gwen’s comment. “It was alright I guess.” He sounded about as enthusiastic as someone who had just deposited the week’s garbage at the curb for the city to collect. “Normally not my style, but our manager likes a production, so yeah.” He was even more peeved that somehow Danny’s presence had been infectious enough to cause him to dip his shoulder slightly at the crescendo of the anthem. Even if he had wanted to be more production-minded, he wouldn’t have just as a matter of spite. He tipped his glass back for a long drink and caught a glimpse of Karina glaring at him from atop Aaron’s broad shoulders and immediately felt completely unnerved. For no reason he awkwardly adjusted his customarily disheveled tie and looked back at Gwen. “Do you play or something?”

@Almalthia
@PrinceAlexus
@Eviledd1984

RETRO Slice of Life - 1988

MIAMI REBELLION

Sena watched as the jets passed over the stadium as soon as Levi finished with the anthem in perfect timing. Luck was just something the boy had from time to time and he had delivered on the anthem as promised, not that she would ever admit to him that it was good. It was much more fun to aggravate him continually. He appeared to even dip his shoulder a little at the end instead of standing like a lightning rod. She smirked a bit, enjoying the drink and watching Karina browsing over the field, who on occasion, had some flirty feelings towards their guitarist, but nothing that ever stuck or went beyond a passing rumination. To Sena, Karina was the likability flavor of the band, like an anchor in an ocean of bubble-gum soda-pop. She could have had any man she wanted even if there was no money and no Miami Rebellion.

The mayor delivered an acceptable first pitch and the whole ensemble was quickly moved off the field so the game could begin.

The players trotted out on the field and Karina looked inquisitively. They had been to a few Corsair’s games and a few back in Miami, though not really ever paid that much attention. She knew there was some kind of pacing to the game depending on who hit the ball first. “Are we on offense or defense?”

“Uhhh…” Sena looked at the field where the Corsairs had taken up positions and the pitcher was warming up with a few throws while the batter tested a few practice swings outside the box. “I think that’s in football?” She said with a shrug. “We always hit second.”

“What do you mean?” Karina said, watching the field. “Like second base? They hit the ball from there too? I’ve never seen that. That doesn’t seem fair, for them.”

“No, ‘Rina.” Sena tried to explain. “The home team always hits the ball after they get three outs… I think.”

“This is confusing.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Well you didn’t know either.”

An unfamiliar voice seemed to be talking to them and it occurred to both of the girls that many more club members and golden-ticket winners had been filing in while they were musing on the finer points of the game and they both looked back at the same time. The relation in their faces was evident, though their color choices were continually a contrast. Karina wore her customary red bow though her outfit was slightly more relaxed than usual. Sena, on the other hand, looked almost militaristic in comparison with her ribbon tucked inside expertly styled black hair. “Whoa, are you like a model or something?” Karina said finally. “That is a really nice outfit for baseball.”

Sena grinned a bit as her sister’s words began to slip somewhat from being loosened by several drinks. However another ruckus ascended the stairway to the top level drawing the attention of everyone on the club level away from the game.

“HOLA COMPADRES!”

Shirtless, the band bassist, Aaron, announced his arrival with their drummer, Tony, right behind. Both were accompanied by fawners tucked under both arms they had picked up along the way. Covered in a mix of tribal and contemporary tattoos over his naturally bronze skin, Aaron looked something like a cross between a professional wrestler and an Aztec warrior. Tony walked behind him with a cool swagger wearing a brand new Corsairs jersey and hat along with a glimmering chain rope around his neck that sparkled under his wide-sunglasses.

A member of the club staff immediately handed Aaron an entire pitcher that he took in hand with a broad smile. “Grassy-ass senor!” He proclaimed before downing the entire contents in a flash and producing a hearty belch.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaron!” Karina called out playfully crawling up on top of her lounge chair and craning her small frame around Isabella so the larger man could see her.

“Senorita!” He shouted making his way over. A second pitcher was handed off along the way while a cigar and a brown liquor over ice was handed to Tony. They made their way over as the attention of the crowd alternated between the spectacle of their arrival and the crack of the bat against the ball as a beam-like line drive was intercepted by the third baseman producing a howl of approval throughout the stadium.

@PrinceAlexus@Eviledd1984