Finetales

Shattered Steel - An Ace Combat/Project Wingman/etc inspired aircraft-based RP

Yuna Xu

Yuna watched Scott and Aurélie discuss the forthcoming mission with interest. She wasn't sure what she thought of Chevy yet...while the Captain clearly knew what she was doing, to Yuna she had that uniquely grating French haughtiness that Yuna detested. Still, Yuna elected to keep her instincts at bay and withhold judgment until she had talked to Aurélie directly, and seen her lead a flight. She wondered why she had felt almost defensive when Aurélie singled out Ximena in a particularly loaded way. But ultimately, Yuna didn't dwell on it and focused on what was left of her coffee.

"With you taking the stealthier side of the squadron, I'll lead Peacenik, Kitten, Calico and Griffin and Circuit - our new arrivals in their Tornado - on the attack against the helicopters and any remaining naval assets that have got out to sea. Speaking of our new arrivals, they should be here to introduce themselves shortly".

@Rhona W

"Helos and boats, eh?" Yuna commented. "I suppose some target practice would be nice."

Just then one of the new arrivals walked in, and Aurélie addressed him straight away.

"Bonjour, Lieutenant Smith," [...] "If you require stimulants, ask the mess boys to make you some coffee, the way Captain Bouchard has it. They do not have the knack of it quite yet, but anything is better than that sewer water you have there."

@Kensai

God... Yuna thought, mentally rolling her eyes. Day 2 and she's already pissing me off. She'd better be a damn good flight lead.

Fortunately, the new arrival seemed much more her speed. She liked Brits, they knew how to party.

"Calico, Jefe; why don't you both give Griffin the tour and show him around. Captain..." he hesitated a moment, looking to Aurélie, and then sighed, shaking his head. "...Never mind. Dismissed".

@Rhona W

HA! I'm not the only one, she thought. This would have to be discussed over drinks with Ximena and/or Scott.

"On it, boss," she replied to Scott, and then walked up to Griffin, gesturing with a head tilt for Ximena to come with her as she did so. "Hey Griffin, I'm Calico," she said as she extended her hand offering a handshake. "You get breakfast yet? I can take you to the mess hall if you like. Then we don't have to see the other super exciting parts of the base on empty stomachs. I need another coffee, too."

@Rhona W @Kensai @Smike @Hyperion338

the Alliance of Liberty City

No better way to assemble a team quickly than some high-profile villain crime to stamp out 😎

the Alliance of Liberty City

Queen of Gold

Archetype: Demi-God/Goddess
Name (Khodali): Savarea
Name (Earth): Kate Turner
Alias: Queen of Gold
Age: ~2,400 (middle-aged for a Khodalian)
Powers/Skills:

Weapon Manipulation - Kate/Savarea can manifest and manipulate any kind of conventional and man-portable weapon (meaning no nukes, bio-weapons, or artillery-scale weapons), and use it with complete proficiency. While Kate usually prefers melee weapons, her familiarity with more guns and other projectile weapons will increase as she uses them and witnesses their use more and more on Earth.

Tactical and Strategic Mastery - Not an innate superpower, but a learned and finely-honed skill through her role as the commander of the Khodalian armies for many years. Kate is a master strategist and tactician, and as a result is a useful asset in combat even if she is unable to fight directly.

Winged Flight - Kate can grow enormous white feathered wings out of her back at will, allowing her to fly with great speed.

Pyrokinesis - Like many of Khodali's deities, Kate possesses one form of elemental manipulation. In her case it is fire, the element of war. She can create and manipulate fire through her extremities or through a weapon, and can walk in fire unharmed.

Summoning - Kate can summon hordes of animals and other beings to fight for her. However, this power seems to be restricted to Khobalian beings and has not yet manifested for Kate on Earth.

Weaknesses:

Blood for the Blood God - Kate's power weakens when she is out of battle for a long time. After years of peace, Kate's power is significantly weakened and takes a long time to return to its peak battle state. Thus, while Kate is a deity in every sense, she currently possesses power more befitting of Liberty City street-level operations.

Silver Bullet - While Kate has built up a healthy resistance to melee and elemental attacks, Kate (along with all Khobalians) had zero experience with firearms before settling on Earth. Thus, one well-placed bullet could easily take her out of the fight. To survive, she must rely on her armor, attacks, and allies to prevent any bullets from ripping through her. Female Khobalian Battle Armor does not have the best coverage, either, but Kate is too proud to use anything else.

Equipment: Khodalian Battle Armor and Crown, plus any weapons she creates.
Personality: Warm, Confident, Patient, Even-Keeled, Courageous
Appearance:

Wearing Khodalian Battle Armor

Incognito, as an ordinary denizen of Liberty City (1)

BRIEF Bio:

Kate/Savarea is the Khodalian Goddess of War. While only a small part of a large pantheon of Khodalian deities, the war goddess was one of the most important in Khodali for millenia as a long, bloody war ignited and did not stop burning. As a queen and the general of Khodali's armies, Kate guided them to an eventual victory that earned her a place among legends. This victory ushered in a great era of peace in Khodali, which meant there was no longer a need for a goddess of war. Eventually, after 1,000 years of peace with no sign of forthcoming conflict, the Emperor of the Gods sent Kate away to find wars to be won elsewhere in the universe. It didn't take long for her to end up on Earth, a planet in constant conflict. Kate settled on Liberty City, a place with plenty of turmoil, and snagged a nice place in Middle Park East (=NYC's Upper East Side). It didn't take long for her to find hero work.

Storylines:

New Digs, New Grind: Millenia ago, in the midst of Khodalian war, Kate's power was at its peak, and few dared oppose it. However, a thousand years of peace followed and rendered her relatively weak. Kate needs to do a lot of fighting to get back to her true potential as the goddess of war, and to reclaim all of her abilities. (This is so that she can scale with the team, and only become enormously powerful when it makes roleplaying sense for her to be, a la Thor.)

Uptown Girl: Kate is very much used to the deity lifestyle of being perpetually exalted. This isn't to say she craves a return to that life; while she certainly did not mind the adoration and sacrifices in her name, being such an icon in the Khodalian society was also a lot of work and a lot of face time that she wasn't always happy to be involved in. While Kate must acclimate to life on Earth and Liberty City where she is a nobody, she is also excited at the chance to be an ordinary citizen who can let down her hair and enjoy herself.

No Place Like Home: As a Khobalian deity, Kate will always have a responsiblity to her people. Should Khobali be threatened by invasion or civil war, Kate will need to return there to resume her duties as the goddess of war.

Notes: I designed Kate to be somewhat of a cross between Thor and Wonder Woman, with a similar power level to either. I tried to make the starting abilities reasonable, but it can scale to whatever makes sense for the RP.

(((( Hero Complex ))))

I was planning on going the teen role myself.

@Scarifar

Looks like someone grabbed the teen role already on page 1, but maybe there's room for two.

(((( Hero Complex ))))

Here's my CS! Putting my hat in the ring for the Demi-God/Goddess archetype.

Queen of Gold

Archetype: Demi-God/Goddess
Name (Khodali): Savarea
Name (Earth): Kate Turner
Alias: Queen of Gold
Age: ~2,400 (middle-aged for a Khodalian)
Powers/Skills:

Weapon Manipulation - Kate/Savarea can manifest and manipulate any kind of conventional and man-portable weapon (meaning no nukes, bio-weapons, or artillery-scale weapons), and use it with complete proficiency. While Kate usually prefers melee weapons, her familiarity with more guns and other projectile weapons will increase as she uses them and witnesses their use more and more on Earth.

Tactical and Strategic Mastery - Not an innate superpower, but a learned and finely-honed skill through her role as the commander of the Khodalian armies for many years. Kate is a master strategist and tactician, and as a result is a useful asset in combat even if she is unable to fight directly.

Winged Flight - Kate can grow enormous white feathered wings out of her back at will, allowing her to fly with great speed.

Pyrokinesis - Like many of Khodali's deities, Kate possesses one form of elemental manipulation. In her case it is fire, the element of war. She can create and manipulate fire through her extremities or through a weapon, and can walk in fire unharmed.

Summoning - Kate can summon hordes of animals and other beings to fight for her. However, this power seems to be restricted to Khobalian beings and has not yet manifested for Kate on Earth.

Weaknesses:

Blood for the Blood God - Kate's power weakens when she is out of battle for a long time. After years of peace, Kate's power is significantly weakened and takes a long time to return to its peak battle state. Thus, while Kate is a deity in every sense, she currently possesses power more befitting of Liberty City street-level operations.

Silver Bullet - While Kate has built up a healthy resistance to melee and elemental attacks, Kate (along with all Khobalians) had zero experience with firearms before settling on Earth. Thus, one well-placed bullet could easily take her out of the fight. To survive, she must rely on her armor, attacks, and allies to prevent any bullets from ripping through her. Female Khobalian Battle Armor does not have the best coverage, either, but Kate is too proud to use anything else.

Equipment: Khodalian Battle Armor and Crown, plus any weapons she creates.
Personality: Warm, Confident, Patient, Even-Keeled, Courageous
Appearance:

Wearing Khodalian Battle Armor

Incognito, as an ordinary denizen of Liberty City (1)

BRIEF Bio:

Kate/Savarea is the Khodalian Goddess of War. While only a small part of a large pantheon of Khodalian deities, the war goddess was one of the most important in Khodali for millenia as a long, bloody war ignited and did not stop burning. As a queen and the general of Khodali's armies, Kate guided them to an eventual victory that earned her a place among legends. This victory ushered in a great era of peace in Khodali, which meant there was no longer a need for a goddess of war. Eventually, after 1,000 years of peace with no sign of forthcoming conflict, the Emperor of the Gods sent Kate away to find wars to be won elsewhere in the universe. It didn't take long for her to end up on Earth, a planet in constant conflict. Kate settled on Liberty City, a place with plenty of turmoil, and snagged a nice place in Middle Park East (=NYC's Upper East Side). It didn't take long for her to find hero work.

Storylines:

New Digs, New Grind: Millenia ago, in the midst of Khodalian war, Kate's power was at its peak, and few dared oppose it. However, a thousand years of peace followed and rendered her relatively weak. Kate needs to do a lot of fighting to get back to her true potential as the goddess of war, and to reclaim all of her abilities. (This is so that she can scale with the team, and only become enormously powerful when it makes roleplaying sense for her to be, a la Thor.)

Uptown Girl: Kate is very much used to the deity lifestyle of being perpetually exalted. This isn't to say she craves a return to that life; while she certainly did not mind the adoration and sacrifices in her name, being such an icon in the Khodalian society was also a lot of work and a lot of face time that she wasn't always happy to be involved in. While Kate must acclimate to life on Earth and Liberty City where she is a nobody, she is also excited at the chance to be an ordinary citizen who can let down her hair and enjoy herself.

No Place Like Home: As a Khobalian deity, Kate will always have a responsiblity to her people. Should Khobali be threatened by invasion or civil war, Kate will need to return there to resume her duties as the goddess of war.

Notes: I designed Kate to be somewhat of a cross between Thor and Wonder Woman, with a similar power level to either. I tried to make the starting abilities reasonable, but it can scale to whatever makes sense for the RP.

(((( Hero Complex ))))

I'm always down for a good superhero RP. This seems like a nice setup and plenty active already. Might throw up a CS at some point soon - would be happy to play a hero and/or a villain, depending on what's needed. I'm thinking Demi-God/Goddess, Alien, or Wildcard for hero; Wildcard or Evil Genius for villain.

Shattered Steel - An Ace Combat/Project Wingman/etc inspired aircraft-based RP

Yuna Xu

"Morning, Calico. Good to see you in a less... hectic setting and get a chance to be introduced"

@Rhona W

Yuna briefly smiled, before making an obviously tongue-in-cheek pouty face at Scott. "Aww, you didn't think clearing rooms together was a good way to meet?? Personally, I'd put that in my top 5 ways to make a first impression, right after getting in a car accident together." Yuna then continued with a mock sigh. "But I suppose it's nice to see you without getting shot at." She smiled and raised her cup to an invisible "cheers".

"Hey hey, kitty-cat. Glad to see you made it out in one piece."

@Smike

Yuna turned to address her new friend. "Of course I did! It would be rude of me to die only hours after meeting you. Wouldn't be fair to those Cisk lagers either."

"And you came by just in time! I was going to interrogate Heartbreak here, and I'm not allowed to question suspects without a witness."

@Smike

Yuna leaned forward in her chair with an intrigued look on her face, waiting to see what Jefe was about to "interrogate" her new CO with.

"I heard the most vile rumor while digging through files, and I'm hoping you can set the record straight. Is it true that you scored a kill on an F-22, God's favorite killing machine, with a big, slow, dumb Intruder?"

Yuna was glad that she hadn't been sipping her coffee at that moment, or else she would have likely spit it out.

"I'm sorry...you did WHAT?" she exclaimed as she turned her head to face Scott.

"Yes, Jefe; it's true. Although, you're the first one to ask with such a... florid choice of words, that's for sure. And don't you call my beloved Flying Drumstick ugly".
...
"And I assume you'll want to know how I pulled this feat off? That's usually what comes next?"
...
"Well, maybe I'll indulge you - at least, until Chevy turns up and I get started on the actual mission planning".

@Rhona W

"Wait, let me guess," chimed in Yuna once again. "Both of its engines were out. Or it was on the ground. Or it was being flown by, like, a seeing-eye dog. Or your A-6 was built by aliens. Or you were built by aliens. Or, wait! ...all of the above. Yeah, that's gotta be it. Am I close?"

@Rhona W @Smike

Shattered Steel - An Ace Combat/Project Wingman/etc inspired aircraft-based RP

Yuna Xu

A few hours before the firefight
Pretoria Bar, Tarxien

Yuna and Ximena continued their bar talk, discussing Shattered Steel, Malta, previous employers, their jets, other members of the squadron they had met thus far, and various other things. A couple hours and a few more drinks later, the two pilots paid the bill and left the bar in high spirits. They were delighted to find that their scooters were still there waiting for them, and after another short scooter juant they found themselves back at the base. They went their separate ways to get situated and relax a bit, and were soon enough disrupted by the call to the emergency meeting.

---

A few hours later
Luqa International Airport Maintenance HQ

The silence after Scott's return "clear" call to Yuna was a relief to Yuna's ears. After the last hostiles had been taken care of and the area confirmed clear, Yuna left with the group and briefly stopped at the women's barracks to deposit her weapons, including her new addition. She smiled as she racked the stolen G36, and guessed that it wouldn't be too long before she had to use it. She'd have to remember to note it in her report, so that the appropriate magazines and ammunition could be assigned to her before she needed it.

Once she was done, she headed to the mess hall, at the behest of both the CO and her stomach. She had only had a liquid dinner at the bar, and needed something to keep her going if obligations were going to continue. She hoped this meeting would be the last of their duties, so she could finally get some shuttle. It had been a long day.

Strolling into the mess hall, she noted that she was the first there after the CO. Not knowing the way Shattered Steel dealt with rank, she felt it best to err just a bit on the "proper" side to stay safe. She was in no mood to get chewed out. So, after swiping she walked up to Scott, extended her hand in greeting, and said "Colonel Valentine, it's a pleasure to finally actually meet you. That was certainly one hell of an introduction to Cobalt Haze."

---

Present Time
Luqa International Airport
1000 hours

The next morning, Yuna was up, refreshed, and ready to (hopefully?) be a pilot again. Scott's debrief the previous night had been playing through her head on repeat. It seemed Shattered Steel had real enemies; not just unorganized amateurs, but a competent force making calculated moves against them. And the squadron had certainly not come out unscathed; Yuna was glad to hear that the pilot who was shot was still alive and in medical care.

It seemed Yuna's wish had finally been answered: a real squadron, with real skill and real action. She did wonder if she had bit off a bit more than she could chew, at least in terms of the action on the ground. But she didn't much care, because so far she had been having a blast. Yuna was the type to never be happier than when getting stuck in, and last night had taught her that this was just as true on the ground as it was in the air. Speaking of being in the air though...she was itching to get back in the cockpit.

As such, she was happy to mosey her way to the operations room, but not before she stopped to grab breakfast. When she was finally done filling up with bagels and grabbing a hot cup of coffee to go, she reached the operations room in short order, finding Scott and Ximena there. Yuna looked positively cozy with her cup of coffee in hand, and had a demeanor to match. "Morning, besties," she said casually, before sitting down cross-legged at the table.

@Rhona W @Smike

Shattered Steel - An Ace Combat/Project Wingman/etc inspired aircraft-based RP

Yuna Xu

A few hours ago, Pretoria Bar, Tarxien

"Hmm, about two years now I think? But I would have to check for an exact date."

"Admittedly, I've not done much since joining. Patrols mostly, training pilots for different countries, that sort of thing. It'll be nice to see some real action again."

@Smike

Yuna sighed in imagined contentment. "Real action would be nice. My last PMC was not good about real action...they were good at having us do absolutely everything but!" She scoffed and took another drink. "But I hear this squadron in particular gets into it a fair bit. I have a feeling we'll find out sooner rather than later."

"I heard that our new team is already down two planes and one pilot, so hopefully Malta turns out to be more exciting than it looks right now."

Yuna chuckled. "Hey, that sounds like action to me! Put us on the back foot, make it interesting. Give me something to dance to, you know?" Yuna had to admit though, downtime outside of a sterile military base is something she had been very overdue for as of late. Make it Malta and put her at a bar, with drink in hand and some good company? Yeah, she was in no hurry to get back to work.

Yuna cleared her beer with a final swig, and the bartender caught her eye at that moment. Yuna ordered a second beer and turned to Ximena as the bartender poured it. She tilted her head to look at Ximena's beer specifically, which still had a good amount left. "Girl, you gotta catch up!" she said lightheartedly.

Shattered Steel - An Ace Combat/Project Wingman/etc inspired aircraft-based RP

Yuna Xu

A few hours ago, Pretoria Bar, Tarxien

"Hey there." she addressed the woman behind the bar breezily. "Can we get something local?" Two bottles of Cisk lager were presented, Jefe taking one as she slid onto a stool.

@Smike

Yuna lazily plopped herself down on the barstool next to Ximena as the Sinomexicana ordered for them both. As promised, Yuna presented her card to the bartender before Ximena had a chance to, saying "keep it open" as she did so.

Yuna was pleased to see a Cisk Lager placed in front of her. "Ahh, Malta's finest," she said, spinning the bottle around to inspect it. "I've never had it myself." She took a sip, then a longer sip, and then a loooooonger "sip". "Mmm. Just what the doctor ordered," she said contentedly.

"So Calico, how long have you been with Shattered?"

@Smike

Yuna turned to face Ximena. "Not long at all. I pretty much signed the contract and then got sent out here. Didn't even have time to unpack." She looked around the bar, before taking another sip of her beer. "Not a bad first deployment though, gotta say."

Looking back at Ximena, Yuna continued. "What about you?"