Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-933831-20160627220231/@comment-5426254-20161030052518

"Doyle Birch."

Some time had passed since Doyle disappeared from the program. From the armed forces. From the entire continent.

"You're a wanted man, Doyle."

The military had him marked as a deserter and a threat to public safety. But by that time, he had already known how crooked his superiors had become. What his breaking point was, so that he could draw a line in the sand.

"What do you want?"

Queenston Arms Facility, Location Unknown

He was now approached by none other than Jasper Queenston, a sharp-looking young man with red hair, and the CEO who inherited the company from his parents. Aside from standard-issue firearms, they also worked on experimental prototypes, commissions, and even supplied arms dealers from Mistral's black market in offshore deals to shore up off-the-books revenue.

"What I want is something - an artifact that will aid weapons research in the finest. Have you heard of Kikimi Chitan's Legendary Swords?"

"What!?"

"Legend has it that the blacksmith Kikimi Chitan forged twelve legendary weapons that were like no other, they could control weather, cut through all substances, remain nigh indestructible, and defy all other laws of physics. The first ten were coveted by many, and wars were fought in order to access them in order to gain a decisive advantage with them."

"Do you think I am interested in playing games and listening to bloody fairytales!? Don't waste my time!"

"As you may have guessed it, these weapons are now considered lost, ancient treasures. While many people that I have hired failed to find a single one of them, rumor has it that in several villages and remote locations across Remnant, were weapons that matched the descriptions of these feats. And so, these villages have seen an increased amount of traffic from people actually trying to get there. What I want you to do is to go to these locations and find these weapons."

"And what does this have to do with weapons research?"

"If we get our hands these things, we will be able to study and reverse-engineer these artifacts, so that we can advance our research and the future of weapons design in general! Think of the possible implications of what will happen, Mr. Birch! Not only will we profit from patenting these new prototype designs that come from these artifacts, but we will also hold a virtual monopoly on the arms market! Hell, we could make Dust based projectiles and weaponry a thing of the past!"

As Jasper continued, Doyle particularly became more interested.

"And if someone starts an arms race against us, we have a trump card that will intimidate all our enemies with mutually assured destruction. We can make certain enemies bankrupt with copyrighted patents, including ones you and I share. At worst, we'll give it to one of our employees, or sell it as a paperweight to the highest bidder."

"Who are these enemies?", Doyle asked.

"That would be rival arms dealers and corporations," Jasper replied, "one of which holds a certain monopoly on the entire Dust market."

"The Schnees," Doyle realized with a smirk. "But why them?"

"It's no surprise that besides from having connections that would make most people instant pariahs and enslaving Faunus in labor mines with catastrophic working conditions, that they line the pockets of Atlas' ruling council and the top brass of the military. They make it no secret in their involvement with Atlesian military technology. After all, Ironwood did say that the Schnees helped make the Atlesian Paladins on that broadcast in Vale the other day, right?"

"Right."

"I hate them because they not only denied my family their success by forcing them out of the market, but also contributed to the company being near bankrupt, if we didn't change management in time. You would hate the military for all their crooked deeds they made you do, according to my sources inside the armed forces. We now have a common enemy - the Schnees and their unholy alliance with Ironwood. Once we get these weapons, we can not only steal the Schnees' federal contracts, but also steal millions, if not billions of profits by reducing one of the effectiveness of their Dust - as a form of ammunition. And once we get the contracts, we can force Ironwood to play by our rules and clean house - especially if it means getting your bosses to jail."

"Okay, but where do I bloody fit in with all of this?"

"Well," Jasper continued, "There's a reason why we chose you. According to your files, you've been one of your program's finest. You find the targets, you get the job done. And I think that taking out potential threats to the Kingdom is no different to finding artifacts. Your skills as a tracker are top notch."

"And if I refuse?"

"Well, since you're a wanted man and we have your files..."

"Alright, I got it. Where do I start?"

"Pick one and choose."

"I see. While some of them are appealing because there are stronger leads on the locations, they may already be gone by the time we get there. We should also go for the ones where the location is less-known."

"Okay."

"Also, I need a favor. You said I'm a wanted man, right?"

"And you need a name change?"

"Yeah, as soon as possible. It would be better if the cops didn't go an my arse all the time."

"Alright. We'll help you with that. If you have any trouble changing it, we'll step in - I've got a guy that's great with programming code. We'll also keep in touch and monitor your progress along the way, just to make sure you're doing your job. Anything in mind?"

"Doyle Lancaster. Now, about the weapon..." -- As the police gave the instructions, the snow continued to fall harder.

He then recalled that he already had gotten the name change in the center and that he had the thing in another pocket the entire time. He mentally chastised himself for doing something so stupid, for making an risky decision and possibly blowing his cover out of panic.

"Wait," he replied. "Can't believe I had the bloody thing in my pocket. Here it is."

He handed the new license with the Lancaster name to the officer's hand, and waited for his response as he checked the validity of the documents, comparing the old to the new, along with the secondary information.

"I can't believe I did something so daft," he explained. "Of course, I wasn't bloody thinking straight when I saw what happened in there. Who could, really? Right, officer?"

It seemed as if the group had gotten smaller as time passed.

''Well, that's two down. But I don't have time to waste. The sooner I find out what is going on and get it over with, the better - I really need as much time as I can to chase down these weapons.''