[System]
Home Universe/Name of Franchise: The book series wiki
Ship Class: Donnager-class battleship
Role: Battleship/flagship
Physical Description/Image:
Physical Size: 475.5 in length

Armament:
* 4✕ VX-12 Foehammer Turreted Ultra-Heavy Railguns - these weapons were amongst the highest-spec railguns in the Solar System and only matched by orbital weapons systems.
* 6✕ Forward Torpedo Launchers and 8✕ Aft Torpedo Launchers - variable loadout: high-explosive (HE), plasma, flechette, and nuclear warheads. Flechette explode before impact, acting as an oversized fragmentation grenade.
* 59✕ Nariman Dynamics 40mm Point Defense Cannons - guided by a computer and equipped with advanced cooling systems. Retractable and moved along/rotate around the hull. Fires Teflon-coated armor piercing sabots.

Compliment:
* 6 Corvette-class frigates - At 46m in length and 30 sailors/marines, the Corvette-class is a light frigate operated by the Martian Congressional Republic Navy (MCRN). This class has multiple roles, including missile platform, boarding party insertion, missile defense, customs enforcement, law enforcement, reconnaissance, and surveillance. They are fully equipped to act independently. The frigates are armed with 6x Nariman Dynamics 40mm Point Defense Cannons and 2x Torpedo launchers. image.
* Chariot-type dropship - They can carry a complement of twelve Martian Marines, alongside a complement of Recon Marines equipped with Goliath Powered Armor.
Chariots are armed with three heat-seeking missile launchers, two automated ground-support machine guns, and one turreted 40mm PDC. All weapons are hidden behind doors. They additionally carry enough supplies and reaction mass to travel a fairly large distance from their mothership and are capable of being employed as scouts or ship-to-ship transports. image
* Repair skiffs - Repair skiffs are small vessels used to maintain and repair many ships. These ships could be used to directly repair ships or to transport personnel to ships to perform internal maintenance.

History of the Ship: The ship is the 12th of its line and named after Solomon Epstein, the creator of the Epstein drive and the unfortunate victim of it as well. The Solomon's paint is still fresh as it came out of the shipyards weeks ago. Along for the ride is a completely fresh crew out of the MCRN Naval Academy. The ship itself doesn't have much of a history. It has only acted in anger once, having stopped a small group of pirates operating near an MCRN shipping lane. The fight was short, with the Solomon deploying its complement of frigates and railguns/torpedoes. The Solomon finished by deploying several dropships to an asteroid, where marines, accompanied by force recon in powered armor, killed the rest of the pirates hiding in an installation in the aforementioned asteroid. The soldiers found a device with planned pirate operations, which earned them applause from MCRN command.

All of the Solomon's plans stopped when, during a burn to a suspected pirate ambush site, the Solomon encountered a bright flash and then complete darkness.
Notable Crew:
Captain Mark Jaeger - Captain of the ship.
Commander Lee Harden - XO of the ship
Lieutenant Kyle Reed - Commander of the Marines and Force Recon on board.
Dr. Kate Lovato - The head doctor and lead scientist aboard the Solomon.
Samson - Chief engineer

Optional, but helpful:
Unique Technology: The Expanse universe does not have any gravity negating devices and does not possess FTL technology.
Crew Size: 1000, plus marines and force recon.
Faction/Operator/Owner: MCRN

[User]
Illegal mining vessel Jacob III
Approaching fringe of Zerg space

---

"We're approaching the site, sir. Your tip was good- the scanners are already picking up a lot of minerals here."

"I told ya, Wilkins. Prepare your shuttle, we've got digging to do." The captain laid back in his chair, putting down the radio and picking up his cigarette. From the viewport, the starts faintly illuminated the seemingly endless asteroid field around them. Blowing out a puff of smoke, he couldn't help but smile. Of course he was right- he was always right when it came to things like this. Turning to his left, he nudged his co-pilot next to him. "Joe, take us up to the site. I wanna see this for myself."

Joe took the controls, turning up the engines and steering the ship towards the marker on the screen in front of him. "Hope you know what you're doing, sir. We're in Zerg space, now."

The captain scoffed. "Yeah, barely. Trust me, we're gonna be long gone before any Zerg show up. We'll just grab the rocks, and go."

Joe shook his head, continuing on the course. "I hope you're right, sir."

"Come on, when have I been wrong? I've pulled us through way worse than this." He blew out another puff of smoke, before placing the cigarette back in his ash tray and grabbing the radio again. "Wilkins, you got a detailed scan yet? What sort of rocks are we looking at?"

No response. "Wilkins, you copy?" Again, nothing. The captain frowned, glaring at the radio. "Goddamn radio's on the fritz again." Grunting, he handed it to Joe. "Here, you try."

The co-pilot took the device, looking it over. "It's...there's nothing wrong with it, sir." He placed it on the dashboard as he felt ice run down his spine. "Sir, we..."

"Probably on their end, then. Speaking of..." The ship slowed down as they reached the site, with no sign of their sister ship. "Their lights must've gone out. Joe, get the floodlights, will you?"

Joe nodded, flicking a switch. After a moment, the lights went on. "Well, maybe- oh, sweet Jesus!"

Before them, was their sister ship...or what was left of it. The vessel was split in two, with debris scattered around in a wide arc, as if some massive blade had swung down the middle of the ship. The bodies of the crew floated in the void, expressions of pure terror etched onto their faces. The captain felt his heart sink, all his confidence draining away to be replaced by primal fear. With shaky hands, he gripped the controls, turning a hard left. "We need to get the hell out of here, now."

As the ship slowly began to turn to the left, a loud THUD was heard from the back of the ship, the shockwave sending the pilots forward in their chairs. The captain desperately tried to move the ship forward, but there was no response. A look at the screen confirmed his fear- whatever they had hit, it had taken out their engines. "No, no, no..." He turned to his side. "Joe, we gotta…"

But his co-pilot wasn't listening, staring into the distance. The captain followed his gaze, looking out into the black of space. "Joe?"

From the darkness, a pair of spiked tendrils emerged.

---

The Terran ship fell from a single swipe, just like the other. Ikani was almost disappointed. "I at least expected them to put up a fight."

"They weren't armed. They weren't expecting anyone to be here." Shelley, her infested Terran advisor, was standing beside her. From the membranous windows of the so-called "nerve room", they had a clear view of the destruction. "Either way, this will serve as a warning to others who would invade the Swarm's territory."

"Then our job here is done. I don't believe we have any other tasks, do we?"

"No, Broodmother."

Ikani was almost disappointed. Since the war ended, there had been very little for her to do, save for the occasional attack by pirates or ferals. True, there had been a few exciting missions, but those had been few and far between. She was hoping that this would be one of them, but it had proven to be a let down. What fun was there in killing an enemy that couldn't fight back?

"Very well. I'll put us onto a course back to Char, then." With a psionic command, Moonreaver began to make its way out of the asteroid field. "Shame. I was hoping for something more...stimulating."

"Well, maybe something else will come up?" Shelley offered, giving her a smile.

"I wish I had your optimism." They continued to watch out the windows as the living ship moved into open space. Just as they pulled out of the asteroid field, there was a white flash, and then nothing.

[Assistant]
---

July 17th, 2552
2100 hrs
In orbit around Sigma Octanus IV...

Eerily, silently, streaks of yellow light and flame streaked across the battlefield like bolts of lightning, the three-hundred-sixty degree camera monitors showing a fleet enraged, firing off all at once, towards an enemy so unfathomably far away, a fleet which had scarce noticed them until the heat of forty-eight vessels charging weapons had alerted them.

"Green light. Fire it, Lieutenant." The cool voice broke the tension in the Combat Information Center (CIC) of the Kearsarge. All eyes were on the Captain as his order echoed in complete silence. The fire control officer, one Lieutenant Atkins, murmured an acknowledgement, and flipped the cover to the ignition button, before depressing a thumb to it. Every circuit and wire in the ship seemed to whine, the electricity giving an awful din, its own battlecry, drawing and building towards something. And the ship shook, violently, a motion counteracted quickly by an inertial dampener and maneuver thrusters, but not unfelt by the crew. And suddenly, a twisting arc of electricity spun around their bow, and the MACs at the fore shot yellow, first one and then the other.

The Captain's eyes traced the screens above, assessing the impact of the combined assault. Far off, plumes of purple and thick black gas gave a characteristic thermal signature. Hit.

"Get us mobile, prepare to evade incoming." The helmsman complied, bringing the stick around, as the thrusters spun to compensate and the hull groaned. "Klein." The Captain spoke to a screen showing a separate section of the Kearsarge, showing none other than Lieutenant Commander Klein at a station similar to the Captain's own chair. "Bring the Archers online, counterfire as soon as they're up." Klein nodded, acknowledging with a murmur. "Jawohl, Kapitan." It came back with static. Plasma interference.

"Plasma torps fore-starboard, turning to evade!" The helmsman cried, bringing the stick back around again, the vessel stressing with the sudden change of heading. Suddenly, a shadow began to creep in the path of closing plasma as hot as miniature suns. The Cradle.

At the moment when the fleet was at its most vulnerable, scrambling to leave its packed-tight checkerboard formation into a spread out battle line, the Cradle, the massing hulk of a mobile repair station had thrown itself to the front, acting as a shield to the UNSC fleet. It did not fare well. The shadow was broken by purple explosions and jets of fire and debris. The Cradle snapped at three different points, before shattering into a million shards of space trash.

It had bought time, that was what mattered. The fleet had spread out, and began to recharge its MACs, now releasing swarms of Archer missiles. As the Cradle's husk drifted away, the Kearsarge had both main guns back online and had sent thirty-two Archer missiles out, simple thermal seekers. The Covenant fleet was in rags and ruin. The first salvo had brought most of the enemy shields offline, and the second equally strong salvo sent at least a dozen of the foe to Hell.

The enemy now were free to retaliate, and the sensors on the Kearsarge lit up with two-dozen new contacts. Seraphs, the small, maneuverable fighter-bombers which could scarce be dispatched by point-defense. They'd picked their target, and the Kearsarge lit up, spinning out a grid of point-defense fire along all sides, a wall of flak. But perhaps it was not enough, or the Seraphs simply outranged the turrets, as forty-eight plasma torpedoes flew true. Commander Jefferson was sure this was the end, as it had been for dozens, even hundreds of other UNSC ships, swarmed by fighters with which they could not contend.

By all means, the blinding light and burning heat should have cleaved the Kearsarge in threes as it had the Cradle. But this light was different. The ship had not melted to a pulp, nor split at its keel. No, before them laid vast, empty darkness, planets and a sun some distance away. Not Sigma Octanus. The crew was silent for what felt like an eternity. The Captain sat, jaw hanging open.

"What the hell just happened?"

[User]
Near the main belt between Mars and Jupiter

---

The engagement had been short; the marines were already returning to the Solomon via dropship. Captain Jaeger was proud of his men and women who had held to their training, showing that they were ready for the hardships that any armed forces had to deal with in space. "Well done everyone," the Captain began, "we accomplished the mission and by doing so have guaranteed the safety of the Martian miners and traders planning to come through here in a week. I'd like to tell you to get some R&R, but command wants us ready. You will all be informed when our new orders arrive." His communications officer cut the line and the captain allowed himself some coffee while they waited for MCRN command to relay the next mission.

Several minutes later the orders arrived via encrypted text. They were to deal with more pirates, as expected. The captain was about to get more coffee when several faint vibrations in the ship's hull marked the returning dropships and frigates, meaning it was time to brief the crew on their next mission. A nob told the communications officer once again opened the PA system, "attention all crew. Command wants us to prevent an expected pirate ambush near here. Be ready for a movement burn." After several moments the ship turned to direction and started a 1g burn towards the expected ambush site. The captain held his breath as they returned to the 1g, a feeling he was still getting used to. He didn't grow up in 1g after all, having lived his life on Mars.

The Solomon was about to reach the halfway mark in their journey, where a flip and burn would be performed to decrease their speed. The maneuver was usually seamless when done at low and unvarying accelerations, so the crew wasn't alarmed about it.

"Sir, we are beginning the flip and burn," the navigations officer said.
"Very well, when you are ready."

The captain felt short vibrations of the ship's thrusters through his feet, signaling that the maneuver had begun. Halfway through the quick move, however, a blinding bright light caused the viewscreens to go completely white, and then black with "rebooting" written across them. The Solomon had just flipped into another universe.


[System]
Sex: Female
Age: 17 (looks younger than she really is)
House: Utopia House (as close to the kitchen as possible)
Appearance:
Note: She smells like a bakery all the time

Duel Disk + Bike: Commercial Duel disk with a few stickers with the name of her bakery on it to remind herself of home, also has converted her delivery bike to be capable of Turbo Dueling though she isn't expecting it getting much use other than getting around the academy if she has to

Personality: A very friendly but sometimes clumsy person, She always appears to have some sweets on her
History:
Rumi moved to japan with her parents to open up their own foreign bakery it gained popularity through Rumi and her parent's dedication but as time went on its few years of popularity dropped as variety bakery started to pop up in japan as well resulting in the bakery shutting down

Rumi now decided to attend an academy through recommendation from a close friend she made when she worked in the bakery herself and is now keeping up with him through written letters

Rumi and her parents moved from Europe to Japan to open up their own bakery to sell a variety of European sweets to the East as there were not many purely foreign shops in at the time they moved in, it was a rough beginning for the shop but after a few weeks her mother suggested she tried helping out at the shop whenever she could, attending the register, baking the goods herself and even standing outside the shop promoting the bakery itself.

As time went on Rumi gained interest in a card game called Duel Monsters through a regular she now calls a close friend. Her friend told her about a deck type that reminded him of the bakery's goods itself called Madolche and gifted her a deck he made himself though he admitted he didn't have enough cards to make it work perfectly.

In the more recent years Rumi's parents and the bakery started to lose their popularity to other more popular mainstream bakeries with a mix of both traditional European sweets and Japanese favorites, which in turn led to the shop closing down even though Rumi tried her best to keep the shop open as long as possible it couldn't be done and she had to accept the fact that the shop had to close but on the last day of the shop being open while having one last visit from her friend for whom she baked her own cookies for she found a mysterious card in one of the mixes she was making not remembering really having any cards on her when she was making them, after showing it to her friend he suggested she could probably get some clues by joining an academy with the promise of keeping contact through old fashioned letters

Wish: Restore her parents' shop its former glory.

Deck:
Madolche Puddincess x3
Madolche Chouxvalier x2
Madolche Messangelato x2
Madolche Butlerusk x2
Madolche Majoleine x2
Madolche Angelly x2
Madolche Marmalmaid x2
Madolche Cruffssant x3
Madolche Hootcake x2
Madolche Chickolades x2
Madolche Mewfeuille x2
Madolche Baaple x2
Sweet Dreamer: Mayu
Madolche Ticket x2
Madolche Chateau x3
Trap Hole x2
Madolche Lesson x2
Madolchepalooza x2
Magic Cylinder x2
Madolche Waltz x3
Madolche Nights x2
Madolche Tea Break x2
Madolche Queen Tiaramisu x3
Madolche Puddincess Chocolat-a-la-mode x3

Solar Legacy:
Sweet Dreamer: Mayu
Level 3 Earth Spellcaster Effect
700/ 1700
"If this card would be destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, place it at the bottom of your Deck instead."

[User]
Carnel did what he could to grow more accustomed to his new home, going through his usual routines of getting ready for the day. He warmed himself up before jogging a few laps, getting his morning exercise in for the day. When he was done, he got ready to go get breakfast at the cafeteria. Ignoring the somewhat menacing appearance of the lunch man, Carnel approved of the quality of the meal he had received and found a spot to sit down and eat.

As he was eating, his Duel Disk suddenly lit up. Carnel, surprised, immediately turned to see what was going on. What was currently being shown was the image of Mokuba Kaiba, the CEO of Kaiba Corporation, and the sudden announcement of the new Link Summon mechanic completely caught Carnel off guard. Carnel took a couple moments to think about the new information, and found that he rather liked the new development. The majority of his decks never had a need for an Extra Deck, so he realized that he found himself with an advantage over others who relied on the Extra Deck for their main powerhouse monsters. Granted, the advantage would not last as people would eventually adapt to the new rules, so Carnel would make as much use of it as he could. The idea of the new Link Monsters was quite interesting as well, making Carnel wonder how well he could use them.

Finishing up the last of his breakfast, Carnel gathered his things and readied his Duel Disk. Carnel hoped to be one of the chosen for this new event. The idea of obtaining a Link Monster was a fascinating one, never mind one before most others could, and he did not intend to let it pass.

[Assistant]
The natural acoustics of the area were for the most part sinister with the fact that it flaunted so little noise. Perhaps a little gust of wind would come through, and the insects would make their hisses and chirps, however for the most part it was quiet.

Of course this was due to the fact that The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell was in his Unholy Sanctuary. After all he had much work to accomplish here in one of the many inconspicuous and barren barn-houses that were the sole structures, if the fledgling convoy of the school bus and pick-up truck did not count, that remained in these withered rice fields. Perhaps when the time was right, The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell would check his Private Investigator Office, or as some would call it a 'dorm room', to see if any students had left any notes pleading for the services of the Damned Detective. But his freelance work would have to come second to his primary work. And boy did The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell had much to do in his Demonic Diocese.

Currently the Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell was inside one of those barn buildings on his territory. The structure was empty and only had The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell, the Pick-Up Truck which contained the scavenged pieces of the robotic officer and the Mechanic. What remained somewhat possibly fixable for the Duel Rider was located in another building in the Unholy Sanctuary. Fyodor stood next to the Pick-up that formerly belonged to the Mechanic, who was still tied up to the ladder and still would remain in that hostage situation until his morale improved and swore his eternal loyalty to both Konstantinovich and the Dark Prince.

And the mechanic had to mean it.

With a slow and steady swagger The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell stepped closer towards the mechanic. Curling his left hand into a fist Fyodor brought it up and rested it against his helmet. "Mechanic." The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell stated in address, "I will free you from the shackles of the divine. Yet you do you not make way for the Shepard of Fire. You will be most useful once you learn the ways."

He shook his head as he moved his left hand over his heart. Banging at his chest, The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell became more bombastic in his motions as he returned to speaking and began sermonizing. "Look at what has happened to you when you gave your loyalty to the Angels! HAS EVEN A SINGLE ONE NOTICED THAT YOU HAVE GONE MISSING!?" Fyodor mockingly performed large gestures of moving his head around as he extended out his arms far and wide. "Not a soul! Not even a peep. Face the fact that you were nothing before my neophyte captured you and brought you to me. It was part of His Infernal Will you know. He wanted to bring you to me; and so he made it so you did not fall out of that Pick-Up Truck when it went out of control. And do you know why he brought you to me?"

The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell walked directly next to the Mechanic and began to slowly stroke at his right cheek. "He knows you're special. I know you are special as well. Your skills, they were being wasted slaving away at this Academy. You were tasked with things that were too easy for your skillset, trust me I know. I have seen the contents of your toolbox and yes, while they are rather crude and on the whole unimpressive, I see the untapped nature yearning in your soul. But I can't do anything with you yet."

Fyodor shook his head as he gently patted the Mechanic's shoulder, "And that is because you refuse to open your soul to me and the Lord of the Flies. We simply want what is best for you; what you were meant to be. And I will cleanse the filth the Angels left upon your soul as I baptize in the flames of Hell. You just need to accept your destiny and stop struggling against it. I shall free you."

With that The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell walked away from the Mechanic and made his way to the pick-up truck. The bed of the truck was opened fully and had the scavenged parts of the officer in place there. Fyodor picked out a tool as he stared down at the wrecked scrap and began to work. "You shall be the first of many. A cyborg, well okay I know you are a robot but cyborg sounds cooler, who shall roam the world under my complete obedience. You will walk the path of Hell and help bring forth the Empire of Hell on Earth. BWAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" cackled out Konstantinovich as he took the tools and began to work on reconstructing the robot into the state he needed it.

But alas his work was interrupted as his duel disk activated and brought forth the lecture from President Mokuba. Underneath the helmet of The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell there was surely an expression to be had. But this was just between him and the Devil.

"So..." Fyodor mused as he placed down the tool and walked a bit away from the Pick-up. "Visitors."

The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell threw his arms up to the sky as his body began twitching. "My message will spread even further and faster! Satan has bestowed me another unique opportunity." he spoke, each word dripping with glee as he began rubbing his arms over his torso. After a long period of that particular gesture he raised his right fist into the air. "HAIL SATAN! HAIL SATAN! HAIL SATAN!"

[User]
The harsh voice made Taiyo flinch, turning towards the imposing figure. Another student, albeit much more aggressive, that had challenged him to a duel. With Archfiends.

Normally Taiyo would want to decline, so that he could inspect his opponent's play-style and create a counter strategy. But he knew Archfiends. He knew them well. But he had never heard of this Archfiend Reverse. An archfiend card and a Synchro monster no less.

He wanted it.

But he would not duel for cards so easily. Perhaps his opponent was better than him, he didn't yet know. But there was only one way to find out.

More confidently than usual, Taiyo slot his unchanged deck into his duel disk, holding it high.

"I assume you're challenging me then... I accept Akaza Tsunozuka. Prepare to duel!" Taiyo said without a hint of the normal anxiety he displayed. All of his nervousness washed away at the very thought of dueling someone with the same archetype. He was calm, determined, and even feeling a tinge of competitiveness. He wanted to win. He was going to win.

[Assistant]
A crowd of people gathered around what appeared to be two duelists dueling. Though really, it was obvious by the holographic monsters that were brawling with one another. Several mushroom-like houses sprung up around the area, clearly the effect of a Field Spell.

"Ojama King, attack his life points directly!" a voice called. Shortly following a dramatic explosion, the holograms dissipated. In the middle of the crowd was a young man, obviously a student, shaking hands with an apparently older gentleman. The older man had large, spikey hair- a style that was not uncommon. He had on a black jacket, fully buttoned up, collar done neatly. Underneath the jacket was a black suit. At a glance, it was clear who this person was.

For several years, Manjoume Jun had been a top level professional duelist. However, seven years into his career, he had simply stopped competing. In spite of his young age, he had retired, and when asked for what reason, he simply responded he wanted to focus on his family, though his personal life never came to the forefront. Judging by the ring on his finger, however, it was safe to say he was married to someone.

The man looked to Carnel though really just picking someone out of the crowd. "Hey you" hey called Carnel. In his index finger, he twirled around a blue card- a link monster. "You look pretty strong. If you prove yourself right here, I'll let you have this card."

Level Master
(SW, SE) FIRE Spellcaster-type Link Effect monster
1500 ATK / Link 2
2 "LV" monsters
Once per turn, you can send one level 4 or lower "LV" monster from your deck to the Graveyard: Special Summon 1 monster from your hand or Deck that is listed in the sent monster's text, ignoring its Summoning Conditions. If you control a "LV" monster in this card's Linked Zone(s), this monster cannot be targeted for attacks, except by "LV" monsters.

Tsunozuka's duel disk was black with red stripes. The screen lit up, the word DUEL flashing on it, as the disk proper materialized out of solid light. "Huh." he remarked, as what materialized as his duel disk came out in the default angular shape with the default black fill and white border.

"Whatever. I think I'll let you go first." he offered.

He popped his deck into the disk, the deck shuffled by the disk before dispensing five cards for Tsunozuka to use. He smirked as if he knew how good his hand was.

[User]
Rumi was up early and simply took the classes she thought she needed at the time and did her usual routine of keeping up with her hobby of making food with her own little oven in the middle of baking she got the sudden announcement she at first seemed uninterested but upon hearing the mention of visitors she instinctively asked the screen "When? Where? I need to get my snacks ready!" and shortly declared she was going to make some snacks for the visitors "This is a natural thing to do when you get visitors after all!" Rumi said to herself after putting the cookies she just baked in a bag once again and ran off to find her friends to share her morning bakings.

unfortunately, she couldn't find any of them and promptly looked around for other people instead and as expected tripped over her own feet while running around the campus


[System]
Age: 16

Gender: Male

Personality: Bradley is a brash young lad who tends to say how he feels with little tact. He lived at sea most of his life, and isn't use to interacting with other non-sailors. When he talks, his language is very foul, as if he was raised that cursing is just part of normal conversation, with a bit of nautical jargon here and there. He also enjoys telling well exaggerated stories of his experiences at sea. Still, though, beneath his brazen, foul-mouthed exterior is a bit of a good-natured lad who appreciates a job well done. He has a work-hard-to-play-hard mentality.

Because of his extensive time spent on a boat, Bradley is a very team-oriented person. When there's a chain of command, it's always clear to him who he should follow, and where his place is. Bradley respects his elders and superiors, and doesn't try and cause trouble. Hard-working and reliable are good words to describe him, and he'd make a great and loyal friend. Because of this, however, he looks down upon those who are lazy or don't want to contribute to a common goal. He tends to have a bad first-impression on most people, thinking they're all just "lazy good fer nothin' landlubbers who can't do jack s**t." Inversely, Bradley looks very highly on those who break a sweat and work hard on their work, or at least try their very best to.

Despite his headstrong personality and little tact, he's quite intelligent as well. When he wasn't working around the boat or practicing with his cutlass, he was always reading many different books. He considers himself an expert at navigating, being inspired to learn the trade from his late mother. He's also well read in math, sciences, some history (mostly pertaining to exploration), and naval military tactics.

Bradley tends to get flustered easily when it comes to some things, from being flirted with, to accidentally seeing a female's undergarments. This is because Bradley's lived on a boat most of his life. Full of men. He's very inexperienced when it comes to women.

Backstory: Bradley was born at sea, in the middle of a mighty and terrible storm. At least, that's what he normally tells others when asked about it. Really, aside from a minor drizzle, the waters were quite calm when he was born. He was born on the Odyssey, a crab boat owned by his parents. In truth, while they do fish, it's mostly as a front to hunt down rogue channelers who operate as pirates and other unsavory folk in the ocean.

Bradley's father, Brad Sr., is a burly, stereotypical sailor of a man, who was rather jolly, but also a stern leader when he needed to be. Bradley's father is also a talented architect who could create an entire artillery fit for a military vessel. His mother, Anne, was an augmenter who used her powers to increase her sight and physical abilities, being a skilled navigator, and a strong fighter when she had to be. Bradley's father and mother served as captain and first mate of the Odyssey, respectively. The crew of the ship are military veterans who stayed loyal to his father, even after he retired from the United States Navy.

Bradley was raised with a mentality that he should always work his hardest for the betterment of the crew. Or at least, his father tried to instill that mentality in his mind. Bradley would rather prefer to read stories of great and legendary sailors, often acting out these stories with his mother, who encouraged this hobby. He was even inspired to take a cutlass as a weapon. In order to read more, Bradley always looked for shortcuts in his work. This put him at a bit of odds with his father, but aside from the poorly tied knots here and there, it wasn't really detrimental to the ship, so he didn't scold his son too much about it. He was worried that his son would be too absorbed in a fantasy world from all that reading, however.

While Bradley was eight years old, his family was going after a group of illegal whalers, lead by a channeler who was strong enough to control the weather to some degree. Because of his young age, Bradley's parents had him as a sort of powder monkey, giving more ammo to the crew and otherwise working around the ship, staying as far off from the fighting as they could keep him.

This time, however, Bradley somehow left their sight for just a moment, rushing headlong for the whaler captain, cutlass in hand. He bravely commanded the whaler to stand down, but he just laughed at the child, and sending a thundering bolt of lightning towards him. Luckily for Bradley, his mother caught sight of this, and jumped in the way, sacrificing herself so that her son wouldn't get hit. Before she died, she told her son how proud she was to have raised such a brave boy. A moment after her death, Bradley's father had seen what had just happened, and unleashed a barrage of cannon fire for his wife's killer. After the smoke cleared, however, the channeler was nowhere to be seen.

After having watched his mother die right before his eyes, this changed Bradley's point of view in the world. He started to see things much more in a realistic sense, and his work ethic began to improve. Bradley gradually became the hard-working man he was today. He also began to read into navigating more, in order to fill his mother's shoes. It was eight years after his mother's death when his powers awakened, and his father had arranged him to go to the Institute, being an alumni himself. Bradley was about to enter a strange, new world...

Appearance: Height - 6'0 (182 cm), Weight - hah no

Equipment: A cutlass, compass, sextant, and a nautical almanac.

Abilities: Bradley has worked in a boat his whole life, and as such, is pretty athletic. He also has a general understanding of how to sail, knowing how to do things such as tie knots. As mentioned earlier in his personality, Bradley is a well-read individual, who knows how to navigate very well, among other things. In terms of combat, Bradley knows how to use his cutlass, and when he does fight, he fights with a bit of a swashbuckling style.

Channeller category: Wavecaster heh

Description of power: Bradley can control and manifest water. While he is able to manifest water, he can't manifest a whole lot, and his abilities are more effective when he has a source of water available. They are most effective around large bodies of water, such as the ocean.

In terms of how he can control water at his current level, he can walk (not run) on water while concentrating, hurl orbs of water at people, or just splash some in their face to give them a bad time. Later on, he could fire jets of water with the power of a fire hose, create water whips, which can possible grab some things, and make the act of splashing water into someone's face a whole lot painful, and make walls of water to shield against projectiles to some degree. At higher levels, he could create enough water to sort of surf on while on land, using it to propel himself around, and could also create jets of water strong enough to blast through some forms of metal.

And no, he will not use pee. That is gross.

Names/descriptions of moves: (I'll only be describing Bradley's currently known moves, and add more onto it as he learns more. You get the gist of what he can do in the future above)

* Tidebringer: Bradley's signature ability. Sheathing his cutlass in water, Bradley shapes the water into a large blade, making a cleaving slash with his cutlass. At his current level, this allows him to give a painful splash along with his normal cutlass slash, and can use this to hit multiple targets. At higher levels, he can make a larger blade, and can even enhance his cutlass's cutting power.
* Poseidon's Kiss: Bradley puts his hand in front of someone's face, rudely splashing some water into it, and briefly stunning them. If you've been
splashed hard in the face before, you'd know this feel pretty well.
* Sea legs: A situational ability, Bradley fires an orb of water to a slippery piece of ground, for his enemies to slip on. Comic relief, mostly.

Character theme song: maybe later, not now.

Other: He prefers being called Bradley, and considers Brad to be his father's name only. Also using Wave as his appearance because I'm lazy and unartistic yay

DnD Alignment: Lawful Neutral

[User]
Ryuuto Koriyama

Ryuuto completed his rendezvous with Kasuke and Jun-Sang, swapping notes (or rather, sending them a shitload of multimedia files) without many words. He was surprised at how little he got from Kasuke, though. Perhaps she didn't think any of the new recruits were notable, but it was a shame since he had hoped somebody had caught what Hana did. He did get plenty of other useful information, though, and decided to go get settled in. However, something caught his eye...

He stopped when he saw the game of dice being played. "Chinchirorin, eh?" He walked up to the stand, curious enough about the game to approach the violent redhead. To his amusement, it seemed like she had no idea how to play. "It's a push," Ryuuto explained when she asked what her hand meant. "Banker set point at two, you rolled a two as well. Not sure how he wants to resolve the push, especially since there don't appear to be any stakes involved. Sometimes bankers will require a push be resolved by another hand with double stakes. Pretty exciting, but that rule can often deter the players because they'll go into the game unsure of how much they're going to lose." He adjusted his glasses. "Or, I could jump in and try to beat you both." Ryuuto didn't have much experience actually gambling, but he knew quite about about statistics and probability, and he had read up on lots of rule sets.

His mind raced  50% of the combinations result in a reroll, so those are negligible. This means 5% chance of an automatic loss, roughly 14% chance of rolling a one, and same for a two. That makes my odds 19% chance of losing, 14% chance to tie, and 67% chance to win. Good odds... "Sure, I think I'll roll."

@BrobyDDark@Silver Carrot@CondorTalon

[Assistant]
Ronald tipped his hat to Ryuuto with a smile. "This chap's got it right on the money." With a gentle motion, he presented the bowl and dice to the newcomer. "I had figured winning money off other students would be an illegal move on campus, but nobody needs money to have a good time with a good game, right?" Ronald was not wrong, however his motivations lied far beyond fun. It was training, pure and simple. An exercise to keep his mind from dulling while studying at this unbelievable school.

"But stakes make things a little more interesting. So how about this..." Ronald mused, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a ten dollar bill and placing it on his side of the table. "If you can beat both our rolls, this ten dollar bill is as good as yours, and if you stay around to beat my next roll, I'll throw in another ten bucks." Ronald's bet was simple- beat his roll twice, get twenty dollars. But before he let Ryuuto start rolling, Ronald raised his pointer with a smirk. "But, I'll expect you to give me the same courtesy."

@tipssyCalibrator

[User]
@13org@Azereiah

"My family name is Kasuke." she said simply, making a point of not telling Roy her familiar name. She definitely did not 'like his style', and would much rather be swallowing her pride and making excuses to Ryuuto and Jun-sang than carrying o this conversation.

"I have somewhere I must be, so farewell, Carter. We will meet in the future, I'm sure," she stated simply, and then turned and left.

@CondorTalon@Cu Chulainn

At the meeting, Mina suddenly wished she was back talking to Roy. It was even more painful than she thought it would be, admitting that she had very little to give. Even so, she picked up a lot of very useful information about the first years competing in the CTF game that she had otherwise missed. It was as if she had been paying attention the whole time. All the gaps in her knowledge were filled and she could now start to formulate plans. She said her farewells and started to head to her dorms. That's when she saw the pirate boy walking towards her. There was no reason to deviate her course, but if they got any closer, they might have to talk to each other, and Mina had a feeling that this boy was going to take that opportunity. He seemed the type. She quickly mentally prepared herself for another conversation, clearing her mouth of the sour taste of the last two she had.

[Assistant]
Bradley spent his time behind the trees waiting for the right time to strike. He placed enough hope in his team's skills to give him an opening enough to get the flag.

It was at this moment that a multitude of fantasies rushed Bradley's head. He would rush in to the enemy team's defences, finally revealing his true channeling capabilties as he washed them all away in his tide-sheathed blade. He would grasp the flag, and raise it high, running to his base as his team supported him on the way, cheering him on as he finally succeeded in achieving victory. His team would congratulate, and even learn to respect him. Perhaps one of the more skilled teachers would see that he's indeed skilled at Wavecasting, and would offer to mentor him. Maybe he could even get a kiss on the cheek from-

... Wait, why's everyone leaving the arena already?

Bradley stood up, scratching his head, confused. Apparently the match ended, and... they won?

"Huh? What?" Bradley uttered, as he looked around. "Well... okay, then?" He shrugged, and just wandered off on his own, towards the Institute.

While Bradley was a bit crestfallen that he himself didn't recieve as much recognition, he was still a bit glad his team managed to come up top. Of course, it wasn't really due to Bradley's leadership skills, and in the end, it looked as if someone else from his team took the credit in that. After a few long moments of dwelling on what had taken place, Bradley had resolved to prove everyone how great of a leader and channeler he actually is.

And then Bradley realized he had no idea where he was going. He was too consumed in his thoughts to ask any of the teachers where he's supposed to go. He began to notice one of the students heading to the same general direction he was going. She looked around his age, but he didn't remember seeing her in the CTF game. Probably an upperclassman, he thought. She also looked like a person Bradley wouldn't have considered approaching, under normal circumstances. Well, regardless, he was lost, and she was the closest person he could ask for help.

"Ahoy!" Bradley called as he walked towards Mina, waving. "The name's Bradley. I seemed to 'ave misplaced my map and-" Wait, he didn't have a map in the first place. Bradley cleared his throat. "I mean... I don't think I 'eard the instructors well, earlier. Might ye' know where all the first years're supposed to head to?"

Carrot


[System]
Gender
Female

Age
21

Place of Birth
New Harmony

Military Branch
Army, 147th Engineer Corps

---

Appearance
Srin stands about 5'5" (165 cm) and weighs 120-ish pounds (54~ kilos). She has a thin build but makes up for it with a wiry strength that is not to be underestimated. Her skin is fairly pale and burns rather than tans when exposed to sunlight. Her face is an inverted triangular shape, with a small pointed chin and a face that widens at the cheekbones. Her nose is small, slightly upturned and the area surrounding it is covered with a few freckles. Her large eyes are a light brown that borders on amber and her thin eyebrows arch in the middle, giving her an expression of constant surprise or excitement at first glance. When she smiles, she smiles with great enthusiasm, making her mouth look fairly wide. Only her upper teeth are visible when she smiles. Several squadmates, past and present, have made fun of her smile in the past, calling it "deranged" and "creepy". Her hair is auburn with streaks of light blonde running in it and it's about as long as regulations will reasonably allow. A few locks of her hair seem to permanently hang in front of her right eye, much to her officers' chagrin.

Attire
Army BDU, CH252 Helmet, Combat knife mounted on the left shoulder, up-armoured boots

Weaponry
MA37 ICWS, M6C Magnum, M9 HE-DP grenades, M168 Demo Charges, various other explosive devices of dubious origin

Fireteam 2 Bravo 9
Sgt. Penlan - KIA
Cpl. Vjun - KIA
Pfc. Chéreau - Active
Pvt. Li - MIA

Rank
Private First Class

Specialisation
Explosives, Demolitions

---

Personality
Private First Class Chéreau is a dedicated and spirited soldier who never lets an obstacle dampen her mood. She's quick to volunteer for any kind of mission no matter the personal risk. Despite her enthusiasm she has a few quirks that set her aside from the average soldier. She seems to enjoy her job blowing stuff up a little too much. They say you can't get into demolitions without being a little crazy and in this case it's probably true. Srin also has somewhat of a daredevil streak as well, enjoying excitement and the feeling of adrenaline. However she can also come off as naive or childish due to her eternal good mood and seemingly unlucky or accident prone nature which makes her somewhat of a target for jokes and mockery, thankfully she tries to take it all in stride. The only thing that really gets under her skin is the nickname Jinxie, which she picked up after her last squad was wiped out and a string of unfortunate accidents in close proximity to her. Overall, what she lacks in brute force and sheer skill with a gun she makes up for with attitude and destructive ability with explosives.

Biography
Born on New Harmony, Srin's parents worked for a colonial construction company, where she first learned about explosives. She would sneak off and watch her parents operate controlled demolitions or the explosive clearing of land. Fire and explosives became a lifelong fascination. When she was seven years old the Battle of New Harmony took place in 2537. Young Srin watched from her backyard in total awe as one of the only UNSC victories in space unfolded right above her. Bright colours of violet and pink as well as orange and red detonated in the night sky as ships were gutted and burned in the atmosphere. She was utterly transfixed by the display of lights and eruptions and from that night forward she decided she wanted to join the UNSC.

In school she studied engineering and demolitions and apprenticed for her parents in their construction business as a teenager. It was decent work but it never really captured her imagination or really scratched her idealistic itch she had developed after the battle she had witnessed. The week she turned 18 she enlisted in the UNSC Army as a combat engineer due to her past experience. After an extended basic training she was finally deployed.

On her first deployment there was an incident with an Officer's Warthog and a few fusion coils and although Srin was nowhere near at the time and cleared of all blame officially, several persistent rumors placed her responsible. During a stint aboard a frigate, a maintenance failure had Srin almost sucked out of an airlock in the middle of orbit. Only a quick-thinking ensign saved her, and although she escaped with only a minor bruise, talk of her jinx soon grew. Even routine, expected breakdowns became blamed on her bad luck, such as guns jamming, electronics failing etc. It was around this time that she picked up her nickname. A joke at first, it eventually stuck, much to Chéreau's annoyance.

Eventually she was deployed on Fumirole along with numerous other UNSC Army elements to counter the Covenant invasion that was ongoing. It was her first combat deployment and it ended up wiping out her entire squad, leaving her with only a plasma burn to her shoulder and further cementing her reputation as bad luck incarnate. Following the battle, she was transferred to Reach for what was supposed to be a quiet deployment but, lacking volunteers and manpower, before long her unit was folded into the larger battlegroup by ONI in preparation for OP Grey Axe.

Service-History
- Battle of Fumirole: WIA

---

Affiliations
Father and Mother on New Harmony

Notable Traits
- Nicknamed Jinxie
- Wide reputation for bad luck & jinxing those around her
- Fondness for explosives
- Speaks with a distinctive New Harmony accent
- Tries to remain positive about all things

Theme Song
Found it!

[User]
Private Mudak

At first Hunter's life flashed before his eyes, then again startling a scared group of people with guns in the dark was a good way to almost get shot. Other then almost getting shot, he was first met by this mixed unit's medic. He was glad that someone like this was still alive, though she seemed rather young, or maybe it was the fast she was so short. He almost asked about her age, but remembered something a friend of his told him during basic training. Short girls are at the perfect height to punch you in the balls. So he figured he'd hold off asking her any questions like that while she was attempting to fix her up. "Sorry about all of that, commotion." Revering to just walking out of the brush without warning. "Just got excited to see other people I guess..." He walked closer to the medic, though it was at that time when he realized how close to death he actually came that day. He was covered in blood of at least two different species, and his uniform was covered in plasma burns. "The blood's not mine. I don't know who it used to belong to, but it's not mine. The burns are though. Just do something to help it from getting infected and can handle it when I get some time to sleep." He tried to speak to the medic. A couple of his words were starting to slur though, he was physically and mentally exhausted. He wouldn't let that stop him though, he was too stubborn for that. Though he did get a little bit more awake at the sight of a nice shinny needle.

He brought his attention to the ODST when he started speaking. Eventually he responded to another remark about his poor idea of walking into an armed crowed of uneasy people. "Again, sorry about that. Name's Private Hunter P. Mudak. Secondary marksmen of Birdock team. Third Marksmen of my entire squad. You need someone shot I can probably do it. Might need some more caffeine first but I can probably do it still." He was trying to sound confident, he was glad it was dark enough that no one could see his eyes. He can only imagine they are probably bloodshot by now, that happened a lot when he was stressed and exhausted.

He motioned back to the medic. "You have a name? Or is the girl working on making sure I don't die secretly a machine who is getting ready to plant a probe inside of me? Because surprisingly I am not into that kind of thing. SO knowing now would be nice." He said this jokingly, trying to make a crappy situation better.

The ODST mentioned something about moving on to a new objective. Hunter zoned out for a moment, only catching the end of it. He said something about a rally point of some kind, were they going to take out a base? Or set up an outpost of some kind? That would be a nice change of things. Hunter was motioned to again though, about guns and ammo. "I'm armed sir, rifle's a bit beaten up but it still works. And I still have a good backup if it comes to that sir, I haven't used it since I made it to the ground yet." He had another back up, but fighting aliens with a small survival hatchet didn't seem like a fun idea.

[Assistant]
---

---

At the mention of her nickname, combined with the way it was spoken, Defort and Toogood couldn't hold a short outburst of laughter. "The fuck did you do to earn that moniker?" Defort managed to stammer amongst outbursts of laughter before suddenly sobering up. "Honestly though, am I the only one who finds it unnerving that someone with that nickname is in charge explosives? And you can drop all that ceremonial nonsense, we grunts are all equal here in the mud."

During the conversation, Edward noticed the armywoman kept looking at him in a weird way. Was there something wrong with him? Perhaps his helmet suffered some damage somewhere he didn't notice? "Right, this." he snapped his fingers as the realisation finally struck him and cleared his visor, revealing his face. Despite his calm demeanor, it was clear from his expression just how exhausted and worried he was. "Harper, Edward. So, if you know about this outpost, I take it you also happen to know which way it is? Because we are a little bit lost."
"Completely lost, to be accurate." Sheridan appeared from behind Edward and joined the conversation. He removed his helmet to wipe sweat off his forehead, presenting the same troubled expression. "Do you have any idea what we can expect once we get there, like possible medical aid. Do you know how far it is, or what the terrain looks like? One of our men is injured." He gestured to Nero's leg, the right greave looked like someone dropped an anvil on it. "She has to be carried and it's getting quite exhausting, not to mention we are essentially down three people because of it, so I hope you are at least a decent shot." John slid his helmet back onto his head and was about to say something else, but stopped abruptly as a transmission came through. The entire team paused to listen to Chariot 9-4's transmission. "That settles that, then. Chéreau, I assume you heard that as well. Since you know the most about this outpost, you and Ed will take point, Wrench and Lineman will follow, carrying Miranda. Notso and I will watch our backs. Stay around five meters apart. If we come under fire, we'll hold until Wrench and Lineman get some distance, than follow. Otherwise, avoid contact. You two in the front make sure not to rush too far ahead. The sooner we get to that damn outpost, the sooner we can finally sit down and stretch our legs. If we're lucky, someone will finally tell us just what the bloody hell is happening."
The ODSTs polarised their visors again and formed according to Sheridan's instructions. Edward mustered up an encouraging smile. "After you. If you run into any trouble let us know immediately."

[User]
Pfc. Chéreau grinned at the laughter of the two men. Sure they were probably making fun of her but she could take it. Kept morale up anyway. The follow up question had her tap her chin in thought before answering, "Well, there was the incident with the Colonel's Warthog, and the airlock on that frigate, my first squad on Fumirole..." her voice trailed off after that before restarting excitedly, "I guess that makes you guys my unofficial third squad! Third time's charm as they say." Punctuating her comment with an uproarious laugh at her own joke, Srin cleared her throat at the other ODST's clear attempt to get them back on track. "Right, OP Sierra is a bit back in that direction. I can put a waypoint down for all of you to see if you'd like to link me into your squad's VISR. I'm not sure what it's like there now, but it's supposed to be the Forward Operating Base for all UNSC on Oman, it was however, half completed the last I'd heard."

Jinxie shifted her weight to her other foot and shrugged. "It's still probably the best chance we have." Before she could say anything else though, the whole discussion was interrupted by a transmission from Chariot. Move to OP Sierra. That was seemingly the gist of it. At least her standing orders were updated. The Trooper nodded at the conclusion of the broadcast to no one in particular and looked back at the ODST who joined the conversation late. "I've been known to hit what I aim at." It was mostly true. Truthfully, if she had a choice she'd ditch the MA37. She was a better shot with the M6 anyway and the less ammo she had to carry, the more explosives she could. Of course it was the Army, and she didn't really have a choice. So here she was, lugging around an MA37 (one that wasn't even hers!) She probably looked quite silly using an outdated rifle compared to the ODSTs' advanced weaponry and gear.

Srin nodded to Sheridan and unslung her weapon before making her way to the front of the group with Edward. Jinxie was not looking forward to another trek through the dense woods. It was rough enough engaging the Covenant on an open field, in close quarters like this it was near suicide. Regardless of her inner thoughts, Jinxie smiled at Edward's encouragement. "I just hope we don't run into anymore Covenant. One patrol was enough for me."


[System]
**Gender:** Female

**Age:** 16

**
Occupation:** Student, fighter, nothing special.

**History:** 16 years old and stunning, Lexi has yet to find her prince … not that she is trying. Lexi always thought having a prince, riding up and saving the day, all for a helpless girl, was a stupid idea. She prefers stories where both the boys and girls fight and no one is waiting to be rescued. From the time she was small, Lexi was a fighter, stick fighting with her twin brother Max, running further and faster, climbing higher, swimming in the coldest waters, there was nothing she wouldn't do to prove she was strong. At the age of eight she started taking karate lessons, rising rather rapidly through the belts, although not as fast as she would like. At school her friends were all boys, no not boyfriends, friends who are boys. Growing up in a house with just her father and brother, Lexi always strove to prove she was capable and so acted a lot like a boy as well. Of course her aunt, a proper lady by all accounts, thought that Lexi was a disgrace, but when you only see some one once a month, who really cares what they think? That is Lexi's way of thinking anyway.

**Hobbies:** Singing. Karate. Sport. Reading.

**Family:**
Father: Angus Richardson

Twin brother: Maxi/Max/Maxwell Richardson

Aunt: Jennifer Richardson

**What are you?** A Friendly Wolf

[User]
So my mother had killed me.

I was never blind to the fact that she thought I was an inconvenience, but that she hated my guts so much as to take my life? That took me by complete surprise.

Oh, I always suspected that Mother used something, just wasn't sure what was her poison of choice. There were many times in which, as a young child, Mother would be away for weeks. I wasn't concerned about it, since everyone assured me she was just away for 'charity-related business'. As I grew up (before I went away to boarding school in London, that is), I noticed that she had erratic behaviors in the few moments I saw her. I knew enough at the time to avoid her at times like that (I always tried to avoid her, anyway), and also to be sure that she didn't suffer from a mental disease. Her symptoms were consistent with drug abuse, not mental problems. Just as I was starting to fear for my safety, Father gave me the opportunity to leave for boarding school, and I jumped at the chance. Who knew that just when I was thinking she was clean, she would fall in the drug's clutches so deeply to savagely murder me with the bottled-up rage of years? Hell, at least Father had shown me some love in the few moments we spent together throughout my life.

I never thought I would die that way. Out of all the things that could've happened to me (contracting a disease/parasite for a foreign country in one of my trips, being abducted for money and killed afterwards, shot by a jealous wannabe, in an automobile/cruise/yacht/jet accident, etc.), it had been stupid Lurieth in her coke high.

On a positive note, Nathan had tried to save me. My sweet Nathan: always so serious, but with such a heart of gold. Why was I so blind to see that the man felt for me? I can picture him so clearly... Short black hair, tanned skin, a 6'5" toned body, and the kind, almond-shaped eyes that brightened when he saw me. Nathan was my loyal companion everywhere and anywhere, sometimes the only one I ever opened up to. He had seen up close why I had become the Ice Queen, but didn't judge me for it because he knew and was a witness that all of my good traits were hiding behind a wall of coldness I had placed to guard myself from further hurt. I had shared so many memories with Nathan, but there was one that has been branded into my memory like no other. I will never forget the feeling of his soft lips against mine in a final confession of his feelings for me. It makes my stomach fill with butterflies just at the thought of it.

I had one clear purpose in life if I ever had the chance to go back.

To let Nathan know that I felt exactly the same.

[Assistant]
Lexi blinked. But how could she have? There was no Lexi, there was no nothing. It was not dark, but nor was it light. It was both void and matter, neither hot nor cold. There was nothing, but also everything. And then from that nothing came a voice. This voice could not be heard, as there was no sound, and no Lexi to hear it, even if there was, and yet Lexi heard this sound. It was in her head, and all around her, and not there at all.

**_"Child?"_ **it will be called a voice, for that is what Lexi 'heard'.
**
_"Child, why are you here?"_** It was not one voice, but many all different, a harmony if you will. "I" Lexi stuttered, "where am I?"

_**"Nowhere."**_ Said some, _**"Everywhere."**_ Said others, before they all started saying things and drowning each other out. "Stop, stop, stop." Whimpered Lexi, but the noise just went on. And then, rising above the clamor, a bossy voice with a command, _"Shut UP!"_ All the voices fell silent at once. "What happened?" Lexi queried.
_
"You tell me."_ The bossy voice replied.

"I … I was walking … Max … then I was falling … there was a screeching … pain ……… Am I dead?"

_**"No"**_ all the voices replied in perfect unison.

"But I was hit by a car!"

_"You"_ stated the bossy voice, _"are not dead."_

"But…"

_"You, are not dead, but nor are you alive. Just as you are currently both nowhere and everywhere. You do not exist, but also you do."_ A firm voice, different to the bossy one.

"And who are you?"

_"I'm Contradiction"_

_"I'm Vice."_ Said a timid voice.

_"Lust"_ said another.
_
"Wrath"_ rasped a third, and that started the onslaught.

_"Greed, Sin, Faithlessness, Aggression, Gluttony, Hope, Knowledge, Envy, Dreams, Loneliness, Belief, Despise, Thought, Love, Sorrow, Truth, chaos."_ And so the list went on and on finally finishing with; _"And I'm Control."_ It was the bossy voice. _"We're what you might call demons."_

"But" Lexi managed, quite overwhelmed, "Aren't demons bad?"

_"No"_ Knowledge said matter of factly, _"Just as no human is perfect, neither is the soul, where 'demons' hide. We are, in essence, YOU."_

_"But, we are not YOUR demons."_ Truth stated.

_"We belong to…" _Control started, before Lexi cut across, "Max. You belong to Max. You feel like him."

_"Yes"_ Control was clearly put out, _"We are Max's demons and that's why you aren't dead."_

_"Not WHY,"_ another, possibly Thought, butted in, _"It's simply HOW we know you aren't dead. If you were dead, if you were well and truly dead, we wouldn't be here."_

_"No"_ Control took over again, _"We'd be back with Max, setting your lot free in the process." _

The voices had been fading slowly, getting fainter, and possibly further away, if that was even possible in this void of existence.

_"You won't remember this."_ Memory's voice, soft as silk.

_"Except, maybe in dreams."_ Fading voice of Dream.

 And too faint to hear, but heard none the less, _**"Or if you ever come back"
**_

[User]
Dark. It was dark. Maria felt herself drifting. Drifting? Somewhere a faint beeping was penetrating the nothingness. 'An alarm?' she thought. Though? How could she think. She was dead. Right? _PSSH...BEEP...BEEP...BEEP...PSSH...BEEP..._ It was a steady rythm. A sudden tingling, soon burned inside her. Pain. Pain? But why did she hurt. She was dead, right? Her eyes fluttered slightly to blinding white light. A small groan of protest rumbled in her throat. How long had she been here? She needed to talk to her mom.

"Toni? Toni?!" a woman's voice sounded, frantic, yet, relieved at the same time. "W-who?" she groaned out. Her eyes opened widely at that. That voice. Just how badly messed up was she? She certainly didn't sound like a girl anymore. "Toni! It's me! It's Ma!" she said. She scrambled out of her seat to the door of the hospital room screaming for the nurse. 'Who in the hell is Toni?' Maria thought as she attempted to sit up. She was given an examination, and that's when she found out just how much she'd changed.

"Temporary amnesia set on by the trauma that was sustained," the doctor explained. "Toni will be ok, but will require some extensive physical therapy." The woman, 'Ma', sobbed. Maria just stared in confusion. She'd woken in a different body. A body that wasn't hers. "I-I was h-hit by, a bus!" she said in that gravely voice that was unnatural to her. "Just a dream," the doctors explained to her. They explained how she, no, Toni, was mugged and beaten within an inch of their life and how Toni was lucky to be alive. "No. I was hit by a bu-" but she was quickly cut off, told to get some more rest and that Toni would be home soon. Soon a sudden wave of exhaustion hit with the pain medicine they administered and she closed her eyes and fell back asleep.

[Assistant]
Lexi rolled over, groaning. She was in bed. It was just a nightmare, a horrible, realistic nightmare. But something was wrong. The bed was too big, and too cold … And Max was gone. Since Aunt Jen had been there, Lexi had shared Max's bed; hers having been moved out for their Aunt. Lexi Hadn't wanted to give up her bed, but it was easier to get out the door. Max's bed smelled nice … That's what was wrong. Max's smell, it was gone. Lexi bolted upright, shocked. Staring round the highly decorated, gold encrusted, friggin' huge room, Lexi gasped; where the hell was she? This place looked like it could fit her entire house in the one room, and there were more branching off this one. The bed was huge too, almost the size of her and Max's room at home. Everything was either oversized, or seriously rich looking. Lexi dropped her head in her hands, _this wasn't happening. Was it?_ Car crash one second, waking up in this gilt encrusted room the next. _Oh hell._

"Mira?" a voice called out from the next room. "Time to get up, before the teachers come." A small, petite girl, with a short bob of gold hair, stuck her head round one of the doors. "Come on Mi…… what are you doing?" Lexi looked up, and just then noticed the long blond hair falling in front of her face. Touching it she gaped, "what is this?" A thought struck Lexi then. Forgetting, or maybe not caring, that someone else was there, she was Lexi after all, she leapt off the bed, ditched her, was this a nightgown? And started turning circles, attempting to she herself. Catching sight of a mirror Lexi hurried over, pulling up short, when she realized not only had her hair changed, she was now taller, thinner, sleeker, and, _oh for the love of god_, weaker.


[System]
Age: 19

Race: Lizardman

Gender: Male

Appearance:

Lizard Fighter seems like your typical lizardfolk, huge, muscular, and intimidating. Except instead of browns and greens he's ruby red with a cream colored 'underbelly'. He stands at seven feet tall and has the build of a long time laborer, muscles rippling under that naturally tough hide. Some scars do litter his body, focused mostly in the arms and shins, except an obvious quadruple line running diagonally across his face. Barely missing his eyes.

His garb is strange for a lizard man of the deep swamps. Fingerless gauntlets that retained the fur underneath and floofed out at the elbows. A thick hide vest with a fishnet shirt underneath with the same fluffy visibles like his hand protection. Strangely made pants of leather and canvas that left open pockets at his upper thighs, probably due to his tail. Digigrade leather wrappings that had connecting iron kneepads. To hold his ensemble up is a coarse leather belt with a pair of leather bags, one at the hip the other at the small of his back for his stuff.

Height: 7'7"
Eye Color: Emerald Green
Hair Color: None

Personality:
Unlike what Lizard Fighter's gung-ho body looks like, his personality is very laid back. Preferring to lounge and watch others instead of actually doing extra activities with others. Maybe it was because of his reptilian nature, watching and being a lethargic behemoth. Although when he does interact, it's in almost a deadpan manner and incredibly blunt. The reptilian man never sugar-coated what he was saying or thinking. This lack of tact didn't earn him many friends back home.

Despite his supposed laziness, he does get riled up. It's also very easy to do so, a lazy giant with a short fuse isn't very good. This probably ties into his animalistic tendencies, at the hint of aggression or provocation he returns it in force and forcing others to restrain him from going ballistic.

Likes: Warm and Humid Climates, Exotic Foods, Wrestling and Tests of Strength.
Dislikes: Cold Climates, Physical Weakness, Being Provoked.
Hobbies: Trying New Foods, Basking in the Sun, Making Atlas Stones.

History:
Lizard Fighter had the typical upbringing of a lizardman. He was raised in the swamps to the South, learning to care for what the village had as soon as he could walk and speak. He quickly developed a deep seated need to take care of everything he earned considering certain things were harder to come by in a swamp than on dry land. Like quality metal, iron bacteria was plentiful but produced little of that hard metal. Although his people never wanted for food since they knew what to look for.

Unfortunately Lizard Fighter wasn't adept at tracking, or hunting, or gathering non-poisonous substances for the younger tribe members. Eating so much poison gave him a big boost in his resistance to it, it tended to taste good dammit...

He did excel at combat though, each member of the tribe when they reached eight started to learn basic weapon usage. It was here that he took up the lead, wrestling other youths into submission or disarming and knocking them to the ground. His people practiced with clubs, wooden spears, and claws. No metal until they were older so they didn't kill each other by accident.

Of course accidents happen. L.F's rival raked his claws across his twelve year old face, leaving deep cuts that developed into the scars he adorned today. Training and real combat were different however, so he had been sent out years later to experience the world gain the experience needed.

It was at this point L.F received an old knife and a buckler from his chief before being sent on his way. His people weren't blind to the world though and he had heard about Adventurer's. How often they fought and how far they explored. What better profession could there be for the 'savage of the swamp'. He followed rumors and directions to Palisade town, a place of beginnings for Adventurers or so they said.

Adventuring Rank: Porcelain

Equipment:
* Studded Club: A hefty piece of wood with a simple leather binding at the tapered 'grip'. In the bulky head of the club are iron rivets to help concentrate the bludgeoning force into smaller areas for higher damage. Or so the shopkeeper said...
* : A surprisingly huge blade, more like a small beefy sword than a knife, that protects the knuckles of the user with a sharpened guard. It has several cracks along the blade denoting its heavy usage along with a slightly rounded tip.
* Buckler: The smallest of all of the shields, this is strapped to his forearm to leave his hands free. It's a thin piece of iron, dinged up and slightly rusted, with the typical bubble in the middle to ease impacts.
* Leather Attire: Adorning the man were basic leather clothing. Albeit thick and much more crude than what humans normally made. Essentially it was hides turned inside out so the fur was inside, except the collar and hem of the vest.
* Porcelain Adventurer's Tag

Skills:
* Athletic: Living in a swamp has its benefits. You learn how to move through tougher terrain, build strong muscles, and learn how to climb good. Lizard Fighter can perform long leaps, swim easily, climb where others can't, and traverse muddy terrain as if it were a dirt road. Of course the deeper the muck the slower he goes despite being used to it.
* Toughness: Given his reptilian nature he has a tougher physique thanks to his scaled hide. Also thanks to taking many a blow back in his home while growing up. He can shrug off minor hits and mitigates some of the damage of stronger attacks. Either by changing the angle of how they hit or flexing to lessen the impact.
* Poison Resistance: Due to living in a swamp the majority of his life he has become highly resistant to poisonous substances. Prolonged exposure will still affect him but it takes longer than the average human.

[User]
Big Red wasn't surprised by the lack of stuff, the only things the goblins probably wouldn't bother with were baubles anyway. From their looks they weren't vain creatures so what would they do with the ring from a finger, or a necklace of leather and pewter? Since no one in the group found any treasures or traps it was mutually agreed upon to continue deeper into the cave. Was this a natural formation, or had it been dug out by goblins? Or animals? Animals had a purpose, a den for their young and themselves. What was a goblins purpose aside from wanton destruction?

Delving into the next tunnel they went, the only light seeming to be the fairy and the reptilian mans torch. Up ahead was a shape in the darkness, which got him to clench his hand a little on the grip of his studded club. As they got closer it was shown to be the body of a male, a priest judging by the white garb. He'd see it before the others since he took up so much of the tunnel. "Well that's one from the previous group..." He murmured softly just as Druid Girl squeezed her way around him.

He didn't stand idle while she went to the body, he stepped forward, pretty much looming over her as she touched the body. It slumped over to reveal the damage fully, not just some spattering of blood. Considering his throat was torn out, but the front of his robes weren't saturated in dry blood, it might have happened after death. But it was doubtful.

The twangs of bows rung from up ahead making his eyes widen. An ambush had been laid for the group. That massive form leaned down fully, pulling Druid Girl into shielded embrace. While he moved he called back to Archer girl. "Get down!" When the arrows struck, or missed, he'd push Druid Girl back between his legs before grabbing the scruff of the dead priests clothes. Hoisting him up the dead youth would be a shield for them to proceed behind since a buckler was not nearly large enough to even bother trying to block arrows with.

[Assistant]
As the group delved further into the den of the goblins, Steppe Archer couldn't help but feel the hairs on the back of her neck tingle. She imagined the others were experiencing a similar sensation...albeit she didn't know if Big Red had any hairs TO get tingled. Regardless, her anxiety was gnawing at her as they walked along. Her sword was clutched tightly in her hand, the spear she had received in the other.

The sight of the fallen adventurer was a gruesome one indeed, given that he looked to have been injured insanely badly. But...it didn't make sense. His injuries should have thrown him to the floor from their force...yet here he was, neatly sitting as if he hadn't been torn apart. It was then that her eyes widened, realizing that it was a trap. Before she could even yell anything towards the Druid Girl, arrows flew, and Big Red flew into action to block those arrows with body as a shield, and the corpse of the adventurer.

The archer would follow the words of her lizardman companion and get down, readying her spear. She would take up position behind her lizard companion once he was close enough for her to shimmy behind, ready to stab from behind him at the goblin archers. Right now, using her bow was too risky, especially since she could hardly see.

[User]
"Hyah?!"

That was all of the noise Druid Girl could make, before burly and scaled arms swooped down, grabbed onto her and pulled the girl into a forceful embrace. It wasn't very pleasant, nor comfortable, but then again, neither was getting perforated by arrows. Speaking of, Big Red would soon learn that arrows already launched from bows moved much faster than even his reptilian reflexes, and een though one of the projecticles missed the mark entirely, the other found their way into the lizardman's massive frame. It seemed that despite their supposed weakness, goblins - or at least their archers - had enough power to pierce the hide and scales of a lizard.

Fortunately for the giant warrior, the arrows truck non-lethal areas of his body, with one imbedding itself in his great, big, broad shoulder and the other in his upper arm. As the giant grabbed the corpse of the deceased adventurering priest before himself and his sheilded maiden-in-distress, another volley of three arrows came whistling. Luckily, these three all struck the rather cold corpse-shield, rather than either of the live adventurers.

Shrieks and garbled noises could be heard from further down the tunnel, and soon the pitter-patter of tiny feet was heard. Within seconds, a group of no less than five goblins, each wielding their own weapon, ranging from a hand axe to what looked like broken-off femur to a dagger dripping with who-knows-what. The goblins using bows however, seemed to have stayed behind, not advancing with their fellow kin to rush in attack their invading enemies. The five attackers ran at somewhat different pace though, meaning they weren't all moving at the same speed, nor were they lined up next to each other in unified order either.

Druid Girl, having witnessed Lizard Fighter's rather macabre use of a fellow fallen adventurer as an impromptu barricade, was about to let loose a barrage of scolding words, but were thankfully interrupted due to the arrival of the new wave of goblins. While she was thankful that the big oaf had saved her supple butt from being turned into a pin cushion, she wasn't exactly thrilled about how he had managed it. Still, now wasn't the time for such matters.

The little fairy that the nature mage had summoned flew off, racing at the goblins and then beginning to however and circle above them, shedding its light over the quintet and making them less obfuscated by the glooomy dark of the cave. Reaching for her hip, Druid Girl unlatched her sickle - the spear she had been given by Big Red wasn't going to do much good right now, nor was she going to have time to start chanting and casting a spell, what with the little monsters almost already upon them.

The young girl scooched a bit away from Big Red, though not far, standing a bit to his left side. As the creepy, long-nosed freaks got close, three of them leapt at the red lizard, yelling and cawing like little madmen, while one raced towards Druid Girl and the other seemed to want to squeeze past the two frontliners to get to their archer-friend in the back.

[Assistant]
Druid Girl let out a strange yelp when he shielded her with his body. Two arrows struck him, in the meatier portions of his arm like his shoulder and the other in his bicep. It hurt but they didn't cause much damage to the musculature beneath his crimson scales. Growling he pushed forward with his meat-shield, which received three arrows from the archers. Technically he could just keep the body up until they ran out of arrows, but they'd probably wise up after the third volley.

More goblin sounds came from ahead, which revealed more goblins. Roughly five more came charging ahead, just how many were there in this cave? Whatever, they'd die and nothing would miss the little green bastards. The mishmash of weapons didn't affect him, they each had their own style of movement and he had a rather large 'shield' that they'd have to work around.

Two of the three, their movements revealed by the little fairy, went for his allies. Sure he could interfere with the goblins attacks, but he'd have to trust the two women to handle themselves as he took on the remaining three. Their move speeds were different than each others, but that didn't matter. If they had clustered up they'd be more difficult to handle, swarm tactics could best the most skilled fighters.

The first goblin to approach was met with the dead body of the priest being dropped on it. A sudden dead weight of over one hundred pounds dropped on a child was a good way to keep it busy and struggle. The second goblin launched itself up, trying to stab his jaw from beneath with its femur dagger. Leaning to the left the crudest of crude knives went past. Whatever sludge was on that thing was pretty damn rank. Still his face turned as the knife went by and with a loud meaty snap his jaws closed on the goblins forearm. The third goblin, that had a rusty hatchet, came up last and swung its small limbing axe at him, only for that buckler to catch the blade. The wood thunked as the blade bounced off, leaving a notch in it.

His leg went forward, kicking the goblin away as its weapon rebounded off his small shield. A clench of his jaw and a bone breaking snap rung out before he grabbed the screaming wounded goblin by its head as he released its arm from his meat-tearing teeth. Without missing a beat the goblin was thrown at the wall.


[System]
Age: 25

Gender: Male

The questing regalia of a knight of Clan Cluecloch.
The scrap armor for ceremonial occasions and when he has advanced notice of battle.
Home: Chatanooga, Tenessee

Skills:
> Energy Weapons
> Mounted Combat
> Melee Combat
> Repair
> Survival
> Science

Background: The story of Samuel starts before the war, when a certain organization of men in white robes and pointy hats took refuge in the holding cells of Fort Camelot, then a military base serving mostly as barracks. Of course, the passage of time wasn't kind to the fort, destroying most of the sign and many of the records of their ancestors. Word of mouth remembers the ancestors of the Knights of Kamelot as the Knights of Clan Cluecloch, an order who protected pure-strain humans from vile mutants such as the ash-skins and nightwalkers. Though they know not of the horrors their brave ancestors faced in the defense of the common folk, the modern Knights of Clan Cluecloch have taken up a similar vigil, seeking to protect the Wastelanders from feral ghouls and super mutants, questing for artifacts of the old world in order to gain fame and glory. Their own life is a second concern- for it is a knight's duty to protect the common folk.

Samuel is the adopted son of one of the forgemasters of Kamelot, who scavenges, repairs, and sometimes builds from scratch the weapons and armor the knights use. His birth father was slain in pitched battle with one of the Mirelurk Kings of the Tennessee Aquarium. Ten years ago, Samuel earned a place as a squire by slaying ten feral ghouls with nothing but a combat knife, and after five years as a squire, was knighted himself. He's come to the Carolinas on a quest to slay the foul mutants who torment the innocent humans of the wasteland- particularly deathclaws and other FEV monstrosities- for the glory of the order.

Equipment:
> Lambray, a horse he rides into battle
> polished scrap Metal Armor (wears a white hood which connects to a tabard)
> a car door he uses as a shield
> A Shiskebab
> an insignia of rank (brown crucifix surrounded by red circle)
> A satchel full of food and water-purifying tablets

Other: Yes, he has a horse.

[User]
The Radiation Roost, a bar taking up the largest building in town with four floors and a lot of space it has played house to every event possible. Currently the wastelands favorite radio personality Three Dog was using the fourth floor and some scavenged equipment to run his radio show. As he turned on his mike and shuffled around a few notes he prepared for his new segment.

Down below in the bar all the radio's were quickly tuned in to Galaxy News Radio as Three Dog was due to give another report any moment. Most of the bar went pretty quiet as the volume was turned up, the news was on and they'd find out more about the raids on Enclave. When a voice that could never been forgotten cut in the song having ended. "Because one dog ain't enough, and two is too low, it's me, Three Dog! How you kids handling post-apocalyptia today? Got some interesting news from up North today, seems our Defender of the Wastes hit the Enclave yet again. This Vault kid took out six Brahmin load down with Enclave supplies, the soldier escort abandoned the supplies, after all that he then gave all the supplies to a New Charlotte caravan asking that they give out to those in need."

Three Dog laughed then paused a few moments people looking between each other, as a man in armored vault 35 jumpsuit slipped into the bar taking a seat by the radio he set his bag down as Three Dog continued. "So children here's the real question, just who the fuck is this guy? I mean he rides in guns down the Enclave and vanishes, hell at least the Lone Wanderer would stop by to fix my toaster now and again. Anyway moving on to the South..." Three Dog's voice fell into the background as people turned back to the there conversations or drinks.

Most failed to take notice of the assault rifle totting man in the vault jumpsuit, the bartender even smiled. He knew the guy, rolled into town every couple weeks to trade alcohol for ammo and caps. As Davis, the bartender cleaned a glass he walked over and spoke softly the commotion of the bar hiding most of there speech. "You were on the radio again Jack, you ever gonna go upstairs and give Three Dog an interview?" He chuckled passing him a Nuka cola from the fridge. "On the house for sticking it to those bastards."

Jack smirked and popped the cap on the edge of the counter taking a long drink, ignoring the radiation it was cold and sweet he'd take some Rad-away later. "I'll do an interview when some one sits down and explains to who that Lone Wanderer character is and why I'm like him."

Davis chuckled at vault born man. "You really don't know? He was a unicorn that fixed toasters as he traveled around the waste land on the back of his talking death claw."

Jack burst out with laughter, it had been weeks since he'd relaxed back at base. "Davis you best be shitting me, because if the wasteland some how produced that I'm finding another vault to crawl into."

Davis smiled as he got himself out a Nuka Cola. "To you, Jack Cobalt defender of the Wastes."

Jack raised his drink in toast as well. "To this damn wasteland and it's monsters, human or otherwise." He said as they both knocked back there cola's.

Three Dogs news report finished with the slogan. "Don't feed the yao guai, that is all." Davis went back to fetching drinks for the crowds as Jack went over and took a seat at a table, he got out his laser rifle and began to tinker as the colonel Bogey march played Jack whistled along. Three Dog having collected new music since his departure from D.C. a few wastelanders watched as he worked on his laser rifle happy whistling.

[Assistant]
Riding on through the heat of the afternoon, a quartet of haggard individuals passed through South of the Border's northmost gate, a Brahmin wagon covered with a thick cloth tarp rolled into the town's main bazaar. Waiting for the wagon was an empty spot amongst the many stalls-- a spot that always remained empty just for this wagon's triweekly visit. With heavily-practiced ease, the lead Brahmin maneuvered into the empty spot, and promptly sat down. It grunted satisfactorily as a rugged, bearded man emerged from the wagon's cloth exterior, and glanced around.

The bearded man reached inside the wagon, and pulled out an old wooden sign, with "LERK JER KY 20 CAPS/ oZ" crudely painted on it. Looking quite satisfied with himself, the bearded man hammered the sign into the ground behind the wagon, and sat down on the wagon's edge. At long last, Hawkeye Joe's Famous Mirelurk Meatwagon had arrived!

"Awright," said Hawkeye Joe, peering around the market for potential customers, "you boys g'wan an' find yerselves a way t' pass time. Ain't hard-- whole town's a tourist trap! Jus' tell me if yer gunna stay, I ain't tellin' yer momma you got lost in South!"

From the wagon came three more strapping men and a hog. The first two were a pair of good old boys, named Muggsley and Puggface. Muggsley was the altogether more intelligent of the two, and enjoyed farming and hunting Mirelurks. Puggface was the altogether more attractive of the two, and enjoyed hunting Mirelurks and farming. Following them soon after was Albus Secundus, a friendly enough fellow from out West, who enjoyed fixing clothes and hunting Mirelurks. Following him was his pet "wild" sow, Heather. Heather enjoyed eating corn, scrap cloth, and Mirelurk meat. The four of them, together with the bearded fellow out back, formed Hawkeye Joe's Famous Mirelurk Meat Company. Curiously enough, not one of them was named Hawkeye Joe.

While Muggsley and Puggface ambled over to the Radiation Roost, a notorious bar for tourists who didn't know the first thing about a decent meal and a strong drink, Albus and Heather stalked further into the sea of market stalls. Albus knew where he was going, and snuck through several alleys to get there.

In the welcoming shade of an alley behind Terry's Gunne Shop, Albus patiently knocked upon a cleverly-hidden sheetmetal door. At the sound of his knocking, a grisly-looking doorman peered through at Albus with an appraising glare. Shortly after, that same doorman peeled the door away, and nodded grimly as Albus passed through.

A dark, armored man on a stage towards the back of the room, face on one side by a crowd of onlookers, nodded as Albus came in through the doorway. When Albus found a place amongst the crowd, the man spoke up.

"I'm glad you all have come here today. As you know, there has been some rumors amongst the wastes of a number of armed and heavily-armored individuals roaming around, killing people. Even stranger, it appears that there is a man--a Vault Dweller--killing some but actively assisting others in their actions. Unless anyone has any issues they'd like to bring up before we start... let the South of the Border Political Forum begin!"

[User]
"Alright, I'm starting the generator. Stay away from the outlets for a second, merchant, this is going to get loud."

Samuel had promised to fix the shop's backup generator for one simple reason: He had an idea for a new weapon and needed fission batteries. The thing is, the shopkeeper's safe was electronically locked, and something was up with the generator he couldn't quite understand. Well, he must have been blind, because the inside had been filthy- like someone had been using it to store food that went moldy since before the War. With all the dirt and rust inside, it was a miracle it hadn't exploded. It had taken several boxes of Abraxo and a toilet brush to do so, but the innards were sparkling as best they could after this long. Reconnecting the wires and returning the switches to their operational state, he lowered his goggles and shut up the generator. With a soft whirr, it came to life, and the lights of the store flickered on. Business concluded, he got the fission batteries and a few parts for his creation- a large metal tube, a motor and belt from a vacuum cleaner, the spherical body of an eyebot, a few yards of copper wire, an aluminum baseball bat, and a throwing spear.

"Alright... this should just about cover it."

He made his way to the crafting bench where his noble steed Lambray stood guard. One of the finest horses the Knights had bought from the Carolinas, the horse was worthy of his name. He began the process of cobbling the items together.