Whoami

[F seeking M] Diablo 2 RP

I'm looking for somebody interested in RPing characters set in the events of Diablo 2 and its expansion. It could be that perhaps we are the heroes as seen in the main plot. I'm willing to discuss things of course. I'm open to romance in the RP, and I'm fine with keeping it PG-13 in terms of smut, but we can move to PM's if things take that turn. I'm a mature RPer, and I'm hoping for the same in return.

Anything marked with a asterisk (*) is something I am more preferable to.

Roles I am interested in playing

Sorceress


Assassin(*)


Amazon


I am also willing to play as a Rogue(*), and act as the companion to the hero.

Ideal roles for my partner

Paladin(*)


Barbarian(*)


Druid


I would also be fine with my RP partner playing as either the Desert Mercenary (from Act 2), or the Iron Wolf mercenary (from Act 3)

Character appearances don't have to be from Diablo, they can be whatever you want, so long as it fits the mold.

The idea I had in mind for the plot, is that it would roughly follow along the main plot of Diablo 2 and Lord of Destruction. We'd be involved in all the major plot events, but we find our own way during RP to get there. As such, we'd start off in the Rogue Encampment without any prior knowledge of one another. Any takers?

It's late for me now, and I am about to head to bed. But I will get back to any prospective RP partner in the morning and afternoon tomorrow.

Falling Skies: Wavering Valor

Once all this Christmas madness is out of the way, I'll have time to get a post down for everybody. Merry Christmas!! :D

Bastion: The Last Tank Crew

I'll have some time after all this Christmas madness to finally get a post out. Sorry for the delay, everybody.

Bastion: The Last Tank Crew

Sorry everbyody, December has been super chaotic for me. I'll find the time to get a post up for you all soon.

Falling Skies: Wavering Valor

Nikita Shaw

---

The time had come to deploy for patrol. Nikita looked over to her ISS counterparts and nodded to them. They knew what the plan was if things went up in smoke. She climbed back into the Noblesse, the cockpit closing inside the chest once she was secure. Nikita pressed some buttons and flipped switches while the cockpit sealed around her. Before long, the Noblesse was moving again. She had only spent ten minutes aboard the Artemis, so didn't have the time to get comfortable and groan about the patrol. The black MAS walked in behind the line of 12th MAS units as they made for the catapults.

Nikita eyes held on to her brother's MAS as it entered the catapult. She was quiet, there wasn't any need for words to him. Nikita knew how her brother was feeling about the sudden reunion, and she didn't want to make it worse by talking just before a combat patrol. The other black MAS units of the ISS fell in behind Nikita, waiting to launch as well. "Hey, Commander," one of the servicemen started, "Looked like you had a past with that 12th commander. Former lover?"

Nikita rolled her eyes, "Ask it like that again, and the Coalition will be the last thing you should be afraid of, major. Now stow it and go over the plan again."

Nikita could hear the synthesized chuckling of other servicemen over the ISS comms. The Noblesse took another few steps toward the catapult. She was up next. Since Nikita was attached to the 12th, she wasn't going to be on the same patrol route as the other ISS operatives. Worse yet, her assignment had her not being the first on that station if things went wrong. It grated on her. "Alright, major, you're in command of the squadron until after this assignment. You know what to do in the event of a crisis."

"Yes ma'am. Fly safe." the major said.

Nikita's MAS climbed into the catapult, locked in, and began her launch checks. It wasn't long before she was green for launch, and she was quickly sucked back into her seat from the sheer acceleration. The Noblesse's mimetic armor automatically engaged, and the black armor took on a foggy blue tinge to match the ambient light given off by the planet below. The Noblesse fell in with the 12th on the far left of the formation. When the Coalition MAS units began openly communicating with the 12th, Nikita didn't say much. She noticed the red unit, and was familiar with its reputation, but Raul Tigres fought in an entirely different theater. For all Nikita cared, the Blood Valkyrie was just another ace.

Another one of the coalition pilots addressed Nikita directly, "Strange seeing a MAS flagged as ISS mixed in with the dogs. Piss off one of the royals?"

Nikita sighed, she knew this was going to happen. It did every time. "Force multiplier," she said. Nikita wasn't about to go and tell her enemy about her standing with one particular member of the royal family.

The coalition pilot chuckled, "You've got spirit, I like that in a woman."

"Take a number and sit with the rest, pilot. Now do everybody here a favor and do your job." Friend or not, Nikita wasn't a fan of negligent soldiers who focused more on chatting than paying attention to their task.

Nikita's MAS was suddenly and violently shaken by a brilliant explosion. She was tossed to the side of her cockpit, but held mostly in place by her seat's harness. Alarms and lights blared up to warn Nikita of the dangers. She quickly suppressed the alarms and flipped some switches. Nikita's cameras turned to the fireball that was the Perseus. Like the rest of the 12th, Nikita pulled back and armed her weapons. She glanced to the side, and saw the squadron of the ISS MAS units already careening toward the station to secure Lupus. Then the two rookies exchanged fire. Nikita grit her teeth. "Iggy, control your team!" she scolded.

Another alarm blared that her MAS had been target locked. She quickly spotted the coalition MAS aiming its cannon at her. She locked back and spoke over the comms to the coalition pilot, "You'll regret pulling that trigger, pilot. Keep it together."

Nikita waited, hoping that the exchange between the two rookies didn't just reignite the violent conflict.

Bastion: The Last Tank Crew

Sara watched as the drifters approached. She could only see them as silhouettes from their distance. When Drake gave her command of the tank while he climbed out, she nodded slowly, "Sure thing."

She looked to the driver, "We're too close to the road still. Bring it behind that hill crest over there, keep the hull down behind it with the turret peaking over the crest."

Sara grabbed her assault rifle and pulled the bolt back, loading a bullet from the magazine. As the tank moved, Sara climbed up into the commander position. She poked her head out from the top of the turret and looked down a pair of binoculars. "Alright, everybody listen up. We don't know if these drifters are a threat or not. Keep the weapons tight. If they spot us and start approaching, we'll give them one warning shot. If they don't leave, we put our war faces on. Clear?"

Sara had encountered drifters before. They were intimidating, but some of them were kind hearted and welcoming. She hopes that is the case with the drifters fast approaching.

Falling Skies: Wavering Valor

--Reactor Online--
--Main System Start--
--Life Support Nominal--
--Power Supply at 100%--
--All Systems Online--
--Welcome Aboard, Commander--

"Terracotta Control, this is Commander Shaw. Preflight checks complete. All systems green and ready for launch."

"Commander Shaw, this is Terracotta Control. Standby for maglaunch in three... two... one... Launch."

The commander was pulled back into her seat from the sudden acceleration. The launch was always the hardest on the body. Going from 0 to 100 in a matter of seconds had its way of disorienting most pilots. Once the MAS left the artificial gravity of its mothership, and weightlessness set in, the commander could adjust to the sudden speed a lot easier. Before she knew it, she was at cruising speed in space. The commander looked up at the monolithic station in the distance, twenty-five kilometers out and it was still a respectable size. She wanted to be there on that station, beside Lupus if the worst was to break out. But the rules were clear, and the ISS were benched along with the regulars. There was no compromise.

Her eyes turned to the small strike carrier. Admittedly, it was a beautiful ship. The sleek new design and size would make it far more versatile than the trusty Liberator Class ships the UEE had been using. The commander turned her MAS toward the strike carrier. As she approached the ship, the commander received a lock warning, followed by a call on the comms, "ISS MAS, our computers have you on a landing trajectory with the Artemis. Your arrival is not scheduled, identify yourself and state your intention."

"Artemis, this is Commander Shaw. Be advised, I will be boarding your ship under authorization code Vermilion Star. Stand down." The commander watched her lock indicator, it remained the same for a matter of seconds. Eventually, though, the indicator went back to green.

"Code Vermilion Star confirmed, commander. The Artemis' MAS bays are currently at capacity, ma'am. Adjust approach vector by two degrees for a foot landing."

The commander nodded and flipped a switch in the cockpit. "Foot landing confirmed, Artemis. Making final approach now."

The black MAS fired its retro thrusters to slow itself down. Landing lights on the outside of the Artemis' hangar bay went from blue to yellow, signalling the crew on the hangar deck of an incoming MAS. Landing alarms blared in the hangar as the black MAS entered through the shield gate. As it did, it's armor changed color to match the hangar, a matte gray mainly. The MAS unit's thrusters kicked up space dust from the hangar deck and threw it in all directions, a nuisance more than anything. A yellow jersey quickly ran out in front of the MAS as it touched down on the deck, and began to marshal it to the side of the hangar for lockdown in case another craft needed to leave or enter.

Along the shoulder plate was the name of the MAS unit, the Noblesse. The pilot's name sat just under the unit's designation, 'Cmdr N. Shaw'. The commander studied the pilots lounging about on the deck as she walked her MAS into place. She spotted a gaggle of 12th pilots, and her ISS pilots on the opposite end of the hangar. She spotted a man in the 12th that looked familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. It didn't matter, she had to focus on not walking the Noblesse into something else. Before long, the MAS was in place, and it knelt onto one knee. The ISS pilots quickly fell into formation near the Noblesse while purple and white jerseys rushed to service the MAS unit. There was a hiss of air from the cockpit as it equalized its pressure. The chest opened up, and the commander stood. The ISS pilots all went to attention and saluted as the commander climbed down from the Noblesse.

She wore black armor with a white stripe running down her right arm. Hanging from her right shoulder plate was a white cape that dangled down to the small of the woman's back which identified her rank as an ISS commander. On the left breast of the chestplate, the name Shaw was engraved. Her rank emblem was emblazoned on the left shoulder plate. One of the ISS operatives stepped in front of the commander and saluted. "Commander Shaw. We weren't expecting you today, ma'am. Has something changed?" the operative asked.

Right after he said that, the deck chief, classically known as the 'Air Boss', stepped up along with two armed marines. "I'd like to ask the very same thing, commander. Vermilion Star or not, the Artemis isn't designed to handle MAS landings above capacity. You've landed in a zone cordoned for aerospace fighters that are currently on patrol, and expected to return in just a few minutes."

Nikita reached up to remove her helmet. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly while running her fingers through her raven black hair. She dropped her gaze on the deck chief, "I've been attached to this ship's MAS squadron under special order from Her Royal Highness Selvice. Perhaps you've heard of her, third in the line of succession and Lupus' older sister. She contacted me from Mars, so if you have a complaint, you know where to call."

The chief's face went white. Selvice had a reputation for being rather cold, and frankly a bit of a bitch. But nobody ever said it to her face, that's a quick way to get into jail. Selvice had been the only one in the royal family who had an open distaste for the commander. Nikita figured this attachment to the 12th was likely a way to keep her at a safe distance from the rest of the family. It didn't matter for Nikita. She had pledged her life to the throne, and she'd take orders from the ice queen whether she liked it or not. The deck chief swallowed nervously and nodded "U- understood, Commander Shaw. The problem still remains that your MAS will congest traffic in and out of this ship."

Nikita sighed and looked over to one of the ISS pilots, the lowest rank of the bunch. "Lieutenant, return to the Terracotta and be ready for launch in case we need to mobilize quickly."

The pilot saluted again, "Ma'am!" He then quickly ran to his MAS and prepared to take off.

Nikita looked back to the chief, "You have your room. Ferry the Noblesse into place after my pilot leaves."

The chief couldn't argue with her way of getting things done. "Y- yes, ma'am."

Nikita could hear one of the jerseys that was servicing her MAS whistle. The man had said something about not seeing the Air Boss choke up like that before. Nikita looked back to her ISS pilots, "Fall out and triple check your MAS's, if something goes south, I want you to be first on that station."

The pilots went to attention first before falling out and running to their respective units. Nikita walked past the deck chief, who frantically went to work reorganizing the deck hands for a ferry movement. She had her eyes set on the other pilots in the hangar, the 12th. Nikita tucked her helmet under arm and stopped short of the card game being played. These people were too comfortable. "Who's in command of this outfit?"

Falling Skies: Wavering Valor

DOSSIER: ISS Cmdr Shaw & Noblesse

Shaw, Nikita

Name
Nikita Shaw

Age
33

Gender
Female

Callsign/Nicknames
Commander, Niki

Nikita doesn't have a care in the world for any true callsign, and the members of the ISS know it. She simply prefers to be acknowledged by her rank. Friends and family normally call her Niki. It is possible that others have coined nicknames for her behind her back, but she has no interest in seeking them out.

Kills
29 MAS

Psychological Analysis
Dedicated, loyal, and persistent are the three words to best describe Nikita. She is dedicated to her role as one of the personal bodyguards to the royal family. Her loyalty has been secured, and burns the brightest among the ISS. And she will not stop doing her job until she is either dead or relieved of duty. To those not part of the ISS or royal family, Nikita can be seen as a hardass, which she is to some degree. Many of the royal family are friendly toward her. She is trusted as one of the family's own, and she returns that trust ten fold. Nikita is wary of strangers, often keeping close to the royalty she is charged to protect until she becomes more comfortable with her surroundings. It is clear that Nikita is happy with her position, and she seems oddly stress free given the responsibilities of the ISS. Once she has warmed up to strangers, Nikita can be a less cold. Still, she never forgets her duty, and will prioritize the life and safety of royalty, over that of herself or others. Some view her as being one of the emperor's attack dogs, blindly loyal with no independent thought of her own. Nikita doesn't care about her sour reputation since nobody ever knows the full story. Nikita knows that she is viewed as the emperor's attack dog, knowledge which she simply derives pride from.

Military Record
Commendations. Black ink. More commendations. More black ink. Nikita Shaw has one of the best records that nobody will ever hear about. What people know about Nikita is only what can be found on public records, or if they have personal history with the woman before her recruitment into the Imperial Secret Service. Nikita was born into a family of terran businessmen. She was the middle child of three, and felt a little out of place because of it. Nikita wasn't held to the standard of her older brother, or adored as much as her younger brother. She was free to do whatever she wanted, but she always was criticized the most if whatever she did was unsavory. Of course, if Nikita was the heiress to the family fortune like her older brother was, she would have gotten a smack on the wrists. Or if she was the youngest, she'd simply have to apologize and forget it ever happened. For Nikita, failure was met with harsh discipline, the very same discipline that would serve her through her military career.

Nikita's family was well connected with the government, and she used some family contacts to get her into the military academy with relative ease. She kept her admittance into the academy as secret until the day before she shipped out. Her words to the family were short, "I'm off to see the galaxy tomorrow." Those words were first met with confusion, then concern, then anger. Despite not being the inheritor of the family, her parents felt they should control Nikita's destiny. They were not thrilled with her suddenly up and leaving to the academy. Her mother even went as far as trying to sabotage her career so that she'd get discharged and sent home. During her training, Nikita was viewed as the stuck up rich bitch who could hardly make her own bed. It was true, Nikita was accustomed to her old complacent lifestyle. But she took others' criticism and worked to change herself. Her adaptability and eagerness to improve herself impressed her commanding officers.

Nikita had finished her training and was deployed to the 101st just before her brother had signed up and gone to basic. In the 101st, Nikita began carving out a vicious reputation. Serving as a member of the 10th MAS Team, Nikita quickly became the team's ace in the hole. It became clear to Nikita that she was born for piloting and combat, far more than she ever was for business. The sector that the 10th mainly operated in was a hotly contested cluster of stars with over a dozen highly developed colonies. Each colony had large hub cities which saw combat on an almost weekly basis. The 10th grew accustomed to urban warfare, and soon were one of the beacons of hope for the UEE controlled cities in the sector. All of the 10th's pilots here heralded as heroes in the sector, Nikita wasn't alone in the picture frame. And the resounding success of the 10th's efforts quickly reached the ears of the royal family. One man in particular, Alexander Thermidor, ninth in line to the Imperial Throne, came to decorate the 10th.

Word of Alexander's arrival had reached the sector, and soon it became impossible to keep quiet. It wasn't long before the Coalition leaped on the opportunity, and launch a full scale invasion of the sector. Out of the fourteen colonies, ten were immediately engaged. It was one of the largest coordinated strikes from the Coalition in the history of the war. The 10th could only guard one world, and they were ordered to guard the one with Alexander. With ten planets conquered, and four remaining, the invasion fleet consolidated inward from all directions. Coalition planetfall last for four days, and the ensuing ground war saw front lines appearing all across the planet. The 10th was forced to divide and conquer with a single 10th MAS to garrison each city and coordinate the local defenses. Nikita was assigned to the capital, and had to not only coordinate its local military, but work alongside Alexander's ISS cohort. It wasn't an easy task.

The capital saw the hardest fighting, and the local defenses were crushed within the first ten days of the siege. Nikita, and three ISS operatives, were the only MAS units left to wage war. Everybody knew it, the planet was lost. If they didn't abandon the world, Alexander would likely have been killed, and Nikita along with it. During their escape aboard a troop transport ship, one of the planet's orbital defense cannons turned on them, commandeered by the Coalition, and shot them out of the sky. The ship crash landed in a mountainous region far from any city, and in the dead of winter. Most of the transport crew were killed in the crash, along with two of the three ISS operatives protecting Alexander. Nikita was wounded, and the remaining serviceman suggested to Alexander that they leave her to gain as much distance from the crash as possible. Nikita agreed, it was Alexander's best chance for survival. Alexander declined, saying that he wasn't about to abandon somebody simply because his life was worth more. He used his coat and a piece of debris to make a splint for Nikita's broken leg, and carried her out of the wreckage himself.

The mountain was crawling with Coalition patrols and surveillance drones. They didn't have Alexander's body, and they knew he was aboard the ship when it went down. It was no secret that he was alive and somewhere in the mountains. The serviceman continued to suggest that Nikita was only weighing them down, and they should just leave her to the mercy of the Coalition. "What mercy would that be?" Alexander said, "The same mercy that burned over a dozen cities to the ground?"

Alexander promised Nikita that he wasn't going to leave her to die, and the serviceman hated that. Sixteen days in the cold mountains had left them all hungry and weak. The serviceman snapped and pulled his pistol on Nikita, holding the barrel to her head. Despite Alexander's direct orders, the serviceman didn't relent. Nikita had accepted her fate and simply close her eyes. There was a gunshot, and when Nikita opened her eyes, she saw a revolver in Alexander's hands, smoke trailing from the muzzle. The serviceman fell back into the snow, a gunshot wound in his forehead. It became clear to Nikita that Alexander wasn't incapable of defending himself, and he was a very quick shot. Beyond that, he valued her life more than she had already thought. Alexander carried Nikita over his shoulders and scrambled into safety while the Coalition investigated the gunfire nearby. It wouldn't be long before they were caught.

Nikita willed herself to walk despite her injuries, and placed herself between the hideout entrance, and Alexander. If he was going to save her life more than once, than so was she. Her loyalty had been secured. When the lights flooded into the cave, Nikita opened fire. She was too blinded by the light to fire accurately, which turned out to be a good thing. A squad of UEE marines had found them. That was when Nikita and Alexander had learned that the UEE launched a massive counter attack in the sector. Better yet, Alexander had secretly activated a locator beacon just after they had crashed. Medics rushed in to check over Alexander first, but he quickly ordered them to look after Nikita, "She's in far more need of it than I am."

Alexander was brought back to Earth, and he demanded Nikita be set up in the best terran hospital there was. Still, even after the royal family had no more business with Nikita, Alexander regularly visited her. It was more than she could say about her family, who she found out was notified about her hospitalization, but was not once visited. After being discharged from the hospital, Alexander invited her to the palace, and it started to become more and more apparent to Nikita that had developed feelings for Alexander. On that same day, Nikita brought up that incident in the mountains, how he stuck by her side despite every convention in the book telling him to just leave her. She pledged her loyalty to him and his family, and he graciously accepted her into the ISS.

Years went on, and Nikita worked her way to upper echelon of the Imperial Secret Service. She knew that she had to keep her romantic feelings tied down, the professionalism that came with the job left little room for affection. She found herself spending more and more time with other members of the royal family, Lupus, Selvice, Ardin, and the rest of the family. They all quickly became familiar with Nikita. Her original blood debt to Alexander was becoming more and more difficult to uphold, so Nikita chose to repay it in kind by serving the entire family with as much devotion as she had for Alexander. Now with the peace accords soon to be underway, Commander Nikita Shaw leads a small team of ISS operatives to escort Lupus, fifth in line for the throne, and oversee his safety during the negotiations.

Equipment
Micro T50 Plasma Pistol - [Image] A rare and expensive pistol found most often in the hands of the ISS. These pistols are short ranged, but are almost always lethal to unarmored targets. Even armored targets run the risk of dying when on the receiving end of these weapons.

DC50 Stormpup PDW - [Image] This sub machine gun is what most call a pocket LMG. The DC50 is a very potent weapon with a unique design. The magazine is designed to carry two stacks of thirty 5.56 rounds, which load into a twin chamber system and fire at a staggering 800 rounds per minute out of two barrels. The SMG's high caliber and short barrel, along with its rate of fire lead to it being a very unstable weapon. The stability issues with the DC50 sadly limit its range significantly, making it ideal for sweeping rooms, but not much else. The DC50 comes with an integrated laser sight to assist with aiming. Additionally, there is a number of select fire modes, such as twin fire automatic, twin fire semi-automatic, sequential fire automatic, and standard semi-automatic. The Stormpup is a favorite among pilots who would prefer to have a very potent weapon to make up for the lack of heavy armor. The best offense is a good defense after all.

3x Biogel applications - In case Nikita is injured, she has a standard first aid kit with three applications worth of biogel to seal any injury.

Noblesse Profile

Designation
PTX-101b Inquisitor SOCM
'Noblesse'

Role
Close Assault, Urban Specialization

Chassis
Next-Gen Medium [+25 WT]

Engine
Trinity-X Quad Core [+20 PWR]

Description
Based on the Gladiator, Inquisitors are uncommon, advanced MAS units often piloted by ISS operatives. The Imperial Secret Service requisitioned the development of Inquisitors to be able to effectively navigate the corridors of urban environments. For a medium class MAS, Inquisitors are relatively lightweight, using previous generation MAS armor to afford higher maneuverability in tight spaces. The ISS often finds a need for these MAS units where a quick response with frontline equipment is needed, so a sleeker frame and higher agility was necessary. The additional mobility helps Inquisitor MAS units to outpace more common medium units. As the ISS faces more subtle threats and embedded threats, the Inquisitor has a design focusing on smaller, quicker engagements. Inquisitors are highly modular to suit the needs of the operative. As such, they can vary wildly in appearance. A rather unique feature of the Inquisitor is its Mimetic Armor, which helps to offset the somewhat weaker armor plating on the medium MAS. Inquisitor pilots often equip their units with additional pouches to carry more equipment into the field. Sometimes, a generous pilot will have more pouches around the feet of the MAS to carry supplies for infantry squads to resupply at. What sets the Noblesse apart from other Inquisitors, is the electronic warfare suite installed in the head of the MAS.

Systems [WT: 22 / 25 || PWR: 20 / 20]
M290b 30mm Assault Autocannon [8 WT || 3 PWR] - A machine gun in use by the UEE designed for prolonged engagement and sustained fire, the M290 fires 30mm armor piercing rounds from a 500 round internal belt/box magazine. The M290 has semi-automatic, 5-round burst, and fully automatic modes of fire and has a fire rate of 750 RPM. The B variant of the common M290 comes with an underslung munitions launcher, which can be loaded with a variety of ammo types ranges from slugs and scattershot, to impact grenades. The addition of the munitions launcher significantly increases the weight of the autocannon, but also improves its versatility in the field.

VH/E-5 Missile Launcher [3 WT || 2 PWR] - The VH/E-5 fires missiles vertically into the sky, where they will quickly climb high above the battlefield, and strike the target from above. These missiles are very maneuverable, and can be used to engage aerial targets as well. The warhead is a hybrid EPK explosive that is focused in a tight cone, keeping the explosion focused on the target to minimize collateral damage. The downside to these missiles, is that they're expensive and have a rather power hungry targeting system. The launcher can carry only three missiles, so the pilot must use them sparingly. This launcher is located on the back of the Noblesse's left shoulder.

Dragonslayer X4 Energy Blade [3 WT || 3 PWR] - A powerful blade mounted on the Inquisitor's right forearm. The blade has a short, non-adjustable length. The X4 may be considered short in MAS standards, but the beam is focused intensely to maintain its cutting power. The Dragonslayer can only sustain up to three continuous slashes before needing to recharge for two minutes. While this may come off as a detriment, three slashes is more than a pilot will ever need to destroy another MAS.

Class 3 Shield Generator [5 WT || 7 PWR] - Just like its Gladiator cousin, Inquisitor model has a powerful class three shield generator to protect the MAS.

Mimetic Armor [3 WT || 5 PWR] - The real strength of the Inquisitor model is its mimetic armor. The mimetic armor works like an adaptive camouflage system. The colors and textures of the MAS unit's armor plating will intelligently change based on its environment. The advanced photo-receptors in the armor plating are constantly taking in their surroundings, and updating every second if there is a change. This means that even while moving from one building, across a park, and behind another, the Inquisitor's camouflage is always current and fitting to the environment. Additionally, the mimetic armor is designed to absorb radar, serving as a form of stealth to lower the MAS unit's signature. The armor plates disperse heat evenly among all of its surface to lower the unit's thermal footprint as well. Mimetic armor works well to make it difficult to shoot at manually, while the low signatures often lengthen the amount of time most targeting systems need to acquire a lock. At a distance, spotting an Inquisitor MAS can be difficult, but not impossible. Mimetic armor was designed for the Inquisitor model to make up for its sub par medium class armor. When the mimetic armor is disengaged, Inquisitors are raven black in appearance.

Countermeasures - Inquisitors rely on standard flares and chaff, as well as ECM to fend off against missile locks.

Bastion: The Last Tank Crew

12:02pm
Izayoi Village
Readying for Action

Sara has separated from the group after Abe gave his advice on which mission to take. The decision was ultimately left up to her, and she didn't know what she would do. Both options were worth taking the risk for. She walked through the village, headed toward her home to pick up Icarus. On her way, a young boy ran up to her, his aunt not far behind. Sara knew the boy, his father had died out on a hunt. He was killed by a group of yakuza. "Sara-sama!" the boy called out to her.

Sara smiled to him, and looked to his aunt. She had a tear streaking down her cheek. She nodded to Sara, and kept a fair distance away. Sara knelt down to speak with the boy, and smiled, "Haji-chan, hey." Sara's voice was strained, she had a feeling she knew what was coming up.

The boy held a necklace out to her. "We heard you were leaving in the Bastion... I want you to have this. He will protect you."

Sara eyed the necklace. It was a village tradition, to pass on a red necklace to somebody who had lost a family member on a hunt.
"Haji... I can't take thi-"

"You must!" the aunt cut Sara off, "You must take it. My brother wouldn't want to have his memory fade away in a village of scared and hungry people. His place was always in the wild."

Sara stared at the aunt, and nodded. She felt a frog in her throat, and had to swallow it back. She took the necklace and clenched it in her fist, "Thank you, Haji." Sara stood up and walked over to the aunt. She hugged her, and the woman cried in Sara's shoulder. "This village wont be scared and hungry for much longer. You have my word." The woman let go of Sara, and called Haji back to her side. Sara continued on.

(Click the image for mood music)

Before long, she was at the door to her house. She stood there a moment to take a deep breath, and opened the door. The interior was dark, the only light was the fogged obscured sun piercing through the blinded windows and cracks in the walls. Some dust floated in the air. Sara looked around, there was a pile of empty bottles on the dinner table. She let out a sigh and made her way over to the pile, picking up the bottles to put them somewhere else. "You could at least say hello, dad..."

Sara looked to her left, spotting one a legged man in the wheelchair, his face shadowed over in the corner. More empty bottles sat near one of the wheels. Sara's father spoke, "You haven't been home in days."

Sara walked across the room and smiled at her falcon. She glanced sidelong over to her drunk father, "I was hunting."

The falcon ruffled its feathers and flew onto Sara's shoulder. She petted it a bit. Her father brought a different bottle to his lips. Sara reached over and took it from him. He grabbed her by the wrist, his grip was tight. They made eye contact. "I was told by your friend Taka. You're leaving town in that war machine. I wont allow it."

Sara wrenched her hand free, taking the bottle with her. "It's not your decision. I'm going to make things better here." She stepped over to the table to set the bottle down with the pile of others.

"You're going to die, girl. You know that? A gaggle of kids isn't going to fix anything," her father said.

Sara looked back at him, "Then who will? You? You can hardly stand the light of the sun, let alone walk."

Sara's father wheeled out from his position in the corner of the room. "How ungrateful can you get? I protected you since you were a baby. Your mother died to get you on that boat. I lost my leg to make sure you survived! And you insult our sacrifices to ride off on some doomed quest? That's how you show your love for our family?"

"You're a shadow of the man you used to be. But despite all that, you're still my father. Even if you don't think so, I do love you."

The man snorted and took his bottle from the table. He turned his back to Sara, "Great way to show it... Go on, go get killed then. Leave me behind like everybody else."

Sara glared at the back of his head, "You aren't even going to say it back?"

Her father turned to face her again. He made eye contact with Sara, but he didn't have a tender look on his face. He was angry, his teeth gritted and his brows furrowed. "Get. Out."

Sara could feel some tears welling up in her eyes. She took the necklace that was given to her by Haji, and set it down on the table. "You're gonna need this then." The necklace of a fallen hunter. With that, Sara left the house with Icarus still perched on her shoulder.

Her father looked long and hard at the necklace before wheeling over to it. "Come back, Sara... Come back!" She was long gone. Her father took the necklace in his hands, placed his face in his palms, and cried for the first time since his wife had died.

Sara climbed into the tank and got in her seat. Icarus found a place next to Sara to perch on. She turned some dials on the station's radio, and adjusted some of the frequencies. Sara didn't make eye contact with the others. She sniffled once, then rubbed away the only tear that had managed to escape down her cheek. While the others voiced their opinions of what they should do, Sara thought of Haji's father, killed by yakuza. Her mother, killed during an attack by the R.A.I. Her father, broken from his wife's death. "I'm sick of witnessing good people being killed for no reason." Sara said to the group, "I say we go on the offensive and get rid of the yakuza threat for these people. Abe said it'd be about three months before the yakuza would counter attack. That's more than enough time to range out and acquire the silver on another expedition. The town can fortify, and when the yakuza come, they'll be faced with their own equipment and the Bastion. They wont want to strike again. We'll force the yakuza to lose their appetite for this village."

Sara looked to the rest of the group then, a fiery passion in her eyes, "Let's show these people that we wont stand for oppression. This tank is called the Bastion. Let's give reason to that name."

Bastion: The Last Tank Crew

I'm posting after the others to hear their feedback.