“John!”
I turn around quickly and look around but I do not see who shouted my name. What I do see is very strange. The colors are all wrong and everything is sagging and melting like ice cream left out in the sun. It hits me that I am dreaming and run into the closest object at hand to wake myself up. That works and I find myself on the floor in my quarters with a bloody nose. I have been sleep walking again and had run into the bulkhead. As I try to clear the stars before my eyes two strong hands slip under my arms and lift me up onto my feet. I would know those strong hands any ware. It was Chief Slade our resident badass and savior to the pilots under his charge who have had way too much to drink and find themselves on the ground in some dive bar slowly sinking into the ooze on the floor.
“Boss, pull yourself together. Patrick Willis is on the com for you.” Said Slade.
“I will take that call as soon as both of you get out of my way Chief” I retorted. “I can handle one of you but more than that is too much.” I wobbled over to my desk after squeezing past both Chiefs and mashed the accept call button for my com unit. Patrick’s face flashed before my eyes. After the initial greetings and social pleasantries Patrick launches into a crazy story about how I have to go on this wild quest to find some kind of “Key” that will un-lock a “Door” and save the Galaxy. After pressing him for more information I learn he does not know what or where either the “Door” or “Key are and I am almost completely on my own. What he does have for me is a fake G.G. press pass that would not hold up if people looked to closely and a voucher for a “Value” shuttle at the local branch of Rent-A-Wreck. He warns me that as I am not on the payroll for G.G. I will have to self-fund my trip. If I happen to find interesting people to interview, interesting stories to tell or information on a piece of tech he would publish it and my cut should keep me out of the cold. With a hasty farewell to Patrick and the burning desire to get this crazy quest over as fast as possible I grabbed my travel duffel and went to redeem that travel voucher.
Two weeks later find myself low on air, food and fuel for my stupid “Value” shuttle. I have visited more worlds then I can count and still no sign of the “Key”. I have one last chance to save myself from racing to see if I die from hunger or the lack of air first. I can spend the last of my funds and use the Rent-A-Wreck “Save your Ass” network and hope they get to me in time. A few hours later my luck improves when I am hailed by a Rent-A-Wreck troop transport and they tractor me into a landing bay. Now all I have to do is find a way to make some quick cash to resupply and get back on my way. I wonder down to one of the rec centers, set up my card table with my cardboard hobo sign that I had written “Have an opinion? Tell me about it and get paid!” Now I just have to sit back and listen to a billion people in the hopes I get a few good stories to print.
Well it is my lucky day for who do I have here for my first interview but the famous (or as some pilots feel about him Infamous) Joshua Bourne.
John: Welcome to the hot mic and thanks for coming by today.
Joshua: It's my pleasure to be here today
John: For the record, what is your name, ID number and the squad you are fighting with in this war?
Joshua: My name is Joshua Bourne, Player I.D. 702128 and the leader of Brotherhood Dragons Beta
John: Oh, the big cheese himself? *Hands him a small box* Have a cigar from General Nova's private stock. Just do not tell anyone where you got it.
Joshua: Haha don't worry, I will just say I "procured" it whilst on patrol from some Pirate cave by the Cogwerk Port
John: Smart man... I can see why they put you in charge!
Joshua: There was indeed a lot of intelligence and thinking needed for this years events to get people in the right place. And each of our units needed an intelligent person in charge
John: Yes, that can work out well for your chances at the Gold prize. Did you participate in the last Squad War and if so is this the same team?
Joshua: I did indeed fight in the last Squad War but for me, it is not the same composition. We had a lot more skilled pilots to move around and needing homes, as well as my own level having risen a fair amount since the last engagement of this caliber
John: Yes, having more pilots and changes in levels does mix things up if you are trying to land in a particular division and only have 7 pilots max to work with on your roster. Some of the big talk around the galaxy this year is the joining of forces between The Brotherhood and The Dragon families. Does your unit have pilots from both forces in it?
Joshua: Not only does it have members of both families, it has the head leader of the Brotherhood Family in it. Mr. Recoil himself
John: Well then you had better take this extra box of General Nova's private reserve cigars and pass them out at roll call. I know most of the other clans are very interested to see if this joining of forces will help mix things up in the top half of the divisions and what opportunities that might create for savvy clan leaders to improve their chances in the next few wars. What are your thoughts on this?
Joshua: Personally, I really am hoping this alliance of our forces works as we are hoping it to as it will allow most of our highly skilled Dragon Pilots leave their Divisions in which we have been accused of "camping" and go to the true fights in the higher Divisions and getting the most out of our training. At the end of the day, it's all about the personal goal and ours is to have a successful higher Division unit in the next 10 wars
John: One of the motto's I try to live by is "Evolve or Die". It will be exciting to see how all this pans out in the 10 war span you mentioned. Now that we have Faction Wars, Clan Wars and Squad Wars for the Craftsmen to choose from each year which is your favorite of these formats and why?
Joshua: I personally love the Faction War format. The action from 40+ Pilots on either side fighting it out, collecting hundreds of points a round over each and every fight making it an interesting and eventful series of battles to not only fight in, but also spectate
John: Ah you are one of those "Kill'em all and let your favorite deity sort it out" kind of pilots. *Grin* After the great clone purge are you afraid we might not see a Faction War for a long time unless we attract more new pilots to the galaxy?
Joshua: Sadly, I do feel like that's the case. We had a lot of clones destroyed from this purge and because of that, a lot less Divisions have been seen these past few years. I do hope that we see another Faction War, but I wouldn't hold my breath on it
John: A lot of other pilots have shared feelings along these lines. I guess we will have to wait and see. Who knows maybe we will get a new format "Galaxy War" were there are only 2 factions and they slug it out. So, what are you most looking forward to this war?
Joshua: Now that would indeed be interesting, however the lower level Pilots might suffer as a result. Would be an interesting concept though. Or maybe just a year of a "Galactic Raid" where there is no War, but a public raid scaled for your level and you get prizes depending on how many mechas you destroy and a prize table for when the Galactic Raid is complete. I am looking forward to seeing how my lines perform against higher level opponents over everything else. These last few Wars have pitted me against the likes of Black Star, Bunnies and other well known pilots, but I will enjoy the fights against Pilots I don't tend to see on a regular basis like Collectors of even the higher level Heroes unit
John: A "Galactic Raid" event does sound like a lot of fun. Maybe one of the Craftsman will read this interview and make it happen. Yes, I can see how a chance to mix it up with new foes adds excitement and a chance to grow and improve as a pilot. And on the topic of improvement what is the one thing you most wish you could change for this war?
Joshua: Is my lack of niodes an option for this question? *wink* But on a serious note, I would want to increase the amount of specialisms I have at my disposal. I am currently preparing a 70 Ton for future wars so that could be a possibility for me in coming months
John: Well if you ever get to the day where you have a formation for every spec we will have to give you the nickname "The Boy Scout" as you will be always prepared *wink* Which specialist formation do you least enjoy fighting against and why?
Joshua: My least favorite Specialism to fight against would have to be the 10 Ton. The "RNG" factor of it all can either make or break a clans chances of winning a fight
John: Ah yes, the good old 10T spec. I have my 10T formation labeled "Coin Toss" in my formation list. What clan do you most enjoy fighting against and why?
Joshua: Long ago I used to always enjoy the fight against Chessman, as they never backed down and it was always close, no matter how it looked on paper. Nowadays there hasn't been much of a opponent on that scale. Although if I was going to gauge off of the challenging factor it would have to be Black Star Lycan Rangers. Those Pilots really know how to control their formations
John: Yes, I can remember some of those fights. It was fun to watch! What clan do you least enjoy fighting against and why?
Joshua: I least enjoy fighting the "weaker" clans or factions as it doesn’t amount up to be a fun engagement for either side
John: Yeah, I am sure they do not like fighting you either *Grin* What are your thoughts on the new 100T mech The Slate?
Joshua: The new 100 Ton mecha looks amazing in it's appearance. I haven't been able to give it a look "under the hood" at it's potential ability, but with it being a Crystal mecha, I doubt it will be too substantial like the Fext, Notos and other incredible 100 Ton mechas, all of which are Niode
John: Sure, crystal mech have a huge challenge trying to stand up to niode mechs. It will be interesting to see how players use it in their formations and with the right mix of mechs on the battlefield help give them a better chance against a foe with a niode army.
What is your favorite mech and why?
Joshua: My personal favorite mecha is the Fext. It's destructive power just too scary to put to the side. Even with crystal gear, it's powerful. However, if you load that monster with Niode gear, it will decimate entire formations with the pull of a trigger
John: Yeah, I personally have not had the pleasure of piloting one of those yet but I have seen them put to devastating use on the battlefield. So, the first Fext you ever had did you buy it or win it in a raid or in the MV?
Joshua: My first Fext, along with not only another 4, but a lot of my high tonnage Niode mechas I received through the Mystery Vortex. Luck was certainly with me when getting those
John: Well I know who I will call on the day I can try for those in the MV. Maybe if you push the order button for me your luck will work in my favor *Smile* Is there anything else you would like to add or a shout out to a friend or foe you would like to give?
Joshua: I would just like to thank you for this interview and to wish good luck to all participants this Squad War. It should be an interesting fight and if you see me out there, don't be afraid to, say "hi" as it were *winks* See you out there on that battlefield
John: It was a great pleasure to have you in today for this interview. I know you have a lot on your plate getting ready for round 1 so I thank you for your time. Best of luck to you and your team.
Joshua: Thank you kindly. I wish you and your fellows the best of luck as well this Year
submitted by John Ringo # 899287