Summary

Coming from a semi-arid, dieselpunk world set on the planet Alkali, rich with metal, oil, and conflict, Tork is one of the main 5 characters in the story. She is the pilot, representative, and unnamed battle strategist of her squad. While her squad has no real leader, Tork is typically the one calling the shots when it comes to conflict in the open and harsh terrain of the world, be it against rival squads, raiders, or local wildlife. Despite that, she depends much on her squad's financer and backer, Shiv, and when her life or mech are at serious risk, her authority holds little value. Tork is by no means silver-tongued, holding a brash, blunt, and sarcastic demeanor when provoked, and nigh-uncaring of the opinions of others. It could be said that she at best seems to simply tolerate her other squad members, but appearances aren't everything.

The world the story takes place on, despite its harsh realities, is not always a depressing one to live in, especially when it comes to the long standing tradition centering the entire continent: 

Every year, beginning on the first day of the year and ending on the last day, a tournament is cyclically held with squads dueling one another in combat mechs and representing a squad of their choosing. For just over the past two-hundred years, this has been an integral culture to Alkali. The Tailblazerz, (Tork, Krank, Rivot, Shiv, etc.), and many other squads are participating in pools in preparation for the upcoming tournament, with Tork as their chosen pilot to represent their squad. To the victors, go notoriety, status, and a hefty sum of cash to do with as they please.

Playlist

Personality

Summary

Alley Cat

Tailblazerz

That aside, nowadays she does what she can to get the job done, since especially now there's a lot of weight on her shoulders... For one, she's always risking her life when it comes to the tournament pools, and second, the fact that if she fails to deliver, she will let down those depending on her to win.

It's a lot to ask for a new pilot.

History

Tork is pretty secretive concerning details prior to the formation of her squad, but what is known is that she grew up and learned much of her skills in one of several Junker cities, which are individual city-state centers of commerce built and paved over the old ones. Her straightforward, no BS attitude is testament to this, given these cities lack any consistent and reliable kind of government-controlled law enforcement. Despite the dangerous upbringing and way of life in these cities, the flip side to this is a lack of a stronger centralized government is a breeding ground for developing all kinds of things, which are otherwise 'black market'.

Considering Junkercities don't have an established education system, instead it's typically up to communities in sects to pack together and teach the younger generation. But there are other ways to learn things, through finding the right person willing to teach them, be it to prove themselves or in exchange for something else. Tork herself picked up much of her skillset this way, and alongside her fighter attitude makes her a great asset to her squad mates.

Squad

A solo nomad squad, which are a kind of squad that are wholly self-sufficient and do not align with any particular society, city, etc. They work mostly in their own interests. Other kinds of squads include mercenary squads, multi-nomad squads, or military squads.

Trivia & Tidbits

• Chews on things chronically. Chews on her cigarettes, pencils, the callouses on her hands, basically anything she can fit into her mouth and seems like a good idea to her, she will chew it. Her fingernails are an exception, mainly because of the dirt and oil.
• To that extent, not the best self care, will forget to cut her nails especially since she's in gloves 90% of the time, and only combs her hair using her hands.
• Never seen without her hat. Not even her squadmates have seen her without some kind of covering over the top of her head. Has a bandage under her hat which hides her ears.
• Big meat eater, really likes it when it's fried to all hell and has a good crunch to it even if it is a bit charred. Jerky is also a favorite of hers. Will eat bugs if she's bored or hungry enough.
• Likewise, actually not big on sweets, she starts to feel sick and bloated after just a bit of sugar.
• Doesn't mean she won't try to balance her diet but definitely isn't the most responsible with that.
• Picks her nose, tries not to in front of others out of what little courtesy and slight embarrassment, but if she's comfortable or doesn't like someone in the room, she'll do as she pleases.
• Occasionally commits petty theft, mostly food. A habit she hasn't quite broke since she's known for many years what it's like to starve.
• The bandages on her elbows and knees are for padding when working, since it's more cost-effective to do that over getting new pads every other week.
• Doesn't like to share her pack of cigarettes, only if she thinks someone is 'chill like that' just by her initial impression of them, or has been nice to her.
• Stronger than she looks for what her build would imply. Not significantly, though, but she can deadlift a decent 180 kg (400lbs~).
• Abhors the stench of alcohol and booze, will never touch the stuff. Catching a whiff of it on first meeting somebody will taint her impression of them.
• Likes to steal Krank's diagnostics tablet to play games on it. Krank can never successfully hide it from her for long, so they're at the point where they exchange it without a word when he comes into her room.