Super Robot Wars ∀: Deep Space Gaiden - Part 1b: From The Other Side

[Mel the DM]

July 29th, 0800 CST, Space, near Colony Five

A Pleasant Face

It had been a long morning for Troy Lanzer. Newly appointed Captain Troy Lanzer. He still cursed his luck, or perhaps it had been fate. For all the lives he'd taken? He wasn't spiritual enough to believe something like that. Whatever the case, he was now the captain of the Kraken class EUSF Athena. A moderate ship, slightly larger than the others in the fleet, but that was due to it being recently commissioned. Otherwise, it was the same standard loadout compared to the rest. A dual beam cannon set on the front, plenty of AA barrels, missile loadouts, and the EU's special, an electric harpoon. Ship to ship combat wasn't considered enough, in their mind. A well aimed harpoon, even in space, could set things off balance, and bring them closer for an easier time firing.

The other specifics? Well, it was a ship. Troy didn't care what class the engine was, how large the hangar was; all he cared about was the armaments. He wasn't like other captains, he took the fight into his own hands. Knowing what his ship did, down to the smallest detail, as far as weapons were concerned, meant that he could do his favorite thing.

Or he would've been able to.

Because of his medical condition, this ship, this monster of a vessel... Had been assigned to weapons testing. And Troy was set to baby sit a crew of rejects while they tested out their toys, drugs, and whatever temperaments they had on board. He wished he could put it off. Desperately, or assign someone else to it... But he was never given an XO; why would you, when your ship was never meant for combat?

He stood, alone, faced with his misfit crew, in the briefing room. He'd been given a cane to aid his walking by the hospital, he kept it to discipline those that stepped out of line. His unfortunate condition wasn't one that affected him physically, not really.

"So, let's see... Pavel, Makenna, Rex, Padraic... Sasha... and the unfortunate lackey. Welcome to the EUSF Athena, I don't particularly care who any of you are, and I have little patience for people who want to test that. State your rank, state your purpose for testing-- except for you, Greenfield, and you, Aiza. I know exactly what you're on board for, civilian, and I don't want to hear your shrill voice speak about it any further."

He rolled his eyes, read over the small tablet held in front of him a bit more, and then looked at Makenna. "And you, your... Load-- what even is... Whatever, your 'robot' hasn't been shipped, yet. So you can sortie for viewing in one of the Chevaliers or remain on board. I don't care which. And, please, no questions..." Almost done, then. Thankfully...

Edited January 12, 2017 by Nanami Touko

[Phoenix]

A new ship, a new crew, and unfortunately a new captain. Rex was about as thrilled to be in this situation as Troy was, but unlike his irritable captain, Rex kept his grievances hidden. There was no use taking any of his frustrations out on these total strangers. Rex glanced in Greenfield's direction as she opened her mouth to say something, but Troy shut her down in a heartbeat. Curious. Either way, it was time to 'introduce' himself as it were.

"Specialist Rex Abrams. Here for Advanced AI Integration testing. A pleasure." It was a pleasure in a way, at least compared to being in the same room with those insufferable Alkaevs.

Edited January 12, 2017 by Phoenix

[Dandragon]

Why was she here? The entire time, she kept asking this to herself. Those simu...Those...Those fake battle thingies just really let her do well. Or maybe it was another bit of her accursed luck. Either way, here she was, surrounded by strangers in a place full of death, harshness, and uptight folk that made high school principals shudder. And their captain was speaking to them, reading off their names one by one. She couldn't help but notice a certain tone when her name was said. Almost like he knew she shouldn't be here. That she should be working on music, making songs, strumming guitars. Of course, wherever she went, music was there to follow. In the pocket of her current clothes was a portable music device she kept with her at all times, and wires were leading from it, through her shirt, all the way to her ears as they played music low enough for only her to hear it. Her long hair covered the earphones quite well, no one had caught her the entire time; a benefit to being lazy about cutting her hair. Though it was probably a matter of time before she was caught using it in an improper place, but perhaps her luck would actually help her for a change.

And then the guy next to her spoke, which made her jump a bit, snapping her out of the trance-like state she was usually in. "U-uh... S-Sasha Williams. Here, I guess..." She gave a half-assed salute to the captain, not really putting in the effort that she should of. Whatever to get her out of this place and away from danger, the better.

[scorri]

Padric stood at attention while the captain talked. Well, mostly. Although he stood in the proper form, behind his back, one of his hands was beating out a rapid rhythm almost too fast for a normal human to notice. It was a side effect he'd noticed of all the experiments done on him. When he wasn't in combat experiencing the calm joy that was triggered then, he was always needing to do something. Focusing on just one thing was too little, never enough. His brain was firing too fast to move along at the same pace as everyone else, so he compensated for it by paying attention to as many things at once as he could handle. That way he didn't get fed up by how slow everything else seemed at points.

Thankfully the captain didn't seem to be prone to long speeches or introductions. He also wasn't happy to be here, but not many of the group seemed to be. The other Specialist that had spoken up seemed to be just fine but the girl was clearly unhappy. The others weren't talking yet, not enough to go off of there, though their body language gave some indication. Still, the drumming stopped, and Padric gave a quick salute. "Specialist Byrne. Here to further test my capabilities as a mech pilot as well as to further observe how the modifications to my body affect my piloting. Advanced reflexes and artificial muscles, as well as emotional regulation activated in battle."

And back to the at attention pose. It was an easy switch after eight years in the military. Thoughtless even, as his mind shot off in six different directions again. The main part was still focused on the captain, but he couldn't help but be curious about the others. The one, Aiza, apparently has a unique mech that even the Captain had never seen before. Hardly seems like a mech the way he was talking. Other one, Sasha, distracted, unfocused. Unlikely to be of much help if that's how she is in a mech too. Abrams will be fine most likely. AI integration helps with that assuming it's done well. Seems like he's friends with the civilian or at least knows her since he knew which one she was. Unless that glance was a coincidence. We'll see I guess. The drumming had started up again, a constant quick beat bouncing off the back of his hand and back in a song only he could hear.

[Mel the DM]

Rank and File

"Williams!" Troy bellowed, as the rest performed adequately. There's always one... "Are you deaf? Is that part of your skillset? State your rank and purpose for being here. I do not have the patience to dawdle after you; the next mistake will get you more than yelling." He frowned, tapping his cane on the floor. Honestly, why was there always the one? Abrams and Byrne seemed so promising. Even if he was unlikely to get along with either of them, they followed orders nicely, and had moderately interesting reasons for being here.

I guess... Ugh. She must be new, then. Lovely. I get the rejects and the rank and file... How terrible. Troy tried to calm himself before things got dicey, looking towards Makenna and Pavel. The monster pilot... And... Hmm. I never read up on you. Perhaps I'll do some digging, but don't you look interesting.

Edited January 13, 2017 by Nanami Touko

[Dandragon]

"P-Priavte Sasha Williams, sir! Wanting to become a fully fledged mecha pilot, sir!" Now, Sasha was at full attention. And she was scared. She was unfortunately the only one that got yelled at. It seemed so easy to not mess up, and yet at the same time so hard. Sasha was in a full saluting pose, standing completely straight, being sure not to falter. Pleasedontbeatmepleasedontbeatmepleasedontbeatme-

[Balcerzak]

Pavel was used to being shipped around from place to place. He wasn't exactly sure if it was because his COs hated him, were afraid of him, or the top brass were just trying to find the currently most dangerous place to send him and get him killed off. Well, at least he hadn't been sure until this assignment, which quite clearly disproved option three. When he'd read the walking papers he'd been disgusted, nearly punched a hole through his bunk. How the hell's one supposed to get a thrill flying loop-de-loops and firing blanks? It's just not happening, it can't be real.

His faint hope that the new captain would at least be the funloving sort, who'd maybe get creative with their bullshit tests and give them some interesting challenges seemed to be spiraling down the toilet as well, with his brisk no-nonsense introduction, and self-proclaimed lack of patience. Making matters worse he was a fucking crip. Seriously, walking around with a cane? Shiiit, what, the wheelchair getting its tires changed? It took almost all his self-restraint to keep from sniggering, as lame joke after lame joke kept coming to mind, so he forced himself to pay attention to his squadmates instead. If the job sucked, and the boss was a joke, maybe the coworkers would at least give him some satisfaction?

First to report was almost briefer, and more to the point than Troy had been. It had almost seemed he'd wanted to say more, given the glance he'd shot one of the others, based on how the CO had been addressing them the civilian, who was a cute looking gal in green, with a happy face on her chest. Let's be fair though, that chest had every reason to be happy, hoho. Then there was the small dormouse, who seemed she'd forgotten what she was doing. Almost certainly a bit too young to really know how to have fun, which was a bit of a shame, but Pavel had a strict 'you must be this tall to ride' policy. Boyscout Padric was on track to set a record for largest stick up the ass. Who did he think he was fooling? That just left him, and one other, Makenna, if he'd caught the name right from the initial list. Giving the final lady a look over while the captain was busy dressing down miss forgetful, he had to admit he liked what he saw. Spicy, a lotta men might run from a girl with scars, but if that tells you anything, it's that she lives a little. Pavel just had to cross his fingers she didn't spoil herself when it came time to speak, because if thing continued along the first impressions, he would totally mac Mak.

Private Williams's apologetic second attempt was almost adorable, in a frightened rabbit sort of way, and put him in a bit of a charitable mood. Fuck it, let's take some heat. He ain't proved he's worth my respect just yet, maybe he will (doubtful), but until then, or until there's serious risk of court-martial, no harm in having a little fun.

"Specialist Swiderski, sir. I'm here cause last night your mother asked if I could give you a hand. She wanted me to help you to get a leg up on your new assignment, and since she was a pretty good fuck I figured, why not?"

[Mel the DM]

Break the Ice

"A private." Troy laughed, but it was bitter, and his smirk wasn't any better. "Wonderful. Well, I'm certain some target practice will be good for you... Next, then." And next came. Troy smiled again. This smile, this wasn't a bitter resigned smile. This was excitement. He laughed, full of body and enjoyment, hobbling over to Pavel.

"It seems we have a joker in the crew. Cripple jokes, too! Ahh, I like you. There's just a few problems with your assessment." Troy's cane shot up, head bashing itself hard into Pavel's chin, as Troy stepped back a foot and spun it. "As much as I'm sure you wanted, I'm not actually crippled. Was it just the cane? The grey hair? The hospital demanded I leave with the cane, but it still has its uses, and genetics is no one's friend. As well, my mother's dead, but if you want to dig up and fuck her corpse, you have my permission. I knew you were a reject, but you're free to worsen my expectations, Swiderski."

With a happy scoff, Troy stepped back away from the crew, slowly breaking out of his icy, tired demeanor. "Perhaps I was wrong! Even if this is all I get on assignment, it's better than stock testing... Makenna, you're last. And you know what, Greenfield? I'm feeling a lot better right now. You have my permission to talk! Fancy that. But don't get me too riled up, doctors told me I have to watch my heart~" Ahhh... It's been so long since I got to hit somebody. I have to watch the rush, but I've missed it so.

[Phoenix]

Rex kept his stoic composure as Sasha got straightened out. He had a much harder time not wincing when Pavel gave his introduction. That was such heavy handed banter that Rex half expected Troy to have him sent to the brig for a while. Troy was more tactful, though, and knew he was in charge. Close by, May was trying her hardest not to say anything, but most importantly not to burst into laughter. She nearly exploded when Troy rebutted every last bit of Pavel's mockery and smacked him with his cane. Suddenly Rex was feeling a bit more worried about this whole assignment, but he didn't let it show, not in his face, or in his body language.

With Pavel lightly clobbered, Troy, for whatever reason, satisfaction perhaps?, gave May the chance to introduce herself along with Makenna, the last of the Athena's actual military pilots to introduce herself. The first thing May did was ...

"J-just ...kss-" She let herself go, hunching over with laughter for a few seconds reliving that hilarious interaction. "Okay, I'm done, that was just one hell of an introduction. Anyway, I'm May Greenfield, pilot of Merrygate and daughter of Chairman Greenfield of Global Armaments Europe ... or just GA for short. Or GAE if that's your thing. I'm here to test an anti-ship cannon the company's been working on. The EU's going to help us finish it since they're the ones looking for the newest baddest death rays. I hope they name the final one Gae Bolg since all they're going to be doing is offing people with it. Would be so appropriate ... Anyway, happy to meet all of you. Hope your heart's okay after that, Captain~" she concluded with a mock salute that managed to emphasize her own chest.

[scorri]

Padric had felt a little sorry for the girl, Sasha, who had managed to screw up her introductions, but she was nothing compared to the next on. Right then. Swiderski. Bit of an idiot, clearly has issues with authority... Seems too similar to the captain to ever get along with him. The thought was confirmed by the captain's reaction. Hmm, slow swing. Swiderski probably could have dodged that if he was expecting it. I would have dodged with no problem. Others seem surprised by the hit. Not sure why. You don't piss off your commanding officer and expect nothing to be done about it.

The civilian was next. And the drumming of Padric's fingers slowed. This one was interesting. They'd sent the daughter of the Chairman of GAE to a ship to oversee testing? Or test it herself... Interesting. Well it's not like she's a child. But still. Wonder what the connection between her and Abrams is. Sleeping together maybe? Couldn't blame him for that one... Ah well. I'll figure it out eventually. Time to hear more from the last one. The drumming picked up again, the puzzle set aside for the moment.

[Ether]

"Chief Petty Officer Makenna Aiza of the 15th Madrid Cavalry Sir! Re-assigned to the EUSF Athena for Heavy Arms Development and Testing Sir!" Makenna replied as Captain Troy addressed her directly following the introductions of the other pilots, her hand coming up in perfect form for a practiced military salute. She appeared unaffected by the eclectic hodgepodge of personalities that had been gathered together, her stern voice booming through the room well over the shouting and discipline of her new comrades. She had seen it all before, the rebel that mirrored herself in her younger days, the quiet new recruit, the collected, the one who couldn't keep his eyes from darting about, couldn't stop fidgeting.

The civilian was new. At least for the position she was claiming to be in, testing her own new weapon, huh? And a ship-buster at that... Aiza couldn't help but wonder how it would compare to her Armadura's main cannon... only time would tell. Hopefully she wouldn't end up being some helpless VIP to protect despite herself.

[Balcerzak]

As their captain had limped his way over to him, Pavel began bracing himself for a whap to the shins. A well-earned one for sure, and honestly, totally worth it. The laugh from the formerly brusque officer and the bit of twinkle to his eye told true that he wasn't as dull as he'd seemed after all. The pop to the jaw wasn't quite in his expectations however, and he ended up taking a small bite out of his cheek because of it, the taste of fresh iron quickly filling his mouth. Bastard was taller than he'd looked when he wasn't hunched over too. Not quite as tall as Pavel himself, but then again so far he hadn't met anybody quite his match in that department, so it would've been an even greater surprise if he were.

"Right, right," he said, raising his palms face forward and backing away as he swallowed the blood pooling up in his mouth before continuing. "You've made your point, Pops. I like a man who knows how to play along, though, so I'll give you that. Sorry to hear about your mum. Won't be taking you up on that offer, though. Even rejects like me've got standards," he ended with a smile.

Turns out the captain wasn't the only one with a working sense of humor though, apparently the girl in green was also a fan. Nearly put herself in stitches, and Pavel had to wonder if she was consciously flaunting her assets while she hunched forward, scarcely containing herself, and then later again when saluting. Maybe she just had the kind of a miracle body that did it for her? He wasn't complaining either way. Pretty plucky too, and her talk of new and exciting death rays meant maybe there was still hope for this assignment after all.

Makenna's introduction wasn't too bad, but not the perfect ten he'd been hoping for. Come to think of it, just what had his expectation for it actually been? He'd already gone and shattered the ice, and things were well on their way to the wrap up. All things considered, a CPO into Heavy Arms testing was honestly not shabby all. Maybe if the timing of things had been different, their orders switched up some, he'd have gotten a better sense of things... Ah well.

Edited January 13, 2017 by Balcerzak

[Mel the DM]

Wrap up

"And I regret that choice already," Troy muttered to himself as Greenfield felt it necessary to belt out some laughter. Wonderful. She was far too cheery for him right now, as invigorated as he had gotten from the small exchange. Weapons testing though, anti-ship? They'd have to find some suitable debris for something like that. Perhaps there was a derelict freighter floating about in the atmosphere. If not that, then a large rock... Something better than the typical small things they practice firing on. "Yes, my heart will be just fine... See if you can't stop swinging your rack around, for a few minutes, hmm? I'm sure the men here are starved, but you're giving them too easy a meal."

Ahhh, good, Makenna put them back on course. A pretty face that knew how to conduct herself! A fine example, to be sure. Troy allowed himself another small smile. "And as CPO Aiza's file is the only one I have been acquainted with, from central's orders, I will inform you all now that she is a Telekinetic. Do your best to keep your emotions to yourself, if you're one to care about others peeking in... Ah, yes, Aiza, your... Armadura... Whatever this metal creature is, will be shipped here by the evening. They're preparing the shuttle launch as we speak."

"Pops?" He made a wry smile towards Pavel. "Warming up to me already? Hitting you was fun, but don't start enjoying it. That takes away my own. Pops, really... I suppose it doesn't matter how old you really are if your heart's ready to give out on you~ For the rest of the class, I'm twenty six, and only Pavel may call me 'Pops', as he's proved he has the balls to test me like that." We'll see if any of them are near as cheeky. "Now then, all of you, suit up and strap yourselves into your test machines. Let's see how well whatever you've been given explodes asteroids."

Troy stood stiff, and let them head out first. There was sure to be an extra question or two before they all left, anyway.

Edited January 13, 2017 by Nanami Touko

[scorri]

So the Captain was less of an ass than he'd seemed at first, or at least he could be. And Pavel was able to bring that out in him. Well, thankfully Padric didn't care about getting into a competition over who had the bigger balls, or about calling Troy 'Pops'. He was here to do his job, because doing his job meant he got to fly. And that was what was important. True, space wasn't exactly the same as the open sky, but he'd take what could get. Waiting for questions or just waiting to see how quickly we can follow orders? Seems to have backed off on the hardass a bit at least, so probably waiting for questions. No one else is going to get hit with that cane right now unless someone asks an exceedingly dumb question. So Sasha. Don't see Pavel letting himself get hit again quite yet. Hmm, best just wait to see if anyone else has any questions. Wonder what sort of craft they have for me? I could ask that but why bother when I'll find out soon enough. Padric ran a quick hand through his hair, pushing a few stray red strands out of his eyes. Soon, he would be flying. Soon euphoria again.

[GoD]

Diane sighed as she looked over the data on the mechs assigned to her with her screen pad. Everything seemed like it was in order, but she couldn't be too careful, especially since the crew was apparently a bunch of weirdos, and new recruits. The woman glared, not at anyone in particular, as she ran a greasy hand through her already messy hair. As much as she loathed the idea of giving these really nice looking machines to the pilots, just so they could bang them all up, that was kind of the whole reason she joined the military in the first place. She wanted to see how she could repair these mechs.... and not only that. If they were sent to fight, that meant that she could acquire data on the enemy mechs... the thought of seeing a new type of mech would be interesting to say the least.

"Hmhmhmhm~ I can't wait to see what's in store for you my little darlings~"- Diane cooed at the one of the machines, placing her tanned hand on the surface of the mech's armor. "Do bring back some worthwhile data, and come back all bruised so I can patch it all up~ Hmhmhm-"- after giggling to herself for sometime, Diane's playful expression was gone, back to a more serious and no-nonsense attitude more benefiting of a mechanic who was given a place in this battleship. She couldn't let anyone in command see what she was like, she wasn't even the head mechanic of this place, just an exceptionally good one. Sighing once more, the black-haired woman went back to triple-checking the specs. Even if she wanted to see them banged up, if they were destroyed, well then THAT was another matter entirely. She couldn't risk the death of a pilot just because she failed to adjust the armor properly. In any case the pilots would be arriving soon, and hopefully they wouldn't suck at piloting them.

"Well... it doesn't really matter. This is supposed to be weapons testing, not actual live combat. ....Oh well, I'll be satisfied if these darlings perform to the best of their capabilities."- the woman chuckled again as kept inspecting the specs of the EU mechs.

Edited January 13, 2017 by GoD

[Balcerzak]

An ESPer huh? Pavel turned and looked carefully at the woman in response to the captain's announcement. Closing his eyes for a few moments, he concentrated: I'm thinking of a number between one and ten. But his efforts didn't last long before Troy's response to his own antics interfered.

Ah, shiiit, you think I'm maso or something, lawl, you got another think coming. Waving a hand dismissively, he turned to head to the locker room and get suited up. He didn't particularly care about any further questions, just be a waste of goddamn time at this point.

Still, looking like that at 26, fuck man. That's only a year or two away, unlucky bastard must've been telling the truth about his genes sucking. Even with all the drugs I'm on, no way in hell I'd fade out that fast!

[Dandragon]

Sasha immediately took the chance to leave. Between comments about having sex with a dead woman and seeing someone get hit across the chin with their captain's walking stick, she wanted nothing to do with this any longer. Just go to my happy place. Just go to my happy place. She immediately took out her device, turned up the volume, and started a new playlist. She didn't mind if it was going to be a song she heard a thousand times before, just something. And at last she could breath as her first song started playing. She needed to get off this crazy ride in the least demanding way possible. But she had no idea how...

[scorri]

When Pavel moved towards the locker room, Padric followed after him. Standing still with nothing happening had gone on long enough. It was time to go fly. He was close enogh that he could have said something to Pavel, but given the man's attitude, he didn't really feel like it. It wasn't like this crew was going to be seeing much combat or anything. All Padric had to do was show off his skills and eventually get reassigned to a real squad. Until then, he'd play nice. After all, the military was the reason he was even able to walk.

Reaching the locker room, Padric quickly found a flight suit and stripped out of his top layer of clothes, not bothering to find a private room. The reason for that was soon clear as the bodysuit under his clothes was revealed. A tight spandex style suit from a distance, a closer inspection would reveal it to be a woven material with carbon fiber plates reinforcing it at various key positions on his limbs. It wasn't quite armor, but the polymers that made up the suit, combined with the outer shells helped reinforce his body to help offset the damages he had run into in the first year of his recovery. He started to pull the flight suit on, idly wondering exactly what sort of mech was waiting for him.

[Ether]

It seemed that was the end of introductions, with the Captain's orders to ready themselves to sortie for their first exercise. It wasn't anything new, she'd not that much experience with mechs before the project, but after her surgery, and during the Armadura's construction, Makenna had become well used to piloting the Chevalier. Still, after so long, her machine would be coming to her at day's end. As Makenna exited the briefing room, her lips curled into a smile as she moved to the lockers to change into her flight suit.

Today was going to be a good day.

[Balcerzak]

Pavel didn't waste any time suiting up. When he passed by on his way out to the hangar, he raised a curious eyebrow at the sight of Padric wearing what appeared to be a flight suit inside of his flight suit. He didn't say anything to the other man about it, though. It's not like he was scoping the guy out or anything, so no point even inviting misunderstanding.

He might have been the first one to the hangar. Well, the first pilot at any rate, several mechanics were buzzing about doing their business. Choice of craft didn't seem like it would really matter, one Chevy ought to be just as good as any other, so Pavel picked one and headed toward it. When he arrived, the long-haired female mechanic at its base seemed to have just finished... caressing it? OK, well that begs the question.

"Hey greasemonkey, what's the story? This one good to go, or should I find myself another ride?"

Edited January 15, 2017 by Balcerzak

[Phoenix]

May nearly spoke up again, wanting to ask the captain if she could go back to her room for a couple of minutes before suiting up and taking off but quickly thought better of it and turned to leave along with the others. Rex had been among the first to head out and if she was going to satisfy her curiosity before launching she would have to be much quicker than him in the changing rooms ...

Rex changed into his flight suit at a modest pace, not focusing on or worrying about anything else. Introductions were nice ... sometimes, but it was easier to get to know people in the field. Seeing how someone went about killing, or at least practicing, could be a better insight into their character than idle chit chat, particularly in this sort of environment. It only took a minute to finish suiting up, and then Rex was on his way to the hangar with his helmet in hand.

The mobile suits present in the hangar were standard and reliable for the most part, but his own mobile suit wasn't as pristine on the outside as the others. Rex and his blue space tailored mobile suit had seen a good deal of combat in the past few months. Its armor needed replacing if he was being honest. It also needed a better locking mechanism, apparently. Rex squinted as he drew closer to his machine. The cockpit was wide open. There wasn't any maintenance scheduled for his mobile suit, right now, so why was the cockpit open? Was it Haro? Haro wasn't cooperative with just anyone. Maybe the mechanics had used an override. After all, just because the Rebellion was Rex's personal mobile suit, built with the help of the Alkaev company, didn't mean the EU would let him lock them out of it. Maybe the head mechanic had full access. Maybe said mechanic was checking something after seeing how beat up Rebellion looked on the outside.

After scaling the suit, he looked into the cockpit, expecting to find a grungy mechanic nosing through his systems with a tablet in one hand and his other hand on the keyboard. What he found was May Greenfield. "What are you doing in here?"

May looked up at him, her face a mixture of amusement and hopeless confusion. "I've always wanted to check out this thing, but your control scheme is so weird. Is there anything that's not inverted besides the x-axis controls?"

Ignoring that, Rex aimed to satisfy his own curiosity. "How did you convince Haro to let you access my suit?" Haro was sitting there right in his little interface socket to May's right ... and not saying a word. His eyes were black instead of the usual red one would see when he was online. That could only mean ...

"He didn't exactly let me," May admitted, "I convinced him I was a mechanic so he let me inside the cockpit, but he wouldn't let me into the computer. I ... kind of had to turn him off to gain access." Rex scowled. "Don't be mad! I'm not here to mess up anything, I just wanted to check out this suit. I've seen it a dozen times on the vids but never in person. I wanted to check out its OS, its controls, everything ... unfortunately your control shituation is ... well, shit. Left stick controls the right arm, right stick controls the left. Even the pedals are swapped. Why do you fly like this? If anyone else tried to fly this thing they'd kill themselves. Not crash, I mean pull out a pistol and shoot themselves in frustration."

"Is that a bad thing? Anyway, you wouldn't understand. Go mess with your own flight controls if you're so curious about it." This was probably highly illegal activity on her part, but Rex didn't really care that much, and he doubted the EU did at this point, either. May was still responsible for Merrygate, and on the hook if anything happened to it, so they wouldn't have a difficult time reining her in when they felt like it.

May stood up from the seat and shook her head at Rex as she picked up her helmet. "No way, I fly by keyboard and everything is just the way I like it, now. Flight sticks are for immersion, not weapon testing."

Keyboard? "Keyboard?" And she was criticizing his setup? "... well to hell with your opinion on flight controls, then," Rex grinned as she hopped out of the cockpit. They quickly swapped positions, with Rex sitting in the cockpit, and May looking down from overhead. "You didn't change anything in here did you?"

"Maybe," May looked away, not wanting to look him in the eye after that dangerous admission, "I may have deleted a couple of things, but nothing that'll affect testing."

Rex sighed. "Just go, already," he waved her off. By the time he looked up again, she had gone, though she was only out of sight for all he knew. She might still be lurking somewhere right outside the mobile suit. They would be launching soon anyway, so Rex closed the hatch, sealing himself off from the world until all of the systems and external cameras gave him a glimpse into the outside, again. May wasn't there, anymore. She'd gone over to Merrygate and was already boarding.

"Haro ..." Rex glanced over at his subdued companion and sighed. "I better turn him back on. I also better see about restoring the system to yesterday before we take off." While he saw to both, restoring Haro and the system to their ideal states, he wondered exactly how May had brute forced her way into his systems so quickly. He knew she was exceptional with computers, but he didn't think she had any hacking skills, at least none that could explain this. As annoying as that whole exchange had been, he felt a little more comfortable, now. May was clearly good at what she did, and he could respect that, if nothing else.

Edited January 15, 2017 by Phoenix

[GoD]

Diane raised an eyebrow at the pilot, letting her hand slowly leave the mech's side. Turning to the man, she noticed that he wasn't bad-looking, even kind of cute... though she had her suspicions that his personality was the opposite of cute. Nodding to Pavel, she began to speak. "Yes, I've done my checks; the Chevalier should be operating at maximum efficiency. In fact, I dare say that it is absolutely flawless."- she smiled, not at the brown-haired pilot, but at the machine.

"I look forward to see what you're capable of. When you get back, tell me how you felt operating the machine. I need feedback and data to see if I can make any improvements... not that there should be a need for that. I have confidence in my skills as a mechanic."- Diane boasted, hands, and her datapad, on her hips.

[scorri]

Padric finished getting his flight suit on and grabbed the helmet as he headed into the hangar. Entering, he spotted Pavel with a mechanic in front of a Chev. He frowned, starting to drum out a rhythm on the helmet. Walking over to the nearest model, he inspected it. No, an Aventuro will never be fast enough. He wasn't exactly an expert in the robots, but he'd been given enough of a briefing on the different types to know some about them. Plus, the bot was pretty clearly never going to be fast given its shape and size. Making his way through, he discarded the next set of mechs as well. Chevs won't do, come on there needs to be... ah, there we go. Walking over to the far end of the hangar, he found a few Jinetes. "Right, this will do I suppose." Glancing around, he spotted two unique looking mechs and raised an eyebrow. Now there were some pretty robots. Might need to see what I need to do to get my hands on one of those. Bet they can go faster than this can. There didn't seem to be much of a point in testing how his reflexes helped in combat if the robot couldn't keep up with them, but hopefully the Jinete would exceed his expectations. "Lets do this then." Pulling himself up into the cockpit, he settled in and started to do a quick inspection of the layout.

[Mel the DM]

Good Progress

Troy sighed. Between an excitable crew, and unfortunately vivacious female crew members, Troy was going to have to practice his meditation again. He'd been given orders to start as soon as he was released, and the act was surprisingly useful. There had even been times where he'd managed to reach enough of a zen like state that he could transfer the feeling to training or otherwise, and keep his heart rate down while exercising, or doing firing tests. It was one of his best techniques, and one he was going to have to give some love to, again. I've got a feeling that May is going to be the one causing me the most issue... She seems to have no idea of where her body is going. Or every idea, but that makes things worse.

With a wry smile, he stepped out of the briefing room... To see their lovely private, slowly walking the other way from the hangar. "No, no, this won't do~" With a small step, at an unassuming pace, he gently placed his hand on her shoulder-- and squeezed her. "Private Williams," he began, looking forward, hoping she'd started paying attention. "The hangar's the other way. I've not a clue what got you sent to my ship... But I will not tolerate insubordination. Are we clear? I'd rather not, but I can certainly chance a heart attack to drill that into your head, if need be. The green ones always break the fastest." He let her go, and moved on, swinging his cane idly. "Best of luck! Get used to the controls as much as you can. I'll be putting you through your paces..." As for me, it's off to the bridge~

Edited January 15, 2017 by Nanami Touko

[Dandragon]

Sasha felt someone grip her shoulder, and immediately she stopped walking. Who was touching her? Who was holding her shoulder so tightly? Oh god, it was Captain Troy. He was speaking to her. He wasn't looking at her but he was speaking at her? What was he saying? What was he saying to her? She couldn't understand, she hadn't paused her music! That and the fact that she was too fucked on the fact that he was touching her, let alone holding her. Was this proper for a captain to do? She didn't know! At last, he released her from his iron vice-like grip, said something, and walked off with his stick that Sasha was sure he only carried around to hit people with it. For a moment, she stood there, like a deer in headlights, scared out of her mind. With how physical Troy was, she was sure he was going to kill her long before she would be discharged from military service. So with that, Sasha decided perhaps it was best she went the other way. Anywhere away from him is good enough for her.

 

At some point she arrived at the Hangar, which greatly confused her. Wasn't the Hangar in the other direction? This place needs a map. Though, knowing her, there was probably one staring at her right in the face. She quickly made her way to the changing rooms, and found her locker. Taking out her pilot suit, she went into one of the private rooms so no one could see. Even if no one was there, she felt safer when she did. As she undressed, she looked at herself, thinking about how much had changed ever since she had gone into the academy. She had been a lot chubbier when she started out, mostly due to her poor eating habits. Fast food would be an option for dinner many times, and she wasn't very active, save for the few times she would imagine herself singing in front of an imaginary crowd, so it was natural fat would accumulate. Well, once her pilot training got her active, working her from dawn to dusk, she definitely slimmed up. Now she was...average at best, in her own words. Surely not a looker, like that one girl (What was her name? May?) but she was no longer the blob that many saw her as, before. Maybe something good did come out of all that hard work, after all. She didn't think anyone would want to see a lazy, unfit singer or guitarist out on the big stage, though she had to do her best to stay alive out here. It wouldn't do her any good to die out in space before she even played anything.

 

She had finished putting on her pilot suit, and stepped out back to her locker. Placing her civilian clothes in, she decided to keep her music device with her, but not her earbuds. They certainly wouldn't fit in her helmet, so there was little point bringing them alone. Besides, in space, no one can hear you blast your music...at least until someone used the comm system. Closing the locker, she stepped outside carrying her helmet in one hand, her music device in the other. She looked around at all the different bots, seeing which one interested her the most. Let's see here...Blue and Orange. That's a nice color scheme! I'll go with that one. Climbing up to the cockpit was difficult with her hands full, but eventually she just slipped her helmet on and carefully climbed up, making sure not to drop her device. She got in, and took a look at her surroundings. Placing the small bit of technology she carried with her near daily on to the console, she remembered how to switch on the robot and did so, seeing everything inside spark to life. This was going to be the thing that kept her alive out in the dark abyss of space. Best to learn everything she could about it, really.