Krayzikk

A Certain Variegated Pseudepigraphum [Toaru/Raildex RPG]

@Plank Sinatra @Crimmy

The thing about justice was, it wasn't always lawful. Riders weren't part of the police force, right? Well, except a couple. Not the point.

The point was that methods weren't one hundred percent on the up-and-up all the time. It wasn't hard to guess where Brennan got the check, not between the lies and the foreign name of its owner. The teller couldn't tell them anything, not without breaking ethical standards for his job. But he seemed new, and Umeko seemed innocent enough. Which was why when she stretched her back, getting up on tip-toes over the counter to work any kinks out of the muscles, he didn't really pay attention. Not that she could get a lot, not at that angle or in that short a time. But a look at the spelling of the name was pretty helpful, if nothing else.

So she smiled sweetly while Brennan thanked the teller and picked up their bags, following him out of the bank without saying so much as a word. Nor did she, until she leaned into his side outside the establishment and rolled her eyes at him a little.

"Suddenly in a good mood, hm? You can explain why over coffee. Troublemaker."

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

@Plank Sinatra @Kaithas @HereComesTheSnow @Crimmy

"C'mon, babe, time to go."

The arm that had helped support Lauren seated transitioned smoothly to holding her up, as Ben pushed his chair out and rose to his feet. If she felt like getting down her she'd have no trouble, but if not he wasn't gonna have any trouble carrying her either. She had her bag, though, so he didn't want to wander off before she grabbed it. So the next order of business was picking his shield up off the wall behind him, one handed, and slinging it onto his back. He could grab his bag with the free hand in a second.

"Hey, man." He clapped Luke on the shoulder lightly, partly to get his attention but mostly for the camaraderie of the gesture. The other Hunter was always in his own head, but it wasn't hard to tell when he was really in his own head. And not in a great way. Wasn't really anything Ben could say to help, more likely he'd just make it worse. Sometimes the best thing was the gesture itself. Reminder that people've got your back. He flashed his friend a faint grin, and inclined his head towards the door. "We're gonna hit the road. Tell me about how things're going with the team later, alright? Grab a bite before missions, if we've got the time."

He grabbed his bag and started towards the door, nodding at Amy over the shoulder that wasn't helping to support his teammate, and slipping out into the hall. Given the wrapped package in Lauren's bag, that hadn't been there when they left in the morning, he was pretty sure there was something interesting he'd have to ask about. After they nabbed Sangue. Maybe in the halls, but they'd catch her in the dorm for sure. And for once he was reasonably homework free.

Not a bad start to the afternoon.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

@Plank Sinatra @Kaithas @HereComesTheSnow @Crimmy

"I know."

The two words murmured back to Lauren rippled with an undercurrent of energy. The smile that had adorned Ben's face, to one extent or another, since the class began had faded immediately and his eyes fixed themselves on the other student at the head of the class. He would keep still. The Professor had intervened, and from the look on her face... She would see to it that the lesson was learned.

That didn't mean Diamond herself wasn't going to be reevaluated. Ben hadn't paid her much mind, before. He was dimly aware that she was involved in Amy's past, but not all that much had been shared with him and he hadn't pried. He'd seen the two square off in combat class, briefly, but he couldn't remember any other time he'd seen the girl. But she was on his radar, now. Not positively. Luke was on another team, yeah, but they were from the same neck of the woods. And if there was one person in the school that counted as as an honorary teammate, it was Lucas Schwarz.

Damn right it was unacceptable.

If she ever tried that shit again, Lauren wouldn't get the chance to kick her ass. The killing intent emanating from their little corner of the classroom truly was impressive. He'd have to tell Luke about it, later. They could probably spin a whole bit off of it. In the meantime, he squeezed Lauren's shoulder lightly and did his best to push the frown back off of his face.

Wouldn't do to set a bad example, now would it?

Breaking Point

Benjamin Armbruster

@Crimmy @Norik @Selvariabell

"Definitely close combat. Interesting choice, but it can work. I'll have to try and ask the pilot about it." The German mused out loud, nodding his head in assent. Watching the machine's fluid motions was fascinating, seeing a Warrior move with a precision and grace sorely lacking in the motions of most Walkers. It didn't speak, necessarily, to a better machine; just a skilled pilot. That was something technology could only compensate for so far. "Maybe a sim battle, sometime. I'm quite curious."

"That's excellent," Ben added to Hassan, with a bit of a sheepish grin. He'd gotten caught up in his own thoughts and almost forgotten he was talking to people. "I'd offer to help, but if he's good to go there's no need. I've spent most of the morning tracking down a power issue on my Vernichten, anyway. You get custom wiring, you get custom faults. Boat loads of fun."

Inoue Ayane

@Norik @Silvan Haven @Caasicam

"No, not generally." Ayane admitted, glancing back at the railing with a note akin to sheepishness creeping into her voice. "I didn't want to try and navigate the party to get here. A little excessive, perhaps. These are just the essentials, Ms. Marcus. Most of my belongings are being shipped, along with my Walker. This bag merely contains the things I don't trust shipping services with."

"Thank you for the welcome, Ms. Harken." The newcomer's rude arrival did not receive a similar greeting, instead met with a faint frown curling the corners of the Japanese pilot's mouth downwards. Such interruption would have been rude anywhere, but where she was from such a thing was especially intolerable. So after a moment's consideration, she elected not to acknowledge it. She gave the other pilots a polite nod, and tilted her head slightly. "I don't suppose any of you would be acquainted with a Ms. White, would you?"

A Certain Variegated Pseudepigraphum [Toaru/Raildex RPG]

@Plank Sinatra @Crimmy

That's not very justice of you, Brennan.

As creatively as the Irishman was presenting the facts, Umeko still stayed quiet. It wasn't surprising, and it was a way to try not to get lumped in with the villains. Griese... Unscrupulous wasn't quite the word, but it was close. She was accustomed to it, though she'd needle him later. It helped that she knew he'd never do anything to her detriment. A little hypocritical, maybe, but she could live with his little deceptions. If you were going to love someone you had to accept all of them, right?

Besides. It was useful material to get her way later.

She tried not to snicker a little when he mentioned the bus. Very creatively presenting the truth. The Japanese native set the grocery bags on the floor and rested her forearms on the teller's countertop, leaning her weight against them a little. After carrying the bags around for most of the trip, it was nice to take a load off. Her eyes bored into the side of Brennan's head, the faint smile tugging upwards at the corner of her mouth. He'd know she was judging, and that was infinitely more entertaining than anything she could say.

Burennaaaaan.

Breaking Point

Mia Van Hossen

Name: Mia Van Hossen

Age: 26

Sex: Female

Profession/Rank: 2nd Lieutenant

Appearance: Fairly Caucasian despite being technically Indonesian, especially with her blonde hair and green eyes.

Personality: Mia is someone who thinks differently from others, and prefers to think outside of the box. An eccentric loner, Mia prefers being alone rather than socialize, seeing the latter as unproductive. In combat, she can be a bit too brash and brave, taking calculated risks. A chainsmoker.

Skills: She is a very good pilot, a good marksman, a decent brawler, and a bookworm with high grades.

Weakness: She is an anti-social, preferring to be alone than to be wwith people. She also has an eccentric way of thinking, making her a delinquent. Has a questionable psychological background with a "Battle Royale mentality", and tendency to go berserk should push comes to shove.

History: Born from a Polish mother and a Belgian father in Indonesia, Mia grew up being seen as an outsider by the natives of the country she calls home, being a subject of bullying. Unfortunately, this is common story with post-war European immigrants and their descendants in Indonesia, despite the local government's welcoming attitude. Like many youths of European-descent, Mia joined a gang, engaging in retaliatory attacks in the "race war". As racial tensions escalate, the Indonesian government finally intervened in ending the race wars, cracking down on both nativist and immigrant gangs. In order to escape conviction, Mia joins the Federation military, where due to her questionable psychological profile, she was assigned as a test pilot, where her intelligence and eccentricity shine through.

Equipment: Uniform, 9mm pistol, knife, Lee-Enfield No.4 rifle back in her gang days, Rosary necklace as her family memento.

Einherjar

Base Model*: FAW-016

Designation: Einherjar

Appearance: The Einherjar is a radical modification of the gunner, abandoning firepower for mobility. Using the Gunner's very large reactor as powerplant for powerful thrusters and more energy-demanding, but more agile, servomotors, making it surpringly fast and agile without sacrifing heavy armor.

Armaments:

• Fabrique Nationale Herstal AC90 57mm PDW - Basically a scaled-up P90 PDW, the Einherjar ditches the Gunners' twin railguns for mobility, thus making this gun its primary firearm.
• Federal Dynamics "Kaplan" 40mm CIWS - A versatile CIWS using a 40mm multi-purpose round.
• Federation Ballistics V9DK "Berserker" Vibro-Thermal Dane Axe - Primary melee weapon of the Einherjar. Based from the legendary dane axes of the Viking era, the Berserker axe has a heated axe head and a vibro-hammer. While heavy, it makes it up in blunt force and inertia, making it a perfect combination with the mech.
• 2x Federation Ballistics K8 Vibroblade Seaxe - Seaxe-style vibroblades serves as backup weapon when all else fails.
• Federal Arsenal Standard Shield - Part of the FAW-016's standard equipment, the shield further adds protection alongside the mech's already thick armor.

Weakness: It is a gunner without railguns, or the provision to fit them (the latter is to save weight), defeating the entire purpose of a Gunner chassis in the first place. It is based from an unproven concept, you must be crazy to pilot this in combat.

Pilot(s): Mia Van Hossen

@Selvariabell

After some consideration, tentatively approved. Bear in mind that the Einherjar is probably still only about as fast as an average Warrior. Faster than Gunners, but it's still a very heavy frame.

Breaking Point

Benjamin Armbruster

@Crimmy @Norik @Selvariabell

"Leutnant Benjamin Armbruster." The engineer's eyes flicked briefly back to the woman, now identified as Captain Steinbach. Ben smiled and nodded to her, then inclined his head towards Hassan. "But I'll stick to English, for the old man's sake. Good to meet you, too."

"The swords, for sure, but I think those fists are reinforced." The German cocked his head, pointing towards the Chinese Walker's hands. "Don't look like any manipulators I've seen. Not sure what the function could be, except reinforcement. Maybe I can take a look when it goes back to its bay, if I ask nicely. Or if I'm sneaky enough."

"Speaking of, how's the Jinn checking out, Hassan?"

A Certain Variegated Pseudepigraphum [Toaru/Raildex RPG]

@Plank Sinatra

Umeko's sheepish smile reflected, at least, the decency to look a little apologetic about having been caught scheming. Not her subtlest scheme, but it had been worth a shot.

Her companion, however, wasn't seeming nearly as cheerful. The Irishman regularly seemed a little grumpy, even when he wasn't, but this wasn't quite that. The fact was becoming readily apparent as they progressed through the store. Their shopping list wasn't extensive, but even a few minutes in the store seemed to set Brennan to watching the exits like a prisoner anticipating an escape attempt. Not that the European would be anywhere near that subtle in a prison break, but time clearly was passing much more slowly for him than for her. So he was relieved, gently but insistently, of the hand basket and Umeko bumped his side lightly with her shoulder.

"Burennan," The Japanese girl began, bumping him one more time to ensure he was meeting her gaze. She smiled a little, when he did. "Relax. It'll take five more minutes. It's summer, we can handle a slower pace. We're already miles ahead of the other projects, right?"

"How about coffee? You like that place near the hardware store, right? We can get coffee after the bank."

Breaking Point

Inoue Ayane

@Silvan Haven @Caasicam @Norik

The Japanese pilot tilted her head, just a few degrees, to regard the trio above her.

"Sure," Ayane answered, after considering a moment. More likely than not these three would have a better idea of where she could find White, and the balcony seemed like a better place to watch the parade from than the street level. She didn't especially feel like going to find the stairs, though; she hadn't technically been invited by the owner of the establishment, at least she suspected not, and getting past the door with her duffel might raise a few eyebrows from the other occupants. Better, then, to raise the eyebrows on the street where there were other spectacles to watch. "One moment."

Ayane let go of the end of her duffel, and instead swung the strap over her head so its weight was borne across her shoulders and freed up her hands. The balcony was only a story up, and clearly robust enough to support a person thanks to the sandal-wearing-one. She planted a foot on the low concrete ledge that indicated the edge of the property, taking care not to step in the planter set into it, and stepped the other up; the Japanese girl wasn't exactly tall, but the bottom of the balcony was aaalmost within reach. A few seconds to gauge the distance, confirm her estimates, and she sunk halfway into a crouch. Leg muscles coiled, and released. Little lower than she would have liked, considering the duffel, but it was enough for her hands to catch around two of the railing's bars. Bars that, thankfully, did not give out under her weight. Another on target guess.

The easy part was pulling herself up enough to plant a foot on the balcony's edge, and use it to push herself level with the others. She swung the other leg over the railing, taking care not to accidentally kick anyone, and stepped onto the balcony proper. A faint smile played at the edges of her mouth, and after a breath she inclined her waist a few degrees in greeting.

"Lieutenant Inoue Ayane, formally. On leave for the moment. Good to make your acquaintance, Ms. Harken."

Breaking Point

Inoue Ayane

@Silvan Haven @Caasicam @Norik

"Hm?"

Ayane pivoted, tearing her gaze away from the Walkers and searching for the speaker. It took a moment to find her; the cheerful young woman seemed to be with the one dangling sandals above her head. Looking for a shop to get one from, maybe? That seemed unlikely. Horizon had a large enough garrison that such garments were probably easily identified as being of military issue, in some form or another. Perhaps a servicewoman herself, then. Still, she seemed a friendly sort. Energetic in the way she held herself, an unmistakable sign of emotional buoyancy. Still, no matter what it would do no harm to answer her question. She turned her shoulder a little to better show the emblem to the balcony, pointing at it with one finger.

"Federation Far East Brigade," She began, endeavoring to keep her accent out of the words. She hadn't conversed entirely in English in a couple years. Still fluent, of course, but her pronunciation was a little rusty. "Out of Tokyo. My previous posting. Inoue Ayane, ma'am. You are...?"

Benjamin Armbruster

@Crimmy @Norik @Selvariabell

"Yankee? God, no. Ich bin aus Deutschland." Ben may have laid on the accent a little thick, but it wasn't often he indulged in his native tongue around others. Especially not for such an entertaining purpose. He shook Hassan's hand cheerfully, half the fun of having the old man about was using his last name. He was a good-natured sort, he took it in stride. The other woman still didn't seem familiar. The uniform she wore wasn't quite standard, but it did identify her as a Captain. Not that he cared overmuch. The other old man was the only one that got much deference due to rank. "I tell you, Hassan, it's a crime. Kebabs would go over great."

"That," He began, looking the same way as the other Captain. "Is a Chinese Walker. Jiangnan Arsenal, I think. No disrespect, Ms. Winston, but we know plenty about 'em. I'd heard we had one on base, hadn't gotten to take a look. Under the hood they're pretty much the same as what I'm used to, it's the gear that's different. I could pull up specs on most of 'em, but I don't want to get any screens greasy."

"Pilot's real good. Looks like maybe a parade-spec unit? Close combat, for sure, don't see anything except the vulcans. Whatcha think, Hassan, those hands look like melee weapons to you?"