[Undisclosed Location] -- the grease monkey

[Zenith]

What would you expect from a bachelor pad?
What would you expect if you were a world-class mech pilot for the Rosinder Government?
What if you went long enough to receive a pretty paycheck ... on top of being a bachelor?

Enter: Markus Desch, Ex-1st Class CHERUBIM pilot (unless they need him for some ... sensitive jobs)


Music blared from the gigantic warehouse for all to hear, save for the fact that they were in the middle of nowhere, between warm and cold. No one in their right mind would ever come up and around here because of the rumors of the damned to the south and some evil fucks to the north. This was the perfect place to have a massive labratory and research facility, where he could run all of his gear testing without anyone noticing that massive chunks of mountain are missing. Ever since that crimson-haired kid left the area, Mute hadn't heard from or seen anyone in a rather long time.

Out of speakers that lined the inside of this enormous one hundred, and seventy-five yards by two hundred yards by one hundred yards warehouse structure that was settled into the mountains near *** ******** ***** blared some various tunes. A wild mix of Pantera, Johnny Cash, SevenDust, and any sort of Alternative Rock, minus that gay shit -- it played all day and all night, none stop. The place was spotless and brilliantly white, as Mute had always thought that no one could work in a dirty atmosphere.

Desolation stood tall and hooked up to a massive tanker and a ton of computers. Desch had been modifying her verniers for faster flight actions lately, and was now just running benchmarks against her old statistics to see how she would compare to the new data. While these things were running, the chocolate haired mute sat silently, clicking away at the keyboard. The schematics for a different project were in the works and hopefully soon, Markus would have something to show for -- maybe Odin and his Terrenus military could use this new application, but who knew at this point. No one even knew he existed way out here.

His only contacts was a solitary computer that was hooked up to a massive black server that stood towering behind it. Loaded upon that machine alone was nearly a half-dozen fail-safes and fire-walls in order to be a single-contact computer with the outside world. Usually the governments would post up emails to him about jobs that needed some "assistance" of his caliber in, and he would respond -- get paid and complete the mission flawlessly. But that computer hadn't gone off in a while, so it left Mark more time to work on his newest baby.

[Zenith]

Desch was suspended face-up in a cradling hammock, a set of glasses on his face that magnified everything by twenty and his fingers working on the lower arm unit of a human-sized suit. His focus was intense and the small zaps and snaps of a soldering kit and then some gentle tightening allowed the reflexives to whine in place. Mute spoke, but it was mechanized and electronic sounding, "Wiggle fingers." The vocal-synthesizer unit would allow his vocal chords to quiver and simulate responses based on how the chords pinged and vibrated, thus giving a rather real voice to a very mute man, however the voice wasn't very strong and didn't last very long. It was still in prototype.

/Yes, hon./ Desol -- his one true love, now had an expansive Artificial Intelligence than went well beyond that of any machine. She would inhabit drones at times, and go explore the outside, while still processing and computing inside with Markus -- he knew this and loved the idea of her being an independent woman, while still being hopelessly dependent on him. A working relationship at it's finest. Even still, the mechanized arm wiggled it's fingers however the pinkie didn't budge. /Mute, readings indicate that the pinkie is receiving power, but not exactly enough flow. Another solder on that should do the trick./

"Thanks." Mute grinned lightly and another tzzt sound emerged, and it began wiggling also. "This suit is nearly done."

"Run diagnostics. Map out the parts. Set drones to rebuild. Two more."

/Yes -- hnm, sir. Haven, she's requesting transmission./

"Patch into my neural."

/Yes, Mute. I'll dispatch now, since I assume we've cleaned out the other side of the hanger for them?/

Mute smiled, "You're the best." Mute transmitted to Serene.

[Zenith]

As Mute threw his fingers across the keyboard before him without hesitation in his merciless onslaught of the keys, he finalized the new programs and a few other things until all was settled and Desol broke his concentration and chimed in, /Mute, I've just started picking up a distress signal off the southern coast of Terrenus. Some sort of ship or vessel, it seems. Nothing else was sent with the message, but it seems random -- out in the middle of nowhere. Orders?/

The young man chewed his lip thoughtfully and then inquired, "Serene's inbound ETA?"

/Roughly, ten minutes, I believe. It seems he's not left the building yet, however his gear should be here in less than ten minutes./

Mute nodded and then scanned his fingers across the keyboard, bringing up the location of the vessel and tracked it's trajectory before nodding to Desol, "Go time, sweetheart. When Haven and Serene arrive, let him know of our location and I'll throw him a line later."

/Sir./

Mute walked over and pressed a few buttons on the keypad next to him and the suit opened up and he slipped inside. It encased him with a few clicks and buttons tapped and then hissed, unhooking from the back cortex, allowing him to take a few rogue steps. He rolled his shoulders, pressing the neck piece up to his throat and spoke, "Testing. Hnm, this works better than my other one. Let's see what this bad boy can do."

Mute took a few steps forward and bound a mighty-jump and grappled the handle of the ladder and spun around and climbed it high, having jumped easily fifteen feet up and then slid into Desol's cockpit. Verniers adjusted and hissed softly. The cockpit closed and then she roared to lift. Desol took a few steps forward and slipped her arm into a circular Gatling gun that was in an experimental stage right now, but -- what better time to experiment?

The MIU kicked on and cloaked the slender mech as she zipped up into the atmosphere; T-Minus, twenty minutes and they'd find up what the beacon was really about.

[ / EXIT BASE ]

[Roystar.]

Obviously, the units would arrive long before hand, landing just outside the hangar in crouched positions. Each of the massive giants had kneeled, pressing the closed right hand to the ground for support as their head’s bowed and the Artifical Intelligence units inside powered off for the time being.

Serene. Mute is dealing with a possible terrorist threat currently. Global positioning satelittes indicate that he is engaged in a fire-fight at the following…
“Is Desol damaged, or in need of repair?”
Our information does not indicate anything of that sort. In fact, it appears that the unit you sortied with before is not the same as now. We have no records of this unit.

He paused for a moment, debating. While he doubted that Mute would need help, having back-up never hurt before. But without information on the unit his friend was piloting, it would be hard to send a complimentary unit to aid him. Haven was by far the most versatile of his collection, though in it’s current state it would be of little use in a fire fight. That left Harlequin and Memoria; two units that hadn’t been entirely completed and never tested.

“Sortie Harlequinn. Set Echo to support Mute. Slave Echo to my data-pad, and keep Momo running hot. Just in case.”
Done.

Outside of Mute’s hangar, the two giants raised themselves, the Vernier engines attached to Harlequin ignited to launch it from its standing position and into the air.

“Mute, Harlequin is on it’s way. If for no other reason than to make sure you don’t get lost on your way back.”

Serene’s voice was clear, despite the turbulence from the sand and air rushing past his helmeted face as the motorcycle tore through desert in route to the new hangar and base. ETA - 5 minutes.

[Zenith]

"Ha - ten/four, Serene. It's good to hear your voice, man.

I've picked up the distressed. Apparently some baddies were pullin' hacking operations off the coast, and she was being forced against her will to do it.

Unfortunately for them -- ha, the ship is sinking now and Terrenus Military was rang to dispatch the situation and take these fools into custody.

We're inbound, so I'll meet up with Harle in about five and we'll be back in ten, I'd imagine. I'm not going full throttle with her in here.

See you soon; Mute - Out."

[Zenith]

A base built into the face of a mountain. The bay doors were nearly twenty meters in height, so that even the biggest of mechs could enter into the domain, however still titanium reinforced with a Primal alloy coating for additional durability, giving the rigidity and impact-resistance of the structure to be nearly impregnable. Cast with the same technology as Desolation, the base could bend the light around itself to render it invisible to the human eye, until you pass through the barrier -- which was roughly a quarter mile from the face of the nook.

Serene, Desol, and Harlequin would all arrive approximately at the same time. Serene from the ground would hear the two mechs inbound, as their verniers kicked on hard, in a descent and Harlequin followed Desol in. The bay doors opened slowly and Desol would land daintily -- her massive razor slides barely digging into the flesh of the earth as she seemed to skate along, sliding up the ramp and into the newly opened door. All the bots were standing around awaiting orders, but nearly every-one of them were carrying an insane amount of stuff with them.

/Red bots, pack the personal belongings back in the barracks, Door 003 will be Serene's quarters.
Blue bots, set the equipment gently down in the back corner, and organize it accordingly for Serene to inspect. He will command you where to place it from there.
Gold team, please place the computer equipment over by Mute's -- space it out and set it up for diagnostics of Serene's Mechs.
Thank you./

By her command, the crew went into action with precision and perfection, lifting and team-working the hangar back into order, and Desol moved into place, preparing to link up before letting her two passengers out.

[Rajasi]

As she stepped out of the vessel, she gazed around the hangar. It looked like any normal hangar, but for her, it smelled of freedom. The kind of smell you get after an adrenaline rush from a near death situation, the way your heart pounds and all of a sudden your eyes perceive light in a halo-y and halogen form, where the edges blur and the yellow overcast is almost blinding. Her hand even lifted to her eyes, shielding everything as she tentatively stepped away and followed who had rescued her.

"Where are we," she mumbled, those being the first few words of conversation she would probably mutter for a while. Her location was the only thing that mattered to her at this moment, besides the fact she was free from the cage that had broken her down until all she had left were her humanity… if that at all.

She watched as the bots worked; her eyes had a look of clear contemplation, a small glint that indicated that something was turning the gears in her mind. They followed their movements, every angle that was made and every spin that was done.

“I can make them faster, and more efficient” she told him simply.

[Zenith]

Desol released a hiss and the cockpit opened after the passenger bay had and the catwalks extended outwards, like grand robotic arms to allow the male and female humes to exit the gigantic, yet slender mech. With a click, it hooked up to the bay ports on Desolation's exterior and then control arms came to hold her in place around the midsection. Two specialized Gold-Team robots moved about her swiftly, hovering when need be and connecting all the wiring and harnesses to keep her stationary and resting. She would be connected to power, and the intel to give her full access to all things.

Mute stepped with a clunk onto the metallic walkway. The suit had performed better than Mute had expected and he snickered some. "Desol - the suit's a little splashy around the legs, so we need to re-time the gyroscopes to allow for a variable angled stance, it can't be set at ninety degrees because it expects me to be a frickin' ridge back." His voice echoed with a synthetic-like robotic human sound from the shoulder speakers located near his epaulets.

She laughed in a synthesized voice as well and spoke, /I will get right on that, sir. And ma'm -- any assistance you can give with these bots would be so appreciated. Markus' focus isn't on them.../ The sound of the Artificial Intelligence's voice was almost scolding and it made Mute rub at the back of his neck. He climbed down the ladder and stood before the girl as she came out of the passenger bay of Desol with wide, hand-covered eyes and he smiled, "I require it to be bright in here -- I need to see everything." The voice synthesized-ly explained.

"I can't tell you where our location is -- just know that you're free to go if you'd like, but you're absolutely safe here. We have patrol bots around the premises and a large-scale Moo (MIU) around the entire complex. The only way to see this place or get here is to know where it's at, or a pin-point GPS location, given BY us." It might take some getting used to, but Mute's lips never moved, however he seemed to gesture a lot with his hands.

/You're completely safe here with us, miss./ Desol piped up from the speakers surrounding the entire hanger.

"You a mechanic?" Mute questioned, in response to her notion about fixing the robots. "By the way, I'm Markus. Everyone calls me Mute though. Obvious reasons." He laughed mechanically and extended a hand, taking a few steps down the ramp towards her, to divide the distance between themselves.

[Roystar.]

“I remember you talking less and writing more, Mute.” His voice came from near the hangar door, having arrived only moments ago. The sleek black helmet was removed from his head only to be placed on the handlebar of the customized motorcycle resting on it’s kickstand beside him. The bike itself was slightly dirty from the ride here, though it too still shone with a gleam that marked it as new. “Haven. Move all three units into the hangers Mute has quite generously provided for us.” He pointed and the artifical intelligence unit responded quickly. The three giant units began moving, two with heavy, thumping steps and the third with a graceful glide just inches above the floor until they were in place. “Once the equipment is step up, run diagnostics and begin repairs on the main unit, please.”

A voice responded, something that brought a smile to his face as he lifted it, letting the hair fall to cover the left side of his face and the eye patch that covered the socket underneath. A hand lifted slighty, two fingers extended and spread in a greeting towards the two of them. “’Sup?” He asked, striding forward a few steps before pausing, tilting his head to one side for a moment. “Am I interrupting something?” He questioned, catching Markus’ hand being offered to her. “Want me to have Haven play some ballroom music? I could go back outside for a few hours…or minutes, as the case may be.”

[Rajasi]

Nodding, she acknowledged the invitation to work on them. No doubt she would, as she had no other place to go. She was a fugitive, one of the most wanted especially considering the stunt she was forced to pull. And as he began to mention that she could go, she shrugged.

"I've really got no place to go," she muttered beneath her breath, looking past the bots before turning to look at Mute. She looked at his hand, her arms folded against her chest; everything about her screamed unsure and afraid. But tentatively, she reached a hand out, placing it in his and giving a light shake before resuming with her arms folded.

"Numees. And, uhm, well, anything dealing with machines, technology and even chemistry, I can do. But before I--" her voice trailed, and she looked away, not sure how to phrase it. She was completely silent for a few moments, unable to really phrase what had happened or why she was truly there. Of course the words rang loud and clear in her mind, but to voice them? No, that would be affirming that she had been ripped away from everything she knew in a manner she did not want to do yet. To speak of it, when she had not yet come to grips with the trauma.

"I used to be a doctor, of sorts. I could make anything that was lost on the human body-- except the brain and emotions. Well, I'm sure if I worked hard, I could produce seratonin or something. But either way, I would create anything-- arms, legs, livers, lungs, eyes, fingers... to replace what was lost or never there. And it would function as if it were that person's natural body part... no one would ever notice the difference." She looked to the man who had just approached and backed away some. She looked to Mute hesitantly, as if pleading with him to provide a more concrete description of who this character was.

[Zenith]

Mute listened to the woman speak softly, keying in and listening to her words with a nod before following her cautious gaze to the man down on the ground and his words. They made Mute laugh and he shook his head slowly, allowing the brown hair to feather before his eyes. He moved to the ladder, sliding down the rails before walking over to Serene, throwing his hand out. With a brotherly grasp, and manly pats-on-backs Mute chuckled and touched the audio clasp around his neck.

"My own little device. These past years workin' as a Cherub, I learned how to do detailed tech changes, work up schematics, et cetra -- allowing me to fashion my own gear with all that I ... burrowed." Mute laughed, synthetically. "It allows me to think, as we do with our mechs once inside, and instead of acting, as Desol or Haven would -- it speaks for me. Sweet, huh?"

As not to forget his manners, Markus turned toward the catwalk where Numees was still up there, fearfully and lifted a hand, "Serene -- this is Numees. The new addition to the crew, if she wants the part. She was on the vessel in the deep south; not sure what was going on, but she sounds like a pretty smart cookie, to boot -- and she's somewhat of an outlaw, like us." Mute grinned, "Numees -- this is an old combat friend, Serene." He nodded back to the eye-patched newcomer.

[Zenith]

Before anyone could say anything, Desol chimed in across the massive speakers throughout the hanger, with a bit of concern in the synthetic voice, /Mute, a radio signal out of Muhir just called out and it crossed our transmissions, however ... listen to this.

“The doc is giving us a bit of a problem; we’re going to be requiring some assistance please if this is going to go over smoothly and quietly.”

My sensors indicate that it's night in Muhir ... too late for a doctor to be out and about, let alone have his facility still open. The distress in the man's voice indicated a high trace of stress and even an indication of pain, that ebbs from some of his syllables. What would you have me do?/

Mute paused, while standing near Serene and turned to Desolation and Numees and questioned, "Huh. That did sound a little fishy. How much power do you have?"

/Roughly? Since I was hooked up directly in, I'm at about eighty-five percent -- not including the emergency back up./

"Alright, load up. Worst case scenario, we'll go check it out, alright?

You two can hang out here, right? Get to know one another -- you might have a lot in common, since we all seem to be mech-doctors, he heh.
I'll go investigate, I should be back in a few hours."

With that, Mute and the suit he was in made it back up the railing and slipped back into Desol. Frankly, though he just saved Numees a while ago, he didn't really have the time to be fiddling around. His operation depended on any foreign calls inbound, for him to check on, along with country missions that anyone requested.

The catwalk would retract with Numees on it, pulling her into a safe distance and the two launched off quickly. Serene would get used to the constant Touch-and-Go's eventually, but this is how Mute lived and what he'd worked himself into. Helping others, and making quick-cash.

[Rajasi]

Get to know him…?

She approached the ground, slowly, her steps purely tentative. It almost looked as if she were going to approach the man named Serene, but she stopped dead in her tracks.

When was the last time, I had a conversation with someone whose intent wasn’t to ensure my job was done?

Her gaze fell upon the eyepatch; a few years ago, he might have received a reference from someone to see her, to receive the gift of sight once more with an eye that looked as real as the one he had lost. As if it were instinct, she analyzed the structure of his face, how his other eye looked, imagined her hands working tirelessly into the night as she created another. She could visualize the surgery; it would probably last about 6 hours if there were no complications.

But it wouldn’t be that she would comment on. If he wanted to “get to know her,” the first move would be on him. For now, she’d remain silent apart from obligatory questions.

“Where are the tools so I can upgrade the bots?”

[Zenith]

In an odd sort of manner, the voice didn't come from the man before her, but the room as a whole. The speakers chimed in and the Artificial Intelligence presence spoke up; it was Desol, the ever-present -- she seemed...

/First and foremost, welcome to the crew -- Numees. I am Desolation, but Desol will do just fine. I am the Mech unit you were recovered in on, and the A.I. front-woman ... if you will, for this entire place. The tools you require are on the north wall. Mute is meticulous, so they're all arranged by type against the back wall and caged, but all of them will be open for you. He said anything you need, to just ask./

[Zenith]

Nearly two days later...

During mid-morning the entire hangar was awaken by the massive bay door opening itself. The links to this beast were easily larger than the size of a normal man, and were silent in their raising, well greased and tuned to perfection, as Mute always said. As it came to a full opening, the optical illusion entered the bay and the sides of Desol shimmered in the brilliant sunlight. Her Imagery Mirroring Unit worked infinitely better at night than it did during the day, however none-the-less -- she entered the hangar and uncloaked. The door closed itself quickly and Desol hovered across the grounds to the locking bay where she was hooked up immediately and opened up releasing her two occupants.

Mute stepped out onto the upper catwalk and the doors decompressed and released the doctor onto the lower catwalk of the extended lift. Mute walked down the stairs and then down again, nodding to the building's robots that were all working diligently around the area. "Doc -- anything you want, anything you need, it's yours. As of right now, you'll be in ... uh, Dorm six. First on the left side of the hall way, unless Numees has already claimed it, lol. Serene's in three. And I'm in one. Kitchen's on the other side and the tools are over there too. The place is big enough, so that if you want to set up shop and make sure we're all ... healthy or something ..." Mute shrugged, "I guess -- do whatever ya want." He laughed some through the synthesizer around his neck and then moved over to the suit area, to remove himself from it. He hadn't been out of it in nearly three days, so all of the testing should be prime material.

"Hey Desol -- can you get me outta this thing?"

She laughed. /Right away, Mute. Step up onto the platform./

He did and Markas looked around slowly, as the machines came in and began disconnecting and unhooking him, "Serene? Numees? You two around?"