Date: May 3025<br/>Location: Siege Perilous: Aboard the Cobblestone Road<br/>Tagging: Kurumi Tatsu Kurita<br/>Content: The Scenic Route<br/><br/><em>“I would think that having aircraft would make the search for the lost Assault mech easier or do the winds in the canyon preclude use of aircraft for searching?”</em><br/><br/>Cavanaugh chuckled.  "The winds make flying over difficult but not impossible.  It's a virtually useless to try using an aircraft, though.  The Vale is heavily overgrown, so sonar is useless, metal detectors are useless because there is a significant amount of low grade ore in the surrounding rock.  A powered down mech gives off virtually no energy signature.  It would have to be a ground search and you would need to be very close to either spot it visually or pick it up on hand held sensors.  I do have a few ideas, if you are interested in actually searching.  Nobody seems to be willing to put the effort in and there is no point in me looking on my own.  I somehow doubt they'd let me keep it."<br/><br/><em>"Interesting that such a situation would remain.... unresolved."</em><br/><br/>"He's a better pilot," Cavanaugh answered.  "And Marquis keeps him on a short leash.  He's the Steiner hatchetman, the pilot they send out when there is dirty work to be done.  Yours is Theo Sweeney.  I'm sure if you wanted to intervene, he'd be able to invent a reason to challenge Newkirrk."<br/><br/><em>“Be wary that you don’t overstep my appreciation  of boldness Kommandant Cavanaugh.  Your flattering words aside I was asking about my predecessor whom I assume will be attending the feast.”</em><br/><br/>"You can't blame me for trying," Cavanaugh said, not seeming the least put off.  "You won't see him there.  He was a waste of flesh that drank himself into an early grave.  Got drunk, fell down a flight of stairs, ended up in a coma and finally had the good sense to die two and a half months ago.  There is some rather wild speculation that he had help either falling down the stairs or dying in his bed.  I personally think that he had help getting drunk as well.  He wasn't considered a particularly good representative of the Dragon, unless you mean the lazy dragon who sits on his horde and gloats about how awesome he is, while thieves are robbing him blind right under his nose.  His nephew showed up a month or so after he died and took possession of his Shadowhawk.   Tozama Daimyo Tai-i Kagamusha is your second in command."  He paused.  "I suppose that does make him the current Kurita commander.  He's in good physical condition and enjoys high risk hobbies but from all accounts, he's a very competent and careful combatant.  Rumour has it that he's won six duels over the name he's chosen for his mech.  I suspect that he picked the name to draw challengers.  so far he's had no issues here but naming a mech 'Ronin' is pretty much baiting at its finest."<br/><em><br/>"So Kommandant Cavanaugh-san. Tell me about yourself."</em><br/><br/>"Formerly artillery busted down to transport for having the bad taste to disobey an order to retreat and not only survive but hold the position and stabilize the line.  Embarrassing high ranking officers is not a way to win friends but it certainly influences people.  I'm ambitious, willing to take risks and always try to have an ace up my sleeve.  I like to have a plan for the immediate future as well as a long team goal, which involves retiring rich, in not necessarily  rich and influential."<br/><br/>