by JoshuaDurron » Wed Apr 14, 2004 4:42 pm
Garand felt a heavy hand fall on his shoulder as he mused. When he turned to look, he was confronted with a seven-foot tall armored figure. His helmet narrow and streamlined, like a hawk's head, and communication and radar antenna had been disguised as part of it, shaped like thick metallic feathers. Heavy ceramic plates covered the rest of his body, with visible hydrolics at the joints.
Garand quickly identified this as a Celeste Corp Apollo Powered Armor unit, a member of the male half of the Corporation's Pantheon troops. He recalled that the Corporation sent peace keepers to the Grand Run every time it was held, to make sure things didn't get too far out of hand. Not surprisingly, the towering armored figure, well recognizable to just about anyone in the Grand Run's shanty town, had cleared a large circle in the crowd around it, people looking at both the Apollo and Garand with suspicion... and fear.
"I noticed what happened earlier. Don't bother the observers, or else I'll be forced to notify the Runners Council, and have you disqualified." What that essentially translated too was, "You are scum. Even if they threaten you, leave the normal people alone, or else," and Garand knew it. He also knew the one person before him was more than a match for any fifty normal people around him.
The Apollo turned and began moving off, proclaiming to the crowd at large, "The final announcement of rules and starting time will be twenty minutes." The crowd began milling and buzzing again.
((OOC: wkz, I don't mind your making up slang and such, but I would ask you to remember what I laid out in the intro post, as regards to setting. To reiterate: Lake Michigan is controlled by the Sinclair Family, and they refuse to allow Celeste Corp to place any facilities there. Also, Lake Michigan was not irradiated by the Desolation. It is possible, that Garand was in charge of a facility at another of the lakes, so I'll let your posts stand as they are. But please pay attention to details from now on.))
As Jared checked over his gear, he caught sight of a tall, extreemly pale man watching him from the shadow of a building. He wore a green coat that came down well past his knees, despite the relative warmth of the day. It was festooned with a number of heavy leather belts, and below the waist it hung open in the front and had wide openings at the sides to allow the man to reach his pants pockets. It was the oddity of the get-up that made Jared realize who it was: Erik "The Nor-Easter", the current head of the Runners Council, and the only surviving member of the running group that had won the previous Grand Run. He was, like most Grand Run winners, a legend among his own kind, and some people speculated that he might survive long enough to head the Runners Council that organized the next Grand Run. If he did, it would make him the first Runner to live long enough to both win a Grand Run, and supervies two more in over sixty years.
Erik lit a cigarette and approached Jared, nodding absently to himself. The albino didn't bother with an introduction (and one probably wasn't needed,) but instead just said in a casual tone, "You're Tern's son, aren't you?"
As Rash listened to his sister's call, a white haired man, probably in his late thirties, in a dirty tan bodysuit near him cringed, and shook his head. "What's all the noise for? Did somebody loose a rash? And what's so wrong with that? A lot of people here would prefer not to have athletes foot... She should count herself lucky."
The older man grumbled some more, and hefted himself to his feet on a weathered looking pine quarter staff. "Do you want me to tell your sister where you are boy?" He finished, now clearly speaking to Rash.