Old ladies in small towns know everything that goes around. Scarily so. And cookies could be considered currency in those fields. Especially chocolate chip ones.
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Fingers crossed, shields ready and cookies in the oven.
Hi, GM! I've been skulking the thread ever since it popped up, and I've been wondering whether or not I should submit something. In the end, my curiousity and interest won over. And Lydia is a concept I've had for a while. Application:
The vaunted doors opened, ushering the next candidate over. The interviewer raised an eyebrow, blinking twice as they glanced Lydia over. An unassuming woman, seemingly in her mid-forties, with a neatly tied bun of graying blonde hair. The thing that drew the eye most, however, was the Opparan Constabulary uniform, identifying the woman as a Sergeant of Westpark, the wealthiest district of Oppara. Gesturing at the seat, the interviewer glanced over the questions as the woman sat down. Why do you want this rather thankless job? A polite smile spread on the woman's face. "Frankly, I made a mistake.", she said. "I joined the constabulary as soon as I can. Several decades ago.", she smiled. "And according to most I've spoken to, I've been an example constable over the course of my career, landing me as the Deputy Sergeant Constable of Westpark seven years back.", she points towards the gilded emblem on her shoulder. "And that's my mistake.", she cusped her hands together. "Westpark is neat, clean, and calm. Practically crime-free. Except, the issues that are there, I can't do anything about. My days are standing around in parade armour, and occasionally interrogating a servant that allegedly stole the silverware." She exhales, leaning back. "That, and for personal reasons I'd rather leave Oppara.", she adds honestly. What experience do you have with lawbreakers? Were you one in the past? Are you an unbending Javert-like figure? What is your stance on redemption and forgiveness?
The woman perks up, as if standing at attention. "I've stood in the shield wall in the riots. I've put a lot of members of the Brotherhood of Silence in the dungeons." A faint, reminiscent smile appears on the woman's face. "But exceptional times aside, it's not as simple as that. Sometimes people steal food, and your boot becomes unclasped while chasing them." She smiles. "And a particular stonemason in this part of town was a loan shark's muscle before me and him had a chat." What is your connection and relationship with the moribund Taldor imperial bureaucracy? A sigh leaves Lydia's mouth as she purses her lips. "Stricly professional.", she says a moment later. "Please, don't get me wrong, I've bled for Taldor, and I'll die for it. These past couple of years, though, I've felt like I'm protecting the peace a lot less, and standing around as a decorative wall against the beardless a lot more." She stares through the window. "I've spent a lot of time going in soirees and balls the past several years. Most of my career, if I'm going somewhere, I'd be looking for people who are lying or putting on a mask. Lately, I've been looking for people who are not." Lastly, in the most broad sense, how do you plan to police the town? The woman clears her throat. "There's a lot of ways of doing it. And a lot less ways of doing it correctly." She opens her palms. "I was situated in Westport for the larger part of my career. Fending off Brotherhood and thieves' guild attempts at taking over is practically the main thing we used to do." Extending three fingers up, she taps on her index finger. "First thing: Establish that your authority is better than the opposing authority. Be friendly. Point out that you're there to do the job of keeping them safe. Mingle in the open and be seen." Tapping on her middle finger, she nods. "Second thing: When you bring down the hammer, make sure it's being seen. We had a charming lady who was doing her best to convince the merchants of the district to start 'fiddling' with manifests and what they store in their shops." She smiles a bit more viciously. "My team cornered her in a tavern, and she and her men pulled out knives. Don't pull a knife against a fully armoured guard. When we dragged her out, all the merchants who may have had ideas, saw her with half her teeth missing and her soiled herself. Never had issues in that street after." She taps her ring finger. "Third thing: Always treat people fairly, and professionally. Never hold grudges, and never bend the law yourself. Justice is stability. If people know the law and the consequences, they'll be a lot less likely to break them. If you beat the hell out of a thief, then take a bribe to look the other way from another one, you lose all credibility." Raising a finger in the air, she nods. "To summarise: make sure people know you're better than the alternative in every single way." The stat block is in the profile. Not quite completed, but mostly would be minor changes. The last thing: The solo game. I've never been part of one, truth be told, but having read some of your solo games, I think that I can be optimistic about it! The main draw is, well, having more attention from the GM, and being able to interact the world in your own way. The worries are that my schedule can occasionally get quite hectic, but I'd like to think that I have better than average experience with picking up the slack for games that have slowed down. Technically, three sentences. Hopefully, that doesn't disqualify me!
"Ready and able, Sir!", replies Lydia, before nodding at the troops from behind her helmet. Not really either of those things, but there's little more I, or they, could've done. Cradling her storm bolter in one arm, she grabs hold of a handle on the wall. "Ready to take point after your landing, Lord-Captain." The first test of the crew approaches... There's bound to be those stressed out, and those panicking. A smile seen by nobody but the Bosun stretches on her lips.
The travelling through the Warp unnerves Chief Guernstock, but she doesn't show it. The training continues, and alongside the numerous marines, the pilots aren't spared by the harsh regimen. Only when the ship leaves the Warp does the training go back to normal, as an order to recuperate before the boarding is issued. A message beeps onto the Captain's console. "+++This is Barracks to Bridge. Boarding Squads assembled and on standby. Barracks out.+++", the vox blares. Looking over the assembled troops, Lydia allows herself a small sigh. Incompetent beyond belief., she thinks, seeing the rallied troops in full gear, as she pats her armour down for the fifth time. If the pilots are as good as the marines, only the Emperor can help us...
Sorry about that! Very, very busy week. It should all be back to normal by next week, though!
Finishing her re-caf, and sneaking another biscuit as the guest leaves, Chief Bosun Guernstock makes her way towards the barracks. Most of the marines were not worthy to clean the shoes of the people who cleaned the toilets on Boros, but with no more than three Terran weeks to go, there is little time to lose. Reaching the barracks, she polishes away a non-existant fleck from her armour, before busting into the command centre. "At ease!", she shouts as the drilled officers on shift jump up. "All training regimen is to be doubled for the next two weeks, focusing on ship-boarding actions. Squads 11 and 19 are to be trained for forward ship-board scouting, and are under my direct command until further notice." Re-affixing her cap, she begins pacing around the CNC. Her eyes spot the tails of an officer's shirt sticking out of their trousers. "Lieutenant, you are dismissed. The next four shifts are to be undertaken in full combat gear at all times." Turning to the comms console, she nods. "Prepare the following instructions for Lord Fechter and Wing Commander von Bastillion respectively. I require food rations to be increased by 25% for the soldiers for the next couple of weeks, and state my preference for it not be taken away from the non-combat personnel. Corpse Rations are acceptable, but alternatives are preferred. To Wing Commander von Bastillion - I would require some of his pilots and some of the landing craft made available for co-operative boarding exercises. The schedule is entirely up to him, but it is imperative to the purposes of the mission."
Chief Bosun Guernstock remains upright and taut as the refreshments are carried around, choosing to take a cup of recaf instead of the other, more intoxicating options. She does, however, pour nearly half the sugar bowl in it, before stirring it with an impenetrable gaze. Giving Wing Commander Bastilion a curt nod accompanied with a barely perceptible smile as he walks in, she turns towards the reclining man with the glass of amasec. "What is the window of appearance? And to what accuracy can you advise us where the location would be?", she asks as she takes a sip of recaf, before turning to the captain. "Lord-Captain. I'll begin assembling and training the boarding squad with the best qualifications for this mission.", she says, a slight curl of her lip. All people aboard with any, let alone sufficient qualifications, are in this room.
Nodding, the Chief turns to the marines. "Soldiers! March out!", she shouts, before turning back at the captain. "I'll see to that personally, sir.", she says, following the two in a respectable distance, before remaining guard at the door, storm bolter propped in a parade stance. I appreciate it being so much better than the lasgun. But I could appreciate it being lighter for guard duty as well., a thought that would never be voiced crosses through her head as she affixes her cap and stares down the hallway.
I can prepare troops, but I wouldn't dream of calling them an escort., a thought passes through Lydia's head as she nods, breaking from her stance next to the captain's chair. "At once, sir.", she responds in a professional voice, before reaching for the vox caster, and taking several steps away from the command chair itself. As she raises the device to her mouth, she clears her throat. "++This is Bridge to Barracks. Units five through seven, report immediately to Docking Bay in complete uniform. We have a VIP arriving on-board.++", her voice raised to a shout carries over the comms to the barracks, before clearing a non-existant fleck from her finely polished carapace armour. "++Be there in four minutes and prepare for my immediate inspection. If I find someone's gear is incomplete or in non-suitable condition, I will personally throw their entire unit in the brig! If someone breaks protocol or formation, I'll throw the entire barracks in the brig! Bridge out.++" Stepping towards the command chair in with hastened tempo, Chief Guernstock looks at the Lord-Captain as she replaces her cap. "The escort will be present. I'm on my way to see to it personally, sir." Affixing the strap on her storm bolter, Lydia hesitates for a moment to hear the "dismissed" order, before tactfully clearing her throat.
Hello there! Glad to be onboard. I like that explanation about the PF decrease, it's fun when stuff like that is mentioned. I'm curious as to what the general, hm, plot of the game would be, or whether or not it'd be a bit more sandboxy. Interested in both, just wondering which!
Chief Bosun reporting for duty.
Background:
Sergeant Lydia Guernstock was born nearly five decades ago on Boros Prime, to a military family. Continuing the family tradition of serving in the ground (or, technically, station) forces, and joining the forces at the age of 18 as a Private, she earned her promotion to Corporal several years later, after proving herself an extraordinary shot and maintaining presence of mind in the most stressful of situations, earning the respect of the soldiers for both her exceptionally professional conduct and her personal approach to command. During a particularly daring Chaos assault on the station, the Sergeant's regiment was relegated to halt the advance of the boarding forces. Taking position in front of the Administratum headquarters for the space station's sector, the 11th Borossian Defense Regiment held the line in face of thousands-strong tide of heretics, not breaking despite the heavy losses. The heretic forces, desperate to achieve their objective, resolved to leading everyone available in breaking the line, spearheaded by a company of Chaos Space Marines. Despite the Berserkers falling down to the sheer amount of las-fire fired by the four rows of infantry, the heavy fire from the several Devastators nearly wiped out whatever was left of the regiment. Finding herself the highest-ranking soldier remaining in the regiment (which was later confirmed to have sustained more than 95% losses), Sergeant Guernstock gave the order to continue standing until the last man standing, confirming the kill on the last Devastator standing with an Emperor-blessed shot through his left eye and taking a heavy bolter shot to the chest in return. Escorted to the Medicae deck by the relief forces arriving minutes later, she received a bionic replacement for her heart and some of her internal organs, by a Magos no less. After the aftermath of the battle, the few remaining troops of the 11th Regiment (later to be spread around in other defense forces) were presented by the heads of the Administratum and the Ecclessiarcy on the station with sets of armour, the Sergeant's one finely engraved with rites of battle and motifs of unbroken chains, signifying the strength of the Borossians. The Imperial Guard, finding themselves in the strange position of having to re-shuffle the ranks of the forces, came across the Rogue Trader's rather generous offer of taking a trained soldier aboard his vessel. In an incredibly rare for the Imperial Guard honourable discharge, Sergeant Guernstock found herself aboard the Heart of the Tempest.
Appearance:
An average sized, aging woman, it would be hard to find Sergeant Guernstock particularly intimidating, if it weren't for the woman's awe-inspiring armour and weaponry. When she starts shouting drills, however, all the crew starts moving with the haste of the devil. The change from military life hasn't affected Lydia a lot, with the exception of growing her silver hair somewhat past regulation, the replacement of fatigues with simple, yet serviceable clothes, and the developing of a sweet tooth. While on duty, she usually stands nearly motionless on the bridge in full parade gear, watching everyone on deck and shouting whenever a ranking officer appears on the bridge.
I can't think of anything to add as a Common requisition, bar a Chrono and a Survival Suit. I think that'll be me finished with my application, then! |