The Ronin Rider

As seen in

Aftermath

All this big kitty eats is gas...
Repurposed from an abandoned wreck after the conclusion of the Second Dynasty War, this curious contraption started out as a side project of Ronin Leader Ryo Sanada. When the situation calls for discretion and methods of transport not involving teleportation, large white tigers, or flying mechanical horses, the rather cheekily named Rider roars into action. A motorcycle of an indeterminate make and model, it's been heavily modified from the original frame. While capable of intense speed and well-balanced enough to allow a proficient operator to engage in combat while driving, Ryo has actually declined offers from the Ronins' Thunthen allies to modify or upgrade it, since he views it as "his" creation.

Power Generation

For the third time that day, the wheels of the Ronin Rider tore over the pavement as they approached city limits. "At this rate we should reach the Dark Territory in a matter of minutes." Anubis said loudly as he wove through traffic.

"Oh I can imagine considering you're going 180mph! What the hell did Ryo DO to this thing?!" Tanya squawked from where she sat behind Anubis with both arms wrapped around his chest tightly. "And why aren't you wearing your helmet?!"

"Umm...I prefer not to..."

"Well you're supposed to. I think it's illegal or something for you to be riding a motorcycle without one. Plus, your damn hair's blowing all over the place! Pfft!" Tanya sputtered as she ducked down to avoid Anubis' flagging reddish hair. Anubis sighed then reached back and pulled his hair to the front and tucked it inside the collar of his surcoat. Tanya's eyes bugged out on seeing him with only one hand on the handlebars. "Uh...how much experience have you had using this thing again?"

"An hour."

"Oh that makes me feel really comfortable!"

— Aftermath Ch. 4

Propulsion

Ryo never specifies the original base chassis, but it likely comes from one of the Big Four manufacturers. It runs on gasoline and Ryo has declined offers to enhance it with a portable closed-fusion drive.

Spoiler Warning: Upcoming Content!

Spacequake Ch. 13

"Umm, Ryo, if I may..." Ryo looked over his shoulder at young Miz Paufan. "I wanted to ask you some questions concerning that...rather antiquated vehicle of yours..."
"'Antiquated'!?" Ryo exclaimed and scowled irritably, causing Miz to wince. "Listen, I only use the finest parts for this baby," Ryo insisted and affectionately patted the seat.
"Available to humans perhaps, but you know we have a surplus of equipment in storage for the Raider and Argonauth. It wouldn't be a drain of resources for us to upgrade your, um, contraption..." Miz managed and rubbed his fingertips together. Ryo frowned sympathetically and rolled his eyes. He could tell he meant well.
"Look, I appreciate the offer, but the Rider's got a special place for me. There's just something satisfying seeing something that started out as a long shot coming together into something beautiful. The Rider might not have the bells and whistles of WILDCAT or Raider, and technically Mia's jeep's logged more hours fighting the forces of evil, but it has its uses for travel while keeping a low profile." Miz had to wait until Ryo turned around before rolling his eyes, especially when Ryo shrugged on his thermal jacket, the leather one with the fur ruff and the Wildfire insignia emblazoned prominently on the back.
"You weren't exactly keeping a low profile last night..." Miz commented and stepped to the side as Ryo wheeled Rider about to face the exit tunnel.
"Well obviously this lady is going to require a different approach. If what Shannon's aunt said is correct, she might be more open to talking if I'm not wearing Armor," Ryo reasoned as he started the ignition, revving the engine a few times while the dererium security doors slid open. Miz backed away a step and Ryo put on his motorcycle helmet. "I'll call for backup from the others if I need it." And with that, the Rider took off down the tunnel and out long the abandoned road, leaving Miz standing alone in the main cavern looking apprehensive.

Weapons & Armament

The Rider itself is relatively unremarkable when it comes to features. There are no hidden weapons or boosters or even defensive countermeasures.
The skill of the operator-usually a fully-armored Ronin Warrior- is another matter, as Anubis demonstrates in Aftermath Ch. 4 when he uses his chain to thwart a pesky motocop with one hand while steering the Rider with the other.

AnubisandTanyaMotorcycle1b.jpg

Ronin Joyride (Scene from Aftermath Ch.4) by Mardrena

Made with Inkscape and BlackInk

Spoiler Warning: Upcoming Content!

Spacequake Ch. 13

She spotted the headlight of an approaching motorcycle in the rear-view mirror. She scowled and waved her hand off to the side dismissively. If he wanted to pass her he could. If he wanted to pick a fight, he was more than welcome to. The lamp blinked once, twice, signaling her to move over. She veered the Condor to the left lane and waited for the rider to approach from the right side. It could be some highway punk or some over-ambitious newbie motorcop who thought he could take her on.
She caught glimpse of a white front plate decorated with a stylized black-and-gold samurai helm emblem. Her eyes widened in disbelief. She hadn't expected to see a man clad in silver armor with red accents and a flaring golden crest adorning the helmet. He took one hand off of the handlebar and pointed off to the side briefly, indicating he wanted her to pull over. She scowled and shook her head firmly. Why the hell should she listen to him? Her eyes popped wider when he reached down and pulled an ornate sword from one of two scabbards. Evidently he meant business.

Armor and defense

The chassis is fairly mundane with terrestrial materials such as steel, aluminum, fiberglass, and titanium composing much of the vehicle. Offers have been made to augment it with dererium, which is lighter and stronger, but Ryo again declines out of principle, viewing the Rider as a symbol of Mortal resilience. Even though the Rider belongs to Ryo, he has allowed others to use it if necessary.
However, despite never being involved in accidents or suffering major damage, the Rider has its limits when carrying significant weights. Ryo would live to regret loaning the Rider to Kento in Fight Alone Ch. 4 since while the Rider seemingly managed the trip, the front wheel popped clean off the axle not long after Kento dismounted, the frame stressed after carrying his dense body.

Spoiler Warning: Upcoming Content!

Spacequake Ch. 13

Traffic on the feeder seemed fairly sparse, and Ryo guessed he'd run into his target on on of these quieter thoroughfares because she'd want to travel discreetly as well. He had no way of tracking her aside from traffic reports on the radio, but if she targeted another corporate bigwig, he'd hear about it eventually.
Ryo raised an eyebrow when he thought he heard another engine on the on ramp behind him. On a hunch he slowed down at the same time the black motorcycle from the night before careened off the overpass, arcing towards the ground. Instead of crashing or wiping out, the rider angled her bike just so that it landed on both wheels, bouncing up slightly before skidding to the side several feet with sparks showering from the wheels. Ryo brought the Rider to a full stop and pulled off his helmet.
"I see you're a fan of making an entrance," Ryo smirked. The woman pulled off her bird-themed helmet, shrugging loose her reddish ponytail. She narrowed the eyes of her cloth mask.
"You've been going out of your way to find me. I'd like to know why. Are you in league with the board?"
"You seriously have no idea who I am, do you? You never heard of the Ronin Warriors? Mystical defenders of humanity? We're pretty well known across the nation. News talks about us all the time..."
"I don't exactly follow the news..." the young woman stated curtly, her tone level. Ryo frowned: the way her mask tightly framed her eyes made her difficult to read.

Communication Tools & Systems

The Rider has no additional systems aide from terrestrial radio. If an operator needs to contact anyone it must be via wrist-com. Ryo has configured it to pick up police reports but response and arrival is dependent on both the operator's skill and navigational knowledge.

He spotted his name written on a sheet of white card but as he approached he saw the hand that held it belonged to a young man with black hair dozing blissfully straddled atop a white motorcycle.

— Foes From Another World Ch. 27

Ms. Yui walked out of the center and headed for her car. She blinked when she thought she saw a flash of red light and glanced over her shoulder at the roof; Nothing there. She shrugged and continued walking through the parking lot. She paused when she spotted the white motorcycle with the black-and-gold samurai helm emblem. She remembered seeing Mr. Sanada arrive on it earlier that day.

— Legacy of Wildfire Ch. 2

Nickname

The Rider

Rarity

Unique

Speed

180mph (top)

Cargo & Passenger Capacity

2 max (operator and passenger)

Rider screamed along the highway headed up north. Kento gripped the handlebars giddily while Dais sat behind him sullenly.

— Fight Alone Ch. 4

“If you were gonna gripe about it so much, why not just ask Pegasus to carry us here?” Kento grumbled as he pushed down the Rider’s kickstand and he and Dais got off the motorcycle.
“Because he had strong objections to carrying your heavy carcass,” Dais argued.
“I thought Pegasi were supposed to be super strong and tough,” Kento shrugged.
“Pegasus can carry three people with relative ease…you in your current state count as four.”
“Hrmph, I don’t hear Rider complaining,” Kento sniffed and walked towards the foot of the trail leading up the mountain. Dais followed and the two vanished around a bend.
No sooner than they did the front wheel of the Rider popped clean off its axle and the entire vehicle listed to one side, groaning in metallic anguish.

— Fight Alone Ch. 4