Futuristic The Grinder - Blood and Glory

[Riddle78]

"Ladies and gentlemen,children and mechanoids,beings from across the universe! My name is Lukas Alexander,and welcome! To! The GRINDER!" Both in the arena,and around nearly every screen in the universe,a thunder erupted; The cheering fans. "Today,we begin a new season of the universe's favourite sport! We have some returning favourites,and a whole MESS of fresh faces!" The camera drones,fist sized things,zipped through the enormous transport bays,getting panning shots of the contestants,and their tools. It was a truly astonishing assortment of people from across the universe,as well as ways to annihilate entire armies.


"Today,our fleet of contestants approach the ancient world of Prospero! Once home to a mighty culture,it has since been brought to ruin! Who were they? What killed them? Nobody knows! But,today,the Grinder shall return the torch of glory to this once-great seat,of a once-great civilization!" The cheering across the galaxy crescendoed as the cameras descended upon the white-and-blue sphere,providing panoramic shots of the dead world. Snow washed over many of the shots,with the ruins of the great cities,host to pyramids and spires,adrift in great seas of the stuff. The seas were,remarkably,unfrozen,as were the surrounding environs. There were rolling hills,mountains,and plains,and in every shot,there were signs of some great,apocalyptic war having been fought,so long ago.


The ships held orbit around Prospero,as shuttles began to flow from the enormous transports to the world below,setting the table for the games at hand. The Grinder's next season has begun.

 

[Riddle78]

The transports held a stable orbit over Prospero. It'd be some time before the planet below was made ready for the tournament. The Producers were going for something new,this season. Great swarms of drones and shuttles flew to the planet below,burdened with nanolathes,matter,and enormous batteries. It was obvious that they were building,but what,exactly,was a mystery to all but the Producers. Swarms of camera drones also followed the construction crews,recording what would most likely be pay-per-view and digital retail content.


However,aboard the transports,the contestants were making ready. Loading fuel,ammunition,food,you name it,they were doing it. However...


"Contestants of the Grinder! Please be mindful of the cameras as they manoeuvre in your work spaces! We have a special announcement for both you,and our valued fans across the universe!" In one of the mech labs aboard one of the countless transports,there was an alien woman with uncovered indigo flesh,and blindingly orange tentacle "hair" that grew to her knees. She was obviously an aquatic creature,what with the sheen of a mucous membrane,and the obvious swimming aids in the tail,fins,and webbed digits. At the announcement,she scoffed,and continued to operate a console at the bottom level; The area around her was soaked. "System,hose me down." A quick sequence of three trilling bleeps sounded off,followed by a thick stream of water being dumped on the woman as she worked.


As she worked the console,the crane above continued to load ammunition into the weapons stored in capsules behind her mech. What could be so important as to invade my workspace? As if on cue,a small drone,the size and shape of a baseball with wings,zipped into the mech lab. One of the camera drones. From one of its microspeakers,someone spoke, "Helia,you do know families watch this,right?" Helia laughed; She knew this producer,and he knew her. And they both knew,as well as most of the universe,that Helia and her people,the Anemos,can't even safely wear clothes. They'd block the gills,as well as prevent water absorption. "That's why they have censors,Hakkon. Here to make the announcement?" "You know it,Fish Sticks!" Helia cringed at Hakkon's use of his little pet name for her. It was grating,but he thought it was cute,so there was no stopping it... Especially considering that he was the one with her implant's detonator.


"When's the announcement going out?" Helia was now slotting a shell into her Ragnarok Cannon; The boys at requisition nearly shat themselves when she demanded one. But,she was able to pony up,and even provide a plan on how to use it with her light mech without issue. Besides,the Producers vetoed their protests; They knew the fans,love her or hate her,would lose their collective shit over a Ragnarok's deployment in the Grinder. "A few minutes. I think you'll like the announcement." "What,this season's winner,if they're Penal Legion,gets pardoned?" The both of them shared a laugh at that; It was a good,if dark joke. The Grinder didn't have the authority to grant pardons. "Nah. A paradigm shift." Helia smirked as she continued her work; That was promising,indeed...

 

[Heartsteal]

Fury: 0/100%

​

"Contestants of the Grinder! Please be mindful of the cameras as they manoeuvre in your work spaces! We have a special announcement for both you,and our valued fans across the universe!"


Dyn heard the announcement, but didn't pay it much mind. There were already a half dozen cameras on her and Xiqa when they were forced into tight spaces. Xiqa didn't care for them overmuch, and when thirty-three tonnes of angry beasty weren't happy, nobody was. Preparations for the pair were quite simple though, since they didn't need any. The pair were just having a heavy meal now to take with them onto the surface, and should keep them for a week while they learned the lay of the land, and how to hunt for new food.


Dyn had relatively free reign of the ship, but Xiqa was kept confined to a holding cage, just in case, though the bars weren't close to strong enough to stop her should the ravagore be determined to escape. What would stop her was the four auto-cannons across the holding bay, assuming that Dyn wasn't burning off the beast's Fury to heal her from the injury they inflicted.


More camera drones than usual buzzed into the "Beast-bay" and while some took closer looks at the other creatures that Dyn had made use of in the past, the great majority concentrated their focus on Xiqa, her largest, and favourite of the lot. A pair of cameras turned their attention to the upper level of the bay, where catwalks were patrolled by armed guards, and the feeding crew made their way through the checkpoint before being let onto the floor with six men and women in powered body-armour. Regardless of her intelligence, Dyn was still regarded as little different from the beasts she lead into battle.


Some though, didn't think the same way.


One of the guards was moving a little bit differently from the others, trying to blend in, though with the armour, their faces were impossible to see anyways. A forked tongue snaked out of Dyn's mouth for just an instant, and her face lit up immediately.


"Krol!" she cried aloud, bounding up to the armoured individual, tackling them in a hug that threw the armoured body from their feet. One of the cart guards in front wheeled around, bringing their weapon to bear, though a rumbling snarl from Xiqa had them wheel back in the other direction, not entirely sure what they should be shooting at. Before he could do anything he could regret, the guard beside him put one gauntleted hand on the barrel, and pushed it down, berating the new recruit for being so trigger-happy with the merchandise.


"It has been long, been too long!" Dyn laughed from where she was now straddling the armoured guard beneath her, clawed fingers unclasping the faceplate to the helmet with practiced precision.


"Look, you're scaring Jensen Dyn," 'Krol' answered, chuckling a little bit.


The beastmaster took his hint, and bounced effortlessly back to her feet


"Where you gone to?" she asked, not quite certain whether she should be frustrated, or beaming when she did.


The rest of the feeding crew moved on to Xiqa's cage, the only cell that wasn't in stasis at the time. Half the cameras on the scene peeled away to follow, while some remained on Dyn while she caught up with what seemed safe to assume was a friend. Rolling across the bottom of the viewscreens for viewers at home while the pair's audio faded was yellow text that read "Krol is the Drakhun concept of "Not Food""





While Dyn may have been raised by humans, her clutch was directly from Carlathan, and so some genetic learning still squeezed through the modifications made to their bodies. What little she kept of Drakhun culture and knowledge had long since been gleaned from her during the brief education she'd received.

~~~~~~~

​

While Xiqa swallowed down her fourth helping of cattle in a single gulp, tossing her head back to let the raw flesh slide down her throat much like a bird might, Dyn's handlers spoke with an authority for the Grinder, clarifying the differences between this, and her old circuit, and what they needed to contribute in order to maintain her entry.


While using an "unintelligent" creature for the Grinder was considerably more profitable, it came with its own set of hoops to jump through to figure out what they could and couldn't do.


First, her beast must still conform to the same sizing minimum as a light mecha, to ensure that at least it was of comparable size, and could deliver its specialized form of death. Of that, they were fine, seeing as Xiqa nearly topped out the weight class for light machines. Secondly, all beasts needed a handler in the field to be a contestant, which was another ruling that didn't need to be fussed over. The difficulty was the third rule, regarding handlers. A handler must meet certain criteria, first, they must have command over their beast, second, they needed to be combat ready themselves, third, they needed to sign a waiver acknowledging the dangers, similar to a pilot. Last though, was the distinction, they must have a minimum level of education, and be recognized as part of society outside the Grinder.


As they went over these details though, both parties agreed that the wording did not state that the handler must also be classed as "intelligent life"


Seeing as Drakhun had never made exodus from their homeworld, and the planet was only visited by outsiders in secret, they were still considered lesser life-forms, meaning that Dyn didn't need to be rewarded for her victories, and any prizes were sent directly to her owners and investors.


"To another display of carnage," the board echoed, toasting a glass of champaign, the Grinder representative partaking as well, all with a smile on their lips, and their mind's eye on their wallets.

 

[Flip Jester Boy]

"Alright, try it now!" Worus's long-time friend and chief engineer of the Death Hawk, Kisura, called as he monitored the data scanners hooked up to the titanic machine. Worus nodded from the open cockpit, using a dummy program to attempt to activate a new armament on the Death Hawk without actually arming it. "C'mon, work..." The data began to look hopeful, but then the power died off. Kisura cursed in the Vasudan language. "Well never get this working in time." He watched as the observation drone hovered around the machine bay, watching their works with their representative.


Worus exited the cockpit of his machine, stepping onto a hover platform which carried him to the main tech platform. He put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Relax, my friend. We shall have this upgrade ready to go soon." Worus watched the observation drone with a slight grin. "Besides, now is not the time to show off." Worus had done very well in the premier season, so he knows that the audience wants to see more. "We can run these tests at a later time. We don't want our fans to see what's in store for them right now." He smiled and waved at the observation drone.

 

[Telios]

"Contestants of the Grinder! Please be mindful of the cameras as they manoeuvre in your work spaces! We have a special announcement for both you,and our valued fans across the universe!"





Blue sighed as he walked from his mech and over to a nearby table, sitting himself down with a pizza-box of flatbread. "Glad that they do inter-galaxy teleportation deliveries... Couldn't really stay away from The Sea Monster for over a month." He mumbled to himself as he opened the box, grabbing the slice of seafood flatbread inside. He bit down on it, chewing slowly while gazing over to the picture framed on his table. He swallowed and sighed longingly, grabbing the frame to look closer at the picture. "'Wish that I could enjoy this with you, Red." He mumbled before placing it down and continue with his meal/


After a few minutes, he discards the box and heads back to his mech, grabbing his quick-fix scanner from a counter nearby. He aimed at the mech and scanned it thoroughly vertically and then waited for the result to pop up. "No errors spotted. Good." He stepped onto a platform in front of the mech and hops in through the hatch on the head of its. Having climbed into the seat, he booted up, connecting himself to it through the neural-link seat and visor connected to the chair. Now, the mech's movements were his. He looked around while testing the movements of its limbs like how athletes would do a warm up before starting. One, two quick punches; materializing his weapons and shields; doing stances with them; turning them on and off; ect. After a short while testing the mech, he disconnected and climbed out, heading to his bunk.

 

[Mad Prince of Sanity]

Algerzicus Leibershenheizen

Alger stands to himself, away from the rest of the sheep milling about aimlessly. His back to the cold wall of the transport as his gaze sweeps over the rather large bay where it seemed all of the "Beast-Masters" and Kaiju were kept in relative safety. Safety being the subjective term as he hardly considered having so many large, dangerous creatures all in one place. In some cases like his own even, large, dangerous people. Alger turns his head idly to the side to study Kr'Hashatha idly, watching the large creature snarl and hiss at passing contestants and drones alike. It's plasma-tendrils flailing threateningly and a particular passing Kaiju did not take too kindly to Kr'Hashatha's threatening demeanor. The odd creature much resembling a large, bulbous flower of tentacles, eyes and pincer-like beaks. The Beast-Master of this creature glaring at Kr'Hashatha and Alger rumbles a low growl before snapping "Va'al Hashtha meel Seektho!" Hashatha wriggles uncomfortably, giving a softer hiss as it's spindly legs clack against the floor repeatedly. Before it curls inwardly and ignores the other Kaiju, which eventually resumes following it's master to wherever it is they were going.

Alger places a hand on Hashatha's chitinous body and knocks against it gently, sighing before pushing off of the wall behind him "You are too smart for your own good youngling. We will kill again in time, but you must wait." Hashatha gives an acknowledging hiss before Alger begins to stride across the bay with purpose, Hashatha following in a winding skitter behind him. It's tendrils idly flicking the air as it's claws clack open and closed menacingly. "Of all the Kaiju here you were one of the few children who refused a stasis cage." Alger's voice was low and dark as usual, but possessed a note of something akin to a chastising parent. Hashatha answering the reprimand with a snap of it's claws and click of it's mandibles. The creature stopping as Alger does and Alger hums in thought, his visor now leveled on another Kaiju in an analytical manner.

Alger was unaware of who or what Xiqa was, but Dyn's mannerisms and the beast's..... disobedient demeanor made him give the equivalent of a disapproving squint. Crossing his arms over his chest Alger stares down at the girl in question, taking a moment or two to observe how she carried herself, before Alger remarks in a dry, un-amused tone "Welcome to the Grinder.... milady." The pause heralding his last, curt word made it seem as if the normally-complimentary word was to be taken as a mockery, rather than an honorific. Though despite his obviously condescending tone, Alger does in fact offer a gauntlet-ed hand to the woman, intending on crushing down on her hand with unnecessary force should she accept. Not enough for any REAL damage, but to make the act uncomfortable for her. If not, then he would merely rest the hand on Hashatha idly. "I am Algerzicus. I take it this is your beast?" Alger gives the faintest of nods toward Xiqa, though the answer was obvious, even this simple question was a test for her. Seeing how or if she claimed ownership of her own Kaiju.

@Heartsteal
​

 

[Heartsteal]

Fury: 30/100%

​

(I was under the impression that everyone was on their own sponsor's shuttles for right now, but I'll play along. Also, while I'm in brackets anyways, that fury number in the top corner is in regards to how much Dyn can hold safely, and maintain total control. Also, bad post is bad, and I feel bad.)

​

Interrupted just as 'Krol' started to make headway on explaining what a vacation was, another contestant approached Dyn from behind, reeking of some artificial burning. As the new arrival spoke, in silent dismissal of the guard, the human took his chance to step aside. Meanwhile, a small number of drones set aside their former focuses to concentrate on the pair of competitors. Cocking her head to one side as she gazed up to look the new arrival in the face, or, metal, or something. He (it?) spoke in a growling metallic rasp as he welcomed her unenthusiastically to the Grinder.


"Have compete long time, only first time here," Dyn replied in a chirp, either unaware of the other contestant's attitude, or choosing to ignore it. The other mobile beast in the bay shadowed this newcomer, anxious to be in such confined spaces, and without anything to vent such aggression on.


Taking the liberty of calming the beast with a psychic touch, Dyn withdrew most of the Fury broiling in its mind, easing the nerves while she felt her own pulse quicken a touch. Glancing at the outstretched hand, Dyn decided to take hold, and with the assistance of this new entrant's warbeast, she easily reached the same grip as his own. At mention of her beast though, Dyn's face lit up, competition forgotten.


"Yes, Xiqa is favourite, many battles, much fun!" she exclaimed, turning to motion to the ravagore, who paused her eating to root her head about the cell, eyeless head rotating as though even without the orbs, she could still see.

 

[Riddle78]

The camera drones zipped hither and tither,getting closeups of all of the assets and competitors in the Prospero Season,especially where brewing action was. Consequently,a small swarm of drones were gathered in Dyn's workspace,eagerly awaiting the outcome of Algerzicus' belligerence. However,when the result happened to have been Dyn taking it all in excited stride,even to the point of calming down the kaiju that followed the armoured beastmaster,many of the drones departed,only a few remaining to capture Dyn's chatter. The handlers and staff milled about,giving the millipede-like kaiju a wide berth,tending to their duties.


Meanwhile,camera drones made themselves known in Worus' machine lab,zipping about to record their diagnostics efforts,with an almost-identical scene playing out in Blue's mech lab; Their whisper-quiet engines making barely even the slightest of noise. However,for Blue,a drone did land itself on his chest,and began to swat at his torso with its ribbon-like wings,in order to wake him up for the announcement. When he wakes up,the drone will fly off.


In Helia's lab,the aquatic alien finished with her weapons check,and retired to the bathtub she kept in the space to lounge,casually chatting away with Hakkon through the camera drone that followed her around,while others still flew around her space to capture the Riptide,though at present it was stripped of equipment. The drones,however,were clustered around the racks and pods that held the mech's gear; A particularly large swarm was clustered around the Ragnarok Cannon; She only got that after last season. Helia planned on making its première deployment something spectacular.


However,the downtime was only temporary. Mere minutes later,Lukas Alexander's voice boomed through the transports once more. "Contestants and fans,welcome back to the GRINDER! This season,we wage bloody war on the ancient,frigid world of Prospero!" The screens in the transports,and the screens at home across the universe,were displaying an interesting scene; A fortified base in the snowy wastes,so new that they have yet to develop a layer of snow in the near-perpetual blizzard on the surface. "And this season,we aim to deliver to you a NEW kind of fight! Prospero as a whole shall be our arena! These bases shall house our contestants as they wage war across the planet! Their goal,you ask? Kill their enemies,destroy their bases,and complete the objectives we assign to them! But,that's not all!" The camera zoomed out,revealing a banner standing atop the central structure of the base. And everyone knew that banners meant teams.


"In the previous seasons of the Grinder,we held free-for-all battles in enclosed arenas. Not this time! Today,Prospero will know WAR! Our contestants will be divided into teams,and sent down to the surface to wage war as one! And there they will stay,until they WIN!" Across the universe,fans went wild,cheering and hollering at this revelation. This paradigm shift,of course,was well calculated. The Grinder's ratings were waning the past few seasons; Fans wanted something new. So,here it is; Planetary arenas. Teams. The Producers were banking on infighting and poor teamwork to add some new fun to this novelty.


"Contestants,make ready for planetfall! Your teams have been assigned! You'll know who you're working with when you get down there! Good luck! Good hunting! Good fighting! Today,the Grinder begins... ANEW!" It seemed that Lukas' enthusiasm was contagious,as much of the staff on the transport fleet began to cheer,as well,and contestants began to scramble to their assets,making ready for their deployment. Helia catapulted upright in her tub at this news,as Hakkon laughed his ass off; Helia looked at once disgusted and infuriated. "Teams!? What the FUCK!? How the Hell am I supposed to keep from setting the dead weight on fire!?" Regardless,Helia climbed out of her tub,and stepped into the elevator to board the Riptide.


When he composed himself,Hakkon's drone followed Helia up,and the Producer simply said, "That's for you to figure out,Fish Sticks!" Helia roared wordlessly in frustration,and threw a swat at the little bot,though its defences engaged,teleporting it ten feet away before the hand made impact. "I'll be seeing you,Fish Sticks! Do good! Your fans would hate to see you dry up!" "Fuck you too,Hakkon!" Hakkon's drone flew off as the elevator stopped at the boarding hatch,the Producer cackling like a tickled hyena the entire time. Grumbling to herself,Helia boarded the Riptide,and initiated the boot sequence. As the cockpit flooded,she ran a final systems check,and smiled as everything was ready to fly.


Flooding completed,Helia began to move to the drop bay. Falling in line with the sea of mechs,kaiju,and titanic machines,all as disarmed as could be,the contestants made their way to an enormous room,filled with drop pods to deliver them to the surface... And to their teams.

 

[Telios]

OVERLOAD

Blue looked over his tablet and at the camera-bot. "About time, huh?" He huffed and set the tablet aside, getting up and was about to grab the bot to toss it away. But it quickly teleported away ten feet from him. Grabbing his coat - a black leather coat with a triangle on the back of it -, he walked over to the elevator while putting it on.


He tapped the holo-keyboard on the elevator as it went up, loading as much energy as possible into Red through a dense and heavy cord from the wall behind the mech. Once it's full of energy, Blue jumped into the cockpit and it sealed shut. He connected to Synapse and began to control the mech directly. "Let's do this, Red. Let's Crash this party!" Red got into the drop pod, and waited for the start of the battle.

 

[Mad Prince of Sanity]

Algerzicus didn't bother caring whether or not the female matched his strength or lost her hand to be frank. Thankfully for her however, her abilities granted her the former as the outcome. After releasing his grip Alger gives an odd, liquid-like snort as the announcement about teams is made.Giving the woman a curt, if not somewhat polite and yet over-confident nod "I wish you... luck, milady. You may very well need it." With that, the large being turns and is gone in a handful of long, powerful strides. Glancing over at Kr'Hashatha with the usual deadly red hue to his visor. Giving the large creature a simple pat on the head as he ducks into his drop-pod. "Prepare my pet, for a feast of blood and honor." Kr'Hastha would hiss back, the large beast also making ready for entry into the planet's atmosphere, and a glorious test of his prowess. At least, he sorely hoped the other contestants were capable of providing such, he would be in an even more sour mood if they proved to be little more than children playing with expensive toys. All he could do now, was wait, and hope.

 

[Flip Jester Boy]

"Teams, huh?" Worus said, looking at the Death Hawk. "I suppose this would aid in testing the machine in squad battles." He stepped back onto the transportation pad, returning to the cockpit of his Asset. "I'll be sending in some requisition tokens for those new upgrades coming in." Worus dropped into the cockpit, which lit up as it powered on and sealed with an airtight barrier. He then gently piloted the Asset into a drop-pod while it was in Mech-mode and secured it to the restraints inside.


"Good luck, Worus," Kisura said through the intercom system. "We'll be monitoring your status from here and let you know when the upgrades have arrived."


Worus nodded. He waited patiently inside the drop pod, doing one last systems check before the battle began.

 

[Heartsteal]

Fury: 50/100%

​

"Attention security staff, there is a rogue beast on the feeding floor, apprehend the drakhun specimen immediately," a tinny voice mechanically ordered through the intercomm system. At the same time, a chemical hiss erupted from Xiqa's cell, and before the ravagore could do a thing, the chilling spray cooled her to calmness, and rapidly slumber; putting the drakhun's favourite beast into hibernation just minutes before the Grinder was set to begin. The contestants had begun to disperse already, and the guards on the catwalks were already leveling rifles on the floor.


While the floor was locked down, leaving Dyn as the only living creature not in stasis on the floor, the executives up in the board room had begun to argue. It was conceded that the drakhun was intelligent, but she was not technically of an intelligent species in accordance with the Grinder's legislations. This technically made her not only ineligible for entry as a contestant, but also technically marked her as kaiju, regardless of scale.


Dyn's owner, an older gentleman whose hair had gone to white, wearing a thin-framed pair of glasses perched upon a crook of a nose allowed a faint smile on his face. This year, the battleground wasn't exactly to her advantage anyways, so in the best interest of his investment, being barred from entry for another year would be a good thing. Not to mention the hype that would build up if her apprehension went viral. What a shame it would be if the security breach were to be recorded somehow.


A single camera drone hovered in the upper corner of the feeding floor, watching the scene unfold below as the security team attempted to restrain their rogue element. First one, then another, and even a third discouragement charge landed on Dyn while she had nowhere to run or hide in the midst of the empty chamber. She never tried though, she seemed to welcome the electrified bolts as they struck her scaly hide. Krol knew why, and he ducked for cover the moment he saw one of the shots land. It seemed almost immediately after that a trio of roiling crimson bolts made from what one could only guess was smoke fired off at blinding speed. One struck the railing of a catwalk, boring straight through, and tearing a rifle clear from its owner's hands, and scattering the parts across the wall behind him. One punched a hole in the floor nearly the size of a volleyball, easily a few feet deep through the armour-plating. The last struck one of the security members, directly in his armoured chest, though it didn't seem to do him much good as his body was catapulted from the walk, easily a dozen feet through the air, losing most of his torso somewhere along the way.


Then the next volley came down though, and one well placed shot struck the drakhun directly in the head, which had her crumple to the floor without much more resistance. Afterward, while she still lay twitching on the steel floor, several members of the security team descended with chemical sprays that forced the cold-blooded beast handler into a temporary hibernation until they could mover her somewhere more secure.


Up in the boardroom, the old man smiled again, making an almost imperceptible gesture to his assistant, who performed a rapid series of actions on his tablet computer, saving the video to the hard drive, as well as uploading it to a pair of off-site locations before anyone was the wiser.


From outside the event, all that could have been heard was the bulkheads being sealed on the chamber, and then a few muted thumps before they were opened again, and all but the physical damage had been cleared away.

 

[DescriptedEnd]

Guova slept. A shallow sleep, only a faint grey hallowing it's eyelids, inside the cockpit of the AU78. It allowed itself to listen, but still gain some much needed rest before the games started - there would not be much sleeping when they started, if any at all. And while its species was not one that needed all that much sleep, any way it could get ahead without breaking the rules was good enough. The cameras were nothing that bothered it - able to monitor them via the electrical impulses they sent out, it could feel a couple of the drones hovering just outside, possibly curiously inspecting & looking around for where Guova could be. Or, perhaps, it mused drowsily - at this point awoken by his own thinking - they knew it was currently the mech, its own electrical impulses coursing through the wiring of the systems as Guova controlled it, as if it were currently a body of its own, separate and biological, instead of a purring machine that's only actions were administered by a sentient being. Entertaining the crowds was not an interest Guova had, seeing as it was not here due to legal action, or because of a voluntary sign up. Rather, it was doomed to be a puppet, directed at the mercy of his Branch Director. At this thought, Guova's teeth clenched, and a spark flew from one of his important connections, causing the mech to lurch forward slightly before settling back in its resting position - hind legs laid flat in a lying down position, arms pressed tightly into the main body of the machine. Guova hissed, the backlash from the surge stinging slightly in the wired flesh of its neck loop.


A snap was heard as the chords from its 'wrists' as they retracted, as well as a zipper-like noise, the mech's electrical systems slowing to a stable nothing. The hatch opened with a hiss and Guova stepped out, a definitive 'click clack' echoing as its metallic talons hit the metallic floor in between the otherwise buzzing air of the carrier that he was currently carried him. Its stomach didn't hunger for meats or metals (it had eaten a rather large meal beforehand that would serve him through a couple days of combat) - rather, its heart ached to feel the familiar rocky soil underfoot, and the familiar chilly air caressing the insides of its lungs as others of its kind moved about in orderly fashion to their stations of work. As soon as Guova had settled itself in a standing position on the chilly flooring, a camera drone hovered itself in front of the quadrupedal organism, seemingly inspecting closely - a preposterous thought, seeing as robots had no consciousness."Go away," it growled lightly, lazily swinging a hand at one of the drones as it sat in front of its mech in a simply lazy motion, hatch laying open - allowing for a camera to snoop inside a little bit - , simply waiting for the signal to call - it would then reconnect with his instruments & ready itself for battle.


And apparently, it had dozed off again - a poor habit of Guova's, which the Aceag had not been able to cure at its military training facility and base of operations - , as it was started when a voice peeled itself from the woken world and was pasted into its dreams, erupting from a small intercom next to him. It lurched to its feet, quickly glancing around with a ready eye, wires already slipping out of its 'ports' in preparation of the supposed threat that had supposedly made itself known within Guova's partially asleep conscious. With a snort of irritation, anticipation, and anxiety all the same as it realized what actually was going on, it climbed back into his cockpit, quickly hooking himself into his mech & using it to listen in on what it needed to do, the latch clicking itself closed and a warning trill sounding as the connections were completed and Guova was cleared to begin definitive control of the system. A partially active cooling system whirred cool air into the cockpit, sensing that Guova's internal temperature had quickly skyrocketed when the Aceag had sensed a false threat - both due to the feeling humans had called embarrassment and to soften the metallic parts inside Guova's body.


"Teams?" he chirruped to himself, his common language choppy and slightly rough, not quite used to the pronunciations everybody else used after using his own - which, in many ways, was different with how many different noises it utilized compared to what it needed to speak now. The Aceag language was made of more guttural sounds, clicks, and the noises that birds would make. There really was no alphabet, and while language usually came rather quickly to the species, Guova had never really surpassed, or met, the expectations that had been placed upon it when it had started the education standards that had been in place. The only thing the creature had a knack for learning with was how to pilot mechs and their parts, capable of performing repairs and reloads by himself, provided it had the correct tools. Improvisation was also another one of Guova's weaknesses, which made him neither a good survival man in the wild nor an anywhere decent comedian. If Guova had a humor part to his brain, it was obviously drier than the Atacava desert in it's dry season - which, if Guova recalled correctly, was pretty damn dry.


A hum echoed from the head of the machine, the whole thing humming to life quickly as it engaged the safety, a loud click signifying the successful anti-arms protocol installation, quickly checking all his ammunition supplies as well as previsions. Before its first nap in the console, Guova had already checked all the systems of AU78, but there was no hurt in checking a second time to make sure it hadn't overlooked any possible issues. The military had set Guova up with a decent mech - not the best, as those could not be spared for this 'silly game' (as his commander called it) and therefor sacrificing the safety of the home planet. Instead, Guova had been given a slightly older model that was fitted with newer parts, bringing it up to current requirements and recommendations, and a bit further - hence the cooling system and provisions holder, as well as slots for extra ammunition. Satisfied that everything was in order, it performed a signal test - all clear, no obstructions. It walked itself over to the drop pods, navigating between the others that mingled & headed their own way as well.

 

[Teh Krogans]

Rin's footsteps were silent on the otherwise audibly noticeable metallic floor. Even in a full metal suit, complete with sword ribbon for quick maneuvering and further reach at the expense of accuracy, he was undetectable by sound alone. It had sounded like such a joke to him, at first. A human? In the legendary Grinder tournament? Might as well put a gun in your mouth and pull the trigger. The result would be the same either way. Granted, he was no ordinary human. He had murdered kings and brought empires to a grinding halt. He commanded the defense of the human colony of Estapor against the tupari despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered. He had been a general at one point, and left of his own free will. His skill was unmatched by any other human on the battlefield. Still... the Grinder? He wasn't sure he could do it... Until his client offered a larger reward than any given in human history. Naturally, he was suspicious about this. He'd left the military and struck out on his own, and now they wanted him to win a TV program? For that much money? You could fund an entire colony for a year with that bounty. Yet, probably against his better judgment, he accepted. And now he found himself here. In the Beast Bay of a private transport ship bringing him down to the surface of Prospero. He had researched the planet when he learned about it. Dying world, once the suspected seat of a mighty civilization that had since died off. The planet was frigid compared to other life-bearing worlds. Leniri would love it there.


Speaking of Leniri... He smiled behind the helmet as he got to her cage and watched her sleep. The giant bird-like creature woke up just a few moments later. Rin might've been silent to other beings, but Leniri could always tell when he was near. Rin hit a button on the wall and opened up the cage before walking inside. Hey, girl. How you doing, hmm? Leniri grumbled a little bit, and Rin knew why. She had initially refused to be put in the cage like a common animal. Her species was considered the smartest on their home planet, and this put her above mere beasts. He knew it, she knew it. Unfortunately, the Feeding Bay was the only place that would be big enough for her, so she had reluctantly accepted when Rin offered to visit her daily while she was stuck there. Despite her discomfort, she was more than happy to see him, however. He sighed and put his arms over her massive torso, giving her a hug. She chirped approvingly and enveloped him in her wings. That was when the announcement came over the loudspeaker.





Teams?! Are they freakin serious?! He took off the helmet and looked up at his massive friend, who hummed a nervous chirp. Slippery bastards... I wouldn't've joined if they told us there were going to be teams. It's been so long since I worked with anybody other than you. Plus my version of "teamwork" consists of ordering people around. But there's no freakin chain of command here! God, Leniri, this is not good. Leniri chirped in agreement and started getting anxious. Well... Guess we'll just have to see what happens.