Flash Point

It was a cold night in the German state of Bayern. The Moon and the stars lit the skies and everything under it as nothing but the street lights remained. From many directions, you come into one of the last structures that remain lit: a lonesome shanty in the middle of the town set up right next to a large building.

You go through the door and find a small box used as a table, with a few more boxes used as seats around it. Nothing illuminated the area but a single candle, almost burnt out. A rather ragged old man enters and serves each f you a cup of coffee, with used cans as cups. Though hot, it was perfect for the weather.

The old man sat down with you and begins to talk, in English, complete with the English accent.

"So you're the ones sent here from Area 11? You young lads know what you're doing here, aye?" he said, pointing with his gloved hand at each of his guests, "Don't tell me you're not aware of it."

One of the guests spoke up. His name was Skye Skylark, more commonly known as Skye D'Brittania. For a man in a cold region, we was wearing a pretty unsuited attire, with just pants, a dark blue shirt and a vest.

"We're here to get the Night." he answered.

"Night? Bloody hell." the old man scratched his head, with strands of hair falling off, "It's not Night, it's Nacht, you ignoramus!"

Skye nearly jumped at the old man, and was about to pummel him, had it not been for a blond girl behind him that held him by the shoulder. He gave her a puzzled look and sighed, easing himself and sitting back. The girl, Sephiria, looked at the old man. She moved to Skye's side, her bodily features being magnified by the candle's dim light, and her clear blue eyes reflecting the dying flame. The old man looked at them, and continued with what he was saying.

"As I was saying, it's the Nacht." he said, giving a good glare at Skye before turning his attention to the you, "Before we move on, would you lads mind telling me why you, of all people, came here?"

OOC:

This will be the opening portion of Area 11's RPG. Please keep in mind the rules when posting in IC form. This will show how things are to be done. It is important to read this before posting on the game threads. In the event that a person violates that, he/she will be PMed TWICE and only TWICE to be reminded of the posting format before "direct intervention" is used. OOC discussions should also be done at the OOC thread and not here.

"Before we move on, would you lads mind telling me why you, of all people, came here?"

Ken stashed his brush inside his pocket after he was done grooming his afro. He figured that he might as well step forward and get it over with.

"It's not always about strength but it never hurts to have a strong man who can bake." he said while flexing the rippling muscles in his arms and chest.

After he was done displaying his Greek god-like physique, he pushed up his black shades and introduced himself properly.

"My name is Ken Matsushiro, by the way."

After that brief introduction, he stepped back and went back to grooming his afro and periodically checking on the hardness of his muscles.

Behind the shadows that enveloped that room, a certain red haired woman sat in the far corner. She wore a seemingly revealing black top bikini matched with a pair of black shorts, wearing only her maroon-colored jacket to fight against the cold. She was quietly caring for her sniper rifle that was twice as tall as her. She jerked her head up to hear the old man spoke.

"Before we move on, would you lads mind telling me why you, of all people, came here?"

Crossing her long flawless legs, she remained seated on her place as she let the muscular guy finish his introductions.

"My name is Ken Matsushiro, by the way."

She cleared her throat to avert everybody’s attention towards her, still comfortably placed on top of the box she’s sitting. She flipped her long pony-tailed hair at the back and raised the pair her pair of golden round eyes.

“You can just call me Yoko.” She said briefly to the group, not wanting to introduce her family name.

""It's not always about strength but it never hurts to have a strong man who can bake."

"What the hell does that have to do with your presence?" the old man looked at the large muscular guy with the funny afro. "So, what do you have in there? A radar antenna?"

"My name is Ken Matsushiro, by the way."

"Do you lads always introduce with your names last?" the old man pulled out his staff from underneath and scratched his head, "So, what the bloody hell are you doing here?"

“You can just call me Yoko.”

The old man looked at the girl, eyed her from top to bottom, then grinned.

"This lass knows how to treat old people... unlike some radar-headed hulk and a royal idiot who can't tell the difference between Night and Nacht." the old man glared at both Skye and Ken. Skye glared back, and was about to draw out his pistol when Sephiria stopped him. Once again, he sighed and looked at the old man in a gaze that says nothing else but 'I'm gonna kill you'.

"Though you've answered properly, you haven't answered the question. You lads have to answer it before we move to the next stage of this conversation." the old man's grin remained, looking at Yoko "...and isn't it tad too open to be worn here in Germany?"

"Though you've answered properly, you haven't answered the question. You lads have to answer it before we move to the next stage of this conversation." the old man's grin remained, looking at Yoko "...and isn't it tad too open to be worn here in Germany?"

“Sorry Gramps, are you bothered by them?” Yoko started grinning back at the old man. She crossed her arms across her bare chest as if cradling a couple of newborns. “…but just to answer your question. I’m not the person who wants not even wishes to be a hero. I’m just here to fight for what I believe in.”

“No more… no less…”

“Sorry Gramps, are you bothered by them?”

"N-not really." the old man's grin stayed in place, "It's just that I'm not sure how you're able to tolerate this cold weather."

“…but just to answer your question. I’m not the person who wants not even wishes to be a hero. I’m just here to fight for what I believe in.”

"Well said, lass... Well said." the old man stood up and slowly walked around them with the aid of his staff, which was somewhat taller than him, "But if you don't me asking, what is it that you believe in?"

He looked around and climbed up a tall ladder and sat on the edge of something covered in tarpaulin, squatting like a little kid and looking at them from above.

"What is under there anyway?" Skye spoke up, looking from the part of the tarpaulin where the old man was squatting and looked all the way to the back of the room, where the tarpaulin still stretching all the way to the shadows of the room.

"This? This thing's some sort of contraption, I suppose." the old man said, hitting the object underneath him with the bottom of the staff a couple of times. Though it appeared as though the old man knew very little of what it hid, Skye could tell that the old man knew far more than he was telling them.

"So, what do you have in there? A radar antenna?"

"No, it's just hair that I prefer to keep in good shape just like the rest of myself." he replied while doing a bit of stretching to avoid cramps.

"So, what the bloody hell are you doing here?"

"Simple. I'm here because I want the Britannians' control over this place gone. Glory or no glory, I just want to run my bake shop in peace." Ken added.

Ken simply followed the old man with his eyes while keeping his thoughts to himself. The man wasn't the friendliest one he'd seen but it wasn't anything new to him. His main concern now was making sure he was in good enough shape to act should anything happen.

"No, it's just hair that I prefer to keep in good shape just like the rest of myself."

"Just the shape?" the old man raised an eyebrow.

"Simple. I'm here because I want the Britannians' control over this place gone. Glory or no glory, I just want to run my bake shop in peace."

"Here?" the old man lowered his eyebrow and raised the other, "This isn't Area 11, in case you forgot. I thought you were rebels from Area 11? You got your geography messed up in that radome of yours?"

"N-not really." the old man's grin stayed in place, "It's just that I'm not sure how you're able to tolerate this cold weather."

“Don’t mind me, Gramps. They don’t call me “hotshot” for nothing.” She said, smiling back.

"But if you don't me asking, what is it that you believe in?"

“That’s for me to keep, Gramps.” She averted her eyes away from the old man, as if trying to escape the question asked.

Yoko then looked back at the old man, following his move when he went up that “thing.” She was somehow intrigued seeing the covered contraption the old man mentioned.

"Here?" the old man lowered his eyebrow and raised the other, "This isn't Area 11, in case you forgot. I thought you were rebels from Area 11? You got your geography messed up in that radome of yours?"

“Chill, Gramps. You don’t wanna pop a nerve now, do yah?” she said, walking a bit forward towards the lights. “Either way, flip the cover. I wanna see what’s underneath.”

“Chill, Gramps. You don’t wanna pop a nerve now, do yah?"

"Believe me, lass, in this age of mine, I've lost all my nerves and replaced them with PVC pipes." the old man looked serious for a moment, then grinned, "Just kidding."

“Either way, flip the cover. I wanna see what’s underneath.”

"What's the rush? This thing's not going anywhere!" the old man looked at his watch, "Well, I suppose you're all that's supposed to come... I was expecting late comers, seeing how hard to find this place is."

The old man looked at each of them, scratching his head and staring at each person sparingly. He then stood up from his perch and jumped all the way down to the ground, a height of more than 2 meters. Landing softly on his feet, he straightened himself up with the help of his staff and smiled.

"Didn't think I'd be able to pull that off, did you?"

He then attached a few ropes to one side of the tarpaulin, then attached the ropes to an electric motor, tying them around a gear of some sort. He flipped a switch located behind everyone else, activating the motor, and slowly unveiling the mysterious 'contraption'.

Moments later, a huge black truck, a Britannian Special Dispatch Trailer, appeared before each of you. A layer of dust had gathered on its armor, but nonetheless it was as good as new. Each of you then proceed to inspect its attributes as the tarpaulin was completely pulled off, revealing the vehicle in its entirety, with its rear facing towards you.

"Sad to say, this thing's not loaded with a Knightmare, nor is it armed. The only thing you can expect from this tin can is its thick armor... thicker than usual." the old man grinned childishly, pointing his thumb towards his back, pointing to the extra armor that needed to be installed, "Of course, you'd put them on this thing yourselves."

Skye watched as the old man walked around and grinned at them. To make matters worse, they were just turned into mechanics, courtesy of an old man who was starting to annoy him. On the other hand, Sephiria has already made her way into the vehicle and into the Knightmare storage area, where the mechanisms were idly hanging around, waiting for a Knightmare to be stored. She then proceeded to the frontal area, where the driver seat was, and where the additional passenger seats were located, caressing the interior which was, for some reason, layered with carpets. Skye and the old man followed her, as well as those of you who decided to do so. Surprised by the surprisingly roomy passenger area, you then proceed to picking a place to sit.

OOC:

For those wondering what a Special Dispatch Trailer is, the following link should give you an insight to its nature and appearance.

Special Dispatch Trailer

Yoko let out a sweet whistle upon seeing the trailer made its exposure. Her pair of big round eyes marveled the strong feature of the vehicle. Letting her hands caress the hard exterior of the said trailer. She followed the group inside, picking her seat comfortably at the back.

She swung her rifle at her side, still taking a tight grip on the strap around her body. Her eyes wandered again, still awed in its inside.

“What now, Gramps? Are we going on a road trip?” she asked out of nowhere, raising her pair of long booted legs up and laid it contentedly upon another seat.


OOC: can't see the link... "service unavailable"

The old man took the driver's seat and looked behind him, seeing three of the four visitors that he had. He popped his head out the window and yelled, "You coming, radar-kid?", addressing the man with the afro.

“What now, Gramps? Are we going on a road trip?"

"In a way..." the old man shrugged his shoulders and put his shaky old hands on the steering wheel. "Since no one wants to put on the extra armor, we might as well label ourselves as cannon fodder."

Without warning, the old man stepped on the pedal and drove through the wall, leaving the doors opened for anyone who was left behind to catch up. The sudden
acceleration threw Skye and Sephiria into the seat next to Yoko, or rather, to Yoko herself, with Skye sandwiched between Yoko and Sephiria.

"S-sorry..." was all Skye managed to say as the old man suddenly turned the truck and slammed all their faces into the wall. About to lose her patience, Sephiria struggled towards the old man and hit him on the head with her shoe.

"What kind of driving is that?!"

The old man rubbed the point of impact with both his hands, somehow leaving the truck without navigational control. He looked at Sephiria with overly teary eyes, though it was obvious that he was acting.

“YEAAAAAHHHH!!!” Yoko squealed in joy as she felt her body being pulled by force. Much to her surprise that the guy named Skye was sandwiched between her body and the other girl’s.

“Oh my, I didn’t expect that you’re so bold.” She said to Skye, cupping his face with her soft steady hands.