2nd Lt. Maria Ross

Independent FMA RP Blog & Member of the Fullmetal Alchemist RPG

[lt-ross]

I forgot I even had this blog. Oh my god.

[colonel-mustang-blog-blog]

[ interested in rp, anyone? ]

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[tttlllllllll]

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[1dietcokeinacan]

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Maria Ross is Batman.

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[DAMN SKIPPY.]

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Eating Clouds w/ Spoons | @riza-hawkeye-rp

[riza-hawkeye-rp]

Ross certainly seemed knowledgable. Of course, she’d taken on the brunt of the responsibility in this field, and no better pilot, or guide, would probably ever exist. As a leader on the project from the start, the other officer must have known the technical and logistical aspects of flying like no one else. Riza was in overly-qualified hands. Not that she nervous. It was just nice to know.

Still, she balked at the request, raising an eyebrow and pressing her lips in a flush, thin line. Logic dictated that she would not require firearms in the sky, when the only technology to put men up there was friendly and scarce at that. But it felt as if she had to reach through honey to get them, and even once one of the many on her person was in her hand, the side holster somehow felt heavier in its absence.

“… Alright, then.” Arguing wouldn’t be practical- it would only prolong the experience, and she had other work to get done. On the ground. “How secure is your storage?” Her tone was half reluctant; Riza knew the pull and weight and scratches and feels of every single one of her firearms. Using others would take precious time to adjust to them.

Her other hand reached out for the goggles, the safety equipment setting her slightly more at ease. Something between her and the whipping winds at an unnatural altitude. 

“No no,” Riza reassured, trying to soften her expression slightly. “It’s all necessary.” She moved to place her pistol gently in the adjacent cubby, shrugging out of her uniform jacket to make room for the one equipped for high speeds. The rest of her weapons were made quick work of and as she slipped the goggles onto her head, a glance was spared at the larger of the planes.

“… Is… there a difference?” She asked hesitantly. Some were tiny, and irrationally, she’d rather be in the bigger contraption.

[lt-ross]

The better the armor, the bigger the Aero. Those heavy, metal monsters only shifted their weight at the will of three pilot officers, and Ross was only a third of the equation at hand. Tampering with the levels, checking and rechecking the fuel gauges—being so obsessive-compulsive with the safety of it would better secure that seat in the cockpit for her in the future. Since there wasn’t much in climbing the ranks for the younger of their officers, Aeros seemed a good enough prospect to getting out of desk work—getting into a field, of sorts. It was all protocol—all protocol—and all necessary for navigating the much less forgiving aspects of their known atmosphere. Dressing up to look the part? Just a side-dish.

 “No one here’s going to go through your stuff—“ but in the event that paranoia could not be sated by reassurances alone… a heavy lock flung its way forward in hopes that the major was able to catch it without much trouble. “—just in case.” They could put those ‘fears’ to rest. ”Otherwise, meet #AF660.” The fighter. Several steps forward and the pride of having piloted such a feat no longer weighted, but lifted Maria’s spirits as it loomed ahead of them. A hand gestured the major forward, “She’s an armored war plane, wiiiith… A couple of guns nosing toward the front.” The small tour would lead them in an ellipse around it to study, to see the height of it and the girth of its body before climbing up and over. “I thought it was appropriate for the occasion—“ sharp-shooter… Right?

 A conversation with Mustang alluded more to her attempts at easing the major into the idea of it, but it was hard to tell even now just how she was feeling. Nervousness still rang slightly into Ross’s own gestures, hesitant to do or say much else, other than extend the invitation further with a hand held out to help Hawkeye up the wing. …And perhaps it was that. To get a grip on the other woman, to let that fleeting sense of concern override her excitement for a moment enough to tell her, to let her know, “I will land when you tell me to land, Major—”

 —because it wasn’t obvious that she felt apprehensive… It was that everyone was, and silence was the deadliest giveaway.

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Boom! |@ lt-ross

[lt-ross]

The occasional passer-by would have probably lifted a brow in concern, but the reassurance that everything was alright was enough to draw the skepticism even further. After all, there was nothing quite like being stuck in Rush Valley—or stuck again, rather, as Ross tried not to speak about the shenanigans had in North City thus far.

Her level of competence was seemingly dwindling and it was becoming more a question of why now that she’d damaged her wing three times. She had to chaulk it up to the repairs being only sub-par, at best. The call that they were alright—that it was all just a minor mishap—wore  brow into that furrow that had been inadvertently directed back at another just moseying on by, asking if they were okay as well, and getting a more droned-out, “They claim they are,” that earned herself a glare or two from the other folks inside.

[centralmechanic-deactivated2013]

Chuckling at the woman’s response, the ginger shuffled inside. It was a far side cooler in the shade, and she gave a small sigh of relief as she wandered closer inside. “Men, eh?” Sam cracked a grin, sitting herself down next to Maria. “Seem t’ break things more than they fix ‘em.”

Smiling, she extended a hand to the lieutenant. “Th’ name’s Samantha, sorry for bargin’ in,” the woman chirped. “It’s bloody hot outside.” Casting her emerald eyes behind the two, she caught a glimpse of the aeroplane in the back room. Raising a quizzical eyebrow, she queried - “What th’ hell’s that?” - while still gawking.

[lt-ross]

There was something to secret keeping that left the hair on her neck upright and not without the nervous twitch of a smirk or smile. Strangers, they were—not the men, but the woman finding a cool bit of relief back under the shade. Ross realized her error and leapt right out of fear, gloved hands shooing the woman away with her brows raised—men behind her scrambling to reclaim some sort of privacy for the broken Aero.

“Ehhh—I’m guessing you had too much time out in the sun, then?!” What was said couldn’t have been truer, though. They had no idea what they were doing. Incompetence extended to all branches of the military, and even the gearheads lucky enough to find themselves a spot in Rush Valley hadn’t the practiced hand of the mechanics back in Central. It went to show, though. Ross’s own means of hiding the very classified Aero project mean nudging the redhead back to the edge of the garage—smile still sworn by and nervous as she covered as much as she could from a distance. ”I don’t s’pose you know where to get something citrus-y around here, do you?”

[lt-ross]

Thundershowers & Coffee Mugs | @goodbishop

[goodbishop-deactivated20160707]

[Found it!  Sorry.]

Falman merely nodded.  He certainly wasn’t about to judge her abilities; after all, there were cogent reasons why he himself was not offered the chance to fly.

“The important thing,” he reasoned after a moment, “is that you yourself were not seriously injured.  You were able to bring down your vehicle quickly and safely, without harming yourself or anyone on the ground.  I would imagine that’s much more significant than any injury done to the plane itself.  Modes of transport can be replaced - you, not so much.”

[lt-ross]

It wasn’t the first time and it wasn’t going to be the last. Ever since the project was set into motion, that wing of hers was more or less a new bane of existence—teetering on the edge of destruction, rather. ”It’s what I signed up for,” made some headway, with a nervous laugh and another sip to sate the thirst off of dryness—a raspiness settling into her throat as she spoke, now. “You ought to take some basic courses, if you’re not already swamped. It can’t hurt, right?”

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Brownies! | @Breda-The-Rook

[breda-the-rook-deactivated20121]

“You can’t blame people for being hesitant against the idea,” Breda mused as he finished a document and went for another one. “Flying seemed like a dream not too long ago, isn’t it? And then, you suddenly have planes being taken to flight, so it’s expected that some onlookers will see them high in the sky. They will have their doubts about it.”

“I’d have to agree,” Breda said. “Although, once this plan succeeds, there will come the need to convince the people to at least give flying a try. I’m guessing,” Breda smirked, “that because you’re so enthusiastic with the idea, the General will let you be the one to do the convincing.” That said, he laughed, and finished off yet another one of the brownies.

“I can also see that it’s on a whole other level than the train,” Breda added. “I’ve seen one tested for flight, and with the plans and ideas for improvement that I’ve heard and observed, who knows what would be the airplanes’ maximum capability?”

[lt-ross]

“Am I really that obvious?” A certain of level of excitement was required for the job, sure. Having invested enough time, given enough rhythm to the flow of things, Maria figured that being that obvious might not’ve been such a bad thing anyway. Perhaps it was that she felt much more taken at the prospect of becoming the face of the Aero project? A mild laugh escaped at the thought. ”I don’t know,” finally let loose—had her arms in front of her, stretching out the early morning’s fatigue, letting the drowsiness of her limbs fall back into a state of rest. “I don’t know, but whatever happens, it’s gonna be great.” There was no one to convince her otherwise… Save maybe the Aeros, themselves.

[madisonmakes]

ROSS!!! MARIA ROSS I LOVE YOU YOU ARE ALIVE AND NOT DEAD

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"Pretty much alive!"

"And definitely not dead."

[metanq]

[matchajk]

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This has become a pain in the ass

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Crash Landed | @briggs-engineer-emy

Thankfully… Nothing was broken. …Well… Nothing on her. Some whirlwind of an incident caught fire to a wing, spun the pilot into the snow and had the new Aero teetering on its wheels as smoke came of her landing site. And really, it was a sight.  Peeling off of ice and flopping over, Maria Ross looked like little more than a pile of roadkill. Were these contraptions even worth the trouble? Mr. Mustang seemed to think so. One little star and a scarf seemed to procure a spot for her in the new air forces.  Not really surprised that the Colonel was invested for reasons beyond the obvious advantages these airplanes gave them, she was apt to learn how to keep in the air for more than a minute so that maybe she had something to brag about when she crashed back into Central. Wasn’t looking so promising, though. A full plate of brownies and a bandaid weren’t going to do this thing much good—not after it blew out its engine some several minutes after she’d turned over. She was just thankful she’d gotten out with her life, at the very least.

[briggs-engineer-emy-deactivated]

A day out in the ice and snow was not Emy’s idea of a good time. But when the Major General said jump, you asked how high. So now Emy was out here, freezing her butt off, repairing a transport vehicle. Which wasn’t cooperating.

Finally giving up, Emy flopped down on her back into the snow and stared gloomily into the ice blue sky. Seriously, this sucks. Could her day be any more boring?

Taking notice of a machine in the sky, Emy watched, fascinated. It must be one of those new aeroplanes. Were they testing it? … It didn’t seem to be doing so well. Actually, it looked like it was coming in for a landing. Or a crash.

Scrambling to her feet, she stared at the area the plane had crashed. It wasn’t too far away. There was smoke pouring into the sky. She still had work to do, but… she had to see if the pilot was okay! 

[lt-ross]

Ross lay flatly beside the contraption—wing smoking (that damn wing), propeller still wound and noisy as she blew a puff of air off to the side in frustration.  Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea taking an Aero out this far north?… …And it was far. A train ticket back would cost her a bit much, and noting the damage on the plane, would probably even cost a much heftier fee to transport the big metal monster. Idealizing that trip out north was an evil whispered to her by one of those seedy little mechanics back in Central; she smacked her forehead and rolled back over—never again a mantra running through her head and she sat up on her knees. Another onceover confirmed those niggling fears—that this was not going to fly back in this condition, nor was she willing to attempt to fly it back, having just escaped with a scraped arm and twisted leg. Those small injuries played a bit of a deterrent in standing up finally, slowly approaching the plane and leaning against one of the dents made into the side by a tree. “…You’re all banged up,” she mumbled, rounding the corners, inspecting it—steering clear of the small fire still blazing at the top of the wing. ”…How are we going to get you back to Central?…”

[briggs-engineer-emy-deactivated]

Emy ran as fast as she could towards the smoke. As the aeroplane came into view, she winced at how banged up it was. It looked like it was on fire, too. But she could see someone moving around; it must be the pilot!

“Hey!” Emy yelled. “Are you okay!?” The woman didn’t seem to be too badly wounded. She was certainly in better condition than the plane. Good. Emy could fix a plane (maybe), but she was no doctor.

[lt-ross]

The fact that there was someone else out here made for an interesting feat; the entirety of the time spent inspecting those damages almost dictated that there would be a long walk involved in the near future. Ross was not exactly willing to take a trek down the mountain in favor of getting help, but even the necessary evils were not so much a deterrent to the kind of reprimand awaiting her back at HQ.

Needless to say, Emy’s approach garnered a drawn-out, “Thank god,” that saw to the lieutenant hopping down and meeting her somewhat halfway. “—I’m fine—do you have a way to get in contact with Central? I think my radio’s on fire.”

[lt-ross]

Boom! |@ lt-ross

This was the hangout hangar. Twelve days marked the calendar on this one, and Maria Ross wasn’t sure if there were pride to be held in favor of surrounding herself with the bulk of these gearheads right out of Rush Valley. Culling out the nation’s talent under one particular rock made it easier for them to work together, but it also meant far less enthusiastic pilots roaming around in the interim. Between repairs and maintenance checks, Ross was the furthest from their congregation. Automail didn’t interest her, and her mechanic, in particular, was all about the stuff. It stood to reason that the lieutenant would find a place to lounge outside. In stark contrast to those previous days past, it was cloudless, and sunny. The usual coffee table was replace with refreshments fit for the weather they’d be dealing with—a glass of water, a wedge of lemon—she brought it to her lips, staring out over the gravel, letting the clock tick on by. Boring. Wide open spaces weren’t as appealing without the air drifted beneath her anymore. A loud crash, a satisfying boom, and Maria was already too afraid to see what might have exploded the minute she turned around. “You guys okay back there?”

[centralmechanic-deactivated2013]

It was an odd occasion for Samantha Thomas to be so far from Central City. The mechanic bay had run out of a particular brand of nuts and bolts, and Central’s ginger happened to pull the short straw. And she hated temperature fluctuations.

Wandering the bustling streets of Rush Valley, the mechanic seemed most irritated as larger, sweaty bodies bumped and nudged into her. If one more auto-freak tries t’ get me t’ service him, I swear I’m gonna-

Her thoughts were interrupted by the commotion, causing her to jump ever so slightly in fright. Deciding to investigate, she followed the glances of the other commuters to a rather spacious garage and poked her head in. “Everythin’ a’ight?” Samantha queried.  

[lt-ross]

The occasional passer-by would have probably lifted a brow in concern, but the reassurance that everything was alright was enough to draw the skepticism even further. After all, there was nothing quite like being stuck in Rush Valley—or stuck again, rather, as Ross tried not to speak about the shenanigans had in North City thus far. Her level of competence was seemingly dwindling and it was becoming more a question of why now that she’d damaged her wing three times. She had to chaulk it up to the repairs being only sub-par, at best. The call that they were alright—that it was all just a minor mishap—wore  brow into that furrow that had been inadvertently directed back at another just moseying on by, asking if they were okay as well, and getting a more droned-out, “They claim they are,” that earned herself a glare or two from the other folks inside.

[lt-ross]

Thundershowers & Coffee Mugs | @goodbishop

[lt-ross]

Oh—“Hey.“ Unexpected as it was to find Falman wandering in, Ross straightened at his approach. “It’s not just the storms.” The weather was as problematic as anything, but a quick downpour was no deterrent to those given the chance to fly—not just yet. It was a far more complicated matter, which, upon walking into, had been a bit of a downer from the beginning.

“My Aero’s been having trouble, lately,” she explained, standing and dusting herself off as she did. She lifted her empty coffee mug as well, inspecting the inside and realizing she was already near done with it. “I’ll come with. It’s getting kind of chilly over here anyway.”

[goodbishop-deactivated20160707]

“Oh, I see.”  Falman had only the very basic knowledge about the flyers; he was physically fit enough to pilot one himself if he were so inclined, but a very discreetly concealed fear of heights prevented him from pursuing the act.  He was of greater use on the ground, and he knew it well, so the phobia didn’t trouble him overmuch.

“Can you describe the trouble?  I did make a study of the schematics of the different equipment being used, I might be able to offer some suggestions.”

[lt-ross]

The walk over to the concession table was short, but Ross was allotted the time to speak on the matter with a much clearer mind than the floor offered in deference to the noise of the gusts and propellers. “I was on a collision course with the bluffs. You know, on outskirts of West City?” Sometimes it was difficult to figure how much one of those big metal monsters could take on any normal day. Steering wing-first into the edge of a cliff wasn’t her idea of a party, but it shook the edges a bit and left the nerves frayed. “I didn’t think I actually hurt it that much to be honest,” she said, pouring her coffee and finding another mug to offer him as she nodded back over toward Aero #M003. “Looks like they got their work cut out for them, though.”

[goodbishop-deactivated20160707]

“Yes, I imagine so,” Falman mused, gazing in the direction she indicated.  ”I’m not familiar with the bluffs at West City - the west country is the only part of Amestris I’ve never seen - but that sounds more than a little dangerous.  I’m pleased that you weren’t injured; what were you doing that you needed to get so close to the cliff?”

[lt-ross]

It was a little complicated. The situation with the Aero and it’s fated meeting with the edge of a jagged cliff was definitely the result of human error—admittedly so. At that point, the touchiness of the subject brought only the exasperation of a sigh. “Well—“ “—I was scouting the area.” Apparently project leaders felt confident enough to allow Maria Ross the privilege of mapping territory for the next flight circuits. “If we start recruiting from West City, they’re going to need a place to test the planes, right?” Because for as clumsy as she was, nearly crashing a couple times of her own accord, newbies were about ten times that same clumsiness—without the months of experience already at the forefront of their knowledge. “Anyway, I made a really sharp turn,” she motioned with her hands the airplane and the cliff, “The wing dug into the cliff-side and spun me about 60 degrees north. I had to land that thing fast.”

[lt-ross]

thestrongarmalchemist started following you

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Lt-Ross; RP Docket | 06.22.2012

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[Aaaaand, she's finally active. I'll try to make a post a day, but no garuntees. I have like, 80 RP accts, haha. xD]

Boom! | @centralmechanic

Eating Clouds w/ Spoons | @riza-hawkeye-rp

Thundershowers & Coffee Mugs| @goodbishop

Up, Up & Away | @ Colonel-Mustang

Brownies! | @ Breda-The-Rook

Crash Landed | @ briggs-engineer-emy

Just Around The Corner | @ lieutenantrizahawkeye