The Furry Forums
Creative Arts and Media => Roleplay => Serious RP => Topic started by: Frost on March 05, 2014, 03:02:56 AM
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Carrier ships sail in towards the docks of Stardust Academy, bringing with them the best young mech-users the nation has to offer, and their personal mechs of all shapes, sizes, and classes. For the last three days these ships have been sailing towards the secluded learning grounds, giving students enough time to not only grow board of standing on the bow shouting "im on top of the world!", but also for them to mix and mingle.
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At the back of the carrier sat a sunset colored dragon. Despite his colorful appearance, his outfit of a white sleeveless shirt, dark blue jeans, and black boots with silver buckles, were rather bland and unremarkable. He hadn't really enjoyed his time on the ship. Unlike the others he wasn't exactly looking forward to the Academy. The instructors from the first day had encouraged the new students to mingle and interact, but he had no problem avoiding unnecessary conversations thanks to the broken horn on the left side of his head and his mismatched gold and silver eyes. The dragon pulled out the silver pocket watch his father had given him before he left for the Academy. It was simple in design, smooth and polished, with the letter 'X' engraved on the front. Opening the watch he realized that people would be on deck again soon. Mendokusai. I wish this ride would just end already. The dragon made his way to the front of the boat where the students would be unloading sometime today. He made it almost all the way there before he accidentally bumped into a Skunk. [/color]"Sorry about that." He said trying to keep going and avoid the confrontation.
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"But why do I have to go to some stuffy old school anyway when I have you D? You were are Warrior once? Why can't you just tell me what to do in a scrap?" A young Skunk complained to what looked like a metalic mask. He had a black messy hair a scrawny build and pale green eyes. This pathetic looking fellow was all over the news a month ago for single handedly disassembling a rouge millitary mech infected with a virus.
As the skunk was bumped he nearly dropped the mask he was holding "Oof!"
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Suzumi sat on top of her mech, despite its balled up crouched and locked down position it still offered the small lizard a rather nice elevated to watch others from, but right now she wasnt paying too much attention Several wires ran from her laptop and into the mech. "Come on Ghost, time to wake up for a bit okay?" she said before patting the mech on its head. Several diagnostics appeared on her screen as she mumbled them out to herself. Ghost wasnt self aware but the AI was rather advanced it helped her interface and use the mechs specialty package much more efficiently.
She wasnt as keen about meeting others and ofcourse she wasnt on the news or anything but her skills were still impressive enough to get accepted into Stardust solely on her unique ability to use electronic warfare a skill that not many mech pilots could pull off in combat. Patting her mech once more she closed the laptop and jumped down to the ground, bowing a little before turning around and heading back upstairs to the deck. The trip was boring and watching others was as good a past time as any. Reaching the deck just in time to watch two of the other students bumping into each other.
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A feminine voice sounds from the mask, "How are you going survive a fight when you can hardly stay on your feet from a nudge, kid?" The Skunk sighs sullenly. "You're right D....your always right"
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Raucous laughter burst from somewhere in the middle of the crowd of students. Someone had told a joke, and now Seth, a tall, sturdy ibex, was doubled over, spilling his drink in the process. A few people gave him odd looks, but he didn't mind.
As Seth calmed down, he came to realize his drink was now a puddle. He frowned slightly, then shrugged. Time to get a new one! He smiled, and budged through the crowd, towards the interior of the ship. He passed by that dragon with the broken horn he kept seeing. Every time his mismatched eyes gazed over him, it gave him chills.
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The dragon reached down, gently scooping up the mask. "Hello D, I'm Sorin." The dragon smiled handing the mask to the Skunk fur. Holding out his hand Sorin smiled at the Skunk. He couldn't avoid the conversation so he went with it. "I take it this is your Mech? Maybe when we get to the Academy I can show you mine." Smiling Sorin hoped he wasn't being too awkward.
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The skunk took his hand and shook it, "Sure that sounds fun....I'm Julian, and this is the Grand Delilah." Julian added as he held up the mask, The mask looked as if some took a fox-skull had it chromed and then added various sensors and doo-dads inside of it.
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Sorin looked around and saw several others staring at the two of them. "That's your Mech? Where's the armor, the weapons?" Sorin didn't mean to come across as a jerk, he hadin't even thought about it, but he'd never seen a Mech that wasn't full body and at least ten feet tall.
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Stood on one of the elevated platforms leading down to the main deck. Looking down at the two future students talking about the mask being a mech her emerald green eyes seemed slightly uninterested yet focused at the same time, shrugging her shoulders a little as she slipped her hands into her pockets. Taking a deep breath as she wind blew across her face her waist length black hair flowing in it, several violet streaks visible in it.
Jumping over the railing rather recklessly she landed heavily crouching down to absorb some of the impact. Speaking without much care "If that is the mech's command module it cant be more than seven feet tall. Mechs that small arnt very common." Stepping past them both and heading to look over the edge of the deck her grey and black scales glistening a little in the light of the sun. "Cant we just get there already,Ghost is getting bored."
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"You've seen how wobbly he is, do you really think I'd let him carry around a weapon that vents focused plasma?" The mask says in a rather curt tone. "W...what she means is while she is in her inactive state the armor and weapons are somewhere else, when she activates then they form", the skunk explains in an embarrassed manner.
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Seth had just fetched his drink, and was returning to the deck when he was nearly flattened by a black and grey lizard woman jumping from the railing above. "Jesus!", he exclaimed, falling back out of the way. It seemed that she, that creepy dragon, and some little, familiar looking skunk were conversing. Seth stood up proper, dusting himself off. "Um.. Hello?", he said to the lot of them.
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Sorin laughed at the Mask's response despite the embarrassment on the Skunk's face. When the Lizard started rambling about the mask he became a bit annoyed that she felt it okay to simply interject herself into the conversation. It wasn't until the Lizard mentioned the name Ghost that he began to wonder about her Mech and become interested in the conversation in earnest. Another fur, an Ibex he thought, introduced himself and at that point Shiro began to hope the ride was almost over.
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Suzumi seemed to start getting a little uncomfortable as more and more people arrived on the deck and despite it being pretty large and open she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Somebody come fetch me in the hold once we arrive." With that she turned and headed back down stairs to the mech hold Stopping infront of hers, the couched and balled up position made her ball her fist up a little. "Its not fair you know. There is so much space on this ship and the deck so open, Why did they have to lock you up like this." A small glowing pulse emanated from the necklace she was wearing. "I am not the one that is bored...You are! You are simply using my AI as excuse...." Grabbing one of the metal plates she pulled herself up onto her mech once more and sat down on its head. "ya know I am curious to see how you compare agaisnt the other 9% of top pilots I am almost sure they have never faced something like us before. Aint that right Ghost?"
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The ships slow into docking positions, and their horns bellow, causing a few of the students to jump. Before them sprawls the city sized campus of Stardust Academy. Greeting them are the four statues of the original Peacemakers and their hand built mechs that tower over the central path.
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Seth frowned. His greeting was met with a cold response, at best. The girl had walked off, and the other two seemed rather uncomfortable with his presence. "Well, excuse me, then.", he said, trying to escape the uncomfortable situation. He figured that he could talk with some of the other students. Walking off, he pondered just what sort of place this academy was going to be like. If there was nothing else, there was Socrates. The machine was so old it hardly had an AI to speak of, but he was in the process of developing one. He was fairly good with the manual controls, but not having a full AI could cost him when he competed with any others.
Just then, the ship's horn rang out. 'Finally', he thought, 'Let's get this over with'.
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For a brief moment Sorin's eyes lit up in excitement at the sight of the Academy. Taking it on himself he headed down below deck to get the Lizard he'd met earlier. After about an hour of searching he finally found her alone in a back room. "Excuse me." Sorin said softly. "I was just coming down to tell you that the boat has docked, but you probably knew that." Sorin blushed. He wasn't usually one to seek out social interaction but something told him this girl was worth talking to. "You know kid if you blushed anymore I'd think you liked the girl." Embarrassed even further Sorin was ready to just shut of the communication device he had built. It was small about a the size of a watch. It functioned as a communication device between him and his Mech. "Seraph! Excuse him okay. Anyway I thought maybe you'd like to head to the grounds together?"
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Sam was down in the hold of the ship, helping to treat some people who were feeling a bit queesy, when the horn blew. "That'll mean that we're almost there!" she said to herself, and started to head up to the deck with everybody else. She was wearing light grey cargo trousers, with the ends tucked into a pair of black boots. Her top consisted of a white button up shirt , which she wore a white trench coat over. A red cross was on her arm, signifying her as a medical unit.
When she reached the deck, she looked over the railing at the campus below, her long black hair blowing in the wind. "Wow..." she said quietly to herself, stars in her eyes as she surveyed the scene.
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Suzumi was sitting cross legged and in a meditative pose on top of her mechs head the necklace pulsed a few times. "Incoming organic." Opening her eyes she looked at Sorin before standing up and stretching a little. "Thanks...I didnt notice. I guess I phased out a little."
"A little? You just spent close to an hour interfacing..." The feminine voice from her necklace rang out before giggling softly. Jumping down from her mech she offered another respectfull bow to the machine before turning to Sorin. "Yeah I geuss we can...Its not like they will let me take Ghost out myself."
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Julian jumps surprised by the horn, Causing D to berate him "Easy kid!, I really would enjoy not going over the side....go grab your bag and let's get out of here!" Julian nods and goes back to his room to retrieve his things.
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Sorin smiled at the Lizard. He started walking to the topside along side her smiling and over all enjoying himself for some reason. "I can't wait to finally start training with the others. Maybe someone will finally challenge me and Seraph. Oh, wait I never caught your name." Sorin waited knowing Seraph would chime in. "Sorin so rude no introducing me. I dear lady, am Sunset Angel, but you may call me Seraph." Sorin blushed as they stepped out on to the top deck hoping the Lizard would think he was too weird.
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Seth emerged from below deck, things in hand. The ship was just about docked by this point, and everyone was slowly shuffling to the gangplanks. A few of the faces he'd already seen were scattered throughout the crowd, and he did his best to avoid eye contact with them, considering their awkward encounter. Looking around him, he saw a human woman, wearing a white trench coat. He hadn't met too many humans, but he decided to chat with this one. "G'day!", he greeted her over the din of the crowd. "My name's Seth, how about you?".
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Walked alongside Sorin without really saying much, yet a small smile betrayed that she was for some odd reason enjoying the walk to get off of the boat.Her smiling curling up even more as she let out a soft giggle. "I cant wait til face all of the students and see their faces when me and Ghost get serious." "They better not dare limit me, I will be really angry if they try and modify our package." Looking at her necklace she brushed her thumb over the crystal that hung from it. "Dont worry I wont let em touch you.". Sorry about that Ghost sometimes forgets when she needs to shut up.
"Names Suzumi. My dad was a peacekeeper." She didnt really say anything else but did offer a small nod to the voice before stepping into the sun and moving her shoulders a little, several extremely thin wires running under her scales visible on her shoulders and back in the sun. "Lets get going, I am anxious to get Ghost out of that uncomfortable position."
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Sam was caught off guard by the voice adressing her from behind. She snapped back to reality and turned to face the Ibex. She had never quite seen anything like him, being from a rich human family she rarely ever saw any anthro's except in pictures. "Oh, Hello there Seth. I'm Samantha Edinbura, or just Sam." she shifted the bag on her back and stuck out a hand expecting a shake. "Pleasure to meet you."
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"Sam," Seth repeated, with a warm smile, extending his arm to accept her handshake. "Nice to meet you too." As he shook her hand, he noticed the badge on her sleeve. "Medic, huh? I've got a lot of respect for the medical profession, keeps the rest of us from falling apart!", he stated with a laugh.
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"Suzumi." Sorin said with a smile. "It's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl" Sorin continued with her to the front of the Academy. "Maybe we can be each others first opponents." Sorin said optimistically. "So what do you know about this school anyway." "Sorin would you calm down you are going to talk the girls ear off." Seraph complained much to Sorin's embarrassment. "What my rambling friend here means to say is that he is eager to face you in battle as am I. Besides I'm most intrigued meet Ghost." Seraph always had been a help to Sorin in social interactions.
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Smirked a little as they reached the entrance to the campus "Not much, my old man never spoke of what goes on here. Simply told me to work hard and get chosen. Typical peacekeeper." Stopping dead in her tracks as he said her name was beautiful an uneasy feeling filling the air around her. Her fists clenching tightly. "I am not here to make friends...I am here to prove to my entire family that I am better than my dad and that I have what it takes to be a peacekeeper nothing else." Taking a few steps forwards she let out a sigh, before continuing to walk off. "You really should work on your people skills...You cant always fly solo you know." She did feel bad for reacting like she did but she had always done things on her own and wasnt used to people getting too close.
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She smiled. "Yep! That's what I'm here for! My father's a surgeon, so I grew up around medicine. He always wanted me to follow in his footsteps, but I want to get out and see the world. So, I figured that I'd do a bit of both and join the ranks of the great Peacekeepers."
She looked over his shoulder and saw the other students leaving the boat and entering the academy. "Come on, we better get going. You can tell me what you do while we walk."
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As they walked their way off of the ship, Seth regaled Sam with the story of how he acquired his mech. As a child, he marvelled at the huge machines people would use to keep the peace in the movies and television shows he watched, and he was never as excited as when he saw them in his local town's parade. From that point on he was determined to have one of his own, and be one of the peacekeepers. Unfortunately for him, though, his family was relatively poor, and were unable to afford a single nut or bolt for him to get one.
Undeterred, however, he performed many hard labour jobs to get enough cash for a rusting hulk in a nearby scrapyard. How the old police mech wound up there, he never knew, but he was determined to have it. For a measly 1000 in credits, it was his. Of course, it wasn't any good in it's condition, so a few more years of scrounging for cash and spare parts (as well as some crudely self manufactured bits and baubs), he was able to bring it up to code. It was heavy and comparatively slow to most other mechs, but it was able to hold its own. With it, he was able to secure a place on the Stardust Academy registry.
"With the amount of scratches, dents and holes in the old frame, I'm at least not worried about the unloading crew scratching the paint!", he said with a laugh.
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"Really?" Sam said, as they walked down the ramp and off the ship. "My mech is a new Logistics model combat medic, complete with new prototype nanites. I got it as a going away present from my uncle. I've never really had to work hard for anything, I mean sure I've had jobs in the past, but if I ever really wanted something that I couldn't afford myself all I had to do was ask. I had no idea how hard the real world is."
She chuckled nervously "Well, that was kind of depressing and unnecessary. We should get to the main gates, I hear the induction ceremony will start soon!"
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Julian shuffled in with the rest of the departing students. The crowd eventually empties out into an outdoor theater, Each student is assigned a seat and given a personalized packet full of information for them to read after the Headmaster's opening Address. onstage The staff sits flanking the podium, some chatting Idley, others looking uncomfortable infron of the crowd of the entire student body. Overhead The Sunburst Squadron and Black Nimbus (Two groups of Arial mech pilots from the Peacemaker's Air Corps) show off their mechs trying to out do each others stunts for the newbies.
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Sorin frowned a bit when Suzumi stormed off. He tried to follow her, but despite his best efforts he was swept up in the torrent of students moving to the ceremony. Sorin took his packet and other info and smiled from ear to ear when he realized he was sitting next to Suzumi. Sorin tried to speak to her, but nothing would come. When he saw the Ace Mech Pilots he at in pure awe unable to move his attention.
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Seth eventually lost Sam in the crowd. It was inevitable, really, the way people were pushing along. He wasn't too worried, he was sure they'd meet again later. Besides, there was an opportunity to meet new people. As he approached the huge mess of chairs set up before the stage, he was handed an envelope, presumably with pamphlets and the like. He wound up somewhere in the middle of the rows, next to a fox and a hawk he had been chatting with a day or so ago. He barely got to say hello to them when the sonic boom of the aerial mechs sounded from above. It seemed the Academy knew how to put on a show, at any rate.
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Sam lost her new found friend in the crowd, but wasn't too worried. Besides, it was time for the opening ceremony, and she needed to give her full attention. She awkwardly shuffled her way through the crowd and took the pamplet when prompted before finding her seat.
Professor Cunningham sat next to the stage with everybody else and watched as the new recruits poured in. Some of them walked proudly, like they were meant to be there and they knew it, while others kind of nervously shuffled about. He sighed and said to himself "Just another year..."
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Professor Cross slowly made his way to his seat. The middle-aged greying fox held his etched titanium cane tight in his right hand, limping across the stage towards the other Professors. He was clad in full military dress, bearing his medals and ribbons with pride. He sat down next to Professor Cunningham.
"A fine bunch of eager faces, it's a shame we have to break them."
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Ludwig sat backward in the chair facing the students bored out of his mind, he had lectures to plan and names to learn to pronounce."Wonderful....so much to do and here I am sitting through another speech in the world least comfortable folding chair." He muttered with annoyance as he adjusted his glasses.
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Cunningham nodded, surveying the scene. "Damn shame." he took off the military cap he was wearing and wiped the sweat from his brow before replacing the cap. "It's going to be a tough year Cross, theres a lot to weed out in this group."
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Silently took her package and headed to her seat. Her eyes once more having taken the cold,unintrested distant look to them when she had first met the others on the deck. Continually brushing her fingertips over the clear crystal that hung from her neck as she watched the squadron of areal mechs trying to out do each other with stunts. Speaking to herself with a slight tone of annoyance "Silly display, those maneuvers cant be useful in combat...Too many variables and way to hard to execute when under fire." Her eyes glancing over the professors that were on the stage.
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Before long an elderly man in a wheel chair is brought out by a man in his mid thirties dressed similarly to the elderly man. As the pair reach the the stage the school's song plays, as they reach the podium it softens. The aide approaches the mic. "Hello students, this is Headmaster Alberts, and I am Vernon Watts his personal aide" The headmaster hands the aide a bit of paper to read. Vernon clears his throat and begins. "Welcome each and everyone of you! Although my voice eludes me, I believe Mr. Watts can convey my message clearly. You all have been selected to attend this establishment because of your hard work and natural talent, but this is not an end to that, no this is a beginning. You will face hard tasks and tough decisions ahead, and many of you will drop out, but for those of you who do make it. We will help you become champions of peace and prometheans of a brighter tomorrow. Let's make this year memorable shall we?
Inside your packets you will find your dorm room info, your personal mech bay info, a map of campus and your room keys. And with that you are all dismissed for the day."
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Seth had already absent-mindedly opened his envelope before the speech had even begun, so the revelations of their contents was no surprise to him. In particular, he had been looking at the map and mech bay info, as he figured his first stop would be to see Socrates. He'd had a good idea of how to tune the AI, assuming it worked. As soon as they were dismissed, he said goodbye to his neighbors in seating, and headed to where his mech was.
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"It's the same as every other year, just more dirt to sift through to find some diamonds. Maybe, though, we'll turn some of these cadets into Peacekeepers." Cyrus replied to Cunningham.
Cyrus, gave his undivided attention to Alberts and Watts; though many of his combat abilities have left him, his unwavering military discipline had not. After the speech, he remained seated to watch the new students file out. "Who amongst you has the grit to be called Peacekeeper?" He thought to himself.
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Sorin looked in his packet wondering who his room mate would be, but set aside going to his room instead heading to the Mech Bay to check on Seraph. After spending an hour or so lost, he finally found his Mech's bay. "You okay there Seraph?" Sorin asked to the mech. It had been three days since he'd seen his Mech. Every time he saw it he was captivated by it's golden orange tone and six white wings. Most Ariel Mechs used smaller more compact jet packs, but Sorin was constantly proud of the unique quality his Mech had. "Yeah kid I'm fine. Don't worry about me to much look who's in the bay next to us." To one side was an empty bay with the name Grand Delilah. Sorin assumed that may have been the Mech of the Skunk he met earlier. On the other side of Seraph was a Mech named Ghost. Smiling to himself Sorin took it as a sign that he'd be seeing a lot of Suzumi.
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Standing up with the other student Suzumi offered a bow towards the podium,clearly a sign of respect and showing more of her Asian heritage. Turning and walking away she opened the package and pulled out her room keys, slipping them into a pocket before looking at where her mech bay was and then at the map. "Bit of a walk but thats good." Starting to make her way to her dorm she kept her distance from most of the students. "Bring it one old man, I will handle any task you throw at me." She smirked to herself.
Stopping at her dorm room she smiled and turned jogging to the mech back and quickly opening the large bay door, a smile on her face as she looked up at Ghost, the large mech lo longer in its compact locked down position, instead standing almost 18 feet tall the white and grey toned paint on it giving it a strangely muscular appearance. "Its alot better seeing you like this Ghost. How are you holding up?" "Dont worry about me, Transportation is a integral part of combat logistics." "Ghost open Pilot hatch I need to grab my bags and just want to run a diagnostic." With that a large hatch opened on the back of the mech without much hesitation the lizard quickly scaled up her mech without using the standard ladder that extended. Sitting in the pilot seat she took a deep breath and smiled.
Flicking a few switches two monitors lit up and started displaying various information. "Palladium reactor stable, gyroscopic stabilization is still calibrated well...Weapons are offline and locked down by a supervisor...Electronic package is still intact and hasnt been tampered with." Taking the necklace from her neck she slide the crystal into a slot in one of the electronics banks. "There you go, Welcome home Ghost." She giggled softly as her AI merged into the mech. "Have a few minutes I will take you to the dorm once you are done checking everything."
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Julian wanted to get to his dorm before whoever his roommate would be so he could have first dibs on a bed.
"Earth to Julian, don't you think that we should see our immanence bay first instead of worrying about who gets the side with the window?" Julian chuckled as he tore up the path, "Nuh-uh D, I have the legs we're seeing my room first. After that, then we can take a look at your broom closet" The skull only responds with a quiet annoyed sigh.
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Sam left the auditorium with everybody else, and shifted the bag on her back ackwardly. Her mech hadn't taken kindly to her trying to shover her bags into him, nor did he have much space to hold any bags. So, she had carried all of her belongings the old fashioned way.
When she finally made it outside she opened her pamplet and took out the dorm key and the map, looking for directions to her dorm. When she found it on the map, she began heading there.
When she reached her dorm, she ackwardly fought with her coat pocket to try and get her key out, but finaly managed it just in time to see somebody, holding what looked like a skull, walking her way.
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Cyrus watched as every last student and faculty member left. The one who bowed caught his attention, something about her seemed familiar, no doubt a relative of hers had been subordinate of his. Though, with how many students were here, he wouldn't be surprised if at least half of their parents had served under him. With the last parting student scrambling out, he took his leave. At the door he took one final look, every one of those empty seats will pass through his class at some point. Many of those seats will remain empty come graduation. It was a melancholic thought, but Cyrus would rather see a student drop-out or get iced instead of seeing them as a casualty on the battlefield.
Professor Cross made his way to the mech bays. He slowly limped along as he watched each student locate their own mech. These mighty machines had always marveled him. Each one said something about the pilot's personality. It was a piece of the pilot. An extension of them, a part of them, much like a hand or a leg. Technology had advanced quite a bit since Cross was a cadet, each mech had a very advanced AI nowadays, almost to the point of being self-aware.
The fox made it to his own bay. He preferred that his bay be amongst the students; though a retiree he still liked to be in the thick of things. Old habits die hard. He slid his faculty card through the swipe and the door opened, revealing the Hammer of the Gods. A large six-legged machine with one mighty central cannon. It was olive drab with yellow serial numbers painted on it; HAMMER OF THE GODS was printed on the barrel, he didn't care for style or flash. Cyrus gave one of the legs a pat, his metal prosthetic making a clang against the armor plating.
"Another year old girl. You up for it?"
He didn't expect an answer, there was no advanced AI in his mech. Only a simple archaic one that managed subsystems and stabilization.
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Sorin smiled when he saw Suzumi in the bay next to him. She was so caught up in her Mech though she must not have noticed him at first. Across the way he saw others students arriving. Not wanting to get caught up in another torrent of students he summoned his courage and knocked softly on the door of the bay leading to Suzumi and her Mech. "Suzumi? It's me Sorin, I was wondering if you wanted some company for the walk to the Dorms. Seems like all the students are coming around so I figured you might want to go with me..." The words trailed off into the bay as he waited for a response.
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"Alright, Socrates! Engage AI comms." Seth sounded out to Socrates. A small beep followed. "AI comms engaged.", Socrates rang out. The robotic voice was crackly, like sound being played over an old, broken amplifier. "Okay, now open the electronics bay, and run the diagnostics HUD." Another beep, "Command not recognized." Seth let out an exasperated sigh, then said, "Never mind, just open the pilot bay." The machine beeped, then there was the loud hissing of hydraulics, as the machine bent down, the bay opening. Seth clambered in, and started pressing a multitude of buttons, using the manual controls. Another, smaller hiss emanated as the electronics compartment opened up. Crudely routed in was the 'AI' of Socrates: a nearly fifty year old phone, and some laptop parts. It was embarrassing, what he had slapped in instead of the near to completely sentient AIs most other people had. It made him cringe every time he realized how ironic the name of his machine was. However, it did get the job done, for the most part. Seth decided to tinker with the machine, determined that if he didn't have a decent AI, then he would make damn sure he got all of the information he needed in battle. No matter what else, the machine could always be changed.
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Julian Looked on as the human girl watched him run up to her, as if he didn't really pay attention that someone was in his path to the dorms.
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At first there was no response from neither Suzumi nor Ghost, just a deathly quite from inside of the hanger. That silence was rather abruptly shattered and a high pitched humm filled the hanger. Several external light blinking online as a dull glow formed around the mechs optical sensors. But that quickly died down before she stepped out from the hatch on the back, her necklace hanging in her hand as she quickly climbed down. The hatch closing and the mech crouching down into storage position. "Sure fine... but just this once." Placing the necklace around her neck once more she sighed and walked out with her duffle bag slung over her shoulder.
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Sam shrugged and unlocked the door to her dorm, stepping inside. The room was clean and organized, she chuckledm knowing that it wouldn't stay like this for long. She threw her bags down on one of the beds and stretched. "Damn those things were heavy.." she thought to herself, before leaving the room and deciding to go make sure that her mech was fine.
After her quick stroll across the academy toward the mech bay, she looked at her notes, detailing which bay her mech was in. When she found out which, she stuffed the papers back into her pocket and walked over to her mech's bay. She inserted her key again into the door when prompted and slowly opened the door. Inside was a shiny white and red mech that was currently standing with it's hands behind it's back. It looked at her when she entered. "Hello madame, how was the introduction ceremony?" she shrugged "It was alright, I suppose. There wasn't much said but I guess that leaves the students more time to become familiar with the campus."
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Cyrus stood on a lift that was directly beneath his mech, holding a button the lift raised him into the cockpit. He took his seat and strapped in. The leather on the seat was cracked and torn, exposing the foam padding underneath. There was a large metal plate cover welded directly in front of his left arm, another one directly behind. He flicked a few switches and initiated the start-up routine. The fusion engine warmed up and hummed to life. Each of the indicator lights started coming up green. His trigger finger was getting itchy "Lets take her out for a spin." He thought, then immediately thought afterward, why not treat the students on their first day. Professor Cross pulled out his data-pad and typed out an e-mail addressed to all of the students in his class. It read as follows:
Dear students,
Allow me to congratulate you on your admission to Stardust Academy. You are now amongst some of the most revered and skilled pilots of your time, my time, and of the future. I know you've endured a long journey to get here and have trigger fingers as itchy as my own. As a treat to you and your mechs, I am allowing those of you who have elected to take my class, 153 STT Strategy and Theory, to accompany me on the firing range. This offer is only valid for the next two hours, after which the firing range will be locked down and you will be required to return your mechs to your respective bays. Please note, all kinectic rounds must be inert rounds and all energy weapons must be set to low voltages. We don't want to have to send any of you to the infirmary for friendly-fire on your first day.
Attached are directions to the firing range from the student mech bay. The authorization code to undock is 9987AAF. Take advantage of this treat, there wont be many more.
Sincerely,
Professor Cyrus Cross
The Hammer of the Gods walked through its bay and out onto the tarmac, turned and headed for the firing range. He gave the horn a blow, to ensure that the students were aware of the mech stamping down the aisle. Upon reaching the firing range, he exited his mech and watched to see if any of the students would take advantage of his generosity.
-
As Seth was tinkering with Socrates electronics, a loud beeping rang out, startling him into bashing his horns against the casing. A slew of cursing followed, until Seth realized what the beeping was. A message had been sent to him. He checked the HUD to see that, indeed, he had been messaged. Prof. Cyrus Cross, inviting all students of his class to the firing range. A huge grin cracked across Seth's face, and he hurriedly put Socrates back together.
Releasing the locks on the ammo crates, he went down, and removed them. Each one was likely 100 lbs, half full of live rounds, but Seth managed to easily carry it off to one of the bay's cargo lockers. Thankfully, there were sub-sonic rubber rounds provided by the academy. Once the rounds were loaded, Seth entered his mech, initiating the necessary programs and procedures. A loud hum began, and Socrates came to life. A few seconds later, and the Ibex and his machine were off to the range.
-
Sam's wrist mounted PDA lit up, indicating a new message. She read it, and when she was finished looked up at her mech. "One of the professors wants us to meet him on the firing range, we should go."The mech nodded, "Indeed madame, let us go 'show off'" he said, playing with the latch on his SMG, which was currently in a holster like device on his leg.Sam smiled "Alright, open up then." The front of the mech opened up, revealing a place where Sam could comfortably stand in the torso area, with her legs and arms slipping into his. She quickly got in with pracitced ease, making sure her coat got caught on nothing, and the mech closed it's body, sealing her in. A series of display screens filled with different viewpoints lit up, along with gauges and screens, displaying important information about her mech. She punched in the armment codes and her weapons came online. Her SMG was locked at low power, but the tank on her mech's back was filled with nanites. She grinned.
(Part 1)
Post Merge: March 08, 2014, 10:03:16 PM
What many people do not know, is that the tiny robots, known as nanites, can also be used as weapons themselves. Sure, they are the best when it comes to repairing, finding the gaps in machines and flesh alike where it had been removed, and using themselves to seal it up. However, if you pumped just a bit more power into them, the nanites would go crazy, acting as an extreamly powerful acid and disintergrating anything they touched. The Academy must have failed to realize this, as it is such a rare and dirty trick that is only available in the most recent models of nanites.
Sam exited her mech's bay and began heading in the direction of the firing range.
(Final Part)
-
As Sorin and Suzumi walked to her dorm he was still smiling though hiding it when she would look at him. This one was detached, but he was prepared to try and bring out her good side. Smiling he passed time telling her about himself. When they got to her dorm door, Sorin prepared to say good bye when he got a message from Professor Cross. "Hey One of the Teachers wants to show off Mechs. Wanna go?"
-
D vibrates a little bit in Julian's grasp as soon as he reaches to dorm room,
"Hey kid, looks like that old geezer of a strat. teacher wants some of his students to strut their stuff!"
Julian sighs a little, "Let me guess you want to go play?"
"Kid, firing a plasma weapon down a range should never be called play....but for all intents and purposes yes"
D responds in a matter of fact tone that barely hides her excitement.
With a groan Julian tosses his bag onto his bunk and begins to trudge back towards the firing range.
-
Sam strides onto the range, where she sees the professor standing next to his mech. She walks up to him, and opens up her mech, jumping down from her piloting posisition. She does a curtsy "Hello professor, I am Sam and this is The Doctor." The mech bows in curtsy. "We received your message."
-
Julian wasn't far behind Sam, and he "Uhm, Hello I'm Julian Rosewood, I also got your message...uhm sir."
-
Cyrus gripped his cane as he dipped to a slight bow
"Greetings students, I'm Professor Cross. No doubt you want to partake in this little exercise I've put together. Nothing extraordinary, just something simple and quick."
He programmed a training routine into his data-pad. A few moving targets appeared down the range.
"Destroy the dummy targets as quickly as possible. Three ground, one air, and one concealed. You'll each do this one at a time. There's no risk or reward, other than the opportunity to fire off some rounds day one unlike your fellow classmates."
He paused and toyed with a thought for a moment. Maybe they should work for it a little bit.
"Though, there is one catch. You'll be firing without the assistance of your AI's targeting. This will be your first unofficial lesson. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Otherwise, you may begin when ready."
-
"Professor...we....D and I, can't turn it off when we're active...." Julian stated not sure how to go about what he was asked to do.
Sent from my SM-T210R using Tapatalk
-
Seth was afraid he'd be late for the appointment at the range. Even at his mech's full speed, others were passing him as he went. As he approached the range, it seemed his fears were realized. One of the instructors he'd seen on stage earlier was addressing several students. He cursed as he came within the final few feet; he guessed the grizzled vet was not likely tolerating of stragglers. Regardless, he parked his mech with the rest of them, and hopped out. "Sorry I'm late, did I miss anything?"
-
Cyrus turned his attention to Julian.
"You can't disable the targeting routine? It should be a controllable subsystem. Well, this is why we're here. So I know in advance about you all and your machines. Very well, do your best to aim unassisted."
As the archaic police mech approached, a smirk came across the fox's greyed muzzle.
"My, that must be... either a Generation I or II police model, and it looks a bit pieced together. Your machine is almost as old as mine, you have my admiration, but I digress. No you have not missed much, I was just giving the instructions to this little practice. Don't fear, you'll not be reprimanded for tardiness in extra curricular activities, but the same grace wont be given for class and scheduled exercises. I've set up some target dummies, five in total. Which you must destroy as quickly as possible with your targeting subsystem disabled."
-
Sorin grinned at the chance to show off. Stepping onto the field first Sunset Angel's golden and orange plating glinted the sun. "Seraph, drop the target assist. I'm flying solo on this one." Seraph dropped the assist and let Sorin have complete control. Sorin spent hours training with no targeting assist. He was one of the few none gun toting Mech users left. It took him only moments to read the field. Three on the ground mostly clustered easy to handle. Ariel target has a shield so try to get behind it. Now where is that hidden Mech. With only a few seconds he found it. Nestled between a few trees was a smaller Scout Model Mech. Clever old man hiding the Mech in plain sight.
With a flick of his left hand he exploded into action. Darting forward he slammed into the ground Mech directly in front of him smashing it's head with his shield. Using the Motion he had to spin left he hit the next Mech in the skull by flicking his plasma blade just briefly to pierce it's face, and then spun on a dime, a complete one-eighty and flew barely off the ground slamming his blade into the skull of yet another Mech. He grabbed the Mech he'd just downed and tossed it at the Ariel Mech giving him just enough time to get behind him and flick his blade on and cut right through it's torso. Using his height as an advantage he flew right over the Scout and turned on his blade tossing it at the Scout. The Scout went to leap away but the blade pierced it's ankle joint pinning it to the ground. Smirking he rammed the Scout with his shield smashing it's chest in.
Stepping out into the Center field after retrieving his blade he smile big at the group of on-lookers, before stepping back in the mix next to Suzumi.
-
Cyrus enjoyed watching Sorin tackle this task. Not too many pilots flew blind, it was a useful skill to have. Though this was an easy trial, he passed admirably. Upon his return Cyrus gave a small applause.
"Good work, I'll be sure the next exercise isn't so easy. So, who is next?"
He tapped a few keys on his data-pad and the field reset.
-
'This'll be a breeze!', Seth thought to himself. In the beginning, when he was still fixing up Socrates, he spent many long hours shooting without any aiming systems. Seth cried out to Cyrus, "That would be me, sir!"
Hopping into the mech, he disengaged the aiming subsystem, and walked out onto the field. The guns he was toting were fully auto, but aim would be better using short bursts. Another factor was his sub-sonic rubber ammunition. It flies slower, so aiming higher than usual was a necessity. Taking careful, yet swift aim, he targeted the aerial mech first. A few short bursts sent it hurtling to the ground. Moving steadily forward, the three ground targets fell in a similar fashion. Seth expected the final target to be where it was previously, but such mistakes do not go unpunished. Several rounds struck against the hull of Socrates. However, this mech was designed to take a beating, its heavy plating causing the rounds to bounce off without any punch. Seth raised the mech's arms and leaped, sending Socrates dual arm blades crashing into the target, obliterating it.
Seth came back to the rest of the class, sounding over the intercom, "Socrates is a bloody tank!"
-
Sam nodded when she received the objectives, and hopped back comfortably in her mech. She watched as the first two students did their thing, and smirked as the second yelled in celebration. She spoke up, her voice sounding crystal clear through her expensive mic. "Impressive indeed, but while that armor may protect you from damage, it also slows you down." She rolled her neck and clasped her hands, as if cracking her knuckles. "Let me show you what you can do without it."
She waited for the professor to reset the field.
-
Cyrus couldn't help but chuckle at Seth's enthusiasm. "Excellent work, but keep in mind, those were just dummies. Had this been a real battle you may have faired worse at the end."
He reset the targets and awaited the next student's performance.
-
Sam nonchalantly strolls onto the field, and unholsters the plasma SMG at her side. "Doctor, disable aim assist protocalls." a beep is heard, followed by "Aim assist disabled madame."
Sam springs into action, dashing forward and sending a shrot burst directr at one of the ground mechs, popping off it's head. She dashes at the other two, which are grouped togeather, and fires a burst into the one on the right, chosing instead to slam her fist into the head of the left one. With that done, she searches for the concealed one ans spots him sneaking between a few trees. She puts a couple plasma bolts in it's head as a reward for it's effort.
However, in all of the excitement she compleatly forgot about the flying mech, and only remembered it when she saw it divebombing out of the sky towards her, about ten feet from her face. She quickly fell onto her back and sprayed it with her SMG, melting the things head with hot plasma bolts. She then roled back, kicking up with her legs and sending the bot into the air.
Post Merge: March 09, 2014, 05:59:06 AM
She stood to her feat and holstered her SMG, walking back to the students. a voice echos in her cockpit that only she can hear. "That was too close madame, you very nearly messed up on your first exercise." Sam frowned, "I know Doc, but I handled it, didn't I?" The AI remained quiet.
She spoke cheerily over her mic. "Next!"
-
Cyrus clapped his hands together.
"Another excellent performance. Be sure you're aware of your surroundings next time, it only gets harder from here. You're all doing a fantastic job thus far. Who is next?"
Again, he reset the field.
-
"Well done, well, I think that's everyone. If no one else would like to go then you are dismissed. I will remain here for the next hour as I promised should someone else like a turn." He reset the field again.
"But, not until after this old man has had his turn." He had a big grin on his face. It wasn't every day he got to show off.
Cyrus stepped on on the lift and was brought back into the cockpit. The six-legged artillery platform stomped onto the field. For a heavy mech it was surprisingly agile, yet still slow compared to other classes. He flicked a few switches and activated the rear leg compensators. HotG leaned forward and slammed the rear legs into the ground, large hydraulic pistons extended and increased the contact area with the ground. "Address Hammer: Load MIRV round - triple shot." Cyrus aimed the cannon at the three ground mechs now aware of his position, the machine whirred and clicked as the round was loaded. Not even a split second after the munition loaded signal turned green the massive cannon fired. A cloud of smoke and dust erupted, sending the projectile straight for the group. It split into three warheads and connected with each mech. Direct hit. Cyrus acted on a dime though, immediately after firing he barked another order. "Address Hammer: Load AA Flak."
He flicked a switch and the pistons retracted and the mech returned to normal mode. He marched at maximum speed, turning the turret to take aim at the aerial mech. The round clicked in place and again, there was almost no hesitation in firing. A single round exploded out of the barrel, flew towards the flying mech, then exploded into a large cloud of shrapnel, tearing it to pieces. After firing the flak round, the cloaked mech took fire and revealed its location. "Address Hammer: Load Earthshaker round." He turned the turret and the body to compensate for the slow turret speed. Hammer chimed in "Confirm Earthshaker round" to which Professor Cross replied "Confirm." The mech whirred and clicked in the round. The barrel started glowing, the metal heating up the round.
Hammer stopped in place and the barrel was pointed straight at the soon-to-be unfortunate mech. "Earthshaker round ready. Bring the rain." The round exploded out of the barrel with the thunder that only artillery fire knows, the ground shook just from the round being fired. There was a large ball of fire and shrapnel where a mech had once been, a shockwave knocked down all of the trees and shook the ground with the force of an earthquake, no doubt living up to its name. Cyrus returned to the students and reset the field.
"No doubt each of us can hold our own salt as mech pilots against multiple foes. We already know you're lone-wolves, you've proved that much, able to withstand several foes on your own. We're here to destroy that mentality. When you're facing a squad, a battalion, or even an entire army, you'll need your partner to have your back. Where you fire, they fire right next to you. When you charge in, they cover your flanks. As many of you have seen, we've all taken a few rounds in our arrogance. In our first class, we will begin deconstructing this. You are dismissed. You may remain here or return to you mech bays and resume your day. I look forward to seeing you all in class."
-
Sorin watched in awe. That man was preforming with reaction speeds that most pilot's in their prime wouldn't be able to replicate or come even close to. Sorin was beginning to see that this man would be a professor worth knowing on a personal level.
-
After Cyrus had finished, the ground began to shake slightly as a 20 foot tall Titan mech strolled onto the field. It aproached Cyrus and the students, before it's cockpit opened with a hiss and revealed Professor Cunningham. He spoke to Cyrus, ignoring the students, "Showing off to the new students, Cross?" He said matter-of-factly. "I wasn't aware classes started untill tomorrow."
-
"Greetings Cunningham, I was giving the cadets a chance to flex their muscle. Perhaps you'd like to demonstrate as well?"
-
Cunningham shrugged, as did his mech, and he closed the cockpit, speaking over his mic. "Ah what the hell." He stepped into posisition, readying his AT cannon, and waited for Cross's mark.
When Cross indicated, Cunningham sprang into action, quickly firing three bolts down range at the ground targets. the heavy AT shells burrowed into the armor of the dummy mechs, before exploding half a second later. The result was devistating.
His eyes scanned the battlefield, and after no luck of finding the concealed mech he spoke to the combat AI in his mech. "Computer, switch to thermal." The visioned changed to the bright colors of thermal imaging, and almost immediately pointed out the hidden scout. It was up in a nearby tree. Cunningham grinned as he stepped forward and grabbed it by it's leg, yanking it down from the tree, and facing upwards at the arial mech. It was advancing on his posisition, but didn;t get far as Cunningham launched the scout mech towards it, almost like throwing a football.
Post Merge: March 10, 2014, 12:02:55 AM
The two mechs colided in a brilliant fireworks display, raining scrap down on the field.
Cunningham disabled the thermal imaging and strolled back towards the group and opened his hatch before hopping down from the giant mech. He took a cigar from his pocket and lit it, taking a few puffs before saying "And that... is how it's done."
-
Julian stood watching the other's much larger mechs preform, knowing that his go would have to be a little more personal than the others were. "I think I'll go next, if no one will mind..."
Post Merge: March 10, 2014, 02:32:49 AM
Julian lifted D to his face be fore takeing a deep breath and speaking in a calm tone,"Grand Delilah, activate bio-merge." A black substance was emitted from the back to the mask enveloping the Skunk. The mask turns into a full helm piece, Julian's eyes lining up with the eye sockets Soon Armour plating vaguely resembling skeletal structures begin to cover his vital regions and vulnerable areas. Next appears a long rod with dual plasma vents on either side along with a small energy pistol. When the merge was completed Julian was only about an inch taller than he was normally and had been covered by a black and silver armored body suit.
"Bio-merge successful, adjusting weapons' energy levels to assignment standards....Successful, ready to proceed"
Julian nods in confirmation before stepping on to the the range's field. He finger's the lower controls on what would be his plasma scythe, judging the amount of kick it has when he activates it's secondary compression blast function, seeing that it was to his liking he took off towards the first set of dummy mechs.
As the first one opens fire on him, he uses quick compression blasts to strafe out of their way, until he felt he was close enough to his target. Quickly he rams the back end of the rod into the ground using a compression blast to boost him into the air. the 'blade' of his scythe sparks to life as Julian comes down onto the mech, driving his scythe into the back of the mech's head piece. With his first target collapsing he uses the body to spring-board onto the next one repeating the process. Unfortunately the final of the ground trio was to far away for a leap, so instead Julian compression boosted between it's legs and fired off a few rounds into it's leg joint's hoping it would fall like a top heavy tree. When it failed to fall Julian attempted to stay in it's blind spot doing damage to it's undercarriage and legs until it did so.
Next came the hard part, The Arial target, using the fallen mechs as coverage Julian took aim and fired a few shots at the the air based mech's suspension system, missing one of the shots. He continues the process of firing and taking cover until the mech had been downed.
Finally came the hidden target, Julian fired a few blind shots hoping to draw it out. In response to his shots a few wizzed by him grazing his armor, Julian turned in the direction the shots came from, quick enough to spot it, Julian took aim and built up a charged shot, only releasing it as the mech appeared to let off another round.
Although his session took longer than the other students Julian felt slightly proud of his training session. "I..I think i'm finished."
-
After the two professors impressive displays, Seth felt nearly like clapping. It was a fantastic show of proper mech efficiency and handling.
Then it was another student's turn. Seth was curious how the scrawny skunk would handle himself. He didn't see any mechs close to him, so was curious what he was going to do. However, as soon as he placed the mask on himself, the entire situation changed. Some sort of black goo formed around him, creating an exoskeletal mech. Seth had never seen the likes of it, and his jaw dropped. Then, he moved out onto the field. He was quick, not as quick as with the servos and motors of machines, but faster than any person. His smaller size also made him less of a target. Couple that with the impressive displays of agility, and there was a recipe for a great fighter.
At the end of his session, Seth had a significantly greater respect for the kid. It would be worthwhile to keep an eye on him.
-
Leaning back in her chair inside of the mech as she watched both professors demonstrate their skills in the mechs. She was recording every single aspect of the fighting style everybody was showing. "They do well for having targeting assist offline, but are still reliant on sensors...as all mechs are I cant wait to show them why you are called Ghost." Suzumi giggled a little before listening to the AI speaking "Just remember that there is a limit to that skill and you are the one that pays the heavier price. And you know that its the shell that is called ghost, not me." Placing her hand on the crystal that was slotted on one of the control panels "Yeah I know Eve, just dont want others to know you have your own name." Watching intently as Julian merged with the mask. "Now that is...interesting seems that we arnt the only ones that interface with each other." Personally she was happy that nobody could see the wide smile on her face, the only time she ever smiled like that was when piloting and getting serious.
-
Cyrus was impressed with both Cunningham's and Julian's display. Cunningham less-so due to him being a seasoned veteran like himself. Cyrus was interested in Julian's power-armor of sorts, not many pilots opted for smaller, more intimate mechs. It will definitely be interesting getting all of these students to work together, this was a well rounded squadron in the making.
"Excellent performances everyone. I do believe we have one more student left, however."
He reset the field and looked at Suzumi.
-
The necklace pulsed a few time as Ghosts voice chimed from it. "Suzumi It seems one of the professors is having a training season it weapons combat. Shall we go? " Suzumi looked at the sky for a moment before waving off Sorin. "[/color]I will see how I feel ghost...but not right now. Activate RS-01 and let me know what happens." Inside the bay the mech activated a sensory package that would keep scanning the other mechs movements and any transmissions. Walking back to her mech she climbed up into the cockpit and watched. [/color]"Ghost lets go, I am bored of just watching them." Activating the mech fully the hatch sealed behind her as her seat swiveled and locked into forward position. The entire 130 degrees infront of her consisted of a seamless monitor, it lit up and displayed several start up diagnostics before switching to camara view giving her a clear view of what her mech saw. Stepping outside the mech seemed suprisingly light on its feet as she jogged to the training ground and stepped up.[/color]"We will go next." Stepping up she spoke to ghost,"Disable AI target assist and activate TP-Alpha." Ghost chimed a confirmation as the automatic targeting systems went off line. Taking a few step`s and raising the chaingun in her hands to ready position. Heye eyes scanned across the screen and radar system displays.... "Five targets...One is using an advanced ECS. Ghost...lets have some fun." The mechs tarted to run forward as several vents opened on her back a jet roar echoing before she jumped into the air and hovered, chaingun spinning up before unleashing a spray of ammunition towards the arial mech. Shredding it effectively. Several warning starting to flash on screen as the three ground mechs get locks on her. "Not so fast....Ghost!" The jump jets shut down and she drops to the ground quickly slamming into it and kicking up a large amount of dust. "Visual systems obstructed....Warning Suzumi they still have radar lock on us. Activating ECM burst." A invisible pulse of scrambled electronic force blasts from several small generators hidden within Ghosts armor effectively breaking any locks the mechs might have had, alteast for just a few seconds untill they could reacquire her. Once more her chaingun spun up and unleashed a flurry of rounds towards her opponents. Tearing through them. "Ammunition depleted...One target remaining." Dropping her gun to the ground the knife that was locked over the mechs "mouth" dropped loose as Suzumi grabbed it as it fell. Stepping towards the treeline her kept her eyes on her sensor readings instead of her visual systems...Infrared, Ladar, Radar and sonic range finders all displaying various data. "Gotcha." She giggled as without any warning she threw the dagger at the hidden target, but not before it got a few shots off on her, The practice rounds hitting Ghost on the arm and leg.
-
Quietly watching from the corner of the bay was a thin, tall, grey bifocal wearing fox who had as it seemed, brought his own computer-chair down to watch the festivities.
"You know, Old Timer, that it's all well and good to let them show their powers individually, but I can't help feeling that they won't do too well when paired up with each other. Oh well, I do suppose that we shall find out in my mandatory team building class. Oh, and when are you going to let me build you another leg?"
The fox stood up reveling himself to be Professor Ludwig Nox. A professor notorious for his caustic personality and odd fixation with comfortable chairs. Also a mid ranking member of the R and D department.
-
Cyrus applauded the final student. "Very good work students. The range will remain open for the next hour. You may continue to practice here or return to your mech bays. Dismissed."
Cyrus left the students to their devices as he turned his attention to Professor Nox.
"I was simply letting them have their fun. This was, more or less, their last chance to act individually. They will soon learn to depend on each other. As for my leg, I'll let you build me a new one when another scout mech blows it off. Though, I do appreciate you replacing my arm." He said, pulling a glove off his hand, revealing the metallic hand. "Haven't you made me enough of a cyborg?" He chuckled.
-
Nox shrugged, and spoke in a teasing manner that quickly turned into intrigue, and back to his usual acidic sense of humor "Can only be an improvement, so...anything interesting about the lot that you witnessed? I for one enjoyed how Cunningham felt the need to shake the rust out and show off as if he was still one of the fly boys."
-
Feeling opptomistic after everyone finished, Sorin approached one the Professors, Nox, he thought he heard him called after hearing him talk about the mandatory Team Building class. "Excuse me professor, but I was wondering about your class. I don't know how partners are chosen, but I was wondering if I could be paired with Suzumi and her Mech, Ghost? I'm Sorin by the way, and this is my Sunset Angel." The six winged Mech bowed after it interduction with out Sorin in the cockpit something that until then he had forgotten to take advantage of. "Greetings Sir, I am Sunset Angel, but you may call me Seraph." Sorin hoped he wouldn't be seen as to forward, but also hoped the professor would enjoy his up front approach.
-
A loud roar of Ghost's jump jets activating filled the air around her for a second proppeling the mech into the air and causing her to hover there for a while. Suzumi scanned across her sensors before biting her lips. "Eve...we are testing ghost protocol Beta-1" "Are you sure Suzumi...It is not wise." "Concern noted Eve but just activate the package." Still hovering in midair Ghost clutched the large anti tank dagger tightly. Anybody still watching ghost using another mech's sensors would notice quite a few strange readings coming from the white and grey painted mech. Her reactor core seemed to peak and increase in power and several small hidden electronics packages lit up and pulsed.
Without any warning all the usual sensors on the other mechs dropped out, Even when pointed directly at Ghost there was nothing, no radar signature, no thermal...nothing just the visual sensors could see her in that configuration.Launching herself towards a training dummy and slamming the knife into its chest a few times the coms from Ghost remained silent.
Inside the cockpit things were much less quiet. Small sparks jumped from the chair and against Suzumi's back, her eyes focused as she piloted the mech. Mentally she was interfaced completely and her thoughts became Ghosts movements. They were much quicker and more agile than before. "Suzumi that is enough...You cant push this too far!" Eve warned her pilot several times before shutting the mech down on her own. The jump jets slowly deactivated and slowly landed Ghost, bowing towards the others before standing back up Ghost seemed to me moving automatically back to the storage bay. Suzumi still inside clenching her fists and biting down hard on her lip."Eve you turn ghost around right now..."
-
Nox pulled his lips tight into an amused sneer as the student called Sorin approached him.
"My dear boy, I wish i could but i have no clue how the cards will play, you and i will find out who your partner is at the same time I'm afraid, on another note did you program your mech's AI yourself? It's so polite, that could be useful in urban and other domestic missions."
-
Sorin was a tad disappointed that he couldn't guarantee ending up with Suzumi, but he was plenty happy to talk about Seraph. "Yes sir. Seraph was programmed by me when I was twelve. All of his social protocol, battle behaviors, even his self-piloting was all done by me. He's also got an advanced processing core that allows him to come up with battle advice that differs from my own. It's like having a second pilot at all times!" Sorin tried not to ramble too much, but he had wasn't sure when to stop.
-
"Sounds very impressive, Oh well show up to my class and find out yourself or don't I get payed either way." With that Professor Nox took his chair and left.
-
Seth was fiddling with the electronics in the pilot bay of Socrates after the practice, when he noticed Suzumi head back onto the field. He thought nothing of it until a short while later, when a burst of energy seemed to emanate from her mech, and his sensors went out. Cursing loudly, he began a diagnostics, assuming that the old machine was simply malfunctioning. However, nothing seemed to be wrong on his end. His sensors began to come back online, but he noticed that Suzumi's mech wasn't being picked up. He concluded that she must have had something to do with it. He was starting to get the feeling that competition at the academy would be fierce.
-
Julian deactivated Grand Delilah and yawned. "I should really just chill in the room for the rest of the evening"
Julian began patting his poketes for his key.
"You know you really should stick around and mingle, being so antisocial all the time will give you a complex...Hey are you even listing to me?" D asks as Julian puts her down frantically searching his pockets.
"D...I think we have a problem...I think I locked myself out." Julian say out turning his pockets.
"First night too, must be a new record, congrats kid"
Julian slumps against the wall of the firing range.
-
Sorin finally headed to his room after talking to the professor. Feeling like the first day was the start to something good he hummed softly as he made his way to the room. When he got to his room he noticed the Skunk fur from earlier in front of his room door. Sorin pulled out his key smiled and unlocked the door. "Julian was it? Come on in we can get you a spare in the morning." Sorin walked in and quickly unpacked before taking off his bracer and plopping into bed. "Seraph hibernation mode, see you in the morning. So Julian what's your story?"
-
Pleased with today's performance, Cyrus deactivated the firing range and returned Hammer to its mech bay. He slowly strolled about the campus, watching the new students moving to and fro. He made his way to his office and sat at his desk. There was an empty stand on the desk, removed his prosthetic arm and placed it on the stand, relieved to have the extra weight off of him. He immediately began his lesson planning for the first day of class.
-
"Oh, uhm thank you."
Julian stood and followed the dragon into the room. As Sorin unpacked Julian sat against the wall and examined His mech, lost in admiring the craftsmanship Julian jumps when Sorin asks him a question.
"My story?. Well I don't know how interesting it is but, I come from Kainet City, I was a courier there and as such I did a lot of running and such. I was to deliver some package to the military base there, But when I arrived they wouldn't let me in. Now at the time if i didn't make the delivery I didn't get payed so I kinda snuck in through the their docking area. As I approached where I thought the main offices were I heard gun fire so I hid in this storage thing. inside it were twelve different Skulls, that was the first time I saw D. But at the time I was just freaked out by her and the other's appearance so i ran back out out and got shot by a Ground assault mech that someone had uploaded a virus into. I guess that was the reason I wasn't supposed to be there.... Hurt and bleeding I crawled back into the storage container thing and I heard D say something along the lines of 'If you can hear me and want to survive this tell me to establish a bio-link.' So I did and we merged for the first time...she did most of the fighting, I was just along for the ride. When it was all over we had taken down the mech and I was told That I had talent so they gave me a free ride here....What about you?" Julian asks, not used to talking so much about himself.
-
Seth was surprisingly quiet on the way to the mech bay. He was deep in thought about the other students. It was comforting to think that team building exercises would make good allies of his peers, but he was afraid of lagging behind when it came to competition. Especially since it seemed most people had some powerful weapon, and his only advantage was thicker armor.
He dropped off Socrates at the mech bay, and went to the cafeteria. He was starving by this point, and figured a meal would distract his mind, if nothing else. He figured he'd head to his dorm afterwards.
-
Sorin was impressed Julian had made it here alive and he had to admit he was more than impressed with D, Bio-Merge Mechs were pretty rare. "Me, I'm not much to talk about. Parents were rich, my dad invented some of the first electromagnetic flight systems. That's how Seraph flies. Of course he has a fuel system in case of EMPs, but what Mech doesn't. I built him when I was twelve. He's based off of my Grandpa's Zero Model from back when Mech's fought in hand to hand. The flicker mechanic on my blade is self designed as well. That' why the brought me here."
-
Suzumi felt Ghost stop moving and move into her storage position before the hatch behind her opened up with a loud hiss. "Dammit Eve...I was still having fun." she growled out at her AI before feeling a small trickle of blood run from her nose. "I am sorry Suzumi, but you were getting to aggressive. I know you are still upset but getting like that in a practice session or activating experimental tools wont change what happened, nor will it bring her back." Suzumi clenched her fists before grabbing the crystal that housed Eve and pulling her out of Ghost quickly, jumping out of her mech before walking towards the dorms quietly.
-
Sam stayed and watched the other performances, taking notes on her classmates. She left with everybody else though, headed towards the mech bay with The Doctor trudging behind her. When the duo reached the garage, they stepped inside, Sam aproaching a cou8nter and sitting on it, swinging her legs while Doc looked around the room and sighed. "It is so dusty in here." he said, running one of his metal fingers across a counter top, and looking disdainfully at the streak he left. "It'll take hours to get this clean."
Sam nodded and yawned. "Yeah, but at least you'll have something to do. I think I'm going to head off to the dorms and try to get comfortable, maybe getting something to eat. I'll see you tomorrow Doc."
"The mech nodded, still looking around the room. "Of course madame."
Post Merge: March 12, 2014, 10:34:32 PM
Sam walked her way to the female dorms, eventually entering once she reached it. He coat trailed behind her as she strode down the corridor towards her room, and took the key from her pocket. She opened it and saw two beds and some simple furnishings in an otherwise bare room. She sighed, before softly chuckling to herself and stepping further into the room, looking around. "You're not the only one who has a bit of work to do before this strange place feels like home Doc."
She moved her bags that she had placed earlier onto the floor and colapsed on the bed, laying on her back. Her eyes trailed across to the matching bed, as she wondered who she would be sharing her new home with.
-
Suzumi reached the dorm indicated on her eye and slowly opened the door. Glancing around to see a few bags placed by one of the beds and her new roommate already having claimed on of the bags. "So your the one im bunking with it seems..." Her voice didnt show any emotion positive or negative, just a simple statement and she dropped her bag and slide it under neath her bed. Small red stains on the front of her vest still clearly visible. "Your the one with the utility mech...Not usual seeing one of those around."
-
Sam sat up, surprised by the sudden apearance of a new person on the room. She smiled "Yup. I'm Samantha, or just Sam." she looked at the woman's vest stained with red "Are you alright? You seem to be a bit red. I could take a look at those if you'd like."
-
Sat on her bed without a word for a few moments. "Suzumi...its a pleasure to meet you Samantha." the last part sounded a little forced as if she was not used to greeting people like that. Looking at the stains she shook her head. "Wont matter. Its not worth taking a look at a simple nosebleed." The crystal on her necklace pulsed purple before resonating into a voice. "What she meant to say was thank you for the concern but that always happens when we activate part or all of our mech's stealth systems. I am Eve Ghost's AI, it is truly a pleasure to make your acquaintance, having you and your mechs skills will make training and real combat much easier and survivable."
-
Seth eventually found his way to his room. It was.. cozy. It didn't seem like anyone else had been here yet. Seth chose the bed closest to the window, and dropped his bag next to it. He didn't feel much like unpacking at the moment. Seth checked his watch, it was starting to get late. Strange, whoever his roommate was was either late, or not showing up. It didn't take long for Seth to fall asleep. He was sure his roommate would show up in the morning.
-
Sam chuckled. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well Eve." She looked up at Suzumi "That's an interesting AI you have there. I bet she comes in handy." She said, smiling, as she stood up from her bed and looked down at her wrist watch. The watch was expensive looking, one of the newer models that worked as a watch, a phone, and a small PC. She looked back up at Suzumi "I'm going to grap a bite to eat. You can come if you like, or I could bring you back something."
-
As the clock hits 20:00 the street lights begin to shut off signaling curfew had started all students on the streets were escorted back to their respective dorm buildings. The only lights coming from outside came from the lanterns the night-guard carried. The entire night went by peacefully for most, with the occasional rebel trying to sneak out only to be brought back inside.
Before long the sun began to peek over the horizon and it started it's climb back to the top of the sky. The students soon would begin there first day of classes. However fate had divined that the most of the new students first class of the day would be the ever important Team Building Course.
-
((Sam went and ate a glorious hotdog, went to bed, and lived happily ever after.))
Sam woke fretfully to the sound of her alarm going off on her watch. she grabbed it off of the bedside table and turned it off, slumping back in bed for a few more moments before finally mustering the strength to get out of bed.
She didn't have time last night to unpack her things, so she pulled her still full suitcase onto her bed and grabbed a new white undershirt and pants, along with the essential bit of clean underwear and socks before disapearing into the bathroom for a shower.
-
"Good morning Master Sorin, your first class of the day, Team Building, will start in an hour and a half." Sorin crawled out of bed and showered. He loved the shower an odd trait for a lightning dragon. But the hot water running between his scales cleansing him of his filth. He stayed in a bit longer than usual to calm his nerves. He hopped out and ate breakfast waiting for Julian feeling it would be nice to have a friend. "Yo, Julian you gonna get up." Sorin didn't mind waiting, but he was already getting impatient.
-
Julian leaned against the wall, still as a statue. his trance like state was only broken by D calling for him to "Get your Lazy tail in gear, kid!" Julian opened his eyes and stretched , walking sleepily into the bathroom for his own shower. "Grrreh..hmmm morning Sorin..." He grumbled as he stumbled by.
-
Seth woke in fits and starts. His alarm was set early, but he fell back to sleep for a bit. He soon jolted awake. He'd almost forgotten where he was, looking around the sparse room. The other bed was empty, no signs of it having been slept in. Either his roommate never came to the room, or he didn't have a roommate. There was no time to worry about it now, class would be starting in a few short hours. He cleaned himself up, threw on some clean clothes, then headed down for some breakfast. He wouldn't have much time for tinkering this morning.
-
Axle was down at the mess hall early in the morning as he usually is. So far his plan to fly under the radar has been going off with out a hitch he hasn't done anything embarrassing, yet, and he hasn't been the target of any hazing, yet. He boots up his tablet and checks todays news, then runs a remote diagnostic scan of his mech, everything seem to be in order. The mess hall has been slowly filling with people as he ran his diagnostics, 'now to go to my first class today, early... team building... ah man, I'm a lone wolf, baby.' He thought to him self as he starts to leave.
-
Suzumi got out of bed and grabbed some clothes and a towel from her bag, she had waited for Sam to finish before grabbing a quick hot shower. Without as much as a word she headed to the mess hall to grab a bite to eat. Picking up some fruits and a tea she sat down at one of the tables. Cleaning her tray she walked towards the first class of the day.
-
When Sam had finished her shower she grabbed her watch off of the bedside able and pressed the button on the base. The watch's AI spoke up "Good morning madame. The current temperature outside is 55 degrease. The expected high temperature is in the mid 80's. Linking with your schedule that I downloaded from the school database, your first class of the day is Team Building in room C-502. Is there anything I can assist you with?" Sam shook her head "No thank you Davis."
After heading down to the mess hall and grabbing a single apple from a table, along with some fruit/vegetable juice in a can. She ate outside walking around, searching for her class.
-
After his breakfast was finished, Seth began to head to the Team Building class. He was rather excited. Any good mech pilot worked on a team, and these students would be no different. Each person and mech was capable of bringing a variety of different strengths to the table, and it would be interesting to see what kind of combinations would work out. Seth went to the mech bay, and issued Socrates a command.
"Socrates, engage walk around procedure."
Beep beep.
"Procedure, engage."
Seth sighed with relief that the command worked. The machine rose to walking position, and began to follow Seth. This was a program Seth made himself, and he was quite proud of it. While other mechs came standard with such things, Seth had to code this himself. It had not been easy. He still winced when he thought of the carnage wreaked upon the grocery store back home.
Regardless, he and Socrates wound up at class. There were a few early risers there already, chatting away. The professor didn't seem to be there yet, but it was still early.
-
"Julian come on!" Sorin might have been lazy, but he was never late. Sorin grabbed Julian as he finished getting dressed and dragged him to their first class. Team Building wasn't exactly something he looked forward to, but he hoped Suzumi would be on his team. Sorin did smile knowing he'd finally get to flex his mind and be challenged. As they arrived at the open field where Nox's class was to be held. As he looked around he noticed everyone else brought their Mech so he felt confident this would be an interesting first impression. As if on cue Seraph landed on the field his golden armor making quiet the impression on all the on lookers like usual.
-
"Oof!", Julian's eyes widened as he was essentially carried to the first class, a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth.
As the student entered the class room they would see that Prof. Nox had yet to arrive. His room was a covered in balcony that overlooked a dense forest that seemed to take up the southern potion of the campus. The mechs were to be kept outside until the students were instructed to use them.
-
Sorin began to grow tired of waiting. "Where is this professor? He's late!"
-
Sam nonchalantly strolled into the classroom, and let out a small whistle at the sight of the forrested area presented to her. She was expecting a classroom, like she had seen at regular university. She strode up to the edge and peered over it, excited to see what her class would be teaching today.
-
The sound of the elevator doors opening can be heard in the otherwise silent hallway, followed by the sound of bootsteps. Professor Nox strode into his classroom, sat down in his chair, made a bit of a face stood back up and proceeded to walk back out of the room. A few moments later he came back in having commandeered a different chair from another room.
"Ah, there we are, much better!" He exclaimed as he sat on it facing the class.
"Hello, I am Professor Nox, Did everyone have a nice night last night, yes? Good, because it will be one of the rare ones at this academy, I'm afraid. Let me just take a minute to check the attendence then we shall jump right In. Mister Auruval?....Auruval?...Tsk tsk, absent on the first day." Ludwig continued to read down the list until he had reached the bottom.
-
Professor Cross took his time getting out of bed. His class was later in the day, so he had the luxury of sleeping in, something his old bones were grateful for. The old fox rose out of bed and took a shower. The hot water felt good on his aching leg. After drying off, he locked his mechanical arm on and flexed the fingers, ensuring himself that it still worked. The doors to his closet were opened, revealing his crisp military uniform with all of its medals and ribbons. His boots waited just below, high polished and gleaming in the morning light. Cyrus got dressed and put all of his lesson materials in a brief case. It was mostly notes for himself, as well as a few holotapes and slides. He grabbed his cane beside the door then left.
In the Professors' mess hall, there was quite the arrangement of foods. Much better fair than the students were fed, but it comes with the territory. Cyrus loaded up a tray and sat at a table, taking his time and checking through his messages for anything important. Nothing, it was only the first day. He finished up his light meal and made for his classroom.
The room was dark and empty, he turned on the lights. It was an auditorium styled room; rows of theater seating with an area for the professor on the floor. Cyrus had specifically requested this room as it was one of the only ones that still had a projector. Everything had gone to holograms since he had attended the academy. He loaded a couple of videos from a flash-drive onto the computer that was hooked up to the projector, then sat at the desk taking some notes. It would be a long while before his students walked in, so he decided to keep himself busy.
-
Suzumi stood in the back of the class sticking to the more shadowy reaches as her eyes glanced out over the forest. Whispering softly to herself "Eve activate Ghost remotely and have her approach close to this forest and go into standby mode. It seems this class might be more than just a lecture." The crystal housing Eve pulsed a few times as Ghost remotely activated and autonomously navigated to where the class room was.
-
Seth made sure he was recognized when attendance was called out. He was seated fairly near to the podium, as he always focused better when he was near the front of the class. He was leaned back in his chair, legs crossed, relaxing until the lecture began. He had a small recorder with him, which he preferred to taking notes. Looking around and behind him, it seemed the classroom was full. It would have been a shame for anyone to have missed their first class.
-
Sorin took his wrist device and started running on the spot diagnoses of Seraph while he waited for the professor to actually start his class. Seraph I've established Mental Link First Level Protocol can you hear me? Sorin waited for several moments hoping the link had connected. Mental Link First Level Protocol established and running at maximum capabilities. You are sure this is need sir? Sorin gave a moments pause. I'm certain. Better to test dad's new equipment now while the classes are still easy.
-
(*Rubs togeather a pair of defibulators.* Clear! *Shocks the thread, restarting it's heart and making it live once again.*I refuse to let this die, Dammit!)
Sam leaned on the railing and faced the professor, before cooly asking "So teach, what are we doing today? Something exciting?"
-
Axle shakes his head. 'I must have been day dreaming.' He thought to him self. 'It feels like its been a week!' He smackes his face lightly to get his head back into the game.
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