2022-04-27: Onboard Mission 1 - A Baoa Qu -EASY-
- Log: 2022-04-27: Onboard Mission 1 - A Baoa Qu -EASY-
- Cast: Mitsuba Greyvalley, Ryoko Subaru, Alto Saotome, Az Sainklaus, Lucine Azul, Lune Zoldak, Edge Sainklaus
- Where: Dreisstrager Simulator
- OOC - IC Date: 0096-04-27
- Summary: The Dreisstrager finishes up a simulator for the crew.
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
The Dreisstrager's AOS is a mysterious and confusing beast, to be sure -- usually, it can be trusted to do exactly what it's supposed to. Every now and then now -- every once in a while -- it does something a little weird on its own schedule.
Mitsuba and Mayvy have had a handful of simulator designs with... unusual, specific, breadth to them resting half-done for a while; they've tended to involve absolutely outsize numbers of forces, in increasingly modern suits.
The Dreisstrager has simply decided to finish one of them out. It's a bit of a doozy; it involves taking on steadily more of A Baoa Qu's *entire defensive complement.* No other Federation forces are present, simply whatever percentage of the Dreisstrager's mobile weapon team (and its adjacencies) shows up and that same percentage of A Baoa Qu's forces, as if the Dreisstrager expects everyone involved to simply Solve The Problem Themselves.
Mitsuba is *not* in the simulation today; she's overseeing it, chewing on a pen nub a bit as she reviews the data. "... I know I asked for this, but actually seeing it is something else entirely," she reflects, looking at the simulator. "It's -- a lot."
Her voice comes over the sim comms, meanwhile. "Attention, mobile weapon team: your target is A Baoa Qu. We'll be playing the role of... the entire Federation, actually. I have the utmost confidence that you can do this, despite it being something of a large, difficult request. Please take this simulator seriously -- your performance here will demonstrate your commitment to peace and freedom in our world."
Mitsuba looks at the 'carrot' the Dreisstrager has prepared -- currently only in wireframe. What kind of unit is this...?
A Baoa Qu is an absolutely enormous space fortress; it was destroyed in 0087, but is best known for being the site of the final battle of the One Year War. It is defended by a similarly enormous number of Gelgoogs, which currently float in place, waiting for the begin-simulation signal.
KTS: Mitsuba_Greyvalley has deployed as a Boss for 6 opponents. KTS: Alto Saotome has deployed in VF-25F Messiah <Fighter Mode>. KTS: Alto Saotome has changed loadout. KTS: Az Sainklaus has deployed in PTL-XXX Huckebein 30L. Alto Saotome has moved to Colony Exterior
KTS: Alto Saotome has changed loadout. Az Sainklaus has moved to Colony Exterior
KTS: Lucine Azul has deployed in Dianthus Mk. 3. KTS: Ryoko Subaru has deployed in Aestivalis - Zero G Frame (Ryoko Ver.).
<Pose Tracker> Ryoko Subaru has posed.
Ryoko's here from the Nadesico for joint exercises with the crew of the Dreisstrager. She came into this with relatively good spirits as she takes a moment to say to Alto and Lucine before climbing into the sims, "Right then. You two ready to show Captain Greyvalley how the pilots of the Nadesico take care of business?"
However... once inside and the moment the target is announced, Ryoko notably goes very quiet. Any watching her expression over the cameras in the sims would see her expression growing... intense, pensive. Lucine in particular might feel a spike of something... from her.
Her silence breaks only after the A Baoa Qu comes into view.
"Well let's go 'heroes'. You ready?" As she maneuvers her sim Aestivalis in Zero G armor to the fore, against the field of Gelgoogs... it seems tiny in comparison. "Because I'm about to charge right in!"
Her Aesti rockets forward, thrusters burning bright against the backdrop of space. The Aesti suddenly turns abruptly into a sweeping ascent, she begins to try and perforate several Gelgoogs in several bursts of raking gunfire. "Come on! Come at me!" As she literally just goads the system into trying to overwhelm her with sheer numbers, "You think any of you bastards stand a chance!?"
Despite her seeming recklessness, it feels like it's not without purpose... like she's actually trying to draw fire away from the others and set them up for success. She's always worked best in a team after all.
KTS: Ryoko Subaru targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Rapid Covering Fire! KTS: Ryoko Subaru repulses Mitsuba Greyvalley, forcing her to disengage. KTS: Ryoko Subaru begins a Formation attack! POT: Ryoko Subaru is no longer set observer. <Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
This is Alto's first time on the Dreisstrager. An impressive ship, to be sure. Alto wonders if it might even be a challenge for the Macross Frontier. Though that's one duel he wouldn't want to be anywhere in the area for. As Alto climbs into his simulator, he looks back to give Ryoko a smirk and a nod, "We've got this!"
Alto settles into the simulator pod. Reconfigured as it is to match the manual controls of his VF, Alto finds it a somewhat familiar feeling. It was only a few months ago that he was put through hell in the simulators as part of his training with SMS. And before that he would often jump into one as part of his piloting course at Mihoshi. Though he has to admit, this one seems a fair bit more advanced than those.
When the scenario is described, Alto looks a little... Doubtful and less sure that they do, indeed, 'got this'. He asks over the comms, <"You're kidding, right? The entire fortress? So we've got to do something it took multiple Federation battalions to pull off..."> And Alto thought Michael was a harsh taskmaster.
The simulation starts up and it looks like they're already in the frying pan. Already, Alto's HUD is filling up with enemy targets, both close and far. Welp... There's nothing to do but kick some Zeon ass!
Already Ryoko is charging right in, starting to draw fire. Alto rolls his fighter in behind the Aestivalis, pulling the trigger and starting to rain gunpod fire down on those Gelgoogs that are distracted focusing on his fellow Nadesico pilot. But as he's doing so, he notices a concentrated wave of the machines trying to blindside Ryoko from above.
Alto pulls back on the stick a little, bringing his nose up. He brings his targeting reticle up to the edge of the formation and pulls the trigger. As his gunpod starts to spit out bullets, Alto calls out, <"Lucine, targets concentrated in grid 5A. I'm trying to lead them into your firing line.">
KTS: Alto Saotome targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Leading Fire! <Pose Tracker> Az Sainklaus has posed.
This has actually been a long time coming, in fact. Az still explicitly remembers the talk of an A Baoa Qu-oriented simulation involving some quite abhorrent odds in Zeon's favor. She was: very shocked and only the tiniest bit questioning on just how possible that was! Historically, the Federation had a far, far greater fighting force than just one ship.
That said, the Dreisstrager is a lot more than 'just one ship', even if not in the exact same vein as White Base and it's not-merely-one-shipness. And it didn't take all that long for her to warm up to the idea of the challenge--you know the motto. So today, on the fabled day, she's showing up more than ready and willing to take up the AOS on its imposing test. It's not just for the fun of it, of course.
Even if it's just a sim battle, it can be thought of as something like proof she can fulfill her promise no matter the odds they go up against. Odds that'll surely be stacked against them more and more in the future. Mitsuba's words of confidence ring heavily. Therefore...
The patchwork form of the Huckebein 30L is at attention in the depths of space as the 'go' signal is about to come, taking stock of the legion of Gelgoogs lying in wait and filling the sensors. "They're outdated models, but that doesn't mean we can underestimate them..." That's mostly to herself, hands tight on the sim pod's controls. "...But I'm not fighting alone either. Working together with the Nadesico's crew, and even a member of S.M.S...there's nothing to be afraid of!"
Ryoko's Aestivalis charging in is Az's own queue to move, firing off all thrusters to shoot forward. Not quite into melee range, but actually something that takes better advantage of the other pilot drawing off attention - the pieces of the Leap Slasher on its back detach and lock themselves together, kicking up into a spin and igniting a chakram of energy that does the job of diving straight into the ranks. One Gelgoog after another is subject to the remote weapon going to cleave into armor or attempt to shred off limbs during speedy passbys!
"Right behind you! We'll hit them hard and fast!"
KTS: Az Sainklaus targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Leap Slasher Strafing Run! <Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
".... So, ah... how will this work again?" That is Lucine Azul, one of the Nadesico's pilots and its head (only) gardener. Not that someone can tell here, as she's dressed in the usual red and black Nadesico uniform, complete with silver metal shoulderpads and a skirt!
It's not that Lucine isn't completely clueless about how simulators work, or even the concept of using them to build experience. She's just... never done it.
"So we'll be getting in these pods and it'll be like being in our units... Alright, I can definitely do this."
Now settled into her pod and fully immersed,
"A Baoa Qu, right." Lucine's tone is one of someone agreeing to something in order to project a veil of confidence, while trying to remember what something was. "A Baoa Qu. A-ah, the.... space fortress." At least it's not the tone of someone who has realized they had backed themselves into a situation that they may not survive. Lucine is simply going through the same roller coaster of expectations as Mitsuba is, just several minutes later. "At least we have nothing to lose by at least trying with whatever we have."
As well as a spike of emotion from... Ryoko's pod? Something.... like a deep pang of guilt. Or is it the burning prod of shame? Was Ryoko reminded of something?
Lucine presses it aside, feeling her own shade of guilt from deciding to ponder it, even for a second, instead of trying to ignore it.
"... I suppose it would be a fun challenge." Lucine takes a breath and refocuses on the challenge, a grin accompanying her furrowed brow. "Ready, Miss Subaru!"
Lucine's unit is like a fairy compared to others present, but it makes Ryoko's goal that much easier as she zigzags around the field. "Alright. I'm going to set a minefield in that section. Mr. Sao-- er, Skull-04, will that give you something to work with?" Balls of light are cast about as she swoops through the space field, the camera on her face showing a young woman increasingly more confident.
KTS: Lucine Azul targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Lunate Crown v.2 Fireflies! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley fails to react to Alto Saotome's Leading Fire, taking 5400 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Alto Saotome's The Twinkle Of A Tearful Planet activates, causing Insight L1! KTS: Alto Saotome continues a Formation attack! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley fails to react to Lucine Azul's Lunate Crown v.2 Fireflies, taking 3000 damage! KTS: Lucine Azul continues a Formation attack! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley fails to react to Az Sainklaus's Leap Slasher Strafing Run, taking 3960 damage! KTS: Az Sainklaus continues a Formation attack! KTS: Lune Zoldak has deployed in Valsione. KTS: Edge Sainklaus has deployed in PTR-XXX Huckebein 30R. KTS: Edge Sainklaus has changed loadout.
<Pose Tracker> Lune Zoldak has posed.
EARLIER:
Lune Zoldak, incredibly aggressive 'morale officer' that nobody asked for slash interdeck terror slash combat pilot, had proposed that the crew participate in a foolish simulation where they replaced 'the whole Federal Forces' with 'the Dreisstrager' and call it good. She was this way because Lune Zoldak was worse than the worst kind of person:
She was a gamer. And she had simulated A Baoa Qu, in the 'Amuro Position', a boastful number of times. Surely with the might of the Ship-of-Ships and the combat force that the pilot team could present would match or exceed the simulated last stand of an aging Zeonic force.
NOW:
"It's really almost not fair." Lune announces as she settles into the cockpit of her (simulated) unit. Attaching the sensors at the wrists and stepping into place, Lune directs her attention to a monitor, checking the changes from the Dreisstrager's (simulated) external feed.
"Okay, I take it back. Look at that interception fire. Looks like this little exercise may be worth it."
The Valsione sets like a sprinter on the catapult as the station's defense screen of mobile suits and battleships and fixed emplacements fill space with long-range hazards of the 'get atomized' variety. Shoved out into space with a large cannon-style rifle in both hands, Lune hangs back and weaves between fire. With everyone boxing the group in so nicely --
One rifle barrel comes up, a short cycling charge belching a trio of charged energy meteors in purple-blue that tumble through space growing more and more unstable.
Angling up, over the approach of her allies, the Valsione swaps shooting arms while the right rifle cools, sighting carefully while the barrel charges red.
Into the three tumbling spheres, Lune places three bright red beam shots - and on contact, large disruptive explosions.
KTS: Lune Zoldak targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Twin HBC Comet Destroy! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley fails to react to Lune Zoldak's Twin HBC Comet Destroy, taking 7830 damage! KTS: Lune Zoldak completes the Formation attack!
<Pose Tracker> Edge Sainklaus has posed.
Edge sweats profusely - even if they were fighting with simulations of truly cutting edge tech against stuff older than some of the participating pilots, it didn't really change how ridiculously outgunned they were. Space Fortress A Baoa Qu was nothing to scoff at- it had been the crown of the Principality's forces and the nesting hole of the Zabi Family after Garma had died.
Edge didn't enjoy fighting. For him it was nothing more than a mean's to an end, a somewhat sordid affair considering it was the only thing he was really good at. Even now, months later, Caruleum's words struck him at such a tender and sore spot that they lived wholly rent free inside of his head.
... no time to sit around and whine about things that can't be helped. Az is giving it her all right now even though fighting is usually the last thing on her mind ... also, I don't want to disappoint Mitsuba, considering this whole thing was an idea she seemed really in love with. If this is anyone's fault, it's that damn gorilla lady. Speaking of which .. -
It did not shock him at all to see that Lune was going totally ape on the enemy, he supposes. "Well, what with our friends from the Macross and Nadesico joining in, I need to flex my status as Dreisstrager's burning ace pilot, otherwise everyone would assume that Zoldark's top dog around these parts."
Nevermind that it was the truth, or that no one called him the burning ace pilot - or that in all likelihood, no one except maybe Ryoko would say anything about it, Edge needed to amp himself up before he could go fight properly, even if it was just a simulation.
The nice things about simulations is they can test out stuff they wouldn't be willing to try yet in the real world. This set up for example .. my R's been totally slimmed down with most of its weapons taken off in exchange for a revised backpack unit to massively increase its mobility. The AOS came up with this design, so now's a good a time as any to test it. Even though I'm sacrificing a lot of firepower, this speed and agility should more than make up for it...I hope.
The blue PT appears in most ways, a twin to Az's L, though the massive backpack unit was absent and with it, the slasher modules as well as the graviton rifles. Instead, a sleek and thin thruster mount was installed in its place, leaving the Huckebein equipped only with a Photon Rifle and its Beam Swords.
Accordingly, even though it leaves last, it quickly makes ground as it zips out and catches up with Az's L and Ryoko's Aestivalis pretty quickly, an ignited blade in each hand as it closes in to sideswipe one of the simulated Gelgoogs, digging the particle stream into its side as it pivots with its verniers, so that it could kick it from behind towards one of its allies and give Edge just enough time to nimbly flip the grip on one of his Huckebein's sword and drive it forward to skewer both MS in one go, "This thing - would be seriouosly killer on the ground, huh?" he wonders.
KTS: Edge Sainklaus has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Edge Sainklaus has activated the Accel Spirit Command and Has Engaged with Mitsuba Greyvalley KTS: Edge Sainklaus targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Beam Sword Slash & Lunge! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley successfully avoids Edge Sainklaus's Beam Sword Slash & Lunge
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
Mitsuba lets the AOS handle this particular operation; she does want to see the results, but she's just as curious about the carrot. 'Hm,' she thinks to herself. 'It's not another Huckebein 30, though the silhouette is the same... this wireframe is a little unparseable. Then again -- I suppose that's the point. The AOS doesn't want me running off to build it with half-complete information...'
Ryoko takes point, and Mitsuba watches. This is a test for everyone *but* her -- it'll tell her how her pilots will approach a complex problem with outsized odds. (... 'Her' pilots? Half of these pilots are on loan from Nergal for the simulator...) It gives her something to work on.
The Zeon units start to orient on their attackers; Ryoko draws fire and creates an opening, and several of the Gelgoogs orient on her, shields up.
This leaves them open, in turn, to leading fire from Alto and Az from the angles they're not covering; one machine loses its legs and goes into a hard maneuvering failure, smashing into the back of another one. (Remember: the legs aren't just for show! Those are AMBAC surfaces and they matter -- at least, when you lose one.)
Those balls of light are an unfamiliar weapon for pilots of the One Year War, when remote weapons and similar technologies were brand new; they attempt to track them but don't know what to *do* with them, which means what they do is get dunked on. This sets them up perfectly for Lune's bright, burning beams, which detonate the whole squadron on the spot, creating an opening for Edge. Edge's blade bites into armor -- but only armor; those old monocoque frames are a little thicker than their modern counterparts, meaning that it's just that littlest bit easier to end up in a situation where you don't get the meat of your target's systems.
One thing that doesn't get a lot of play because it's politically inconvenient for *everyone*: A Baoa Qu's defense squad was overwhelmingly green pilots who got shoved out the door in machines that were a little too much for them -- and which, compared to the Dreisstrager's complement, are at this point not really 'too much' for anyone. What was an extremely threatening, overequipped defense squad sixteen years ago is now decidedly not; while large numbers of Gelgoogs streak for the team, they're outmaneuvered and outpaced. Monocoque frames can only put in so much work.
All that to say: The next squadron of Gelgoogs moves up, and now that it's been made clear that their opposition is intense, they start swarming to put the Dreisstrager's complement in a pincer formation. Evidently, the freebies have stopped. (Admittedly: What a spread of freebies.)
Half of them move up behind their shields, switching their naginata to a single-blade mode in hopes of curtailing their opponents' defensive options; the other half fire off quick shots from their beam rifles. It's a hasty, uneven offense -- though honestly fairly era-realistic.
The amount of calculation going into how the units react is honestly impressive in its own right; each of them 'feels' like a distinct pilot with a different level of training and a different set of engagement priorities... they do act in concert, but only just.
KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley targets Lune Zoldak with Gelgoog Beam Naginata Single Blade! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley targets Lucine Azul with Gelgoog Beam Naginata Single Blade! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley targets Alto Saotome with Gelgoog Beam Naginata Single Blade! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley targets Ryoko Subaru with Gelgoog Beam Rifle Shot! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley targets Edge Sainklaus with Gelgoog Beam Rifle Shot! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley targets Az Sainklaus with Gelgoog Beam Rifle Shot! KTS: Ryoko Subaru charges into the attack! KTS: Ryoko Subaru's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Ryoko Subaru fails to react to Mitsuba Greyvalley's Gelgoog Beam Rifle Shot, taking 2700 damage! KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 117. KTS: Lucine Azul successfully evades Mitsuba Greyvalley's Gelgoog Beam Naginata Single Blade KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 145. KTS: Edge Sainklaus successfully evades Mitsuba Greyvalley's Gelgoog Beam Rifle Shot KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 173. KTS: Az Sainklaus fails to Evade Mitsuba Greyvalley's Gelgoog Beam Rifle Shot, taking 3150 damage! KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 201. KTS: Lune Zoldak has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Lune Zoldak has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Lune Zoldak successfully avoids Mitsuba Greyvalley's Gelgoog Beam Naginata Single Blade KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 229. Alto Saotome transforms to VF-25F Messiah <GERWALK Mode>
KTS: Alto Saotome has changed loadout. KTS: Alto Saotome fails to Evade Mitsuba Greyvalley's Gelgoog Beam Naginata Single Blade, taking 5160 damage! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley has engaged Alto Saotome KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 257. KTS: Az Sainklaus has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Az Sainklaus has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Ryoko Subaru has posed.
It may not be a test for her, but she's definitely leaning into the role of trying to psyche up the other pilots anyway to perform.
As Edge flexes his 'ace' cred, is something that Ryoko can at least understand, as she's quick to banter back at him. "Flex away fly boy, just don't hurt yourself trying to outdo us."
And Az... "Underestimate? I'd say I have a pretty good estimate of just how many I'm taking down before this is over." Ryoko boasts to Az with a confident swagger. As she weaves to avoid the mine field that Lucine is laying. "Aim high everyone - we'll compare scores after the fortress falls!"
Still though, as Lune cuts through their ranks with charged meteors, she whistles over the comms, "Ha! Way to stick it to them. Guess it's time for the Nadesico crew to get serious."
As the next line of Gelgoogs moves up, the Aestivalis tries to weave at them in a charge, however the beam fire is clustered a bit too tightly and her Aesti momentarily vanishes in the middle of the flashing bright streams in space. When it reappears though... there's the telltale shimmer of her distortion field as she keeps flying straight towards them through the beam fire.
"Skull-4. Lucine. You two ready? I'm gonna scatter their formation." Thrusting forward like some out of control comet, she adjusts right towards the center of the Gelgoog line. "You're two decades too early to even begin to stand up to my Aesti!"
Despite being much smaller than the Gelgoogs, the Distortion Field amplifies the impact with crushing force as it body checks one of them - trying to drive one Gelgoog into another and cause problems for the tightly knit formation.
KTS: Ryoko Subaru has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Ryoko Subaru targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Killer Move - Set Up!! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley fails to react to Ryoko Subaru's Killer Move - Set Up!, taking 3960 damage! Your unit's HP stands at 57552
KTS: Ryoko Subaru has engaged Mitsuba Greyvalley KTS: Ryoko Subaru begins a Formation attack! KTS: Edge Sainklaus targets Az Sainklaus with Heart! KTS: Edge Sainklaus bares her heart, letting Az Sainklaus deal some extra damage!
<Pose Tracker> Edge Sainklaus has posed.
"Huh? Guess these guys are made out of sterner stuff than I thought .." Edge murmurs to himself, realizing that his cut had been so shallow - which meant that his follow up stab had not worked like he thought it would. He'd been left scrambling to not get slashed apart by a pair of naginata, using a beam sword in each hand to drive off each of the strikes as they came, while wading just out of range with his Huckebein's verniers. It's times like this I almost wish that you had an easier set of controls to work with, partner..! he grouses in his head.
While his close quarters charge had not necessarily gone to spec, he somehow maintains face, even with beet red embarassment, "Hey, I'm just getting warmed up! ... probably."
The 30R's increased agility was strutting its stuff, however, bending and twisting its limbs and upper body to help it skim through volleys of Gelgoog beam volleys, streaking close enough to stay in close-mid range despite its evasive maneuvers.
"Az!"
Calling out without any further prompting, he guides his Huckebein closer to hers while sheathing his swords to their charging racks and has the PT pull its own rifle off of its waist mount, allowing the L to take point. "Let's show 'em what we're made of."
Providing a volley of beam blasts to cover Az while she goes in for the kill, he takes the opportunity to see how well his shots fare against the Gelgoog's armor - if its anything like the swords, then he realizes he'll probably want to start aiming for lightly armored areas instead of center-mess, to maximize penetration.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
It's quite a sight, seeing the combined teamwork leading a large group of the enemy units into a clustered area, only for them all to be engulfed by large explosions. Maybe they might actually have a chance of this after all?
Then the defense line reacts to their initial assault.
Suddenly finding numerous Gelgoogs moving in to try and engage him up close, Alto's expression starts to show a little more of his concentration as he swings his controls around. Sections of the Messiah briefly separate, allowing its main engines to swing down on legs, while arms slide out of the frame, before the VF recombines again. Its main source of thrust suddenly pointing downwards, the Messiah blasts upwards away from the blade of the first Gelgoog.
Alto begins to weave his way past several Gelgoogs, the Messiah's legs swinging around as the craft quickly adjusts its direction in the frictionless space. Where the freedom from aerodynamics and the variability of the leg-mounted engines really bring out the GERWALK mode's strength.
With each Gelgoog that Alto passes by, his eyes quickly glance at it, which is registered by the sensor in his helmet. But then Alto's simulator chamber shakes, as one of the Gelgoogs manages to get in a hit, putting a glowing rend into one of the Messiah's legs. Alto frowns, "You'll pay for that." Then Ryoko's voice filters in through the speakers, to which Alto replies, <"Roger that, Ryoko. I've got a few presents for these guys.">
The Messiah boosts away from the formation of Gelgoogs assaulting it, before its legs swing forward and then around, spinning the craft around to face the Gelgoogs it had just passed. All of them marked with a targeting lock. Not only that, but it brings those corralled by Ryoko into Alto's view as well. His eyes glance over them, adding locks to those as well. Before Alto pulls the trigger.
Several missiles detach from the Messiah's wings, before blasting off into space and dancing towards the targeted machines. A number of explosions blossom in the black depths.
KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Valor Spirit Command. Alto Saotome uses Propellant Tank
KTS: Alto Saotome targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Wing Mounted Missiles Barrage! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley fails to react to Alto Saotome's Wing Mounted Missiles Barrage, taking 10080 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Alto Saotome's The Twinkle Of A Tearful Planet activates, causing Insight L1! Your unit's HP stands at 47472
KTS: Alto Saotome completes the Formation attack!
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
There are advantages and disadvantages to piloting the latest (and last) creation of a retired bounty hunter who prided himself on building the rough equivalent of custom muscle cars, with the same level of following among those who follow such niches.
Cons: you have to be in charge of your own maintenance, or be lucky enough to be somewhere with a mechanic of sufficient skill (read:absolute nerd)
Pros: you have a few unique aces up your sleeve.
Which seems like overkill, for a battle that is surprisingly accurate as this is. Even Lucine begins to notice difference in skill and reactions. ".... So strange... is the simulation not able to keep up with us? The numbers are intense, so it makes up for it, of course..."
She wouldn't know the dirtier side if that particular battle, having learned the simplified, glorious version that is usually the easiest way to even approach the subject on a scale appropriate for a child.
Ryoko pumps everyone up. but Mitsuba may notice, from her vantage point, the way Lucine screws up her lips, frowning, as if trying to ponder something inbetween those words. "... Ah, ready!" Her face turns to neutral, refocusing on the fight. "Excuse my last comment. It could be it's just warming us up. This amount of pilots means a lot of targets to keep aware of." She's looping through the attacks, working her size to her advantage to place herself at a better point.
"Now for something to soften those shields up...." The Dianthus pulls out the Argen-21 Beam Arbalest, drawing by the 'string' like it was a true reflection of its smaller historical counterpart. "You're in my sights! Orion Shot!"
There's a pause, after the bright beam lances through the field. "... Sorry, it's... part of it, that I need to say the name."
_no it's not due to overhearing Gekiganger over and over_
KTS: Lucine Azul targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Argen-21 Beam Arbalest Orion Shot! <Pose Tracker> Az Sainklaus has posed.
Out with the old, in with more of the old. With just how packed A Baoa Qu's defensive regiment is with forces, Az knew that just breaking their initial line was only going to be the start. Not a bad start at all, but still just the start. Still, her battle-ready seriousness is broken a little bit when her brother makes his overdramatic entrance. "...'Burning ace pilot'? I don't think anyone on the Dreisstrager calls you--"
Her comment and momentary distraction is cut short when the reinforcements make their move, beam shots filling the void of space and igniting the battlefield. Hasty and uneven as it may be, the reality of the difference in numbers is more obvious than ever - a quick thruster-assisted blast to the side into a roll turns into getting clipped by a shot in the side of the skirt, skewing off the Huckebein's balance and sending it into a brief tumble. "Mngh...!"
It swiftly rights itself before another shot takes advantage of it however, flipping around and boosting off to link up with the 30R when Edge's idea of linking-up hits her, weaving between further attacks as it goes and picks up acceleration to take the forefront. "--Right." Back to full focus. She can't mess up here. And with Ryoko putting on such an impressive show of working together with Alto and Lucine, she's motivated to do the same. "Then I'm moving into the pocket!"
An azure flare of all the 30L's boosters send it forward alongside the support fire, the Leap Slasher pulling back to orbit the machine as it retrieves a beam sword. The first Gelgoog it encounters is subject to a high-speed horizontal slash as it bursts past, and the Slasher right behind it producing a follow-up attack by shearing straight into it. A banking turn--and another one in Az's sights is subject to another one-two of melee engagement followed by attempting to cleave it into four separate pieces. She'll make some chaos in the middle of their formation.
KTS: Az Sainklaus targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Leap Slasher Dual Strike! <Pose Tracker> Lune Zoldak has posed.
"Don't mess up in front of the Nadesico, 'burning ace'!" Lune calls, 'good cheer' for her a snarl in motion. The Valsione follows suit, twirling about the periphery of the fight with an confident, predatory smile and focus of the eyes.
Lune has run the historical, the fantastical, and the impossible versions of this particular sim while she had trained at Jupiter - it's why she had suggested it. Confident even in the case of the AOS producing some nightmare scenario, the warm up round being historical made things almost too easy.
Almost. She still had to focus, because if she took a stupid hit early she'd never be able to play it off. "Keep the pressure up! They'll break if you don't give them anything to hold onto!" Lune urges the others.
As the formation breaks, half-and-half with Gelgoogs closing behind shield cover, Lune looks 'down', rotating at the shoulder to arc Valsione's flight away from the boxing pot-shots and circle the charging-in Aestivalis formation from the Nadesico that define the center of the melee.
A haze of green-white particles pulse out from Valsione, Lune spinning about in-space to begin falling-away from the stabbing pursuer. "I'd love you off my back-!" She shouts, an orb of red and blue projecting out from the shoulder crystals cast in bright spotlights of power on the dark void.
Lucine begins to apologize about saying the name. Oh no. This is now solidarity time.
"-and you HAVE to say the name!"
The Valsione's reverse becomes a gravity-stop step as the Tesla Drive simply re-decides what local gravity is around the unit, and the arms sweep about in a hair-fanning twirl. "You won't escape! Cross Saucer!"
The projected orbs fly off to push the pursuing Gelgoog forcefully back into the awful missile death explosion zone the others are setting up with their Plus Sized MAP Attacks, buzzing like saws against armor before zooming off in artful arcs.
KTS: Lune Zoldak targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Cross Saucer! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley fails to react to Lucine Azul's Argen-21 Beam Arbalest Orion Shot, taking 5130 damage! Your unit's HP stands at 42342
KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley fails to react to Az Sainklaus's Leap Slasher Dual Strike, taking 4900 damage! Your unit's HP stands at 37442
KTS: Az Sainklaus has engaged Mitsuba Greyvalley KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley fails to react to Lune Zoldak's Cross Saucer, taking 3720 damage! Your unit's HP stands at 33722
KTS: Lune Zoldak begins a Formation attack!
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
The A Baoa Qu defense contingent seems to be waking up -- realizing that it doesn't need to hold things in reserve, that this is what's coming. The team gets encircled fully in short order, which on the one hand ought to make things harder -- but on the other, it provides an extremely target-rich environment.
Ryoko and Alto's one-two does a lot of heavy lifting almost immediately. The One Year War saw missiles at their absolute weakest -- the tug of war has circled back around to finding them a solid investment, at this point, though. As such, the defenders are utterly unprepared to be put in a position where their formation tightens in a forced, disorganized manner only to get absolutely annihilated with the barrage of missiles. This is the type of maneuver that would have... well, it would have probably been impossible in the One Year War, but if it *had* happened it'd be the sort of thing people wrote treatises about.
Edge and Az's coordinated maneuvers have a *slightly* less outsize effect on the situation, but they do have an effect; while the 30R creates opportunities, the 30L seizes them. Those slashes -- and that sick banking turn -- leave two standard-sized squadrons in the dust.
Mitsuba blinks at the results. They're fighting more than half of A Baoa Qu's defensive contingent and *winning* -- and handily, at that. This is the power at her command. This is what will bring peace and freedom to the Earth Sphere.
Her eyes rest on Lucine for just a moment. Hm. That's... interesting. She doesn't interrogate it much just yet, but she makes a note of it. (She considers, briefly, asking for a personnel reshuffle... but thinks better of it -- for now.)
Lucine's beam rips through a Gelgoog, eventually hitting the space fortress itself and leaving a burning pit. Lune's attack slams through one of the Gelgoogs, those orbs buzzing along their paths and finding solid purchase.
A handful of Zaku II F2s moves up behind shields -- it's a little late for them to make a difference, mind, but they at least try. They're hasty refits with beam weaponry their generators don't quite support -- but they make up for it in numbers, circling around the Sainklauses in particular and trying to leave at least some mark against these far-future machines.
The remaining Gelgoogs use them as an opportunity; they shift into formation, rifles all charging for just a moment. Everyone else gets a full-focus blast from the beam rifles -- old though they may be, a beam rifle is a beam rifle, especially at full charge.
KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley targets Edge Sainklaus with Gelgoog Beam Naginata Combo! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley targets Az Sainklaus with Gelgoog Beam Naginata Combo! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley targets Lune Zoldak with Gelgoog Beam Rifle Focused Shot! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley targets Alto Saotome with Gelgoog Beam Rifle Focused Shot! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley targets Ryoko Subaru with Gelgoog Beam Rifle Focused Shot! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley targets Lucine Azul with Gelgoog Beam Rifle Focused Shot! KTS: Ryoko Subaru's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Ryoko Subaru blocks Mitsuba Greyvalley's Gelgoog Beam Rifle Focused Shot, taking 2700 damage! KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 109. KTS: Edge Sainklaus has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Edge Sainklaus blocks Mitsuba Greyvalley's Gelgoog Beam Naginata Combo, taking 1380 damage! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley has engaged Edge Sainklaus KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 137. KTS: Lune Zoldak fails to react to Mitsuba Greyvalley's Gelgoog Beam Rifle Focused Shot, taking 4100 damage! KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 165. KTS: Az Sainklaus has activated the Trust Spirit Command. KTS: Az Sainklaus fails to react to Mitsuba Greyvalley's Gelgoog Beam Naginata Combo, taking 5060 damage! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley has engaged Az Sainklaus KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 193. KTS: Alto Saotome's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Alto Saotome blocks Mitsuba Greyvalley's Gelgoog Beam Rifle Focused Shot, taking 3410 damage! KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 221. KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Lucine Azul successfully evades Mitsuba Greyvalley's Gelgoog Beam Rifle Focused Shot KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 249.
<Pose Tracker> Ryoko Subaru has posed.
As Alto's missile fire lights up the Gelgoogs as they detonate around her, Ryoko actually sounds impressed. "Looks like it wasn't to their liking Skull-4. Unfortunately for them regifting is not about to be an option." Before she says to Lucine, "The name!? Is this another Gekiganger thing Lucine? You've been hanging around with Tenkawa too much!"
Fortunately Izumi and Hikaru are not here to call her on her bullshit today for invoking Akito as if he's a negative. Before she yells at Lune over the comms for enabling Lucine, "No she doesn't! Don't encourage her!"
The Zaku II F2s form up with the shields, and Ryoko suddenly gets an intense look at what she regards as a desperation move. "Are they really sending out those antiques against us? Feh."
Yet the Gelgoogs prove this is anything but over, as suddenly she dives in behind Alto's Messiah and brakes hard to while raising the Aesti's Distortion Field to maximum, the energy bleeding off of it as the two pilots try to help the other pilot weather the storm with their respective barrier systems. When she reappears, her Aesti is scored with a few bright scorch marks that got through. "Heh. They must think they can still pull this off. Can you believe that Skull-4?"
The Aesti suddenly raises the rapid rifle, which seems like a puny weapon given it's relative size. And yet... Ryoko gets to burning, leveraging the simulated IFS system to its maximum as her eyes begin to track all the targets on the screen.
Remaining back to back with Messiah, the Aesti squeezes the trigger, the rifle spitting fire all over space at an alarming pace. As it seems to track each one with incredible accuracy given the rate of fire its putting off for a simple projectile weapon.
Each one gets what seems like ought to be a full clip of burst - yet she never stops firing as she goes down the line of one, two, three, four... reorienting the Aesti without peeling off of the Messiah's back to take down each one with an almost ruthless efficiency.
"Nothing like a mercy killing to brighten the day." Ryoko notes to herself in a muted fashion, putting off... an almost incongruent emotional tenor to those sensitive to it.
KTS: Ryoko Subaru has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Ryoko Subaru has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Ryoko Subaru targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Alarmingly Rapid Rifle! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley blocks Ryoko Subaru's Alarmingly Rapid Rifle, taking 8520 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Ryoko Subaru's In the End All I Do Is... activates, causing Insight L1! Your unit's HP stands at 25202
KTS: Ryoko Subaru completes the Formation attack!
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
The lights from Alto's missiles exploding are still dying off while he listens to some of the others fighting nearby. An expression of mild amusement falls over his face as he asks, <"You guys name your attacks?"> At first it's a bit of a silly idea to him. Admittedly, VF pilots do name formations... But that's for easier coordination. Totally different.
Alto doesn't have a lot of time to be amused though as the Gelgoogs regroup again and look like they're preparing an assault. Watching their actions... <"Ryoko! Take cover!"> Take cover in space? With what?
Each other, of course!
Alto pushes the throttle hard, his machine's legs flipping up to the rear and sending it rocketing forward to meet up with Ryoko's Aestivalis. At which point the Messiah transforms again, this time taking its Battroid humanoid form.
Alto spins around, turning his back to Ryoko's machine. He raises the Messiah's left arm just as the formation of Gelgoogs fire.
A large, circular barrier of light appears just beyond the shield mounted on the Messiah's arm. The Gelgoog beams rain down on the barrier, flashing against it. Some manage to break through, splashing against the reinforced armour of the Battroid. But weakened by the barrier, they aren't quite as lethal, mostly leaving only scorch marks behind.
Alto chuckles in response to Ryoko, <"Well, they certainly have the numbers. Can't blame them for thinking they're on the winning side."> Well, technically they don't actually exist. Just as programs in the simulation. But in the heat of a fairly believable battle, it's easy to forget such details.
Shield raised, pinpoint barrier guarding against the frontal assaults and Ryoko covering his back, Alto raises the gunpod in his machine's right arm. Sighting in on the Gelgoog formation, Alto cries out as he pulls and holds down the trigger.
The Messiah's gunpod unleashes a constant, rapid stream of bullets towards the enemy lines. It sweeps the weapon around, turning with the Aestivalis behind it to remain at its back, spreading the fire out in a wave of heavy slugs into the Gelgoog formation.
KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Valor Spirit Command. <Pose Tracker> Edge Sainklaus has posed.
"You're getting sharper every day, Az..!"
- and not just as a pilot, he mulls over to himself. There was going to be a day when she didn't need him around at all, wasn't there? Back at then, they'd been unable to bear parting ways with one another. I on the other hand, have grown practically not at all ... I'm very proud of Az, but change is hard to come to terms with. Still, I hope you continue to grow well during our time on the Dreisstrager, Az .. and as for me - I don't know if that's in the cards. But I'm putting all my eggs in this basket.
"F2's? I think - those are the refurbs, right?" he wonders. He was no MS expert, after all; and it was a moot point to consider when they found themselves quickly surrounded by them. Rather than trying to break formation with Az and punch through them, he falls back-to-back, leaving the 30R and 30L pinned down. The R had raised both of its arms in a defensive cross, absorbing punishing blast after blast against its frame. Yet, the tenacity of its armor stood strong against the storm - part of this was due to the armor itself, and the other was that the two units were effectively shielding eachother and as a result, the 30R's unprotected hind wasn't being battered at the same time as its front.
"Damn. This sucks! But you guys .. can't keep this up..!"
Eventually they'd need to pause, being so energy inefficient, and that'd be their opening to break through. It's not real. I don't have to take it seriously - it almost got me there. It's got my blood pumping in all the wrong ways, just like the real deal.
"Now!"
Splitting from its sister unit, the R shoots out, firing a volley from its photon rifle to scatter the enemy just long enough for the Huckebein to close in and sock it right in its mono-eye, before raising its rifle wielding arm and slamming the butt of its grip down on the Zaku's head, crumpling it. "Outta' the way, small fry!"
It was just his imagination, he knew, some part of his brain recreating the sensation of smelling the caution tape of his PT smolded into its body. The wave of heat in his cockpit. The thinning oxygen.
This was just a simulation, after all.
Raising its leg, the Huckebein kicks the wayward Zaku's rifle from open space into the chest of a nearby compatriot to buy a second of time while the 30R digs its fingers into the bent out lip of its head chasis so that it could pivot, electric sparks crackling from the strain in its elbow joint while it hurls the MS feet first into its buddy before blasting them with the last of his rifle's energy. The weapon is swiftly discarded; "Swords should be topped up now..!" he growls out, Lune's taunt from earlier leaking out of his ears.
Some part of his mind told him that getting this kind of tunnel vision wasn't good. The Huckebein still attacks the F2's it could get to like a rabid animal, opting to jam the tips of its reversed-grip swords into joints where the armoring was minimal, or slashing along welded seams where it'd be the weakest, Edge intent on making quick work of the enemy platoon before the AI could regather its bearings and have its mooks outmaneuver them again.
KTS: Alto Saotome targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Gatling Full-Auto! KTS: Edge Sainklaus has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Edge Sainklaus targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Wild Rush! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley fails to react to Edge Sainklaus's Wild Rush, taking 6480 damage! KTS: Edge Sainklaus has engaged Mitsuba Greyvalley KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley fails to react to Alto Saotome's Gatling Full-Auto, taking 7680 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Alto Saotome's The Twinkle Of A Tearful Planet activates, causing Insight L1!
<Pose Tracker> Az Sainklaus has posed.
"Amazing..." Amid her rushdown, Az's glance to the side brings up the view of both missiles blossoming out and also the Dianthus' beam vibrantly ripping through the battlefield all the way to A Baoa Qu proper. Everyone is doing their utmost and fighting as hard as they can--Lune even was *slightly* less aggressive to her brother than she thought she'd be. Talk about top form all around.
"I couldn't have done it without you," she offers back to Edge, with a small smile only she can see. "...Maybe you will earn that burning ace pilot title before long?" Her tone is somewhere between teasing and genuine. She's used to relying on him like this--and in a situation like this, she doesn't mind it at all. If she could hear what she was thinking, she'd maybe have some choice words to drop, but...
What ifs and warm feelings are no excuse to get complacent in the heat of battle. And she doesn't. Actually, it's the raw numbers that catch her off-guard; there's a whole lot of Zeon's defenders still ready and coming to fight, but the amount now coming right at the pair of Huckebeins is briefly overwhelming. "...! Watch out, Edge!" A hasty warning is delivered, but with her being the one further ahead as they come, she's the one in more danger and she knows it. The beam sword is hastily whipped around to deflect a naginata coming down--
Only for another Zaku to batter her off her guard, only a quick flash of danger sense and a vernier blast in the opposite direction stopping the 30L from losing a limb in the process of a heavy chunk of seared armor flying free. As if karmic retribution for starting some chaos herself, now she's caught in the crossfire of mobile suits back-to-back with her machine's counterpart.
Cornered. There's a rise in heartbeat, a brief spike of awareness even when it's not real--
She reigns it back in, bringing the Leap Slasher back around to harrow a Zaku coming at them as the pair break off from one another. "Not like this...!" The beam sword still in its grip is promptly brought up to go and try to bisect it in two, only to whirl around to meet another MS and shoulder-tackle it away. It creates enough of an opening for the 30L to bank 'upwards' relative to the majority of the machines around it, reaching behind itself to grab hold of a singular, oversized rifle and leverage it downward.
"Graviton Rifle--SHOOT!" She didn't mean to join in on attack calling, it just sort of happened. The trigger is pulled, and a beam of red and deep black sends the machine a few meters backwards as it descends towards one of the F2's coming for Edge. Another--and another, with the ones harassing Az herself subject to either point-blank shots or a banking swing of both sword and remote weapon to get them before they get her.
KTS: Az Sainklaus has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Az Sainklaus has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Az Sainklaus targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Lockdown Combination! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley fails to react to Az Sainklaus's Lockdown Combination, taking 6840 damage!
KTS: Az Sainklaus has engaged Mitsuba Greyvalley
<Pose Tracker> Lune Zoldak has posed.
"They're committing their whole force to this - even the reserves. Heads up!" Lune vocalizes, maneuvering
Things are going well - even without the Dreisstrager directing close-in support, the massive ship's full occupation of the orbital fleet at A Baoa Qu means that Mitsuba isn't directing juicy close-in missile support to the formations of Gelgoogs.
And they're crashing the enemies hard enough to push their second-line fighters forward just for volume of fire.
'You guys name your attacks?'
Lune can't believe it. In her ears rings a challenge to a truth, a real fact. She had just said it! Did she stutter?
The doubt distracts her flow, the historical record never intense enough to push so much fire directly towards her. Zagging around the slower-recycling FII barrage, the shining Valsione is sighted by a pair of Gelgoogs, one firing earlier and catching her evasive jink, and the wingman taking advantage of it to catch the Valsione dead-on. The beam impacts the metal angel with a chestplate-melting beam of projected particle-force that finally detonates messily across the whole front, Lune taking the hit like a full-powered kick to the chest. Uncontrolled, for a moment, Lune gasps in the sim, eyes dialating in shock from her suit's feedback.
Lune, and the Valsione's, arms swing in to cross over the smoking chestplate. Above, on the shoulders, the shoulder crystals flare back to life. However, when before two spotlights created single spheres of projected power, now they roar openly, an outpouring of red and blue bubbles in a grand nebula about her.
"You give your dreams power when you give them names. I'll show you a dream that was left for me -" The flood of bubble-marbles end. "If you're just going to float there and shoot: combine with sparkling jewels! Moebius Jade!"
The same logic as the rifles, but the showily projected bubbles number far, far more than three. Red and blue marbles the size of cockpit balls flood in behind Edge's wild charging, seeking targets and mates to engage in colorful detonations.
KTS: Lune Zoldak targets Mitsuba Greyvalley with Moebius Jade! KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley fails to react to Lune Zoldak's Moebius Jade, taking 5900 damage! Your unit's HP stands at -1698 KTS: Mitsuba Greyvalley's MS-14A Gelgoog has been disabled.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
".... It's alright, I'm not keeping count." Lucine just stumbles into the good-natured bit of rivalry with the grace of a toddler. That is, a toddler with an assassin's blade, depending on how that comment hits among everyone. "Oh! Miss Zoldak, I've never seen a unit quite like yours before! The expressions... it's like a person fighting on the field!" Lucine hesitates, drawing up a possible explanation in her mind. "Or is this one you had imagined and the simulation brought to life? If I had known that was a possibility..."
Lune weighs in on how you're *supposed* to say the name, while Ryoko points to one particular elephant in the room: Akito. Or, even more specifically, Gekiganger. "Nonono!" Lucine's face is a portrait of pure panic. "Well, I mean, it's a part of it, but not in the way you think!" At least she's not blushing, or too upset. "... my dad just felt it was an important part of the whole deal. You make a big ruckus of what you're about to do, so when you do it, you get a boost of confidence! .... unless it misses..." Why Lucine's Morale Type is Triumphant, Exhibit A.
It just gets worse, as Alto chimes in. "It's... um...."
'You give your dreams power when you give them names. I'll show you a dream that was left for me!' "Yes, yes, what Miss Zoldak said!"
"Looks like they're up to something-- ah." This isn't a blast of insight, as the Gelgoogs' actions are pretty self-evident. "Coming in at-- oop!" Whatever extra information she would have supplied is interrupted by her own need to weave through the beams, spinning around in mid-evade to glance back at her companions. "Miss Sainklaus, Skull-4, keep an eye out on your flank, I...." Her lips scrunch up again, trying to figure out a proper way to word it. "Or is it your front? I think there's some units trying to sneak up. Actually, ah, nevermind."
It may not even happen now that she had warned them, with how it looks like she is spotting something from her vantage point. Especially since... it doesn't have a chance to happen.
Then, distractedly, Lucine looks towards Ryoko's direction in the simulation. ".... Miss Subaru..." Pause. "I feel very good about you leading us here!"
she is trying her best, also, why is she talking like the battle is over
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
A Baoa Qu's mobile weapon contingent... actually slows down at this point. Rushing to meet the seemingly small number of enemies has only hurt them -- they've taken frankly massive casualties, proportional to the few short minutes of engagement.
The simulation does account for morale, it seems, too; movements are getting disorganized as orders meet counter-orders and the chain of command breaks down a little bit. Ryoko hoses down two whole squads with ruthless efficiency, and Alto destabilizes much of the encirclement.
The Huckebein 30 line proves itself -- Edge makes the necessary adaptations to fighting older mobile suits with thicker armor and fewer delicate components and almost immediately gets the best of it, carving through some of the best the Universal Maintenance Plan had to offer without losing stride. Az follows suit with a hard swing off of the default plane of action and a shot -- clean through another platoon.
Mitsuba takes a moment to just... stare, as A Baoa Qu's defensive line collapses. 'You give your dreams power when you give them names,' Lune says, as those marbles of energy blast through most of what remains of the defenders. A Baoa Qu -- accounting for the fact that this is a simulator exercise, and a proportional number of defenders have been removed to account for those in repair or on patrol who couldn't make the scheduled mission -- would almost certainly lose to the Dreisstrager. No, more than that: It wouldn't even be a contest.
"... End simulation," she says, calmly. She turns off her microphone for a moment, and turns to Lian, who's *also* been monitoring the exercise: "... Is -- is this an anomalous result?" she asks, a little incredulous.
"Well... strictly speaking, we can't be certain this is an accurate recreation of A Baoa Qu's defenses -- but it's as accurate as a Federation computer allows, ma'am. It even accounts for the possibility of Darcia Bakharov changing the timing of his surrender attempt based on events outside... if things had gone longer, they might have had to deal with Captain Sanguine being among the defenders instead" She's actually a little giddy as she says, "It's -- actually kind of exciting, isn't it? The Dreisstrager is --"
"-- strong enough to rewrite history," Mitsuba finishes, eyes wide. Her lips curl up a bit. "I'm not sure whether to be honored or terrified, but..."
She takes a deep breath. Everything steadies. "I'll be sure to use this power in the service of peace and freedom in our world."
Microphone back on. "Thank you for coming, Nergal pilots on loan -- and thank you for participating, Dreisstrager crew. Feel free to leave the simulator pods. I'll be in Conference Room R if you want to discuss the results. Your completion bonuses will be two paychecks from now, after we liquidate the supply of rare earths we found in an asteroid a few weeks ago."
She pushes her twintails back a little bit, shakes the cobwebs out of her head, and says to Lian: "Please review the data from today's action," with a nod. "And... try not to look so stunned," she adds, a little more playfully. "It's shocking, but at the same time, we had a massive technological advantage... I'm interested to see how we perform in later simulators."
"Yes ma'am!" Lian says, brightly, as Mitsuba retreats. "And, Captain... please don't go too far into your own head about this. You know all of us support you -- this isn't a power you have to think of as exclusively your responsibility..."
Mitsuba glances off. "Thank you, Lian," she says, as she heads toward the conference room. ... She doesn't sound entirely convinced, admittedly.
<Pose Tracker> Ryoko Subaru has posed.
"I can!" Ryoko says to Alto of blaming them as the two mow down the Gelgoog army.
"Your dad taught you that huh?" Ryoko pauses as she considers the thought of Lucine with her father. And Lucine probably feels another spike of regret, "I guess I can't complain. So long as it's not some anime thing." Though she audibly groannnssss when Lune says 'You give your dreams power when you give them names.' and calls out 'Moebius Jade.' "Are you sure it isn't that you're not just some Otaku!?
As the simulation comes to an end, Ryoko takes a deep breath in that moment of quiet and takes a moment to make sure she's composed for what follows. The tomboyish pilot then gives Lucine a mildly embarrassed look, "H-Hey where'd that come from?" Before she puts on a cocksure grin like she'd just put on a sticker, "Of course you're good with it. It's what I'm good for."
The difference between 'at' and 'for' is so academic that perhaps she won't catch it.
Climbing out of the Sims, she has one hand on it as she gives the Dresstrager pilots a quick and casual salute. "Not bad. Not bad. Even you hot shot." As she nods Edge's way in a light tease, "Next time you all swing by the Nadesico, I owe you all a drink." She'd owe them a drink here but she's not actually sure if they have to buy their drinks with company credits like they do on the Nadesico...
After clapping Alto and Lucine on the backs once in turn she starts heading towards the Conference Room R to discuss the results... seemingly impressed by the scenery. Though she still doesn't take a seat, opting to lean against the wall in one of the aisles with arms crossed, "So our results speak for themselves I think - but wouldn't mind the specifics if you've got them on hand Captain."
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto's gunpod rounds rip through the last of the Gelgoogs, before it becomes clear that the defense line has collapsed and it looks like they've won. As the last of the Gelgoogs nearby explodes, the Messiah takes a pose with one leg slightly raised, its gunpod held resting on its shoulder.
The simulation ends and Alto relaxes into his chair for a moment, letting out a sigh of relief. It had been an intense fight, even if it wasn't real. And of course it's always nice to win in the simulator, even if Alto has his doubts about the accuracy.
Doubts which Alto mentions to the others later as he filters into the conference room, "I somehow don't think that's how it'd really go. Even with our advanced units, I feel like we'd get overwhelmed. The simulation was probably downplayed somewhat."
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
Emerging from the pod, Lucine stumbles, not used to the notion of the floor being right there instead of having to climb down, like she'd usually have to in the Dianthus.
"That was..." The word 'fun' being on her lips feels wrong. This was a simulation of a historical battle that took place. Real people died, years ago, fighting for causes that have become shaded in time's luster and shadow.
"It was a nice experience," she finally says, with a nod. "I appreciate Miss Greyvalley allowing us to participate-- oof!"
No Newtype ability can be used against the valiant force of Ryoko's back clap of jolly cooperation. Lucine lets out a laugh.
There's still things on her mind, however, after the group files towards the conference room. Things she doesn't voice until she's taken a seat.
"I felt the same as Mr. Saotome.... I wonder if it was because we didn't feel the need to hold back..." Lucine's gaze directed at the conference table's surface. "We didn't have to think about lives lost, or the state of our units. Even if we were to place our own lives or discomfort into the equation, it still wouldn't offset the difference in ability that comes with that. That freedom... it would be terrible to feel that way, in an actual battle. A curse..."
Lucine stops, and looks up. "Ah, sorry, I was... off on my own train of thought, there. I mean, for gaining experience, the simulation offers valuable insight."
<Pose Tracker> Edge Sainklaus has posed.
Piling out of the simulator with the rest, Edge takes a moment to really stretch his limbs out. Being tall had its own downsides, he'd come to find.
His scarf finds its way higher up on his face, barely failing to conceal his embarassment as he tilts his head up and to the left, "T-thanks, you too."
He cringes internally.
That all disappears the moment free beverages was on the table, "Woah, generous. You seemed like the stingy sort of rowdy lady, but maybe I was wrong? OK. I'll hold you to that, it's a total promise." he chimes with an upward lilt.
Really, it could've been a free anything to get that sort of response. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, as the Sainklaus Sayings go.
Speaking of which, he waits up for Az, leaning up against a nearby railing. "Yo. In the end, it looks like you were more of a 'burning ace pilot' than me. How terrible, I've fallen so deeply behind - it's just a joke, don't worry. You're goin' to the debrief, I guess?"
Edge pauses for a beat, kicking one foot lightly against the grating. "I think I'm gonna' recharge my batteries instead. Fighting sucks, I'd much rather cheat and get a baby-easy victory, y'know .. I'm just not built for that whole ace pilot schtick. It was kind of fun to pretend, though." he grins mildly, from behind the cloth of his favorite red scarf.
"Oh, but maybe I shouldn't let you go alone - that pretty boy was giving me some gnarly vibes. I might need to throw him out the airlock if I let you two in the same room with no good supervision.."
He still had a bone to pick with Reynold, now that he thought about it. He'd get his, Edge promises himself, childishly.
<Pose Tracker> Az Sainklaus has posed.
The simulation winds down.
Phew. Right. It's over now.
There's an audible sigh as the pods open up, revealing Az with eyes closed and hands still taut on the controls. It only lasts a moment though, before she takes hold of something to ease herself up to a stand and readjust to the relatively sudden swap of 'in combat' to 'back here'. The Dreisstrager's mock battles really are almost scarily realistic. It's Ryoko's voice first that gets her to look up though, and a brief look of surprise turns into a small smile.
"...I'd be glad to. Though I feel like I should be the one saying that. You were all amazing! And you went in so fearlessly, charging in just like that and leading the way for everybody else." Lucine in particular is given her attention right after, still wearing her warm expression. "It got really chaotic in there, but thank you for the warnings still. And for what it's worth...I think you don't need to be embarrassed about anything. I think you actually sounded really cool shouting that out."
Shifting aside as people begin shuffling out of the room, it's only natural she runs into Edge waiting for her - though she was going to talk to him before she went anyway. She does have A Look on her face at him deriding himself for a moment, though it goes back to more neutral when he brushes it off as a joke. Only a bit though. "...It does," she has to admit. "But doing it for a reason like this...I don't hate it. Not like that. And besides, I can't really make many claims of ace piloting myself. If I went and got myself cornered without any backup..."
She trails off, looking to the side briefly, but it seems like the moment is gone when she makes eye contact again. Actually, she's starting to smile ever-so-slightly again. "Actually, I was planning on trying to make you come one way or another anyway." That pause and kick might have had something to do with it, but she doesn't have to say that out loud. "If you were the only one who didn't, it'd be a little awkward, wouldn't it? Or they might think you're upset over--" There is a moment, where she also recalls some of the same words that had been nagging at Edge. They haven't left her either.
"--what Lune had said to you." She only barely misses a beat, but nevertheless starts heading off towards the conference room with the expectation of him following along. "You two really are something else."
<Pose Tracker> Lune Zoldak has posed.
Okay. That looked cool, right?
That looked cool. People wouldn't notice, and the Valsione didn't need any repairs, so she didn't have to tarp the front. It was just data.
The simulation ends, and Lune kneels down to disengage the anklet connectors from her suit first, then tugs free both cuffs and pulls open the neckpiece down so it doesn't stick so closely to the underside of her neck.
She's sore, and she doesn't want to admit it, because it was a sim. As the guest pilots start exiting, Lune is just to ulling herself out of the pod, running fingers through her hair and following the others while gingerly prodding her ribs to check them.
Until she hears the magic words. Edge speaks them into existence, and Lune feels them across the (sound)waves. Her trained ear detects
d r a m a
and she 'appears', looping an arm about Edge. "Who're we spacing? C'mon, tell me all about it on the way.
One ducking through a changing room later, Lune enters the conference room in a white tank top, three fifths of a pair of distressed jeans, and red slippers. A towel rests around her neck, and a bandanna about her brow.
"You all did really well, I'm impressed that Nergal hires the cream. Even if those were historically accurate - the advances you were showing off in formation fighting, and we all were in tech, really turned that."
"But you're right. If we were actually having to kill people, if it was really life and death, it'd be a lot messier. They didn't use any suicide tactics, either." Lune suggests, with a sigh that starts with a sweeping shrug and ends with her hands wrapped around the ends of her towel. "They just played it like the military commanders at the time reacting to a threat. Char was nonpresent, and he should have shown up - we were playing White Base and Amuro both."
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
Mitsuba settles in in the conference room as people get settled in. "Lian is still collating some of the fine points, but the key point is that the Dreisstrager is sufficiently capable of simply winning engagements with pre-Gryps Zeon technology." Alto's reservations catch her attention, and she considers that for a moment. "You'd be surprised; A Baoa Qu was a large-scale engagement, and the Federation engaged with only two thirds of its fleet, having lost a third to the Solar Ray immediately prior. The Dreisstrager's approach has some unique advantages in dealing with the results -- against a fortress defended equally on all sides, an approach from a single direction forces the enemy to rearrange on the fly."
She chews on that a little bit, though, musing: "I do think, though, that Miss Azul is correct -- a simulator allows a certain amount of risktaking that the genuine article doesn't. There were multiple instances where one of you fired to dry on a weapon, when in live battle you might have chosen to keep some of that in reserve for a potential surprise threat. Simply knowing the opposition will include primarily Gelgoogs and Zaku II F2s shapes your decision-making..."
An idea seems to occur to her -- or at the very least, her eyes widen and light up a little bit. Next time...
Nodding to Lune, Mitsuba says, "The decision-making in the simulator was indeed fairly conservative; it does seem to adequately model the effects of morale, but..." She chews on that a moment. She brings the butt end of a pen to her lips again, worrying at it. "... I think the simulator will get smarter about that sort of thing as we unlock more of the AOS's features, and its projections get better."
It's at this point that Reynold arrives -- presumably just ahead of the Sainklauses. He has been deputized with a task beneath an instructor *and* beneath an XO: carrying in a large platter of cookies. (There's water in the conference room already.)
The downsides of a relatively thin crew for such a large ship, one supposes. Reynold doesn't seem to mind. "Impressive work," he offers, giving a nod to the assembled pilots. "We'll be taking your feedback into consideration for how we explore the AOS's unexplored features," he adds, a faint echo of Mitsuba's own words.
Reynold does not sense any bones that may be picked in his direction. He is blissfully oblivious, as he often is.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
With the whole group now gathered, Alto takes the opportunity to walk over to the Dreiss pilots. He gives them a nod, starting, "We didn't really get a chance to introduce ourselves properly before we started." He holds up a hand to the three to shake their hands, starting with Lune, then Az and finally Edge. During which he says, "Alto Saotome. I'm with SMS as part of Nergal's fleet branch. Though currently assigned to the Nadesico while I'm on Earth." A situation which Alto remains unsure of how long it's going to last. Not that he's going to complain about having so many opportunities to fly its skies. He finishes, "Nicely done back there. You guys seem to have some pretty good teamwork as well. Especially you two." Alto looks between Az and Edge.
Turning to Lucine, Alto crosses his arms with a thoughtful expression on his face. He nods slowly, feeling much the same as her. Real battle is definitely different to a simulator. When Lune brings up the subject of the Red Comet, Alto winces a little, "I imagine trying to fight him-even in a modern unit-probably wouldn't end well for us. Even on the colonization fleets, the names of Char and Amuro are well known." Maybe not quite as known as some of the famous names from the space war, but still .
Mitsuba provides a more detailed review of the fight. Alto moves to lean against the back of a chair as he listens. Some... Hell, most of the tactical talk goes over his head. He's clearly got talent as a pilot, but he's still fairly green as one. And certainly is no commander or tactician. So he simply accepts Mitsuba's obvious ability in that regard.
At that point, Reynold arrives. And Alto looks mildly surprised, staring at the carried plate of cookies. Alto's initial impression, apparently false, had been that the Dreisstrager was a fairly professionally run ship. More like a military vessel. He hadn't expected to be served cookies. Still, Alto takes one of them, giving it an experimental bite.
<Pose Tracker> Lune Zoldak has posed.
Lune shakes Alto's hand firmly, her back straightening slightly as she does. Meeting Alto's eye, the blond cracks a grin. "Lune Zoldak." She answers simply and directly, since it is both obvious (and already acknowledged) which unit she's in, and what outfit -she- works for. The handshake pumps and passes on to Az, and Lune keeps talking, amused now.
"The 'Char Pattern' in simulators is actually a habit of lazy designers. Painting things red and making them perform in the top half a percent of the paper value of the mobile suit's performance. Omnidirectional awareness, complete sim-cheating. It's almost a joke, but you're right."
"They'd be scary, even in a historical-tier sim."
Lune's shrug rises again, hands back to her towel-ends to finish, and she leans forward cheekily. "The fantasy sims are always worse, though. They just give Char magic powers and invincible armor and stuff. It's insulting. In all the records the thing the sims are missing is the artistry."
Lune inspects the cookies as she rises, but moves to simply get a tall water instead. She finishes a full cup and refills before moving to peek about the cookies fully. Intense calculations begin occurring.
<Pose Tracker> Edge Sainklaus has posed.
"Eh, that's not really -" speak of the she-devil, though, and she shall appear. "What, you want in on it? ... well, I guess your heavy hands are good for this sort of thing, actually.."
Edge winds up spilling the beans as the three of them make their journey; its a somewhat convoluted plot involving a fake love letter, a cage match in the hangar, and a poor sap whose name rhymes with Shmenold.
Later
Edge is barely paying attention, more so wondering why Reynold would do something so unforgiveable as to provide water and not milk if he was going to bring cookies.
"That's like, against the law, man." - yet another mark against him that demanded retribution.
"Yo. I'm Edge." he returns Alto's introduction and handshake, somehow being both awkward and laidback about it. "Me'n Az are one hundo percent unbeatable when we work together, glad you noticed. Well, you weren't half-bad, for some ikemen who comes and goes as he pleases."
It's hard to tell if he's being friendly, or aggressive.
His input for the Real Conversation is limited to; "To begin with, something like this is pretty much just excessive, wasn't it? I mean.."
"Even accounting for it being a simulation, a single ship and less than two squads of contingent mobile weapons routed the Principality's lynchpin. That's a little much to imagine, isn't it? It was considered the toughest nut to crack next to Jaburo HQ, just twenty or so years ago."
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
Az's praise draws a pleasant smile as she takes in the compliments graciously. "Ah, thank you! This has been my first real experience with the pilots here on the Dreisstrager! Even in a simulation, I was very impressed at how quickly all of you drew together and coordinated."
"Ah, Mr. Sainklau--" Lucine was going to compliment Edge, almost by impulse regardless of any vibes she may or may not have gotten from him, but instead, she tilts her head, looking from him to Az. "... Are you two... related, by chance? I apologize if I'm being too nosy, of course..."
She bobs her head once to all of them present, prompted by Lune's introduction. "I'm Lucine Azul, by the way, if you did not see my name on the simulation screens. I joined the Nadesico about... would it be... two months ago? I suppose three months, technically... I pilot, but I mainly work as their gardener." She beams. "Perhaps, soon, I'll be able to share some vegetables and fruit!"
But there's no time for that. More serious matters are present.
"I completely forgot about that aspect," Lucine reflects, as Lune brings up Char and Amuro. "Our tactics stand upon theirs, since we've learned from them, no matter where in the galaxy we're from. There are still echoes of them around... so, in a sense, they were present through us. Not that... this refutes that point, as none of us are them, and... I would be afraid of any simulation that could accurately replicate people like that beyond placeholders." Though her eyes cross at the thought of the Red Comet as some sort of pegasus knight.
Lucine frowns. "Yes, no suicide tactics, and... We were counting on an end, because everyone tires. There are situations where there is no end, and resources have to be reserved." Lucine's voice slips into a soft monotone as she thinks, her eyes half-lidded as she reaches for a cookie. "Oh, ah, thank you. I was not expecting baked goods. I appreciate the forethought..." She bites into it, just appreciative of Reynold's delivery.
"Miss Greyvalley, what... exactly is the AOS? It sounds onpar with the Nadesico's system, but... It sounds like the staff is discovering parts of it." Lucine's expression grows worried. "... Is there... some sort of trouble?"
<Pose Tracker> Ryoko Subaru has posed.
~Then~
"Who are you calling stingy!?"
At least she owns rowdy.
"You'd better, I'm not about to renege on something like that." Before she seems to warm up at Az's comment after that brief outburst at Edge, "That's just how we do things on the Nadesico. I never turn down the opportunity for a good fight"
~Now~
Many bring up good points about the battle, like Alto and Lucine... "I wouldn't overthink it so much." She was thinking about what would happen if the Nadesico and Dresstrager turned their main guns on those forces - which is something that wasn't reflected, yet the Captain brings that up. And she just nods respectfully.
She tries not to think too hard on the simulation allowing them to ignore the lives lost. There are of course limitations to a sim but...
Lune invokes the Red Comet though, and Ryoko grows... really still for a while, though she then gives Alto and her a long look, without saying anything for a time as they talk.
She's definitely faced those sims that Lune is talking about with Char having near magical powers and invincible armor. Some part of her is sick of regarding Char with such... awe though. It feels deferential to his legend... and that's the last thing she wants to be
"What's with you all selling us that short? I don't think Char would have changed that much. Not in an accurate sim for the times. Because he'd also have the same kind of decision making as the rest of us... which means if we didn't fall apart right away he'd be weighing the benefits of staying engaged against a force as advanced as all of us."
Ryoko would like to think at least that if he were in his suits at the end of the OYW rather than something from three years ago, that he'd have eventually disengaged and ran. "I bet that once the sim gets smarter - we'll be able to prove that real fast."
<Pose Tracker> Az Sainklaus has posed.
The trip to the Conference Room involves some things that are better left unsaid. Hopefully, most of them are said while Az is leading the way and out of earshot of the other two. Maybe she can even take it as Lune and Edge getting along for once.
In said room, there's just enough time for a bit of introductions to be in order, between Lucine and also the approach of Alto - also known as the pretty boy of Edge's nightmares. "Az...Sainklaus. It's nice to meet you both. I wouldn't have ever guessed you were only assigned there for a while with how well you worked together," she comments to the S.M.S. pilot. "I know I said it already, but it really was impressive."
Lucine's question gets a momentary pause, but only a momentary one. "It's not nosy at all. Edge is my brother...or maybe my father, with how he acts sometimes." It sounds like a joke, but it's also not. "...Not by blood, though." She doesn't elaborate further on that. Thankfully, she doesn't have to with the conversation shift in the room.
She does, however, shamelessly take one of the cookies that Reynold has brought in once they're set down, with a smile that has some sympathy in it for the position he's been put in. "Thanks, XO. You didn't make these yourself, did you?" That, too, is probably a joke. But only probably.
"The simulator will get smarter...so we're going to have it even harder in the future. Even aces like Char Aznable showing up to fight us..." With how the AOS had replicated even those basic defenders, it's a scary thought. "Not even that, I imagine most of the future ones it makes won't have us against decades-old mobile suits. We'll have to work a lot harder at it..." She's thinking of that more than Lucine's honestly justified comments on the system.
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
Despite its heavy responsibility, the Dreisstrager is crewed by 'the contents of Military Academy 30's student's union (organization) when Military Academy 30 was attacked, and like, three people who were right outside.' It is, in effect, the heaviest-armed student union (building) imaginable.
Accordingly: You get cookies. They're good.
"It is excessive, but Lune, Mayvy, and I came up with the simulation. Originally it had been a lower priority, but the AOS just... decided to finish it. It even offered benefits for testing the simulation and refining it, so I'm certain that -- excessive or no -- it serves an important purpose."
Their thoughts inevitably move toward Char, in discussion of A Baoa Qu. It's an interesting consideration -- how can they be certain the Dreisstrager will outperform a modern ace without the performance profile of a modern ace? "That's definitely something I'd like to add -- though we'd need to find better records of the Zeong's performance than I personally have access to to be faithful on that front... I do think I trust the AOS to design a quality 'Char' stand-in, admittedly, without falling prey to the usual traps."
Mitsuba turns her attention toward Lucine, and greets her more fully. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Azul. You're clearly an excellent addition to the Nadesico's crew -- talented, clever, and thoughtful. I look forward to working with you."
She gets a question about the AOS, and explains, "The AOS essentially serves as a full-service CIC suite, replacing a full team of operators. It provides up-to-date information on battlefield conditions and a variety of secondary effects for units under the Dreisstrager's command. It is essentially a perfect conduit of information between the field, the AOS itself, and myself."
That bit from Ryoko -- that sticks out to her. "That's definitely true. If the field collapsed that fast, the historical Char would... honestly very likely have cut and run, either to settle things with an Amuro who wasn't present or to settle things with the Zabis... with our performance, we might well never have encountered a truly historically accurate Char Aznable."
Reynold seems a little startled at Az's question -- he doesn't turn pink, but he has to reach up and adjust his glasses. He's at least *startled* at the question. "Actually, I did," he says. "Three is a difficult proposition in the room Mitsuba and Lian were in, so I went to prepare for the follow-up meeting... are they satisfactory?"
"XO," Mitsuba says, playfully stern. "Didn't we have this discussion?"
*Now* he turns pink.
<Pose Tracker> Edge Sainklaus has posed.
Ah.
Wow, he really is bold, huh? This guy - I'm really gonna' kill him, huh ..
Edge's thousand yard stare dully pierces Reynold's soul - although Alto was the pretty boy of Edge's nightmares, Reynold was worse in some capacities. He was one of those rotten, no-good teachers who thought school-age girls who were just coming of age were the cutest. "Oh, having private talks with the Captain, huh? And making passes at Az, XO...who knew you were such a dog."
This was a pretty uncharitable view of things, but what could you expect from the impregnable older brother?
Lucine saves him, inadvertently, for now. "Eh - I don't really mind. Az is .. - someone special to me, yeah. It's like that." he nods in response to how Az describes it. Given all the complications surrounding their history, he decides that leaving it with that was probably good enough.
Edge looks pensive, but - while total strangers might buy into him just being in a sour mood because of the simulator, or romcom hijinks, in the quiet of his own mind..
The AOS prioritized this, did it. But I wonder why .. it's just a bad feeling. I'm not good at this whole big picture point of view thing, but I'm very familiar with the feeling of being a piece shuffled along someone else's board.
Caruleum's biting statement of him seemingly leaving that place only to find himself working on a ship employed by the same organization ...
Feeling like this -
Of course I trust Mitsuba. I want to believe in her and her goals, I'm just being..shitty and paranoid, I guess. Maybe I'll never be satisfied with how we do things.
And trying to swallow that pill sucked pretty badly. "You sure have a lot of faith in the AOS." is all that comes out of his mouth though, the scarf having moved back up his face to cover it, stopping just over his nose.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto stares at Edge a little during the introduction, mostly out of mild confusion. He's not actually sure he understands what Edge is saying. So isn't sure whether he should be flattered or insulted. Alto decides to just not dwell on it any further, instead turning his attention back to Az as she comments on the teamwork of the Nadesico team, "The Nadesico has been through a number of scrapes since I joined it. Plus the Captain insisted on some team building exercises at one point." There's a mild tone of annoyance in his voice when mentioning that. "Point is, we've had a number of opportunities to work things out."
As Ryoko questions whether Char really would have been as effective as others have been suggesting, Alto shrugs, "Hard to say how Char's skill might compare to those of us in more modern times. But I've had a chance to see and even go up against a real ace or two-" From his perspective, "-and their skill is definitely on another level. It makes a difference."
"It'll be interesting to see what simulations this 'AOS' comes up with next." Alto doesn't seem as interested in the system as some, though he's never been especially technically focused. VFs being one of the few exceptions. Though from the sounds of it, it seems like something one or two people he knows would like to see.
<Pose Tracker> Ryoko Subaru has posed.
Ryoko nods at Captain Greyvalley's evaluation. Though some part of her... well, some part of her wishes Char would take the field anyway even with the lines collapsing. It's not a rational part of herself, but what part of her is ever driven solely by logic?
Ryoko tries to thus keep her response to Alto... restrained. Restrained for her. It's almost like she doesn't want people to think she's fixated on this subject. "Not saying it wouldn't make a difference Saotome." There's intense anger though, simmering beneath the surface yet she's trying to keep it from lashing out right now, "I'm saying we'd have probably come out of it with a few scars - but we'd all make it out."
The tech talk about the AOS causes her to furrow her brow. She gets the gyst of it, at least, but maybe doesn't understand the full implications.
Taking her weight off the wall, she moves over to pluck up a cookie. Mid-bite though the Captain rebukes the XO, and Edge drives it home. "Feel like I'm learning all kinds of things about the Dresstrager's Second... and nothing new at all about men."
As she adds her own small dunk to it to Reynold who's an easy target. Though some part of her is now perhaps wondering if Edge might have a complex...?
"Yeah... honestly, looking forward to it if the Nadesico can spare us again." As she asides to Alto, "Pretty sure whatever challenge for us it comes up with, we'll be able rise to it."
<Pose Tracker> Az Sainklaus has posed.
Az takes Alto's explanation in stride, despite Edge being Edge. Clearly, she's either used to shaking it off or just knows the real intentions behind why he does what he does. Or both. "Oh, that makes sense. I suppose it's actually sort of the same way with us here, come to think of it..." A number of scrapes isn't wrong, for what they've been through. And that was, in a sense, a team building exercise. Sort of. Maybe. Actually, would she describe them all as just as good at teamwork as the Nadesico team? Her and Edge, maybe, but...
Then again, they have yet to find something Lune cannot bust through with some back-up. So.
The talk of aces and the AOS gets her attention briefly, and a return to her serious and contemplative expression, and she follows up on Edge's comment in particular, picking up on his dour mood. "Well...with Mayvy handling the supervision of it, that's not a surprise, is it?" She makes a quick glance around as if to check if the woman herself is actually here, and is apparently relieved when that turns out to not be the case. "She's good at what she does, even if she's a little..."
She does not elaborate. Again. "...but I'm sure she wouldn't let it put us into any sort of sim where we'd really be in over our heads. We managed, didn't we?" She says that, but it's not terribly hard to tell, at least to him, that she knows the actual problem is deeper than that from the slight grimace she has. Though she's not sure what to say about it, at least right here...
The focus on Reynold does take some attention off at least, enough so that there's a moment where she simply takes a bite of her cookie and lets it all come in for a moment. But after she's chewed and sampled the taste, she gives a chuckle at his expense as he's lectured by the Captain in full view of everyone.
"Really good, actually. I think I could eat a plateful." Turning to the Nadesico crew, "...Maybe to go with those drinks we'll have sometime?"
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
Like family, it seems. Lucine nods, tempted to give voice about how sweet it was, but she holds off, realizing that the two were eager to move on.
Still, it's left her with a small smile.
There's a look towards Ryoko's rising anger, redirecting Lucine's attention like a flame. "I think there's something to be said about the fact that we did succeed, and we put our minds to the task. Our units were vastly different in abilities, but... we sewn them together to form the basis of a plan, despite some of us only meeting each other for the first time. That is truly the gem in all of this, and something we should be glad for." She finishes her cookie, and, timidly, takes another. "I would not mind another exercise. I can see why people use these a lot for training!"
Far better training than your dad and a bunch of his old pals taking his daughter to the nearby meteor field to see if they can teach her a few tricks before they thought better of it and snuck away for a few drinks.
Lucine's face colors again at Mitsuba's compliments. "Ah, thank you, Miss Greyvalley! I hope to continue holding myself up to such standards..."
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
Reynold goes from startled to outright concerned; he offers a momentary, "Ah -- my apologies, Mr. Sainklaus. Ms. Subaru. Captain. If you'll excuse me, I'll leave you to your debrief." He retreats; either he's successfully been scared off, or he's preoccupied with the negative feeling of having sent the wrong signal. He does note, for Az, "If your brother and the Captain will permit it, I'll make another batch for the next meeting."
Mitsuba takes a cookie. "We'll talk later," she says, with a smirk, before moving right along. Her take on Mr. Hardin is a little less cynical -- but she *does* need to have another talk with him, it sounds like.
The AOS, though... "It's not that I trust 'the AOS' -- it's that I trust all of you. When we launched, I said we would do what we could, the best we could -- and the AOS is a tool that, in turn, gives *us* tools to do *that*. To use your power to unify the Earth, for the sake of humanity's future."
Future simulations... Mitsuba pulls up a datapad. "The other major slice of data the AOS scraped in the same breath," wait, it just... does that? on its own? "comes from the Impact Wars. My guess is that it caught me discussing the possibility of an intervention against the criminal element in the REA, because most of what it seems to be looking at involves rogue Zaftran units. Apparently once we finish *that*, I'll receive the second half of this schematic."
Mitsuba doesn't seem too weirded out by the idea of accepting boons and quests from the ship, as if it's some great steel god setting the terms of a pilgrimage. If anything, there's an undercurrent of excitement there.
Mitsuba finishes, "For the moment, I'd call this exceptional performance that highlights the weaknesses in simulation at this scale. Future simulations," she notes to Az, "will probably push your limits. We'll iterate with the data we have and see where that leads. Please enjoy the cookies; I need to perform some more detailed review of the data, but please -- if you need anything, don't hesitate to reach out to myself, the XO, our Operator, or the Technical Chief." Mitsuba gathers her things and starts making for the door herself.
<Pose Tracker> Edge Sainklaus has posed.
Am I the weird one for thinking it's troubling that the AOS can just .. do that? It's like it's just giving us treats for doing a good 'un.
Kind of like how you'd train a dog, some morbid part of his mind jokes. "Nice to know it's always peeping in on us," he comments with a light tone, a small disatisfaction underlying it.
"Yeah," he nods along to what Az had mentioned - blue and red eyes exchanging glances and with it, an unsaid truth - Edge does as he's wont to and says anything but what's actually on his mind. " ..I wanted to crack some smartass remark, but nothing's really coming to mind, sorry. Even my incredible wit and charm has its limits, it seems, I'm pooped."
For a brief moment that, for Edge, seemed to stretch on forever, his fingers tense as his eyes track Mitsuba across the room, on her way out.
>Reach out
>Let it go
It was a little bit like being stuck on a forked path. Except, the road was moving under you, so you couldn't just stop to think; you had to decide and live with the outcome of it. In a way, Edge felt like he'd maybe regret it later if he just decided to push things off for now and let the sleeping dogs lie.
However, he was also a little bit of a coward, and confronting certain issues - especially with guests aboard - was not an appealing thing for him. " . . . "
And before he knew it, his chance to do anything had already passed.
The door shuts behind her, and Edge stuffs his hand into his pocket instead. "Well, it was nice meeting you all. And stuff. .. I guess."
There's a playful bite to it, before he moves to crash on the couch. "Oh, and uh - don't mind the weird Haros, if you see any bobbing about, yeah?"