New Beginnings...

[Shaftronics 0]

He briefly took another sip of his cup of coffee, as he shifted the gear of his car, placing the cup back on the dashboard. He savoured the taste, as it spread throughout his tongue, enjoying its warm, bitter sensation over it. He gently eased the car over another bump, before turning another corner. He could see it in a distance; The place where he would call home. With a grin, he pressed his foot on the accelerator a little harder, not really feeling very patient about it.

 

A moment later, he reached the outskirts of the base. Turning into what seemed to be an entrance, he stopped by the guard's booth and presented him his ID.

 

"New here ey? But don't you think you should go start a family or something?

 

The guard asked, noticing that Zeru was a little older than most of the willing recruits.

 

"Well, experience keeps my ass alive. And all I've seen is war, not women anyway. Ive seen the woman I fancy die a little more than I'd like to anyway."

 

He replied, as he smiled wryly. He thanked the guard for giving him a permit, before he drove in and parked his car in an empty lot. He glanced at his palmtop, looking at the map of the compound, making sure he was headed towards the right place. He headed into a building and upon sighting an information counter, he walked up, and smiled.

 

"Excuse me, but I'm new here..."

 

OOC: Would write something better, but without background info and with my mom nagging... Damn it.

[DragonDaimyo 3]

OOC: Sorry I took so long to reply to this. It's been... a very long weekend. >_>

 

IC: "Yes, I don't recognize you. Pleased to meet you, my name is Jon Brown." The young man behind the information counter looked to be in his early 20's, and was alert and on the ball.

 

"Let's see here... Ah, yes. I'm supposed to notify the Commander when you arrived. I suppose I should do that. He likes to meet with as many of the new arrivals as he can. Get to know them, explain the basics of how things work around here. You know, stuff like that. Don't get nervous or anything. Like I said, he does it to everyone."

 

He quickly tapped a few number into a phone on his desk, then waited a few moment. "Commander Carlini? Yes, Mr. Zeru Ayanami has arrived, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I'll do that." Following this short conversation, he hung up the phone.

 

"Please go ahead up to Commander's office. It's on the third floor. Use the elevator over there, turn right when you get to the third floor. It'll be the last door on your left. Oh, and, welcome to the Serpent Tail."

 

The man smiled kindly, then went back to his work.

 

-----------------------------------------------

 

((I'm gonna be using both Brianna and Micheal for this next section, so for the reader's sake as well as mine, I'm going to be color coding it. Everything in red is from Brianna's point of view, while everything in blue is from Micheal's POV.))

 

Brianna sat down on the corner of the desk of the Commander of the Serpent Tail, in an almost sensual manner. She wasn't really trying to hit on the man, though. It was just part of the game they played. Brianna had a wicked sense of humor, and enjoyed toying with the heads of the rest of the ST personnel. Micheal didn't enjoy the game anywhere near as much as she did, but he indulged her in this. Rumors were flying constantly about potential affairs between the Commander and his team's personal liaison. Brianna had even seen and heard audio and video recordings of Micheal's office while both were present, obviously placed by some scheming young man hoping to catch the pair in an... embarrassing moment. Yet they would never get any evidence of such an affair, largely because it didn't exist. Micheal was fiercely loyal to his wife, and she supposed she couldn't blame him. She didn't see Alexandria very much, but Brianna had enjoyed her company the few times she had met the woman. At any rate, while she put on the facade for the game, there was also business to conduct.

 

"Have you heard of the Atlantic Federation's latest power play back on Earth?"

 

Micheal looked up at that, setting down the cup of tea he had been enjoying. "Yes, I think so. You mean the fact that the Federation is pushing for an investigation into the USSA?"

 

His expression soured a little bit. Though he would not simply abandon all business with a client simply because of personal prejudices, he had always been suspicious of the Atlantic Federation after the failed nuclear bombardment of the First War. He had been decidedly against that genocidal move, and though the leadership responsible for that decision, both in front of and behind the curtain, had been expelled from office, he still felt a little bit betrayed at being used in such a manner.

 

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about." She leaned in just a little as she continued. "What do you think? Is the USSA conducting illegal R&D?"

 

Micheal sighed slightly as Brianna leaned in. She did enjoy this little game of hers, though Micheal had to wonder what the appeal was. At the very least, Alexandria was understanding about it and Briana always stopped when the kids were coming by.

 

"I highly doubt it. It would be a logical step to try and build up a self-sufficient and advanced military, but they have too much to lose. If they were caught, they might very well lose the support of their NOVA allies who would want to distance themselves from illegal activity. And if that were to happen, the AF would be a position to simply sweep down and re-annex the nation. And this time I don't think they'd be able to find another way out."

 

He stared at his office door as he thought about the situation. "However, this could be good news for us. Even if the USSA allows investigators, I doubt they'd let an OMNI escort force go with them. The Federation might then interpret that as a sign that the escort force is especially needed, and they wouldn't accept an INVICTUS force either... Brianna, I want you to monitor this closely. If the investigation goes through, be prepared to offer a Serpent Tail team as an escort. It'll probably be a low-risk, high-profile mission. Just the kind that's good for attracting business. I'd also like to avoid those nations from stirring up too much tension. Wars are good for the mercenary business, but as we all know, they can get very messy."

 

*BEEP*

 

The intercom on his phone sounded, indicating that someone downstairs was calling him.

 

"Commander Carlini"

 

"Jon? Is that you?"

 

"Yes, Mr. Zeru Ayanami has arrived, sir."

 

"Excellent. Send him on up."

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"Oh, and I'm also waiting to see someone by the name of Kylier Zergas. Be sure to keep an eye out."

 

"Yes, sir. I'll do that."

 

The conversation had been on his speakerphone, so Brianna had heard the whole thing.

 

"Hmmm, I think I'll wait here until this man shows up. Until then, anything new with the kids?"

 

Micheal knew what was on Brianna's mind, and it (thankfully) had nothing to do with his kids, and everything to do with a soon to be befuddled Zeru Ayanami.

[Kaizer 0]

The streets of the Shesha colony were a crowded affair, with public transportation being unnecessary in a closed society such as a Shesha, and those who owned a vehicle often drove either early in the morning or late in the afternoon; going to work and back being their only concern for the day.  As such, most every other resident of the colony took to walking, roller-blading, biking, skateboarding, and all other manner of more eco-friendly transportation; they didn't have to worry as much over the hustle and bustle of others, so why shouldn't they take things easy while they went about their few errands for the day?  Of course, not everyone on the streets had time on their hands, and merely chose to walk in preference of driving.  One such a person was of average height, and had her shoulder length black hair tied back into a short ponytail.  Thin, androgynous, and wearing a pair of faded blue jeans with a gray long-sleeved shirt, she went by unnoticed by most, blending into the crowds to the point where few would be able to point her out if asked.

 

A black flapdoozy bag swung back and forth with each step she took, its shoulder strap slung over her left shoulder so that the bag would rest against her right hip whenever she came to a stop; waiting for a crossing light to change signals, or pausing to check the street signs.  As she continued her solitary walk, the crowds began to thin, with fewer and fewer people around her as she neared her destination of the Serpent Tail Headquarters.  Looking more like a large office building rather than a military facility, Kylier approached the gates and was greeted by one of the guards; who, like most of the world, saw Kylier for what she appeared to be, and not for who she truly was,

 

"We're getting a lot of newcomers today aren't we?  Well kid, I hope you know what you're signing up for; you're barely old enough to go to college, aren't ya boy?"

 

"I'm old enough to make it here, and thats enough, isn't it, sir?" the boy replied calmly, not in a disrespectful tone of voice, but in a softer tone that seemed to show that this person seemed to prefer solitude over the company of others.  A quick flash of her I.D., and Kylier entered the main building, leaving the guard to give her a befuddled look as she passed; did someone make a mistake on the kid's I.D.?  The guard seemed to think it impossible for the person he had just met to have been a member of the opposite sex, and yet, the proof had been right before his face when Kylier gave him the I.D. to check.

 

Once inside, Kylier made her way to the front desk, approaching the young man who looked to be close to Kylier's age, though her current guise would make her appear to be a couple years younger than him at least.

 

"Kai Zergas, I'm here to see Commander Carlini about a job application I sent."

 

((Yay, first Kylier post , *insert celebratory fireworks display here*))

[Shaftronics 0]

"Alright, thanks Jon."

 

With that, he walked off in the direction that Jon had pointed out. He pressed the lift button, taking a sip of coffee from a little canteen, which was usually used for holding liquor. However so, coffee was his addiction and he hated large amounts of alcohol, prefer only to drink it when it was truly needed. A little "Ding!" sounded, as the lift doors opened. He gave way to a few Serpent Tail officers through, each of them giving him either cautious or skeptical glances. He shrugged it off anyway, accepting that it was normal for someone getting used to a new working environment. As the lift floor closed, he pressed the button for the third floor.

 

Thoughts filled his mind about the jobs he might receive, what his future had in store for him. Well, he sighed and just nodded to himself, taking another go at his coffee, before the doors opened. He turned right, and went straight ahead into the commander's office, not bothering to look anywhere else. He knocked, before he opened the door, casually saluting them with two fingers.

 

"Zeru Ayanami, reporting."

[DragonDaimyo 3]

OOC: Same color scheme as last time, folks, with black representing Jon the Generic Guy. With the cast assembled and Brianna leaving the scene for the moment, I can hopefully drop the color coding after this.

 

BTW, since there's no real template for this, I'm imagining this base as a full (if not expansive) base with a few MS hangars, a small testing range for MS shakedown runs, and facilities for personal training and residence. We'd just be in the base's administration/command center.

 

 

 

IC: Jon looked up as the unassuming person walked up to him. He seemed rather run down, if his clothes were an indication. His face also seemed rather effeminate. Jon had a fleeting instant where he wondered how much the poor guy might have been teased for that a child. It seemed a rather easy thing to target for immature grade-schoolers.

 

"Zergas? Oh, yes, that's right. We've been expecting you. The Commander is in his office right now."

 

Jon rattled off the same directions to Kylier as he had to Zeru, then turned his attention back to his computer and notes.

 

((Sorry if something's off in the way Jon sees Kylier. I'm still trying to get a good grasp on her general appearance. ))

--------------------------------

 

Brianna went into full acting mode when a knock came from the door. She enjoyed this game, but it was never quite so entertaining as when she pulled it around the new arrivals. They were usually the easiest to convince, and the most flustered. She'd have to ask the Commander how this man reacted later. In the meantime, as the door opened, she slowly pulled herself off of the desk, taking long enough to where Zeru could clearly see the final moments of the maneuver.

 

"Well, I'll see you later, Commander," she said with a rather cheery tone. She greeting Zeru as she walked by as well, and though her voice was pleasant, an unmistakable business-like and perfunctory tone had crept into it, one that had not been present as she had bade Micheal goodbye. As she walked to own office, she considered the events of the past little while. A good round of her game and a good assignment to watch out for, one that might very well turn into a tough negotiation. Life simply didn't get much better than it was today.

 

Micheal cleared his throat before gesturing the man into his office.

 

"I apologize for Brianna's playfulness. She always gets this way when I'm due to meet newcomers to our squad. As you have probably surmised, my name is Micheal Carlini. I am the Serpent Tail Commander. It seems you've already mastered the more casual manner I appreciate in my team. Rather presumptuous, I think, but a correct presumption. I'll be interested in seeing whether your combat performance is as good. You are a mobile suit pilot, correct? We'll get you set up with a unit as soon we clear all of the paperwork and qualifications. Now, I've taken a look through the information you gave to us. It's fairly unusual to see a Natural with a customized OS that he wrote himself. I must say I'm rather impressed. At any rate, it's nice to have you with us, Mr. Ayanami. Before I launch into my main spiel, I'm waiting for someone else to arrive, so if you have any questions, now's a pretty good time to ask 'em."

 

Throughout his little speech, Micheal's tone of voice was friendly and light-hearted, as though he was talking to an old friend he hadn't seen in some time.

[Shaftronics 0]

Although he would raise an eyebrow at what happened, he gave the pair a blank look, not really caring about what could have happened, or was happening. He had seen plenty of the real thing among the soldiers back in his youth and something like this wasn't really unexpected anymore. Granted, it was one heck of a way for an opening of his new chapter in life, but its effects died down pretty quickly. Among all the thoughts however, his face didn't budge much from its casual yet hardened look.

 

He broke the look with a chuckle and grinned, as he stood by the doorway, not obstructing the door, crossing his arms as he replied.

 

"Nah, no questions at all. I'll catch on the usual procedures when they come by. I just believe a pilot's skill is one factor, but not implimenting it into his OS, further enhancing the abilities of his mobile suit is just a little pity, even if the mobile suit by itself cannot be modified 'physically', don't you think? I just feel both pilot and mobile suit should learn together. Of course, it is important to not get the pilot too spoilt in his own OS and not able to pilot another with a totally different one. That would look bad on my records before I become a mercenary eh? So who's the other guy?"

[Kaizer 0]

((OOC: It seems fine to me, my image of her changes occasionally anyways, I should really get someone to do some art of her ))

 

IC:

 

Kylier nodded to Jon, muttering a small 'thank you' before heading to the elevator as directed.  She was glad that her disguise had gone by well so far, but then again, she didn't have much of a feminine figure to begin with, so it wasn't that hard to hide.  Slightly baggy clothes like the jeans and long-sleeved shirt she wore now was usually all that was needed to keep others from wondering, and the effeminate features of her face made it so she didn't have to disguise her voice; it had often seemed better to pretend to be a skinny, frail boy in his late teens, then to say outright that she was an underdeveloped woman in her early twenties.

 

Up the elevator to the third floor, then take a right, and head to the last door on the left.  They were easy enough directions to remember, and soon enough she had found herself standing in front of her new employer's office doors.  Kylier took a moment to prepare herself, straightening her clothes, making sure the hairbands keeping her ponytail back were in place, and checking to make sure she had all of her required documentation with her.  She had already sent copies of everything to Serpent Tail when she had applied to join, but it never hurt to have a copy of her own in case they wanted to discuss certain parts, or if some of the documentation ever got lost during the application process.

 

Just as she was about to knock and enter into Michael's office, Kylier heard a voice coming from somewhere inside the room.  Was there more than just her employer here today?  Perhaps they had more than one person applying for a mechanic position?  If so, then that meant there was a chance she might not get the job.  Mustering what little courage and positive thoughts that she could, Kylier knocked on the door before opening it slowly, announcing herself as she entered, a wisp of timidness entering her voice as she spoke, as usually her first meetings with employers was when she had to explain why she preferred to dress like a boy, and was something she liked to discuss in private; having another person in the room made it feel as if they were going to scrutinize her about it, an experience she had gone through several times during her childhood, though it didn't make the experience any less uncomfortable.

 

"Kai Zergas, I'm here about my job application, Commander Carlini, sir."

[DragonDaimyo 3]

Michael nodded his head as Zeru spoke. According to his files, he was even older than Michael was, though the man's experience showed. He wouldn't let himself be handicapped by custom equipment, a "crime" that far too many men were more than willing to commit. This man might have what it took to stay the course for some time, maybe even catch some additional attention from above. Of course, that would depend on his performance in his initial training runs. Yes, this man was a veteran, but they were standard to all new pilots regardless of previous experience. Even Michael had done them back in the day.

 

At about this point, he heard a knock, and a rather soft voice coming from the hallway. Looking to investigate, he saw the enigmatic Kylier Zergas step into the room. Now Kylier was not enigmatic due to a lack of information about her. Quite the contrary, she had filled out everything she had been asked to, crossed every 'T' and dotted every 'I'. It was the information itself that made her enigmatic. Michael couldn't help but puzzle over the point, wondering why this girl would seem to pass herself off as a boy. Even the picture she had submitted had seemed very much like it might be a male rather than a female, and if he hadn't had confirmation of her gender, he probably would have fallen for the deception as well.

 

He had thought over the possible reasons for a while, but he was no psychologist. In the end, he settled upon why he would do such a thing in her shoes: 'Because she could.' He suspected that wasn't quite right, but since there were no other anomalies in her data and it didn't seem to affect her performance in any notable way, he decided to set the matter aside. It really didn't matter what the others thought of her gender at any rate. One way or another, they would treat her just the same. He hoped, at any rate. For now, though, he wouldn't spill the beans, instead letting her make the judgment calls she wanted to make on that front.

 

"Mr. Ayanami, may I present someone who does modify the mobile suits physically. This is Kylier Zergas, a technician that has just joined up like yourself. Kylier Zergas, this is Zeru Ayanami, a new mobile suit pilot. I'm Michael Carlini, Serpent Tail Commander. Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any to give my little speech, so if you'd care to make yourselves comfortable however you please, we can get the formalities out of the way as quickly as possible, and move on to other things."

 

He waited for them to sit or remain standing as they chose, then began talking.

 

"As you may know, new members to our group are typically assigned to a Serpent Tail team for a while to learn the ropes and basic rules of operating within our organization. This assignment goes back and forth between the different teams, depending on duty status, the last time they trained new members, as well as other variables. After the training period, the assignment may or may not be changed depending on their interaction and performance with the other team members. Now, as chance might have it, ((Yeah, right. )) the team that's up to receive new members this go around happens to be the one I command personally. As such, I thought it would be a good idea to greet you both together since, at least for the next few weeks, you'll be seeing a fair bit of each other.

 

"Kylier, you'll be serving under Chief Johnson. He's a good man as well as a long-time veteran of the Serpent Tail. I've talked to him about your initial assignments, and we've agreed that you'll start out by performing maintenance on the machine that Zeru here will be using. The chief will be double-checking things to start off, but if everything checks out, that'll happen less often. You should be aware in dealing with this machine that he uses a custom-made OS, so you should probably leave the software adjustments to him. Zeru, until your machine checks out, we'll have you do personal training as well as simulations to make sure you're still up to speed. After a good training run in the real thing, you should be cleared for full deployment, at which point the team at large should be ready to go as well."

 

Throughout this speech, he had been using a rather serious tone of voice, keeping a professional demeanor. As he moved on though, his voice became more cheerful, and he visibly relaxed.

 

"Well, that's the official stuff. Do you two have anything you'd like to ask me, now that you have the pertinent facts?"

[Ishian 0]

Isaiah stood in front of the Serpent Tail Headquarters main gate, broad legged almost like in an old western. Dressed in his white tank top a matching pair of white and black camouflage cargo pants with rather large pockets on each side. The right pocket was visibly more worn then the left as Isaiah tend to have his cigarette-pack in that pocket. The constant use of the right pocket had formed a square formed area where you could make out worn-out outlines of cigarette pack. A pair of black sneakers decorated his feet partially covered by the urban camouflage pants, well kept and in mint condition. Isaiah took good care of all his shoes, he could tell much about a person just by taking a look at their shoes.

 

A black bag with the text “The One” sloppy written on it in white, was hanging over his right shoulder containing his few but all so important belongings. Cigarette packs, hair-gel and his old trusty hair trimmer. It almost never went more then a day between his haircuts; he loved his hairstyle with short sides decorated with “g-stripes” done with his hair trimmer. And of course the top of the crown, a “Mohawk” styled longer part in the middle. The hair in front of the “Mohawk” partially covered his eyes and continued over his head in the same long style to end by hanging down over his neck covering his neck skin.

 

A bright white cigarette in his mouth was the finishing touch; the smoke rose upward as he inhaled the smoke holding the cigarette with his right hand. He closed his emerald green eyes, his black hair covering parts of his eyelids in a stylish way. Isaiah slowly removed the cigarette from his mouth and opened his emerald green eyes. He took a quick look at the cigarette. You got to love these. With snap from his middle finger the cigarette flew trough the air and landed just outside the gate in downscaled inferno from the glowing tobacco. Okay lets get this over with.

 

It was the first time Isaiah actually stood outside the Serpent Tail headquarters. After being excepted into Serpent Tail he almost directly got thrown into a Atlantic Federation squad for his first assignment, it was supposed to be a short term rental of his piloting skills. But the “employer” kept on extending the “lease” on Isaiah as he performed better then any of their ordinary pilots. It resulted with Isaiah being stationed at the Atlantic Federation squad for about a year. It didn’t bother Isaiah, and as long as he got paid he couldn’t care less where he was. After all he was in the business for the money and not fancy locations with a five star view.

 

Isaiah walked up to the gate and was quickly met by two Serpent Tail guards that made sure that none authorized persons didn’t enter the area. One of the guards approached the gate and scanned Isaiah from top to toe.

 

“Hey, pretty boy. Step away from the gate.”

 

Isaiah chuckled inside. It’s quite common that he got compliments from the ladies but when the security guard had opened his mouth and the words pretty boy came out it was just a bit too much. He knew that it was meant like an insult rather then a compliment but it was too hilarious to start a big fuzz about. Isaiah crossed his arms and made sure his muscles looked as big as they could. Several hours in the gym lifting weight had paid of. He drew a hand trough his “Mohawk” and smiled with a rather evil smile towards the guard.

 

“Hey melon head aren’t we the jealous one, lady problems I presume.” He didn’t even let the guard have a chance to respond before he buffed himself up even more.

 

“No no I don’t wanna know, not like I care that much about you.” What a total moron

 

“I don’t want to burst your bubble, or hell yeah I wanna burst your bubble. I’m here to see a certain mr Carlini. So get to work and open the gate, servant. Try to find the name Isaiah Hazael. Believe it or not I am not under the name pretty boy.” Isaiah grinned towards the guards and uncrossed his arms. Then he made a motion with his right to the guard as a sign that they should hurry up.

The guard turned some pages in a pile of papers he had in a small black folder. His finger followed his eyes as he read trough paper by paper. His finger finally stopped and he mumbled something and let out a loud sigh.

 

Isaiah nodded towards the guard and continued to provoke him with the hurry up motion with his right hand. “Well as you see, I am quite expected.”

 

The guard that had stood silent most of the time tapped the guard with the black folder on the shoulder. The guard with the folder mumbled and stepped away from the gate. With one swift motion the gate slid to the side and the passage to the Serpent Tail headquarters laid open for Isaiah.

 

Isaiah adjusted his black bag and blew a stripe of hair away from his face. He gave the guards a wink with his right eye just to bump his shoulder into one of the guards. If they weren’t frustrated before, they sure were now. Isaiah could feel their eyes in his back all the way towards the entrance to the headquarters. He grabbed the handle with his left hand just to turn around and do a sloppy salute with his right hand towards the guards some distance away. Taunting and getting people to do mistakes was one of Isaiah´s favorite things to do. He just loved to make people make a fool out of themselves; he had a million of these stories to tell.

 

He pulled the door open and walked inside, there was a information counter in otherwise quite casual room. A man in his twenties stood behind the counter and greeted Isaiah with a big smile. Isaiah walked up to the counter with swift steps, if you didn’t know better you could almost think Isaiah danced up to the counter. He threw his on the counter with a loud bang. He leaned over the counter with both hands on the edge of the counter and stared the man straight in the eyes with his emerald green eyes.

 

“Hey man, I’m here to see Carlini. Isaiah Hazael is the name, you better remember it you will hear it quite often in the future”

 

Isaiah tapped his left hand fingers on the counter and flexed his right bicep as he continued to lean on the counter, showing of his tattoo. “Yeah get to work and get a hold of mr Caaaarlini.”

 

Before the man even could answer Isaiah turned around and leaned with his back against the man behind the counter. He ran his left hand trough the “mohawk” and pulled the back of his charcoal black hair some. He had a habit to do this making sure that the hair in the neck was at perfect length. As he had made sure it was the perfect length in the neck he used both his hand to feel the “g-strips” on both his heads sides, the short trimmed hair with the buzzed “g-stripes” had been perfect for years and so had the “mohawk”. The Mohawk was always styled and never stood straight up as regular Mohawks, it was styled in a way that made it look striped and longer all the way over his head.

Edited August 13, 2007 by Guest

[Kaizer 0]

Kylier winced slightly when Michael introduced her to Zeru, as the name Kylier was usually a girl's name, hence why she often went by the name of Kai in public, but she wasn't going to say anything about her new boss' way of doing things; he was in charge, and was therefore allowed to address her in any way he saw fit.  Luckily, Michael seemed to be relatively easy going, and Kylier had a feeling that she would be able to get along with him fairly well; though she often preferred solitude when possible.

 

Kylier looked towards Zeru next, He didn't exactly look the picture of friendliness that Michael did, but Kylier understood all to well that appearances can be deceiving, and gave him the benefit of the doubt for now.  He was a few inches taller than Kylier herself was, and far more muscular and darker skinned, which added to the stark contrast between them.  Despite wanting to give him a chance at showing that he was a good person, Kylier couldn't help but feel intimidated by Zeru, and merely gave a short bow in his direction after the introductions were made, before taking a seat in front of Michael's desk and giving him her full attention.

 

Kylier was silent and respectful during Michael's speech, her hands held on her lap as she sat, and her flapdoozy bag resting by her feet on the floor.  Her first assignment seemed like an easy one, maintenance on only one machine didn't sound that difficult, and as long as Chief Johnson was an amiable person like Michael was, there shouldn't be any problems with getting along with her staff.  It was probably best that Michael had told her to refrain from touching the OS of Zeru's machine, as while she could perform all the necessary maintenance and updates that would be needed, it was still her weak point, and she strove to better herself at it whenever possible.  Zeru's assignments seemed even easier than hers, training, training, and more training.  Of course, just because it seemed easier, didn't mean that Kylier would want to trade places with Zeru any time soon, as any kind of strict physical training would probably kill her, literally. 

 

The heart defects that had been discovered during her youth had continued to this very day, and too much stress or adrenaline in her system often made her pass out, or in the worst case scenario, go into cardiac arrest.  As such, she took it on herself to try and better herself in that respect, which is why she often chose to walk rather than driving or taking public transportation.  In that regard, she hadn't even bothered to get a driver's license or a car; but being late a few times was worth the chance to get even a brief chance to exercise.  When Michael asked the pair if they had any questions, Kylier raised her hand for a brief moment before letting it fall back to her lap.

 

"Sir, when the team is ready for full deployment, what will I be doing?  Will I be following the team whenever you go out on an assignment, or am I to remain at Shesha?"  Kylier asked as politely and respectfully as she could be.  Experience told her that employers liked to hear their applicants ask a few questions, as it showed they were truly interested in the job itself, and not the paychecks that followed, and she wanted to make a solid impression on Michael if possible.  She didn't really have many goals for her time with the Serpent Tail, save to gain experience and to support herself financially, but promotions would always look good on her record for later on in life, and would give her more freedom to act as she wanted to while employed here.

[Shaftronics 0]

As he saw the petite figure walk in, he gave it a quick glance. At first, it even had a boyish look to it. But as he set his eyes onto the face, he affirmed that it was female. Age had done him well. Signs of femininity were nothing new. The military had plenty of women who thought being like a man, or dressing like one would give them better opportunities to avoid gender discriminations when tasks were given out.

 

He never really figured out the real reason why.

 

Still, he put the thoughts aside, as he listened to the Commander. It seemed that his future was already cut out for him, as long as he survived and did his missions well. It was at least a.... "good" way to make a living anyway.

 

He had wondered how his mechanic would be. What kind of person she would be, how she would fare and her strengths and weaknesses. He was aware that it was important to know each other that well, since, working together meant that he needed to know her pretty intimately, in a good way. As he heard training being mentioned, he wondered what type of training he would be given, and the possible scenarios tested to him in the simulators. He looked forward to it. He had gotten a little rusty during his little break.

 

As the petite girl bowed to him, he smiled and offered his hand for a handshake, being as friendly and as informal as possible.

[DragonDaimyo 3]

Jon wasn't at all sure what to make of pompous man who had walked up to him. He appeared as though he belonged in a side show more than he did in a mercenary outfit. It was always joked that merc units attracted some strange characters, but this guy was the worst Jon had ever seen. Despite Commander Carlini's casual manner, he had a gut feeling that the man would smack some sense into this outlandish person. He quickly looked up the name, just to avoid his gaze and calm himself down. Sure enough, the Commander had scheduled a meeting with this Hazael person, and he seemed to be a Serpent Tail pilot. But his appointment came after the one the Commander was already in.

 

"Sorry, sir, but the Commander is already in a meeting with some new recruits. Your appointment to meet with him comes after that, so you'll have to wait for a few minutes until he's finished."

 

Jon wasn't sure the man would listen to him, so he mentally prepared himself to call security to detain him if he proved difficult. Just because Commander Carlini wanted to see him didn't make him all-powerful.

 

---------------------------------------------

 

Michael was glad to see Zeru extend a hand of friendship, especially seeing how frail Kai looked. A strict military environment probably wouldn't have been good; he could easily see one or two of old commanders from the Earth Alliance forces being deliberately hard on her. He moved to answer her question in short order, preferring not to keep her waiting.

 

"You'll ship out with us. Mobile suit maintenance is, after all, most important in the field where anything can go wrong. We'll need the best we can get out there, and your records show that you certainly have skills in this field. Besides which, our ship will probably be a pretty safe place to be, considering that all the mobile suits will need to protect their return point rather fanatically."

 

He moved back around his desk and sat down, though he leaned forward, paying attention to the two people sitting across from him and communicating that he was still interested in what they had to offer to the discussion.

 

"If you have anything you'd like to ask or say, anything at all, please feel free. If there's nothing else, your certainly free to go. I believe you've both received assignments for quarters here already. You will both report for duty in the morning to your respective superiors. But for now, the day is yours. You have full access to all Serpent Tail facilities here on base, if you'd like to get a jump on things or look around. Or you can go enjoy the colony and see what it has to offer. Or whatever you like, if my suggestions sound like those of an old man to you."

[Kaizer 0]

Kylier took Zeru's hand when he offered it, shaking it in a loose grip, much to the delight of Michael; though Kylier didn't manage to catch that look when it showed.  Zeru seemed understanding enough, as he didn't ask any questions like she had, and was quiet and respectful in his own way.  Kylier could see that working with him wouldn't be so bad, as he didn't seem the type who would want to pry into her personal life. 

 

Kylier nodded when Michael complimented her, a sense of self-satisfaction coursing through her body.  It was always nice to receive an encouraging word, and as her education in engineering had been the one driving force in her life during these past few years, it was as if Michael was approving not of her skills, but of Kylier herself.  Of course, the fact that she would be on the field was a little scary, but that had been a risk she had taken when she first applied for the position, and it wasn't like she was going to have to pilot a mobile weapon of her own; all she had to worry about would be keeping the team's suits in peak conditions, actual combat was irrelevant.  Once Michael had finished his brief speech, Kylier stood up and gave a small bow similar to how she had greeted Zeru, followed by extending her hand out timidly for Michael to shake.  Once the exchange of pleasantries was over, Kylier lifted her flapdoozy bag over her shoulder and nodded to the pair.

 

"Thank you for this opportunity sir, I'll do my best to live up to your expectations.  I have only recently arrived at Shesha, so if it doesn't bother you, I would like to go explore the colony further."

[fireminerva 0]

Getting past the guards was easy, especially considering that Sakura's ID told the man that she was a Serpent Tail pilot.  With her sunglasses, tank top and shorts Sakura looked more like she was headed to the beach than to meet a commander who would put her on course for a new life, at least this place seemed nicer than the institution.

 

Her instructions had been simple and so Sakura walked into the main HQ and after looking around for a quick second she approached a receptionist sitting behind the only desk in the lobby.

 

"Excuse me, but could you tell me where new pilots are supposed to report to?"

[Ishian 0]

Just as Isaiah was about to turn around and start an argument with the receptionist behind the counter he leaned on, a girl walked trough the door and as always Isaiah had to look her over and if possible start a conversation.

 

Isaiah waved away the receptionist with a nonchalant gesture with his hand. “Whatever makes you happy princess.”

 

He scanned the girl from top to toe. Dark brown hair decorated her head, it almost looked like silk. A tank top that left some parts of her body to the imagination, and the best of all a pair of shorts that showed the bear skin of her legs. Killer body. Isaiah was still leaning on the counter as the girl had walked up beside him and started to talk to the receptionist.

 

He ran his right hand trough black short cut hair on the right side of his head. He crossed his arms and flexed his muscles as looked the girl intensely in her brown eyes; they could easily match his emerald green eyes any day with a pair of white sheets in the mix.

 

“Oy Oy, what we got here, a female pilot. Are you as good as you look?”

 

Isaiah gave her a wink with his right eye and let a big smile run across his face, revealing his teeth. “Sooo what are you doing in an hour, Coffee on me, I know the perfect spot. Come on I know you want to.”

 

Isaiah broadened his stance and tilted his head making his longer black hair in the Mohawk slid down over his face to the right covering some of his emerald green eyes; he playfully blew it away a couple of times before he pulled it away with his right hand.

[fireminerva 0]

Sakura sighed as Mohawk boy tried to flirt with her, boy was he bad at it; even still Sakura knew that she was here to make friends and so after a moment's hesitation she agreed.

 

"Sure I'll tag along, just as long as the commander doesn't need me to stay around for anything."  Smiling as she held out her free hand to shake her new friend's, "I'm Sakura, who're you?"

[DragonDaimyo 3]

((I apologize for taking so long to post here. My work's gotten fairly crazy lately. Murphy's Law has been in full effect. ))

 

"That sounds like a plan to me. Shesha's a pretty nice place once you get settled in. Of course, I'm looking at it through a father's eyes, so you single folk might not agree."

 

Micheal smiled, then gave a sigh that reeked of resignation. "Well, I suppose you're both dismissed. I have another appointment due to start here in a few minutes, and I think I need to head this cowboy off at the pass. I'll see you both down to the lobby." ((Don't take this as forcing you down there, but if you're heading that way then Micheal will go with you.))

 

Micheal was somewhat dreading this meeting. Yes, the pilot he would be talking to seemed to be skilled enough. He had some good experience in an Earth-side Serpent Tail team, but the "Other Comments" section on his evaluations were filled with... unflattering comments. His social skills needed a vast amount of improvement. Father though he may be, Micheal really didn't look forward to trying to smack the guy straight. "And it probably wouldn't do anything anyways." This could be a long day.

 

Upon arriving in the lobby, he immediately took stock of the situation. His appointment, Isaiah Hazael, seemed to be hitting on a new arrival to the base. And he was doing a bad job of it at that. He immediately resolved to keep people in need of romantic advice as far away from this guy as possible. The girl seemed to be putting up with the advances in order to keep from making a a scene, which seemed to be somewhat successful thus far. Jon, though, had a very relieved look on his face, a look which only grew in magnitude when he saw that Carlini had come down to the lobby. "Brianna would love this scenario. She might even offer to pay for a dinner just to see how these two would react."

 

Micheal tried to remain as unobtrusive as possible. He wanted to see how this new pilot handled the wild-looking Isaiah before he was spotted. It wouldn't be too long before they noticed him, but he wanted to put that moment off for a while. He looked forward to trying to get a read off of these two, trying to find out what made them tick.

[Kaizer 0]

Kylier didn't understand what Micheal had meant by 'heading this cowboy at off at the pass', but nodded in approval anyway and followed Micheal and Zeru as the trio made their way down to the main lobby.  It wasn't her place to ask questions about Micheal's actions, but there wasn't much to question in the first place either.  Her impression of Micheal so far was almost that of the ideal father she had once imagined herself having; though she had long since grown out of the phase of seeking out a parental figure, and was secure in her independence.  He was a gentle and caring person, but he was also down to earth, intelligent and practical.  He would be the kind of father who ends up working late and spending little time with his family, but would ensure that they would cherish the moments they had together.  He'd be the kind of father who helps their child with homework when he can, and would ensure the child kept up in his or her studies; but would also take him or her out for a trip to the beach or a walk in the park with little notice.  Harsh but fair, gentle but authoritative, and above all else, strong; the pillar that kept the family strong and stable.  As she lost herself in that brief return to her childhood memories, Kylier had barely noticed that they had made their way to the main lobby, and was surprised to find the scene that awaited them there.

 

A man and a woman who were the center of attention seemed to be the kind of people that Kylier had often shirked away from in her life.  The man wore casual clothes, had a rather odd hairstyle, and was obviously trying his best to get the attentions of the woman; a hopeless flirt if she had ever saw one.  Luckily, Kylier had rarely had the occasion to deal with such people, as her masculine guise kept the male suitors to a bare minimum.  The woman however, was a different story.  She wore casual clothes similarly to the man, but she tried to maintain a more natural grace and style instead of hoping to turn heads with an over the top appearance.  A distinctly feminine figure allowed her to fill out her simple clothes nicely, and Kylier couldn't blame the man for trying to win the woman's affections.  Kylier couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy towards this woman, who could so simply attract the attentions of men.  It wasn't that Kylier was seeking a relationship with someone, or at least, thats what she told herself, but it was more that she envied the woman for being able to be noticed as a woman.  Her beauty came naturally, whereas Kylier would have had a tough time attracting a few approving looks even if she tried to look good; she just couldn't be feminine like other women.

 

For now, Kylier tried to stay out of the conversation, standing behind Micheal as she waited for him to take the first action.  Obviously these people were the 'other appointments' he had mentioned, and she hoped that she would be able to avoid everyone if she were to stay silent and wait for Micheal to take the pair off to somewhere private to discuss whatever matters of business he had with them.

[fireminerva 0]

Sakura didn't understand why the "suave" young man suddenly stopped speaking but personally it was a relief.  She politely excused herself and moved past him, wondering where she might find the officer she was supposed to report to.

 

"Excuse me," Sakura cleared her voice as she spoke, "could any of you tell me where new pilots should report?"

[Roromi 177]

((OOC: *beats the topic* LIVE Damn you! LIVE!))

 

As the day grew late Ian Roromi continued to lay peacefully in his bed at his apartment. Noticing the time the lean man stood up and mindlessly stretched his arms out with a yawn. As he stumbled to his bathroom in a slow motion waltz across the debris in his room Ian yawned out, “nothing beats the exciting lifestyle of being a Merc!”

 

Grabbing a toothbrush he bashed it against his face until it finally went in his mouth. As soon as utensil hit his tongue he realized that he had picked up the wrong brush and immediately spit it out of his mouth. “Aww gross! Who the heck put that one there I used that to scrub the toilet the other day! AWW!” Spitting into the sink Ian grabbed a bottle of mouthwash and practically downed what was left in the bottle in an effort to purify his mouth. Many minutes (and many ounces of mouthwash) later he slithered to his kitchen where he noticed that a letter had been slipped under his door.

 

Grabbing the rather clean enveloped he wondered if it was perhaps the paycheck he earned for escorting some Junk Techs a few weeks back. As he sat down at his table he tore open the envelope struggling with the paper until he folded the letter out of the envelope. Opening the letter with one hand he reached down and started to scratch himself as he read the letter silently between yawns. Putting the letter down he looked at the clock on his microwave and hissed, “what they don’t believe in calling me anymore!? Man I’m late!” 

 

Apparently he was supposed to go to HQ to receive new orders. Although a member of Serpent Tail for years Ian had been simpleton within the organization never really climbing any ranks and just riding out the peaceful years of no war. In fact he wasn’t interested in making a name for himself he didn’t care as long as he got paid decently and got to pilot a mobile suit. And so far his efforts paid off with him having a good but quiet record within the Serpent Tail. Ian jabbed a donut into his mouth and grabbed the letter before running out of his apartment. As he ran down the stairs he finished putting on his usually attire then reread the letter to make sure he was right the first time.

 

Ian was supposed to meet with the Serpent Tail commander Michael Carlini, he had to be at the administration building in the next ten minutes too. Jumping on his bike he hauled butt getting to the building on time. After a small debate with the rather stupid guard in front of the base Ian was soon on his way. As he entered the main lobby he noticed a circus of interesting looking characters, one of which was the man he was supposed to be meeting. Ian took a step toward the crowd of people then realized what a diverse crowd it was. A supermodel a Punk Rocker a gender confused girl and a GI… After working with the diverse Junk Techs nothing surprised Ian anymore, in fact he was willing bet that they were all mobile suit pilots. Wonder if any of them are any good, most of them look pretty young.

 

Ian paused a few meters away from the scene to see what was happening. He tried to make eye contact with anyone who would and he would flash him or her a friendly smile. He hoped that Michael Carlini would notice him soon so he didn’t have to jump head first into the confusing group of people.

Edited September 17, 2007 by Guest

[fireminerva 0]

OOC - I'm very amused every time I read the OOC of Roromi's post but he makes a great point, this is taking far too long to resolve.  Perhaps we should all either get our acts together or reconsider whether or not this faction should actually exist.

 

Yes, this is a very pointed post and yes I think it's completely necessary.

[Kaizer 0]

OOC - Poke DragonDaimyo, Ishian and Shaftronics to post and we be able to keep going

[fireminerva 0]

OOC - Attention, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't let this thread die.

 

IC - Sakura nodded to the new comer and decided to simply get the information she needed herself.  Walking back down the hallway that she came from Sakura stopped in front of the secretary's desk and politely bowed.

 

"Excuse me, I'm sorry but things seem seem to be kind of tied up down there would you be able to give me the information concerning my squad assignment."  The secretary's response was not what she wanted to hear and Sakura grudgingly accepted t hat going to the office would be the only way that any progress would be made and so with that she went down the hallway once more to where everyone was gathered.  Clearing her voice she spoke up and addressed everyone.

 

"Contrary to what things may seem like I really just want to get my squad assignment.  It's been a long day and I still have to gather my things and report to the barracks I'm assigned to."

[fireminerva 0]

*Bump*

 

OOC - Quick, do CPR!  Someone else call 911!  We've gotta keep this thread alive or Serpent Tail will die without it!

[Kaizer 0]

OOC: Get the defibrillator..... CLEAR!

 

 

Kylier looked up to see that things didn't look like they would be quieting down anytime soon, and wondered if she had made the right choice when she joined Serpent Tail.  Sure, this place might not have been as strict or as linear as the Orb military had been, but a little structure would have been nice; it almost felt like she was back at high school.  She had remained standing behind Micheal as the bickering between his other appointments had continued, but as more and more people arrived, she could only think of leaving.  Her appointment was over, she didn't have to officially start working until tomorrow, and so she didn't really have a reason to remain here right now.  Also, she could begin to feel like everyone was staring at her, even if they weren't.  It was beginning to become crowded, and Kylier wasn't good with crowds.  Not that she was afraid of them or anything, just that she really had little interest in social interaction anymore.  There was no better company then one's own mind.

 

"Excuse me..." Kylier said quietly as she brushed past Micheal and past the others, though she couldn't help but notice Sakura along the way.  A slight tinge of jealousy ran through her as she took in the girl's athletic and tomboyish figure, and the tight fitting clothes she wore to accentuate what curves she had.  It was a little insulting when even the tomboys were more feminine than you.  Deciding it was better to leave before she could let that jealousy get the better of her, she walked a little faster, before bumping unexpectedly into one of the latest arrivals, an older man whom she had seen surveying the group for a few minutes beforehand.  She hadn't made eye contact with him before now, and when she looked up to utter an apology, she couldn't help but notice that they shared the same eye color.  It wasn't anything amazing or profound, but it was odd that she ever came this close to someone, and so she rarely noted such little details such as eye-color.

 

"S-sorry, I'll be more careful in the future..."