9553/Agents of S.C.A.R.: Angelo

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Agents of S.C.A.R.: Angelo
Date of Scene: 09 January 2022
Location: Harry's Hideaway (Bar)
Synopsis: Called over for beer, now Angelo has been recuited, and S.C.A.R.'s core agents have been secured!
Cast of Characters: Michael Erickson, Achilles




Michael Erickson has posed:
    It has been quite some time since last Agent Tampambulous and Michael Erickson have met - in fact, the last time was at a ranch sparring in armor with Jessica during the Shi'ar situation. But that was months ago, and since then, even though he hasn't become an agent, Erickson has been /extremely/ busy working with the agency if the reports are any indication. So it might be a surprise when Angelo gets an email from the alien asking for him to meet him at Harry's outsde of the Triskelion - but he does, and he awaits the ancient warrior...for drinks, apparently.

    It is in casual togs that Michael's dressed as he waits, sitting at a corner table. There's a big pitcher of beer that he's apparently well into, and a plate of sandwiches with him. Enjoying the moment, as it were, though a tablet PC on the table scrolls data for him.

Achilles has posed:
    It's not long before the agent's nondescript sedan pulls into the parking lot. Angelo has not been the flamboyant glory hound of his youth for many centuries. But he parks and slips out in his usual business casual. Today's outfit is a black almost skin tight turtleneck shirt with a sport coat over it.

    Let's be honest, the only reason for the sport coat is to cover the ICER shoulder holster he wears. And so Angelo steps into the bar, hands in the pockets of his dockers.

    It doesn't take long to spot Erickson, and Angelo makes a pit stop by the bar to grab a rum and coke, hold the rum... before heading over to sit across from Michael. No alcohol yet... as he is not sure if he is on duty or not.

Michael Erickson has posed:
    The incoming warrior is greeted with a wave as Michael gets to his feet, gesturing him over as he does so. "Angelo," he calls, "Good to see you. How are you?" He moves to sit again, just as he goes to settle down. "Come, get a sandwich, you look hungry. Would you like some beer?"

Achilles has posed:
    "I'm fine with my beverage." says Angelo as he sits down. "But I appreciate the offer. Things have been pretty much the same as usual for me of late. How can I be of assistance to you?" he asks as he takes a sip of his drink before setting the glass on a coaster.

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "Very formal." He chuckles, does Erickson, topping off his mug. "How do you feel about space, Angelo? Ever been? If not, ever want to go?" He leans back in his seat, taking a swig of beer from his mug. "You've done.../so/ much, honestly. It makes me wonder if there's anything you haven't."

Achilles has posed:
    Inclining his head, Angelo shrugs. "Not so much formal as just.... less than casual?" he asks.

    He takes a sip of his cola then and with the question about space... both of his brows do their best to climb into his hairline. "Well... I admit, I haven't had a need to leave the embrace of the planet yet. I have this desire to keep breathing... and undying does not mean that I would welcome the chance to feel my blood boiling in the radiation of space."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "Ah, well." He grins faintly at that, watching the man for a moment over the rim of his glass. "There's technology for that, my friend. But if you /could/, would you be interested? I've fought on a wide variety of worlds in my day, in the service of the Empire. It was...invigorating, the challenges involved."

Achilles has posed:
    "Well, a large part of what I am doing now is in the pursuit of -less- conflict. Not more. I don't seek war anymore. I've had my fill of it." offers Angelo.

    "I also have an obligation to SHIELD. ARMOR division to be specific. So..." a pause, and he shrugs, "I can't just go... oh how did the movie phrase it... galavanting about the cosmos, if I am obligated to be available here. Though.. do you have a thought about that part by any chance?"

Michael Erickson has posed:
    He snorts. "Angelo," Michael says, leaning forward to give the man a squint. "I'm trying to feel you out for a reason, friend, because I /do/ have a thought about that."

    Picking up the table, he waggles it a but in his hand. "Since starting to work with SHIELD, I've been struck about the lack of an active, dedicated unit for intelligence-gathering, sabotage, and yes, sometimes combat that blends the strengths of SWORD and SHIELD's agencies. So I've gotten clearance to construct my own team, which I'm calling the 'Special Combat, Action, and Reconnaissance' unit -- S.C.A.R., since the organization seems to love its abbreviations. Essentially it's a combination commando and intelligence unit, much like I operated during my military career. Think military special forces, just designed to operate across a variety of planetary climates and interstellar environments." He pauses to take another swig of beer. "Mmm. Make sense?"

Achilles has posed:
    "Huh. I thought every SHIELD acronym was required by law to have five letters." replies Angelo. Yes, after all of that, his first reply is a half-joke.

    "Hrm. Maybe Special Tactics Recon Intelligence Personnel." he pauses, "Strip. No, no bad jokes would EVER be made at their expense."

    And then he turns more serious. "Okay. Sorry. I tend to use bad jokes to buy time for my brain to process things. So, this will be an official team within SHIELD, and I would be reassigned from ARMOR to SCAR then?"

    He shrugs, "Consider me interested. I am always up for learning something new. Do you have -any- idea how rare that is for me?"

Michael Erickson has posed:
    He smirks. "STRIP would be inappropriate, Agent," Michael says, winking as he uses a mock-officious tone. "Most of our core members are female. An enlightened age, sir. We must be enlightened too." And then he, too, firms up, shaking his head. "No, you won't have to transfer - the training regimen will be pretty steep at first, but honestly, you'll be able to split your time very easily. The idea here is to be ready for things, but things won't be happening every day. And of course, there'll be associated operations going on here on Earth as well."

Achilles has posed:
    Inclining his head, Angelo smirks, "You realize that I am from such a different time that gender really made zero difference to me for most of my life." Yeah, the closest he'll come to admitting that he has the mores of an Ancient Greek, in that fun was fun, gender didn't matter. At least when it came to recreational interactions.

    And then he nods, growing more serious. "Well, count me in. I would love to be a part of this. Especially on the.. as they say... ground floor."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "My people aren't known for theor humor, I'm afraid," he says with a sigh, taking another pull from his mug. "At least I'm a decent shot. Yes, in any case. I've managed to get us a series of good environment suits, lightly armored but made to operate with speed, agility and reasonable stealth. Won't be tanking around, mind you, but that's not the point of the unit anyway."

    Michael takes another big pull from his mug. "...so, the core team is made up of Commander May, Agent Drew, Dorothy Underwood, myself, and you. From there, we have a number of SHIELD and SWORD agents that fit the bill that I'd like to pull in as well. We have suits, as I mentioned, and I'm working on securing us a starship. I've worked out sidearms and rifles that we'll be using, but we're going to have to go liberate them from a criminal source that Agent Drew and I have been dealing with for some time. Basically, while the team exists, everything involved is normally so expensive that the budget would be tied up in Congressional hearings that we'd never get started. So, I've taken a distinctly SOP route in equipping and funding the operation. Beyond these capital resources, however, we also have a number of traditional gear that we can just draw from the SHIELD armories."

Achilles has posed:
    Nodding his head, Angelo thinks on it for a moment as he takes another sip of his soda. "Do we have access to spacecraft? Or are we essentially just a special team of EVA operatives to board enemy craft or defend against boarders on other craft?" he asks.

    "I've no concern either way. Just trying to figure out the outside parameters that will be in play."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "I'm going to secure a craft for us," he says. "Anything around here, as I say, will be insanely expensive. I can travel interstellar distances myself, so as I've recently gotten a lot more information about the local systems, I'm going to go out and try to secure a vessel for us to operate from. Probably not going to be a shiny warship or anything, unfortunately, but I find that's all right - we can operate quietly in other systems with something that looks...well, probably properly civilian." Ah good. SHIELD's first dedicated space recon unit's going to go around in a big space technical. "But we will adapt it here for our uses. So, where the trouble is, right, we can go."

Achilles has posed:
    "As much fun as it must be to be able to surpass the speed of light by yourself... that is far beyond my ability. So once you've secured a vessel, let me know. It has been quite some time since I ... set sail with an elite crew. My Myrmidons were such as that, but loooong ago. Back when I was a remorseless jerk." Angelo states.

    He shrugs his shoulders and adds, "If we are operating as a black ops, shadow team, we wouldn't want something shiny that stands out, would we?"

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "And it's been fifty years since I've operated with a team like this, aye." Michael smiles faintly. "Right, so. I wear the day-to-day bars where it comes to command, but I'm not an agent - May is the primary where it comes to official representation of Earth should it come to that. Jessica's my handler, so in official situations she's the second. Diplomatic, rather, you know. My people are very unpopular in some regions, you know. I'd rather not cause trouble." He pauses to finish his beer, holding up a finger as he drains it - then, with a loud sigh and a smacking of lips, continues.

    "Traditions. We eat together. And when we do, we use first names. That's my big tradition here. Same one I used when I operated my team in the Imperial forces. Warriors who break bread together are far stronger than those who do not, I'm sure you would agree."

Achilles has posed:
    "I've had my fill with command." offers Angelo. "I am happy to be an asset that can be used to do what needs to be done. But... one of the things about me that both infuriates superiors, and at the same time gives them plausible deniability, is the fact that if I see something that needs to be done, I'm more liable than not to just get it done. Forgiveness rather than permission. So... if that's the kind of soldier you want on the team, I'm your man."

    He leans back and folds his arms over his broad chest. "So I am in, and people can just tell me what to do and when. Sadly, my greatest skillset is bringing death to enemies. I'd rather avoid that but... if it is what is needed, then it is."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "We'll try and keep it to a minumum," he replies. "I'm not interested in leaving a trail of bodies across the galaxy in SHIELD's name, either, and it's possible to adapt ICER rounds to the weapons we'll be securing for S.C.A.R.'s use. Of course, not everything out there /can/ be stunned. So we'll have to be cognizant of that."

    A pause. "As for your initiative...I'm all right with that to a point. You have to remember that we're going into situations where everything, even the planet itself, want to kill us just for being carbon-based, oxygen-breathing life. So sometimes, inititive can kill faster than just standing around. So I'm really going to need you to bring your best judgement to this where going ahead and doing things is concerned, lest it potentially kill us all. Okay?"

Achilles has posed:
    "Well, it should be noted that ICER's work by achieving skin contact. It is a dendrotoxin. So..." Angelo shrugs, "If we want to put them to use in space, we'll need to penetrate space suits... which will cause more damage than the bullet could anyway. I suggest that if we need personal weapons... we might go with needlers or plasma weaponry. Or if SHIELD has access, I read about something called... electron beams in a weapons theory group." He is pausing to think this through. "But we might consider some sort of grab field or encasement weapons rather than true -stun- weapons."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "That's a point in mind, yes," he replies with a nod. "We Shi'ar use electron weapons, though we've found the neurological damage from a low-powered shot meant to stun tends to be permanent in many species. I think that, once we get out there, we should be able to augment our arsenal in ways that will allow us to further pursue our mission in the way that's most ideal for SHIELD's overall mission."

Achilles has posed:
    "One thing that I have learned about humanity is that they are adaptable, and amazingly capable when it comes to taking someone else's technology, and turning towards combat." offers Angelo.

    "Though that is only really in the last couple centuries for the most part." he adds. "So... let me know where and when and I'll be there."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    He gives Angelo a tight smile. "I know," he replies. "But our technology isn't really replicable outside of our space. Certain elements that don't exist in this galaxy, that sort of thing. But we can rebuild the technological base with items we find here."

    That said, he lifts his mug up. "So. Business done. Want a beer with me?"

Achilles has posed:
    "Well, if we're done with work then sure. I'll take something German." suggests Angelo. "Maybe a sandwich too now."

    That done, he leans back in his seat and smiles.