Mars

Evangeline had never really been called Eva that much. She didn't care, but no one had ever really shortened the name--not even Vais Rena, who was probably the closest thing to a friend Evangeline had, though that wasn't saying much. Evangeline shook her head, again keeping her eyes straight forward, and said, in a quiet voice, "No need to be angry for it. They're not here to be angry at anymore anyway." The way she ended the sentence made it seem like she would say more, but at that point she kept quiet. Even saying those two sentences was quite a bit for Evangeline usually, and for some reason she wasn't comfortable discussing her past with Jarvis, someone she hardly knew and had never spoken to, sitting in the backseat, hearing the entire thing.

She wondered again why Jarvis Lagan had chosen to come with them as well. As far as she knew--and this was evidenced by their introduction--Michael and Jarvis had no prior relations, and as far as she had seen, Jarvis didn't seem to be the social type. Indeed, if she hadn't known Michael from years ago, Evangeline would not have accepted his invitation.
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"Status and percentage of completion, display."
A display appeared, powerful against the backdrop of the otherwise completely dark room, seeming to distort into existence right in front of General Yu's face. On it were several graphs, percentages, numbers, and names. Project Psychosis: 100% completion. Project Hyperion: 43% completion. The rest were 0%s. "Project Hyperion--further information." A picture showed up, and a droning female robotic voice began speaking. "The Hyperion's thrusters, reactors, and comm systems have been completed. Work has begun on the frame of the ship, as requested. Lieutenant General Vais Rena has placed a concern that the ship is too large, and--"

"Feh...that's the point of the Hyperion," Yu snarled. "Project Psychosis--further information." The voice continued. "Psycho Frame pilots Evangeline Arkanion and Jarvis Lagan have been deployed to Mars as ordered. As of yet, the other Psycho Frame has yet to have a suitable pilot discovered. Lieutenant General Vais Rena has placed a concern that the Psychosis system places too heavy of a mental burden on the pilots--" Yu cut the computer off once again. "Lieutenant General Vais Rena needs to get in her head that this is war. Jupitris is going to use all it can, regardless of the trivial details, to win that war."

They would soon be at the villa. A large white building that from the front looks like the Parthenon. It is out at the edges of the atmospheric shield, the generators visible about 500 feet away. It was on as far “Out in the country” as a place could be on mars, with every few hundred yards another mansion being visible. The entrance was of white marble and had a floor of black granite, looked like a museum. Halve way there the GPS conked out and Michael had to take the wheel. He sped the whole way again and as he pulled them into the drive way was greeted by the girl from the limo Mary. “Welcome home sir and I suppose these are our guests for the evening?”

“Perceptive as always Mary, would you please take Mr. Lagan here to the guest house. See if you can’t find him some nice clothes for the evening. I believe we have some Jupitris Officer uniforms that should go nicely.” He said kindly as he retrieved the package from the trunk again and headed over to Evangeline. He motioned for her to enter in a gentlemanly gesture to the house. “I’ll be in the foyer.” He said to Mary who nodded and motioned for Jarvis to follow her around the back of the house.

Jarvis followed Mary around the grandiose Villa of Michael Regard. The extravagant setting reminded Jarvis of Ancient Greece. When he was still a boy, Jarvis's father had often shown him pictures of the architecture of ancient Greece. His father had been a simple history teacher, his favorite topic the epics and accomplishment of Ancient Greek civilization. The memory brought back the feelings of a normal boy, the feelings that Jarvis had long ago discarded. He opened his hand to gaze at his father's memento as he walked.

Before long they had reached the guest house and Jarvis was lead inside. The young woman who had escorted him entered a back room and emerged holding a crisp, pressed uniform. It was the standard green of the Jupitris military and the perfect size for Jarvis's slender build. He politely accepted the uniform and proceeded to change. As he slipped his arms into the sleeves he contemplated the coming events. The rational part of his brain critiqued his disregard for the dangers of his decision. He had no idea who this man was, where they were in regards to military support, what his intentions where, or even who else might be arriving. Yet, another part of him was curious as to what such an occasion might be like. He might be able to crack his icy shell for a bit, and try to be the young man he was supposed to. Jarvis emerged, dressed in his uniform and followed the secretary out of the house.

Evangeline glanced around the massive mansion villa. Her parents had owned something like this, but it had utterly failed to pamper or spoil Evangeline, and it was not nearly as over the top and grandiose as Michael Ragard's villa was. She was curious as to why Michael was leading her into the house without waiting up for, or bringing Jarvis, along, and she was somewhat suspicious of it. But she said nothing, and simply followed Michael quietly into the house, eyeing the package in his hands with suspicion that did not show at all in her blank black eyes. What the package could have contained, Evangeline could not really guess, so she stood and waited for Michael to speak.

((Excuse the shortness of the post))

Evangeline slowly took the package offered to her, and then followed Mary as she led her to another room while Jarvis and Michael went out to the patio. Once in the room alone, Evangeline reluctantly and carefully opened the package, as if expecting an active bomb to be in it. She was however, thoroughly surprised when she saw what it was: the dress the happy, promising young lady named Evangeline had worn to her prom. It seemed like years and years ago, even if it had only really been five years. Who had she gone with? The name escaped her. It seemed so far off, so tiny and insignificant compared to what had happened over the past year.

As she held the dress in her hands, she suddenly became aware of a feeling on her cheek; her hand rose to feel it, assuming that it was the scar itching again. She was shocked to discover that there was a tear running down the scarred cheek, and quickly rubbed it away. Shaking her head, she quickly and quietly slipped out of the pilot's suit, and into the dress. It fit almost as well as it had five years ago when she had first bought it. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she tentatively opened the door and walked out, feeling awkward in the dress.

Michael glanced at the young pilot. His answer was very revealing. "So tell me, sir, is that your conclusion from this war, or is it a notion you got from prior events?" he asked as he looked from the barren wasteland before them, and then back to see the impossibly tall skyline of the city behind them. It was strange, that this massive metropolis was so definite. No suburbs like on earth, just massive buildings and shield generators, and at its edge the city just stopped.

He was using the conversation to understand the boy, after all he had to understand him if he wanted to convince him to join his little rebel group. But that was for later, for now he was dwelling on what the boy had said. 'Justice' was the word he had used. Most people don’t use such for risk of sounding cheese, which led him to believe that this boy was personally seeking justice. And by the tone in his voice, he could guess justice was being served. That justice must be for a reason, what that reason was he would soon discover.

This boy was clearly fighting for revenge, and by his file and the lengths he had gone to the boy was clearly against the federation for something unforgiveable. Perhaps it would be some time before he could offer the boy a chance to join him. He was also certain that this boys rage and loathing would be invaluable to him. If he could convince him to join him, he may be able to swarm the Federation capitol much sooner. But first he needed more than just one Psycho Frame pilot. In the past Michael was known for removing an entire warlord element from northern Columbia singlehandedly. And in his experience and his trips to the capitol there was no chance that he or anyone could storm that fortress, especially while it was in session.

“War is a battle between politicians, using young men and women as tools for things they could easily accomplish through compromise and cost.” He turned to look at the boy, “They use people as bargaining chips in their game because they are too greedy to even risk their own fortunes. This is true for both sides, so who is more wrong?” He was well aware that it must seem to an outsider hypocritical for someone of his wealth to be saying this. He himself was more than profiting from the war by his company. But he wasn’t willing to get involved personally. That made him an asset and a target.

Roy managed to get closer to the base. He was just about to let his mech cool down for a little bit when a screen to the left of him beeped.

"Huh? An....enemy? No, that's too small for a mech...but it's too big for any other life...." he saw a jeep coming toward him. "Ah, just a jeep." he was going to keep walking but it stopped, as if it wanted to tell him something. He got out of the mech and walked over to the Jeep. "Uh....you need me for something?"

"Yes. You have been invited to a party by Michael Ragard. Will you attend? I will take you there, if you follow me."

"Uh....alright. I guess I can do that."

"Oh, and you'll need to have nice clothes, too."

"Hmmm....alright. I have a set of nicer clothes stored in the mech."

Roy jumped back into his mech. The jeep moved toward the place he was originally going to anyways, so he just followed.

Reaching it, Roy parked his mech, changed his clothes, and hopped out. He was wearing a suit and tie, something he always kept in his mech, if to do nothing but impress the ladies.

"So, where is this party?" he asked the driver.

The jeep would guide the mech southward, and then turning out of the agricultural area shield and toward the settlement. They would stick to the outskirts and then turn suddenly. The jeep has a set of metal doors that close and trap the oxygen; it leads out of the shield and to a large rock. When approached the large rock opens up to reveal a metal tunnel. Following the tunnel they would eventually arrive underneath the outer edge of the villa. In this area was a Hanger, and store in it are several large items. Two high mobility shuttles (the kind used by crews of ships to disembark without going in atmo) and more surprisingly there were three mechs, two were standard Police styled units with black paint and very heavy riot shields. These units are marked all over from what would appear to be battle damage. The final Mech was a strange white unit, with tentacle like wings, and a large Gun rack next to it. The gun rack held a wrist mountable Gatling-gun and a large Halberd. The jeep driver would hope out amongst several of the hanger’s crew and direct them to various areas. He then would direct the quests mech into an open area for a mech unit like his. Finally there is a woman in a black business suit waiting next to the mech mount. As the pilot enters she would greet him and say, “Welcome to Heaven’s Break Hanger One Mr. Hulter. If you’ll follow me we have a room prepared for you to wash up and change.” She would lead him to a large cargo elevator that empties into the sub basement of the villa and lead him up the stairs to a marble lined room above. If he was looking around the hanger as the elevator rose he would see one of the shuttle’s doors open and a Lady in a White press military uniform (missing any indication of what nation she was from) step out, salute and head for a stair case to the right.

Meanwhile Michael turned about to see Evangeline exiting onto the patio. It must have been some time since last she wore heels and he headed over to give her a hand down the steps. At the bottom of the stairs, he would turn to Jarvis and then back to Evangeline and ask them both, “War needs a purpose to be just, so I ask you, what is your purpose? What do you fight for?

Evangeline descended down the steps to the patio with a strange combination of awkardness and grace. Having been used for so long to the boots of a pilot suit, the heels she was wearing now felt alien, unusual. Nevertheless, she seemed to be handling it rather well, and she kept her balance while walking down the steps.

Apparently she had walked into a conversation between Jarvis and Michael, for the latter brought up the purpose of war...the purpose they each fought. Evangeline hardly even considering speaking truthfully of this subject. Was it because her reason for fighting made her feel cowardly? "...to honour my parents," she finally murmured. That was a lie. Evangeline had loved her parents in life, but there was no use in feeling anything for the dead--at least, not for Evangeline. What was the true reason? The threat of being merged with Zephranthys--permanently. The fear of being forever trapped within the body of the terrible thing, the fear of spending eternity with her mind belonging to Zephranthys, that was what forced Evangeline to fight. Either way, she would be responsible, directly or indirectly, for the deaths of Federation soldiers.

Roy smirked. "I could get used to this place." he said silently to himself. He made his way to the room where he was supposed to clean up. As soon as he got there he stripped off his clothes and jumped into the shower, a rare luxury for a mercenary like himself. The hot water rushed over him like a shower of heat.

Finishing his shower, Roy got out and dried off. He put on his good clothes and walked out the door. He asked the lady there: "Now what?"

"...to honour my parents," said Evangeline.

The words hit Jarvis much like a cannonball to the sternum. He physically recoiled, stepping back a pace. His recent habit was triggered as his hand unconsciously reached for the cross around his neck. Memories of that painful day filled his senses. He could hear his mothers final breaths escape her as the bullet pierced her heart. He saw his father grabbing his hand and running with him, even though a wound bled profusely on his shoulder. Finally, he heard the thumping of the military boots as they connected with the flesh of his father. Jarvis looked down at his hand where new pain was blossoming. He had gripped the crucifix so hard that he'd pierced his own hand. Droplets of blood trickled down his palm and fell through his clenched fist.

Jarvis's shock quickly transformed into a look of rage. His frown contorted into a snarl as he turned towards Michael.

"To avenge them," said Jarvis.

Roy was amazed at the technology presented in the museum. "Man....this stuff....If I could update some of this, and install it onto Thundersoul....holy shit, we'd be invincible!" he said, somewhat rambling. He loved looking at weapons and such, and this time was no different. Roy wasn't planning on stealing it or anything, but man, did he have to resist the urge. "Hmmmm....I wonder who else is going to be at this party...." he asked himself outloud.

As Michael walked ahead to greet the coming guests Jarvis took his chance and turned to Evangeline.

"So...," he said meekly. "What happened to your parents?"

The cold tone he'd shone with Michael had begun to melt. He was showing emotion again. What was it about recent events that had brought out parts of himself not seen since the days of his childhood? Was it Evangeline, or the Void? Whatever it was, Jarvis's attitude was beginning to change. He still hated the Federation but he no longer felt the need to shut out each and every person around him. He was making progress as one would say.

The repairs to GraveMaker were taking longer than Vincent had thought that would, but Ratchet was the best around, so he knew they would at least be done right. Without his mech, there really wasn't anything he could do, so he headed back to where Cross and Diamond were and began helping them to sort through the ammo and parts they had picked up earlier.

"So, thought anything more about that saber idea I had?" Diamond asks, nodding his head towards a large metal object on one of the work tables behind him. "I know it's not intened to be used as a weapon, but you know I have the habit of changing that fact about things."

"Diamond, I think it's just too much work. Do it and use it yourself if you like, but I'm just not into the newer weapons. I'll stick with my Titan Blade." Vincent says, looking it over.

Vincent was no mechanic, or anything close to one, but he could tell that what Diamond had found was an old prototype energy drill, not a sword of any type, and to convert it into anything else might take months, maybe years. Plus, there was the power issue he had with GraveMaker. Because he had an outdated power cell that took ages to completely recharge, and so far a newer replacement hadn't been found, he couldn't even use any of the newer weapons without risking overheating and loosing power to his mech all together.

(i realise that days have probably passed, and i am sorry this is so short, but if i were to try and go back and read all the posts i have missed it would be another day or two before i was caught up, so please forgive me and let's just assume the repairs to my mech have taken so long...)

KABOOM!!! A missle had landed right beside Cathrine as she darted to the right. Damn that was close Rain thought as he piloted his mech Cathrine. Good thing I had my blast shield equipped or that blast would have hurt!. Vulcan shells were zipping past his mech as Rain was performing evasive maneuvers to try and get close to the mech he was fighting opposite him. The blaster engines shot Cathrine to the left, then in an upward spiral to the right, just barely evading the shells that flew by. This was going to call for a different plan. His opponent had given himself cover behind a rock structure on the surface of mars. Only half his mech was visible, a hard target to hit. On the left shoulder was a Vulcan Cannon, and on the left arm was a missile repeater. He had already spent a lot of missiles, so for now he was saving them, waiting for the right moment, trying to pin Rain and Cathrine down before giving them a finishing bombardment. The only way to get to him was through a narrow pass between the rocks. He had positioned himself well. Cathrines maneuverability would be restricted there, and is opponents heavy armour customization would be optimized well. He wasn't fighting your average mech pilot. But then, Rain already knew that.

All Rain needed was a moment. Two rockets launched from Cathrine's shoulder, and his engines flared as he dated forward. His opponent knew he wouldn't be able to be hit by the rockets, he kept firing his Vulcan. Rain wasn't aiming for the enemy mech. The two rockets collided with the rock structure next to the mech. The rock cracked, and a segment of it collapsed, blocking his enemies line of site. This gave him the moment he needed. Soon enough, Rain had rounded over the collapsed rock, and was in melee distance with the opposing mech. He turned the mech downwards, temporarily cutting the thrusters, allowing the mech to do a flip and redirect itself towards his opponent, who had just turned to face him. A difficult maneuver, considering how little space he had before he would have hit the ground. His engines flared, and shit Cathrine slightly to the side as he closed in on his foe. He moved just in time to avoid the oncoming onslaught of enemy Vulcan Cannon fire. He tried to re-adjust, but there was too little distance between them. It was too late. Rain smirked, he thought he had won in the last moment before everything went black.

For a moment, Rain didn't know what was going on. But then it hit him. He took off his simulation helmet, and glared menacingly at the person who had cut short the training exercise early. "And why the hell did you do that? If you want our help, were going to have to adapt to the planetary conditions. That involves training!" Rain shot angerly at the soldier. The Silver Hawk Special Forces unit had just arrived on Mars, and needed to get used to its gravity, weather, and terrain before they could fight on Mars properly. "I'm Sorry Sargent Highcrest! But you and the rest of the Silver Hawks are being requested for a briefing" the soldier replied.

Rain grunted as he pushed himself out of the simulation seat. He had almost won, and was disgruntled at his match being cut short. His opponent, who was actually his squad member Corporal Faller "The Fox", smirked at Rain. "Looks like well have to have a rematch! Told you ya couldn't beat me!" He said jokingly. "Just give me 30 seconds more and I would have had you!" Rain replied vigorously. "Suuuuure you would" Corporal Faller taunted. Rain sighed. "Next time you wont get off so easy." Rain and Faller both began following the private to the debriefing room. Finally they would find out their immediate orders. Rain was itching for combat, and anted to give the Jupitris forces on Mars something to fear.

Evangeline turned at Jarvis's words, and looked at the pilot of the Void, wondering why he chose now to suddenly open up. Evangeline didn't mind recounting any of it to anyone; it was the past, and there was no point in being held back by the past. "Killed," she muttered with a tiny shrug, as if it had been inevitable. "By the Federation at the start of the war." She hesitated for a moment, considering whether she should tell Jarvis that she had been lying about her reason for fighting. "...I don't fight to honour my parents." she said at last. "Fighting for their sake won't change anything that has happened. That is all in the past." And there was no point dwelling on the past, she thought, but she said nothing more, and an awkward silence reigned for a moment.

The silence pressed tightly against Jarvis. Evangeline had just torn apart the connection he had so morbidly clung to, if only for a moment. She had been lying, not that it was a surprise. Jarvis didn't really understand why he had been so honest these past few moments. He was getting sloppy. It was completely up in the air whether or not Michael was an ally or not. Jarvis had been basing it solely on the fact that he had been so familiar with Evangeline.

Disgusted with himself Jarvis folded his hands behind his back, partly to stem the drip of blood from his palm, and headed to the foyer. As he entered he glanced around at the private museum. The mechs and weapons on display might have been impressive to Jarvis years ago, but now they were merely another distraction. His footsteps echoed through the hall as he moved towards a small group of people talking near the entrance. As he drew closer their identities became clearer. One was Michael of course, his charm in full swing, a man in formal wear, and a...Federation soldier.

Jarvis clenched his jaw and furrowed his brows, immediately analyzing the situation. So these had been Michael's other guests. Jarvis put his hand to his hip to reach for his pistol but gripped air. Damn it, he thought. He must have left it in the bag with his other things. If he made it out of here he would have to remember to stop being so careless. Instead he swallowed his rage, if only for the moment, and casually made his way to the others.

Evangeline watched Jarvis walk off, and leaned back against the rail with a forlorn sigh. She shouldn't have confided in him--if that was what her comment could have been called. She should have just maintained the lie she had given to Michael. But what she had said was true; there was no point in dwelling so obsessively on the past, there was no point in fighting for people who were long gone. There was nothing to be gained from killing for vengeance...Evangeline shook her head. Who was she kidding? Jarvis had a much better reason to be fighting that Evangeline herself did.

At that point, she heard the sounds of people talking emanating from beyond the foyer--the voices of Michael Ragard, Jarvis Lagan, and a couple of voices she did not recognise; those must be the other guests Michael had mentioned. Pushing herself away from the rail, Evangeline made her way through the foyer and down the next hall, to see Michael pointing his guns at two people, the other guests. One was a Federation officer, the other was either not of a military nature, or a mercenary. Evangeline looked from Michael, to the Federation officer, to the mercenary, and to Jarvis Lagan--who was clearly angered by the nature of these guests.

"Hey, Grave." it was Ratchet. The old man was riding a Mars surface rover through the compound towards where Vincent and the others stood. "Gravemaker's all set. Sorry it ook so long, but I upgraded the armor, made it a bit tougher, and I was finally able to upgrade the power cell so she can run longer."

"Wow, you did all that?" Vincent asks, smiling and laughing as he walks over and joins Ratchetin the rover. The older man laughs and turns them around. "But, there's something else, isn't there?" Vincent asks as they begin moving.

"Well, yes actually...one of our men came back this morning, from one of the smaller bases here," Ratchet was saying, "You know Wing, right? Well, anyway, he had this message, and it was to you. Seems you've been invited to this man Ragard's for a little get together."

"Really now? And where is it, and who else will be there? I'm assuming this will be one hell of a party if he had the balls to invite a merc there." Vincent asked seriously.

"It's here on Mars. And there's pilots and captains and such from all sides there." Ratchet says with a sigh, "I thought you might be interested, so I put the location in Gravemaker for you."
-=-=-=-

Within an hour Vincent and Gravemaker were on their way to the location of the get together. Ratchet had managed to scrounge up a mech-sized SMG, which Gravemaker now carried on it's right hip. Soon enough they arrived at the place, landing a littlways off and approaching slowly on foot.

(not sure exactly what the place is like, sorry...)

(On the Front Lawn)
A man in a suit walked over to the Mercenary who had just arrived piloting the large Frame with the sword. He indicated that the man should head over to a freight elevator near the back of the property. Saying the others would join him in the hanger shortly.
(In the Foyer)
Michael relaxed his gun from being aimed at the Captain, and noted that Ms. Mary had most likely already disarmed the mercenary; still he holstered his revolver just incase and handed the other pistol off to a servant who was passing by. He watched these exchanges with interest. This is why he had invited these people. He needed to know how they had reacted. For the last few months he had hacked and stolen all the personnel files available from both sides, and had painstakingly chosen who he thought would be the best people to join him on his vengeful raids of both sides’ leaders. He had compiled a list: Captain Arthur Wainwright was a genius of space combat and a brilliant tactician, thus making an excellent candidate for the position as the new Captain for the Legacy. Jarvis Lagan and Evangeline Akranion were both the prodigies of the Psycho Frame pilots. The mercenaries he had assembled were nothing but a stepping stone to attaining these pieces to the puzzle, but if he found some true talent then he would consider it a bonus. And now he saw his chance. He stepped forward and interrupted the two men, “Peace?” he asked with a slight chuckle. “Do you entertain such an idea Captain? With the leadership on both sides there will never be peace. The council of the Federation may be slightly subject to the people’s growing weariness of this ever escalating conflict, but you know as well as I do that the Admiralty of the Federation has no intent of stopping this war. After all, whether you know it or not the three highest ranking men in your military are all ‘Merchants of Death’ like me; they make profit in this war, some way or another. And the Head of the Jupitris forces, that person has no heart I assure you that.”

His mind flashed back to the day that he had lost his family, he had just acquired the second mine and was on his way home to celebrate, but when he got there he found his family dead, his house in flames, and a message in blood on the wall “Paid in full.” was all it had said. That was when he decided he would act aloof, leave the Coalition, and stay neutral. He would use the persona of a Merchant of Death to get closer to the leaders of both side, the Federation who has let the people be crushed under foot, and the Coalition, the only reason there is to kill that person, Yu Kojima. It was Kojima who had his family murdered for money and military gain, he wasn’t about to let it slide. His hand tensed again on instinct, but he kept a straight face and looked at Jarvis. “Mr. Lagan, you do know that the man who killed your father is long dead. After all, I am not aware of any Federation soldier who survived the Purging of Jupitris right after the war started. It’s most likely that he is gone, so who do you hate now?”

He turned to the Captain, “And Captain, you must know by now that this war is just a game to those at the top, hence why I won’t get involved with my company. If you want to stop the war,” He looked to the Mercenary and then to Evangeline, “You’ll have to put aside your loyalties and become neutral, and then strike both sides down. Neither side fights for the people now, both fight for individual profit. If you want peace, you’ll have to join men like me, and bring it about from the inside.” He knew this was dangerous. He had just openly admitted to be waging a war against both sides from within. And though he wasn’t sure if the angered pilot would catch it, the Captain gave him pause. Michael was rolling the dice, gambling that he had read the man in only a few minutes. If he was right, and this man was loyal to the idea of peace he wouldn’t report anything here to his superiors, if he was wrong: his home here would soon be destroyed, and his companies’ offices would be raided. “Peace is beyond our reach at this point, gentlemen. At least for those of us who fight for one side. The only peace offered by both sides is destruction.” He nodded to a small suitcase on a pillar which had a faded atomic symbol on it, it was a tactical nuclear weapon. “How long unit your ship is ordered to fire one of those at Jupitris Captain? Or until your Psycho Frame is sent to place one on the Moon Mr. Lagan.” It was true that the war was currently at a stalemate, but it was only a matter of time before both sides began firing WMDs, this war is one of annihilation. Those weapons no longer were deterrents; they were now swords to be drawn. Who would draw them first?

A servant came into the room and nodded to the host who nodded back. “Do any of you realize that by fighting for one side, you have consented to murdering the other without real cause?” he asked, not expecting an answer, he walked over to the largest painting in the room, one of the First Mars settlement, and pressed his hand into the wall next to it. The painting rose and there was an elevator waiting. “Come, it’s time to give you all your gifts.” He said stepping into the large elevator and awaiting his guests.

(Sorry guys! Been busy on a project!)

Roy shrugged. "The only weapons I have are about three knives. Don't worry, though, I don't use them unless I'm attacked." he flashed Michael a smile. Roy looked to the other guests. He had heard of Arthur, but didn't know any of the others. Roy followed Michael into the elevator. "If I may ask, why would you send an invite to a mercenary like me?" he asked Michael. "I mean, I'm not a terrible Mercenary, but I'm not really known, either. Why would you pick me?" he asked. Pondering whether or not he should keep his guard up, he kept his cool. One of the Frame pilots looked as if he was about to blow gasket or something, and Roy didn't want to be a part of it. He came here for a party, not to watch a brawl.

Vincent spoke to the man in the suit for a moment before nodding and turning around. He made his way slowly to the back of the place and found thelevator, which opened before him, probaly by the command of either the host or the man he'd just met. Shrugging it off he pilots Gravemaker inside, and just as he clears it the door slides shut and down the go.

Everything goes dark inside the cockpit as the elevator goes down, and Vincent closes his eyes, thinking, I wonder what this is all about anyway? Ratchet either didn' tell me everything, or Wing didn't tell him much about it. Eitherway, it's too late now. It had been a very long time since he'd had any real purpose in life, so if he were to die in the bottom of this pit, no one would really miss him. He was barely associated with his group anyway, more of a guard than a mercanary, if that.

Soon enough they stopped falling and came to a halt. A second laer the elevator doors opened and Gravemaker walked into the hanger as his polit looked around and wondered.

Jarvis stood silent as the two men tried to belittle his motivations. Their ignorance only helped to fuel his fire. His father hadn't been some soldier or captain, no. He had been a simple miner, his crime: simply existing. The widespread hatred for so called "spacers" was rampant in the Federation. It was what had driven the soldiers to so viciously exterminate the participants of the peace rally. The son of a peace maker was no a death dealer...how ironic.

Jarvis did not feel guilt in killing the other fathers the captain had talked about. They had knowingly enlisted in a war, a war started by the Federation not the Jupitris colonists. He would not kill a civilian unless he knew they had participated in such heinous acts. But every soldier was fair game to him. He would eliminate them, to both sate his vengeance and give them a real reason to fear "spacers".

Jarvis quietly followed the others into the elevator. He did not take his eyes of the Federation captain, the others were of little concern now. Only one thought stood out in his mind. He would kill this man, personally.

Michael didn’t smile at any of the comments, glancing over to the Captain his mind did a summersault thinking, “Got his attention now”. The Merc’s comment caught his attention and he reached forward and hit the button to close the doors, smirking he said, “Because, you’re a man who is loyal to those who have the money, and as you may have noticed, that definitely includes me.”

As the elevator dropped several floors he added. “That means, unlike the others here who are spoken for, I can trust you.” That was a contradiction, trusting a man whose loyalties are dependent on the payment, but then again it was genius. The Mercenary mind was one that Michael shared, so he knows that not every private contractor’s price is monetary. This man was a freelance mercenary, that meant he was working for pay, but also for ideals, which made him fairly easy to read. The man’s comment in the foyer was what had given Michael the clue he needed, this man was a fan of Frames, and Michael could give him a lot of that.

The elevator slowed, followed by the signature stop of the lift. The doors slid open to reveal an expansive space about 300 meters long and 150 meters high. The Area was basically a long hall with several Frame Docks lining each side. The first Frame was a tall model with a pure white paint job, save for the black and yellow circles placed about its surface. “It’s our variable test model,” Michael explained, “That frame is faster and more maneuverable than any frame in the field. No limiters.”

The frame was almost without armor, yet it had massive thrusters and a huge back section that extruded out from the area of the cock pit. “That cockpit can hold three passengers along with the pilot, and since this Frame doesn’t have any limiters on it can do thinks other can’t, primarily because safety isn’t our concern with the test pilot that flies it. This thing hurts; it’ll kill the pilot and passengers if you’re not careful.” A man in a mechanic’s jumper came over and asked each of them to sign a liability waver. “We have this Frame,” Michael continued, “To test the extremes of combat and beyond. It would make a hell of a weapon, if it didn’t cost 5 times the usual production cost to make it.”