[center][h1][color=ed1c24]ROKKIT MECHEAD[/color][/h1]
[h3][color=a2d39c]SHORTY GROTSKY[/color][/h3][/center]
[hr]
[i]I couldn't wait for you to come clear the cupboards
But now you're going to leave with nothing but a sign
Another evening I'll be sitting reading in between your lines
Because I miss you all the time[/i]

Music began to blare in the warehouse. Grumbles of complaints was punctuated with the clattering of tools and pans. From a pile of broken couches and tossed off cloth, a hulking giant arose. A loud grunt was all was needed before someone approached him holding a plate with some food on it. Piles of XXL Burritos, fresh from the vending machine. Those grots even took the consideration of removing them from the wrapper first before the green-skinned man took a bite into it. A thin soft tortilla wrapped around a slurry of synth meat and tomato sauce, flavored with cheese-based seasoning. To anyone who knew what food was, this was a mockery of a meal, more smoothie than food.

But for Rokkit, this was breakfast all the same.

Finishing his plate within seconds, the warehouse was already abuzz with life. Children running about getting ready for the day, some of them even bothering to wash up. The factory's machines were already cranking out parts for guns and bullets, with a few children at work putting things together or loading up boxes. Rokkit lended no hand helping the grots, partly because he knew to let them do their work, mostly because he couldn't be arsed to do such menial labor. There was other work that needed to be done first. To that end, Rokkit went to find the biggest of the grots, their leader Shorty. Despite being the oldest and biggest, she was barely knee-high to Rokkit, though it doesn't help that the ork would easily be over 8-feet tall, if he didn't slouch so much.

Barely any words needed to be exchanged between the two. Rokkit wasn't one for explaining himself, and Shorty knew enough from her harsh life in the streets to guess people's thoughts and intentions before they could lie about it. So when Rokkit met his little second-in-command, she was already ready with some work for him. [color=a2d39c]"Morning boss. Might be interested in this one. Word is that there's a samurai on the run. Stole some preem tech. Big bounty on his head, could use the coin. Already sent his last location to you."[/color] Shorty handed Rokkit his helmet. Prior to coming here, it was just a normal helmet, but ever since working with these grots, Rokkit has felt like a boss. He's got his own group of minions making him stuff, he's got plenty of enemies to fight, and he's got the respect of anyone he cares to not kill. This place was paradise.

But for an ork, paradise means conflict. And in a conflict, there is a struggle. His home, if it could be called that, was but one of many warehouses in the 5th pillar. While most are actually used and owned by businesses, plenty more were abandoned and turned into camps or bases by the homeless, or criminal. And those folks always were looking to expand their sphere of influence, often by force. And it was Rokkit's job to make sure they knew their place. With the street as untamed as the 5th, Rokkit couldn't rest on his laurels if he wanted to maintain his comfortable life style. He'd have to go out of his way to crack some heads, and remind people that his place wasn't open for business.

After donning his helmet and grabbing his gear, Rokkit would first head out of his home and seek out that samurai. Samurai were corporate warriors, different from typical security guards in that they're specialized for fighting, often protecting VIP's or alternatively, killing rival ones. Different from a typical Handler, they work solely within their company's interest, not for money, and don't hire themselves out as such. So hearing that one had ran away with stolen tech must've meant a lot to this samurai. Rokkit was about to find out how much it was worth it to him.

The information that Shorty gave Rokkit was a bit outdated. Unsurprisingly, the samurai had already left the area. But not before leaving a mess behind. About twenty different corpses scattered about. Some seemed to have a theme going on so chances are quite a few gangs showed up to collect the bounty, but nearly all the bodies were chopped up. Meanwhile their guns were scattered around, some of them even usable still. That told Rokkit that these guys didn't even have a chance to shoot each other up. That Samurai made quick work of them. Not that it impressed Rokkit. Most gangs in the city weren't nearly as tough as some of the folks Rokkit grew up fighting. They were all flash and no dakka. Most of these corpses weren't even teched out, so Rokkit figured they were just fodder who were in over their heads.

The more important thing was trying to find out where the Samurai went. For this Rokkit needed to pay attention to his surroundings. He was in a back-alley area, with only two ways in. Most of the bodies were piled up at the largest entrance, meaning that they all were charging in before the samurai cut them down. The fact only one side was full of corpses while the other was untouched made Rokkit think the samurai ran that way, but then he stopped. He mentally thought about how this Samurai would've killed these gangers. Not a shot fired, and he could've have given anyone of them a chance to even get a bead on him. If he had ran down this ally to them, there should've been bullet holes. But there isn't. And in fact from the way the bodies fell Rokkit realized that the Samurai had attacked the gang from [i]behind[/i].

[color=ed1c24]"Hmph. Clever git. Lead em right into a trap, thinkin dey can ambush em, but he's be da one doin da ambushin."[/color]

So the Samurai cuts them down from behind, but doesn't bother to stay. The path ahead was still clear so there was an obvious way he could've ran. But knowing that this place was going to be full of bounty hunters soon, if he took the obvious path he would just get boxed in. No, that samurai has to be smarter than that. Rokkit looked up. Loose pipes, broken cement walls, a shoe print on a windowpane. The Samurai went up. And Rokkit would soon follow.

Flexing his klaw, Rokkit clamped onto the wall and lunched himself upwards towards the rooftops. He jumped from one wall to another, stepping onto window stills, pipping, and aircons to the top. Despite crushing pretty much everything he came into contact with, the big brute was easily able to climb and jump his way up. But what he found was disappointing. Another dead body, but this one was different from the others. First of all, it was missing a head. But more importantly, this body was stuffed with advance cybernetics. Nothing that Rokkit could use considering his alien physiology, but this corpse wasn't a regular gangster. Flipping the body over, Rokkit took a picture of the corpse and sent the info back to Shorty. Not long after she confirms that this was the samurai.

"[color=ed1c24]Dammit. Sum git got to em fer I did. Now dis whole damn thing's a waste of me time."[/color]

Rokkit hated wasting time. He checked the body for anything of worth and when he didn't, he began to tear out the cybernetic parts from the corpse. He was sure the grots could do something with it. Either way he returned back to his warehouse with naught much to show for it except an armful of limbs. Along the way he ran into a couple of grifters. Bunch of homeless men posing as veterans of some war that Rokkit never bothered to remember, and was pretty sure was a lie anyways. They were harmless to him, but always bothered his grots, so all Rokkit did was toss a bloodied pair of arms at the group and force them to scatter.

[color=ed1c24]"Pft. Not even worth da dakka. Bunch of gits."[/color]

Returning to base, Rokkit vented his frustration on his punching bag. A heavy duty sack made from various nanofiber weaves patched together. It would almost be useful armor, if it wasn't full of holes from where Rokkit's claw and knuckles would break it. Rokkit was really eager to have gone up against a samurai, having heard a lot of tales about their combat prowess. He had imagined an epic brawl between his claw versus a Samurai's sword, a clash of steel in a stone jungle. With Rokkit showing off his finesse, and the samurai matching the ork's strength with his own. Alas, it was all but a fantasy. Rokkit gave his bag an impressive five punch combo, but it didn't mean anything unless he got to use it in a real fight.

[color=a2d39c]"Hey boss, I know that last one was a fecking disappointment, but I got another lead. Or rather uh, a reminder. We got that meeting today, remember? Over by the 2nd." [/color]Shorty approached Rokkit wearing a different outfit from what she usually wears. Normally she's dressed in dirtied rags, not because she's poor, but because she often works on the line with the other kids. And putting together metal parts was a messy job. But this time Shorty cleaned up. She had taken a shower and put on some office attire. Granted, they were approximately what an office woman would wear, if she was a three-foot tall goblin. No one made office attire for children, and custom ordering them even through Clint's Clothes was far more than what Shorty would be willing to pay for. So she improvised using some clothes she picked out from the thrift store and were donated to a local church. She could reasonably pass off as an office worker from a distance, baring the fact she was shorter than most women and wasn't wearing shoes. Shorty never liked shoes and tried to make her pantyhose look like she was wearing flats from a distance.

As for Rokkit, he was just going to go in his usual armor. He couldn't be arsed to dress nice and even if he had to, his armor was the nicest clothes he got. Plus he knew about this job Shorty was talking about and he wasn't about to go there looking like some pansy git. They needed a warrior, and they were going to get one. So once Shorty had gotten her things together, the two would leave towards their meeting.

Rokkit got the call for this new job after a particularly harrowing fight against some twisted monster. Now, Rokkit was no stranger to fighting strange and dangerous xeno, but this thing was different from a nid or even warp demon. No amount of bullets seemed to phase it and it moved like a fourth-dimensional object. It was only when Rokkit smashed it with his claw that it seemed to do any meaningful damage, and that wasn't easy. He still won, but the whole experience left him bewildered. Shortly after he was contacted to join some security organization. Rokkit figured this would be a getter gig than just cruising the 5th looking for a fight, and if this means fighting more extra-dimensional monsters, he was all for it.

Shorty however had a more practical outlook. Working in the 2nd pillar means opening doors for her and the kids to move to the 2nd pillar, where she can get them an actual job and education. The money they made here running guns were barely enough to give everyone their daily bread. They're competing against professional gun runners who made military grade things. And clever as they were to make these pipe guns that pack a punch, they just pack the infrastructure to make this viable long term. And Shorty would rather make sure the kids get regular jobs, with regular stability, than risk their life's on the street. This was Shorty's chance at escaping provety in the 5th, which was why she was going with Rokkit and making sure he gets the job. What's good for him is good for her.

Getting out of the 5th was a bit easier said than done though. Lots of foot traffic to get through the streets, let alone the hell that was the early morning train. There was a saying in the fifth: early is on time, on time is late, and late is gone. And unfortunately Rokkit and Shorty we're "on time", meaning if they waited in line they would be late to their meeting. And while Rokkit doesn't care, Shorty didn't want to give a bad impression. [color=a2d39c]"Hey boss, let's skip the line. Picked up chatter that there's a meet 'n greet not too far from here. What say we catch a ride?" [/color]

[color=ed1c24]"Heh. Beats standing around like sum knob. Aight, lead da way, Shorty." [/color]

On the street, meet 'n greets were just another name for a drug deal, typically a small one. Could be as quick as a hand off or a long negotiation. Shorty had picked up a meet n greet that has gone longer than it should, and Rokkit was going to investigate. Sure enough this deal went south: couple of dead gangers, and a lot more civilian folk. There were still a few hangers left picking through the dead. [color=a2d39c]"Crimson Lion. Fancy name for a bunch of low-rank thugs. Still look at their ride." [/color]Shorty pointed out the Crimson Lion's sweet street racer. With a reflective ruby paint job, striking lion decal, and blazing white underglow, it was a classic example of gangster excess. Rokkit wanted it. 

There was five gangers, three picking bodies, one trying to break into a vending machine, and one actually watching. Rokkit and Shorty needed to get through all of them to get to that car. That's when Shorty revealed her hand: a small drone named Bosco. She went to find a secure spot to sit while she has Bosco stealth and hack into the vending machine. It spilled out a bunch of cash to distract one of the gangers. At the same time Shorty did a remote hack on the car's radio, causing it to go a bit crazy. This would distract the only gabger watching. And finally, for the big show. With two hangers sufficiently distracted Bosco went to the three Gangers looting the dead and broke out the gas. It began to fill the area, causing those caught within to tear up as the chemicals caused their eyes and throat to swell. 

It was a little bit of chaos. Before any of the gangers could realize this was an attack, Rokkit struck. First he landed on the Crimson Lion looting the vending machine. He pounced like a tiger, dropping the thug by grabbing his head and slamming it into the cement. Next he ran into the chemical cloud. Rokkit's helmet was hermantically sealed, protecting him from the tear gas as he ripped apart the three wannabes before they could even draw iron. The last one realized something was up and took out his gun, a hefty little smg, and sprayed into the cloud. But too little too late. Rokkit was already gone, stepping around cover to blast the last survivor to giblets. One shot from Rokkit's gun ripped off the gangsters arm. A second blew off a leg. The last turned the torso into chunky salsa, scattering gore across the alley.

All this done in less than a minute. Bosco went to gather up the left over guns and drugs.[color=a2d39c] "Immunosupressors. Used to prevent ODing on tech, which ironically means it's wanted by junkies who want to push their limits. Not useful for us but we can hawk this easy."[/color] Shorty says as she grabs a case. Rokkit wasn't paying attention and was already in the car. Normally even cheap cars needed a physical key to work, and Rokkit couldn't be arsed to find one. And a car this nice also had some digital locks and such to ensure that you couldnt just wire the car or steal the key either. But none of that mattered to Rokkit. All he needed to do was hit the dash with his claw and suddenly the whole thing roared to life. Shorty dove into the backseat just as Rokkit slammed on the gas, blasting out of the alley and into the streets. 

Racing through the streets of the 5th, Rokkit and Shorty we're making good time to reach the meeting place. The only time they stopped was to get through the check points, which Rokkit begrudgingly did once he figures out how to slow the car down. But once he was allowed back on the road he wasted no time speeding up, tearing through alleys, and even preforming some complex manuevers on a busy intersection. Whatever shaves off a few seconds on his drive. Shorty was absolutely terrified and needed to vomit into a backpack full of old take-out, and desperately wishes she had taken the train instead. 

By the time they reached the 2nd pillar, Rokkit had to ditch the car. Shorty was glad to be back on her feet and made a mental note never to join Rokkit for a ride every again. Her outfit was a bit of a mess so she had to do some spot cleaning, and she had to figure out where to go from here. Neither she nor Rokkit had ever been to the 2nd pillar. They've seen some of it on the news but never took a tour or anything. So Shorty needed to pull up the info on her Holo Display and get directions. [color=a2d39c]"Alright, just a little walk. Boss just um… Just remember that this is business, see, so we gotta be a bit professional."[/color]

[color=ed1c24]"Bah, it ain't dat difficult Shorty. It's just 'nother gig ta krump some gits and otha wetwork. Wotever planz dey got ain't nothin ta do with you or me. I ain't goin ere ta call shots or nuthin. Just a hired dakka."[/color]

[color=a2d39c]"Well… Alright boss. Just want to make sure you know what to expect."[/color] The two free skins head over to the tall building. There was a section blocked off, apparently this was where that assassination occured. A lot of talk back in the 5th that this was a hit carried out by one of the gangs, but this was just talk. Though Shorty was curious about it, Rokkit just wondered how he'd fare in a surprise attack. He made him grin: even though the 2nd was suppose to be safe, stuff like this could happen. It means he'll never be bored even if he does hang out in this place.

Rokkit entered the building, his feet stomping into the clean mopped floors. He couldnt look more out of place if he tried. Shorty followed after, carrying a suit case to look professional even though it was filled with stolen drugs, her drone, and a her lunch. Shorty also ran into another problem she knew she was going to have to get used to: being too short to be seen over tables and countertops.[color=a2d39c] "IXth SU δ Division." [/color]Shorty would say clear and loudly. After getting the directions, the dynamic duo would squeeze into an elevator and reach the meeting area. Lots of colorful characters here. Rokkit was eager to see how these folks hold up, while Shorty was quick to blend into the background and take a more analytical approach.