Super Robot Wars ∀: Deep Space IC Thread - Part 1: The Culmination

[scorri]

Astin grinned. "That's not problem! It's always fun to teach someone new. Hmm... probably going to teach you foil. Out of the three weapons it's the typical beginner weapon." Talking as they walked into the gym, they glanced around. "Oh good, it looks like they actually moved my equipment in here. That will make it much easier. Now, there are three weapons in fencing. Foil, sabre, and epee. Each of them are different in a couple of different ways. The biggest thing is target area. In foil, it's what you would think of as the vital areas, so torso and neck. No arms, no head, no legs, that sort of thing. In sabre, it's from the waist up excluding hands. And in epee, you can hit anywhere on the body, even the head or the foot if you can manage it! So, foil and epee involve hitting your opponent with the tip of the blade, while in sabre you can hit with the flat as well as the tip. Also foil and sabre have something called right of way. Basically, you can't commit suicide. So if your opponent is attacking, you can't just attack into them or they'll get the point. That's not actually the case in epee, so both of you can technically score a point in the same touch. Now, to begin with, I should probably teach you the footwork... Oh, uhm, any questions first?"

[Dandragon]

One last punch hit the bag as she stopped, panting heavily. "What are you...talking about...hah....hah....I'm......." Kim was right. Elaine had already exhausted herself, even forgetting to speak in Kim's language, from a lack of restraint in her attacks. It was one of her biggest flaws. She never held back, always looking to push herself, but in her anger she had forgotten to pace herself, a thing her gym instructors had always taught her. She moved away from the bag to grab a bottle of water, letting the cold liquid flow down her throat and satiate her thirst. She wiped her forehead, already feeling a bit of sweat, but not nearly enough to satisfy her. Almost unnaturally so, she was ready to get back to the grind. "<Hey. Kim. How about after this we go for a nice swim in the pool?>" She asked, not moving from her bench, her water still in her hand.

[SB.]

"Oh, alright. Like, stories and stuff like that? I read a couple every now and then but I'm not that big with them." he shrugged. "How about sports and stuff? Football?" He'd watched a ton of it growing up, and played a bit too, and really it was the only thing he'd missed while he'd been training. He somehow doubted that there would be a team that he could go and watch in the middle of the desert either, even if it turned out that they had enough free time for it.

[Shin]

Sports? Sports were something he was aware of, but he couldn't even begin to talk about any of them beyond little bits of the rules that he knew. Books had been his only hobby that was worth sharing with someone like Mateus. "I don't know very much about football, I think I've seen pictures of people playing it." he replied, completely stuck for a response. Was he really that out of touch with normal society? Football probably had some sort of tactics to them, but kicking a piece of leather around didn't sound very productive at all. "Do you think it's fun?" he asked, trying to rekindle the dying conversation.

It didn't make sense, how could Tarquin, who his supervisors considered a genius. have such gaps in his knowledge? Then again, he wasn't meant to mingle with regular people, so perhaps he didn't need to know things at all.

[Terrador]

Bruno gears up, listening intently to Astin's words. [We are working with the foil today. The target areas are the torso and neck... strikes to the head and limbs are forbidden. Perhaps something like this?] He stands a respectful distance from Astin, left foot forward, head down and arm folded into a shield--to protect the vulnerable areas, of course!

"How shall we begin?"

[Phoenix]

Now that he was back in his shirt and cargo pants, Brant felt a little more comfortable, though he couldn't help but replay the exercise in his mind over and over again. The good and the bad of their test results weren't something he could easily speculate on, not without fully understanding the ANF, which he didn't, yet. He convinced himself for the second time, now, not to worry about it. The Alkaevs were a bit too hard on him and his brother, so Brant knew that after years of that, he would likewise be a bit too hard on himself and everyone else, even though it was their first day working together, and some of the test machines had been hijacked by another pilot. That still left the question of what to do, now. He still wasn't hungry, not even a little peckish.

As he left the changing area, Brant decided he'd see if he could make a brief phone call ....

[Nanami Touko]

Sports!

"Fooschball?" Jess asked, leaf of lettuce idly hanging out of her mouth as she walked past mateus and Tarquin. Socialize, girl! Get to know your crew! She quickly swallowed the lettuce before trying to talk again. "I didn't know you were a football fan, Mateus... We are talking Football like, Soccer, right? Not the American version?" She didn't sit down, but she walked over to their table with her bowl of lovely lovely lettuce~ "If you wanna show Tarquin the ropes in it, we've got a pretty big court on base. Plenty of sports equipment. I figure the adrenaline's still gotta be running after piloting robots, and it isn't... Physically exhausting?" She didn't know, the ship's all she'd ever flown in, and while that was definitely mentally exhausting, physically she was fine.

"Besides, it'd be fun to kick a ball around a bit, right? I'm sure Tarquin would enjoy something like that, wouldn't you?" It was... Difficult, to not sound just a bit condescending. While Jess had it in her head that he was a pilot, he was still fourteen, and she almost felt like a mom more than a captain when he was around. He was just so tiny, y'know? And he looked kinda awkward, talking by himself to Mateus. Poor guy

Sleep

With the bots doing their work on Brant's plane, nothing having been too out of sorts, Avery decided it was time to retire for a nap. She may not have seemed tired, but she'd been up all night doing all the necessary modifications on the robots before the pilots showed up... It was hella difficult to get those T-Links working on schedule, but she'd managed, at the cost of proper downtime. Which meant that now, with the hat coming off and her blinds getting shut, it was time to sleep. Avery collapsed on the bed in her little barracks room, nearly instantly clocking out.

[SB.]

"Y-you've never seen a game of football?" Mateus nearly fell out of his chair. What kind of rock were his family living under if the poor boy had never even seen it? "I can't believe you're being serious about this..." It was bizarre. Sure, there were some people out there who didn't like it for whatever reason, but having barely even heard of the sport was just crazy.

Luckily, Jess came to the rescue. "Yeah, that's the one. You barely even kick it in the American version, I don't get why call it football at all..." It was one of the great mysteries of the world. What was the meaning of life? Were they alone in the universe? And what kind of moron would call a game that you spend 99% of the time carrying the ball in football? "Thanks captain, that's good to hear." He smiled. It was like a little piece of home was here with them. "How'd you feel about it?" he asked the boy opposite him. He sat alert, silently urging Tarquin to agree to it. He isn't beyond saving yet.

[Shin]

Tarquin had better things to do than kick around a ball with Mateus. It wasn't that he was too stupid or anything, but it seemed like a pointless way to waste time. From what he'd learned, people spent nearly two hours a time playing a match! Did people not realise how much free time they actually had? Then again, perhaps he could do this charade, kick the ball around for a few minutes then go back to his room - otherwise there'd be no end to peoples' meddling.

"I'm actually feeling fine, Captain." he replied, not quite as enthusiastic as Jess. "Composure is the key to success, as is reflection. My report for the training exercise should be completed by tomorrow noon... however, I suppose I can find time for a short session with Mateus."

It was hard to believe that these people were adults, they were far too focused on playing around instead of their work.

[Nanami Touko]

FOOTBALL

Jess smiled, finally getting somewhere. "Alright! You two finish up what you need to talk about and then head on over to the court; it's right across the runway to the left of the hangars. Oh-- and don't worry about that, Tarquin. No rush. I finished mine a few minutes ago, but that's just because I was worried... Sure was a hassle typing up the entire ordeal, but I guess I type fast enough. Anyway," she said, scarfing down another leaf, "I'll head over now and get the court set up. How exciting~"

Jess took her bowl with her and walked off, a renewed bounce in her step. She'd done it! Crossed that personal threshold from captain to pilot, into acquaintance! Now it was just turning that connection into friendship. Or... Th-That's how all the shows used to go. She shook her head and blushed at the thought. This isn't anime... The quick bound over the runway wasn't interrupted, her hair definitely dry after getting assailed by the heat twice. She hadn't quite expected anyone to be in the court when she got there, but Bruno and Astin were there already, preparing for... Fencing? "Interesting."

"Hey! Don't mind me, you two. Just getting something set up on the other end of the court. Keep going with your fencing." You didn't actually have to do that... Well, she'd done it! And now she had to get the small area set up... If it was just the three of them, mostly just Mateus and Tarquin, all they needed was a net. They're probably going to be doing one on ones... Fiddling with a control panel near the wall, two bars popped themselves out of the floor, folding out into the framework for a net, a small film spreading out between them to create the 'net' itself. "And the ball is... pow!" Another press, and the ball popped up out of the floor with a small gust of air, bouncing onto the court. "Perfect!"

[SB.]

"Alright, I'll see you there captain!" This was a good day. Actual combat and football? Christmas had come early. He made quick work of his meal after that, letting his fork drop with a clatter before glancing at his comrade expectantly. "I'm ready when you are." Actually, scratch that. He stood up and started towards the door. "Let's go!" He getting hyped for this! As long as he could actually find it without getting lost...

Edited June 29, 2016 by SB.

[Shin]

Tarquin hadn't really expected to spend much time playing with Mateus, and he hadn't expected at all to be spending time with the captain. Was she really mad enough to actively want to socialise with this bunch of misfits? It didn't make sense, he'd never seen anybody remotely important even spend time with the crew voluntarily, let alone watch them play."I suppose so?" he replied, wondering how long he'd have to put up with this madness.

The fact that the base was equipped with so many leisure areas surprised him, but then again, he never really knew where any were at the training centre. The journey past the hangar was strange, it seemed almost surreal that such weapons were so close to a place where people procrastinated. He watched skeptically as the ball bounced onto the floor, not quite sharing the same vigor that Mateus did.

Edited June 29, 2016 by Shin

[SB.]

"Oh." Mateus had been hoping that the pitch would be grass - it would've been a welcome sight in the middle of the Nevada, but it was probably naive to think so, after he thought about it. "Alright..." he glanced back at the kid, wondering how this would work out. "We don't exactly have enough people to play a real game or anything, so I guess we can skip the rules and stuff like that." He moved a short distance away from the ball, then turned back around to face it. "Just uh, try passing it to me for now?" Baby steps. If he had no idea what he was doing, this was probably the best way.

[Nanami Touko]

Practice

"Alright, good. You two get on that, I'm gonna watch. If you need a stand in, then let me know!" Jess flopped her butt onto one of the nearby benches as Mateus gave Tarquin some basic instructions. The salad was nice enough to pick at while she watched, so she did that. There was just something so satisfying about that watery crunch a nice, crisp leaf of lettuce gave. The cherry tomatoes weren't half bad either. Neither was the onion. But no dressing, no no. Too much fat in that. Besides, it was just lunch time. She'd go have herself a lovely fat heavy dinner later. "Play ball! Or... However that goes. Haha."

[Balcerzak]

Apparently the other two weren't the types to bury themselves super focused into their work-outs, seeking to drown out all surroundings. That was definitely good to know. Unfortunately for Thorvald, 90% of their conversation was in a language that he, at best, recognized enough to where he could identify it out of a crowd of similar sounding foreign languages.

"I'm sure you gals have everything under control, but if you ever need any help, now or in the future: moving equipment, spotting, whatever, don't hesitate to give a holler."

Maybe it was a bit out of place to chime in in plain old English, but at this point with friendly nonverbal acknowledgements already exchanged, and with the completely benign nature of the offer, Thorvald wasn't fussed about it at all.

Edited June 30, 2016 by Balcerzak

[Shin]

Tarquin looked down at the ball again, stepping towards it slowly. "You mean just kick it at you?" he asked, readying his foot. It seemed straightforward, it was hard to imagine how this was entertaining. Swinging his foot forwards, he connected with the ball, sending it crawling along the ground towards Mateus. Was that all there was to it? It wasn't unpleasant, but again, he couldn't quite see the purpose of it all. "I guess it's your turn?" he called out, rather underwhelmed by the experience.

[scorri]

"Ah, errr... Not quite. I guess... Ok. The stance depends on which hand you're going to hold your weapon in. If you're left handed, then your left side will be your primary side, if you're right handed, then the right side. So the stance is like this. Stand sideways. Then turn your primary foot forwards so you're making an L with your feet like this." Astin quickly turned their feet so they were standing like they were describing. "And then you want to bend your knees so that your primary knee is just about over your primary foot. Obviously you'll be looking in the direction that your primary foot is facing. Does that make sense?"

Edited July 2, 2016 by scorri

[Xinnidy]

"Alright, then. Thank you." Roxanna couldn't help a smirk as the engineer left, she wasn't so bad. Maybe the others wouldn't have such a biased opinion of her, that'd be workable! Now, if I could get this done before the pipsqueak... Roxanna made way to her own office, the pilots and crew had already left anyways.

"Now, now, where was I?" It didn't take long to get back to her seat, tablet in front of her, one swipe of the screen reminding her of her previous endeavor. "Right. The project from searching Jess' name, there was that nifty little folder?" It didn't take long to get access to the ANF's database again. "Searching: Jessica Gefalscht... let's see what's in the box~." After the few minutes it took the system to bring up the folder again, Roxanna tapped the screen with haste to reveal its contents.

***ACCESS DENIED***

Roxanna dropped her head on the desk, not a single effort to hide a groan of frustration. "Demotion is the worst..."

[Ether]

"Thanks for... offer, Specialist Eriksson. Should be... good, now." Seung-Min replied, looking over at Elaine after her reply, as she had predictable tired herself out within a few rounds, having put far too much energy into her swings.

"<Normally I would box a bit longer, but I suppose I'll get that exercise in the pool as well... why swimming specifically, though?>"

[Dandragon]

She took another drink of her water. "Aaah~ <Cause it's...it's...>" Despite Elaine having extended knowledge of the Korean language from living it North Korea for a couple of years, as well as taking a Korean language class for 3 years, there were still a few words and phrases she had trouble saying or didn't know. In this case, the word she had been trying to translate was 'rejuvenating'. She was scratching her head trying to remember the way to say it, but gave up about half way. "<Cause it feels good. Swimming always made me feel better afterwords.>"

[Ether]

"<I see. I suppose that makes well enough sense... I don't mind.>" Seung-Min replied, pulling her gloves off and setting them aside where she had picked them up from, giving her head a light shake.

"Thorvald, we go... cool off pool. Good... luck with training."

[SB.]

"Yeah, that's it!" Tarquin seemed to get it, thankfully - he kind of expected him to horribly miss and send the ball flying to the other end of the room, but he was glad things didn't come to that. He stopped the ball with the side of his foot and then sent it back towards the kid, this time through the air rather than along the floor. "Okay, so the point of Football is to score goals. You want to try and kick the ball into the net to score while the other team tries to do the same to you. Give it a shot." He lent lazily against one of the goalposts, keeping his eye on the ball.

[Shin]

The rules of the game didn't sound very complex, although having another team trying to do the same probably complicated matters. Mateus shot landed the ball near Tarquin's feet, almost impressing the boy with his level of precision. For whatever reason, Mateus really enjoyed the sport, but Tarquin couldn't say the same himself. So far, it felt like more of a chore than a game, he didn't want to insult Mateus too badly, but the longer this went on, the more he'd have to put up with it. He'd have to try and engage on a technical level, the only level he knew how to.

"How is credit assigned for goals? Surely the work of the rest of the team is vital for the goal to be even possible?" Tarquin asked, resting his foot above the ball. "If there are so many people on the team, most of them aren't doing anything at least some of the time."

[Nanami Touko]

Play Ball

Jess smiled as Tarquin tried to analyze the game. It was rather cute, all things considered. He really is just a child... Phew. A bit of a sheltered one, not understanding soccer at fourteen, but, still. "Well, in a game of football, Tarquin, there are attackers, defenders, and a goal keeper." It was a basic explanation of the game, but it covered it well enough. "One person alone can't get themselves around another team. They need to pass the ball to other team members so that they can get around the enemy players. It takes everyone to score the goal. There's no real credit for anything, teams just... Play the game. But!"

She waggled her finger, munching on some more lettuce. "Sffnce ifts just-- S-Since it's just you and Mateus, the whole point will be, one of you plays on offense, the other plays on defense, and you have to get the ball around the other one into the goal. I think Mateus is trying to get you used to kicking the ball first, is all. I've got the net set up over there, so whenever you're all ready to move to it, you can go ahead."

The rest of the evenings events proceeded without much of a hitch. Elaine and Kim swam, Bruno and Astin fenced, and Mateus got to kick a ball around, whether or not Tarquin actually enjoyed it.

These little activities would be the last little moments of enjoyment that the crew would have, as tomorrow's events would take away their small moments of relaxation...

----------

Priority Call

Jess woke early in the morning, a direct call to her room shooting her out of bed. The sun was just beginning to rise as the clock read "5:44 AM" the digital red of the numbers a dull glow in the room. She hastily picked up the receiver next to her bed and struggled to keep it next to her face. "Wh-What is... What?" She wasn't talking properly, slurring the words entirely, as she started to blink herself awake.

"Captain Gefalscht," the voice came in clear, the voice of her main gunner. Probably awake because they had a much better sense of military living than the captain, who would surely get used to it... Probably. "It's Central, from Vegas. There's a VIP visiting within the hour, and they request that you and the squad assemble themselves in front of the hangar."

"Uh... Wha?" Jessica rubbed her face, trying to wake it up, forcing her legs over the side of the bed. She pushed the button to open the blinds, the first minutes of sunlight pouring into her room. "Who'sit?" she asked unclearly, though the gunner picked up on it enough.

"It's... W-Well, it's Admiral Alphonse from the Earth Navy, Captain." The gunner seemed apprehensive, understandably.

"Wh-Whaaaa!?" Jess' confusion was more pained than surprised, getting hit with something like that so early in the morning. She recognized the name instantly, and it brought one thought to mind: Roxanna's already gotten me fired. The Admiral wasn't just the Admiral, he was Admiral Alphonse Martinson. Martinson. Even tired Jess could piece that together.

"A-Alright, Tristan-- er, E-Ensign, thank you, I'll... Ugh..." She slapped her forehead in an attempt to wake herself up, but it was going to take some doing after that news.

"Sorry for the abrupt call, Captain, but... You should get yourself ready. And you should send out calls to the crew, as well." With that, he hung up, leaving Jess to gather her thoughts.

"Today's... Today's not going to be fun."

----------

Admiral Appraisal

Jessica's wrist watch hit a modest "7:30 AM" as she and her newly formed crew gathered themselves in front of the hangar. She wasn't unkempt, and as much as she was trying to keep her eyes open, she at least looked the part of Captain. She didn't know how much the rest of the crew had prepared themselves for the meeting-- she hadn't mentioned who they were meeting in her wake up call, she'd just sent an automated message out. Even if she hadn't mentioned who was coming to meet them, they were all proper soldiers; getting properly dressed should've been a priority no matter what.

They had no time to fix it, anyway. He was already walking towards them, down the runway. Military attire in full, medals of success donned on their outfit. He was imposing, for certain. Jessica mustered what she had and saluted as properly as she could, giving him her least terrified look. "H-Heion Riese Captain, Jessica Gefalschst, reporting... Sir." That was that best he was going to get on such short notice, with her worries mounting.

Roxanna herself was far more relaxed about the situation, holding a pretty confident smirk as she watched their visitor, only occasionally glancing to see how tense the pipsqueak was getting. Everything should sort itself out, now. She held back a giggle, and saluted to him as well. If HQ is harsh on her, I suppose I could be a bit nicer for a while~.

From a distance, the man seemed to scan the crew as a whole with steady steps, only focusing on the captain as she did her salute, holding a stern gaze. It was nod only a presence, he certainly towered over most in stature --perhaps that had more to do with the crew's height average, though he definitely stood taller than six feet. He passed a hand over his gray-tipped beard as if about to pass a judgement. "Captain Gefalscht." He stopped just short of the young Captain, appraising her in one single glance, and returning a salute. "Good work, Captain." His expression quickly softened, and with it a good part of his imposing aura.

"G-Good work?" Er... I-Is that right? He's... He's smiling, uh... Jess was put off by the sudden change of mood. He'd been so imposing walking over, now he was suddenly smiling and congratulating her? That was... Odd. Reassuring, but odd.

"For most of you, this is the first time serving as a soldier, so I believe an introduction is due. Isn't it?" The man cleared his throat, turning his attention back to the crew as a whole. "I am Alphonse Martison, you might know me as Head Admiral of the ANF's Earth Navy. Or if you didn't, well, now you do!" He smiled, his cheery demeanor very different from the sterness from his arrival. "I'm sure you must be confused on such a sudden visit. First of all: I received the report about the unexpected turn of events during your first field test, and I wish to congratulate you all for the success!" He clapped a single time, "For such a potential risk, the results have shown you all dealt with the situation beyond our expectations."

"Th-That's... Thank you, sir!" That was especially high praise coming from the head Admiral... Jess was nearly beside herself. She had been certain he was here to reprimand her for her actions! She'd included them in her report, down to the last detail or her failures, had... H-Had something gone wrong in the sending? Did someone miss her copy? No, that couldn't be right...

"Of course, there's more to that: Based on the headquarter's judgement, we already have a new assignment for the Dry Lake personnel!" Alphonse raise a finger to draw attention, as well as stop himself for a few moments. "Before I do, if there are any questions you found yourself asking after you've got assigned, or about the field test incident, now's a good time to fire them."

Roxanna stared back at the Admiral with a hint of disbelief, her eyes opened wide. Was that it? He wasn't even going to reprimand the pipsqueak for flying the ship? "Uncle...?" Roxanna bit her lip as the word escaped her.

"Admiral Alphonse, little lady." Alphonse clasped hands, his smile mellowing down at the mention. It was clear he wasn't fond of his familial tie being brought up, at least in public. "There was a distinct lack of detail on your report compared to Captain Gefalscht, not to mention she'd already sent one hours before you did. I understand miscommunication happens, but please make sure to assign duties between you and your Captain properly. Remember that she is your superior." His smile only returned after he'd done reprimanding.

"U-Understood." Roxanna lowered her head, there wasn't anything she could contest in that situation.

Jess swallowed hard. Roxanna would be at her later over that, there was no doubt. At least for now, she could sit safe knowing that she still held her job, and her title. Maybe the crew had other questions for him? She was still trying to piece her brain back together over the surprise of it all.

[SB.]

Mateus did his best not to yawn in the presence of the Admiral. It wasn't the earliest he'd had to get up from training, but it'd been a pretty hectic day yesterday, so his body hadn't been too happy about getting dragged out of bed so early in the morning. He quickly tried to blink the sleep out of his eyes as he listened in, glad to hear that high command seemed to think things were going over pretty well. He couldn't help but grin at this. Does this mean we'll get a real mission soon? After he'd gotten his first taste of combat, the rookie was itching for more.