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Mercenary Dawn: Steel Phoenixes

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The day ends and the night passes peacefully, and the dawn heralds the start of their new lives. For some this will be the first time working as mercenaries, for even for those with previous mercenary or any other form of military experience today promised to be something new and different. Thankfully they didn’t have a long distance to travel to get to the meeting that had been arranged for them. All they had to do is get to the nearby Agency airfield, one of several that ringed the city and provided the means for most mercs to leave for missions and then return. Each airfield has multiple hangars for Walkers and aircraft, not to mention training grounds, and several business buildings that contained communication rooms, conference/briefing rooms like the one the group was heading to, and several other useful facilities. In addition there were a handful of buildings that combined living and business facilities with a private hangar for those mercenary units able to pay the premium price for such privacy, enhanced security, and ability to leave more quickly for time-sensitive missions than other units.

Regardless of how they travel to the airfield, they are forced to go through a checkpoint and provide identification before proceeding to the building with their conference room. Inside not only would they find a series of desks with built in computer terminals, there was also a series of displays mounted on the wall at the front of the room. To the left of the room there was a single, larger desk upon which sat several large computer monitors. Behind those monitors a middle-aged woman, her red hair streaked with grey tied up in a neat bun, her green eyes focused on whatever work she was doing on her computer.

In addition three other people were already in the room. They would all recognize Roger Moss, but now he was dressed in basic grey scrubs, his ID badge clearly labeling him as being a Physician Assistant, and had an Agency assigned PDA sitting near the edge of his desk. He gave each member of the group a simple nod as they entered the room.

On the right side of the room a second woman sat in a desk at the edge of that particular row, her grimy jumpsuit and dirty skin clearly identify her as being a mechanic. Her brown hair was tied up in a simple ponytail that she kept toying with as she leaned over to quietly talk with the wheelchair bound man sitting next to her desk. He too wore a mechanic’s jumpsuit, but other than some stains on his hands and arms, he was rather clean. Even with the somewhat baggy jumpsuit, those observant enough would note that his legs appeared to be incredibly skinny, indicating that he hadn’t been able to walk for many years.
 
The nightmares had not been so bad--not since the last surgery. By the time Collins arrived, he felt mostly normal.

He wore simple, olive drab fatigues to the meeting. Since his discharge from the New American Military, he had let his graying hair and beard grow out somewhat, though he still looked rather well-groomed.

He nodded back at Roger as he entered the conference room and, everyone else appearing occupied, found himself an open seat and waited for the other mercenaries to arrive.
 
As Morrigan entered the room she observed all the new faces, frowning slightly.
"Are these the specialis-" She stopped abruptly as her eyes fell on Collins. "New American Military? Who are you?"
 
Collins sighed. He had been briefed on the other mercenaries, of course, and Morrigan's reputation preceded her.

"Dale Collins. Former New American Military." He paused. "And you must be 'The Specter of Death'," he said dryly. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."
 
Morrigan's eyes narrowed at the man. "Hmm." Was all she offered him, taking a seat across from him, not hiding the fact that she was glaring him down.
 
Wake up.

Pray.

Eat.

Get dressed.

Leave by 7:00 PM, walk to the airfield, and arrive early.

It was a fairly uneventful morning for Abdul. He quietly took a seat in the conference room ahead of most and waited patiently, if not a bit awkwardly, for the meeting to begin. There was nothing he had to say aside from a few short kindly greetings, so he mostly just looked between the displays and his fingernails.
 
The woman working at the computer stops what she is doing and looks up at those who have entered thus far. "While we have a few minutes until the meeting is supposed to start, I figure those of us who are here currently can go ahead and get introductions started while we wait for the rest. I am your Analyst, Lana Grey. I will be in charge in finding possible jobs for you to take as well as handling coordination between you and the client as well as monitoring mission progress and providing intel."

Her eyes flick over to Roger for a moment before continuing. "I understand that all of you have already met the physician assistant, Roger Moss, assigned to your unit when he took care of your regular checkups. The two lovebirds over there are Michael and Stella Durant and they are handling the Lead Mechanic and Quartermaster duties. Speaking of which, what are the status of the Walkers?"

The man in the wheelchair grins as he answers. "They have all arrived, we just need to do regular diagnostics and system checks to make sure they are ready for action. Despite the unusual setups of some of them, I don't anticipate any issues."
 
Sara's day began early with a light breakfast and exercise that included stretching, and falling off of her fancy equipment more times than she would like.

"Oh, someone new," Sara comments as she holds out a hand to Collins with a warm smile. "Sara Kamigawa. Nice to meet you." She nods to the others as they're introduced. "I look forward to working with you all."
 
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"They have all arrived, we just need to do regular diagnostics and system checks to make sure they are ready for action. Despite the unusual setups of some of them, I don't anticipate any issues."
Abdul nodded cordially to the man. "Praise be to Allah! I hope that Aurangzeb has not provided exceptional difficulties to you and your wife." He placed his hands in lap and sat up even straighter than normal. "Indeed, how blessed are we to have such an extensive team of talented people."

"If I may ask, are there currently any missions available for us to apply our newly concerted talents? I should not like to idle, you see."
 
Tanu began the day by missing her alarm by almost an hour and eating almost an entire box of donuts on her way to the meeting. Despite catching the tram at the last second, and getting into an argument with a teenager over the terminology for baguette, she might actually have made it on time for the meeting.

... if it was not for a street vendor.

As soon as Tanu saw it she knew her life was complete. The price was jacked up, the quality was borderline trash, but it didn't matter when she placed the flash-and-glow wizard hat on her head. It would be perfect for the meeting, and she would be able to reprogram it and boost up the batteries when she got home! Actually, she had a ton of ideas, including but not limited to fog machines and glitter, but that would have to wait.

Wearing her wizard hat, Tanu made her way to the meeting room, got lost, then found her way again thanks to a very confused and disturbed janitor. She could hear the others talking, and knowing full well she was late, kicked down the door and said, "Shazoom! Wizard time!"

Snickering to herself, Tanu sauntered up to the table and plopped down in an empty chair, "Hiya guys, sorry I'm late but I had super important matters to take care of! But I brought donuts so it's good, yknow!"

She placed the half-eaten box of assorted donuts on the table, then seemed to notice the presence of two new people. With a finger, she lifted up the rim of her wizard hat and gasped. "Whoa! New people! Hi~! Do YOU want donuts? I'm grand wizard Tanu, nice to meet you."
 
Morrigan finally peeled her death glare away from Collins to look at Tanu entering in a loud and obnoxious manner. When she saw the ridiculous wizard hat on Tanu's head, she pointed at Tanu. "Why."
 
"But why a WIZARD though, are we doing some sort of genre-crossing thing? Like Dunbine or Escaflowne?" Irene asks, looking at Tanu suspiciously. "Are you trying to construct a Fate Alteration Engine? Do we have to search your mech for a tiny fairy you've captured to serve as your mascot? And the most important question of all..." Irene raises her finger. "...did you bring any chocolate frosted donuts? Not the ones that are chocolate donuts with chocolate frosting on top! That's too MUCH chocolate! The ones that are moist and yellow on the inside but coated in delicious frosting on the outside! You will divulge this information at once!"
 
Lana's gaze flicks from person to person as they speak before settling on Abdul as she responds to his question, though she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "First as a group you must decide on a name for your unit, then figure out organization, rules, and so on. Once that is taken care of you just need to tell me what kinds of missions you are looking for or you want to avoid and I will do my best to find some missions you can pick from."

The couple sharing lead mechanic and quartermaster duties exchange a confused look at Tanu's entrance for a moment before the man shrugs and they go back to reviewing status updates about the Walkers.
 
Lana's gaze flicks from person to person as they speak before settling on Abdul as she responds to his question, though she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "First as a group you must decide on a name for your unit, then figure out organization, rules, and so on. Once that is taken care of you just need to tell me what kinds of missions you are looking for or you want to avoid and I will do my best to find some missions you can pick from."
"Very well," said Abdul. "The matter of the unit name is of less importance. I will be alright with whatever my companions want, so long as it is not egregiously offensive." Abdul very quickly realized the hazards of leaving such a matter to an open debate. "Might I suggest 'the Horseman'? I find something very enthralling about cavalry, charging into battle with nobility and towering power."

"As for the nature of our missions, it is pleasing to-"

"Shazoom! Wizard time!"
The couple sharing lead mechanic and quartermaster duties exchange a confused look at Tanu's entrance for a moment before the man shrugs and they go back to reviewing status updates about the Walkers.
Abdul restrained himself from showing anything other than his immediate reaction- bewilderment. He cleared his throat and turned back to their analyst. "Could you please describe the manner of organization we will be discussing?"
 
"Akir totally gets it!" Tanu said brightly in response to both Morrigan and Akir. She then picked up a donut and threw it at Morrigan with a flourish, saying "Summon ☆ Donut!"

She rounded on Irene after her question, holding back laughter. "You! You know too much! For your silence I shall exchange your required donut! Summon ☆ Donut!"
It was just so lucky that Tanu did not like that sort of donut, so it was sitting in the box untouched. She easily took it out and gently placed it on top of Irene's head.

Tanu then pulled up her knees and spun around in her chair while she listened to the serious people talk. She was only half listening, but caught the name game instantly. She stopped spinning and tapped the edge of the table excitedly, raising her hand as if this was school. "Oh! Oh! What about The Ass-Kickers!"
 
"You're going to want something with a bit of clout. Ass kickers is a bit generic for me and I would prefer to stay away from images of nobility. Reminds me of home and makes my teeth itch. I don't like when my teeth itch." Akir responds quietly. "But I like horses. They're my kind of animal, I like the blitzkrieg tactics but we're outcasts and oddballs so maybe something like...The Desperados?"
 
"I wouldn't mind that either." Akir reponds. "As for missions, I would prefer we avoid to aid any...Avalonian interests and would love to take any missions that might cause them discomfort." The pilot of the Oberon smirks a little evilly as he states his preference.
 
"You are wise beyond your years, young one," Irene says as she plucks the donut from her noggin and takes a bite. "Ah, that's downright sinful! Now, where were we? Ah, right! The Horsemen would be spot on if there were four of us, but even then I don't know that people would be willing to rename their mechs to War, Death, Famine, and Pestilence. Well if our walkers get trashed and some of us die, that'll be the perfect name to regroup under to get our bloody revenge. Rough Riders is nice too, I'm all about the obscure history references." Irene taps her finger against her chin. "Desperados, eh honey? Why not Dullahans?" Irene suddenly laughs as a thought strikes her. "Of course if we're having trouble figuring out a name we could always just call ourselves the 'X-Nauts' and call it a day. How does everyone feel about mandatory goggles?"
 
Morrigan deftly caught the donut out of the air, turning to Akir. "Weren't desperados bandits? I don't mind, just curious if that might mean some people get the wrong idea. Rough Riders sounds... strange. Bloodspiller's name is not changing, no Horsemen. X-Nauts is just awful." She paused to take a bite of the donut, not really paying attention to it. "Why not The Wild Hunt?" She looked down at her donut. "Is this cherry-filled?"
 
"You're like that sad frosting-less, filling-less plain donut left all alone in the box, Morrigan," Irene says, pointing. "No taste at all. But that's a good last suggestion anyway. Wild Hunt isn't bad."
 

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