Of Angels and Machines

[ancladar]

Dojo's upon dojo's, but not a new recruit in sight. Ashe had thought that more martial artists would be willing to test their mettle against the World Government. What better opponent than one that had a seemingly never ending supply of people to fight? They could get all the training they wanted by fighting with the Revolution and make the world a better place.

Of course the life of an outlaw sucked. Plus it put one's family at risk, but she figured after being here a week she'd have recruited one or two people. Instead she had been laughed out of bars and dojos. Chased out in some cases. It was still too early to give u though. She still had some dojos she hadn't looked at yet, plus she also looked for recruits via bounty hunting. A good deal of those on the bounty board were not bad people. Just people the Government deemed dangerous because they didn't agree with them.

Weary from a rather disappointing morning of being turned down Ashe sat on a bench with a fresh batch of new bounty pictures. Perhaps some decently strong people were among the bounties. As long as they weren't murderous nut jobs she'd listen to their reasons as to why they were on the run. Otherwise they'd just end up a paycheck for her to collect if she could catch them.

Scowling the young woman gave an air of aggression making people give her a wide berth. Though that could also be simply because she had a bazooka and two dangerous blades on her person. Weapons tended to make people avoid you after all.

[Lord Bromosalino]

"God damn navigator."

Karate Island. An island sought out by a slew of martial arts practitioners and hopeful beginners seeking to learn from the hands of the great masters. And yet, if there was anyone here on this island who didn't want to be here, it was Levi Samuels. Though the island itself was beautiful, as most South Blue islands were, in both fauna and weather, the walking tank of a man was burning underneath the black hues of his metallic suit. And though he was covered head to toe in the titanium and steel armor, he needed this cybernetic contraption to even survive. And so, he plodded through the streets, a sulking attitude underneath his helmet. Any man who had been dumped on this island due to poor misdirection and err of judgement would be angry too; after all, Karate Island was the opposite direction from where Levi was planning to go. "The Iron Salamander" was planning to go to Rougetown; he needed to get back to the Grand Line. A disgraced Marine who had been pinned for a crime that he had not committed, the former Ensign was determined to tear down the Marine system and rebuild it into his own vision. But here, here on Karate Island, he could do nothing. This island didn't belong to the World Government's political schemes and so went largely unnoticed and unaffected by the Marines. This really was the last place he wanted to be.

Sksshhhhhht.

Leaning up against a wall in one of the many alleyways of the island, the battle scarred man removed the crucially important helmet to indulge himself in a dangerous activity. Pulling a cigarette carton from one of the pouches lining his waist, Levi began to take short drags, an act many people would advise the young man against. Considering, that is, the fact that he only had one working lung (though working might be a stretch of faith); but the partaking of this habit helped steady his nerves whenever he got worked up. After all, anger was an even greater danger to Levi than even the polluting of his lung with carcinogenics. And Levi was always angry. But this, this was his 'reset' button; his way of avoiding a dangerous and perilous route into rage. "Hhhuuu. Hhhhhuuuuu. Hhhhhhuuu." After a few short drags, Levi was thoroughly winded, his body trying to keep up with the strain he was putting on it. Skssshhhhht. Clicking the helmet back and place, the built in ventilator and respirator were free to do their work once more, providing fresh, clean oxygen back into his weakened lung. Though a terrible habit from a medical point, and something he tried to limit, Levi needed that quick 'reset'.

Still, the fact remained. He was here on this island and he needed to find another boat who could take him to Rougetown; or even the next island over. But as this was an island many came to stay on for extended periods of time, it could prove difficult to find someone leaving the island. Bars. They were the home to the wayfarer and the drifter right?
That realization led to the next question; was there a bar? On any other island, that question would be laughable. But here on an island devoted to the disciple of martial arts, the consumption of alcohol was scarce, if not frowned upon and disallowed all together. If there was going to be a bar on this island, it would most likely be found somewhere in the middle of the island. Now, which was was town?

[ancladar]

Ashe set the bounties aside with a sigh. A good deal of them didn't sound like they would be worth recruiting both ability wise and moral wise. Many were the typical pirates wanted for murder, arson, rape, pillaging. The kinda crimes one didn't want a soldier fighting for freedom to have.  Others were just petty thieves who pissed off the wrong Marine or tax evaders. Not people whom one would associate with fighting.

Out of the pile she had only found perhaps a dozen newish bounties worth recruiting. The rest of the people would end up as possible pay checks for her. With the names and faces hopefully committed to memory Ashe packed the posters away and gathered up her gear from the bench to continue searching for people to recruit. Possibly hunt down too."Time to get to work. Weeeeee." She said in a dull tone. An elderly couple walking by saw her armed to the teeth and simply turned around and went in the opposite direction. They were too old to be around a bazooka wielding teenager when trouble went down. Those days were long since gone. In fact they had never had it in them to deal with anyone with a freaking bazooka.

Ashe would begin heading to a bar instead of a dojo this time. Maybe some big dreamers were getting drunk enough to join without thinking. The nearest tavern was a large one. A bar known as "Rabbits Foot." It was a large three story building with plenty of room for the students of many different dojo's to come drink then fight. Right now though few were inside drinking save a crew of local toughs. Seven men were at a table spending some money from a bounty. The leader was a large man armed with a podao and muscles thicker than Ashe's leg. His crew was a half and half mix. Half the men simply seemed to use kungfu moves and were armed only with brass knuckels, while the other half was armed with staffs.

If it wasn't for the dirty looks the bar maids were giving the men Ashe would have gone over to attempt to talk them into joining. Instead she merely went to the bar to order a sandwich and juice to see whom else would roll in.

[Lord Bromosalino]

"Hhhuu. Hhhhuuu. Bar." It was not a question, but rather an order. Unsure how to answer, the young man in a traditional gi simply pointed in a direction off in the near distance. This was how Levi operated; blunt, to the point, and the shorter the conversation the better. And so, there was no thank you, no favors that needed repaying. He simply walked in the general direction he was pointed and left the young lad to himself. It was hard to say what went on inside the mind of someone who really was more machine than man. There was too much anger to be calmness and peace. And yet, there was nothing at the same time. Where electrical probes attached to the burnt pieces of flesh, there was still a beating heart and the flow of blood, but he moved with a rigidness one would expect from a robot. His mind was still his own, but there was no thought. Maybe he was just being a guy (who are often known for being able to 'space out'), but he was still aware of his surroundings. However, instead of enjoying the beauty of the island through his own eyes, he saw them through the filtered lenses and screens of his helmet. The only way for him to be more machine than he already was was to experience the world in ones and zeros. And as he made his way through the cobbled streets of the famed Karate Island the "Iron Salamander" paid no heed to any of the other inhabitants, though they stared to be sure. Levi understood that he was different, and not many, if any at all, would be able to relate to the young man. He was, in fact, alone in his mission and walk.

After a few moments of zig-zagging and a few more raspy and gruffy questions of where this bar was located at, Levi found himself in front of the the Rabbit's Foot. Pushing past the wooden door, Levi couldn't help but notice what a strange bar this was. Maybe it was the nature of the island, maybe it was the very minor and insignificant level of Marine presence; but for some reason or other, just about everyone in here was armed to the teeth. Whether it be the more traditional martial artists in their gi's and traditional weapons, to what appeared to be bounty hunters, and even one younger girl with some very heavy weaponry. Overall, the general vibe was that everyone was ready for a tussle if you looked at them the wrong way. Not that Levi cared about things like that; most people wouldn't be able to break through his suit's defense as it was, not to mention the fact that he too was armed enough to be considered a walking tank.

Thud!

Slamming his own shotgun off of his back and onto the counter besides him, Levi took gentle steps when it came to seating himself onto a bar stool. He was still fairly new to being this mixture of human and machine, and the added weight of his machine body was something he was still learning to manage. "What'll it be, some tin cans and aluminum?" Wiping clean a glass, the bartender, a rather portly man, was unsure of what someone like Levi would be doing in here, much less if he could even drink. "Funny. Ha. Ha. You know someone who's got a boat around here that's looking to make some extra beri?" His laugh stale, Levi asked the man exactly what he needed. There was no reason to be funny, friendly, or converse longer than needed. "Hm, not a lot of people here without a boat besides the merchants; most of 'em took off about three days ago. There's a group of bounty hunters that come and go from here and Lougetown every few weeks. If ya hang around a few hours, they typically show up here later in the day." "Hhhhuu. Thanks."

Picking up the black firearm from the counter, Levi made his way towards the back corner booth of the room. Great, bounty hunters. Bunch of wanna be soldiers, came his thought. He had no real love for them. In his days as a Marine, they pursued their own form of Justice and almost never acted out of motivation besides beri. But, if this was his only option, he would have to wait for them to come in and take it.

[ancladar]

Things had been pretty dull in the bar. The tuna fish she had ordered was subpar, the juice had too much pulp, and in general the food was just overpriced given how mundane it was. The bounty hunters in the corner where not the kinda men she was looking for to help a revolution. The more she listened in on their conversations the less she liked them.

It really wasn't hard to hear their conversation since they were all, but shouting it out. Namely it was rating the barmaids and talking about past romps with women of the night or how they beat up some bounty. They were most assuredly getting something nasty put into their food by the waitresses. None of the talk was directed towards her though. Perhaps they were just smart enough to not talk about someone armed with a bazooka.

Once she was about done something interesting finally happened. A man that seemed to be far more machine and far more professional entered the establishment. Far more professional considering just how armed he was and what he was encased in. Ashe couldn't help, but to look him up and down trying to figure out what parts were machine and what parts weren't. It was pretty impossible to tell with his armor on. She had been so engrossed in looking at him that she had almost missed his question.

He was looking for a boat and someone who wanted to make extra cash. While she didn't have a boat extra money would help her out. Plus she could gauge what this guy was about before asking him to just join the revolutionary army. She'd slap a few beli on the table for the bartender and would walk over to the machine man's table and take a seat. "So what's this I hear you say about making some extra cash?"

[Lord Bromosalino]

"So what's this I hear you say about making some extra cash?"

Rather suddenly, and within moments of having sat down, a rather young lady had stood up and quite brazenly asked for a job interview. Without so much as turning a head towards the strangely white haired, young lady, the "Iron Salamander" responded in a manner very much akin to a reprimand for her manners. "Hhhhuu. Hhhhhhhuu. Didn't you're parents ever teach you not to eavesdrop? Knife in hand, Levi ran the metal fingers of his cybernetic arm over the blade, an eerie screech of metal scraping against metal ringing through the small confines of the bar. "Besides, where would someone like you get a boat to start with? Got one hiding in your purse?"

Disregarding her as the child she was, though he himself was only twenty-five years of age and not a fully fledged adult and therefore could not have been more than five to eight years older than her, Levi all but had shooed her away. Boats weren't cheap, even the smallest of them. A one man craft would still run the cost of a few thousand beri to even tens of thousands - depending on the quality of the craftsman ship, that is. Though the young girl was in way shape or form "unfit", she certainly didn't have the upper body and physicality of a worker that had swung a hammer and handled a saw for a living. And if she had money, well, why was she looking for a way to earn beri? Unless she was looking to steal a boat? Well, well. If that was the case, this young lady might just have quite the set of cahones to think she could pull that off irregardless of the weaponry she strutted about with.

Still, the idea had certainly crossed the former Marine's thought a time or two as he had made his way to this rundown bar. Worse case scenario, a no good, beri chasing, wanna-be bounty hunter would lose his ship. And then what? He'd come after Levi? That wasn't something that really worried, if at all, Levi. It wasn't every day that someone was able to stand toe to toe with a walking lump of metal. In fact, since the surgery and reconstruction of his body, the young man hadn't really faced fear, not of bodily harm; and even more so, of the thoughts and attitudes of those around him. What were men going to do to a machine like him?


"Hhhhhhhhuuuu. What, you're still here? What do you really want?" Finally looking up, it was apparent that this young lady wasn't deterred by what he had said. Either she was naive or had something she was hatching. If she was really looking just to make beri, it would have made far more sense to join the bounty group that seemed to have made a stake on this island. Pointing with the blade of his knife to the other side of the booth, Levi merely rasped out the word "Sit." Here, Levi had the advantage; he could see her face clearly, every muscle twitch, every dart of the eye, all of it. But him? Well, he was encased inside of iron, steel, and mesh. Nothing, save his breath possibly, would give any cues away. So, what did this young lady want?

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}***Sorry for the long wait and the short post. Been super busy, running on 5 hours (sometimes less) of sleep, and was sick this weekend.***

[ancladar]

"It's not really eavesdropping if it's pretty quiet in the bar and someone is talking right next to you." Said Ashe dryly ignoring the fact the man was treating her like a joke. In a way she couldn't blame him. Even armed she didn't look like bounty hunter or revolutionary material due to her age. Though it did get very tiresome getting judged by her appearance. Or having male eyes wonder from her face to her chest, which thankfully the man didn't do. At least to her knowledge.

Her gaze went to his hand for a moment as he messed with the blade. He was definitely either a grade A engineer with an impressive suit of armor, or a cyborg judging by the breathing. She'd examine him for several moments while pondering how he had gotten that way. She could tell exactly how much of him was machine, but to become a cyborg one had to have resources or know someone with resources. The majority of the pirates in the blues didn't have the resources to make someone as advanced as this. Neither did bounty hunting organizations so that really only left the Navy. She'd have to gamble a bit here.

She sat down when asked and examined him for several moments. "Alas I don't have a ship. I have friends who do though. Friends who'd be very interested in having you on the ship. Although to get on said ship you'll have to answer some questions you may find to be a bit personal. Are you game?"