Prelude

Notes

Episode published on Saturday 19th of January, 2008.

By Dire-Musaera

No, I didn't dramatically gain the ability to draw properly, this page was provided by tournament organiser, and this is all her work so credit goes to her (and thanks for allowing me to upload it, Dire!). You can view (and comment if you have a deviantART account) the original here.

This was one of the first times that anyone had drawn my characters outside of myself, and it's quite a thrilling experience. You can see Gyrode (and part of Ralph) in the crowd here, which was really cool (and still is).

By the way, "MTX" stands for "Machine and Technology eXpo", in case you were wondering. The gent at the podium is one of the three NPCs, Jeff Castleroch. I'm not entirely sure, but I think he may have been created by a chap calling himself Sketchfighter316.

Tagged: Artist - Dire-Musaera, Dr. Alba Bird, Dr. Ivanovich Gregori Romani Gyrode, Dr. Ralph Smiffington III, Jeff Castleroch

Transcript

PANEL: A silhouette of the MTX center exterior.
Jeff Castleroch: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to MTX. I'm sure you've all taken the time to look around and get yourselves situated.

PANEL: Jeff stands on a podium. On the screen behind him is an image of a box with lenses on each side, with a propeller on top. There's a small image showing the human scale of the box, it is about the size of a human head.
Jeff: You may have noticed the large screens located all over the expo center. These are for the spectators. Your battles will be televised via mini hover cams littered around Steel Nation.

PANEL: The view from behind Jeff. He is addressing all the competitors, including the two doctors.
Jeff: Now if you'll all turn to page 17 of your handbooks you'll find a map of Steel Nation detailing several locations you'll be fighting in. You and your opponent will be dropped off in one of these areas. From there you will seek each other out and then disable and / or destroy each other's mechs.

PANEL: Jeff presses a button on a remote, the screen behind him changes to show a map of the area around the MTX Center.
Jeff: Please note that you must stay within your arena. Going out of bounds will forfeit the match. The Expo Center is a safe zone. Any hostile acts within the zone will not be tolerated and will result in immediate disqualification from the tournament. Locations include...

PANEL: The screen shows a grey, ruined city. A mech walks along a motorway bridge.
Jeff: City ruins. Keep any eye out. Many structures are on the verge of collapsing.

PANEL: The screen shows a fiery black landscape, complete with a volcano. Two mechs fight each other across a river of lava.
Jeff: Lava pits. I think the image speaks for itself.

PANEL: The screen shows a cold, grey desert. Two mechs square off near a cactus.
Jeff: Cold desert. Watch out for sand traps.

PANEL: The screen shows a blue landscape of snow and snow-covered trees.
Jeff: The snow barrens.

PANEL: The screen shows a charred forest near smoking volcanoes. The sky is wreathed in smoke.
Jeff: The ash woods. Sorry we don't have a better picture on file.

PANEL: The screen shows a green, lush field underneath an orange sky. A lone figure stands in the field, presumably a mech. A lady in MTX uniform eagerly gestures to present the screen.
Jeff: The meadow greens. We don't care about the flowers. More detailed information can be found in your handbooks.