Going for the Distance (D11 EM, Outdoors Shooting Range)

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

The small Battlemech pilot frowns at that. "I've never really needed to use my pistol yet, but I am a Mechwarrior in my own right, not some kind of princess." She relaxes a little and gives him a little smile. "I hope I never truly need to use my gun either, but that is no excuse to not be properly prepared. I was taught to hope for the best, but prepare for everything I can, including the worst. But that is no reason to overthink things."

"Your suggestion to have some armour sounds good. I just don't know where to get one. Especially in my size."

[Richard Winter]

"I know, I know" he smiled and shook his head "I guess I've just been reading too many comic books and now I can't get the thought of being able to save the universe by myself out of my head."

He finished his cigarette and put the remains back in the box. Then he looked Cat up and down, "Hmmm. I think John can get you something, he is Gunny after all. It might take a few adjustments, but it shouldn't be impossible. "

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

"I have to admit, I don't know all that much about comic books. I ended up comparing Battlemech readouts more often than anything else, when I was not out exploring. Saving the universe sounds fun, but we're mercs."

She grins up at him.

"And I'll ask John about some armour for me then. Thanks again for the suggestion, Richard."

[Richard Winter]

At Cat's statement he had to laugh "Now you sound much older than you are." he grinned and said "I can lend you some if you want to read something else, there should be something in my collection that you might like for sure."

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

"Aww, now you're teasing me." The little lieutenant giggles. "But you've woken my curiosity. Let me know when I can come over for a spell and take a look at your collection."

[Richard Winter]

"You're welcome to drop by anytime" he nodded, "After all, you need to distract yourself now" he winked "On a scala from 1 to 10, how happy are you that old Gruzzlebeard is reworking your mech?"

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

At that question Catherine pumps her free arm up and cheers loudly. "Eleven! How can there be any question about it? Well, having to wait is a bummer, but I trust the old man. He is a mechtech wizard and promised that he can do it. "

[Richard Winter]

"What plans have you submitted if you don't mind me asking?" If Cat sketched the plans, it must have been planned down to the last detail, he thought.

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

"You wanna see them? I got a copy with me right here." Catherine asks with her eyes lighting up. She rummages around in the hip pocket of her shorts and pulls out a tightly folded wad of paper. Fwip fwip fwip, she unfolds it into a mostly handwritten technical readout with lots of scribbles and notes. The small redhead offers it to Richard with a beaming smile.

"Three big weapons plus some extra, enough heatsink power to go all out for more than a minute straight and some good armour." The enthusiastic tomboy babbles happily. "I had to go with an XL reactor, to save on weight, but that is the only real flaw this design has. Every little bit of space is filled with purpose, but Kenna promised me that he can do it. My new Dúthracht is a skirmisher that can laugh at most brawlers. I can't wait to pilot him!"

The way she bounces up and down with excitement is more than telling enough.

[Richard Winter]

Richard read through the TRO and nciked every now and then. "That's quite a blatant modification, though. You're definitely going to be king of the mediums with that." he smiled, "What did Laks have to say about that?"

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

"I poured many hours into this design." Catherine is proud to declare. "And Laks was really happy for me. She really helped me out convincing our Chief Mechtech. She did complain about me getting such an amazing custom mech before her though, but she is glad for me." The young tomboy laughs. "I hope she gets an even better custom design, after mine has been tested in battle."

[Richard Winter]

"I can almost hear her biting her ass" Richard laughed, "But I'm really curious to see how your design does in real combat! Have you put the data into the simulators yet and tried them out?"

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

"Nah~" Catherine waves it off with a laugh. "Laks isn't like that. But she'll be teasing me for weeks, or months, or until she has her own custom."

"I'm really curious too. Kenna gave me some data for the computer guys to upload into the sims. No idea how long that'll take them though. They're kinda mum about that sort of thing, but I am sure they will hurry enough to be faster than our Chief Mechtech."

[Richard Winter]

"When the technicians have uploaded the data, you can hit me up, maybe I can call the EXT-4Db my own until then? Would be good training in any case."

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

"Sure." Catherine is happy to agree. "And good luck with the Exterminator. It's a royal and a pretty good one too, so make sure to take good care of it."

[Richard Winter]

"There's still a big if" he said, laughing, "But I hope I can call dibs, otherwise the whole endeavor would have come up a bit empty for me"

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

"I hope you get it, Richard!" Catherine tells him earnestly, with a pat on the arm. "That royal is just as fast as your Phoenix Hawk, has nearly double the armour and is way better armed.

[Richard Winter]

"Yes, I was quite surprised to find such a rarity,...." he paused for a moment, drawing his eyebrows together, "Tell me, do you have a watch on you?"

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

Catherine is a bit nonplussed by this questions. "Not right now." She admits. "I was just going to get a bit of shooting done out here."

[Richard Winter]

"I have a session with Ez in the simulator room later," he scratched the back of his head, "so I have to watch the time a bit."