| “ | When you're on a journey, the most important thing is to not lose your life.
— Kino
|
” |
Kino is the name adopted by a girl born in a bizarre city-state in which, after reaching age of twelve, children are taken to a hospital to undergo a procedure that will instantaneously physically and mentally mature them to adulthood, and also psychologically modify them into "perfect adults", being able to act happy with even a job they completely hate, and also extremely logical.
Kino does not remember her original name, only that she had the name of a flower that, in her language, sounded similar to an insult, and was often bullied because of this. The girl that would become Kino met a traveller of the name she would later adopt, just days before she was to undergo the operations. Kino Sr. told her about the outside world, where people mature normally and are not fated to an adult life working a menial job they hate on the inside. Kino Sr.'s spoke with the girl that would become Kino while he repaired an old motorcycle with some sort of sentient AI, which he named Hermes. Kino Sr.'s ideas gave the Kino the idea that she did not want to undergo the operation that would turn her into an adult.
Battle vs. Dutch van der Linde (by SPARTAN 119)[]
Kino drove north on her motorcycle, Hermes, along a dirt road through a dense forest. She had never heard of the country she was in before- The United States of America. In fact, it wasn't on her map. Indeed, the world maps in this country suggested she had somehow ended up in a different world altogether.
Kino did not mind so much, for the past two years, she lived to travel, to explore. The fact that she might well be on another planet entirely might have unnerved some people, but it cause Kino only excitement. A whole new world to explore. This country she was in now, was unlike anything like the others she had visited. Rather than a small city state like the countries Kino was used to, The United States was a vast nation that took up about a third of an entire continent, having been apparently gradually grown to it's current size due to a belief that it was their "Manifest Destiny" to expand across the continent.
This country seemed generally technologically comparable to her own world, however, they had never seen any sort of artificial intelligence, and were in for quite a shock when Hermes spoke for the first time- they were shocked that a machine could be sentient.
About 100 meters down the road, Kino spotted six men armed with Browning Auto 5 shotguns and Colt revolvers guarding a gate in a wooden wall, beyond which were a number of shacks and, in the center, a tower along the back of a cliff.
Suddenly, the men opened fire. Kino drew her custom .44 revolver, "The Cannon", and fired off all six shots in rapid succession. All six of the men fell to the ground, dead. Suddenly, a machine gun in the tower opened up. Kino turned, driving Hermes into the woods, using the trees a cover.
Kino took an MG-42 she had slung over the back of Hermes, and left, the sentient vehicle saying, "Kino, be careful".
"Don't you worry", Kino replied, "I'll take care of this"
Kino spotted the source of the gunfire, a man in orange standing at the command of a mounted Maxim gun. Kino raised her MG-42 and fired it from the hip, firing off a hail of bullets, not particularly accurate, but causing such a volume of fire that it literally broke through one of the supports of the makeshift "tower".
Dutch Van Der Linde rolled out of the way, surprised that their could be a weapon with a higher rate of fire than his Maxim. Dutch then unslung his Evans repeater from his back and took cover behind a rock.
Kino's MG-42 ran out of ammunition, and and Dutch got up and fired his Evans twice. The bullets whizzed past Kino. Kino raised her semi-automatic rifle and fired three shots, causing Dutch to roll out from cover and run for it, into a mine shafted blasted into the other side of the ledge.
Kino advanced, only to have side grazed when a bullet from Dutch's repeater narrowly missed her. Kino took cover behind a stack of crates and fired off two more shots with her rifle, driving him into the mine.
Kino jumped over the crates and ran forward, up the wooden ramp leading up the ledge. Suddenly, she heard a male voice yell "Put down the gun and I might let ya live", the man said.
Kino saw Dutch aiming straight for her with his Borchardt pistol. Kino put down her rifle.
"And the pistol too", Dutch said.
Kino obeyed and placed the "Ranger" on the ground. Dutch then said, "Now put down yer knife".
Kino drew out her knife, however, instead of putting it on the ground, she pointed it towards Dutch and pressed a button on the side. Dutch was blinded by a red light as the laser sight- though Dutch had no idea what it was- shone into his eye. He fired, but missed, the bullet going a good six feet over Kino's head.
Kino pressed a second button on the side of the knife. A pistol barrel in the handle of the weapon fired. A .22 caliber round struck Dutch right between the eyes, killing him instantly.
Kino then picked up her weapons and returned to motorcycle.
WINNER: Kino
Expert's Opinion[]
Kino won this battle because of the superior firepower of her weapons, including her MG-42 and semi-auto rifle, as well as her superior training and considerable combat experience.