--Player notes--
I'm essentially writing my character as I go, and I started writing some notes in response to the question "How much does Spokes know about communications equipment and protocols?" This is more or less OOC information for the moment, but I thought it would be helpful to put this up for review and comment.
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Spokes has operated in stressful, dangerous environments before and is old enough to have made some mistakes and learned from them. She's done search-and-rescue work in a hostile environment, and has used her 'Mech as a mobile comm relay before. Her homeworld has no atmosphere and no magnetic field, with a close horizon and an energetic star. She knows her way around the comm system.
A quick and dirty analogy would be a watertanker/firefighter pilot.
Some notes. . .
She doesn't speak the language. Every profession has its own jargon, and Spokes doesn't know more than basic, basic military lingo. If you say 'Echelon, left', she'll probably figure it out. If you say 'Dragging wing', blank stare.
She is very tired. Spokes rode in on a dropship and then spent most of the previous 24 hours trying to talk her way out of the brig. It's not much of an issue now, but it could get that way. I don't know how much the exhaustion will carry over comms-- her Scorpion's comm gear has a pretty heavy electronic filter on it.
She is operating in an unfamilar environment. It is entirely possible that Spokes has never seen a tree before, excepting holovids and such. Can I walk through that bit of woods? Will that riverbed hold my Mech's weight? Is snow dangerous? Above ground buildings? Things most people take for granted are going to give her pause.
She has no combat experience. Spokes has had a few close calls over the years, but has never been in a situation where someone was actively trying to kill her. She has had very little practical gunnery training. I don't really know how I'm going to play this. . .the fluff in the TRO says the Scorpion is a pretty forgiving fire platform. If the terrain restricts enemy movement, she might be able to reliably land PPC shots at medium range. I don't see her panicking at the first sign of battle. We'll see.
She may not know how to shoot, but she
does know how to drive. Spokes has a decade of experience conning her
Scorpion, half supervised, half solo. She is used to operating the machine in difficult terrain and in close quarters with dismounted workers who are paying attention to something else. Her 'Mech's movements are controlled and fluid.
She is attached to her 'Mech. I know some of you are looking to swap out your rides, but Virgil is part of my character's family ties and its loss would be a major blow. I'm not even sure if Spokes would be able to drive a biped 'Mech without some serious training time.