D9:EM:Hangar - All The Blame - Open

[Richard Winter]

"That's an angle that I haven't even looked at yet but.... it makes a lot of sense,..." he said and stared at the colossus standing in front of him. "A better spider, but hotter" he chuckled, "I think the only thing I'd change about my lance now would be to replace the Fire Javlin with something similar, but something that doesn't topple over at every opportunity, but other than that? Hmmmmm,..." he shook his head slightly, "How about you Ez, anything about your lance you'd want to change?"

[Ezmeralda]

"Hmm, the Centurion into a fast Heavy, like say a Dragon or Thunderbolt, and you know, bigger mechs to replace the Commando and Panther not that they aren't doing a good job of fire support, but I'd like a bit more solid a line. Then I can spend less time drawing fire," she sighed, "And hopefully get blown up a lot less."

[Richard Winter]

"That's gonna stick with you for a while, huh?" he said teasingly "I see potential for some word jokes, I'll have to sit down with Jester to work some out"

[Ezmeralda]

"Nearly dying will do that," she put a hand on her hip, "As for jokes my lance has been having a field day. It probably wouldn't be as bad about it had I gotten badly injured so better a sore ego than a lost leg, I guess."

[Richard Winter]

"Alpha always says it's best to laugh about it than worry about what might have been" he shrugged, "Besides, you've got a good story to tell now."

[Ezmeralda]

"Heh, I suppose so. A mutually assured destruction Hunchback brawl is certainly something," she sighed, "What a crazy thing."

[Richard Winter]

"A terrific story" he patted her on the shoulders, " I guess the best stories are still written by life".

[Ezmeralda]

"Anything you can walk away from I guess," she scratched her cheek, "I'm not sure if it'll be the best story though. The lead up is rather frustrating."

[Richard Winter]

"As long as you don't deliver a report you can take some creative liberties with storytelling." he laughed "I don't think I know a MechWarrior who wouldn't." he laughed some more, then faltered, "Although, I do know one person who wouldn't."

[Ezmeralda]

"Yeah, I've known a few too," she chuckled, "You tend to meet them in the Combine. Too much bushido to lie about military matters. Being caught in a lie is a more shameful display than doing idiotic maneuvers."

[Richard Winter]

"I had touched on the subject a bit with Yori, in theory honor, bushido and the whole thing sounds cool, but I'm missing the practical use of it,..."

[Ezmeralda]

"Hai~!," She laughed, "It sounds sugoi cool. But it is all propaganda mostly. I had an instructor that was fascinated, yeah, that's the right word, anyways; Fascinated by the infamous Charge of the Horde strategy. We had to try and recreate the battle of Xhosa VII. You know how you convince dozens of mechwarriors to charge a fortified position, even a lightly fortified one, in Stingers and Wasps? You fill their heads with bullshit about Meiyo and Eikō in death from the age of twelve."

[Richard Winter]

"Sounds pretty crappy, the Combine seems like a tough place" he said thoughtfully, " Tougher than anywhere else, anyway."

[Ezmeralda]

"Nah, my first gig was bandit hunting at the edge of Outworlds' space. Things get crappier," she shook her head, "But wrong headed Aristocrats are rarely more wrong headed than the ones in the Combine but they are notably less prone to backstabbing than Capellan ones and less willing to just shoot their own troops like periphery pirates. So that's.... something? That's the best I have to say though. I did leave there for a reason."

[Richard Winter]

Richard nodded, "Everyone here has a reason to turn their back on their home and their 'nation', and usually for good reasons." He looked interested, "You were on the periphery? It sounds like you've been around quite a bit." He looked at her closely again, "You're younger than me, aren't you?" he asked, more or less surprised.

[Ezmeralda]

"Probably? I'm 23. It only seems that way because of long hauls between work. The Deuces had a bad habit of planning where the next op was in a liberal manner. I think the commander liked trying to hook up around jumpships or something. So five years of merc work included 4 worlds in the Outworlds, a stint in St. Ives, some corporate work in Detroit and then some Feddie garrison work where I got headhunted by the Angels."

[Richard Winter]

"Okay," he cocked his head in interest, "It just amazes me how young and talented many of the MechWarriors here are, your and Cat's skills make me look like a fresh recruit."

[Ezmeralda]

"I suppose so," she scratched the back of her head, "I don't know about Cat but... there was a lot of time for gunnery practice on Kaldu. Still didn't spare me getting wrecked."

[Richard Winter]

"Well, a lucky shot can kill any pilot, but still i'm impressed." he smiled at her.

[Ezmeralda]

"Yeah... lucky shot..."