It was a typical night at the Cantina. Smoke filled, dank, some
tinny music warbling over a few old, beat up speakers. Pilots, engineers, and
ground crew, all mixing it up. Wist, Pool, Darts, all being played with no real
sense of urgency. People in group and by themselves all drinking, talking, or
sitting silent. Above in the Balcony, you can see the Officer Cadre sitting at
small tables. Some with heads bent close, others laughing raucously. Yep,
pretty ordinary.
I was taking up a portion of the bar looking at a vid pad.
Or at least pretending to. I’m a people watcher, which is why I got into this profession
of writing for the G.G. Yeah, sure, going out in 95 tons of walking death was
my main job, but writing had become my night gig, and tonight I was having
trouble coming up with material
.
It was then that I caught this strange odor. It smelled a
bit like burnt capacitors, mixed with embalming fluid. And what is... is that…
chloroform?
Standing next to me was Scar. Scar Firewolf. Average height
with a rangy frame, wearing one of the Dragon RnD Lab coats. So far you’d think
“lab geek.” But then you get to the head. Braided beard with longish hair going
in every direction. He had the look of someone who held a firecracker to close
to their face and it exploded accidentally.
Then there was the unmistakable
voice. For such a skinny guy, he had this deep baritone voice that could be
heard across the room, even when he was talking in a low tone. When you were
close to him this could prove slightly uncomfortable to be in a conversation
for very long.
Scar: Hey, Hicks. Why haven’t you interviewed me yet?
Kenneth Hicks: Oh! Hey Scar. Here, let me order up a couple
rounds and we can do just that. What’s your poison?
S: Why… what have you heard?
K: Huh?
S: Oh, to drink. Never mind. Forget everything you heard. A
carafe of Vupan Merlot for me.
K: Okaay, anyway, tell me a bit about how he came to be in
Opal?
S: I got my start in Exiles. They're a good hearted bunch
with a lot of spunk, and my input gave them a bit of edge so it was a win/win.
Eventually James and John started up Exiles Immortals, and I was a part of
that. They had a fearsome showing with the help of line tech and A.F.R.O. and
built quite a reputation.
K: A.F.R.O.?
S: Articulated Fractal Recurve Optics - my scouting tool. The
eye that sees you, before YOU see you.
K: Hehehe, nice.
S: Eventually a few things fell through and people took
separate paths. Many of us ended up in MMI (soon to become BHG) and others
ended up in RND. I took the BHG route. A rivalry ensued and it was a lot of
fun, and was well fought on both sides. Eventually new alliances formed during
faction war, and I took a liking to Dragons. This was my first war with them.
K: Opal was a new clan this war and really had an excellent
showing. Who was your main rival in it?
S: Yeah, Scott did a good job with designs. A lot of new things
were done this war, and Dragons scored a gold medal in every division they
attempted. Our toughest opponent for Opal was definitely Samurai Mecha. They
bring a squad full of strong players and play a smart game.
K: Samurai Mecha is one of those clans that are always
consistently one of the top in their division it seems.
S: For a small crew that sticks together and consistently
gets better, I can see them contending for gold again more in future wars.
K: What did you think of the new developments recently? I
heard a lot of "Gorak or Gorax" comments, but the Ambershard Stalkers
did put a new spin on things.
S: So far it's been in vain, but my laboratories have
isolated the Gorax virus and have been trying to introduce it into mechs to get
them to mutate.
S: An Anzu started getting sensor malfunctions and thought
it was a Jenner. Soon after, its circuits fried, I think out of embarrassment.
A Krampus got kickback and grew a 5th leg which acted as a kickstand, and was promptly
put out of its misery. And don't get me started about what happened to the
warhorse...
K: Um,
yeah. Okay. Moving forward, what would you like to see happen?
S: I'd like to see a way to harness the virus and create
meaningful upgrades to mechs, even if they end up grotesque like those skull
mechs and mutant Nerios in raids. Oh, and more vortex events like last war
please. That was awesome.
K: Think there's a chance that you could mutate the Orester
into something useful? Hehehe.
S: Great idea, and Gigus too.
K: A Giguster
S: Or find a way to stack more weapons and speed on a Gigus,
more like a Skriag, but while maintaining some of the Gigus's advantage like
fire and splash.
K: I always felt the Gigus had great potential and just fell
short in the development process.
S: I love Gigus. But after a certain point it
doesn't have the tools it needs to hang with the other big boys.
K: Right. With the right equipment it's great in the mid-levels,
but falls off.
S: Yes. It's dodgy enough to make a fantastic tank, and at
low levels it still has enough of a base set of weapons to be useful. But with
a weapon every 6 levels, low precision, and low speed, you never actually get
to take advantage of its fire damage and splash.
K: Well, I think we have enough for now. I'd like to thank
you for your time today.
S: Alright, thanks Kenneth! Oh, and hey. If you ever need any
help with that “only two arms” problem, just let me know.
K: Sure, any wait. What “only two arms” problem. How many do
you have?
S: Huh? Oh, never mind. Forget everything I said. Except the
interview, remember that.
K: Take care Scar, and good luck with bringing new mechs to
the front.
<End Transmission>
