[PRP] Two guys, Two Raptors, and Pizza! [Puds&Dragon][FIN]

[PuddleInk]

Talon, the great and awesome one, was sitting happily on base at one of the benches reading a newspaper. There was some boring stuff in it, but it was the only way he was going to get the news. He wasn't about to watch or dare listen to it. Those folks were too biased--exactly like the paper but at least the paper had no faces behind it.

MOE, the MRZ, was chasing pigeons in the park nearby. There was a distinct barking like roar and the sound of a thousand startled flapping birds that soon followed. Every so often the dog sized chasmosaur like MRZ would bound at Talon and demand attention. For some odd reason, always after Talon read something very unsettling...like the implementing of some girl scout troop units during cookie season...

The Tyrant was in for repairs, and as much as Talon liked doing it himself, these were some heavy duty overhauls on the cooling system. He'd let teh professionals do that. The minor stuff he could manage... And even that was kept under-wraps. Wouldn't want to look too competent. They might just start throwing responsibility at him!  

[XDragon]

The semi-peaceful surroundings of park were interrupted by the sounds of a walking Zoid. The white and back Rev Raptor, code named White Glint entered the hanger bay and stopped. The cockpit opened up and Roy stood up, adjusting his hair, brushing a strand out of his eyes. in fact, he didn't wait for a ladder, just hopped out and landed on the concrete.

"The weapons system is acting up. Look it over." he said to the tech that came by. He didn't wait for the reply and simply strolled away from his Zoid. "Let me know when it's done." he added and promptly left the hanger.

Roy Davenport sighed once he was away from the others. he slipped his hands into the pockets of his pants, checked his surroundings and decided to head into the park. Nature, peace, yes it was a nice place to be. Besides, it would be a good way to kill time while the techs checked out Glint.
 

[PuddleInk]

The mechanical sound of servo motors working caught the lazy man's attention. He pulled his head out of the paper long enough to get a good look at the new ZOID.

"A raptor huh?' Talon thought before bringing a simple ring made of his forefinger and thumb to his mouth. A high pitched, carrying, and loud whistle was created. Moe raised its head, wagged its stump of a tail, and rampaged over to its pal as though to say ' Suup dog!? '

Talon's eyes never left the large white and black raptor. The red details were amusing to say the least. Doc. Fox did good work.


Seeing as there was nothing better to do, Talon decided to make nice with this person... Seriously, there seemed to be a lack of soliders around. It almost made a man think it really was an army of one! There were voices and something sounding like a cocky pilot caught his attention more than others. Was this man for real? Did he really think the maintainance guys would really get his ZOID fixed with a stunt like that? What a jerk.

Moe, on the other hand, squeeed and made a b-line for this new person, barking metalicly. This Rhino like being would try to skid to a stop... And Talon would be running after, cursing up a storm at the playful and practically carefree MRZ that he had gotten just two days ago. "Dash it Moe! Don't do that! "  

[XDragon]

Normally, no the maintenance crew would not fix the Zoid but it seemed command had gotten to them first and made mention of Cadet Davenport's lack of...tact? yes that was a good word for it. In reality, Roy was put off by human contact...it never seemed to end well for the soldier, so he did his best to avoid it as much as possible. it wasn't that he didn't like people, it was just that he didn't trust the universe.

As Roy walked down the path, he heard this strange sound, almost mechanical like...as if it belonged to a Zoid. But there was no Zoid small enough to make that sound. He paused, turned around just in time to see the MRZ come barreling down on him. In fact he had no time to react as the little thing attempted to stop and knocked into hm. Roy let out a surprised yelp and fell onto the grass, looking up at the sky in a confused manner.

"what the...." he asked as the world continued to spin around him. Slowly, a form of a human appeared over him. "Ugh...did I just get hit by a jeep?"  

[PuddleInk]

Moe did manage to stop...after bowling over someone. It stopped and shook itself off and tilted its bony head at this new strange person. Why had it not jumped back, it thought.

Talon, in the man time, panted over. He blinked at the guy on the ground, raised an eyebrow and turned towards his little MRZ. "No! Bad Moe! " Talon scolded, "you don't mow over innocent people--even if they are rude to the grease monkies. " The MRZ shifted and made a whimpering noise. It was, indeed, the ZOID equvilant of puppy dog eyes and a quivering lower lip. How could Talon not kneel down and hug and pat the MRZ. "Aww..no harm, no foul. "

The thought of actually checking on the guy on the grass was lost on the Pilot for a while before he heard someone speak. Talon looked up, down, left, right, behind him even, and then and only then did he aknowledge that there was someon laying on the grass looking like a jeep had ran him over. "Close to one... if you consider Moe a jeep, then yes. You did. " There was a flicker of a smile, then that flicker turned into a plotting one.

Oh my gods, thought Talon, newbie! This means beer and pizza without the whole harrassing of the troops! Maybe. Hopefully.

Talon narrowed his eyes at the guy. "You happen to be Roy, right? " The only reason Talon knew this was because he secretly checked out the shipment sheet while waiting for the Tyrant to be admitted into the maintenance ward. "That white Rev Raptor you have there is pretty spiffy.... Pizza 'n' Beer? " he asked too, figuring the guy would still be a bit out of things.

Had Talon forgot to mention his name? Yes. Yes he did. He did this on purpose too. The jerk could do with a little humbling. Besides!!!!!!

... Pizza and Beer man. That trumped a name any day in his books.  

[XDragon]

Roy sat up, shaking his head, holding it. "Moe?" he asked, looking around then settling his eyes on the MRZ. He tilted his head to the side and just stared at it. "MRZ? what's an MRZ" the confused cadet asked. Sure he knew how to pilot a Zoid, rather well too...at least in his class. But they never went over MRZs in the academy.

Roy helped himself up, dusted himself off and turned towards the man, raising an eyebrow at him. "Yes I...what?" he asked, shaking his head in confusion. "Pizza? Uhm...sure?" he asked not sure what just happened at all. But he did mention food and drink. That was always good... maybe?  

[PuddleInk]

"By gods! You're an Academy brat! " Talon took a moment to stare at the guy. It was an uncomfortable stare meant to be more comical than anything else to passers by. Several mechanics chuckled at this encounter...they'd rather be watching than at the receiving end of one of those wide-eyed stares.

Moe, at the mention of its name, bumbled over and nearly flopped onto Roy. Why? Because it wanted some sort of attention and to notify this person that it was Moe, cause Moe is what it was called. Talon was highly amused by this, completely confident that no harm would come to himself or his beloved wannabe lap dog. "That is an MRZ. Miniature-Repair ZOID. Fully capable of independent thought, fully capable of human speech ( some of them are, this one chooses to bark, honk, hoot, and squeak for some strange reason I cannot fathom), and god honestly hard to acquirer. You've at least heard of Doc Fox right? " Come on...Everyone has heard of the Doctor. EVERYONE! Academy brats included. "Well rumor has it he's figured out ways to synthesize organoids too. I'd fancy one of them, but I have my hands filled with my pal here... "

Talon talked too much sometimes. But he enjoyed talking about what he knew...when he felt like divulging this information. He was, after all, a civvy gone military fool. This Academy folk he wasnt' too fond of. Something about a superiority complex or something like that. Same with the long lined military stock. Thoroughbreds always had killer flaws.

The male took a breath and thought long and hard. Did he just hear a yes to the pizza? "Sweet! " A hand was held out to help the lad up. Talon grinned from ear to ear. "Nice to meet 'cha Roy! Names Talon Beauregard, Special Ops Unit. How long y'eh been here anyways? "

Moe waggled its stump of a tail from side to side at the happiness radiating around it. If it had a wet, slobbery tongue, it probably would have licked the poor unsocial guy in a friendly greeting. Instead it bumped its nose against him and gave a hoot and a honk.

"Zeek's sounds good to yah?" It was a joint down the ways and, in Talon's opinion, the best pizza and beer around outside of sports bars. That and it was ZOID friendly.  

[XDragon]

Roy allowed the academy brat comment slide on by. It wasn't like this man gave him much of an opportunity to talk back anyway. In fact, the first time he could comment on the brat thing, this MRZ came flopping ontop of him. He coughed and looked down at it, patting it gently on the head. "Moe huh? So this is some of Doc's work?" Roy asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Yes, I know Doc. Who do you think made Glint for me?" he asked, gently pushing the MRZ off of him and taking Talon's hand to get up. Roy dusted himself off, again...and looked at the man. "Talon? Uhm, nice to meet you too..." he said, somewhat awkwardly. The man reached his hand behind his head, brushing some of the hair, sort of a nervous habit. "Uhm...about a few weeks...still haven't seen combat." he replied, looking down at Moe oddly.

"Sure...i guess? lead on..."  

[PuddleInk]

"Yep. A fine piece of machinery. I haven't had time to really sit down and read the manual with it. Funny thing is, I found it all in shreds. Moe must have destroyed it in the crate he was sent in. " Talon would have bragged that it was a gift from the Republic, but he decided to keep his mouth shut on that.

A few more nods and Moe and Talon were leading the poor confused youth towards the great and mighty land of Pizza. "Nice... He puts wicked details in his work. Though...Sometimes you find odd notes. Why! I remember one day I found out that he replaced all of my ammo with paint rounds. " Talon frowned, "Tyrant wasn't amused by the changes... " He realized he was rambling on and decided to take a good interest in the newbie.

"You really are a greenhorn, aren't you?" A deep chuckle and a friendly slap on the back was given. "To be honest, I hope we never have to see combat. Republic and the Empire are at peace. Everyone in the higher ups hopes it stays like that on either side. I'm honestly with them. " He frowned thoughtfully for a moment, "Though, my fear is that the civilians will get into the act and cause chaos that'll bring about the war. Sigh... I just hope they find a good replacement to our general, and soon. "

Yeah, Talon was bouncing all over the place giving the boy a crash course in the politics of the time. He had to know these things...It was the whole point of the war after all. Soon enough he led them to the little pizza joint. Oddly enough there was the name over a rather silvery organoid picture thingy. Talon dragged Roy over to a booth, Moe curled up beneath the table and purred loudly and happily. Two pitchers of beer were ordered and a X-large pizza too. "Welcome to Zeeks! Now..... Hi thar! Sorry about all of that. You'll have to forgive me. I've been trying to get the boys down here for weeks, but they're all sticks in the mud or off doing who knows what when we've got free time. "  

[XDragon]

Roy nodded n response to the new information about Moe. So, from what he gathered, Talon got this new equipment and didn't know how to control it. And this guy was a superior? That thought made the cadet chuckle and shake his head.

"Thanks. And yeah...i think he wired the weapons systems backwards or something..." Roy said, with a small chuckle. "It was mildly frustrating to have Glint try to extend his scythes and have lunge forward with the claws..."

Roy winced for a moment from the slap on the back. "Hehe....sure, let's go with that then..." he replied, chuckling a bit and slipping his hands into his pockets. He didn't know what else to say to Talon while the man led him to food and drink. That was the goal of this whole social excursion

Roy plopped into his seat and looked around for a moment as Talon spoke to him. "Oh? huh...it's ok I guess. Food is always good. SO um...are the others as....friendly...as you are?" Roy asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at Talon.  

[PuddleInk]

Talon nodded at the admission that the kiddo was having issues figuring out the new controls of his Raptor. It always happened, but he'll get used to it eventually. If not then he'd better learn fast.

"I can imagine that being terribly frustrating. " Oddly, Talon never had that problem. The combat system is clearly marked and really...you'd think someone would know their way around a ZOID by now. Especially an Academy kid. He didn't voice this amusement. Instead, Talon filed that information away in his mind for later use.

The kid was quiet, Talon noted. Probably from all those hours of training and what not only to realize there wasn't a war. If the guy was so trigger happy, maybe he should be on the front lines battling whatever it was that was out in the Uncharted lands. Or maybe not. That was a whole other can o' worms that no one really enjoyed discussing.


Now happily in the safety of the parlor of Pizza, Talon leaned back in his chair, arms resting on the back of the booth. "Friendly...sure. " With a tilt of the head and a nervous laugh, the pilot elaborated, "If you consider someone threatening you with a long sharp pointed blade if you offer to buy them a beer friendly." It was a long way to say no. Then again, Talon wasn't a very friendly person normally. He was just looking for a drinking buddy and maybe a decent patrol partner.

The pitchers came, and Talon helped himself to a glass, sipping idly. "So... you're from the Academy, huh? What do they teach you there? Common sense? " Yeah, Talon was mocking the Academy. You didn't need some officers course to know how to fight, just common sense and a trial by fire in Talon's book. Same with most everything else.  

[XDragon]

Oh it was clearly marked. There was no doubt about that at all, and Roy wouldn't admit that. It's just...when a button was marked for the scythes, you'd think the scythes would extend.... Either Doc screwed up the wiring or someone thought it'd be funny to put the wrong markings on the controls. Either way, it was frustrating and....ok semi amusing.

Roy leaned back against the booth back, putting his arms up over his head to stretch. "Oh, well...that sounds lovely." he replied, chucking slightly. Well, at least that meant no one else would try and take him out. But, it wasn't terrible to talk to someone.

Once the beer came, a smile crossed Roy's face. he waited for Talon to get his first, the poured himself one. "You'd think they'd teach that..but no. Mostly we look at the history and tactics... work on combat moves and such." he replied, shrugging. "it's not so terrible. I take it you never went?"  

[PuddleInk]

"Oh yes. Try getting coffee in the morning from that guy. Sheesh...Hell in a bucket, I say. " Talon shrugged and sipped at his beer for a moment or two.

He took that time to really observe the guy. Not something you'd really expect, but then again, you could really tell the military upbringing in the demeanor. The subject brought forth a curious reaction. Talon snickered, frowning somewhat. "Your kidding! They're expecting you to be able to fight with tactics from the wars hundreds of years ago? What a load of bull! " He snorted and shrugged, "My family wasn't rich enough to send me to the Academy. And even if they were, I'd have refused point blank and ran off to join the Battling teams. "

Which...he did..sort of...back in the day before the art bug bit him.

"I'm new blood in this hell. But I'm not a stranger to it. I used to help family out at the shipping yards back when the Battle Commission was in charge. Raptors were the best for the job of scrapping when a welding attachment is affixed to a foreclaw. "

Another swig of beer was taken. Talon felt he was talking too much. Moe, on the other hand thought otherwise and leaned into its companion's legs more. It was an odd comforting gesture. Metal would no doubt be heard shifting when the little tank did such.  

[XDragon]

"Of course. Don't you know armies always perfect the way of fighting the last war just in time for the next one? It seems silly but there were some brilliant moves made hundreds of years ago. And some things never change..." he added shrugging. "Oh? So you joined the army instead of battling? That seems boring..."

Roy took another large sip of his beer, easing into the booth and sighing contently. "So, you worked in the bays huh? That's pretty cool actually..." he said, leaning forward and looking at Talon. "lucky for me, the basics were in rev raptors... Theyre not bad...kinda fast just really really sucks we have no ranged weapons.."
 

[PuddleInk]

"Yes actually. I was alive when the war ended. Albeit, young, but I remember the few years after. It was hell for my family getting things together. " Why was he discussing this? Talon knew the military knew about this past, but seriously, this guy was a complete stranger!

Maybe he really needed more social interaction. Talon spluttered at the implication that he willingly joined. "Drafted. Not joined. Sorry for the confusion there. And its not boring. Just annoying. "


Talon nodded, "Yeah. Pops and the gang wouldn't let me near any of the Zoids though. I mostly worked in the back welding the parts together. But don't tell the higher ups. I'd rather not let it out that I know how to work a Zoid. They might give me this thing known as 'responsibility'. " As the boy leaned forward, Talon leaned back.. Folks in his face weren't his thing. He raised an eyebrow at the statements, "You can get an upgrade to have ranged weapons you know. Personally, I prefer light and mobility and good armor. Speaking of which. I should apply for an armor upgrade..."

No sooner did he say that then the pizza arrived. Talon's eyes lit up and he made a dive for a couple of slices. "Woot! Pizza!" It was then that Moe jumped up on to the seat beside him and stole a slice from Talon's plate. "Oy! Thats mine! Give it Moe!" The MRZ growled and wolfed it down somehow. Did MRZ's eat pizza? Apparently this one did... Talon just sat there perplexed. Damn, he wished he had that manual....