Futuristic NCQuest: Mecha flavored action, Story

[Viper Actual]

Peyton narrowed her eyes as the Cronus-flagged aircraft continued on its lonesome approach. Realistically it could only mean one thing: More work.

Then came the blackout and Peyton, now standing by the only source of light, glanced over at the house with the flames of the grill painting her face in a deep orange.
She was about to call out to the others when the lights came back on. From where she was currently standing she could barely make out the sound of a presumed news broadcast alongside a couple of lone words, though nothing concrete.

When Streuben appeared in the backyard Jennifer made a curt nod towards the Linker. Her attention would soon shift as a annoyed Cammy returned with meat for the grill. Come to think if it, was she ever not-annoyed?

Peyton tilted her head. No, I don't think so.

She grunted in response to her colleague. "No worries. A drink or two sounds good." Or maybe ten.

"New guy? Trouble?" She asked, cocking her head towards the house.

 

[YsFanatic]

Episode 2
While the brief loss of power was unexpected, was really annoyed Adam was whatever jerk decided to put in the 'Hey let's watch TV!' feature on the game console for when it did a memory check. He would have preferred to kept an eye on the progress of the check, just in case. But at least the timing was good in regards to the news being somewhat interesting. Even so he was glad when the console reclaimed the TV's video output for itself and indicated that everything was alright. Maybe he'd look up the rest of that news announcement later, but for now it was time for something more fun. Scooping up a controller, the Linker got to work getting setup with the built in shop program so he could buy the license keys and games. Before he actually paid for anything however, Adam turned his chair a bit so he could yell back at the others scattered through out the house.

"Hey, if any of you have preferences for video games you'd want to play or watch, now is the time to let me know!"

If no one got back to him, well, they'd just have to put up with what he picked and Adam already had his sights on a particular game he thought would go well. At first glance the game would look like a generic action platformer game, but the twist was that other people could login with their phones, tablets, whatever and place obstacles, traps, and enemies to make things more interested. Reviews were mixed overall, but several had mentioned that it was fun when people were drinking. Considering how many bottles of alcohol there were floating around Adam was pretty sure that they were going to have enough drunk people to make the game fun. There were plenty of other good party games to pick from of course, but there was some appeal with starting off with something not as well known. This of course was assuming that the power didn't go out again.

 

[AnonyMouse]

"Nothing we can't solve," Cammy said with a chuckle, when Peyton asked if the new guy was 'trouble...' whatever that meant. Anyone could be trouble, even those who tried not to be. "Says he's a linker, so I'm sure we'll be seeing him around... for better or for worse. I might like him better when he's not in my fucking house."

She paused to uncork the Huntsman and artisitically pour some into the three shot glasses. It was then that she noticed the note attached to the bottle. A picture. Of Raijin, it seemed. And hand-drawn, at that. Cute.

"Oi, Snow White!" Cammy said, waving the slip of paper in Streuben's general direction. The man seemed to think he could go unnoticed if he kept quiet and kept his face in his communicator. Not a chance. She quickly downed a shot of the Huntsman. "I knew you were into dwarves, mate, but keep doing shit like this and I might have to get me and six of my friends together and show you a good time. 'Til then, you'll have to setle for Jenny." She took another look at the card, then held up a full shot glass and grinned at him, making it clear why she'd brought three. "Get over here. Did you draw that yourself? Not bad, not bad. Needs more cats, tho."

 

[Viper Actual]

Nodding, Jennifer glanced at Cammy as she chuckled. Knowing her any trouble that dared to show its ugly face wouldn't be trouble for too long. When she mentioned that the new guest was another linker Peyton raised an eyebrow. Sudden addition to our unit or another rival?
Then, as her colleague and newfound sister-in-arms poured her a drink Peyton gladly accepted the hard liquor and was about to get a sweet taste of it when suddenly...

"'Til then, you'll have to setle for Jenny."

Choking on her drink a very wide-eyed Peyton looked at Cammy with an angry glare before glancing over at Streuben. Realizing that her sudden reaction might be taken as an insult the Linker tried to save face by following up with a cough. She gave Streuben and Cammy a brief smile whilst raising the glass in her hand.

"Good stuff," she said, sounding not that convincing.

 

[Malphaestus]

Episode 2: Azata's Backyard (news broadcast written by Windsock)FREDRICH-ALEXANDER VON STREUBEN
To some's surprise, he also responds to "Tower-Upright."

His surreptitious ill-wills were cut in twain as Azata spoke her next performance, making it immensely difficult, and confusing, for the man for now seated to discern her deal. Not to mention be angry with her. As she complimented his effort she spoke to his soul, but every instance before then he had felt an immense antagonizing proponent to her behaviour regarding him. Initially, he decided solely to raise a thumb in her general direction, but the movement quickly became far more awkward as it later became evident that she asked more of him than merely that. As she did, he raised himself out of his seat, making sure to stash the tablet securely in his pocket.

With his cheap packet of cigarettes and a lighter in one hand, and the lit one in the other, he began his pilgrimage over towards the table closer to the grill, presumedly some form of outdoors eating area, though he could never be too sure with her house. As she gave her critique he listened close to it, though whether it could be classed as critique was an entirely different matter. By the time he was standing by them, he'd heard all of it. Having stared momentarily at Jenny at her mentioning, offering his response simply and with stoic character as he pocketed his pack and lighter only to free his own hand to down the glass with trained eloquence.

"Yes, handmade." Being slow to respond was his usual disposition, and nothing was different for now. The alcohol didn't seem to have really set in just yet, though it certainly was good stuff. Maybe buying the thing wasn't such a bad idea after all. However, more cats, huh, "I'll be sure to add more cats if I do another one in the future." Nevertheless, he was a submissive individual before authority equal or ascending compared to his own, had always been when not in his machine, so whatever Azata meant, was whatever he agreed to. "As for the other thing, just notify me in advance." He could only assume that what Azata considered a good time involved some sort of scrap hunting session, or forge welding. He'd seen a lot of that. Though he had no idea why he would do either of those with Peyton. So he gave her a quick glance, "I suppose that if I need to, I'll notify you then." He'd probably never need to. He didn't have the know-how to maintain his own coffee-maker, let alone building something.

With a quick cursory glance at both of them, he realized how out-of-the-water he felt. The two of them had been to battle before, but unlike what he did with Hazel and Adam, they had actually bonded. Meanwhile, the only time he'd ever met them was either during the drive over to General Requisitioning, or in the maintenance bays, and here. Having already downed his alloted glass in a single motion, he was left with little else to do but 'mingle,' somehow.

"Like it?" He said, raising his cigarette towards his face, using one of his fingers to point from his mouth towards the card. Inhaling the fumes, "I can probably give you one a lot better if I had more than two hours to work on it, though," he said, smoke escaping from his throat in and amongst the air, mixing with the grill's own exhaust.

 

[SkyHawk MK III]

Episode 2: Azata's Livingroom
Deciding to join in on the action with the console, Hazel hopped onto the sofa, placing the drink down on the table next to her. Her experience with video games wasn't impressive but she did enjoy them from time to time, especially the ones where you get to blow stuff up sky high. "I'll join you, don't expect me to be a bloody master at any of them." Hazel responded to Adam's invitation "What you got that involves blowing things to kingdom come?" She looked to the TV and back at Adam. Hazel didn't practically care what was put on the console, as so long as it was enjoyable without needing to down 20 shots of vodka before hand.

Maybe that was the end goal after all in Cammy's mind. Everyone get drunk and wasted before the stars rose and maybe a couple of the party got together at the end of it all. It seemed unlikely since no one really knew each other fully, but that probably wouldn't stop Cammy playing 'dolls' and smushing two people together with her 'whatever it takes' attitude. Christ, I hope it won't be me and the fucking grey tower. I'd bloody kill Cammy for that. Pushing aside the unfortunate idea, Hazel turned her attention back to the console and Adam, still pondering what to play.

YsFanatic ​

 

[AnonyMouse]

So, he had drawn it. Despite what she'd said, she totally thought he'd slipped five bucks to a street artist or someone online or simply took a picture of Raijin and ran it through a crazy filter to make it look less like a photograph. But, honestly, none of those things seemed reasonable on such a short time frame. And she doubted he cared enough about her opinion of him to lie about this. She just couldn't wrap her head around the idea that he might be 'artsy.'

Or, more specifically, that they might have something in common... other than piloting giant robots.

"Wow," Cammy said, trying --and failing-- to not sound impressed as all of this sank into her thick skull. "I had you pegged as a 'left brain' kind of guy... wait, no, right brain... the math side. Whatever side that is. You know what I mean." She punctuated the statement with a dismissive wave, which kind of looked like she was just wildly flailing her fingers at him. The gesture smoothly transitioned into her pouring another shot of the Huntsman liquor.

"I heard your handler is some kind of analytical genius and I figured you guys were birds of a feather, but I guess I was wrong. I didn't feel the urge to punch you in the fucking face the moment you opened your mouth, so there's one difference, at least," she said, pausing to take a shot and immediately pour herself another. "I'm sure I can find more, if we dig a little deeper."

Perhaps it was the way the firelight from the grill danced in her eyes, but there was definitely mischief in them as she gazed up at his stony visage. That poker face might turn most people away, but Cammy had never seen a boulder she didn't want to roll up the steepest, longest hill imaginable.

"Why 'Emperor?'" she said after a long pause. "And what's with the cards, man? You a fortune teller or something? Can I get a reading?"

 

[Viper Actual]

With Cammy taking the point Peyton felt content with sipping on her drink in silence. She was still testing the waters at this point and while she had some experience with Cammy the remaining Linkers- especially the new arrival- were still wildcards. She listened quietly to both of her colleagues and the revelation that Streuben made the cards himself was actually kind of impressive. Not a lot of people would bother with such a thing, especially not the kind of people that went into warzones for a living.

Peyton shrugged slightly. Then again I've met plenty of contractors that do all kinds of odd stuff as a stress-relief. Tarot cards come nowhere close to some of that stuff.

Despite Cammy's comment Jennifer didn't doubt that a part of her was impressive as well. After all, it was actually a kind gesture considering that they all didn't really know each other all that well. A sudden idea emerged within Peyton's mind.

What if...

Clearing her throat following another sip Jennifer spoke up. "What would it cost to get an engraving of my own NC? I'd like to use it on a business card."

 

[Malphaestus]

Episode 2: Azata's Backyard (news broadcast written by Windsock)FREDRICH-ALEXANDER VON STREUBEN
To some's surprise, he also responds to "Tower-Upright."

Without even turning his eyes to meet Peyton's curiosity, he responded quickly and without much pause; he didn't need time to think about it, after all. "Free," his words uttered without much depth, he 'enjoyed' it, after all. "I don't need anything," he finished moderately ceremoniously, finally turning a quick glance at the woman who had just downed her own piece of alcohol. She seemed to be thinking her own plans out as well, maybe an individual who shares an analytical disposition; Peyton seemed like she did.

As for Azata, frankly speaking, she had a way with her words that both unsettled and riled him. He needed more than the customary pause to process and think through an adequate response. Especially now, with the revelation that his own aspirations as a Linker seemed a social taboo, using Rosa's response as argumentative basis.

Turning his gaze from Peyton to Azata, he made a surprisingly coy remark to start off, attempting to 'fit in' with the crowd of two. "Didn't have an issue with my height though." A slight, but noticable sarcastic tinge evident in his otherwise 'Streuben' characteristics. Finishing off his cigarette with a deep inhale, he crushed the stub between his index and thumb, the heat not seeming to pay him much mind as he let it fall gently against the stone slabs which they found themselves standing on. "Left-brain, right-brain..." He initiated with a ponderous disposition, picking up his deck of cards from his pocket in preparation for later affirmation. "I'm both, I think." His thoughts for once audible to the two around him who, for a mere moment, amounted to nothing more than masses as he continued digging in his cerebrum.

"Analytically creative," he finished, after a moderate pause, now decking his cards with a refined standing hindu shuffle. "Don't know much math though." It was probably for the best that he didn't spell out how actually similar Malthus and him might end up being. Now, having finally descended unto the realm of the material, he quickly ceased his decking, and pulled out a solitary card, the Emperor's tarot.

"This," he responded abruptly, as if answering her entire curiosity with that one motion. He tossed the card back, having opened up the deck in two for it to gently slot into position with a slight spin. With a quick flick, and another card twirl, he presented the deck to Azata, wordlessly imploring her to pick one, "there are many types of fortune telling, and this one is mine," he added, colouring his actions with his own strange sense of character. Disregard the fact that he didn't know how tarot fortune telling actually worked.

"One card per day," he added second-handedly, "that's how it works."

 

[YsFanatic]

Adam points at the the numerous games in the download queue. "I'm getting a bunch so we have some choices. The one that's almost done downloading is a fantasy style adventure game with a twist; other players can sync their phones or other devices to the console and spawn in traps, monsters, and so on in the hero's path. That includes bombs if you want to see stuff blow up. Supposed to be fun when people are drunk, though we'd want to avoid having an angry drunk as the hero. Also got some racing games, a sci-fi shooter, one of those 2D party fighting games, and a board game variety pack. The shooter is the only one that requires the controllers to play, the others can all be done via phones to allow more people to play." The Linker knew that the board game pack was unlikely to get any use tonight, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to have so they wouldn't have to worry about people not being able to shuffle cards or forgetting rules because they were drunk. He did make sure to avoid the edition that included a variation of Spin the Bottle though as Adam sure as hell wasn't going to get into something like that. Especially since he barely met these people.

Leaning back into his wheelchair, he 'hmmm'd while giving Hazel a quick glance. "While a few of the games have explosions, the shooter might appeal to you the most since it does have terrain deformation. So if you want to blow open a hole in a wall to surprise someone or anything else along those lines, that might be your game."

---------
SkyHawk MK III

 

[AnonyMouse]

Cammy found the way he said the word 'free' slightly unsettling, as if money was not an issue for him. She came from an environment where money, and the things people did to get it, was a focal point of one's existence... probably because she and her family had never had much of it. Sure, they had enough, but as anyone who has ever lived such a life knows, 'enough' is never enough. When Peyton posed the question, she half expected a lengthy discussion about fees and hourly rates and services to ensue, culminating in the signing of a contract of some sort. When that didn't happen, the gears in Cammy's rain began to turn.

Still, nothing about Streuben gave her the impression he was 'rich,' in the conventional sense of the word. He seemed to have some expensive stuff, but didn't put on airs, so his announcement that he 'didn't need anything' definitely caught her off guard. Maybe he just likes to draw. Maybe he's trying to make a good first impression by giving off nice guy vibes. Maybe there's some special herbs in his cigs and it's mellowing him out. Maybe the drinks are kicking in and he's got a nice buzz going. Maybe he thinks Peyton's hot and wants to smash.

Maybe you're overthinking this, Cam, she thought, trying very hard not to chuckle.

And then he started doing card tricks.

Then again... maybe you're not.

Okay, she knew his game was weak, but this was just awful. For Christ's sake, help the poor guy.

When he offered the deck for her to draw a card, Cammy lazily eyed it for a moment, like a rat studying a trap, deciding how best to get the cheese or if it's even worth it. She downed the shot of liquor, which had been in her hands for far too long and briefly turned to the grill. "I don't really know how this works," she said, speaking about the cards, not the grill, as she prodded the meat for a few seconds before giving him her full attention, "but I ain't the superstitious type, so whatever. It's just cards. I ain't scared."

yeah, no one was buying that.

She wriggled her fingers, hovered over one card, then another and, at last, began to slowly --agonizingly slow-- drag it out, before quickly flipping it over for her to see. She had to turn it around because it was upside down, but the image depicted two dogs, howling at the moon. Well, one was a dog and the other a wolf. Cammy wrinkled her nose for a moment, then handed it to Streuben. "This is stupid, but at least I got one of the cool picture ones, instead of a number or something. Oh, Great Wizard, what does it mean? Grace us with your wisdom."

 

[Malphaestus]

Episode 2: Azata's BackyardFREDRICH-ALEXANDER VON STREUBEN
To some's surprise, he also responds to "Tower-Upright."

"Means you're thinking too much," he quickly rebutted with haste far dissimilar from his otherwise ordinary disposition, an almost mechanical learnedness armouring his otherwise ordinary words. Believe or not, coincidence can be quite the divine and supernatural clockwork. It has worked for him numerous times, so why would it not work for others. He didn't need to believe in fairies to believe that his cards had some sort of predictive quality to them. Broken clocks are right twice a day, or something. He didn't know American sayings. "And, or, repressing something," he added swiftly, almost dismissively. After all, clearly another taboo, the cards.

He eased the moon back into its place, with a swift and unified motion, before exchanging it for his package of cigarettes and a lighter in what can only be described as a 'poof;' an instantaneous, or at least what appeared as one, shifting of position. He didn't dwell on it though, seemed engrained, as he raised another herbal package lade within a cheap variety of soft paper, rolled dismissively within some unfortunate factory, against his far too active lips. His eyes had been shifting their targets for a while now, to the ground, to the sky, to Azata, and to Peyton, lastly into a fence. He was out of his element.

An internalized sigh, a heave of the now lit 'cig,' and the interior rumbling of fumes hitting against his air pipe was all he needed to realize this wasn't going too well. He raised his hand, the low-collar of his t-shirt making his cybernetic intake easy to scratch. "I'm certainly no Great Wizard," he spoke, fumes leaving his mouth as he did. He shifted his stance slightly, leaning just an extra few percent on his left foot as opposed to the right. "After all, this is quite awkward," he finished. A strange sense of humility and awareness sprinkled across his otherwise indifferent words.

He was not an actual fool, he merely did not have the ability to present himself as anything but most of the time, he thought, well aware of his unfortunate tendency to casually kill conversations. Though in his admittance, he didn't necessarily care much for it. Still, it made things rather difficult, especially now. After all, he didn't know how to handle these two yet. It was dangerous territory in relationship-crafting; either they'll tolerate you, or they won't. The difference could mean much when dealing with Linkers.

He would win, if something were to happen. But it would cost, as always. Nothing is ever cheap.

He took a metaphorical step back, leaving the stage light for either Peyton or Azata to take helm and veer the conversation into more pleasant seas.

Hopefully.

~~~~

The MOON
reversed
Release of fear, repressed emotion, inner confusion

​

 

[Viper Actual]

Free? Peyton narrowed her eyes and took another sip. What's the catch?

She refrained from uttering her question out loud and simply nodded in response to Streuben. When he and Cammy continued their own discussion Jennifer continued to observe. In a way Streuben's manners were surprisingly relatable; The man was out of his element and every word of every sentence felt like an experiment. He was testing his way forward, to see what works and what doesn't. Peyton wasn't surprised- it fit into the whole socially-awkward professional-image she had of him and, in a way, reminded her a bit of herself.

Eventually you learned to wind down and relax in the company of some people. People you could trust. Granted, she had been a private contractor most of her adult life but despite the mercenary nature of the job there were still some camaraderie and team spirit. There was no reason for that to not exist here as well, Streuben just needed to find the right crew.
Peyton tilted her head slightly. He could be trying to get laid as well. She nodded to herself, the movement was barely noticeable. Wouldn't be the first time I see that one. Everyone needs different things to wind down.

If that was the case, well, she didn't blame the man for trying. Jennifer was no saint and Cammy, well, she was too impulsive and outgoing to not make a quick score. In Peyton's case it had been less about finding a relationship and more about taking her mind off a difficult mission, the death of a colleague or a near-death experience.

When Streuben admitted to the awkward nature of the conversation Peyton smirked. "You can relax, we're not some board of directors. You need to stop using your brain." She glanced at her other colleague. "Like Cammy."

 

[AnonyMouse]

You're thinking too much.

The sly smile she had worn through much of this discussion slowly melted from her face when he explained the meaning of the card, as if her very existence was being challenged. It was a little like telling an expert marksman, "you missed," or a mathematician, "you forgot to carry the two." What really struck her was the fact that he was right. Painfully right. She'd been analyzing his every move, trying to read his intentions and pick apart every fiber of his being. Hearing this prognosis recited back to her triggered something within her. An awareness. An acute awareness that her defenses were up.

Normally, such a thing would be addressed through liberal application of liquid courage, but she was already three --four?-- shots in and didn't feel a thing, which was usually a sign that it was working.

It was at precisely this moment that Cammy realized this 'party' was really fucking lame. Cammy was at her best when she had a gun pointed in her face or was screaming across the badlands in a rickety old something-or-other. At speed, everything blurs. You don't have time to stop and smell the roses, let alone pick one, taste it, perform a chemical analysis, and plant a fucking rosegarden of your own to cultivate hybrid strains. She'd been here, talking to this man-giraffe, for less than five fucking minutes and could feel moss growing between her ears!

"I think I get it now," Cammy said in a low voice. It was clear she was speaking to herself, verbalizing the conclusion of a long string of toughts that had been slowly fermenting in her head for many minutes, though at this range, they undoubtedly heard her. She didn't often think out loud. In fact, she didn't spend much time thinking at all, but when she did, it was often followed by bursts of action. Cammy, deep in thought, is a scary thing, because those thoughts always lead somewhere...

After Streuben remarked on how awkward this felt and Peyton reassured him that he needed to relax and use his brain less, Cammy saw her opening and pounced.

"He can't. He doesn't know how," she said, very matter-of-factly as she gazed up at the towering man. "He's incapable of letting go and going with the flow. I mean, I've seen people who try to paddle upstream, but this guy... this guy is trying to redirect the whole fucking river."

She had kept a few feet of space between them throughout most of the conversation, mostly because his height made her uncomfortable and looking up annoyed her. But, as she went on, she came in closer until there were only inches between them. He smelled of cigarette smoke and liquor. She punctuated that river metaphor by prodding him on the chest... which, for some reason, broke her train of thought and halted what was about to be a very lengthy but well-intentioned rant about how he's too controlling and needs to let go and follow his instincts and blah, blah, blah...

"Daaaaaamn," Cammy said, pinching his abs as if she'd suddenly discovered they existed because they were level with her nose. "Not bad. You work out?" Without warning, she reached around and grabbed his ass. "Hey, Pey, he's uptight in more ways than one!" she said, giggling like an idiot.

 

[Malphaestus]

Episode 2: Azata's BackyardFREDRICH-ALEXANDER VON STREUBEN
To some's surprise, he also responds to "Tower-Upright."

His arm fell limp as it swayed itself down his side to rest along his waist. He listened intently. His eyes turned, shifted against Peyton's own as he stared briefly. Then, a strange occurence. A smile, or an attempt at one; a brief smirk; an upturning of the lips. This seems like the correct time to show some form of pleasantries, he thought, as he spoke, "touché," a mighty-brief laughter accompanied what can only be outwardly described as warm commentary. His eyes remained still, calm, betraying his parody of conversational chemistry. He didn't know them, but he was stuck here. He had seen enough conversations to have an understanding of natural progress, but his mind remained too active to make it seem truly real.

Then, a muttering. He turned, stared at Azata. Unlike Peyton, who he felt he had at least some grasp on, she was a torrent of confusion. He looked at her smirk fade, and immediately his mind stretched. She 'gets' what? The cards? Them? What is she referring to? He could assume, based on what he'd thought of her previously, that she could be referring to any number of things. From the grill, to some here-to-fore unnoticed invention he hadn't had the opportunity to grace his own vision. But, now he didn't really know. She had betrayed and enforced her own impression within his mind numerous times in just this 'party.' A party which, as time passes, feels more like interrogation by every passing moment.

Brief silence, one which felt like forever.

He glared at her, as she started speaking. Fumes still escaping through his nose as he took another huff, needed to, as he listened to the 'wise words' of the garbage queen. A lecture, it would seem. To him, at that. Ridiculous. From her? Rather control than live in chaos, human nature is to organize and categorize for valid reasons indeed, he thought as his ocular daggers hardened. His condition was simply more severe than others, he has the 'trait' after all. Still, that does not give anyone the right to proclaim it invalid simply because it does not conform with what others desire. He thinks, therefore he is-

His thoughts stopped, hard; a rapture met with an infinite dam.

Did she just touch him, he thought. He stared, his daggers turned into question marks as his mind ground to a halt.

Internalized silence, as she prodded him as to his training routine. "Yes," he responded absent-mindedly, his entire demeanour asking the universe what was happening as he continued speaking on auto-pilot, "every day if I can manage to..." She had tapped his abdomen, right? His voice was as chameleonic as ever, masterfully masking his internalized commotion. His eyes darted everywhere and nowhere however, acting to unmake his otherwise 'calm' character.

Confusion.

What?

As she took a hold of his ass, he staggered briefly. The surprise forced the smoke out of his lungs as he blew a variable storm through his nose as he regained his footing. Now, he was very much out of his element, he thought reactionarily as he looked up from his feet and at Azata, giggling her own ass off at him. He looked back to his feet as he stretched his back, leveling his cigarette with his mouth, only to mess up.

He coughed quickly, briefly using his hand to cover his mouth, before rapidly getting it under control and bringing the 'cig' back into position.

Fuck, he thought. The word being, mentally, very drawn-out.

 

[Viper Actual]

Peyton was about to take another sip when Cammy's expression changed. That's not good.

When her colleague began to speak Peyton could feel the rant, rambling and/or confrontation that was just around the corner. Streuben had so far been relatively unfazed by Jennifer's shorter and much more aggressive colleague. Knowing Cammy's previous behaviour she was about to do something stupid to re-assert herself.

Then came the steps forward and the angry glare. It was like witnessing David and Goliath. Peyton narrowed her eyes. As Cammy suddenly touched Streuben, got distracted and instead opted to question the Linker about his training habits Jennifer could only look on in horror.
When Cammy's hands suddenly went around Streuben's waist to grab his buttocks Peyton tensed up.

Oh no...

"Hey, Pey, he's uptight in more ways than one!"

Peyton glanced down at her glass. There was still roughly two thirds left in it. She shrugged and immediately downed the rest of it. The gesture was followed by a grimace as she set the glass down.

"Azata, time-out," she said, looking at Cammy with a very disapproving look. "As fun as this party is I don't think anyone here wants it to end with a police report."

Peyton nodded towards Streuben. "Let the man go. You're making him uncomfortable."

 

[SkyHawk MK III]

Episode 2: Azata's Living Room: Collaboration w/ Windsock
Hazel eyed the download queue, briefly looking over the games that were going to be available; Fantasy, sci-fi and the generic platform game or two thrown into the mix. At least there was variety instead of them being all similar in design and feel. Adam had mentioned about the possibility of alcohol involved, which to be fair, could be fun with the right game but it was better to leave it off the table before fist fights broke out. The 'multiplayer' game with the phones did intrigue her, thought she felt it was more of a one time sort of game and the party members wouldn't be bothered with downloading an app just to play one game.

Nonetheless, at least some games had things which go boom, which pleased Hazel. Nothing wrong with blowing anything to hell and having a good time which was a philosophy good enough for the battlefield. "We can try that interactive phone game...thing if we get more people into it." Hazel commented on the choice of games "But for now I guess we can play some shooters until we get anyone else interested."

Rosa was quick to butt into the situation; deciding she wasn't needed in the kitchen since that plan was entirely superfluous in practice. Abandoning that method of attack, she leaned on one side of the simple couch and looked over to the oversized television, currently just observing the gang that was huddled around it, expecting downloads.

Surveying the people like a queenly lioness taking in her domain (or a hippopotamus, if considering Azata's rude comparison), she was also quick to note how young these lads looked, nearly out of place with the rest being closer to thirty, and herself... By contrast, one was damn near a kid and the other was at least closer to twenty, directly between the two decades at best. It was always weird how young Linkers could be.

Almost gross. Still, these were effectively Camille's wingmen, no sense in acting weird about it. For now. She figured she'd strike up another conversation, focused on the other lady who she barely started to know today. "So... Video Games. . .", trailing off, almost intentionally. She started to feel old. "How do you operate these things?"

The conversation between Hazel and Adam was interrupted by the appearance of Rosa. Leaning her head back to face her, instead of moving her entire body around Hazel gave a reply "I'm surprised that you've never touched them, though the guy siting over there probably knows more about games than anyone here." Hazel now turned her body towards her, leaning on the couch and giving a warm smile "Maybe you should give it a go, since you're new to it all by the sounds of it." Rosa didn't seem like the sort of lass to be playing games in her spare time, not to mention the possibility of her not even touching a single controller.

Either way, Hazel took another drink of the whiskey, placing it back in it's original position when she'd finished before continuing to talk "There's probably something fun you can find on the console, shooters, platformers; It's a big world video games in terms of genres." Feeling like she was forgetting something, Hazel remembered about the 'operating' part "Oh yeah totally forget about the playing part. Controls are similar almost across all games as far as I'm aware. You'll have to speak to the expert over there, but it's been more or less the same just tweaked depending on the play style. Shouldn't be too hard for a new gal like yourself to get into it." Hazel giving her a small, encouraging nudge with a smile to match.

She felt sort of sorry for Rosa as she seemed to have been dropped head first into the deep end by Cammy.

Rosa was clearly the opposite of interested at the explanation, slyly looking the other way as Hazel continued and finding it easier to accept that she probably shouldn't get too involved, tempering her interest in this little gang that was slowly forming with a sense that it'd be more trouble to get too personally attached. She wasn't their peer, and that was alright. ". . .I think I'll just watch."

It was evident that she was an odd one out in particular.. even that new, older bloke who was sitting by himself screwing around with alcohol mixtures had the excuse that he was apparently based here, too. She started to think it was a mistake to come. Nobody likes a third wheel. Or eighth, in this case.

Might as well enjoy this part before ditching. She turned to the two men who set the machine up and figured an inquiry. They seemed quietly comfortable around one another. "You two brothers or something?"

YsFanatic
Tanya Degurechaff
Windsock ​

 

[Tanya Degurechaff]

Episode 2: Niko Finally Responds
“Eh?” Niko was mildly confused with the power outage, especially since it hadn’t immediately happened after they plugged it in. Regardless, being in the dark for a second or two wasn’t going to get too much of a reaction from him. The lights came back on quickly though, and so he was about to resume the conversation, until the news appeared on the screen. Something about terrorists doing terrorist things again... Meaning more work. “...Deserat? Huh. Neat name. Buuuut terrorists so maybe not so cool…” He said to himself, before the console had taken over again. It was a nice touch to have the TV come on in his opinion, though he was disappointed being left on a cliffhanger like that.

Niko was still familiar with gaming to a degree, but he wasn’t sure on what would be best for a party environment, so he left that decision up to Adam. Patiently waiting as the console and games were set up, he kept an eye out for anything he thought he may be good at. The platformer seemed like one of the options, the shooter was a bit less likely but still possible if he could find out what he was best with. His thoughts were interrupted by another question though, this time from another voice altogether. He adjusted to face the source, the ever present smile still on his face.

“We’re all brothers and sisters here! ...But if you’re really asking, nope!” Niko replied. He wasn’t quite sure if he’d met this person before, so he figured it’d be best to at least give a name if he hadn’t.

“I’m Niko, by the way.”

YsFanatic
SkyHawk MK III
Windsock

 

[AnonyMouse]

The look on Cammy's face when Peyton addressed her was a mixture of confusion and hurt, as if this were a betrayal of the highest order. She felt as though her wingman had buried a knife in her back and twisted it. However, it was tempered by Streuben's reaction... or lack thereof. Had she broken him? Were the elevators not reaching the top floor anymore? In a way, that was her goal, but seeing it happen --and so soon-- she couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

But only a little.

"Jesus, not you, too," Cammy said as she let Streuben go and gave the woman her undivided attention. "C'mon, I just grabbed his ass. We all got an ass, don't we? We're all adults here. Police report..." she sneered. "You make it sound like I tied him down and jingled his bells or something." Her eyes slowly slid to Streuben, as if searching for his reaction to this possibility.

Not on the first date, big guy, Camille thought, dying with laughter inside. But, externally, she was throwing the brakes on because she knew Peyton was right.

"Okay, okay, fine. Look..." Deep breath. Put your big girl face on. Talk softly, so you don't frighten the prudes. "Guys... chill. It was just a joke, alright." She turned to Streuben with a genuinely apologetic look. "I am... sorry for making you uncomfortable, okay? I'm just trying to... you know... liven things up a little. You look bored as hell, man! Until five minutes ago, I thought you were boring as hell, but you're actually a halfway interesting guy. Honestly, I thought I'd fucking hate you, but I only find you slightly annoying, which is pretty much how I feel about most people... including myself right now, so... yay!

"But you..." She abruptly spun around and leveled her finger at Peyton, "you're... you're..." Cammy stopped to pour herself another drink. "You're a real fucking buzzkill, Pey, but thanks for speaking up. Ell would be so fucking proud of you right now. Friends don't let friends grope strangers. Not that we're strangers anymore. He's practically one of us now," she said, nodding to Streuben and lifting her glass.

 

[Malphaestus]

Episode 2: Azata's BackyardFREDRICH-ALEXANDER VON STREUBEN
To some's surprise, he also responds to "Tower-Upright."

He gazed up, and huffed his last smoke for the occasion, filling his lungs to the absolute brim as he did. This girl, he thought as he finally looked up, his mental train having finally entered its station. He gets it. Not like she did, but he actually understands; her parody of her own understanding of him was farsical, but he understands her, at least more than she did him. She's trying to break convention, for whatever reason. Forcing her nomadic whatever on everyone else. Lawless cowboyism. He cocked a grin, weak but visible. As he continued, he allowed the smoke to leave his nostrils ever so slowly, not attempting to exhaust his internal supply too easily.

He listened to Azata and Peyton's discourse, they clearly didn't get eachother. Unsurprising, frankly. They've only been on a single mission together, his assumptions were incorrect; in actuality, they didn't bond more than he did with his own teammates, they merely seem like they did because Azata is Azata. Her forcefulness masquerading as some form of mockery of charisma. "It's alright," he uttered monotonously, his weak grin accentuating his words with a slight edge to them. "It's nothing, I was simply caught off-guard," he added as he stood himself fully upright once again, resuming his slightly paused gaze across the two of them.

To his surprise, it seemed like Peyton carried her heart on her sleeve, a good trait in his eyes. Makes things easier. She took offense to what Azata had done, or at least was disappointed, and visibly so. To his greater dismay, Azata seemed the opposite, her true face ironically veiled behind moderate supplements of truth mixed with a moderate arrangement of veiled words, the ideal merger for anyone who wasn't capable of seeing beyond it. He didn't forget, she laughed, hard, at him. Mocked him. But now she seemed like she was sorry. Doubtful.

She raised her glass at him, a gesture of peace and tranquility assumedly. He took her glass, and downed it himself, quickly, before placing it in her hand again. "You owed me one," was his retort to the entire situation, but internally there were bushfires. Infernoes boiling within hellish forges. He was angry at her, surprisingly. He was never harmonious with his emotions, actively suppressing them and occasionally forgeting about them altogether. But not this time, he could finally feel the alcohol tinge his insides, and his skin had become sensitive to the touch of his own t-shirt. He was moderately intoxicated and it was obvious to him, because he was furious.

"All's fair in bars and war," he solemnly stated, before finishing, "moto of my favourite bar in Strummburg. Parties are bars more than not, right?" His grin still evident for all to see, still not large, but still larger than what the perceptive would need to notice it. His words were cold, carried the conditions necessary to define them as words of disappointment, like always. But his eyes glowed, they seemed amused, if slightly, as he continued shifting his perspective to Peyton. "It's nothing," a moderate pause ensued before he decided to continue, "I appreciate the thought, but it's really not that big of a deal."

It was a big deal, a massive deal. Azata seemed to think that the world was in her grasp, it wasn't. It was in his grasp. His was the world.

He caught himself, his internalized egotism throwing himself off-guard, he could feel that strange sensation within him again. The one which he had made so obvious during his piloting of the Emperor during the first mission. He stopped, and puffed the remaining smoke through his mouth, using his tongue to form circles. He stared at them as they flowed through the air, soothing his own mind. He needed to calm down, with viscious speed. And he did.

He pointed towards the house, and resumed the conversation between the three, attempting to redirect the entire scuffle towards the living room. "Anyone curious what they're doing in there?" He really wasn't, but he needed a shift of atmosphere, if he was to engage with someone so eccentric as Azata, he wanted it to be on his terms, and no one elses. "Might be cooking bombs in there, never know. Hazel's a bomb expert, after all. Make her drunk enough and she will probably do it."

 

[Viper Actual]

Despite Cammy's initial hurt reaction it did look like Jennifer's words had actually reached through. Being called out to be a buzzkill wasn't much of a big deal though considering Cammy's stance and views on formalities and authority the comparison to her handler was nothing short of an insult. When she wasn't looking Peyton rolled her eyes before giving Streuben a nod. Despite the male Linker waving it off as 'nothing' Peyton wasn't supid; Whether he liked it or wanted it the confusion was as clear as a day on Streuben. He had been so caught off-guard that he was still trying to scramble his defenses.

Peyton wasn't impressed, for his half-assed excuses and jokes were clearly different methods of trying to regain the upper hand from Azata. It is very fascinating to witness however.

When offering to head back inside Peyton glanced at Cammy briefly before nodding towards Streuben. "We can't have Hazel make IED's, can we?"

That said Peyton made her way back to the house. Judging by the look of things inside the living room the others were...playing video games?
"What are you all up to?" She asked no one in particular.

 

[AnonyMouse]

Despite his assurances that he was okay and it was no big deal, Cammy could tell her actions had cut deeper than she knew. Something in the man's hollow eyes was suddenly less hollow, alight despite the darkness, like a gas lantern through smoked lenses. He showed nothing, outwardly, but the void where emotion should be showed all. His confusion had congealed into something masquerading as calmness, but clearly was not. He was angry. The type of quiet, seething anger which would not and could not go away, only be smoothed over, like a freshly-dug grave, and left to fester and rot until it inevitably rose to haunt whatever offense had given it life.

Or, to put it simply, he wasn't going to forget what she'd done. This wasn't over.

Every alarm in her head screamed that she'd broken something unfixable, all while they both stood there, in silent denial. She was "sorry" and he was "okay," two lies born of a mutual inability to understand the 'other.' She was not truly sorry, because she still didn't even understand what he was so pissed off about, only that he was pissed off. And he definitely wasn't okay, because she'd robbed him of control, even if only for a minute, and that deeply offended him.

Peyton was the first to depart and Cammy turned her attention to the grill. "Meat's almost done," was her only reply, muttered dispassionately with her attention diverted as she lifted the lid to prod the foil-wrapped bundle simmering over the low flame. With the grilling tongs, she turned the package over, allowing the aroma to waft skyward, filling their nostrils. She was no master chef, but she knew how to piece together a meal and burn more flavor into it than out of it. "Gonna be a few minutes. I'll bring some for you, in a sec... if that's okay with you."

 

[Malphaestus]

Episode 2: Azata's BackyardFREDRICH-ALEXANDER VON STREUBEN
To some's surprise, he also responds to "Tower-Upright."

It seemed like things were taking a steadier, slower, and more measurable, pace. No surprises, everyone seemed like they understood the rather strange and forced situation they found themselves in. Streuben's smirk faded, abruptly, as Azata turned her back towards him, and her face towards the grill, his eyes staring at her back all the same, until he decided that things were just right. No more than a few seconds. No surprises on her side, no surprises on Peyton's side, no surprises on his side. Just right. He turned his own back towards Azata as he made his way through the backdoor entrance into the living room, making sure to hunker down as he passed by the rather low doorframe sure to pace himself according to Peyton's own steps, as she lead the way.

As he switched scenery, he replied to Azata's rather diminished words, "Solid." Nothing much, but nothing more than what could be expected of him. His heat had diminished, and his fiery temper no longer as evident in his gaze as his eyelids closed against themselves more akin to their typically lazy arrangement. Settled, he thought, as he shifted his attention towards the room. A rather strange one, filled with what can only be described as 'plans' for an activity. Obviously one related to the rather strange console system that Adam had brought with him. He was no stranger to Unity, or the company behind it, but he had no real experience with virtual entertainment, beyond the NC Simulator he had set up in his study, amidst the various newspapers he's collected over his years, in his highrise flat.

Nonetheless, his energy was sapped. The party, not to mention the mission preceding it, had seriously affected his stamina and physique. Aches all over, especially across his left temple. With the conclusion that the gift was sufficiently delivered, and the reciprocity adequately calculated, he was making himself ready to head home and recuperate. He shuffled himself across the empty space amidst the walkable surfaces of the room, poised for the front door. "Best of luck with your game," he initiated, as he turned the last corner towards the entry way, "I'm leaving. Tired."

He certainly was, for a variety of reasons. Severely needing another snooze.

 

[YsFanatic]

Adam had opened his mouth to respond to the woman's question only for Niko to beat him to it. With a shrug he decided to hand out controllers to those that had expressed interest while the downloads finished up. "The controls for the shooter are pretty generic, if you've played one before you shouldn't have any issues." A small grin appeared on the Linker's face. "And if you haven't, well, I hope you learn quickly as I'm not planning on taking it easy on anyone."

In response to Peyton's question he held up the last controller as the shooter finished downloading and started loading. "Video games. Got one controller left if you want in." Then he blinked in surprise and became distracted when Streuben mentioned that he was on his way out. If the taller man was leaving before they even ate, then being tired must not be an exaggeration. He could understand as it had been a hell of a day. "Well, have a good night then," Adam calls out before turning his attention back to Peyton and the others gathered around the console.

 

[SkyHawk MK III]

Episode 2: Azata's Livingroom
Hazel sat cross legged on the sofa, feeling a bit more comfortable and picking up a controller, was about to respond to Peyton's question before Adam got there first. Hazel finished off the second glass of whiskey and thought about a third. A third wouldn't hurt, would it? She wasn't exactly a master at handling drinks, more than often, she rarely drunk outside of parties and only really had a couple of glasses at a weekly meetup with her old crew with anything more than that was over the top. Ah bugger it, might as well.

​

She was about to get up to fill it once more when Streuben announced that he was leaving. So soon? Hazel didn't protest his plans for an early night. She got up to fill the glass once more and returned to her seat, placing the glass on the table, speaking to Adam "Alright, let's play I suppose. You're gonna kick my ass, aren't you?"

YsFanatic ​