Monster Hunter: Lancer-punk

Game Master Rune Alistair

CONGRATULATIONS! After several months of waiting, your registration has been processed for your GUILD certification. Now comes the easy part, testing. You have all been told to come to the administration building in the neutral ward of the city. Documentation requested of you:

- Your pilots registration
- Psychological profile
- Sponsorship paperwork
- Credit report
- Hunter suit (mech)

If you do not own a Hunter suit a GUILD suit can be provided to you, provided your sponsor's authorizes it and both your credit and your sponsors credit allow. The cost will be recuperated from a percentage your contracts until the debt is paid.

Yoshimitsu entered the administration building sporting the ancient regalia of his family's clan. He had finally earned the right after many succession duels till finally the elders had declared him first hunter of his clan and was given the honor of bearing their ancestral sword and title. However to outsiders this display attracted more laughter and confusion than awe.

"Yoshi!" he cried standing in the center of the admin building raising his arms up to the sky, celebrating. Making his way to the counter he presented his credentials. While his psychological and credit reports were questionable his sponsorship went back generations. His clan knew people and things they shouldn't and could pull strings or cut them if they so chose. Additionally the Manji clan had served many wealthy organizations in clandestine operations throughout history and they were willing to push them through the administration if needed which Yoshimitsu certainly needed.

Regis strode into the building with all the quiet dignity he could muster. Despite his crisp suit and immaculate smile, there was just a hint of resignation in his eyes. He had spent months searching desperately for a sponsor, contacting every noteworthy figure that would still give him the time of day, calling in every favor he was still owed. But losing that duel, his first loss ever, the first loss his family had suffered in decades, had stripped him of almost all his social standing.

In the end, the only person that would hear him out was the CEO of a struggling fast food enterprise. Their only stipulation was that Regis be given a callsign that would help influence people into thinking about burgers. Thus Regis became...Reggie-Burger. He still couldn't believe he'd sunk this low, but it was better than starving to death in the streets.

Besides, he had the advantage of bringing his own HUNTER suit. Regis was surprised that he had been allowed to take one with him when he was expelled from the family - granted, it was a large, unwieldy defender-style suit, which his younger siblings had probably arranged as one final insult. No matter - that suit was now the majority of his wealth and assets, and he would utilize it to the fullest.

Regis's life as a prodigal duelist, heir to the Burgodal estate, was over. Perhaps he could make a new name for himself as Reggie-Burger, monster hunter. Or, at the very least, he could die with some dignity on the battlefield.

Eleanor waves off her family minder before bursting through the doors to the administration. Her eyes take in her surroundings before spying a familiar face from the academy. The Arnstein family scion gives him a smug "HEH" expression before sweeping past Regis to approach the counter. She hands over all the requisite documents. She appears the very picturesque pinnacle of the Arnstein family heritage; tall, a mane of fiery red hair, and sharp eyes.

For sponsorship documents and credit reports, she simply raises an eyebrow. The Arnstein family is old old money. Arms manufacturer, Dealer and holder of several exotic mineral depots. Their influence spiderwebs far in the industrial and military spheres.

Domino is waiting at The Guild registration counter in the administration building. She seems to have been there for quite some time, waiting on the rest of the group. she is suited up in a black flight suit with heavy yellow plating. a small bee-like drone is hovering over her shoulder. She seems to be reviewing some documentation on her PD(Personal Device).

Tyson winks and shoots some finger guns as he enters the registration office. Somehow his fans always figure out where he's going to be. Both flattering...and annoying.

He drops the happy-go-lucky facade as he reaches the privacy of the admin building. Not like anybody here would appreciate it anyway. It was harder to put on the act these days in any case. Something about being press-ganged into fighting life and death battles to shill products had ruined his mood.

At the counter, he makes a faint attempt at pleasantries, but is mostly ignored by the guild receptionist. He rolls his eyes and hands over the paperwork.

The receptionist takes in all the forms and makes a call. After a few minutes you are all called back together. Being escorted up an elevator and down a few hallways. Compared to some other corporations anyone would note that it isn't as lavish as most. While it was nice, there was a quaint nature to the building. Seeing people in all sorts of positions working along side each other. Looking in on meetings, you could all see people as high as marketing executives, to as low as the mechanics. The general vibe of the office would could be defined as purposeful.

The escort opens the door to one of the offices behind some blacked out glass. "Please be seated, a director will be with you shortly" The voice is near robotic but disturbingly human. She closes the door with you all inside. Food is dispersed around the room. Some lighter snacks in the center of the table, along with some water and soda. While on tables near the walls, there is a more catered meal. Some dishes being heated with an electric burner. Some of it is real monster meat, though nothing terribly high quality, some apceros and aptonath. With it there is plenty of vegetables to accompany.

Eleanor grabs an assortment of vegetables/fruits for her plate before taking a seat. I suppose group orientations are more efficient, but with how much money is thrown around the Guild, they couldn't afford a better spread? She thinks to herself.

Wagging a piece of celery in Regis's general direction, Eleanor speaks up. "Well, well, well! What rock did you crawl out from under Regis? That's a face I haven't seen in quite some time."

Regis's perfectly placid smile falters, just for a moment, when Eleanor speaks to him. He had successfully ignored her in the lobby, but now it seemd like he wouldn't be able to avoid her. What is she doing here, of all places? Did she sign up just to taunt me? Hasn't she humiliated me enough already?

He looks up from his perfectly balanced plate of meat and veggies (not the sort of cuisine he was raised with, but he would gladly take it over the ramen and eggs he had been living on the last few months) and gives her the biggest, least sincere grin he can manage.

"Eleanor! I thought I smelled your overbearing perfume in the lobby. What brings a lady like you to a place like this? Was brutalizing your fellow students not enough to satisfy your bloodlust?"

Eleanor narrows her eyes a moment before she too gives an insincere smile. She snaps out her fancy techno hand-fan so she can side-eye Regis over the top of it.

"The Arnstein family is a pillar of the community. It behooves us to 'Do Our Part' in dealing with the Guild. As for the other students, I would think they would thank me for giving them such a perfect preview of what might happen out in the field. Perhaps they've learned a thing or two!" Eleanor laughs.

"But enough about me! Where did you disappear off to? I found it most peculiar that you or your family didn't come biting at my heels after...well, you know. The Academy was such a bore afterwards." Although hard to tell in the general tone of the conversation, Eleanor does seem genuinely curious.

Yoshimitsu sat and helped himself to large haunch of aptonath meat, biting and growling as he stripped the meat from the oversized portion. He paused intermittently to listen to the two's conversation.

Hadn't his clan assassinated someone in the Arnstein's ages ago? He had trouble remembering the long list of their clan's history scrolls. That was for old men. For now he would remain quiet. As his Ninjutsu teacher taught him, "The quieter you are the more you hear."

Domino grabs an altaroth honey drop and pops it in her mouth and pockets a few for later.

She waits for Dandy to get settled and decides to sit next to him."Mr. Gandy I was looking over your profile and didn't see much written. To my understanding, based on your profile, you are a bit of a celebrity. I don't pay much attention to pop culture. Could you please enlighten me on your background and what in particular has brought you into this line of work? No offense but in my experience charisma isn't exactly the most efficient weapon on the battlefield."

"But enough about me! Where did you disappear off to? I found it most peculiar that you or your family didn't come biting at my heels after...well, you know. The Academy was such a bore afterwards." Although hard to tell in the general tone of the conversation, Eleanor does seem genuinely curious.

Regis chews on his apceros steak for a while before responding. This serves two purposes: To give himself time to come up with an explanation, and to annoy Eleanor.

"Well, you needn't worry about any of my relatives cutting you to ribbons. In fact, my family expects me to atone for my own mistakes. To that end, I've been...taking a sabbatical these last few months. I've cast aside all the comforts and luxuries that were distracting me from training. That's also why I'm here - as you said, there is no training more intense than what's out in the field. It's the perfect place for me to reach my full potential."

He cuts another piece of steak and winks at her. "I do hope you'll be able to keep up out there."

"I'm the most valuable commodity on the market, sweetheart. You think just anyone can pull off this ensemble? That's what they pay me for."

"And, no offense, but I don't think you're gonna last long in this line of work without making connections. If you know the right people you can buy fancy new targeting systems, better boosters, and everything you need to make hunting the big ol' critters easier, but nothing in the world can buy you a winning personality. And I do mean winning, this is the opportunity of several lifetimes for me."

He gives her a grin which could be generously construed as "catty".

Eleanor rolls her eyes as Regis takes his time with his steak. As her old victim fellow student finishes his word shiv, her eyes light up with a hint of malice. She snaps her hand-fan closed and taps the tip against her chin.

"My my...how very ascetic. I suppose it must be necessary for those easily distracted. I can't relate unfortunately. Though it seems it has taken it's toll with how much gusto you're tearing into this meager fare. Do be sure to eat up, who can say when you'll be able to enjoy another meal like this?" Satisfied with herself, she decides to actually take in her surr-Is that a model? ...Why is that other man wearing traditional japanese armor? That woman seems normal enough...

"Interesting insight Mr.Gandy, I will make a note to study your performance during the mission to analyze the validity of your claim." Domino makes a note on her PD. Domino notices Dangers Gaze as she looks up from her PD "Ah, Ms. Arnstein is it, I saw your record shows high marks in performance. You will be a valuable asset to the team no doubt. However, I do hope you manage to keep that fire down range."

Eleanor waves off the comment with her fan.

"Not to worry, I've yet to hear anyone complain after being inside the blast radius. But I believe you've missed a step. You are...?" She prompts with a raised eyebrow. The Arnstein scion is not at all confused or surprised that people know who she is.

"My apologies, my name is Domino Bones NHP-Bio Field Researcher for Cambrian Academy. This will be my first Field OP but not to worry, I will support the team to the best of my abilities." Hive buzzes on her head with the beat of its wings as it raises its forelegs in the air.

During all the talking the door opens, and in walks three individuals. One would appear to be the director, a large man in a suit. The man was large in both meanings, standing about 6'4 and his suit was fitted well overt his large muscles. Scars on his face tell a story of battles won and lost. He takes a seat at the end of the table. The other two who walk in weren't as commanding. A man in a jump suit, and smelled generically of fuel sat to the mans right. While the other begins handing out welcome packets across the table before taking a seat to the directors left.

"Good afternoon I am Director Wilson. A little bit about me, I was a member of the GUILD in the early days. My primary responsibility, aside from on-boarding, is keeping the corporations from making too many claims on the monsters. The man to my right is Chief engineer and maintenance supervisor Grayson Reeves, and the woman to my left is your GUILD representative, Amanda Sinclair. She will be primarily responsible for making sure any guild assets your team needs is allocated as needed, simply put in a request with her and she will file the proper paperwork and pull the right strings. Please flip to the first page of the welcome packet.

He flips to the first page in his own packet.

"Due to the importance of the work the GUILD does and the resources that monsters provide, during any assignment officially given by the guild your noble status, corporate ties, or other potentially conflicting ties will be severed. Your hunting permit is not limited to GUILD assignments however any damaged sustained while on non-GUILD assignments will not be fixed by GUILD technicians unless proper compensation is provided. If you are found in violation of this term your credit will be docked and a formal law suite will be filed against your family/organization. You will be bared from ever taking GUILD assignments again, and you will be placed on the "Red list" which is a list that all other agencies have at their disposal to determine whether to hire you or not. Please sign the document. I will also take questions if there are any."

He sits and waits for you to sign in the digital square on the page.

Excuse me, if damage is incurred on nonguild equipment while on guild assignment but not due to guild-related activities does the "Red List" still apply?

"The Red list is only if you act in the interest of organizations you may be tied with, such as working to get your company access to a Rathalos that has either already been claimed by a company or by the GUILD proper. The monsters provide necessary resource to the people of this city, but considering how many of the families and corporations behave if it wasn't for the GUILD the people living in the neutral zones would go without.
As for non-GUILD equipment being damaged while...." He sighs "If you are on a GUILD assignment all equipment brought with you will be insured within reason, and we would assume you would be doing GUILD-related activities when on a GUILD assignment."

"Understood"
Domino reads over the paperwork looking for any glaring issues that may affect her, her assets, or her research. If she finds none then she signs the paperwork

Eleanor exhales in a little amusement. 'Severing ties?' As if anyone has ever really done so working with the Guild. Just the people in this room are positively dripping with ulterior motives.

Her eyelid twitches at the mention of teams but doesn't voice her open disapproval. Urgh, I was hoping this was just an orientation and teams would be decided later...

Eleanor is lost in thought as she scans the document before signing so long as nothing is amiss.

A researcher, a Model, and an unknown quantity. She sighs at seemingly nothing in particular. I can't believe Burgodal is the most reliable asset at hand amongst these. She glares daggers at him from behind her hand-fan.

Yoshimitsu nods enthusiastically, the hardened leather of his shikoro armor pauldrons creaking. "It is the way of the shinobi to severe one's ties to become one with void and death" He told himself remembering the teachings once more.

Suddenly Yoshimitsu's brow furrowed as he translated the words and he barked, "I am no thief! We are here for the great honor of the hunt! Not for scraps and leftovers! By my word of honor I swear to serve the GUILD unto death!" punching his fist forward.

This was why his psychological profile was both promising and concerning to the reviewers. Traditional fanaticism was like a powder keg waiting to explode in any corporate venture but it was a very reliable powder keg in that it reliably exploded.

They really don't trust us at all, do they? Can't say I blame them. Lucky for them, my family's status doesn't benefit me at all...

After a cursory glance through the paperwork, Regis signs with little hesitation.

Then he notices Eleanor glaring at him, and sighs. He leans over toward her, and lowers his voice. "Look - I'm even less thrilled about us teaming up than you are. But I'm going to do my best to put that aside when we're out in the field. I'm sure you can find it within yourself to do the same."

Then he promptly moves away from her - obviously hoping to prevent her from getting in the last word - and turns to Yoshimitsu with a bemused smile.

"Well! You're certainly jumping into this with full gusto. Been looking forward to becoming a hunter for a while, I take it?"

"Interesting insight Mr.Gandy, I will make a note to study your performance during the mission to analyze the validity of your claim."

Tyson rolls his eyes.

"How about you focus on your own performance, and try not to get yourself killed?"

"Well! You're certainly jumping into this with full gusto. Been looking forward to becoming a hunter for a while, I take it?"

"I have trained my whole life for the right to be Hunter amongst my clan. To follow in the footsteps of my immortal ancestors is the highest honor for us. Failure is unacceptable. If my actions bring dishonor to my family name I will be killed and made an example to the others. Why are you here?"

He rattles off as if memorized in a cold matter-o-fact manner. He looks down and then takes out a small jade rectangular Hanko stamp hammering it down on the documents.

Then he promptly moves away from her - obviously hoping to prevent her from getting in the last word...

"Idiot." She mutters low enough for him to hear before sitting back. Eleanor decides to stew in displeased silence for her rotten luck but is no longer directing that displeasure at anything in particular.

After you all sign there is a ping on Amanda’s tablet. You all also get an alert on your optical implant showing that you have all been granted access to lvl 0 access to the GUILD facility.

“Good, with that out of the way, the legal portion out of the way I will turn it over to Ms. Sinclair.”

The director waves his hand over to Amanda who stands. She clears her throat and adjust her glasses. The woman had her hair tied up and her make-up was well applied and blended. For those who are savvy in fashion, you can see her suit and skirt are actually nicer than the directors, popular name brand among the nobles.

“Thank you Director Wilson. As stated I am Amanda Sinclair, your teams GUILD representative. Make no mistake, my job is to go to bat for you among the other corporations. Due to the nature of how we are structure, It isn’t uncommon for the various families and corporations to attempt to withhold aid to various teams based on the the names on the roster, I believe that you are familiar with this practice Ms. Arnsein and Mr. Burgodal. For this reason, it is not only why our teams tend to consist of rival families/corporations, this helps us leverage resources to the teams. On top of being your teams rep. I will also be you squad coordinator, I will be on radio coms with you during missions with the satellite feed in order to better aid you. From there I can help track monsters, and other targets, as well as update mission parameters. If you have questions, I am the person you come to. Please do not waste a directors time with something I can just handle.” She seems too look at the two nobles sternly, as if having prior complications with nobles in the past. “If you do have questions or concerns about your hunter suits I recommend speaking to Mr. Reeves.”

Reeves looks up from a tablet, seeming to be puzzling out some issues before looking up and seeing it is his turn to speak.

” Oh…sorry, I am Chief engineer and head maintenance Grayson Reeves. I and my team will be looking after your hunter suits from here on out. Your respective specs were sent over so we are just doing our own cursor inspections. In the future, once Amanda approves upgrades, parts swaps or generic maintenance I and my team will get to work outfitting you with anything you might need. If you happen to swap your platforms we will also handle getting your new baby into the hangar. Outside of that I am sure that we will hardly see each other.”

Once the pair have had an opportunity to speak, Director Wilson signs a document and you all get an alert, showing that you are now allowed to take GUILD request of the job board. The e-mail does state that all members of the team have to agree and take the request. Once one person has taken the request there is a 2 hour hold that is placed, and the team has 2 hours to decide to take the request or not before it is relinquished for another team to take. There is also a warning that failure to take the request but participating in the quest will result in immediate termination of GUILD privileges and your hunters license will be revoked. You will also be placed on the “Red List” as well as reported to the hunters foundation to keep an eye out for continued poaching.

Director Wilson stands and adjust his tie. ”The GUILD looks forward to all you have to offer, Amanda they are all yours.”
Director Wilson and Grayson leave the room and Amanda makes her way to the door, holding it open for you all to exit. “Please follow me.”

Assuming you all follow you are taken to a monorail that can be seen pretty much everywhere in the city. Amanda speaks "As many of you know this monorail is how hunters get to and from various parts of the city without needing to go through the proper channels. The requirement being that you are in good standing with the GUILD, that should also mean you can be in any part of the city and deploy from any hanger"

The monorail stops in front of a large facility, Gandy would notice his HUNTER suit being loaded in to the hanger. The company he worked for making the drop off now. You are all lead into a large living facility on the third floor of the hanger.

"During your first year of active GUILD participation, we will provide you with a sort of base of operations. In the future if you intend to establish your own independent cell, that is your choice. Many hunters go off and work in tandem with the GUILD but take requests directly from the source of requests rather then relying on the GUILDS job board." Amanda states.

The space is fairly clean, but is a bit aged. Who knows how many teams have com in and out of this place. From outside one of the windows you can over see the hangar and see the various maintenance teams working to hand off all the proper documents to the GUILD staff. In the living quarter you are in now, there are about 8 different sleeping areas, all uniform, each containing a bed, desk, small closet, safe, and filing cabinet. A small living area, with an open concept kitchen, couch, serviceable television, and a vending machine that could dispense warmed up from frozen Ayan food (Aya is a vaguely Asian country to the south.) along with soda, water, beer and cheap malt beverages. There is a pole in the middle of the room, the leads down to the below floor. Amanda takes you down to the floor below, where you can see this is where you will load in to the HUNTER suits. Also on this floor is a medical suite, that your team will have access to. It is connected to a co-ed locker room. your pilot kits are already set in front of lockers, with name plates laid on top so you can still choose your own lockers, this is where the poll lead to. The locker room also contains showers and is connected to a small gym.

After showing your your main living areas Amanda turns to you all and touches her tablet. You are all given a notification that tells you that you are all now able to take requests from the job board.

"I am sure you all have much to do before you are ready to take your first request. so I will let you all get settled in. If there are any questions before I head back to HQ I can take them now, but if not you can message me at anytime.

"Ms. Sinclair, I was curious if there was an R&D area where I could set up my lab."

"If my actions bring dishonor to my family name I will be killed and made an example to the others."

Regis looks shocked when Yoshimitsu says that, but doesn't say anything. When Yoshimitsu asks him why he is here, he becomes lost in thought for a moment.

"Because there's nowhere else to go..." he mumbles, then catches himself. "That is...nowhere else that calls to me like this place does! Like you, I have been trained in the noble art of the HUNTER suit from a young age. Using those skills in friendly spars and showy duels was all well and good, but such things don't concern me anymore. Suffice it to say, though my life isn't on the line the way yours is, I still feel like...this is where I need to be."

After they've both signed, he reaches out to shake Yoshimitsu's hand. "Best of luck out there! I hope we both find what we're looking for."

========================================================================

Regis takes in the living quarters with a magnanimous grin.

"Wonderful! It's so cozy! So homely!" He orders a beer from the vending machine, and sits on the couch. "No questions from me right now, Ms. Sinclair. Thanks for being so welcoming!"

Despite Amanda's suggestion to settle in, he immediately pulls up the job board on his phone and starts scrolling through available requests. All without dropping that grin for a moment.

"Make yourselves at home, everyone! I'll sift through these to pick out some good ones for us, and then we can vote on the ones we like!"

Due to the nature of how we are structure, It isn’t uncommon for the various families and corporations to attempt to withhold aid to various teams based on the the names on the roster, I believe that you are familiar with this practice Ms. Arnsein and Mr. Burgodal. For this reason, it is not only why our teams tend to consist of rival families/corporations, this helps us leverage resources to the teams.

Eleanor scoffs a little but says nothing. My family would be insane to consider depriving me of resources just to slight the Burgodals. Now if it were the Margraves or Lamlights...A little friendly fire is a natural enough occurrence.

"These accommodations are a tad bare. Ms. Sinclair, are we permitted
to bring in outside ammenities to spruce the place up? If we are to stay here for a year..."

=========================

"Jumping the gun are we, Regis? Before we pick anything, we should have a meeting discussing what our roles in the field are. Titaniklad is a heavy duty artillery platform. If collateral is a concern, I'll tag out armaments for a superheavy rifle." Once she says that, she leaves to pick out her room then goes below to pick her locker.

"Because there's nowhere else to go..." he mumbles, then catches himself. "That is...nowhere else that calls to me like this place does! Like you, I have been trained in the noble art of the HUNTER suit from a young age. Using those skills in friendly spars and showy duels was all well and good, but such things don't concern me anymore. Suffice it to say, though my life isn't on the line the way yours is, I still feel like...this is where I need to be."

Yoshimitsu reaches out and grasps Regis's wrist and vibrates his arm enthusiastically, "YES! Only on the edge between life and death do we learn what's truly at stake, the value of existence. In one shining moment we will learn who we truly are."

================================

Finally reaching his quartershe finds his few things. A tatami mat, a portable shrine for the ancestors with the figure of a demonic looking creature holding swords and a state of the art gaming rig which he sets up on a screen. He actually takes the time to push his unused bed to another storage section of the barracks while passing by the others overhearing their discussion,

"Ah we plan our tactics. I am skilled in unseen infiltration and stalking as well as close combat. The Yoshimitsu also is specialized in pursuing DRAGONS if they take flight."

Amanda looks over her tablet and walks over to Domino, showing her on a map and then pointing across the cat walk located on the second level.

"Over there is a facility that is no longer used by the maintenance teams. Might need a little TLC but it should provide adequate space for at least small scale reserch."

While this is going, Regis finds that the board is more than just a job listing. It is a communications board for all the hunters in the city. Some of the message boards feel more like a stream of consciousness for mission planning, others use it to keep up with their old team mates from their first year, even the odd shitpost pages. Moderation seems shockingly sparse. On the job side of the board there are a couple of jobs that seem like good first picks:

Dodgama are acting off at the dump Posted 3 days ago- A couple of days ago something spooked the Dodogamas, they are still eating the scrap metal and trash, but something has moved in to make them very aggressive. On top of that I found one dead the other day, not a pretty sight. Was hoping it would run off on its own but between not getting them to come off load the molten metal, and one nearly killing my staff the other day I was encouraged by my lawyers that I should send word to the GUILD before someone actually gets hurt. No rush on this, I am sure once what ever it is sees a heard of Dodogama it will just run off.

Something outside the walls Updated 1 Day ago- There have been some odd noises outside the walls in the Isis district. The nobles and the Clark Medical Co. claim to hear something scratch at the walls, roaring, and even what sounds like something throwing its body against the wall. Exterior inspection of the wall shows there is superficial damage. Sadly no monster confirmation due to cameras on that side being damaged from the monsters attack. [UPDATE] Still no visual, sent a a freelance scout to look into the matter and they never RTB'ed. Freelancer left range of communications against our advice.

"Jumping the gun are we, Regis? Before we pick anything, we should have a meeting discussing what our roles in the field are. Titaniklad is a heavy duty artillery platform. If collateral is a concern, I'll tag out armaments for a superheavy rifle." Once she says that, she leaves to pick out her room then goes below to pick her locker.

"Hive specializes in aerial support" she says half paying attention to the conversation. She drops her bag in her room and takes a satchel of select belongings to the unused maintenance room to begin setting up.

"Hive, stay here and let me know if anything important happens."

Hive buzzes over and lands next to Sir Burgodal on the back of the couch and listens intently.

Regis sets the phone down with feigned reluctance. "Very well. The Undaunted is a bulky suit that I've reinforced with Barroth plates, making it quite useful for shielding allies. When it detects an opponent within point-blank range, the plating spreads outward, granting modest protection at a larger radius. I'm equally adept with ranged and melee weaponry, so I will choose my loadout based on what benefits the team."

"So - long-range artillery, close-quarters stalker, and..." He flinches, apparently only just now noticing the drone behind him. "...aerial support. That means my position on the battlefield will mostly depend on yours, Mister Gandy. Where do you like to be?"

"Mannequin is set up as a "spotter". Seracorp wants it in the field, but doesn't want anything to scratch the paintjob. I'll be on-site but you can think of me as closer to mission control and overwatch than an active combatant. Guess that means I'm with...you." he finishes, looking to Eleanor.

While Tyson is talking, Regis takes off his suit jacket and puts it on a desk chair in one of the unclaimed rooms.

And I thought Burger Royals was an annoying sponsor...

He smirks. "Well, if you need to stay clean, then I guess I'll be the one getting my hands dirty. I'll prioritize melee and CQB weapons, and bring some mines and deployable cover. That should be enough to stop most things from getting past me. Yoshimitsu should be able to lock down anything I can't stop, which will leave the rest of you free to do your respective things."

He looks down the hole into the locker room. "You got all that, Eleanor?" he shouts.

"Striker, Spotter, Support, and Meatshield. I do believe that covers the bare minimum of discussion for operations, Burgodal." The door leading back upstairs slides open as Eleanor speaks whilst counting off the roles mentioned.

"Mr.Gandy yes? I look forward to availing myself of your services. I hope you can keep up?"

Hive flies upstairs to Eleanor staying just out of arms reach, seeming to analyze her reactions.

Eleanor flicks her fingers in a 'shoo go away' motion at the Hive drone.

"Is there a...reason you have this thing flitting about?"

As Eleanor swats at Hive it tumbles in the air and then regains its bearings. Hive then flies over to Regis to escape Eleanor's wrath. As Eleanor looks around she notices that Domino is nowhere to be seen and must be out of earshoot based on her lack of response.

Regis chuckles and holds out an arm for Hive to land on.

"I believe she ran off to set up her lab. I heard her tell this drone to keep her posted on our conversation. Not sure whether that means it's recording us for her to watch later, or it actually has enough intelligence to understand us. I admit I'm not an expert on that sort of thing..."

He looks at the drone with curiosity and amusement. "So out with it, little bee - are you smarter than you let on?"

BZZT! "She's scary..." BZZT! A robotic voice with a child-like demeanor emanates from the drone. Hive snuggles up to Regis to feel safe and secure.

Regis stands in stunned silence for a moment, but then calmly carries Hive toward the couch while speaking to it in a comforting tone.

"Hey, don't worry...I know she might seem scary, but she won't hurt you. We're a team now, remember? That means we all have to look out for each other, including you and your..." Owner? Partner? Master? Creator? Mother? "...and Ms. Bones."

With the drone in his lap, he picks up his phone again. "Now, why don't you help us pick our first job?"

Hive pauses for a moment and seems slightly discouraged from hearing the word "job". But shrugs it off and positions itself to look at the phone like it's about to hear a bedtime story.BZZT "OK" BZZT Hive replies in excitement.

Regis catches on to Hive's discouragement, and starts exaggerating his own enthusiasm.

"No, these are fun jobs! Look..." He points to the Dodogama job. "For this one, we'd be stopping a bully from hurting those cute Dodogamas at the city dump." Then he scrolls to the "Outside the walls" job. "And this one is a mystery! We'd look for clues to find a monster that's been causing trouble on the outskirts of town."

"Fear is a natural response. One that'll keep you alive. Knowing when you can push that fear aside and strike is, in essence, what it means to be a Hunter." Eleanor makes claw like gestures with her hands.

"Plus Burgodal, don't lie to the poor thing. I have it on good authority that many people find me scary." She says with a laugh.

"My vote is for the mystery monster by the walls. Putzing about the dump sounds disgusting. Imagine the smell coming back to the hangar." She shudders.

"We should find the Freelance scout. I hope they have not been eviscerated by a Great Macco. It is the only mission that seems most urgent with death." Yoshimitsu continues emptying his room of unnecessary clutter like..chairs and tables pushing them down the hallway which reverberates with floor scraping.