2. Choices - Part Two
- Pronouns
- She/Her
You watch as the metal doors slide back into place, a bit jerkily and with a worrying whine, at the lawyer's exit.
The papers have been signed, the company's all yours.
Suddenly, a surge of of doubt and nerves rush into you, making you gasp slightly. What were you even doing here? What the heck made you think you could run a Mech Battle team? You couldn't even make the stupid things walk in a straight line!
Wait, no, calm down, that's not...
You brush a lock of blonde hair out of your face and take a deep breath. Trying to calm yourself, you look around the office.
It was a small, square room, plain Adamantite walls still gleaming silvery-blue under all the dust. Right of the door is a small couch and a (fake) potted plant. Your dad's - yours now - desk is on the other side, bereft of its datapad terminal. The lone shelf sits behind it, empty.
An open window off to the side filters in the light from Aetilus, the red star of the system. You look at the small mirror on the far wall.
A short, slender young woman with worried green eyes stares back at you, blonde hair sticking out haphazardly from the bun you painstakingly got ready this morning. You were trying to look businesslike today, dressing yourself in a white blouse under a black business jacket and a matching long skirt. ....You look like Gran.
You take another breath, trying to force out the sudden feelings of inadequacy. Your mind recalls your schooling, your skills. You graduated cum laude from Novus University in Elysius, one of the Core Worlds. You had a....
[ ] Marketing Degree! You knew how people - customers, sponsors - worked. You know what to say to get people to invest in you. This was just one more project - you feel you can sell yourself to the right people. You don't need to run the place by yourself after all.
Starting Stats:
- Diplomacy: 12 (+10)
- Technology: 8 (-10)
- Intrigue: 10 (0)
[ ] Engineering Degree! You might not be able to pilot a Mech, but you sure do know them inside and out. You can analyze weapons and parts, think of ways to make them better...who knows, if you get the funding, you might be able to make your own mech
Starting Stats:
- Diplomacy: 10 (0)
- Technology: 12 (+10)
- Intrigue: 8 (-10)
[ ] Management Degree! Not that...you studied, all that much. Rather, from the moment you entered college, you've been practicing...business politics. Look, it's not your fault everyone else has great ideas that you'd like to try. And they've never proven the sabotage either!
Starting Stats:
- Diplomacy: 8 (-10)
- Technology: 10 (0)
- Intrigue: 12 (+10)
EXPLANATION: During each turn (one month) you and any Employees you hire can attempt an one or more actions from each of the three categories. A d100 is rolled and you succeed if it meets a certain DC. 1-10 is a crit fail and and 90-100 is a crit success. There will be other modifiers, but that's for another update.
Aside from your starting stats, Noel ranks up as she hits milestones in the quest. For each rank up, you get 4 stat points to do as you please.
You also have 4 free stat points at Chargen. In your plan, please indicate where you will put them.
Example:
[ ] Diplomacy + 2 Points, Technology + 2 Points
Finally, choose a starting perk.
[ ] Workaholic - Once per turn, you may reroll a single action in exchange for a slight penalty to your next action.
[ ] Expert Haggler - When buying weapons, mechs or mech parts, 60% chance of getting a 15% discount.
[ ] Judge of Character - When recruiting Administrators or Pilots, their stats may not go below 8.
Right! Yeah! What were you so worried about? You can...do this...yeah. You shook your head, trying to convince yourself.
Okay, maybe if you kept yourself busy, you wouldn't think about it.
You walk up to the desk, tapping the side of your head to activate your Iris. System information started to appear in front of your eyes, and you look for a system connection. Quickly establishing it, you give the building a quick scan, then activate one of the old service robots. You order it to clean the office, then quickly disconnect before you got a headache.
You really needed a real datapad to get things done. Your Iris wasn't designed to run an entire system. You asked your brother to bring one, but as per usual, that lazy ass was late. You were supposed to meet the lawyer together!
The doors slide open as the dimunitive service-bot (it looked kind of like a stick insect, six "arms" in all) enters the room, carrying a broom, a spray and some rags.
As it starts to work, you leave the room as to not be in the way.
Still deep in your thoughts, you find yourself wandering the building. You walk past empty corridors and abandoned rooms before you find yourself in front of the hangar doors.
Shrugging, you think that you might as well look at the one mecha left in this place.
As you enter the hangar, you notice that someone was already there.
A tall, well-built youth with wild blonde hair that went everywhere. He was wearing a sleeveless black muscle shirt printed with the logo of the Jovian Paladins (....Isn't that an Imperial team?) and jeans. He had those stupid sunglasses he liked and hard light headphones covered his ears.
You snort. Of course your idiot brother would make a beeline for the hangar.
You stride over to him and tap his shoulder, barely able to reach it with your short height that he never let you live down.
"Hey! Jerk!"
[ ] Brother Name Write in: ______ Vermillion
He turns around and gives you a cheeky grin. He has the sheer gall to pat your head. You growl and shove his hand away.
"Oh, hey, sis. Was just looking at my new ride. She's pretty old, but not so old that she would get dumpstered by everything out there. Probably need to tune it myself, though. Wonder how she runs..."
He let out a thoughtful hum at that, and you couldn't help but smile. Your brother really did love Mechs with all his heart.
Still, you were his older sister, and you needed to keep his butt on track.
"You missed the meeting! Do you even know what the contract says?"
He shrugs. "Figured I'd leave the boring stuff to you." he says nonchalantly.
You let out a huff and punch his arm.
"Hey, oww! What, we both know you're the only one of us who can make sense of legal bullshit-" he protests.
"Doesn't mean I have to like it." You grumble. "Did you even bring the datapad?"
He nods. "Yeah, it's in my bag. Honestly, you worry too much about things, sis. Must be a sign of your old age."
You gasp, offended. "I'm twenty-six!"
He looks at you solemnly. "Exactly. I'm sorry, but you're on your way to being a hag."
You can't help but laugh. "Aren't you twenty-one?"
He nods, his expression grave. "And I've already made peace with my impending retirement."
You really do laugh at that, and after half a second he joins you. You stay in companionable silence for a few moments before you speak again.
"So. We're really doing this. Getting this running again."
"Yeah..." he says wistfully. "Feels like yesterday when the old man toured us here, huh?"
You nod. "I still remember how lively this place was. I remember the team partying after every win, Dad catching you trying to sneak-drink a beer from the pilots."
"My asscheeks also remember. Oww."
You laugh again, but then you look at him. "But it's just us now. Aren't you a little bit nervous?"
He shakes his head. "Nah. I'm excited. We're going to fulfill Dad's dream."
"So cocky~" you tease. "Thinking you can go up against the likes of the Cardinals in one old mech."
He snorts. "I mean probably not the Cardinals, but I know I'm a damn good pilot. And you're pretty great at the boring stuff too."
"Thanks." you deadpan.
He smirks. "I mean it. We can do it, the two of us."
You smile. "Sometimes you make a good point. It does feel like it's always been the two of us, huh? Ever since Dad got sick and Mom..."
"I don't want to talk about that woman." he cuts you off suddenly.
You blink, taken aback. After all these years, was your mother still such a sore point for him?
He sighs and shakes and shakes his head. "Sorry. I...I dunno, she still makes me so angry. You've been more of a mother to me than she has, anyway."
You lay a hand on his shoulder again, gently. You do understand how he feels. It's not like you were free from resentment yourself.
"It's okay."
"...Instead of talking, how about we go give your ride a test run?"
-----------
Next update will be the last of the set-up. We'll be looking at Pilot and Mech stats as well as stats pertaining to the Team as a whole.
There's just a little bit mors til we get to the meat of the quest.
Thanks for the support!
The papers have been signed, the company's all yours.
Suddenly, a surge of of doubt and nerves rush into you, making you gasp slightly. What were you even doing here? What the heck made you think you could run a Mech Battle team? You couldn't even make the stupid things walk in a straight line!
Wait, no, calm down, that's not...
You brush a lock of blonde hair out of your face and take a deep breath. Trying to calm yourself, you look around the office.
It was a small, square room, plain Adamantite walls still gleaming silvery-blue under all the dust. Right of the door is a small couch and a (fake) potted plant. Your dad's - yours now - desk is on the other side, bereft of its datapad terminal. The lone shelf sits behind it, empty.
An open window off to the side filters in the light from Aetilus, the red star of the system. You look at the small mirror on the far wall.
A short, slender young woman with worried green eyes stares back at you, blonde hair sticking out haphazardly from the bun you painstakingly got ready this morning. You were trying to look businesslike today, dressing yourself in a white blouse under a black business jacket and a matching long skirt. ....You look like Gran.
You take another breath, trying to force out the sudden feelings of inadequacy. Your mind recalls your schooling, your skills. You graduated cum laude from Novus University in Elysius, one of the Core Worlds. You had a....
[ ] Marketing Degree! You knew how people - customers, sponsors - worked. You know what to say to get people to invest in you. This was just one more project - you feel you can sell yourself to the right people. You don't need to run the place by yourself after all.
Starting Stats:
- Diplomacy: 12 (+10)
- Technology: 8 (-10)
- Intrigue: 10 (0)
[ ] Engineering Degree! You might not be able to pilot a Mech, but you sure do know them inside and out. You can analyze weapons and parts, think of ways to make them better...who knows, if you get the funding, you might be able to make your own mech
Starting Stats:
- Diplomacy: 10 (0)
- Technology: 12 (+10)
- Intrigue: 8 (-10)
[ ] Management Degree! Not that...you studied, all that much. Rather, from the moment you entered college, you've been practicing...business politics. Look, it's not your fault everyone else has great ideas that you'd like to try. And they've never proven the sabotage either!
Starting Stats:
- Diplomacy: 8 (-10)
- Technology: 10 (0)
- Intrigue: 12 (+10)
EXPLANATION: During each turn (one month) you and any Employees you hire can attempt an one or more actions from each of the three categories. A d100 is rolled and you succeed if it meets a certain DC. 1-10 is a crit fail and and 90-100 is a crit success. There will be other modifiers, but that's for another update.
Aside from your starting stats, Noel ranks up as she hits milestones in the quest. For each rank up, you get 4 stat points to do as you please.
You also have 4 free stat points at Chargen. In your plan, please indicate where you will put them.
Example:
[ ] Diplomacy + 2 Points, Technology + 2 Points
Finally, choose a starting perk.
[ ] Workaholic - Once per turn, you may reroll a single action in exchange for a slight penalty to your next action.
[ ] Expert Haggler - When buying weapons, mechs or mech parts, 60% chance of getting a 15% discount.
[ ] Judge of Character - When recruiting Administrators or Pilots, their stats may not go below 8.
Right! Yeah! What were you so worried about? You can...do this...yeah. You shook your head, trying to convince yourself.
Okay, maybe if you kept yourself busy, you wouldn't think about it.
You walk up to the desk, tapping the side of your head to activate your Iris. System information started to appear in front of your eyes, and you look for a system connection. Quickly establishing it, you give the building a quick scan, then activate one of the old service robots. You order it to clean the office, then quickly disconnect before you got a headache.
You really needed a real datapad to get things done. Your Iris wasn't designed to run an entire system. You asked your brother to bring one, but as per usual, that lazy ass was late. You were supposed to meet the lawyer together!
The doors slide open as the dimunitive service-bot (it looked kind of like a stick insect, six "arms" in all) enters the room, carrying a broom, a spray and some rags.
As it starts to work, you leave the room as to not be in the way.
Still deep in your thoughts, you find yourself wandering the building. You walk past empty corridors and abandoned rooms before you find yourself in front of the hangar doors.
Shrugging, you think that you might as well look at the one mecha left in this place.
As you enter the hangar, you notice that someone was already there.
A tall, well-built youth with wild blonde hair that went everywhere. He was wearing a sleeveless black muscle shirt printed with the logo of the Jovian Paladins (....Isn't that an Imperial team?) and jeans. He had those stupid sunglasses he liked and hard light headphones covered his ears.
You snort. Of course your idiot brother would make a beeline for the hangar.
You stride over to him and tap his shoulder, barely able to reach it with your short height that he never let you live down.
"Hey! Jerk!"
[ ] Brother Name Write in: ______ Vermillion
He turns around and gives you a cheeky grin. He has the sheer gall to pat your head. You growl and shove his hand away.
"Oh, hey, sis. Was just looking at my new ride. She's pretty old, but not so old that she would get dumpstered by everything out there. Probably need to tune it myself, though. Wonder how she runs..."
He let out a thoughtful hum at that, and you couldn't help but smile. Your brother really did love Mechs with all his heart.
Still, you were his older sister, and you needed to keep his butt on track.
"You missed the meeting! Do you even know what the contract says?"
He shrugs. "Figured I'd leave the boring stuff to you." he says nonchalantly.
You let out a huff and punch his arm.
"Hey, oww! What, we both know you're the only one of us who can make sense of legal bullshit-" he protests.
"Doesn't mean I have to like it." You grumble. "Did you even bring the datapad?"
He nods. "Yeah, it's in my bag. Honestly, you worry too much about things, sis. Must be a sign of your old age."
You gasp, offended. "I'm twenty-six!"
He looks at you solemnly. "Exactly. I'm sorry, but you're on your way to being a hag."
You can't help but laugh. "Aren't you twenty-one?"
He nods, his expression grave. "And I've already made peace with my impending retirement."
You really do laugh at that, and after half a second he joins you. You stay in companionable silence for a few moments before you speak again.
"So. We're really doing this. Getting this running again."
"Yeah..." he says wistfully. "Feels like yesterday when the old man toured us here, huh?"
You nod. "I still remember how lively this place was. I remember the team partying after every win, Dad catching you trying to sneak-drink a beer from the pilots."
"My asscheeks also remember. Oww."
You laugh again, but then you look at him. "But it's just us now. Aren't you a little bit nervous?"
He shakes his head. "Nah. I'm excited. We're going to fulfill Dad's dream."
"So cocky~" you tease. "Thinking you can go up against the likes of the Cardinals in one old mech."
He snorts. "I mean probably not the Cardinals, but I know I'm a damn good pilot. And you're pretty great at the boring stuff too."
"Thanks." you deadpan.
He smirks. "I mean it. We can do it, the two of us."
You smile. "Sometimes you make a good point. It does feel like it's always been the two of us, huh? Ever since Dad got sick and Mom..."
"I don't want to talk about that woman." he cuts you off suddenly.
You blink, taken aback. After all these years, was your mother still such a sore point for him?
He sighs and shakes and shakes his head. "Sorry. I...I dunno, she still makes me so angry. You've been more of a mother to me than she has, anyway."
You lay a hand on his shoulder again, gently. You do understand how he feels. It's not like you were free from resentment yourself.
"It's okay."
"...Instead of talking, how about we go give your ride a test run?"
-----------
Next update will be the last of the set-up. We'll be looking at Pilot and Mech stats as well as stats pertaining to the Team as a whole.
There's just a little bit mors til we get to the meat of the quest.
Thanks for the support!
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