He had travelled in with a large contingent of Cyberknights. Given his Crusader style armor and large white dragon skin cloak complete with red Templar cross he could easily be confused for one. In truth his ideals and persoanl belief set puts him more in line with the minions of Lord Coake then most of the other various creatures that have flocked to Tolkeens banner as of late. At 12ft tall and almost 900lbs the leonine warrior towers over most around him. The six foot long rifle on his back before customization was a two man portable field artillery piece. It is his most obvious weapon. He also has a nine foot high tech compound bow and a crystalline sword hilt on his belt with no blade. The rain has transformed the road dust he was covered in into muddy rivulets running down his armor and clumped into his luxurious mane. Given the current state of weather and general clusterfuck of mercs and soldiers he has decided to forego finding command for now and ducks into the closest tent pavillion he sees that will accomodate his bulk.

Stepping in his gaze sweeps the room his eyes golf-ball sized black orbs of cold discernment. He simulataneously reaches out with senses both mystic and psionic to complement his formidable mundane perceptive abilities. Settling his stare briefly on N'ialla a low growl unconsciously starts from deep in his chest reverberating up into his throat momentarily. The Ramen mentally chastises and reminds himself, not for the first time, that the enemy of his enemy is his friend. It goes against everything in his nature to work with such fell creatures but his intent is to keep as open a mind as possible. To that end he shakes moisture from his mane, no doubt spattering mud on those closest to the tents entrance, then makes a beeline directly towards the Rakasha and consequently Max. Pulling up within conversational distance he balls one paw-like hand into a fist brings it up to heart level and thumps it into his breastplate in salute. His voice is a rich baritone and his American while succinct has a litling quality that suggests Dragonese is his native tongue.

"Greetings. I am called Leviticus. I am to report to Zor Karno but it is a bit chaotic out there just now so this seemed as good a place as any to find respite. What unit is this?

Nestor had arrived along with the mercenaries, riding in on the back of one of their hover trucks. His story from young CS officer to Tolkeen Lieutenant is a long and interesting tale, but "on the back of a hovertruck" sums up the very end of that journey to reach this place, Juyong Outpost.

He brushes by Leviticus as the large Ramen stops to talk to the two seated "D-Bees" at one of the rows of tables. He had intended on walking much further past them, and finding a quiet place to sit and rest in quiet, but his bad hip was acting up, and he had to choose closest seat of a faceplant in the mud.

Landing heavily in the seat two down from Max, he grunts in pain and rubs his lower back, while facing away from Max. There was no way he would show any sign of weakness if he could avoid it... especially here...
This message was last edited by the player at 11:54, Fri 30 Nov 2012.

N'ialla smirked at Max's assumedly rhetorical question and starts scratching a groove into the table with one of her long claws. She looks up as the others arrive, and just watches, and listens for now.

Max watches the enormous knight approaching through the crowds. He glances at N'ialla briefly when he realizes the cat-like d-bee is coming directly to her.

As Leviticus comes into conversation distance, Max finds himself dwarfed and leaning back against the table just to make eye contact. After the introduction, he replies dryly, "I don't think this is a unit. Not yet."

With a casual wave to the opposite table, Max says, "Have a seat. I'd guess some reps will come put some order to this chaos in the next few minutes. Hopefully before any more fights break out..." He spares a glance at the old man half-collapsing a couple of spaces down. "...and someone gets hurt."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:59, Fri 30 Nov 2012.

The young private jogs through the crowd and stops suddenly when he spots the seasoned Lieutenant seated next to Max. He nervously, and awkwardly salutes the old man, then stutters as he speaks "F-Father? I thought you were staying back home..." Leckie looks visibly terrified.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:49, Sun 09 Dec 2012.

Nestor's face distorts into a scowl as he responds coldly to his son "And I thought you were part of some forward assault team! Not some nancy-Officers' aide!"

He puffs out his chest and angrily replies "I am on the front lines aren't I?? You think I chose this? I want to be out there fighting with the others but I was assigned to Major Karno instead! He is a great leader, and he sent me out here to gather a strike team to be sent out to fight the CS right away! And I'm not even going to choose you! I'm choosing all those guys!" He points over at the other three local warriors of course...

"Thank you." Leviticus replies to Max and he does have a seat if it looks like the chair will hold his weight. While the young man and his father share their awkward exchange the Ramen watches his curiosity piqued. "Hmm... interesting. I never met my sire but my lady mother was dominant enough to fill the role." Hearing that the Private is in direct contact with the Major he has no intention of letting the young man leave without him.

Max blinks off his holoprojector and slips the computer into a pouch on his belt. He adjusts his jacket and nods absently at Leviticus' unusual comment. Max seems to be distracted listening to the conversation between father and son while eyeing up some of the Ramen's gear.

Upon hearing "I'm choosing all those guys!", Max looks over, making brief eye contact with the boy, and then his father. He keeps his comments to himself.

He steps forward, past his father, to stand next to Max, and look at N'ialla and Leviticus while he talks. "Major Karno is the commanding officer of Pluto Company. The greatest company in the army! Everyone here is being assembled into some sort of invasion force, but he needs help. One of our platoons is currently under attack, and unable to be relieved for some time. His hands are tied. He does however have a small fortune to his name, and intends on hiring his own mercenaries to head out and reinforce this platoon as soon as possible. If you accept, please follow me. He will ensure you are still employed by Tolkeen, but receive a special bonus instantly for signing with him."

Leckie looks down to his father, pleased he has been impressive, and then back to the three mercs to see if they take his offer.

Leviticus smiles a toothy grin at the young private in what is meant to be a friendly gesture but in reality would be terrifying to the weak of heart. He stands adjusting the big rifle strapped to his back and straightens his white cloak. "Yes of course I will come. It is what I am here for." The huge Ramen grabs the inside edges of his voluminous dragonskin cloak and pulls it around himself in preparation to travel.

Max sits up straight and watches Leckie's face as he talks, thinking he may have misjudged the young aide. He looks back at N'ialla for a moment, reading her expression, the gives the Private a solid nod. "Sign me up."

He zips up his jacket, then reaches up to push his mess of black hair back and hold it there with a piece of electrical wire. "Where's the briefing?"

N'ialla's ears perk up at the mention of being hired instantly for some important job. Seeing that her new friend Max would be going, she grinned and nodded to the young human indicating her interest as well.

"We will discuss pay with the Major?"

Young Leckie nods in confirmation to the Raksasha demon.

"Follow me, I will take you to the Major." Private Leckie ignores his father, and leads the trio of mercenaries back over to the HQ office inside the outpost. Two armed battle mages, and four cyber knights stand guard outside the doors. Leckie walks up and opens them, leading to a series of wood boards covered in water and mud, but preventing an easy slip.

He leads the group down a short hallway and into a room on the left where Major Karno is going over troop movements with a female Lieutenant, a Juicer and a Cyber Knight. They stop as the group enters, and the Major approaches with a forced smile.

"We must make this quick. Hopefully Leckie explained everything to you, but if not I will clarify. I have a platoon pinned down in no-man's land in need of support. Tolkeen won't let me send any of my air units in, and the only other platoon I can spare is half of 2nd platoon who are already on their way now. The group you arrived with, along with the Juicers and Cyber Knights have other orders and cannot assist.

Plainly speaking, my boys are about to get sliced up, and they need all the help they can get to secure a crashed CS transport, until Tolkeen gets off their asses to relieve them. I will pay each of you 30 000 credits right away, and then ensure you are picked up for an additional 15K per day if you allow me to recruit you into 3rd platoon right away. I would need you all to leave immediately, and prepare for extended combat."

Karno points to an area on a large map indicating the location of the crashed transport, about 5 miles from here. "I am not sure of their current status, but please, make haste and report to Lieutenant Nuitari once in range - he's the CO of the platoon..

He quickly prepares the previously mentioned credits, and hands them out. "Questions?"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:25, Fri 14 Dec 2012.

Faced with the officer, Max finds himself standing "at ease" through the informal briefing. He accepts the credits when given, telling himself that now is not the time for unnecessary talk.

As the Major wraps up, Max has already prepared a rough list of gear for the mission, and some questions. He states them curtly, making them sound more like statements. "Number and type of Friendlies, same for Inbound."

"Hmm? Well let' see... there should be 20-25 for third platoon, and a squad from 2nd on route. Type of friendlies? I don't see how this is more important than haste."

Taking off his armored glove the Ramen extends a large clawed hand palm up to accept the credits. Placing them in a belt pouch away apart from his personal wealth he steps back from the table and salutes with a fist across his heart and slight bow. "It is an honor to serve sir."  Leviticus will wait to see if any transportation that fits his size is made available. If not he prepares to use magic in order to follow along quickly.

The Major's attitude comes as a surprise to Max. Anyone with combat experience knew that intelligence made the difference between life and death, or from Zor Karno's point of view, success and failure. Max hoped he had simply misunderstood the question; maybe the military jargon wasn't as universal as he thought.

Max doesn't react outwardly, but makes a mental note to get the information from someone else before they leave the base. He stays in place until the Major finishes.

The Major is quite finished.

Marking the end of the conversation, Max slams his heels together and throws his hand up in a salute.
He breaks form and looks at the other two. "Let's move. We have work to do."

Max steals a full second look at the troop movement information, then makes pointed eye contact with Leckie on his way out the door.

"Hovercycles, or a hover truck can be made available at the vehicle lot. They are well-used but will get you to the crash site quickly."

"Also, here is the list of necessary radio channels for Pluto, and the platoons. Lieutenant Nuitari has 3rd, and Lieutenant Pukt has 2nd."

(Assuming you all have radios, if not they will give you some. You can now hear all of the chatter in the Tolkeen radio thread, and can reply if desired).
This message was last edited by the player at 16:27, Thu 20 Dec 2012.

N'ialla happily accepts her credits and follows Max back outside and to the vehicles.