[PRP] Meeting new allies (Duel, Komi, Puddle, LK)

[PuddleInk]

Youth had advantages to laying down wonderful plans with their 'infinite wisdom'. Unfortunately, the side effect of this 'infinite wisdom' seemed to be self-assurance they were always right. Talon rolled his eyes, groaned and walked straight past the girl, shoving her ever politely out of his way. If he had time, or there wasn't a 'make peace mission' in the process, or if he hadn't shown some self restraint, there would have most likely had some words to say back to her. He couldn't bring himself to trust someone that was less than a decade old, no matter how experienced they said if they couldn't without resorting to amateur displays of force.

Oh yes...Joints and vulnerable spots. Yes. Of course they were supposed to go for the weaker spots on the ZOIDs, and intimidate the others to flee. They weren't supposed to cause any damage to the pilots unless they tried to flee. They weren't supposed to harm anyone... Or that was the theory at least. Her plan would most likely be tossed aside, like any good strategy once they were upon the battle field. It was too set in stone not to be as Talon saw it: just a plan on a stone tablet and far to easy to shatter if dropped from a high place.

Talon stopped in the doorway, frowned, holding the barrack door open. They had debated on the tactics far long enough. Let's see who's plan they would actually follow.. "Well? Missy 'Expert' laid out a 'flawless' plan. Better execute it before she gets miffed and starts deciding we're better off as pincushions. " A bit blunt, a bit rude, even a bit pointedly condescending; Talon knew exactly who to accidentally off if things got worse. And exactly who to push forward on the chopping block. After all...it was her plan. She was responsible for the outcome of it now.

 

[Komitadjie]

Kelly pondered for a moment, resting his hand on the MP7's collapsed stock, his eyes narrowing slightly, then he shook his head and pointedly turned his back, walking toward the door. "Have you even thought to check armour specs? Speed? Shield ratings?" He laughed, "you go ahead and run right in there, Zyph, we'll come along and pry you out of your wrecked Zoid after the battle's over. We don't have time to educate you properly right now. Try to survive this one, and maybe there's some hope for you to learn."

As he reached the doorframe, his left hand made a lightning grab, spinning around as he dropped to one knee, the MP7 coming out, up, and forward as he did, ending the blur of motion with the foregrip down and locked, and his finger outside the trigger guard. "Pop, Pop, Pop," he said, with an unpleasant smile, the muzzle staring directly at Zyph's face. "Remember, range ALWAYS has the advantage in open combat, and you don't have a stealth or even semi-stealth Zoid." He lowered his weapon and walked into the mech hanger, mentally debating with himself weather or not he should have actually pulled the trigger, instead of just settling for a warning. That little enthusiast was going to get killed, and he just hoped she didn't take the rest of the team with her.  

[Duelist of Pokemon]

Mouth pressed into a thin line at the tension hanging in the air, Jacob simply turned and marched towards the main door turning back to glance at his argueing "companions" as weapons were pulled out.

If they wanted to fight, fine. He wasn't gunna stick around though. He had orders and if he had to go by himself....fine. Better than having to listen to the other three bicker all the way there.

"When the three of you are done fighting, i'll be waiting in the Hanger." Jacob's tone was the only thing that expressed his annoyance and anger; of course, who's to say that'll get ignored just like his idea? With that, he turned and walked off down the hall, the door slamming shut behind him.

 

[Liquid Kitsune]

Zeph had been twirling a knife in her fingers of her left hand before while she thought. Watching Talon leave she was ready to go and try this plan out. "Well as long as you guys are decent pilots and here for a reason then we should be fine." As she turned to head out Kelly walked by her and had his hand on the hilt of his gun. She didn't think anything of this until she noticed his hand was gripping it which put her on alert but she didn't think he would actually pull it.

When she saw him start pulling it out, she thought he might actually try to kill her. So she flung the knife with her left hand as a warning without thinking. The knife soared near him where she hoped it would nick his leg letting him know he could have died before he even turned around. The knife sank deep into the frame of the door next to him but the sound and act didn't seem to stop him from continuing his motion.

As he turned she felt like if time slowed down, her heart was racing and it felt as if she was on a mission. She never thought her life would really be in danger while at the base and by a teammate. She reached into her jacket and grabbed the pistol watching his gun come out and snap in place her pistol was just clearing the sheath. He spun down onto a knee and brought the gun up as her hand moved to aim the pistol at his head. They both locked position at the same time and she could hear her heart beat in her head.

She was very tempted to pull the trigger but the look in his eyes was not one that would pull the trigger right now. She just started to register what he said and she outright laughed at him. He was supposed to be older and more experienced but here he was acting like a young teenager. Now she really looked down on him, literally and figuratively.

"It doesn't ALWAYS," as he mimicked his tone of speak, "that thinking will get you killed. You need to be a good shot and the person needs to not have thought about how to counter your ranged combat or not be prepared."

She shook her head and pulled down her gun, "Also we are not in open combat, we are in a city. We use the buildings as cover and they won't know we are there until we are on top of them. Now get the gun out of my face because I could have killed you twice by now." She pushed the barrel of the gun away from her head. "Only reason you are alive still is because of my faith in the Emperor would have not put you here if he thought you would kill me and my faith in the professionalism of the military. Obviously you are not very professional, so grow up and lets move out."

She walked past him and hoped that he was as good of a pilot as he was cocky. She was confident but not cocky. She was also worried about how this was going to go. First time in this Zoid, first time in a real mission with one and first time with this group. She just hoped that everything would work out. She flicked her hair and looked at the Zoids in front of her and smiled as she looked at hers. "Come on girl, time to do this."  

[Tsunake]

Blundering, blustering idiots. The lot of them. Her smoky eyes had narrowed into cat-like slits as she'd listened them squabble amongst themselves like noisy vultures over a kill. A kill that they hardly deserved at this very moment. What had the Emperor been thinking? True, they all showed potential--snipers, close-combat fighters, a whole slew of prime soldiers! And yet, they were each proving to be too pig-headed to work together in what should have been a simple task. To be attacked by these rogue groups was almost insulting. They'd get what was coming to them soon, IF these fools could put aside their differences and work together.

These new soldiers had all firmly stood their ground in the wake of ideas and opinions different to theirs. All held valid points and theories, but none of them were quite good enough. Some of the older men were more inclined to mold their views to better fit the group as a whole... but overall, it was a disappointing performance. Who did they think they belonged to--the Republic? No, this was the Imperial army they had been so graciously accepted into, and as far as she was concerned, the highest honor there could be.

She stood alone in the hanger when the first few began to trickle in, and her stare was cold. Gloved fingers absently brushed away the choppy, black-blue bangs that hung just a little past her eyes--the longest part of her hair, for sure. In the cockpit, there was no need for a long and tangled mess, so she kept her cropped in a stylish, if efficient manner. He rarms were folded loosely against her chest, one hip cocked to the side as she leaned back against the icy colored Rev Raptor--it belonged to one of these soldiers, for sure. Jacob Hydman, if her memory served.

"Your emperor is shamed today by your childishness." She stated with a quiet, dangerous sort of softness. "You stand here arguing among yourselves while your enemies run rampant, destroying your cities. Yes, you are strong. Yes, you are capable. That is why you stand here now. But to be so callous towards your own teammates that you eventually give up and simply head out--some of you after drawing your weapons, for God's sake-- with your own plans in mind... You think you'll ever earn any respect that way? No, your Emperor has deemed that you all cannot be trusted--not until I believe you fit to work and function as a team."

She pushed herself from the leg of the Zoid, her steps slow and deliberate. "I could break you all back to square one right now, take these Zoids away and give them to people who'd be willing to work together to use them. But you're an interesting lot. Brash and impulsive, some of you. Indifferent and used to 'working alone'. But I'll break you of that way of thinking... or send you home in disgrace."

"None of you will be going on this mission today. I've already dispatched a team whom I feel can handle it without any mishaps." Her lips curled into a wry smile, and she tilted her head at the four of them. "Zyph. Young, but already showing signs of being a great infiltrator one day. Your experience with close-combat, though much different inside a Zoid, will come in handy. Your looking down upon your fellows, however, will not be tolerated. Jacob. Devoted, and more than likely holding the skills that your father did out on the battle field. Stand strong behind your opinions and make them heard--your idea of drawing the enemy back to minimize the damage was a good one. John. Your knowledge of arsenal is impressive, and sorely needed among our troops. Keep that temper under control, however, or I'll make sure you never hold a weapon in your hands again. Talon. Cool, composed, and a natural strategist. Don't be so quick to dismiss ideas that oppose your own. Yes, a fine lot you are. But you still aren't ready."

She paused for another moment to muse, her grey eyes thoughtfully as they flickered over each individual face. "To think you even threaten to kill the ones who might save your life out there one day... Looks like a little team-building exercises are in order." Now to wait and see which ones would pipe up first to complain.  

[Komitadjie]

Kelly sighed and released the foregrip of his weapon, pulling the latch toggle and folding it back up. He really, REALLY wanted to pull the trigger, it would be such a simple solution to a problem that he had no doubt was going to resurface at a much less convenient time. He snicked the safety back on with his left thumb, jamming the machine pistol back into its holster and absently jerking the knife from the doorframe. It would not have been fast enough to save the wannabe-ninja, but it might have been quite uncomfortable.

"Yes ma'am." He snapped, coming to attention. "It won't happen again, Ma'am." He kept his thoughts private, he could deal with things later if he needed to, he had no doubt. 'Dealing with things' was, after all, his specialty. "Probably for the best that we sit this one out anyway, we lack any form of a cohesive plan for the engagement, and we are sorely outmatched by the opposition units. We need heavies to engage heavies, unless we have a decided tactical advantage, perhaps terrain or cover of night." He gestured. "They're pretty and all, but they're sorely outmatched against... well, pretty much everything out there, ma'am. I'm sure there is a reason behind the assignment of this class of Zoid, but I fear that our combat abilities are at best marginal against anything but the lightest of enemy scouting units."  

[PuddleInk]

Talon's eyes blinked as he entered the hanger, falling in line as the authoritative woman began speaking. She was right--it hadn't been a diplomatic move to ignore ideas--but at the same time, diplomacy had a time and a place in everything. His eyes couldn't help but travel up and stare at the four colored ZOIDS in thought, listening as she continued.

He nodded his head, mumbling a 'ma'am' in agreeance. He respected authortity to a degree. How else could he have gotten this far in life? But team building? Ick... Comradery... He could deal with that, he supposed. Complaining about something that was already clearly set in stone was useless. He did give a soft sigh and his lips curled into a smirk. Maybe it would be a weapon-free zone. That would be nice...

The Emperor must have been drunk when he pulled their lots together. Yeah..That had to be it.

Talon glanced over at the older male as he spoke, an amused smile threatening to break free. 'Pretty' really was a good description for the Rapters. So was 'useless', but those two words usually came side by side with most things. The questions posed to the commanding officer were ones that Talon would love to hear an answer to. Might give him some insight on the rational behind it. Maybe.

 

[Liquid Kitsune]

Zyph walked up hearing the orders and response to how they were acting. She snapped to position and saluted the officer. "Yes Ma'am, Sorry Ma'am. I will work on being more accepting Ma'am." She went into a relaxed stance as she listened to what was going on.

They embarrassed the Emperor which was not good. She was not trying to let him down she just wanted to establish herself and try to succeed in the mission. She listened to Kelly but didn't react outwardly at all. Her face remained blank and stoic as she listened.

She knew exactly why they got these ones. They needed to prove themselves. When they were good enough they would be upgraded. Also though if they became good enough to take Zoids out like them with these Zoids. Then the group could take on anyone without worrying. She really wanted a stronger Zoid but it wasn't needed. She would work with what she had, even this team if need be.  

[Duelist of Pokemon]

Arriving in the hanger, Jacob flinched as the Commander started her lecture. It was only natural for those who have worked by themselves to detest working as a team...

But threating to scrap their ZOIDS?
De-rank all of them?
And the Emperor ashamed....to someone who's family had served the ruler for generations, that was the worst thing that could happen. No doubt his father had heard about thier spat. Jacob felt his face flush as the mental image of his fathers' angry face crossed his mind. For a single moment, he felt the desire to follow his brothers' footsteps before the loyalty he swore push that dark idea from his mind.

Getting down on one knee with his blade laying sheathed beside him, Jacob bowed his head and spoke formally to the upper-ranked militant. "Commander, allow me to formally apologize for my childish behavior. It never should of happened, yet we did nothing to stop nor prevent it." He remained humble and stayed in his formal bow despite the throbbing of his knee pressing into the metal ground. "If, by your order and by the word of our almighty Emperor, we are allowed one more chance then teach us the skills we need to survive, not as a single being, but as a unit."

 

[Tsunake]

She'd been waiting, almost hoping that one of them would dare to voice a protest at her final decision. It seemed she'd be pleasantly surprised, however, and her slender shoulders rolled once as she mused. Obedient at least--so they were loyal as long as someone kept them all on a leash. Well, she could play master for now. Her grey eyes flickered to rest on Kelly for a moment, and a brow quirked while her lips pulled slowly up in a smile. "Outmatched? No, soldier, I think you could have had this in the bag..."

Zyph's answer earned a smile from her, though her lips thinned as the one boy--Jacob--suddenly went on his knees. "Enough of that now, get up. You were hand-picked by the Emperor himself, and you haven't done anything to embarrass him publicly. Not yet. And I'm here to prevent that." She chided him, placing her hands on her hips in an attempt to look more stern than amused. What a bunch of cards. She liked them already. "Now, your first step should have been to observe the enemy units. Not just what Zoids they had, but their particular styles... It's true that the Gordos might have given you some problems, but make no mistakes. These Rev Raptors can be fierce when equipped with shoulder cannons. Now, that Saix. I doubt you noticed, but his movements were cocky, almost arrogant. The pilot was young and on a power rush--if one of you had drawn him down one of the more narrow streets, the rest of you could have hidden in wait and jumped him as he went past. It's likely he would have panicked, and those 'pretty' blades of your Raptors would have made short work of him."

She trailed off for a moment, her eyes still thoughtful. She was a tall woman, looking almost more like a model than a Zoid pilot herself. Straightening her shoulders, her rank could now be fully displayed. "I am General Evaline Amerson, and I personally welcome you into the ranks of the Imperial army. Now, mount up soldiers--we're going to be doing some one on one training today." A grin pulled at her lips before she flicked her fingers at them, turning to stride off. Her own Zoid would be waiting.  

[Komitadjie]

"Yes Ma'am..." Kelly looked more than slightly dubious, but he headed for his Zoid's lift without making any comment. Shoulder cannons might indeed add combat punch... if they had them, and the shoulders of his own Zoid were quite bare. The idea of trapping them down a small street? Well, ok, as long as they didn't mind the massive civilian casualties when the buildings on both sides took stray weapons fire, along with whatever damage an exploding Zoid would do when and if they managed to destroy their opposition.

He decided that he needed to get a complete technical schematic of his Zoid just as soon as he possibly could, it was definitely going to need some finishing touches before it was ready for serious work. A good linear accelerator weapon might help out a bit, if he could find sufficient power to spare from systems to fire it, or perhaps a kinnetic missile rack... He pondered possibilities as he dropped into the cockpit of the Black Knight, reaching down to his left to hit the backup battery switch and bring power online for the internal instruments, cockpit lights and pre-reactor-ignition system checks. From the seat pocket he pulled the logbook and spent several moments looking it over to make sure the mechanics had signed off on all the blocks. It was all too easy to turn a costly Zoid and irreplaceable pilot into a cloud of vaporised ceramics, armour, and internals by missing a red-exed system that the mechanics had not finished setting up yet.

Not seeing any down-checks on the unit, he replaced the log and pulled out the 'plastic brains' checklist to familiarize himself with this specific Zoid's reactor light-off procedure.  

[Duelist of Pokemon]

"Aye General, at your word."

Re-grabbing his blade, Jacob stood and bowed at the waist once more before standing at full attention. He listened to the officers words of lecture and wisdom, pondering back to the video clip the Commander had shown them earlier. Now that she had mentioned it....he had noticed something odd but had blown it off as something minor and unimportant. Well, now he knew better...

Jolted back to reality, Jacob saluted the General before making a beeline towards his ZOID. The mechanics were just finishing up and one pointed out a ladder and platform, that which he used to board the Raptor as the others were being pulled away to clear a path. Settling down in the cockpit, the trainee did a red light/green light check as the ZOIDs' AI system turned itself on.

"Warning system, go. Weapons Systems, go. Shield....all clear." He moved through the rest of the checks and then moved to buckle himself in as the ZOID around him shifted and rumbled, joints creaking a bit at first from lack of use. They quickly gained smooth movement as Jacob moved one joint after another with the mechanics ready to move in just in case.

Jacob grabbed the outer com link and directed it to the mechanic below. "Left, lower leg appears to having some movement problems. Please look into it." The whirring of drills filled the air as they got to work on the problem. They would fix it well, but Jacob would be a little bit behind the others.

 

[Komitadjie]

"Reactor pre light-off checks good," Kelly announced over the external speakers, his voice sounding slightly distorted and metallic, "Stand clear intakes, reactor light-off initiating." He reached over to the left-arm control board and lifted the guard on the high pressure tritium injection system, pushing the toggle forward until it clicked into its start-up detent. Next was the magnetic containment cooling system, then the main injector controllers. He ran down the list carefully, double-checking each switch position. This would become quicker and easier in time, but for the first light-off, he wanted to make sure that he had everything down just so.

He placed a thumb on the red, guarded "Implosion Laser" button, and hit the external comms again. "Reactor ignition, NOW." He punched the button, sending a signal down to a capacitor bank in the Zoid's central reactor systems, which in turn dumped a very short, extremely high-voltage pulse into the circuitry of 144 diode-pumped lasers surrounding the reactor core. The high pressure tritium injectors triggered a few hundredths of a second before the lasers, flooding the geometric center of the spherical reactor core with highly-fusible Tritium gas, liquified by massive pressure. The lasers fired in precise harmony, blasting the still-forming ball of tritium from all sides, imploding it in on itself with the heat and pressure of a healthy stellar core. Fusion. The tritium burst into radiant, purest-white fire as it fused at the atomic level, releasing massive amounts of energy into the core in the form of radiant electromagnetic energy, and polarized plasma. The core containment magnets were already cooled and ready, holding the ball of superheated gasses centered in the spherical core as the main injectors slowly cut in, feeding it a steady stream of deuterium fuel. A small, artificial star was borne, in less time than it took Kelly to release his finger from the igniter button.

The ribbon gages on the Raptor's control panel slid smoothly upward as telltales glowed safe, friendly green. With the danger of a hot start out of the way, Kelly flicked the starter controls back down, locking the guards out so that the controls would not be accidentally activated while the reactor was operating, and cause a disaster. The AI came online with main power, and he patted the canopy frame over his head, looking out and down at the frame of the Black Knight, making small control motions to check movement freedom, and confirm operation.  

[PuddleInk]

Talon heard the woman, bowed his head and meandered over to his own 'Green Tyrant'. A thought crossed his mind as he was riding upwards, why did he get a ZOID when he was from public communications? What was he going to do? Splash them with quick dry rubber cement followed by a confetti strip parade? As amusing as that would be, that was the least of his problems.

His main problem was figuring out what the array of switches and lights were, but that proved easier than expected. "Thank the gods." he muttered when he saw a simple check list sitting on the seat when the cockpit doors opened. The doctor had thought of everything apparently. He snickered, moved in and began running through the list ( that was nicely labeled so that an idiot like him wouldn't mess it up.) Talon didn't quite run through it quickly, but neither did he spend hours on each individual thing. He'd ran a Raptor before, but none quite as nice as this, so he did try to get to know the ZOID a bit, learn the personality just in case there was a conflict of interest. Organoid systems tended to either love him or hate him. This one didn't have much of a personality it seemed, but then again, it was just getting warmed up. Who knows, Tyrant might be a goofball for all he knew.

So far...Talon found nothing wrong. Nothing that would get himself, or others, harmed. Nothing at all was wrong. Well, there were always minor tweaks to be made out of personal preferences, but aside from that, for a first run he was fine with how his partner had been prepared. It would be only after a few run-throughs would he be able to adjust the default settings to suit his needs. Not that he habit of getting ahead of himself, often.

 

[Liquid Kitsune]

Zyph snapped into a salute again, "Yes Ma'am." She hurried to her Zoid and hopped in it, looking over the mechanic's check list. Everything seemed to be signed off on. So this wasn't a big deal, everyone seemed to act like it was their first time in a Zoid. Had they never done any practicing before this?

She flipped the required switches hearing the core kick on and whirl of the engine in her ears. She played with the controls some, lifting the legs, moving and weaving side to side. Making some minor control edits so they were slower or faster depending on the movement and how she wants it. She dipped it, moves the weapons and it gave her a good idea of what the Zoid could handle.

She smiled, flicking the comm on, "Ready to go over here Ma'am." She walked took a couple steps, first one was a bit clumsy but every step was more solid than the previous one. She stopped waiting for further orders, she just told them to get ready. Not what they were about to do, she was excited about having her own Zoid. She pet the controls, "You ready girl? We will have a lot of fun together."