[color=a36209][center][h2]Nicholas Kozar[/h2][/center][/color]
[hr]
The sound of an alarm beeping close by awoke the old man with a start. Damn thing barely worked half the time, and when it did, thing was terrifying. Slamming his fist on the snooze button, Nicholas slowly rose from the bed, squinting at the red, neon numbers. 5:00 AM. Yawning loudly, Nick made his way to the bathroom attached to his bedroom, grabbing his uniform from the closet and hanging it onto the bathroom door. The man in the mirror had a shadow across his face and bags under his eyes, and Nicholas sneered slightly at his visage. He always abhorred men who didn't shave or kept their hair long. It was probably just leftover from his days in the military, but he couldn't stand it if he even had the slightest hint of a stubble on his face. After coating his neck in shaving cream, he went to work, gently maneuvering the razor around his neck. He flinched slightly when he accidentally cut himself, remembering the time an enemy soldier nearly slit his throat when he was caught out of his Unit. That was the closest he had ever been to dying, and he was in the infirmary for weeks after... The electronic beeping of his clock resounded through his small home, and Nick grumbled slightly as he made his way besides the bed, and gently flicked the alarm off. He always forgot to do that after hitting the snooze button... After shaving the other half of his face, he gently washed the remaining cream off, inspected his face to check for strands of hair that avoided the metallic blades and, satisfied with his work, entered the shower. He enjoyed cold showers best. While some people didn't like to be reminded that they grew up in the frontier, Nick sure as hell wasn't one of those traitors. About 15 minutes later, he exited the shower and quickly wen about drying himself off, and donning his old military suit.

Normally, he would have dressed in his sheriff attire, a simple white shirt, dress pants and vest, but today was far different. Exiting his small home, he gazed around the green town, comparing how it was to when he arrived just a year prior. The place had small canals and was simply beautiful, with decent-sized buildings and many people simply walking along the streets. When he first came to the town, people were cowering in fear of constant raids, and the place surely would have fallen apart had  he not come by. He set himself up as sheriff, one of the only people guarding the small town from near total destruction. He was now an extremely well-respected member of the community, and a small number of standard mark 2 units were wondering around the town, serving as the new law enforcement. That's right... Nicholas had grown tired of the simple life. He was a soldier, not some guard. He needed the thrill of combat, he had finally accepted that. That was why he had decided to serve under "The Outcast Guild" as a freelance mercenary. With his bags all packed, he slowly made his way around the town, observing his home for one of the last few times. He planned to return, but he wanted to do so as little as possible. These people didn't need him anymore - they could defend themselves now. Raids rarely occurred anymore, and if they did, Nicholas had personally trained the new guardians of the town how to drive their units. He trusted in their abilities. A man with tan skin seemed to notice Nick, raising his arm and waving as he passed by.

"Hello Mr.Kozar. I was just coming to visit you! I know tons of people already told you this, but it's really sad to see you go. I would have invited you to dinner before you had to go, but I was really busy at the shop. I hope you come back sometime soon, man. You'll always be welcome here! Just be sure to tell me before you come by, I'll treat you to a meal or two."

Nicholas nodded at the man, smiling thankfully. He used to be a Hylo man, and while Nick generally didn't like his kind, he was definitely one of the good ones. He was a hard worker, and had been one of the founding members of the town. Nick even considered him a valued friend. Hugging the man briefly, Nick continued on his way to his Artillery unit, and proceeded to crawl in through the opening hatch. Sighing as he made his way into the large space, he started up the mech, and began his slow crawl to the outskirts of town. Many people waved as he passed by, recognizing his unit, and he truly felt honored. It was a hell of a sendoff. At least, it was much better than the one he had gotten in the Frontier. After nearly 30 minutes of traveling and countless waves and shouts from crowds of people he knew, Nick had finally made it to the outskirts of town, and accessed the small terminal on the front of his control panel, checking the mission boards. He had spent a long period of time trying to find the board several days prior, but he was very familiar with how to access it by now. 3 missions total were present; A high risk scavenging mission, a recovery mission, and a testing mission. The testing mission was immediately ignored - he decided to do these bounties because they were going to give him the thrill of combat. That left the scavenging mission and the recovery, which was quite a hard toss up. Eventually, Nick decided on the Recovery mission. The given coordinates were relatively close compared to the Therux State, and a Frontier mech in the State would most likely not be well received, even if it was peaceful. That left mission 03117, and just before he responded, a line of text appeared on his monitor.

[color=aba000][i]"This is T. I'll be near the Iron Canal within the day, heading in on the north side of the area. Any tag alongs are welcome."[/i][/color]

After reading the message several times, Nick decided to respond to the message and the mission. 

[color=a36209][i]"This is N responding. Will be at the Canal by noon, coming in from the North West. Will meet up with you there, T."[/i][/color]

After he finished typing the sentence, he pressed the enter button, before entering the coordinates into his unit's autopilot. Leaning back in his chair, Nicholas was thankful that the destination was so close. He wouldn't need to waste thruster charges, and could allow the slow walking speed to take him to his destination. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out two egg sandwiches, a delicacy he had developed a strong affinity for during his time he spent stationed in various locations during the war. Beat the regular rations by a long shot, and while the green town had access to a lot more food than the Frontier, the nostalgic smell still caused his mouth to water in anticipation. Drinking water from one of the bottles he had brought with him, he pondered who this "T" person was. Were they a soldier like him, and if so, what side? Then again, it didn't really matter. As long as he didn't hold back Nick, and he didn't die, it really didn't matter.