2010-07-18 - Burgers and Trailers

Cambridge, Harvard Square. A little hole in the wall with a very long line. The restaurant is a brick building just opposite to the academia at Harvard University, and indeed, many of those students have chosen to frequent the building for their relatively inexpensive dining needs. This particular store is famous in the local area for fantastic quality at a bargain price, and for having once served a wide selection of American celebrities, from ex-presidents to movie stars.

Today, it serves celebrities of a different kind.

Otsdarva stands in a black, pilot's jacket and blue jeans among the mass of humanity lined up for a bite of Boston's best burgers. His shades are, as always, set immovably on the bridge of his nose.

And he's not alone.

The Trailers hit Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage. They come in the name of good eats before a round of ghostbusting in SPAAACE. They come armed with cash and credit and checks and empty stomachs and Otsdarva for one aims to enjoy himself with the biggest, greasiest thing on the menu.

Solis Vivent is beside Otsdarva, he's dressed in a ratty looking blood red hoodie and pants... The hoodie is familiar to anyone who knows Solis from his DC days, its his 'civilian disguise.' And it still has a few well hidden bloodstains... "...why did we come all this way for burgers?"

"Because," Otsdarva harrumphs, "These burgers are /awesome./"

Kazuma is a little late in arriving, and as such he's probably several places back in line from Otsdarva and Solis. He is, however, here. And he's hungry.

However, given the Valstork Family, he's probably also carrying a significant carry-out order. Which may help to explain what took so long. He's spotted his fellow Trailers by now, though, and if either of them glance in his direction he's got a wave ready for them.

Otsdarva turns just enough to catch sight of the son of the High Overlord of the Great Trailer Nation. He offers a casual wave and a bit of a grin to call the boy over. Hopefully, these other guys won't mind so much.

...Of course, he's not sure if this place /does/ take-out, but hey, whatever. Burgers are burgers.

Solis Vivent looks back at Kazuma, "Kazuma. I am glad you could make it, come join us!"

Kazuma waves back, and starts sidling his way past whomever is in line ahead of him but behind the other two. "Pardon me, some buds of mine, 'scuse me -"

There's a very brief scuffle as somebody takes an exception to letting Kazuma scoot past him. It ends with the guy apparently overbalancing and planting his nose on the floor, and Kazuma continuing on his way as if nothing had actually happened to slow him down. "Sorry 'bout that," he finishes, making a mental note of how many places back that one guy is.

Archangel was here, though he was standing with the group, questioning just what he could want here and if any of them had BBQ sauce. Why? Cause he couldn't just be normal.

The only thing odd about Archangel's attire (( Because the player is too lazy to update the desc )) is that on his right hand, he has a full leather glove, instead of like his left hand which is fingerless.

Archangel joins the group with no problem, by easily hoping over the bar rails that make the line, and giving a young woman a flashy smile of apology before he comes up behind Otsdarva at the others, "..Nevermore said the Raven.." he says with a playful grin on his face.

Actually, these burgers /do/ come with optional barbecue sauce. Or honey mustard. Or mushrooms. Or bacon.

Or coleslaw.

Otsdarva grins at his fellow mercenaries, "Kaz, Arch. Good to see you and-" He shoots the other Raven a look, "Man, I know we're on a college campus and all, but quoting Poe? I prefer Ted Hughes, myself. More lively sort of guy."

Slowly, the line ahead of them pulls the group closer and closer to the mouth of the restaurant. Otsdarva grabs a table for... four? Five if Sly ever shows up, and goes to sit and wait among thirty other people packed into what seems like about a ten-square-meter dining area.

Solis Vivent offers R a suspicious glance... He then looks forward as the line moves, "...this seems an awful long wait...are they understaffed? I could offer them assistance in the kitchen?" His stomach does grumble sharply.

"Don't worry about it, Solis," Kazuma says as he moves forward with the others. "Places like this are *always* busy and slow. But -"

He stops, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply through his nose. ".... Gives you time to anticipate how good the burger's gonna *taste* once you get it," he finishes with a cheerful tone. "Take a real good whiff, and filter out all the smells that aren't a hamburger cooking or ready to eat. 'Course, you're already hungry," he adds with a grin as he hears the cyborg teen's stomach growling. "You don't need the help ..."

Archangel smirks at Otsdarva, before he clears his throat, "Here lies the water, here stands the man. If the man go to this water and drown himself, it is, will he, nill he.. but if the water come to him and drown him, he drowns not himself. He that is not guilty of his own death shortens not his own life."

Archangel then glances over to Solis, "Yes my dear future, brother in-law?" He says with a chipper tone in his voice.

Once they are sited he rests his arms on the table and glances over at the crowd, "Its been a long time since I've been in a place like this, kinda make me feel 'young' again." He chuckles, "..by the way Otsdarva.. while we are waiting, mind if I ask you a favor?"

Solis Vivent glowers at Archangel for that little statement, "...keep that up Archangel, and I'll let June at you, and you won't have a future..."

The interior of the restaurant is like a functioning shrine to the pop culture of the past fifty years. Posters of movie stars, of the Excellion, of President Michael Wilson and the fall of the Fight House, and of interstellar pop sensation Lynn Minmay line the walls of the diner, just over an open kitchen and lines of small, but accommodating tables.

"Quoting Hamlet now?" Otsdarva sighs, looking over the menu. Hmmm. The Johnny Cash looks good, but it doesn't seem... /greasy/ enough. Needs more onion rings. "Ah well. Whatever. What's this favor you needed?"

Archangel smirked at Solis, "Man, you act like I'm becoming your worst enemy and though I am one of the few within the Trailers who accepted your way of life and never fully bucked against it." He then raised a brow, "I am starting to think my friendship means so little to you and besides, hate to break your sister's heart."

Low blow? Maybe, but Solis was being the snarky, jerk one.

Archangel then glanced over, "..an arm wrestle.."

Solis Vivent frowns at Archangel, "Just being cautious Archangel. Way of life is one thing, my sisters are another. It's normal to distrust the paramours of one's sisters..." His head does cant to the side for a moment, as he sighs, "...speaking of sisters."

"Arm-wrestle?" Otsdarva quirks a brow as he indicates his order to a passing waitress, "Uh. Sure, you mean right now?"

Archangel raises a brow, before he sighs softly, "Look, I would never hurt Castilla, alright? She is probably safer with me then anyone else, and you guys are so unacknowledged, that if she was with anyone else they probably take full advantage of her already. Most guys are not patient and it takes someone who gives a damn to be patient."

"Trust me Solis, the Trailers have some pretty big skirt chasers and a few of them don't give a damn about personal space."

Archangel gives his order, which apparently is a southern burger, at least by the sounds of it with a chocolate malt shake.

He then looks over to Otsdarva, "..Why not?"

"...Besides the fact that our food will be coming in the next few minutes?" Otsdarva shrugs, "No reason why we shouldn't. Just saying we might want to wait until after we're done."

Not knowing the esoteric names of certain burgers, Kazuma settles for ordering his by description. He also puts in a request for about half a dozen additional burgers, to be ready for him to carry out in half an hour or so. Other than that, he's just listening with mild interest to the banter amongst his fellow Trailers.

Solis Vivent sighs softly, "..I have to depart... June requires me to assist with a repair function on the MEG's rotational couplings." "Oh, I am sure you will beat me, but very well." Archangel says with a grin, "After all, we all know cats can't fly."

He inhales slightly before drumming his fingers gently on the table, looking off in the random distance and at nothing really. Then when Solis speaks up, he glances over to him, "Take care of yourself Solis, and-- maybe I can bring you a burger once we are done here."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to grab one you'll like for take out. See you around, kid," Otsdarva reclines into his seat, "You have a way to get back home? I assume June drove over?"

Archangel smirks, before he chuckles softly to himself, "..one of these days he is going to kill me.. if not him.. most likely June.."

"Unless I distract June first," Otsdarva's lips part in a mischevious grin, "That should be an interesting 'mission.'

Archangel smirks, "She probably wishes when I handed her my glock, she actually did shot me in the head when I gave her the chance. Just going to keep more interesting as Castilla and I keep getting more serious."

"So," Otsdarva rests his arms on the table, "You ever going to pop the question?"

"I already have, she said yes. We are engaged, been so for a few weeks now, you just missed the massive uproar over it." Archangel says with a smirk. "Solis wasn't to happy about it, probably why he now gives me the stink eye and June wants my head." He sighs softly, "However, I was going to keep it under my hat, but Castilla in excitement told the world pretty much, so I'm wondering how long it is going to be till someone uses it against me."

The ex-soldier shrugs his shoulders gently. "However, Castilla is a strong woman, and being what she is, she wont be easy to take down, so I guess that is some advantage." He then pauses in though, resting his chin in the palm of his left hand, while he right hand drummed his fingers idly along the table. "..at least last night way fun.." was said softly with a boyish grin, a grin many would carry under the right circumstances.

Archangel then looks over to Otsdarva once more, "..you really going for June?"

"Heh, well, congratulations," Otsdarva grins as the burgers find their way to the table, "You guys settle on a date yet, or is it still up in the air? Ah whatever. You'll make her happy, that's what counts and-"

"Huh? Oh, June?" A shrug, "Who knows. We'll have to see, won't we? I'm not a man to count my chickens before they hatch, you know." "...And she /did/ vomit all over my good pants." Archangel grins and then chuckles, "Yeah, I remember. A very inventive way for a woman to find the means to remove your pants Otsdarva." He says with a playful wink before he hrms softly. "Well, at least you have one thing over most guys, you are full born cyborg, so she have to probably break you before she could kill you."

"Ain't no woman out there still alive who can break me," Otsdarva snickers- then, suddenly pauses. "...Well. There is one. But she's universally terrifying."

"And who is that?"

"Fanchon," Otsdarva replies, "Wynne D. Fanchon. She's got the face of an angel, the body of a centerfold model, and the heart forged of the very essence of winter itself."

Archangel hrms, "I see.. well, I'll make sure to avoid her, if I ever see her."

"She's a Lynx, so you might run into her. One of the few with a completely spotless record," Otsdarva shrugs, "They call her GA's Maiden of Victory."

"In that case.. unless it is a mission fighting against of you, then no. I wont ever see her. I don't run into Lynxes much on the Raven's base.." Archangel states matter of factly. "..I think You and Leon were the only to Lynxes I allowed myself to get to know."

"Allowed yourself?" Otsdarva chuckles, "You make it sound like we've got some kind of Kojima Leprosy."

"..simply put, by anyone who knows me.." Once his shake gets to him, he takes a sip from it, "..I don't like you Lynxes and I hate your NEXTs."

"Oh?" Otsdarva murmurs between bites of his recently-arrived burger, "Whyssat?"

"...isn't it obvious.." Archangel says easily.

Otsdarva says, "The company thing, you mean?"

"Hardly." Archangel then takes a bit from his burger, he waits till he finishes chewing and swallows before he speaks again, "MTs have become rather useless due to the encrease of technology, sure some places still use them, but they are nothing but easy money that can be thrown away and replaced without a second thought.. they were already heading that way when our ACs came into easier snatch production. Then came along the NEXTs. Faster, superior in handling, just needed some pilots willing to be turned into cyborgs, and got yourself even a better set of fighters than those in ACs. However, what has held the NEXTs back?" He then lets that sit for a moment, "..they are a new line of technology, so they are expensive, however they too will drop down into the normal price range and where will us AC pilots be?"

"You might be right, except for one thing," Otsdarva shrugs, taking a bite from his burger and swallowing before he continues, "You're right about the technology thing, and about the decrease in part costs, but let me tell you, you're in no danger of losing your job, Arch. Even if the cost of manufacture drops, the fact is that, to even /start/ to pilot a NEXT, we've got to put our lives on the line. You know how risky the AMS integration procedure is? They've pretty much got to rewire your brain. When I entered the program, it was with fifty other applicants. When we were done, there were ten. One in ten, that's the survival rate."

Otsdarva shrugs, "Doesn't matter how cheap the tech gets when your pool of pilots sucks, and the things that we have over you guys is the Kojima Particles and our speed. When it comes right down to it, technology from the Mobile Suit industry and the other mobile weapon techno-industrial complexes will end up balancing out the Core/NEXT ratio eventually. When it comes down to it, we're expensive because there are so few of us. We get the job done, we get it done real well, because our cybernetics let us get by better than most- but those Ravens who are good, the ones who are /really/ good? They don't need the mods. They can fly on their own."

"I mean, there are exceptions in the Lynx camp. Myself and Josh O'Brien, for example, and Leon when he still flew. Wynne D. Fanchon and Split Moon, all of us are aces, but we're ultimately your equals, not necessarily your betters."

Archangel listens, munching on his burger and then taking a sip from his shake. "..Eventually you will replace us, because eventually they will figure out how to raise the survival rate." He then looks over to Otsdarva, "..the AMS is nothing but a re-modified version of the PLUS project created back before Crest ate up the corporation who founded it. Though the AMS may have a down side to it, the low survival rate, at least you pilots don't suffer from something the PLUSes did, and still do.." He then takes another sip of his drink.

"..Honestly, between you and I-- you lynxes scare me and you scare a great deal of other Ravens. Many believe you will replace us and Crest is already working in squeezing that door. ACs are being pushed to perform better to try to keep up with the NEXT line, however this means more pilots have to maybe become PLUSes and in becoming PLUSes could lose mental stability and be killed off anyhow. Those who don't and can't handle the G-forces get killed by the overboosters."

He shakes his head. "..we could go on for hours saying this and that, but in the end, the corporations will speak, and we have no means to say no. We tried once, and look where it go us, right in with the Trailers who saved our happy afts, now we are back at square one, and I am one of the few who even knew what was going on in the background and have it all still recorded."

He then looks at Otsdarva, "History repeats itself and one day.. you may not like where it goes, because like so many others, we will become the legacy of the forgotten."

Archangel then sits back and raises up his shake, "However, maybe I'll be proven wrong, so let us hope that comes true. That your right, I'm wrong, and our future will be a bright one." He says with a toast motion before he goes back to drinking on his shake.

Otsdarva smirks, meeting Arch's cheer with one of his own, "Yeah, ain't that the shit? That's how it goes with us, though. What the Corporations say goes. Or so it's been for a while. But hey, I've been thinking about something. You own your machine, right? You bought it with your own money? You know what the best thing is about having access to your own personal core?"

He grins. "They can't stop you. Whatever choice you make in how you take your missions, they have no control over you besides the sale of parts, and that only lasts as long as the other guy is willing to take their shit. But what happens if everyone says 'enough is enough?' The corps make a new weapon? We destroy it. They find new mercs? We eliminate them. I don't know if it'll ever happen, but who knows?"

"Crest is already attempting to close a fist around AC pilots, since they are the leading provider in AC parts and have a great hold on many of the other Corporations who make parts. That is how we lost Genobee." Archangel at last explains that tad bit. "..I taught him, they took him, now he is their pet dog. They want me as well, I have a contract with them, but mine has a special agreement." He then smirks, "..I have to be basically on my last leg."

Archangel takes a sip from his shake as well, "Wildcat however has learned how to fabricate Crests parts, so he is starting to make the parts himself. That is why when I gave Leon instructions to install those parts, it wasn't because I was going to use them, it was because Wildcat needed to know what I needed. So he could prefabricate those exactly when I needed new parts."

He then looks to Otsdarva, "If we were to say this out loud, then Crest would get a whiff of it and they may be down his throat for ripping off their parts." He shakes his head, "But one day, one day there will be a line drawn, and when that line is drawn, the whole world will know it."