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 Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2022 7:09 am
Backdated to early August 2022. Aliez drew in a deep breath as he shook out his arm. The vambrace wasn’t uncomfortable, but knowing that it had some kind of energy build up or… some kind of defense or offense or… some kind of mechanism that would fire energy back at whoever was trying to hurt him made him a little anxious.
He didn’t want to hurt anyone. Vyn insisted that he hadn’t been hurt, just stunned. And while that was something of a relief at the time, Aliez wasn’t sure he wanted to try it again.
Andreiya was busy, and Aliez didn’t want to bother him again when he had important research to document. And it wasn’t that Vyn made him nervous! He just knew how dedicated Vyn was when it came to training. If Aliez hesitated, he would be shot. If he didn’t hesitate, Vyn might end up getting hurt.
But, he reminded himself as he glanced to the bag he had on his hip, this was supposed to help them prepare for whatever might be in store for them. If they had any chance at getting back home, they needed to know everything they could, especially about themselves.
They were out in the forest again. Briefly Aliez wondered if Caedus was around, or if he’d given up that area completely. If he hadn’t been wandering the woods before, Aliez would have had no help in figuring out what to do with the small creature that had died.
As if sensing his anxiety, the little wisp that liked to follow him around circled his feet. He didn’t know how long it had been out, but he’d already tried explaining to Vyn that he had no control over the lifeform that wasn’t registering on their ComTech.
“Not now. It is not safe,” he said to the creature, and then looked up at Vyn once the little light disappeared. “I’m ready when you are.”
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2022 11:41 am
Vyn didn’t care if he got hurt. Obviously he didn’t want severe injuries during training (that wouldn’t be beneficial at all), but he would never improve by being too careful. A few scrapes here, some bruising there — that was hardly worthy of concern. If whatever Aliez’s shield accomplished put him on his back again, that was merely another opportunity to learn.
The Velencians, and the Velenians before them, were not a violent, warfaring people. A part of Vyn had begun to wonder if perhaps they should have been. The Vanguard was trained for combat, but they’d rarely seen it before Earth, and they’d already faltered on the field since coming here. They’d proven themselves ineffective on a world that did not care for their ways. If they hoped to survive, they must adapt. If they wanted to adapt, they must hone their skills.
They’d lost one world. They couldn’t afford to lose another.
Vyn ignored Aliez’s little creature. For a moment, he thought about targeting it to test out Aliez’s reflexes, but the creature was innocent. It shouldn’t be made to suffer if Aliez didn’t react quickly enough.
Taking careful aim, Vyn said nothing of his readiness. He gave Aliez just enough time to pay attention, then pulled the trigger. If Aliez didn’t have his shield ready in time, the shot would sail over his shoulder and crash into a tree.
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2022 1:55 pm
Aliez, however, was ready. And he had his shield up in enough time to absorb the shot from Vyn’s blaster. He made note that it didn’t ricochet off, but instead seemed to be absorbed into the shield itself.
They were training, so once he had that blast blocked, he took off towards one of the nearby trees for shelter. He knew that his shield needed to recharge just as much as Vyn needed his blaster to recharge, but since Vyn got the shot in first, Aliez needed to be careful, otherwise he wouldn’t have enough time to get his shield up.
He took a deep breath, picked up a rock, and threw it in Vyn’s direction once he jumped out from behind the tree. There was no point in training if Vyn didn’t get anything out of it. He might as well try to give him something more challenging than just standing and using him as target practice.
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2022 2:27 pm
When Vyn trained with Aliez, he expected that it would be little more than target practice, with the target itself being Aliez. They had different skill sets; Vyn excelled in combat (as much as any new recruit from a people who didn’t exactly value combat skills could excel), while Aliez excelled in healing. If Vyn wanted a little more action in his training regimen, he would do so with someone like Andreiya. With Aliez, the intent was more to ensure he had the basic means to defend himself.
That said, Vyn had no issue adapting when Aliez ducked behind a tree, then jumped out and threw a rock. Vyn avoided the projectile — almost batted it away like it was nothing, but didn’t want to upset Aliez, who was trying. Nimble on his feet even in a tangle of undergrowth along the forest floor, Vyn went to the right and took up a position to shoot again, fully prepared for it to be absorbed into Aliez’s shield.
It took three shots last time before the energy surged outward. If it continued to follow that same pattern, Vyn would be reassured.
Aliez was better than he’d been when they’d arrived on Earth. Vyn tried to take heart in that, but there was always a nagging doubt. Aliez was his best friend. More than anyone, Vyn wanted him prepared, so the next time they found themselves stuck on a hilltop with enemies all around them, Aliez would fare better.
They both would fare better. Vyn wasn’t a wide-eyed, innocent Cadet anymore.
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2022 5:30 pm
Aliez was aware that he was not a strong fighter. He wasn’t a fighter at all. He did his best, though. Without needing to rely on a blaster, he was doing much better in terms of defending himself and others, at least. Or at least he thought so.
He was aware that Vyn could have easily knocked the rock away, but Vyn was also better practiced than he was.
One more shot from Vyn to the raised shield meant it was the third that was waiting -- if things worked the same way they did before.
He continued to hide behind trees until he knew his shield was back up, and that meant this time when Vyn fired --
As expected, the third time seemed to not just absorb the energy, but possibly combine them together in a single shot back at his attacker. He hoped this time Vyn would dodge it.
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2022 6:04 pm
Vyn zig-zagged through the trees, hiding behind one particularly thick trunk before stepping out to deliver the third shot.
He observed more closely this time, watched Aliez’s shield seem to absorb the energy, then burst outward. Vyn stood his ground and took the impact. Prepared for it now, Vyn didn’t end up flat on his back this time, stumbling and catching himself against another tree.
Disoriented, Vyn shook his head quickly to get his bearings.
“That’ll be useful, if you’re strategic with it,” he said. Vyn lowered his weapon. “Three hits seems to be consistent. Make sure you keep track of it. If necessary, we can assist with the build up of energy so the shield is ready to deploy when you need it against an enemy.”
It seemed foolish to him now to think they’d never have a reason to fight. Destiny City was a dangerous place. They’d already had those gargoyle-like creatures to contend with. The Negaverse had youma. There may come a time when they needed to fight the humans as well.
Vyn didn’t like it, but the more prepared they were for every possible scenario, the better he felt.
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2022 6:12 pm
He hadn’t thought about it before -- having Vyn and the others use their weapons to help build up the energy in his shield. It was smart. But then again, Vyn was always smart when it came to tactical things like that. It was why Aliez relied on him so much, and why he trusted him when it came to combat.
“Thank you, Vyn. I’ll write up a report and present it to Andreiya as well. I think he will be interested to know how our training went.”
He was out of breath, cheeks flushed, but he was smiling. He was excited about learning one more thing that will help him be a better Vanguardian.
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