Darusan Konil's Story

Darusan sat just outside the closed bar on a bench, watching the sun begin to come up over the buildings to the east. The bar had closed a few hours before, but still he sat, lost deep in his own thoughts. The street was still dead in the dawns early light. He stood up, breaking the silence he had been sitting in.
As he stood, the pale lady across the street who had been smoking a cigarette and staring at him vanished. This didn't shock

Darusan, however. When he was low on sleep and still buzzed from yet another night in the bottle, he often saw the people who he had killed, purposefully or otherwise. He had seen her quite a bit, but there were others as well. He was sure it was all in his head, however. His sick, sick head.

He sighed, briefly thinking back to the moment he was discharged just about 5 years ago. No more drugs, no more Mecha, no more purpose. Just silence, like he stood in now. Silence, and them. Rummaging through his wrinkled jacket he found a pack of cigarettes and put one in his mouth, lighting it as he walked down the street. Nothing to do really, another day of civilian life. He could either sit in his apartment, or in the cafe and get some coffee before heading home. Taking a drag, he checked his wallet and decided he could use, and also afford a cup.

As he rounded a street corner, the same woman stood across the street and eyed him. Giving her only a moments notice he continued to walk towards the Cafe in silence, his gaze set foreward and seemingly 1000 miles away. He found the door to the cafe. It looked like they might have just opened, from the lack of customers and overpowering smell of brewing coffee.
Darusan wasn't even sure if he had given the barista his order, but he must have. Before long he was sitting at a booth, looking out the front window at the street. He sipped a coffee that was in his hands. It was here he would remain, until he could find a reason to not be here anymore.

-~ Present Time: The Meeting Room ~-

Yohan was caught off guard by the lack of people actually within the meeting room. Though there was one person, and he was quick to pay attention to what she was doing and saying. Walking over, he took her hand and shook it with a firm grip as he gave an honest and gentle smile to her. "I never had a problem with Odessian's. Call me Yohan. It's what everyone else calls me." Once the introductions were settled, Charles walked into the room and inspected it with his eyes quickly before looking back over to the two pilots.

"I should of expected as much. People don't really wanna do much on this new day we have for celebration. In any case, you must be Manya." Charles was quick to bow down from the waist to her. "The honor's mine. I have heard many a great things about Odessian's pilots, but I never heard of one that tried to pilot something similar to our Mecha Units before." Charles gave a light laugh at these words. "I hope to hear more about you in the future." Charles gestures to Yohan. "You have already been introduced to Yohan, but allow me to speak. This is not someone who is allied with either country, he is here to help both countries and it would do me a great honor if he got to know people from both countries more."

That's when someone else entered into the meeting room. "Pardon my intrusion, but I figured since people were going to be late that I smoke outside real quick." A rather tall looking man had entered into the room, smoking a mechanical looking pipe in his left hand. He held a sharp look to his eyes, not too far away from having the look of a bird of prey. Charles and Yohan both seemed to tense up at his appearance, though neither of them acted in response to these feelings. "Ah, an Odessian is here. Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Laurence." Laurence moved over to a seat that was the farthest from everyone else, as Charles and Yohan both sit down in seats shortly afterword.

"Well, we can't exactly start without everyone else getting here." Laurence pulled out a little cellular device and pressed a button on it. "Allow me, Charles." Laurence held the device closely up to himself. "Yes, this is Laurence. We appear to be missing a few pilots. I want them brought in immediately, no questions asked. I don't care what they are doing today, this meeting is important and they were informed ahead of time that it would be happening today. You have the list of people who are to be brought in still, make sure they come here sooner rather than later. Also, I wish for a mechanic to be brought in. I don't care who it is, as long as they have a good track record and can get here in time. Please make sure these are done or I will be making a few more calls today. Thank you."

A cold shiver went up Yohan's back as he watched Laurence talk to whoever it was that he called up. It wasn't that he was afraid of Laurence, it's what Laurence probably held against people in general that worried him. He didn't bother to say a word, merely observing as Laurence turned to Charles. "They should be here momentarily, and if they don't show up soon, there will be consequences. I know you don't see the point in pushing people even on days such as these, but actions like these should not be tolerated. Everyone should be present when they are called for, no questions asked. I know you don't want either myself or you to leave until the others are here. I can wait a bit longer." Laurence took a breath from his pipe and slowly exhaled out some smoke from his mouth and nostrils. Though the smoke would quickly fade away, a tiny amount of smoke could still be seen rising out of the mechanical pipe. Laurence's eyes turned to Manya.

"Since we will be waiting for the others to arrive, I wish for you to answer a little question for me." Laurence took a moment to breath in and blow out more smoke. "I want to know your honest opinion about the current state of this whole peace thing. Do you think it's something we should have, or do you more believe the war should of kept going on until one side completely won over the other." Laurence earned a questioning look from Charles at this. "Oh don't look at me that way Charles. It is important to hear everyone's opinion on the matter. She is a pilot, she should be more than ready to answer any and all questions people may have for her."

Darusan sat at the coffee shop, looking out of the window at the rising sun. People were beginning to mill about, coming into the shop and cheerily having orders filled, before zipping out and onto their day. It seemed as though he was watching the whole world on fast forward, and his was on pause.
Suddenly, for the first time, his cell phone rang. It caught him off guard, it was the only link he still had with the military. They had told him they gave him the phone because they would be needing him again some day, and he had better answer when the call came in. But... That must have been just about five years ago.
Not that he had been keeping track.

"Hello? Yes...."
The voice was definitely military, the silver tongue of a corporal welfare officer, demanding Darusan arrive for a meeting with no explanation and no further details than the address... It sounded familiar, like he might have even been there before, in his previous life, before he was a living ghost.

He wasn't quite sure if it was just his feet or his memory that got him there, but after a shorter than expected walk, he was in the building. The receptionist must have been at lunch, because one of his friends, this one a rotting man with no left eye sat and stared at him. Darusan stared right past him and went onward, somehow, maybe through guesswork or memory found his way to the door he needed to enter. He opened it, and poked his head in to see a meeting already well underway. Punctuality was never Darusans strong suit, and especially wasn't lately.

A young, scrawny looking man entered Virana's mechanic shop. Standing a bit awkwardly in a corner as he watched the woman work. "E-excuse me!" He had cried out, quietly. The woman, too wrapped up in what she was doing, didn't even register the fact that he was there. At least, not until he came up behind her and lightly touched her shoulder....

Virana having been working on the mech, taking out various parts to get rid of the rusted out bits, was totally absorbed into what she was doing, at least, until a touch on her shoulder snapped her back into reality. Unfortunately, the tap on her shoulder sent her into self defense mode and before the young scrawny man knew it, his arm was twisted behind him and a very stern voice told him into his ear."Its not wise to sneak up on a woman, kid. Specially not me."

The poor man wimpered."I-I'm sorry! I just....I'm just trying to do my job!" Virana sighed a bit and let the kid go."You're forgiven." She said, folding her arms in front of her chest, she was dirty looking. Dirt grime and grease were all over the place."Well, what do you want?"

"I....I'm here to take you to Avalon HQ ma'am....your services have been selected for an official job. H-however we need to go now, as there is a meeting that needs to take place."

"Well why didn't you say that in the beginning?!" The woman said, a grin on her face. "Lead the way!" The young man nodded, nervously trying to get his bearings as he led her out of the shop and to a nearby vehicle to transport them."I-I'm very sorry about earlier...." He said again. The woman shrugging it off."Water under the bridge kid, lets move on." She replied as she sat down in the vehicle, the young man following right after her.

A few minutes later and Virana walked up to the doors, stopping once she got there and giving the young man a small smile and wink as she twirled her wrench in her left hand. It hadn't left her side since she threw it earlier. Then she walked in, looking around and raising an eyebrow.

"Oh great....just what I needed, to be a part of a sausage fest...."

Well... that was unexpected. A foreigner on former enemy soil and it has been far more civil than she expected. She put on a smile, though as cordial he seemed, there was something off about him. She raises a brow the moment Charles mentioned him not being allied with either nation. What? Is he some kind of foreigner from a neutral country?

"Well, I'm not sure I'm much an example to go by... I mean, most Odessians only have two arms," she jokes to Yohan, holding her lower right hand over her mouth. She then turns to Charles, her eyes lighting up for a moment. "Oh, and you meant Old Scratch, sir? Honestly, I had no idea until recently, we found him and and fixed him up as best we could. Plus, when I piloted him the first time, it was kind of... under some special circumstances... don't really remember much of what went through my head, either, kinda just... blacked out, I guess. Actually, I never expected to even be his pilot, I'm happy in one way about that, but-" she was starting to get worked up when she was taken aback suddenly by another man entering, the smell of smoke hitting her nostrils.

The others seemed more bothered than she was, leaving her to wonder if she should be as well. He did have some kind of air to him.

"Manya," she responds calmly. "Manya Kazimir."

She then sat back, quietly listening from here on out, this was a meeting after all. Seemed there was problems getting the rest to attend. To be expected, since the war ended, command has been a dwindling presence... also didn't help that much of the command died in the Organization incident. She would have quipped about it, but gut was saying no to that one. Soon however, this Laurence would turn attention back to her, with a rather peculiar question. Should the war have ended? With a crooked smile, she ponders the question, clasping both sets of hands together.

"Honestly, what I got of the war was from my civic-minded dad, well meaning, but his views are not very reliable... and then there was the little I got from inside a hanger, and on a monitor from a hospital bed... and as you know, media isn't that reliable either... details do have a habit of disappearing, after all. So to be honest? My perspective is pretty... lacking," she says, as honestly as she could provide, leaning in a bit "Though, I can say for a fact, whoever won? What would they have really won? I mean, heh, look, we're not winning awards on the best state. Avalon may be better off, sure, but still going to be picking up pieces for years to come. Though... eh, if worst came, and everyone ended up wiping each other out instead... well, I'm sure the world would have let out a big sigh of relief from dealing with our sorry asses all the time."

She chuckled to herself a bit after her last comment, though doubted anyone else would have found it as humorous as she did. She wasn't exactly oblivious to her humor as being a bit bothersome at times, but at the same time, she didn't exactly care too much, it wasn't like she was directly insulting any one person in particular... well, other than herself.

"Though, if you mean, by any chance, I hold some hidden grudge against Avalon? Well, with what I heard, the men responsible for killing my brother and friends are dead, and speaking of my brother, he was pretty much the only reason I was there to begin with... so, well, what have I left to fight for? Odessian pride..? Keheheh... naaaah~ that would be more a spiel for my father to make, bless him."

With that she leans back and sighs. Soon another man would join in, a bit of a younger gentleman with reddish hair. He silently nods to her, and she returns it, getting ready to greet him verbally until he turns to the man she had just been speaking to and... the first thing to exit his lips.

“Why is that wanker here?”

"Oh, shit... erm," she mutters quietly to herself, putting her hands over her mouth. Shifting her eyes between the two, she wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but it felt like something had ignited between the two. And here I am without popcorn.

Well, things seemed to be going smoothly so far. Everyone was talking and discussing among one another, and despite Laurence's air to him, he didn't seem to be acting on it. At least, not externally anyway. Yohan knew better right now than to give Laurence an excuse to look down on him further, especially after all that happened to him five years ago. Charles looked content at how the meeting was going, this made Yohan glad after everything they all went through five years ago. That's when Kage entered into the room and well, his first impression brought about a blunt force of reality over everyone.

Yohan lowered down a little in his seat, while Charles got a worried expression as his eyes shifted from Kage to Laurence. Laurence sat there in silence, the top half of his face covered in shadows as he took a long inhale from his pipe before slowly blowing out a large amount of smoke. Charles decided it was better to intervene now before this went further. "Laurence, please, do not punish the boy severely." Laurence leaned forward to reveal his eyes as they were surprisingly closed. When they opened, however, that's when things took a turn.

"Mr. Sanders." Laurence started off, his tone calm and his voice sounding low, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "I do not make assumptions out of you, so I would appreciate returning the same gesture to me and everyone else here. That being said, I will not condone such vulgar in front of important guests. As one of the pilots of Avalon, you have a duty where others look upon you for. Our guest from Odessian will be one such person. This is the only warning you will be given. Charles, settle things to him quickly since it looks like everyone is arriving here quickly." Laurence gestures to the mechanic that had just arrived before pulling back in his seat to take some smoke from his pipe.

"Thank you, Laurence." Charles bowed his head for a moment before raising it up and giving Kage a stern look. "As you just heard, you will only be given that one warning. Should you cause anymore trouble from here, I will have no choice but to enforce action upon you. I apologize for the disruption everyone, please, have a seat. I would also like to welcome our new guests, you will all get a chance to introduce each other properly soon. But since me and Laurence are running on low time and must leave you all here in a few, we wish to get our parts done with so that we do not hold others up while waiting for us." Charles nods to Laurence to let him speak.

"I am not going to lie to you all, I have reason for summoning people together like we have now. This room is but one group of many we will be visiting today. You are not the first, nor will you be the last. Big changes are coming, these changes will change both countries in ways we hope will be positive." Laurence took a moment to smoke before continuing on. "Pilots from both countries will have a chance to show us what they've got. However, we have noticed a rapid decline in interest in Mecha Units since the war was ended. This is not surprising to me in the slightest, Mecha Units cost a lot more money to simply build than the Corrosive Cavalry Units. Plus, citizens from both countries have become terrified of the Mecha Units, while the Corrosive Cavalry resembles something more familiar and humble to them. You can see where I am going with this."

"To put it bluntly, the people are questioning why we are keeping these costly and terrifying Mecha Units when we have something like the Corrosive Cavalry to fall more on." Charles spoke up with his arms crossed against his chest. "At the rate this is going, Mecha Units will be put under risk. Laurence and I have discussed with Odessian's leader on the most effective way to show Mecha Units have a purpose, even if the incident five years ago didn't help matters. So we all have agreed on holding a special event one week from now." Charles nods again to Laurence.

"All Pilots can do as they wish until next week. Then, we will expect everyone to show up. It would be a great sign for pilots of both countries to appear and cooperate with one another. It will be a true sign that peace is upon us. I will not lie to any of you. You will all be tested, physically and mentally for this. It may be a greater strain than what the war put you through, but it will not be life threatening." Laurence pulled out a card and put it down on the table for everyone to see. It read 'Special Mecha-Cavalry Event next week! Don't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to see amazing things!'

"A little cheesy, I know." Charles spoke up. "But it will calm and relax the people's minds, we must do all we can to get rid of the bad taste the war has left us all with. Though we must not forget the lessons we have learnt from it. Now, we are leaving all of you here together in order for you all to get to know one another. It is why we are having multiple different groups meeting up today. Now normally that would be it, but Laurence appears to have two things to get off his chest."

"Yes, I do." Laurence rose up and pointed to Darusan. "You will be given a Mecha Unit for this event. If you prove yourself capable, you may be given a chance to come back as a Pilot. You have one week to prepare yourself. As for the mechanic, you will be given a special assignment. We have in our possession a "unique" Mecha you may have seen on the media before. A blue Mecha that people are still talking about to this day. I want you to examine it and check up on it, you will be the first to do so." Charles gives Laurence a look before standing up himself. "I want a report in a week's time on what you discover. And with that, we will leave you all to get to know one another. It doesn't matter if you stay here or move to the mechanic's place or wherever it is you wish to go, as long as you all spend time today with one another. We will see you all in a week." With that said, Laurence and Charles left the meeting room and began to head off to meet up with other pilots.



"Laurence, I know you suffered five years ago, but it is no reason to take it out on the boy." Charles spoke to Laurence in the vehicle. "His involvement with what happened to your three kids isn't his fault."

"You say that, yet my eldest was meant to become the next Holy Mother. Instead, she gets taken into one of those wicked nine The Organization awakened and who ends up ending her life? Your little vigilante you dug up from some ruins!" Laurence was now intensely smoking his mechanical pipe. "And then what became of my second, my eldest son? Murdered in cold blood! And who was at the center of that incident, hm? Your little savior again! And my poor youngest, my poor boy." Laurence had to stop himself for a moment to calm himself if but a small amount. "Turned to The Organization's side! Dying in the arms of that... Thing of yours!"

"He is not a thing." Charles spoke, having to remind himself that Laurence was not the enemy here. "He is human, even if he has some differences from the rest of us, at his core he is still the young man who was placed in there! I know you are angry, but I will not allow you to throw him to blame for everything that transpired five years ago."

"Really? And what happened to the Avalon base a few days after discovering him and his weird little toy? Destroyed! By The Messenger no less! It was all an omen from the start. And then who just so happened to come out of hiding shortly after this attack? Xelgor and his wicked father! Two of the Cursed Bloodline the Council warned us about!" Laurence turned his cold gaze to Charles. "Say what you will, but from the start, I say the warning signs being given off about him. How much does he still hide from us, even now? Just what is his connection to the Cursed Bloodline?! If he doesn't wish to come clean, I'll dig up the answers myself!"

"The Cursed Bloodline died five years ago with Xelgor." Charles responded. "The war died with him. There is nothing more to suspect, Laurence!"

"Oh no?" Laurence pulled out a card, the back of it was white with a strange hand-print on it. Charles felt something come up in his chest, a familiar feeling of dread as Laurence turned the card around to show him the front with a red background and a wicked 'Z' symbol on the front of it. "This was sent to us a few days ago. It's just like the calling card five years ago. You say it's over, but someone out there says otherwise. We haven't seen any signs of rogue activity in five years, so you know what that means."

"While it may be possible that there is a last Organization member, it is also possible this is a prank Laurence. No matter how real it looks, it doesn't mean there is a chance another incident will occur."

"With what you told me is about to happen soon, Charles? I am fully prepared for another incident to rise up."

Rhys quickly made his way through the streets to make up for lost time. Meeting! He forgot that there was a meeting!...Honestly he thought that his captain would get the message instead of him so part of that played into his forgetfulness...That and he also got the memo in the middle of a part and probaly shrugged it off as a prank message...

"Oh boy...Gonna mess up my first impressions with the big shots of Avalon...This is gonna be messy." Rhys spoke to himself as he hurried up to a building and gave his credentials to a guard before he left him into the building they were having the meeting in. "Look on the bright side Rhys...No one came to personally get you, you won't get severely reprimanded for it...Ugh...My head is pounding..." He groaned a bit as he stepped into the elevator to hold his head for a bit.

Running around at maximum speed was not helping his headache one bit...Still, he had to make himself presentable at least. He soon stopped in front of the doors and took a bit. After tucking in his shirt, dusting himself off and making sure he was at least looking presentable. Once he was done he entered the meeting room and took off his cap as a sign of respect. "Private first class Rhys reporting. Aplologies for my tardiness..." He spoke calmly as he took his seat.

Oh boy...The leader of Avalon himself along with other important members...He scanned the room looking at all these figures and his eyes rested on one of the beauties in the room. A lady, of course...He had to focus on not being chewed out...

Kage stayed silent allowing the elder folk to speak, he took a seat and half ignoring Laurence began opening up his Intel package once more, he needed a better look at the maps anyway.

“I thought this would be of importance for the reclamation core” he scoffed once the pilots and mechanic were left to meet and greet. Sitting back in his chair lifting up the satellite imagery of the ruins within region 2456, he had kept his paperwork ordered and neatly compact as to not bother any of the others.

He fixed his collar and fidgeted a little in the leather office chair, putting the map image down so that he could swipe his sleeve back to expose the small opsat like device into view, a small but powerful computer smoothly fitting against his arm. he took his mobile and got the coordinates up before switching on the wrist computer he brought up satellite maps and tapped in the coordinates.

“I’m Kage Sanders, by the way, and I pilot a mech by the name of Elegance” his attention not leaving the computer, he covered it back up once he had the bird’s eye view he was looking for. “Sorry, if I seem disinterested, I’ve had a friend come across a bunker in a zone that was prepped for clearing.” he switched off the electronics before piling together his paperwork and giving the others in the room his undivided attention.

Darusan had found his way to the back of the room, nearly blending in with the wallpaper. His eyes scanned the others in the room, hearing their conversations in a far away, muffled tone. It seemed strangely serene, as though something about either the room or these people kept his visions at bay. He had no interest in noticing if anyone had even saw him, or smelled him for that matter. It had been a few days since his last shower, and his stubbly beard was also evidence of that. A small smile crept up on his face, as he still stayed in his own little world, the other conversations and banter going right past him.

He heard his name called. The manner in which it was called was in a very military fashion, and almost by pavlovian instinct he snapped to attention, something he forgot he could even do. He listened intently, thankful his interaction was brief. But, why, after all these years did they need him back as a pilot? He was deemed unfit after strenuous service and countless numbers of bodies and destruction in his wake, turned loose to be a nobody citizen, living off a small government dole. If they needed him back now, things must be dire, he thought. Then, he thought to himself, maybe he should have been paying more attention to the briefing. Clarity washed over his senses as he came into the here and now, looking at all the other pilots and mechanics. Back into the Mecha's?
His heart raced a bit as he thought about it. The last place anything had made any sense was in the cockpit of one of those suits. But the reason he couldn't sleep, couldn't be social, and plain flat out couldn't care about much, was the military that provided them. The same military requesting his service now.

Darusan still figured in his head that everyone has a purpose in the universe, and perhaps this was its way of putting him back where he belonged, whether he liked it or not. Which honestly, could be either or for him. But... Prepare? What did he mean? Darusan was absolutely viscous and precise when he was in the cockpit... Maybe he had lost his edge. More than likely, honestly. Either way, he stood in the back of the room, absorbing the happenings around him. He secretly wondered if any of these faces that he had never seen would recognize him. Some military types did.

Virana folded her arms over her chest and looked at the crowd of people in the room. She was covered in typical grease monkey dirt and grime, and looked like she had a sour expression on her face. Waiting for someone outside of the one who called the meeting to even acknowledge her presence in the room, if they even would. Were they intimidated by her? Or maybe they thought she was second class? Who knows, Who cares. As long as they respected her position and knew that she'd be working on their mechas.

The mechanic leaned her back against a wall, staying out of the way from the others but keeping a watchful eye on them all. Her mood was fairly neutral, and if someone managed to talk to her she'd probably respond in kind. "Buncha cocky ass pilots all gathered into one room and you expect them to get along?" The mechanic muttered quietly under her breath. "That's like asking The Organization out to dinner and a movie."

Watching the two leave, she waited a few moments as the atmosphere settled some before standing back up and letting out a groan as she stretched. She then turned to the late arrival, a brown-haired man with that bloodshot look in his eyes of someone still recovering from a late night bender. She couldn't help but chuckle some at his way late presentation. For her, alcohol was generally not something she could drink in excess... something about it creating noise in the neural-inputs of her prosthesis... which translates to them convulsing into violent jittering, not pretty. Also, the idea of waking up armless in some guy's vomit smelling apartment didn't appeal to her either.

"An event, ay? Well, boys, guess we better put on our best dancin' shoes cuz he got some PR duty comin' up in a week!" She exclaims, cracking out in a short laugh. She takes a moment to spin around in a short dance with her arms out, then a little twist before taking a bow. "To be honest, maybe I'm a li'l stoked, y'know? Ol' Scratch gets to prove he's not just a scary giant, and I get to have some fun for a change," she says, looking up, and scratches her head, a smirk on her face. "I can't be the only one, heheh, right? Wait... what kinda event is this anyways?"

Then she heard a voice, the only other woman who showed up. By her looks, it was pretty easy to conclude that she was the mechanic, if the grease wasn't already a dead giveaway. With a single wave she snaps her upper arms behind her neck and the other two on her hips, standing there as if she's propping herself up.

"Sooo... s'up?" she says, to everyone in general in the room. "Already introduced myself, but for those who only recently came, I'm Manya, also known as the... apparently only Odessian in the room... and one of two women... awwwwkward... but hey, lets make the best of it, 'ight?"

Yohan could breath a sigh of relief in the fact that no one was trying to wring each other's necks out. At least not yet anyway. But as he watched everyone converse, he felt a sudden impact hit him inside that made him reluctant to speak out. He was never really good at speaking out among strangers, in the past he had forced him to speak out but never in such a relaxing atmosphere. Standing up and walking a fair distance from the others, he continued to observe each of them and how they talked to each other. It made him even more nervous to be here right now when they could all be so casual, but this was the situation he was just thrown into.

"Uh, yeah, I'm Yohan. Hi?" Good first impression, you clearly know what you are doing here. Continuing to keep his distance from the others, he couldn't really think of anything else to say or do. He could just walk out of here and ignore what Charles had told him, but he knew it would probably seem like a dick move to the others if he just left. What should he say? Was he allowed to say much to them? What could he even ask them about?

"So uh, that Mecha you are going to look over." Yohan spoke up to the mechanic lady. "Don't be surprised if it ends up becoming weird to work on. It's not exactly modern stuff." He really didn't know how else to put it to her. "Sorry this had to be dumped on you. I don't think everyone really trusts a strange Mecha coming out of nowhere and vanishing in the blink of an eye." He couldn't exactly say it was the right thing to do, especially since that Mecha had started some startling conversations ever since it first showed up. It wasn't like it was allowed to be recklessly revealed to the public or broadcast on those holographic things. The few footage's that did have it only really showed it fighting and destroying things.

Darusan stayed leaning up against the wall, feeling as though he woke up from a decade of sleep. Of course, this also meant that his social skills had atrophied extensively. He realized he wasn't exactly dressed to impress, either. Looking around, catching eyes with some of the folks in passing. What did they think of him? Did he, and should he care? Now that he has a mission, what is he going to do while he waits for the week? looking past one of the females he didn't catch the name of he saw his reflection briefly in the window. The very first thing would be cleaning up. His back straightened up, cracking from years of slouching as his once non existant sense of pride and self awareness began to awaken again. God, he had really let himself go further than he thought. And he was tired, and hung over. Drunk, still, Really. He stank of it, if he could smell. His nose was clogged and years of smoking had dulled all of his senses. A man stuck in a body that was left for dead, but walking still.

He needed to go home, to shower, to be decent in front of these other folks, especially if he wanted to be taken seriously at all. He had faked self pride and sense of duty before, but now he yearned for it. He quietly watched the others, making sure that he would be the last out of the room to slink back to his apartment and put himself together.a

The woman smiled softly as she was talked to by one of the pilots. Her eyes lighting up with a passionate flame as she rushed over to the pilot's side and grabbed the man's hand. "Yohan, was it? I'm Virana." She spoke, vigorously shaking the aforementioned hand. "I take it you know a lot about this mecha that I'm supposed to take a look at? Tell me everything you know! and I mean everything you know about it." Her smile was like a kid in a candy store, to her, nothing else mattered at the moment except the information gathering, and the working on the mecha. It was like the other pilots weren't even in the room. "please?" She tacked on at the end of her statement as she let go of the person's hand quickly, suddenly quite sheepish.

"I-I'm sorry I just....I get excited about working on Mechs, they're....well....Its not only my job its my passion...."

As more people entered the meeting room, he would note that there was a bit more guys and another girl. Of course with him sitting down, along with a decent hangover...He would just take a small nap. His eyes closed on themselves as he began to sleep now. "To think I thought this was a prank...I'm just a private..." He muttered with his eyes closed. Well, he was probably going to get chewed out by the officials, but at the very leat his head was not hurting that much while he was taking a quick cat nap.

Manya stood there awkwardly, a certain lack of the same energy she expressed. In fact, there was certainly a lack of energy from a number of her comrades here. Two of the men looked quite out of it, in fact, the brown haired man named Rhys had seemingly passed out! The other, Darusan, was outright avoiding contact. She could pick up the scent of alcohol from both of them. With a glance, the only other male, the boy named Yohan seemed particularly mousy. He was a strange one, like he was nervous about something.

The engineer and him were now talking, rather engrossed in a conversation. She sighed, and scratched the back of her neck. It was only until she heard something rather interesting that she perked up once again, sidling over beside the two to carefully edge in on the conversation.

"A temperamental mecha, huh? Vanishing and appearing? I feel like I've missed something rather juicy while I was laid up in bed~" she says, resting her head on the lower right of her mechanical arms, a grin across her face. "Do explain... or no... I'll figure this out on my own, it is more enjoyable that way!" She rubs the top of her head with her upper left arm. "Optic masking... no... sub-light hyperdrive..? Oh the possibilities." She shrugs her arms. "Well, at least Old Scratch won't be lonely being not the only relic around." She leans in closer and covers her mouth. "But don't tell him I called him that," she whispers, chuckling to herself.

"Anywho," she says, looking to Virana. "Don't feel intimidated by Old Scratch, he's more bark than bite, and not really huge, just... tall and lanky. Certainly not that monster I caught a glimpse of... I'm surprised they can even fit it in a bunker!" She then turns to Yohan. "As for you, you... I look forward to seeing this mystery machine in action, heh!"

It became a shock and surprise to Yohan when the two girls started to get excited about hearing the mecha and this caused him to get sort of a blank expression. No matter how many times he heard it, it always confused him how people could get this easily excited over something he saw as just a partner. Rubbing the back of his head, he allowed both of them to finish before responding. "I'm not really allowed to say much on the Mech." He said this to both of them, managing a small grin out of nervousness before turning to look at Manya. "Uh... Yeah. Right. Fighting's not exactly my best trait, but I'll try my best?"

Rubbing the back of his head, he looked around the room really quickly as he tried to gather up the right words to say to them. "Um, well... I don't know much, but I can say that when it does happen..." His thoughts trailed off as he looked to the right briefly while letting out a small 'hm' out. "Well... It'll just have to be a surprise? I'm so sorry for the inconvenience, but there really isn't much I can say or do right now." He was kind of sad that he didn't have Charles here to speak for him, but he supposed this was part of the reason why Charles had left him with them. Even if Yohan disliked the notion of meeting up with random people and try to get to know them when he wasn't exactly the best at talking to others.

Kage looked about, having listened to most words thrown back and forth, even giving a dirty look to the hungover soldier at the far end of the room, he shook his head and sighed. "anybody even thinking about what this show of need for the mechs is going to be? let alone, how they want to prove it?" he stood up and pushed his chair back in and close to the table, leaving his envelope of papers and next project be. If he was supposed to be working with these people, he might as well let them browse his briefing papers and maps, besides, he also had a location to investigate.

stopping to look out the window, it seemed to him the women were more interested in this temperamental mech. it was amusing really to him that is. he stood watching the people of Avalon go about their lives beyond the limits of the building and its surrounding grounds. he knew he was being anti-social and it was bugging him, with a heavy sigh he checked his watch noting it had been, in his eyes long enough.

"so if we're to be a team does that mean sharing a means to contact one another?" he had turned to face the room, pocketing his hands and leaning against the window frame. his face showed calmness and quiet thoughts, though the way he entered the room most would think this a facade.
"Sorry if I've interrupted, I just feel the need to get everyone's opinions on these arrangements."

Darusan patiently looked around at everyone, still staying in the backround. He felt as though enough information was given. Well, to him. He hadn't given any to anyone. Hrm... He would certainly need to leave a little info. As the group talked on, he pulled out a small pad of paper and a pen he had in his jacket. Scribbling down his address and cell phone number, he threw the numbers down on the table as people continued to talk. he blurted out:
"Contact me when my services are required and I will endeavor to be in uniform for the next task at hand."
He saluted, unaware if he had even interrupted anyone. A very formal straight backed marine style salute, but seemed strange coming from a man dressed just above the vagrancy line. About facing, he stepped out of the room, same straight backed march. His old training was beginning to fire back up, whether he wanted it to or not. Either way, he walked, faster than he had in years, back to his apartment.

Manya chuckles as Yohan proves to be a rather awkward character, stumbling a bit on his words in order to gather himself. It amused her, to say the least, and took a bit of an edge off from the atmosphere of the room. With his rather vague explanation, she lets out a sigh and folds her bottom arms, while shrugging with the upper two, shutting her eyes. "Well, I suppose it is best not to be spoiled anyways. I rather prefer it that way, anyways." It was then that Kage spoke out, catching her attention. He started off with a rather good point, what even was this show? She waited for a moment, rubbing her chin with one of her bottom hands, listening to what he had to say.

As he had finished, leaned against the window frame, she quietly stepped over, leaned over and sifted through the files, scanning them over. After a moment of silently reading, she let out an abrupt whistle before standing back up. She rubbed the back of her head and clearly giving more thought on what to say on the matter. "Well, first off Mr. Sanders... I was under the assumption there would be some form of exercises displaying a more practical role in today's... relatively peaceful society, in an entertaining fashion. I mean, in the eyes of the general public, they see these weapons of war and think only of their killing power, and honestly... some of those models may have been used to brutally kill some of their loved ones of the past, so can hardly blame them on that," she says, in a rather blunt manner. With another sigh she shrugs her arms. "It isn't going to be easy, and the debt thing is a bitch... but... damn, I dunno about you guys, but I'm feelin' this one, like it needs to be done," she continues, nervously scratching the back of her head with her right upper arm, her bottom two folded. "Plus, I kinda got a machine I care about testifying the case of... for, y'know, stupid sentimentality reasons."

Then Darusan actually moved, catching her attention, thinking he had maybe fallen asleep. Watching as he wrote something on a notepad, throwing it on the table. Looking at it, it was clearly his contact information. Then looked back over as he spoke out, in a to-the-point and militaristic manner, saluted, then walked out. She herself saluted but in a more confused manner, watching as he left, marching out all the way. For a moment she stared, before looking around at the others, pointing a few times, completely at a loss for words. Then in similar fashion, took a pen in her lower right hand, wrote down her own contact information, including a less-than-professional email id: TheManicManyapede.

"Feel free to contact me about anything, it'd be nice to see something other than 'see hot singles in your area,' or another offer for hand lotion," she says facetiously, ending with a short snort.