Krayzikk

IC: Weeeeeeeeell, ######. Upon stepping into the Stray Tach, Liare couldn't quite decide whether this was his luckiest yet or his unluckiest. On the one hand there was the fugitive- right there!- in the corner. With the rogue Stormtrooper he'd gone out of his way to spare. And a really, really armored buddy. Which also meant there wasn't gonna be any subtlety about it, she was bound to recognize his handsome mug. Pros; easy search, Veyura didn't find him, Costa is gonna have to tell me I did a good job. Cons; I'm gonna have to actually fight, that Stormtrooper's probably gonna die, and I'm never gonna be allowed back in this bar. Maybe if he was lucky they wouldn't do something stupid and start a fight in the bar. He'd really, really prefer it if they could take this outside. He hated to get civilians caught in the crossfire, he really hoped that trooper was smart enough to bolt, and he'd really hate to damage such a nice bar. Nevertheless his left hand went for his blaster, tucked inside his coat, and his right slipped towards his concealed lightsaber. That said, their attention was focused on someone his old friend the motormouth trooper seemed to know. They hadn't seen him yet, and she was the only one who'd be able to place him. He reconsidered reaching for his saber and gripped his boss' wrist instead, pulling her quickly into a booth with as much of a casual air as he could and hoped for some really good luck. If he was lucky, Dak didn't see him. If he was really, really lucky then his best friend wouldn't do something rash before he talked to her.

IC: Jaller's eyes grew narrow indeed, both at Tuara's comment and her hasty departure. He didn't move for a few minutes, instead thinking in silence. He didn't go back to his desk when he finally moved instead opening the door to his office and stepping out, turning his attention to his secretary. "Contact Loren. Send him to take a look behind the old smithy, and take an Inspector with him. Tell Angel that I need to speak with him as soon as he has a spare minute." Turning away and beginning to stride down the hall, he added over his shoulder; "I'm going for a walk. If anyone comes to see me, they can wait. Send a courier if there's an emergency." IC: "I can't say I really care who the captain is as long as we get where we're going."

In that case... Le-Koro is reachable presently, as I believe the blight of insects preventing travel was taken care of a while ago. The situation in Ko-Koro is largely unchanged, but Echelon has killed Joske and taken what he knows about the Legend. Oreius, who had been hiding out in Ko-Koro, is presently dueling Eisen in the courtyard before the Sanctum. That has been stalled a while, but a post from me is in the works to get it moving again. A Matoran has been going around and gathering certain people, but nothing much has come of that yet. I believe that largely sums up all the major events, few though they are. Is there something more specific you need a rundown on?

IC: "Perhaps further inland?" Sinshi ventured, sipping at her coffee. "What little livestock we have back home tended to be further away from the coat, where vegetation could be found. More of it, at least. Maybe that is where these cows are?"

IC: "Maybe we could modify it to attach to the fighter configuration." The German engineer mused out loud, eyes lighting up at the prospect of a challenge. "Integrate it structurally into the resulting vehicular form like a booster. The Munequita already boasts additional armor, so we have a precedent for mounting additional components. But how to do it on a tight timetable..." "Drone?" The quiet suggestion filled the thoughtful void the Test Team pilot had generated, posited by the equally quiet Lance Corporal Ayane. Ben's head swiveled to regard her questioningly, a reaction she met with the faintest of shrugs. "The flight pack already has to be aerodynamic, does it not? It seems easier to apply the Raptor's design philosophy in a much simpler form to the pack than vice versa. If it could be deployed to the battlefield alongside the Munequita, which usually sorties as a fighter first, it could act as additional aerial support until it was needed to grant the Walker form additional mobility." Ayane paused, then shrugged again. "It would be a second target, though. And I don't know how sophisticated the controls could be. I pilot the machines, I know not how to design them."

Happy to provide any summary you need, if you can remind me when the last time you were present was. More generally; I am in the position of needing to apologize again. I haven't been very present for a month or two. If this sounds familiar, it's because I made this same apology and reassurance not too long ago. Life ended up pulling the rug out from under me again. I won't guarantee a better level of activity, that hasn't seemed to work out too well, but I will guarantee continued effort towards that goal. I'm working on getting posts I know I need to do done, so if I owe you one please remind me in case I have forgotten.

IC: "For what purpose, though?" Ayane asked, a little more insistently. Which wasn't saying much, given how mildly she had behaved thus far, but it was something she wanted to know. "The Munequita can already fly."

IC: "I am not." Ayane protested, though even her protest came out quite mild. She placed an elbow lightly in the Sergeant's ribs before she clasped her hands behind her back again, casting her girlfriend a slight glare. "Not only does that ill-describe my demeanor, it does not fit culturally. Demon is quite generic." "Why would you want that flight pack, anyway?"

IC: "Yeah,the ones that suit me are at least fun. At least I don't hang around zealots."

IC: "You've become a real pessimist, Drigton," Jaller observed, regarding his old deputy over steepled fingers with an expression that was hard to read. He started writing something down after a moment, and grabbing an envelope out of a drawer in his desk. "It doesn't suit you." "I've never been anything but honest about this village. Our time isn't going anywhere. You've changed a lot, Tuara, but I hope you haven't changed enough to forget. I don't boast. So when I say that this village will never fall, it isn't ego. It's a fact." The Ta-Matoran pushed his chair out and stood, slowly rounding his desk to approach her with even, measured steps. "It isn't our walls that make Ta-Koro a bastion. Ko-Koro had walls, walls and a Guard almost as large as ours. It's us. Not just you, not just me, not just the Guard, all of us. Every man and woman that calls this place home. We are indomitable." "We survived the Mata's fall. We survived every Rahi and cultist attack that followed, every psycho with a bone to pick. And Nui, there have been a lot of them. The Mark Bearers. The psychos that attacked the hospital over and over, including the one that finally trashed it. The time your boyfriend and Makuta's top lieutenant trashed our headquarters to break that freak out. The Rahkshi, more than a hundred of them. The that killed Vakama, and I don't mean Shaddix." He stopped, drumming the envelope against the palm of his opposite hand. His green eyes were fixed on Tuara's, unflinching and unblinking. "Even after we had peace, we weren't safe. We were bombed. Twice. We were attacked." "But we're still here. We're still here because we refuse to let them win. We're still here because to beat us they will have to step over every one of us to do it, because if even one lives then they haven't won." With a little effort, the Akiri reached up and tapped Turara's heartlight with a finger before tapping his own. "Ta-Koro isn't you. Ta-Koro isn't it's walls. It isn't me, either. It's everyone that lives here. Vakama understood that, and he knew why we would thrive even without him. I know it, too. It doesn't matter if I feel safe, Tuara. An assassin could kill me where I stand and I wouldn't be afraid for this village. Because I trust, without even a shadow of a doubt, that my people will persevere. I have worked to cultivate advisors and assistants that I can trust not just with my life, but with my village the day I die." The former Captain of the Guard's eyes focused further, drilling into Tuara's as though he was searching for something he used to see. "You used to be one of them. I hope you will be again, one day." The Matoran held out the envelope and the papers with it. "You never collected your last paycheck. It's in the envelope. Take the papers to recruiting downstairs, and they'll see that you're given a badge. I'll see what I can drum up for work. Be safe, Drigton." IC: "If you're gonna make a speech, pirate, get on with it." The Ve-Toa mercenary said, a little louder than necessary. "Sooner we get there, sooner I can get back to work that pays."

IC: "Viggy's." Liare scoffed under his breath, quite aware that his commline was open while he escorted Costa towards his new favorite place on Taris. "Never let Veyura pick the drinks, Kalaf, she's got awful taste in lounges. Going incognito. Sarir out." The Inquisitor cheerfully pulled the comm unit out of his ear and pocketed it, shooting his Zeltron best friend an innocent grin, before he opened the door and stepped in. "Welcome to my favorite place for drinks, boss." IC: "I am sure the 'wicked cool factor' is a very real matter for consideration." The Novatrooper commented dryly, though not without a trace of humor. "If we were to steal the ship, what would be your recommended plan of action?"

IC: "Can do. Won't even poke around at other systems. Much. Pinky swear." Benjamin remarked cheerfully from the catwalk, giving Lauren a wave before hopping over the railing and using his own Walker to clamber back down to the floor. "Lockheed already extorted the same promise out of me." Ayane, for her part, refrained from any further meddling with Lauren's hair and withdrew her hands to clasp them behind her back. The 'Captain', Lockheed she believed, received a slight bow at the waist as an indication of respect, then the Japanese pilot followed with a second towards the Test Team as a whole. She did not have names to put to most of the faces just yet, but if her ears did not deceive her then she had one more. The voice belonging to the shockingly tall woman, at a distance, sounded like the pilot that had been commenting on her fight. Though, admittedly, she still did not have a name to put to her face. "Lance Corporal Inoue Ayane, at your service." She added softly while straightening from her second bow, remaining a step behind and to her girlfriend's right. No further introduction was necessary. For the moment, at least.

IC: "I'll come with you." Ayane said cheerfully, still fixated on correcting the hair in front of her. "Perhaps they have suggestions for modifications." IC: "Assuming we've got the parts, and I'm pretty sure we do, I could probably have those lenses swapped in an hour. Two, tops."

I don't care what he says, it isn't accidental. It never was.

IC: "Technically I didn't ask you to do it." Ayane supplied helpfully, closing the remaining gap and idly taking the time to fix the Sergeant's hair. A brush here, a flattening there and the movements flowed in time with her speech. "It was my plan, though. You successfully picked up on it." "I do not intend to do it again. In a real fight, retreat would be an option. Here it was not. You did quite well." IC: "He keeps trying to run in the cockpit." Ben offered as a suggestion, casually tearing out a piece of wiring and throwing it over his shoulder into a bin on the floor. "We should have found an old FAW-16 to stick him in. No walking involved. Stand still, anything moves, blow it up. Simple." "Heyyy, boss, speaking of. What do you think the odds are they've got some Gunner cannons laying around? The missile pods got me thinking, maybe I could make a backpack out of them. Attach it on the back and eject it when I'm done. Only problem is power." A pause. "I keep running into surge issues on the simulations. Warriors don't like providing that much power." "Actually, scratch that. That's a bad idea. Having a Warrior stand still that long is a bad idea."

That makes sense. Last I checked it was normal for most army bases to have some place to eat, so a mess hall isn't too much of a surprise. Hangars would of course be needed to store walkers, though I would be tempted to question how many could feasibly be constructed (you refer to it in the plural, indicating there is more than one hangar at this particular outpost). At least one office for personnel (especially the C.O.) would seem reasonable as it provides an easy spot for the C.O. to be located as well as for him/her to do paperwork. I get the sense that there are a lot of people working at the base, which would lead me to think it would make sense for their to be multiple barracks, probably divided by rank (officers vs. enlisted) and unit (i.e. mech operators vs. technicians). If you don't mind me adding an additional suggestion, some kind of recreation room would probably be a good touch. It wouldn't need to be anything huge, but some place where off-duty personnel can relax. If you're feeling fancy, maybe you could throw in a bar or officer's club of some kind (perhaps we got Starbucks or Tim Hortons to open a counter for us ). I'm not planning to do a map, because that's a project that requires a fair bit of work without much purpose. I can delve into what facilities are present a little more, though. For operational purposes, the ops center is the focal command point of the base. Major McKinley, and presently Major Noah, primarily worked from there. It aggregates all the information coming in from sensors and allows officers to communicate with personnel, particularly pilots. The Colonel has an office implied to be adjacent, with a door allowing direct access. The Major, as the CO for Horizon's Walker division, has an office too but it hasn't shown up yet. McKinley wasn't much for desk work and Noah has been too busy. There are barracks, but living on base for pilots is not strictly mandated and personnel frequently go into Horizon proper when they're not on duty. There are probably a few different barracks given the size of the base. There is of course a mess hall, as well as recreational facilities. Like I said, though, most people tend to head into town on their off hours. Thus far there has only been one rather large hangar. R&D probably has their own, but that would exit into the live-fire simulation area rather than out of the base. It is only really for machines that are being tested, rather than actually being used. The exception is the Test Team's personal units which are presently in the main hangar, since they're actually being used. There are also several warehouses on the grounds, the R&D facilities, and other odds and ends.

Not just yet. There are still sims for use if she wanted to spar with someone, but there is a little time yet to go before plot movement happens.

I can't second what Ghost said enough. As much as we joke about my PM inbox being full, I generally keep it open and I'm easily reached here, on Skype, or heck, even through email. We're happy to talk.

IC: There was barely time for Ayane to process the Gallia's attack, not once she picked up on the AMRAAMs headed her way. She had no idea how her opponent had escaped, she would need to review the footage closely later to try and understand it, but her girlfriend had made the right call. In the Ronin's present state the odds that she could take the Ex IV down were quite low. So ignoring the warning alarms, she tightened her grip on the other Warrior and let the few seconds tick down until, after a split second of the cacophonous sound of breaking metal, her feeds went black. Applause, both simulated and real, filled the hangar as the screens used to display the tournament switched to the results; the Munequita at the top, with the Gallia and Ronin tied for second. Noah, a huge grin plastered on her face, picked her microphone back up and pointed at the rankings. "Results are in, folks! Sure goes longer without McKinley, doesn't it? Congratulations to our winners! Sergeant White performed excellently, and Lance Corporals Marcus and Inoue did as well. Certainly some of the most innovative maneuvers I've seen in a long time." The Major flashed a wry grin, eyes briefly flicking towards the Ronin. "Didn't see a mutual kill in the cards." "Bragging rights to all of you, and those rumored rewards too. I'm sure the R&D boys will be in touch soon. Just a reminder, the sim pods will be around for the foreseeable future so don't be shy to use them. That's all, Major Noah out." In her corner of the hangar, Ayane was carefully descending from the Ronin and attempting to fix her hair. Even without some of the feedback that came with a real fight, she still managed to make her hair into a mess. It was rather irritating. The mundane act helped calm her, too, helped her heart slow down and her breaths become more even. She needed to be calm when Lauren came over. She wasn't going to be happy.

And just over two weeks since I mentioned that the Mangai wrap-up was on my list now. I understand your irritation, the Mangai Quest went on far too long. As did the last two quest attempts, one staff and one not, that came before it. Both of which I also handled wrapping up. It hasn't gone unnoticed, and we've elected to retire the concept. It worked well in the past, but it doesn't now. But knowing there's an issue doesn't mean we can fix it immediately. We have lives, and as much as this game genuinely is a priority, those lives still come first. And they've been hectic for the entire staff team lately. My life, in particular, has had a whole heck of a lot going on. I say that not for your sympathy nor your apology, but to try and get you to understand that we are working on it despite what you might think. Mentioning it in the Discussion topic constantly will not make me work any faster, and in fact will make me irritated. Not to mention the fact that saying it here is not even communication. If you wanted to talk about it, there are several ways to get in touch with us more directly. Spamming it here is just shouting in a room hoping someone gets irritated enough to give you what you want.

IC: "Babysitter is a bit of an overstatement."

IC: "No, boss, but that is where most of the jury-rigging is. Just a second." The German hopped up onto the table he had set the connector on and pulled himself from there up onto a catwalk suspended next to Vernichten's torso, casually continuing to converse with the other members of Test Team below while he did. "The Baconator, Miss Fairuza, was a great system. I'm not really allowed to talk about it anymore. I think they're worried I'll start tinkering with a Mk. II." "Anyway," Having reached the catwalk Benjamin stood and casually rapped his knuckles against the Warrior's chassis, directing his gaze to the Test Team below. "You already know this, boss, but I'll explain it for the new girl. Vernichten's DMR runs on a coilgun. Or Gauss gun, if you'd prefer. There's a battery in its frame that charges from the Vernichten's power core. Normally it just runs like a normal DMR. Semi-automatic, longer range than an assault rifle, better rate of fire than a sniper rifle." "But if I connect this," He grabbed the large cable connected to the Warrior's back and shook it slightly. "To a socket on the rifle, it draws power from the reactor directly to power the rifle up for a more potent shot. Downside, lower rate of fire and she can't move. Lot like the Gunners. And, you know, the spot on her back where someone could have an easier time breaching the core." "Problem was, that's a lot more power than Warriors are specced to handle. The Lockheed has some of the same engineering issues. Parts from Gunners are rated for it, but there weren't any that could be spared. So I reinforced that old connector," He pointed at the parts on the table below. "And used some clever trickery to convince the computer to run the maximum permitted power through the primary systems, plus a little more, and the remainder through secondary systems. Works, but a little unorthodox. Now that we've got the spare parts, though, I can actually do it right." "Vernichten's got a bunch of little quirks like that. Now that I've got the material and a pressing desire not to die because of a malfunction, I'm working on fixing them." "Hey, Kasper. You done living in the sim pod yet?"

IC: "Benjamin Armbruster, yep," The German confirmed, taking the power connector as gracefully as possible. Given the swiftness with which it was placed on a table and the barely veiled relief on his face, it wasn't very graceful. "Just a sec." Ben crouched, gripping the connector with both hands and lifting with his knees. It was working out for him much better than his earlier more casual grip, and he carried it over to the table next to his Walker without too much difficulty. He set it down next to the connector he had taken out of the machine, then turned around to address the Faroese woman again. "Sorry. Nope, nothing's wrong with her. Well, that isn't usually. Vernichten's had a few little systems that weren't exactly up to Federation safety regs for a while. Not a problem when she's just doing test work, but when I'm actually gonna have to fight in her? Well, then that eight percent chance the backup power systems for the left arm overloads explosively if it gets more than seventy percent its rated voltage is a bigger issue." He patted the new connector, then gestured at the open maintenance hatch in the Walker behind him. "Had to Macgyver a few things when the techs couldn't spare certain parts. It all works, but it's a little unorthodox. Patching it up before the next fight." "And the Baconator would have worked perfectly, boss." He added, shooting his CO a look. "Besides, no one got hurt. Being banned from testing it again was an overreaction."

IC: "She's in good company, then." Aaaaaaand she's right there. Despite the variety of new faces that were popping up around the base, Benjamin had made an effort to at least get a rough description of his new colleague. He had made even more of an effort to get a glimpse of her Walker, and a quick glance toward it confirmed its cockpit was open. Add in the pilot suit the approaching giant wore and it was pretty clear she was the new member of Test Team. "Hey," The German waved, making an effort to switch from thinking about Walkers to thinking about people. "Fairuza, right? Mind handing me that big power connector right there? I don't want the boss to do it, after the Baconator I think he jinxes anything I work on."