Judge Rico Dredd (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
truefaceofthelaw) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
legionworld2017-07-06 03:20 pm
truefaceofthelaw) wrote in legionworld2017-07-06 03:20 pm
[OPEN] Getting to grips
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!]
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!]
no subject
He has to shout over his music to be heard, playing frantic as Garrus just gets more hurt in his defense. The guilt is growing like a stormcloud, too familiar to bear. He baited a cruel person, and someone else has gotten hurt in his place.
This fight should have just come to him. Nevermind that he'd be a crumpled, bloody mess on the ground, if Rico had managed to land any blow on him that he's landed on Garrus. No, he should have stuffed down his indignation, he should have looked beyond his pride, and de-escalated the situation sooner. Someone here surely knows better than him how to change a bully's behavior without magic. Maybe if he'd gone looking for them, someone else wouldn't be getting hurt -
His father is much more durable now than he was back in their world, but Kubo still can't help but assume that a man like Rico has a blade somewhere. And Beetle does have chinks in his armor. Kubo's birds disperse, though the flat paper continues to circle and obscure Rico's vision. His eye flicks from Rico's belt to his hands, what they could be reaching for, as he advances to be ready in case he needs to strike in his father's defense.
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That being said, the daystick still hurts like hell. He's lucky though, that the hits aren't connecting as cleanly as they could be. Aside from the carapace, turians are built a little differently than humans. Where a human torso is a relatively flat surface, turians are a little more angular, meaning that at least some of the force of the jabs are glancing off.
It wasn't pleasant, but he didn't have to worry about internal damage just yet. He had room to work, room to adjust position and start landing strikes and hopefully - hopefully put an end to this thing before internal damage started becoming a concern.
But then someone else - a huge man with some sort of insect-like armor gets in between them and starts trying to push him away from Rico.
Garrus hesitates for a moment, pushing against the big man for a moment. He wanted stay in there. To keep swinging for the fences until he's knocked that grin off of Rico's face and given the Judge a damn good reason to keep his bad attitude in check.
After a second though, he stops pushing and breaks clean if Rico lets him.
He doesn't feel good about it. He's not letting go entirely of course - he's going to pass this up the food chain as loudly as possible and hope it gets the attention the incident deserve. But he doesn't feel good about that either - he saw way too many people jump through loopholes and escape behind a wall of red tape during his time in C-Sec to feel totally confident with that option.
But trying to handle things on his own hadn't exactly worked out either. He's got the scars to prove that.
The Legion seemed different from C-Sec. Divorced enough from the politics that they can make an honest go at living up to the ideal. They were different enough that, right now, despite every instinct he has urging against it, he's giving them the benefit of the doubt that they'll actually handle this.
So he'll back off, put his hands up, and give things a chance to calm down. But he's waiting for the other shoe to drop. Rico isn't catching him off guard.
no subject
This is quickly escalating, and Rico doesn't like the feeling of anything being out of his hands. So he yanks himself easily out of the grip, glaring at both Garrus and Beetle. Don't think he's forgotten about Kubo either, the irritating juve that started this all. Such a big fuss made over a small thing.
"Don't interfere. This is now your warning for obstructing justice," he growls to Beetle, but suddenly seems to change tack, cocking his head ever so slightly to the side. So that's his father, huh?
Rico had excelled in his Psychological Abuse classes as he did with everything else, but there was something he'd always found kind of neat about finding people's strings and just gently tugging, watching people unravel with just a few bare threats or comments. Rico finds it unfortunate that he doesn't have his boot knife on him, considering it was taken from him at the med-bay, but he capitalizes on the opportunity to twist the knife in a different way.
"Juve, do you want to see fat man here get hurt because of you?" he calls out to Kubo in a gently cajoling fashion, like encouraging a puppy who had chewed up a slipper to come out from under the couch. "I see where you get it from, but it doesn't have to be this way. You have to learn this somewhere, since it seems that your father didn't teach you very well. I just want you to cut the drokking music, come here, and take responsibility. "
no subject
Neither man is held on to once it's clear that the fight's over, but Beetle still moves to stand between the two of them. Three? Two and one? It's kind of confusing here. All he knows is that one of them is still kind of sprouting his mouth off and that's not okay, because he's taking a moment and looking down at himself and is he fat, really?
-okay, right, business. He clears his throat, an arm reaching to ever-so-'gently' poke Rico in the shoulder. By which we mean it's kind of more of a shove. "Now, you, mister, need to get something clear. If you want to get to Kubo, you go through me, first. The son of Hanzo is under my protection."
Wait, didn't we all just establish that- nevermind."Second- what does 'drokking' mean?"
no subject
And then Rico opens his mouth and once again Garrus is almost hoping for the excuse to pick things back up they left off. It's bad enough that Rico threatened a child and seemed perfectly willing to back up that threat with physical violence, but now he's trying to twist this all back around and claim that somehow it's Kubo's fault. And sure, the kid hadn't exactly helped calm things down, but Rico had blown past the opportunity to make a reasonable response at every turn.
For things to go this far this fast, Rico has to be the bully Beetle is calling him out as, hard-assed bordering on fascistic, or he just enjoys using his 'authority' as a blank check to step on people. Probably all three.
Whatever his deal is, Garrus has had enough.
"If we're talking about responsibility, I'm fine with that. Let's do what you should have done in the first place and call the higher ups - let them sort out who's in the right here." His eyes narrow pointedly at Rico. "Or do you have a problem with letting the proper authorities handle things?"
no subject
But he doesn't look upset anymore. Because as close as Rico is to hitting those mental targets, Kubo's life has been too strange for even a Mega City 1 class to predict.
Father wanted to be there to raise him, but it wasn't his fault he couldn't. And Kubo doesn't want to see his father hurt - but Beetle is tough, hurt can be healed, and hurt is such a survivable thing to endure when he's seen his father dead. When he's cried a night into morning beside his dead body.
But talk of responsibility reaches the child who took on adult responsibility at twelve, hasn't considered himself a child since.
He retrieves his paper with a few notes, slides his shamisen to his back and sets his mouth in a thin, determined line to answer -
- then -
"No, Fa - Beetle -" Kubo's seriousness dissolves. He's distracted now, slightly embarrassed. "YOU'RE my father, YOU'RE Ha-"
He waves his hand. "You know what, I'll explain later."
Just this moment, this is a little more urgent.
"You're right," Kubo says, retrieving his omnicom. This will de-escalate the violence. This will pacify the judge.
"This is Paperboy for Freelancer," he says into his omnicom, calling on the most directly authoritative person he can think of among the displaced Legionnaire. "I am reporting myself for inciting violence."
no subject
Wash had already been on his way - Archangel's call and Arbitrator's note, as well as Kubo's aborted message, had all been public, and he definitely keeps an eye on the open channels just in case. He's been making his way to the mess hall for a while now, and figured it was easier just to fly above the crowd of people than to try to push his way through.
So he is the very picture of calm and - he hopes - authority as he lands next to Kubo, putting himself between Kubo and- oh son of a bitch Arbitrator is from America's world. Suddenly this makes a whole lot more sense and gets a whole lot more complicated at the same time. The judge is bleeding, Garrus is roughed up, and luckily Beetle and Kubo seem to have managed to avoid the actual physical fight. Still. What a clusterfuck.
He sends Kid Q a message - fight in mess hall - over - will provide details - and gives himself a moment to roll his eyes, invisible behind his visor. Time for a kangaroo court, if only to keep The Law over there from going even more ballistic.
"Paperboy," he says in his best Serious Goddamn Business voice, clasping his hands behind his back. "You have confessed to inciting violence, Legionnaire infraction-" He rattles off a small string of numbers and letters. It's not complete bullshit - it's part of the Legionnaire code of conduct, but it's a passage about reporting conduct unbecoming a Legionnaire to the brass for them to handle. He's not expecting The Incredible Chin to know the entire Legionnaire code of conduct just yet, and hopefully anyone else will appreciate the joke instead of calling him on it. "I can see that this is your normal storytelling hour and location. Was your story today particularly violent?"
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The story poured out of him without any flair, going again all his storyteller instincts.
He puffed up his small chest, standing as much at the position of attention as he'd been taught.
"I am ready to accept punishment for my foolish actions."
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Good for Kubo for sticking up for himself, though. He's absolutely getting a hug once Wash drops the act. "I see. Were any threats of violence made before you baited him?"
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But grud damn it. This was an idiot he was dealing with, and Rico should've known to gather more information before dealing with idiots. Mega City life should have prepared him for some truly bizarre stuff, but this was irritatingly unpredictable. Stuff he didn't quite have enough experience with, and he didn't like feeling there was a joke he was missing out on.
But on hearing Kubo report himself? His mood, actually, relaxes. Unexpected, but welcome. Of course Rico's attitude is as mercurial as the traffic on a zoomway, or a Judge's sentencing on a bad day, but he still moves to re-holster his daystick.
He'd had an inkling of what could be sympathy for the cits that bought into the Justice Departments rule to the point where they'd report themselves for every single possible action that they took. They never had the opportunity to know anything else. Most of the time it just clogged up the lines, and if what they were self-reporting wasn't a crime, they were usually charged with wasting Justice Department time. What a sick joke. But Kubo wasn't the same, not at drokking all.
In Rico's eyes, Wash isn't quite on the same level as him, but his attitude helps more than he thinks. Not a fellow Judge, but at least he seems to be on Rico's side. Which is the only reason he doesn't interrupt and snarl I ask the questions here.
Which he's content to do up till a certain point. He holds a palm out to Wash, signalling for him to stop as he tsks under his breath.
"Hold it. That's a leading question."
no subject
Wash snaps a hand up, palm out, mirroring Rico's gesture. "Arbitrator, you are a part of this investigation and, as such, cannot remain neutral. I'll speak with you next; in the meantime, kindly let me do my job." Stern, authoritative, miraculously devoid of sarcasm, and he's going to start sounding like the Director if he's not careful. Ugh.
He immediately turns back to Kubo, signaling the close of that particular conversational tangent. Still, he'll rephrase - might as well keep WonderChin mollified for now. "Paperboy, please explain why you chose to bait Arbitrator."
no subject
So yes, he'd baited the judge, knowing violence was likely the outcome, trusting that he'd be able to avoid the violence, or that he and his father would be about to handle it together. The motivation wasn't hugely honorable, not much short of entrapment.
... but he hadn't even had to make much fun before his plan worked. And now Archangel is bleeding in his defense.
He looks briefly, shamefaced, at Garrus. He owed Archangel a serious apology.
no subject
The moment passes, and he disguises it with a nod. "Thank you." He turns to Arbitrator, voice still. "Traditionally, Paperboy performs here in order to reduce congestion in hallways. Please explain why you chose to walk through an entire crowd of people instead of going around them."
no subject
He's all loose, cocky confidence now, the only sign of his earlier, violent state being the drying blood near his mouth. He gives a heavy sigh, like he's indulging Wash by deigning to answer his questions.
"I have places to be." Rico drawls, a hand on his hip. "Moving congestion from one high-traffic area to another high-traffic area doesn't solve anything. This crowd needs to be dispersed for public safety. And I wasn't going to be violent, until the Juve here just admitted to provoking a Judge. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."
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"Kubo didn't handle the situation well, I'm not going to argue that," Garrus starts, briefly glancing at Kubo before turning to address Wash, "but that doesn't change the fact that Rico threatened him with bodily harm before being provoked."
The last word was hit with a heavy dose of sarcasm, because in no sane world does being insulted by a child count as provocation for assault If you're that thin-skinned, you shouldn't have a weapon, much less a badge.
"I know I don't have much room to talk considering the situation, but Rico had every intention of making good on that threat based on what I saw."
no subject
He thought he'd done right. He thought he'd done the best he could, with someone threatening him with harm, parading around in ways that said he'd threaten other people who couldn't defend themselves, who didn't have powers and unbreakable swords and a willingness to look terror and hate in the eye and stand up to it.
He didn't hear much else other than Garrus' declaration that he hadn't handled the situation well. Kubo clutched the strap holding his shamisen to his back, his determined expression fallen, looking to the ground. He'd gotten someone else hurt, and they regretted being hurt for his sake. How many others could say the same?
He could never have hoped to stand up against Rico on his own, anyway, without being hurt. If Garrus hadn't been the one hurt on his behalf, who else would it have been? His father? Wash?
Someone was always going to get hurt because of his choices. Whether to stay out late, or defend his pride against a bully.
He'd done wrong and gotten someone else hurt, again. If there was something else for him to hear, he didn't hear it.
no subject
It doesn't escape his notice that Kubo visibly wilts like a Cursed Earth sapling. Is that all it took in the end? Pathetic.
"Enough of this." Rico demands, impatient. He turns to Wash. "Pass your sentence."
no subject
"Enough." He doesn't need to be loud when he can be sharp, and he cuts through the conversation completely, rounding on Rico. "You're new, Arbitrator, so you may not know that standard practice around here is to get the entire story before passing judgment." Stick that in your pipe and smoke it. "While Archangel spoke out of turn-" His tone makes the words an admonishment, and he's definitely sending Garrus an apology after this. "-he did provide me with needed information. To that end-"
He turns to face Kubo. "Paperboy, you will report to Kid Quantum's office within twenty-four hours to provide an explanation of events and receive your punishment. Beetle, as his guardian, I expect you to ensure that he does. You are both dismissed." It's completely backwards - they all know that Beetle will forget within the next thirty seconds and Kubo is responsible enough to make his way to Kid Q's himself - but it makes a good show for The Law, and that's what's important right now.
He turns to Garrus next. "Archangel, you are to report to medical. Upon completion of treatment, you are to report immediately to Kid Quantum's office for debriefing and punishment. If you fail to do so, I will see to it personally that your sentence is doubled." Yep, definitely sending him an apology later. "You are dismissed."
Finally, he turns back to The Law. "Arbiter, you are to report to Kid Quantum immediately for debrief. I will accompany you to forestall any further run-ins. Now let's go."
no subject
"Very well, sir," he drawls, the last word delivered with so much amusement that he might as well not have said it in the first place. "If you're so inclined to be my tour guide..."
Without waiting for anybody else to react, he strides past them with head held high, slowing just a bit as he saunters past Garrus, staring him down with a smirk on his face, a flash of malice in his visor. He ignores the juve and fat man on the other side, not bothered with making an effort to intimidate them. The latter would be wasted effort, and the former will get his turn.
He'll get plenty of opportunity to do that later, he's sure.
And if not, he'll make sure.
no subject
The rest of it though, had gone down as expected, except maybe for Rico going quietly. Considering how self-righteously he'd faced everything else here, he'd half-thought that he'd make an issue out of it when things turned against him. Maybe that same, unwavering belief that he actually was the embodiment of justice was letting him walk out of here with his head held high - confident that this would turn out his way. It would certainly explain the smugness plastered across Rico's bloodied face.
Garrus meets Rico's eyes as the latter swaggers past, but doesn't react more than a slight twitch of his mandibles. If Rico was trying to piss him off, it was working, but Garrus wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.
This wasn't over though. He could feel it.
Once Rico had moved past, Garrus turned to Kubo and Beetle. He looked Kubo over, scanning him for any sign of injury, and finding none, his expression softened a bit.
Good. At least one thing had gone right, here.
no subject
-hard to tell with him, though, as ever. Regardless, Kubo will find a set of hands gently placed on his shoulders, a brief reassuring squeeze given at his reactions to all this. Moving a little around isn't a bad thing, right?
Once the orders are given, another hand raises to give a salute- "Yes, sir!" And Kubo's shoulders are given another little squeeze before he's being not-quite-gently tugged away. Someone has just a little more storytelling to do...