[OPEN] Getting to grips

[truefaceofthelaw]

Who| Rico Dredd, and anyone!
What| Rico's getting adjusted. Discovering sugar and telling people to move out of his way.
Where| Mess Hall, Observation Deck
When| Before Bodies for Rent
Warnings/Notes| Rico's an asshole. Warning for violence, fighting, blood, threats of bodily harm, and treating sugar like an addictive substance (i.e. drug talk). Will match formats.


[A: Mess Hall]

[It had taken a long time for Rico to get adjusted to his new surroundings. After the expected violent outburst after waking up, he was upset. Not because he was just faced with the knowledge that his entire universe was in danger, that Mega-City One was in danger. No. It was more that he was yanked out of his world by the scruff of his neck, and had a lot of schemes he'd spent time and effort setting up. A lot of fingers in a lot of different pies whose outcomes he was just waiting to realize.]

[But Hell, the only saving grace is that at least he might just get a kick out of all this. So he took the oath, if only for them to get off his back about it. Time would tell whether he felt like following it or not. But for now? The Mess Hall would be where he could get a feel for the social dynamics that run through this place. And he'll be damned if Rico Dredd never comes out on top. And he's hardly going to let a little thing like being dropped into a completely unfamiliar environment alone and without backup hold him back.]

[He strides into the mess hall with a natural arrogance, a swagger to his step that could be mistaken for confidence. Of course, with how packed it is, and how he isn't making any attempt to move out of anybody's way - fully expecting them to move for him - somebody might accidentally jostle him and his rather bulky and pointy eagle-shaped shoulder pad. If that happens?]

Hey!

[He barks out sharply in a gravel rough voice, in a tone that demands immediate attention. He cocks his head to the side, overhead lighting reflecting a glint off his black visor where his eyes should be. He crooks a finger, beckoning them to come closer as his mouth twitches up in the beginnings of a smile.]

You gonna apologize for that?


[B: Mess Hall]

[Rico is sitting at a table with his back to the wall, with a baton kept loosely in his lap, staring at an unopened packet of sugar in the palm of his hand. He knew that The Legion had different practices, different laws but this was really something else. He tears the packet open with delicately pinched fingers, spilling the white crystals onto the table, and sniffs. He takes off a glove, dips his finger in the pile, brings it up to his face for careful scrutiny, then licks it.]

Oh, what the drokk? [He murmurs under his breath as he pulls back, confusion and tentative excitement mixing in his voice.] They can't be serious.

[He starts picking up more packets, one by one, and ripping them all open. Soon, there's a veritable pile of sugar on the table. But if someone were to come a little later and perhaps want a sugar for their coffee or tea this morning...? Well too bad. It's all been confiscated. If you reach out for one, expect to be impeded by a black baton.]

Sorry. [He doesn't sound very sorry at all. Actually, he almost sounds a little gleeful. He's well aware he has very little authority here, but that's not going to stop him from pretending that he does. Also, he might have slipped a packet or two into his own pockets.] Restricted substances. Mind your own business and move along.


[C: Observation Deck]

[The Observation Deck. Rico leans forward against a railing, looking down at the view. It's mostly empty for now, and he enjoys the rare peace. No shouting citizens, no endless, pointless chatter, or explosions. He's been a Mega-City boy all his life, never been to space, and despite his best efforts not to be impressed, it still captures his attention like nothing else.]

[Rico feels the prickle of a stare bouncing off the back of his helmet, and working on an instinct that every Street Judge has - or at least, the ones that aren't dumb as dirt and still alive - he fingers the baton by his side and says out loud without turning around;]

You looking at me, creep?


[D: Wildcard option!]

Comments

B

[steelandtemper]

[Now that she's over the novelty of having a body, Cortana only bothers with the mess for the occasional cup of coffee. She takes it black (like her heart, etc.) so Rico's impromptu drug bust isn't cramping her style. Still, it's hard to miss the guy in the Judge's uniform making a mess by tearing open sugar packets like an unattended toddler.

As one of the only people in the Legion who actually likes America, Cortana finds it more amusing than anything else. The fact that she won't be responsible for cleaning up after him might have something to do with it, too.]

This should be good.

[She means to be overheard, and takes a measured sip from her steaming mug...speaking of restricted substances.

Her robotic body is slightly built, perhaps a bit on the tall side of average, and clearly not meant to be mistaken for human, its skin an unnatural shade of blue-white. She's wearing some kind of high-tech skintight suit with the requisite (and solely decorative) glowing Tron lines, and a smirk.]

[truefaceofthelaw]

[Unattended toddler is perhaps a very apt description. Rico catches the remark at the edges of his hearing, pauses briefly, then turns around to face the source of the mouthy little comment. His gaze flickers over the bot, making a threat assessment even as the smile remains placidly fixed in place. A smirk grows on his face to match hers in a way that could almost be mistaken for friendly.]

Oh really? [He drawls.] I didn't realize I'd become part of the Tri-D morning entertainment.

[Rico saunters over to her and slants his hip against the edge of her table, nonchalantly leaning down right in front of her face like he has no concept of boundaries. In actuality he does, he just wants to see how she'll react. And also just for the fun of riling somebody up.]

This is a drug bust in progress, citi-- legionnaire.

[Despite his best efforts, there's still a little bit of amusement that leaks through in his voice, showing how seriously he's actually taking this.]

[steelandtemper]

[Buddy, she watches the Master Chief kill scarier things than you before her startup routines are fully initialized. Besides, her body isn't her, and someone getting too close to it feels like them leaning down to peer through the window of a car she's driving.

Visceral reactions not withstanding, Cortana sure does recognize an intimidation tactic when she sees one, and raises a single unimpressed eyebrow.]

Uh-huh. If you're dumb enough to believe that'll fly around here, I don't ever want you on my field team.

[truefaceofthelaw]

[Rico barks out a laugh and leans back, grinning. It probably helps that Cortana driving a pretty vehicle; he'd let a lot of things slide for that. It's not often that people remain impassive under the scrutiny of a Judge, and Rico's in just a good enough mood from the discovery of sugar to find it amusing rather than irritating.]

What am I doing that's so bad? [He says, mock-surprised and spreading his hands by his side.] This is for their own good. The management's making addicts out of you all. Sugar's no joke.

[He eyes up Cortana's mug of steaming coffee, and reaches over and taps it.]

So's caffeine, droid.

[steelandtemper]

Friendly advice-- [Cortana takes another sip as though he hadn't said anything at all about it] --nobody likes a killjoy, and your authority as a Legionnaire doesn't extend to enforcing laws that don't exist in this jurisdiction. Keep playing stupid dominance games, and you'll stop having any authority at all.

[Cortana does like America, despite America's deep-seated killjoy tendencies, and this guy is America's colleague twice over. Maybe she can spare everyone yet another tedious shouting match over the network. Or maybe not--some people need to touch a live wire a few times to realize electric current hurts like hell. Far be it from her to meddle in the learning process, at least when it doesn't inconvenience her personally.]

And "AI" is more accurate than "droid."

[Getting to the important part, as far as she's concerned.]

B

[mirror_soldier]

[It was apparently a lucky thing for Thad that he'd never really taken to sugar, usually he was good with just a little honey in his tea, but today he was tempted to forgo even that. For today was the day that a hulking man had decided all the sugar was for him, and him alone. At first, seeing an armor-clad adult tear open tiny packets of sugar and dump them on a table had merely been one of the oddest (and most perturbing) little 'quirks' he'd been witness to thus far.

And did he seriously just dip his finger in it and lick it? Gross!

But when he moved on to actively bogarting the little packets from other people and claiming they were 'restricted substances' the quirk went from odd (and messy!) to obnoxious.]

"No, they're not."

[The haughty indignant response practically comes out on automatic, as he now stood there near the last person to get their hand slapped by a baton, with a sour look on his face and tea clutched in hands, probably looking about as intimidating as a yapping chihuahua next to this Judge.]

[truefaceofthelaw]

[Excuse you. This is an extremely scientific forensic testing method. At the comment, Rico looks down, and down. Was this funny looking juve seriously trying to contradict him? Kid's got some nerve, coming up to him like this. Rico mentally tuts to himself. No fear of the Judges here, that's their problem.]

Yes, they are. [He says slowly, with a hint of amused condescension, like he's talking down to a child about five years younger than the juve in front of him actually is. He taps his daystick impatiently against a table leg, making a sharp rapping sound, and then smiles at him beatifically.] In fact, it almost sounds like you're contradicting me. Are you?

[mirror_soldier]

[Like his genetic original before him, Thad wasn't very good at picking up on tonal shifts or understanding the meanings behind them, even when they were obviously meant to be insulting. If anything he was actually worse at catching these social cues then Bart was. But he hardly needed the excuse of understanding he was being condescended to in order to frown harder at this odd man.]

If that was the case, then the kitchen staff would have taken it away themselves, not haphazardly dumped it on a table. And of course I'm being contradictory. You're spreading false information and unnecessarily assaulting people with a baton.

[truefaceofthelaw]

Oh, I'd say it's very necessary. Sugar is a dangerously addictive substance. It might taste good and give you a boost now, but it'll rot your teeth and pancreas. I'd say it speaks more of the irresponsibility of the kitchen staff for providing this junk.

[Rico grins. Look at this juve trying to be diaspproving at him. He's got nothing on Joe's stinker of a frown, but it's still cute seeing him try.]

Might be why your development is so stunted. I'm doing you a favor.

A!

[bachido]

In defiance of all etiquette, the 14-year-old boy with the three-stringed instrument looks up at him.

"I'm in the middle of a story," he mutters, with all the polite confidence of someone who has a Busking License . . . or assumes they don't Need One.

He returns to his audience, watching his folded-paper drama intently. The boy keeps playing music on his shamisen, the folded paper responding magically to his music. "But Hanzo knew his loyal samurai would not be trapped by a mere pit for long -"

im so sorry

[truefaceofthelaw]

Rico doesn't say anything for a second. Just tilts his visor to the show and watches for a brief moment, the innocent joy on people's faces. The simple delight it brings to the crowd as the delicate flutter of paper assembles and re-assembles in an array of magical displays. And for a moment, he feels the tiniest stirring of emotion. With this in mind, he turns back to the juve with with a wide, wide, terrible smile. And in a deep, hoarse voice that does not go with the cheerful tone;

"No, I think you're in the middle of an apology!"

Which is exactly why he lifts his foot and crushes a folded paper figure under his steel-capped boot. Then grinds it into the ground for good measure.

OMG IT'S ON

[bachido]

Kubo has gotten a lot more paper than just what his mother gave him in life since he arrived in Legionworld. The treated waterproof, fireproof, micro-edged combat paper Brainy whipped up for him sometimes makes its way into his shows, when he's doing a particularly big effect. That paper might find its way under a boot without too bad an effect.

But Kubo mostly falls back on his old, familiar material when he's just putting on a performance. So the red paper Rico grinds into the ground is one of Mother's treasured gifts, impossible to replace, even in this digital future where paper is rare.

The music stops with a twang and a gasp from the audience, mostly made up of Legionworld employees on their carefully-timed breaks, and Kubo's only eye widens at the callous display.

With a few power chords, all the rest of his paper snaps flat and flies into a stack behind him. The smashed fragments of paper under Rico's boot tries to respond to the music in the same way, but held in place, only a few scraps break free to fly to Kubo, standing in between this unkind person and his paper.

"I'm sorry this is where you want to walk, but I perform here every day," he proclaims, his voice trembling slightly with astonished outrage. There was no reason for that cruelty. No reason for this man to care that it is a treasured gift from a dead mother he has stomped on, either, so why even bring that up?

"Any other time you can walk through here, but I've been performing here since I arrived. The lighting is best and the sound carries farthest."

Kubo keeps eyeing the fragments of red paper under Rico's boot as he stands his ground. It's damaged and probably dirtied now, but it's still a gift and he still at the end of this confrontation wanted to get it back.

[truefaceofthelaw]

Rico can't lie; it's the exact kind of reaction he'd wanted. The paper snapping up in the air is a little bit of a surprise though - he hadn't taken it for anything more than a toy. But Rico's instinct for feeling anything struggling under his boot is to press down harder, and that's exactly what he does. Normally it's somebody's face, but judging by the look on the kid's face? It might as well be the same thing.

"See, you said sorry, but I don't think I heard the right kind of apology. You keep talking at me, but I'm not hearing any 'I'm very sorry Judge, I promise I won't do it again' in there."

Rico swings his daystick in circles idly, and it comes to a stop pointing right in Kubo's face. It's a dramatic gesture, but the sentiment is very much there.

"And that's an admission to conspiring to cause a public disturbance. Not to mention cheeking a Judge. Breach of the peace, disorderly conduct, and unlawful assembly. Show's over. Get lost."

C

[justice_from_above]

[Fareeha's world hasn't discovered this level of space habitation, their one earth research colony having fallen to tragedy, so she does find time to make her way to the observation deck. It was usually quiet, and it was always beautiful.

She keeps her distance as she notices someone else there, but she's always interested in all the forms of armor that she's seen represented here and she can't help but staring at it. She's trying to do it surreptitiously, but when he speaks, she flushes slightly. She really wasn't trying to be a creep at all.]

I'm sorry. My armor didn't make it with me here and I guess I'm a little envious. Your kit looks pretty impressive.

[truefaceofthelaw]

[Rico preens under the attention, and takes his hand off his daystick - he's not gonna lie, he's flattered. He turns around and pushes off from the railing, and slants his shoulders in a way that lets the carved golden eagle catch the light in a way he knows attracts more attention. Normally it's a move to attract gunfire, but it works in this situation too. He grins at seeing the flush on her face, and dips his head down in appreciation.]

Thank you. [he says, and it's even only the tiniest bit boastful. This is him trying to be humble. He wonders in the back of his head what kind of armor she's referring to wearing, and casts an evaluative eye over her behind his visor. Space corps?] Most tend to think it's a little ostentatious, but I think that an enforcer of the law has to look this impressive.

[justice_from_above]

It certainly strikes an imposing image.

[She turns so her focus is more on him, noticing the glint of light and admiring the little details of his uniform.] So you're in law enforcement?

[truefaceofthelaw]

That certainly is the intention of the law.

[Rico smirks and hooks his thumbs through his belt, pushing his shoulders out and turning in place slightly. He unhooks his badge from his chest, and holds it out in the palm of his hand, facing up.]

More than just that. I'm a Judge.

B

[pump_action]

[One cream, two sugars, every morning. Claire has her system and it works. Except today, there are no sugars, until she notices the individual who seems to be hoarding them. She walks over, heels clicking decisively, and reaches down for two packets.

When he smacks her with the baton she shoots him a cold, killing glare, but that eases into a saccharine smile at his explanation.

She seats herself across from him.]

That's interesting, because I've been studying Legion's rules and bylaws and nowhere is sugar mentioned as a controlled substance, according to [insert appropriate file code here]. This could be considered a misuse of resources, as you are intentionally denying use for others.

Additionally, I may have a welt the Legion higher ups might have questions about. [She looks at the back of the hand Rico had smacked, and against her pale skin it's already a little red. But the words still stand; she's done her research, she's calling bullshit, but if she gets her sugar fix she might just forget the whole thing.]

[truefaceofthelaw]

Oh, we have here somebody who fancies herself a lawyer, do we?

[Rico looks down at her with a mix of condescension and amusement as he rolls the baton around in his hand, grinning. Her glare is completely ineffective, and might have been counter-productive for how funny he finds it. Mostly because she seems to think it's intimidating. He's faced down perps and punks twice his size, he's not going to be intimidated by a snitty cit.]

Am I supposed to beg your forgiveness so you don't go tattling to the higher ups? Cry me a river, lady.

[He puts his boots up on the table, and leans back in his chair.]

Who do you blame if you slip on the floor and skin your knee? The janitor? I'd give small kittens a harder knock than that. You show the higher ups that titchy little bump, and they'll laugh you right out of the office.

[pump_action]

Oh, no, not a lawyer at all. I was a director of operations for a large-scale park and needed to know all of the laws and regulations. Figured it would be a good idea to do the same thing here.

[Neither is she intimidated. She's stared down a T-Rex, dude. Smile hasn't faltered yet. ]

Slippery floor could be blamed on a janitor, or leaky pipes, or condensation. But either way; a slippery floor needs to be fixed to prevent anyone else from slipping. So, [She taps her fingers on the table by the sugar packets,] what are we going to do about our slippery floors?

[truefaceofthelaw]

You were a director of operations for a park and you think that-

[Rico can't help it. He can't even finish the sentence. It's the way she says large-scale like that's anything compared to the sprawling concrete jungle that is Mega-City One. He throws his head back and laughs, and then suddenly stops, vaguely amused.]

You think you know anything about laws and regulations?

[And with that, he brings his daystick down on her fingers. Like swatting a bug. With slightly more force than the little love tap before, but still leisurely enough that she might have just barely enough time to snatch her fingers out before she gets burned if she's fast.]

C

[thedreamisdead]

Creep, huh?

America had been planning on a nice friendly interrogation to find out if this was a Judge, a Jimp, or what. That voice definitely sounded familiar, though. Judge Rico more than Dredd, definitely younger, but... Her eyes flicker over his shoulderpads, his helmet, then down to his lawgiver. A Mark I. That's... ancient. Either someone's raided a museum or the Time Trapper's Griffed up the timelines again.

"I'm looking at a museum piece, Rookie." She draws her daystick and taps it against the palm of her hand. "Turn around, slowly, and let's get a look at that chin."

As nice as it was to meet another Judge, especially a Dredd clone, she's not about to let someone just roll over her.

[truefaceofthelaw]

Now that's a familiar sound he didn't anticipate hearing so soon. The unmistakable sound of a daystick impacting a glove. He knew it was all too good to be true. He could feel all the possibilities and plans flying away, like so much atom dust. Set loose on his own, away from the reaches of the Justice Department for the first time in his life, and the universe had found it fit to send him a grud-damned minder.

He had his first taste of freedom - literally - and it was sweet. The scowl comes naturally to his face, but he does what he's asked, hands by his sides and firmly off his daystick, and he turns around slowly to come face to face with the other judge. He looks her over with a critical eye, assessing her behind his visor.

"I haven't been a rookie in a year," he corrects, his voice a rumble of offence in his chest. "The helmet not obvious enough for you?"

[thedreamisdead]

Hid badge reads Dredd. Oh Grud, she's dealing with an actual baby Dredd. The chin and voice could have been any clone, but she's pretty certain they'd change their names once they got the full Eagle.

...And it's still a pain to crane her neck up to look him visor-to-visor, a power move she doesn't usually feel the need for when dealing with what she assumes is his senior self. She shifts, planting one fist on her waist and letting her daystick lean on her eagle pad, tapping occasionally. "And in another year maybe you'll figure out that just because you're not wearing a white helmet, it doesn't mean you're not the new kid."

It's harsh. Harsher than she'd be with anyone else. But with a Dredd, with the Dredd, you needed to assert your authority first thing. Otherwise he'd work around you. She'd never dealt with it herself, but she'd heard stories from older Council of Five members and seen it in action with Herhsey from time to time. America wants to just snip any chance of that happening short here.

"Beeny," she supplies.

[truefaceofthelaw]

"Dredd." He supplies himself, shortly. But that was probably evident. There weren't many who didn't know of the Fargo clones, the golden boys, and their meteoric rise through the Academy that he was still proud of. Or half-proud, anyway. He stares back down at her as he folds his arms across his chest, defensive of his new position on the totem pole as the rookie.

"Your advice is appreciated," he says, a little curtly. That stubbornness is just as present in equal amounts in Rico as it is in Dredd, and although he knows better than to say drokk off to her face, but who the hell does she think she is? "But my arrest records are well above average, and there's a reason for that."