There's always another battle to fight (open... Zoids RPG, could turn R or mature)

Perlan sat at the desk in his small office going over some paperwork. It wasn't really the glamourous side of his chosen line of work.
Perlan's small compound consisted of a 4 Zoid hangar, a small 2 BR 1 BA house, 1 storage shed and a small bunkhouse. All surrounded by a 10 foot high electric fence.
Perlan sat back in his chair and rubbed his neck warily. He had another job starting in 2 days, a little escort detail. The former Imperial officer stood up and went out into the hangar. His beloved Dark Horn was presently the only Zoid in here.
He had placed a Help Wanted ad when he was in the nearby town for an experienced Zoid pilot. He was looking for a partner for these escort and protection detail jobs. The money was good and attracted too many novices. This wasn't a game and there were too many outlaws out there in these deserts that shoot to kill. If you were lucky, you could take some of these outlaws alive and turn them in for the bounties... which was a nice bonus on top of what his clients paid him.
He ran his hand over the edge of the head of his Dark Horn while he contemplated quietly. A Dark Horn wasn't the fastest Zoid by any stretch of the imagination but when armed with a full gattling unit on its back and the 20mm repeater under the chin, it had considerable firepower. And the tough armor provided admirable defense. Perlan had also equipped his Dark Horn with a frontal shield which he often used to defend a caravan against a barrage. And the horn on its nose made a great option for close combat. Actually, Perlan favored the Dark Horn's pace since it matched a Gustav's quite well and thus made a good over all Zoid to provide an escort.
However, Perlan hoped that with his ad, someone with perhaps a more maneuverable Zoid might apply and kind of balance out the capabilities of the overall service. As an former military man, he was familiar with tactics in using a unit equipped with Zoids that had different capabilities and using each to an advantage.
"It won't be long now, old friend," Perlan told his Dark Horn. "Our next job is in a couple of days. Nice to know that even with the war over, people will still need us."
The Dark Horn rumbled slightly as if to offer its agreement to its pilot. Zoids were alive... living mechanical combat units. By nature, they were all fighters. But it was rare that a Zoid and its pilot formed a very tight bond, like Perlan and the Dark Horn has.
Perlan looked at the clock... it was midafternoon and he still had some things to do. He went into the hangar's small kitchen to brew a fresh pot of java.

Meanwhile in the nearby village mechanic named Sheridan had been told she had a job and wasn't very pleased about it since it wasn't her line of work. She looked outside and grumbled slightly "Sheridan, you have a job" "Again honestly, come on Moro" she said and Moro nodded sprinting back “Where is it this time?" "In the dessert, something is out there" "Of course there is wild zoids are everywhere" she muttered and sighed "Ok, ok, I'll have a look why not get those people nearby to do it... that's their job not mine" she said and jumped in the white command wolf with Moro joining it and sprinting out of the shelter and into the dessert looking around carefully they stopped and she looked around a bit. "I'm supposed to be a mechanic not a mercenary... why can't they just do their job correctly for once shesh is that too much to ask" she muttered.

She spotted another zoid which looked like a scorpion heading towards them, one of the bandits had gotten too close to the village for anyone's liking "Ready?" she muttered and Moro nodded her giant head. before it moved quickly to the side avoiding the fire arms and aimed at the target ahead she prefer to keep moving to avoid damage shooting at the scorpion the command wolf got close and used its strike claws to damage it enough to a retreat. "Sorry you took a nasty tumble Moro, we should head back soon"

Sheridan had light green eyes and kept her black hair tied back in a ponytail and usually wore her scruffy oil stained trousers and a white shirt with a black top underneath and also wore a pair of old trainers. She also had a pair of brown fingerless gloves which she used as well. Moro was a white wolf oragnoid and the abandoned zoid she had found was a white command wolf and had been fixing it up for a good year as well so it could move better.

She headed back to her village having to walk past the base wasn’t her favourite route but at the moment she needed to get Moro back quickly so she could finish the last repairs on the zoid she also wanted to try something on it as well, see if it would work with a command wolf. They were a lot faster, and relied more on their speed and agility to avoid attacks but dealt with mostly close combat than range although it was still one of the fastest of it's size and finding one like that in the dessert had been a nightmare although it was worth all the work in the end and was in a fairly good condition now, put it this way it could work fine but had a few glitches she was working on... "Few more repairs today and it'll work like clock work, right Moro?" she asked and Moro gave a mechanical bark of agreement as they passed. Moro stopped suddenly and turned toward the Dark Horn growling at it. "No, we don't want to push our luck Moro, come on I still have repairs to do" she said sternly Moro watched the Dark Horn considering it somewhat of a threat.

(bit of a fail..sorry)

Quin sat in the office of the local magistrate awaiting his reward money for bringing in the Bandits that had been raiding the town. This was the third bunch of bandits in a month that he had captured. As he waited for the magistrate to get the money out of the safe, he looked outside at Tigger his Blade Zoid. There were some nasty gashes on his side and fore right leg but nothing he couldn't repair.

The Town council entered the Magistrates office to thank him for riding the area of the bandits. "All in a days work." he said with a grin, "Oh and if you want you can send some one out to their camp to retrieve that Scorpian Zoid. It is damaged but it can be repaired and perhaps you can use it to keep any other bandits from taking up residence."

That Zoid had been lucky. He had not completely destoryed it or its core. The ones' that the other two bandit parties had were to far damaged for any type of repair. He had removed their cores and hoped to one day put them into new zoids.

The magistrate returned and handed him his money. With money in hand he stood up and noticed the advertizement on the wall. Some one was looking for an experienced Zoid operator. He wondered what the pay would be and what he had to do to earn it. It would be worth the travel to find out. "Thank you Gentlemen." he held up the money, "Pleasure doing business with you." With that he left and climbed into the cockpit of Tigger. "Might have another job Tigger. Ready for some more action." Tigger lifted his head up and gave out a roar. "Thought you would be. So lets get going." he manuvered Tigger out of the town and in the direction of the new job offering.

But the end of the day he was approaching their destination. Soon enough the Blade Liger was standing infront of the Hanger and Quin was opening up the canopy to the cockpit.

(Rose, Scorpion Zoid is called a Guysack. BTW, the Dark Horn isn't out in the open, it's in a hangar. Maybe Moro just senses it? Questor, you seem to have ignored the 10 foot fence around Perlan's compound. :p)

Perlan was done with all the paperwork by late afternoon. He hears the footfalls of Zoids outside and walks out of the hangar. Not far off from the compound, he sees a white command wolf passing by. He blinks when he also notices a much smaller lupine zoid following it. An organoid?
Perlan doesn't have time to investigate because he hears another Zoid and turns his head to see a colorless Blade Liger approaching his gate.
'Hmmm...' he says and goes to the gate to greet his unexpected visitor. He looks up at the pilot as the canopy opens. "Hello... can I help you?" he says to the younger man.

Sheridan got back to the village repairing the zoid, Moro decided to wonder off and growl at the fence angrily. After a while she decided to go after her after seeing the ad the white zoid following" "oh come on, you can't be all annoyed just because of one thing" she said and sighed "Ok, ok we'll give it a shot but hide inside the command wolf ok, I don't want to get in another fight... you aren't easy to find you know?" she muttered and Moro barked jumping into the command wolf and following as she walked inside easily making up a lie about what Moro was saying she was just a baby wild zoid for now to cover it up.
She stopped Moro whe she saw the Liger was still there and sat down hiding herself just to watch from curiousity pretty sure that Moro could pass as a strange wild zoid at the momment at least, Moro watched as well still able to sense that there were two zoids there and tried not to let out a feirce mechanical growl. "Moro, no growling ok? We should watch what happens first and don't touch the fence I'll have more repairs then and Ijsut fixedyou up as well" she warned as Moro sniffed it in a way.

Mor growled slightly whiel Sheirdan remained hidden, she didn't know why they were there at all never did but she knew one thing she was sick of doing parts of their job when she had her own. Giving a sigh she jumped into Moro and Moro barked and backed up slowly before jumping over the fence after a rather long run up and she jumped out of Moro swiftly and she had a lot to ay at the moment but Sat down for now with Moro sitting as well waiting patiently.

Moro jumped out of the old command wolf and sat next to Sheridan neatlyafter the command wolf lay down. "Honestly they are getting on my nerves the lot of them" she muttered. Standing up after a bit when they had talked Moro looked up to Sheridan and made a curious sound looking up. "Come on, I want to get this over and done with"
(Yeah sorry...I forgot the name of it at the time...)

Quin noticed the white command wolf go by and then saw the smaller zoid. He stared at it wondering if it was one of those ancient ones, called organoids. He had heard about them. If it was one, he wondered if the person that it was with knew what it was. When the elderly man approached, Quin eased himself out of the cockpit and to the ground outside the large fence. It seemed that the old man didn't feel safe or something.

"Name is Quin, I saw the advertisement you put out and came to check out the job offer." he looked around as he saw the command wolf had returned. Some one else perhaps coming to check out the job offer. He turned back to the old man. "Also need to find a place to do some repair work on Tigger here." he patted the leg of the zoid affectionately and Tigger made a deep rummbling sound, almost like he was purring.

(Hey! He's not old! Rose, i'm having a hard time following your posts. lol)

"I see," Perlan replies. "Well you've come to the right place. I did put out an ad," he says. He takes a remote from his belt and hits a button. Slowly, the gate opens for a Zoid to enter. "You might as well come on in and we'll talk," he says. His eyes travel over the Blade Liger appraisingly, still unable to tell even what color it is. "My name's Perlan, by the way."
Perlan then looked at the white Command Wolf also just outside his fence. Curiously, there was a young woman with an organoid sitting on the ground beside it. "Young lass, are you here about the job, too?" he asks. "I doubt sitting on the desert floor is all that comfortable."
He looks at Quin and then back at lady with the organoid. "Both of you, come inside the hangar and we'll talk. It's a bit cooler inside."

(Sorry...I wasn't sure how to reply the first few times...)
Looking up when she was asked Mor yipped and Sheridan nodded "My name isn't young lass either, it's Sheridan and don't even think of trying to get your hand on Moro" she said before she stood up and walked inside Moro followed growling slightly "Oh come on, calmit will ya" she said to Moro who whined before they walked into the hanger "So this is what you sense huh? A dark horn haven't seen one fo those in the village yet" she said very careful and keeping and eye on Moro. the small lupine organoid kept close to Sheridan constantly watching the other two while Sheridan made sure she showed at least some manners considering she needed the job really. They didn't exactly pay her for chasing them away in the village and that took time off her job the one she was paid for.
The Comman wolf stood up eventually and gave a slight groan as it walked in sitting beside the Dark Horn and somewhat eyeing the blade liger.
Both Moro and Sheridan waited for the other two she also had something else to say but decieded it mgiht be best to say this after and if they did get the job.

Tigger followed Quin into the fenced area and to the Hanger. Once in the hanger Tigger stopped and eyed the Dark Horn and let a low rumble could be heard coming from him. When the Command Wolf entered he did the same thing. "Easy boy. They are not the enemy. We might be working with them, so be nice. From what he heard the girl that called herself Sheridan say, he figured that the small wolf like creature was an organoid. He wondered where she had come across it. They were rare, well so far any ways. But it seemed more and more were showing up.

"So what is the job and what is the pay for it?" Quin asked. He was not one to beat around the bush when it came to a job. If the money was good it really didn't matter how dangerous it was, that is unless it looked like a suicide run. Quin watched the guy as he walked and got a twisting feeling in his stomach. All imperial officers had a swagger about them and he had it. Even if he wasn't with the Imperial Army anymore it still might spell trouble if he found out who he had been.

Perlan watched Sheridan and raised an eyebrow at her initially rude comment. He had invited her into his compound and she went immediately on the defensive. It wasn't exactly a good first impression to make towards a potential employer.
"Miss Sheridan, I would advise you to cool your jets. I've been called a few things in my time but a thief has never been one of them. I did not invite you into my home to steal your Command Wolf or your organoid. So simmer down," Perlan says with a calm demeanor.
Once their Zoids were parked, Perlan waved the pair over to an old picnic table on the far side of the hangar near the small kitchen. He was quiet as both of them glanced over his Dark Horn. He heard Quin's abrupt questions about the job and grunted. To the point, eh?
While he gave his visitors a chance to get settled at the table, he went into the kitchen to get a pitcher of lemonade and some glasses to offer them. He brought it all to the table a moment later. Let no one say he was an ungracious host.
"Help yourselves to some lemonade. The desert makes one thirsty," he says to both of them before he takes a seat.
"My name is Perlan and I am the one who placed that ad in town. I served as an officer in the Imperial Army for many years before I retired at the rank of Major a couple years ago. That doesn't mean that my civilian life has been quiet. I started my own business where my Dark Horn and I get hired to protect civilian assets from outlaws. As you may be aware, both the Republic and the Empire are struggling to recover and rebuild from the fights with the Death Stinger and subsequently the Deathsaurer. I, myself, was aboard the Ultrasaurus. As a result, many bandit armies have sprung up to take advantage of the relative lawlessness that has occurred. Even the Guardian Force can't keep up. And that's why I have this job.
I am looking for experienced Zoid pilots. Most of my jobs are escorting convoys of goods across the desert. Food, medical supplies, building materials. Sometimes I am hired by villages, as well. My Dark Horn's relatively slow pace is ideal for guarding caravans of Gustavs and their trailers and his firepower is considerable. But, admittedly, I can only do so much if I am the only defense. So, I am seeking at least one partner with a Zoid that can balance out my Dark Horn. Speed and maneuverability combined with my Dark Horn's firepower and tenacity. The pay is commensurate with the jobs we are hired to do. Sometimes, we can also collect on bounties... which is a nice bonus."
His eyes traveled over the two younger people around him. His expression was rather solemn so that they would take his words seriously.
"If you want to be considered for the job, you need to know that this is not all fun and glory. It is dangerous work and those outlaws won't hesitate to kill man or woman," he says... his eyes falling on Sheridan briefly. He looked over at Moro, the organoid. "They also won't pass up anything they feel will increase their power or wealth, like that organoid," he adds. "And it's not just about the money.... I get paid so I can repair my Dark Horn and earn a living but I also enjoy the feeling that I am helping innocent people. The threat of the Deathsaurer may be over but the aftermath will be felt for many years to come. There will always be a need for what I do."
He stopped and took a sip of his lemonade. "So now you both know what the job is for. You need to think about it carefully. Now is the time for any questions as well."

"I've had imperial guards try to seperate me and Moro plenty times" she said but calmed down. She sat at the table and Moro lay down behind her and soon jumped up looking over the girl's shoulders to everyone and Sheridan just left it as she listened to what he had to say. "I'm a mechanic andhave been for years...because of certain events I haven't had time to earn enough from my trade and before you say anything I'm not like those novices, I heard plenty of stories back at the village saying they didn't get it, as for speed and maneuerabilty I think boht mine and Quin's zoids are both very good in those feilds, mine has less ranged weapons I think" she said trying to recall what she knew but hadn't really seen a blade liger only read about one. "and I know that already, think that after a year I wouldn't know the dangers? hence why I'm so careful" she said and then continued to listen to what else he had to say... she looked to Moro who barked trying to ask a question and then translated after she sipped her drink. "Moro asked how amny othe zoids are coming?" she said and Moro waited intently for an answer. "and I am sorry for my rudeness earlier as I said imperial guards have tried to take her off me several times and other people who put up help wanted notices" she said and Moro nodded giving a bark looking to the other two with her mechnical wolf eyes as she cocked her head to one side and Sheridan looked to Moro

Quin followed the man to the table and had a seat. He had to grin when he more or less scolded the girl for her remarks. It seemed she was a bit touchy on the matter of her organiod. When he excused himself to go get some lemonade Quin took a better look around. He kind of wished he had a place like it. He was working on it, saving as much as he could from the bounties he had collected. A hanger and a couple more zoids. He had the cores for them, he just needed the bodies to put them in.

When the owner of the place came back he introduced himself and as he had suspected the man had been an imperial officer. Even though he was retired it would not go well for Quin if it was found out he was not dead but alive. Not reporting back after the raid was more or less desertion. Even though they reported him dead.

Perland explained the job and it sounded good. More or less a steady type job of escorting supply convoys. The bounty on any bandits would be a bonus but probably split three ways if both him and Sheridan were accepted. He listened to Sheridan talk about her job and all. She might be fast in her Command Wolf but experience was something that could over come that. "Well as for me I have been out takeing care of some of those bandits and collecting the bounties. Latest one was out at Lorado. This job sounds like it would be a welcome change to wandering around all over the place. I'm in."

Perlan bristled a bit when the girl said Imperial soldiers tried to abduct the organoid from her. He was well aware that there were rogue ex-soldiers out there trying to act official to dominate the weak. He calmed down himself and let the matter of the organoid drop. For now.
He listened to both of their stories. He pondered what to do with either of them. He had only intended to hire one. However, the girl's skills as a mechanic could prove useful to him. He raised a brow when she somewhat bashed at her Command Wolf, which he knew could carry quite a range of different armaments. As far as weapons range, it could exceed a Blade Liger's since that was a close combat Zoid.
She looked at the young lady with a slightly softened expression. She reminded him of someone.
"Sheridan, no one under this roof will steal your organoid or I will show them the door myself and not too gently, either," he said... his tone soft but his expression showed his sincerity. He was a man of great integrity. "I could use a Zoid mechanic around here. If you don't want to go on missions, that will be up to you. I won't force you. However, your Command Wolf has greater potential than perhaps you realize.
"As for Quin, I will hire you on a probationary basis. If you have belongings, you can settle them in the bunkhouse which is next to his hangar.
"Sheridan, do you have a place to stay?"

She listened in silence to what he had to say with moro keeping ehr paws on Sheridan's shoulders listening as well"Fair enough and others have told me that as well but I have one or two more reapirs to finish on her, trust me on this some zoids can be awfully tempermental when being repared and Moro is one of them" she said joking a bit and Moro nipped her "Hey no nipping that hurts me remember? Quin, want me to repair you blade liger for you while I'm here? That way it'll save you the trouble of finding another one" she said and Moro barked "Also I live in the village by the old run down shelter I work in" Her command wolf had settled down and was curled up already quite comfortable where it was. She kept her tools with her and the command wolf lifted it's head to look over the where it could hear their voices Moro moved her paws from Sheridan's shoulders and sprinted out to it barking playfully. "and I don't beilive I said I wouldn't come, what'll happen if both your zoids get made into mince meat" she said "You won't exactly find it easy to get back here and depending on where you are it'll take a while to get there" she soon stopped herself from going on and just sipped her drink silently...

Quin leaned back in his chair a bit sipping his drink. An actuall bed to sleep in, instead of the cocpit of his zoid or on the hard ground. That would be nice. Perhaps a nice hot shower as well. He had been taking cold sponge baths in rivers and streams. Even though he probably could afford to spend time in a Inn or something he didn't like having his zoid to far away. Here though he knew he would be able to get to him quickly.

When Sheridan asked him if he wanted her to repair his zoid, he grinned. "Tigger would like that I think. How good are you with paint detailing. Been thinking of putting stripes on him." He then stood up and said. "I'll get my stuff from Tigger and put them into the Bunkhouse. When do we go out on a job?" he asked Perlan. Would be good to know how much time he had to rest up or if there was time to repair the gashes on Tigger.

(OOC: Big Zoids don't do much when their pilot is not in the cockpit. I've never seen one curl up on the show. Organoids do sometimes. Zeke could be quite the lazybones at times. lol )

Sheridan nodded "Well I'll get started anyway and I've dabbled in doing details before so just tell me once I've fixed up Tigger... Moro help me get my tool box" she said and stood up knowing she probably had a tight deadline and opened up the pilot seat and searched a bit picking out the tool box she kept in the back seat and moro jumped down with in in her mouth and then put it down barking as Sheridan jumped down....

(sorry.... half the episode I found were dead...)

"Very well, Sheridan. But if you need an extra place to stay there's a guest room in the main house," Perlan said.
Slowly, Perlan rose to his feet and stretched. "I do have a job the day after tomorrow escorting a convoy of Gustavs to a key bordertown on the line between the Empire and the Republic. People come from the surrounding villages and colonies for supplies. It will be our job to see that convoy makes it there." He looked at the two of them. "For now get settled in and get some rest. Tomorrow, we're going to run some simulation exercises to get a feel for one another. Most Zoids have a simulator system for mock combat training without there being risks of damage to the Zoid itself. I think it'll be important to get familiar with each other's combat styles and strengths before we go into real battle." He then looks at Sheridan, "And as for Moro, the organoid is free to watch tomorrow but I want to see how well you pilot your Command Wolf without her fused with it."

Sheridan listened and nodded "Fair enough, that is understandable" she said and Moro barked "Ok, fine you can watch but no side line driving" she joked with Moro who growled mechnically at her and then fused with the command wolf. She finished a few repairs quickly before working on the blade liger so that it could at least move properly for tomorrow "That should do for tomorrow, it should work properly and the same goes with all the systems so I'll work on apperance alter on" she said "Yours need any repairs before tomorrow?" she asked Perlan. She seemed a bit nicer now as well and Moro waited wanting to get home.

Quin went to Tigger and grabbed a rucksack that contained his clothes and the satchel that contained his money. "Got someone to do some repair work on you boy." he patted one of the fore legs of his zoid. "Get those nasty scratches out and later will get some strips painted on you. I think you will like that." Tigger nodded his head. "I won't be far away. " he told tigger and went to the bunk house and threw his bag on one of the empty bunks.

Taking out some clean clothes he made for the shower. Stripping down he got in and let out a sigh as the hot water ran over his body. "Oh how I have looked forward to this." he murmered as he just let the water run over him. He then began to scrub off the dirt and sweat. He hated to get out of the shower but soon enough he had to. Once dried off and dressed he tested out the bed and laid down enjoying the comfort of the bed. "I can get use to this." he mumbled.