Re: Schatten Dolch

[Kaizer 0]

"You'd think I was talking to the wall...." Lune thought as she listened to the lack of words that came from Kyra's mouth.  Lune thought she would have said something, but it seemed that Kyra didn't have anything to say, or at least, not that she wanted to say.  She could see why dad had dropped Kyra off in her hands instead of taking care of her himself; even the honorable vice-admiral would have had trouble making conversation with her.

 

"Y'know, you could at least try and say somethin,"  Lune began as she absentmindedly spun the wheels of her skateboard to check how the bearings were holding up, "I dunno, like 'that sounds fun' or 'oh please no Onei-chan, anything but that'.  You'd think that you didn't like to talk to people or something like that, but that can't be true.  You're part of the Zoldark family now, so that means you gotta uphold the family traditions, and one of those traditions just happens to be that we don't let others just drag us around; we make our own decisions y'see."

[winders 0]

Kyra liked explaining things, but she didn't like to make idle chit chat. Apparently it had finally hit Lune like the wall that she imagined Kyra to be, that her younger sister did not talk much. Throughout her short service through the Earth Alliance on her father's command she had grown a name for being the quiet little girl who knew more than she should; though this had sometimes embarrased her father at times.

 

She found Lune a little contradictory, she didn't overly enjoy people telling her to talk and she would never enjoy them telling her to talk. She wouldn't stand in the long run people dragging her around, telling her to talk. Before she began to brood right infront of Lune she let some words slither out of her mouth to silence her elder sister, "Oh please no, Onei-Chan. Anything but that." she said in a dull lifeless voice.

[Kaizer 0]

If this had been a cartoon, Lune was sure that she would have a comical sweat drop hanging from her face right now.  As it was, all she could do was listen with a mixture of disappointment and amusement as Kyra threw Lune's own words back at her.  At least her younger sister had some sense of humor.  Well, if Kyra didn't want to talk, then she would find something else for her to do.  Lune had never been given special treatment because she was related to the honorable vice admiral, so she knew she couldn't just let Kyra walk the easy path; regardless of the fact that she was still young.

 

"You said anything, so I'm sticking you to your promise kiddo.  I want'cha ready for training in an hour; I'm gonna show you all the stuff about mobile suits that they can't teach you in any manual."  Lune said with a grin before setting her skateboard down on the floor and skating away, leaving her sister to finish her 'meal' in solitude.

[winders 0]

Kyra's eyebrow felt like it was going to twitch as she watched her older sister skate away recklessly. While she was a superior officer she acted much like a street punk, her father had always discouraged such actions. As she sat down to finish her lunch she pondered what this 'training' was going to be like, would it be tiring or would it be boring. Either way, the young girl knew that it was going to be something erratic thanks to her sister's personality.

 

An hour later, Kyra stood inside the training center of the ship, it wasn't packed but there were a few dedicated soldiers in the simulators. Dressed in a pink flight suit now. That was what some of the other officers Admiral Zoldark had told her. Softly she knocked on the metal door, the helmet the was clipped to the back was pulling her back; annoying her slightly. Mainly because her arms didn't reach around the helmet, but also because it added effect.

 

Now all she needed was a little explosion from her sister...

[Kaizer 0]

"C'mon in Kiddo, we don't got all day!"

 

The door to the training facility opened and Lune could be found poking at one of the large, military class simulators that occupied the room.  She had needed to adjust the seats and pedals to accommodate Kyra's smaller frame, but other than that, the simulator was in working order.  It was a colossus of a machine, having been designed to simulate the feel of a true mobile suit cockpit, and as such, could even rock back and forth with almost the same intensity that a pilot would receive in any real combat.  Not too far off from Kyra's simulator was another similarly sized simulator, next to which hung a blue and white pilot helmet; part of Lune's personal flight suit.  Having taken the extra time to adjust the two simulators, Lune hadn't bothered to dress in her full flight suit, and had only gone so far as to button up her uniform to make herself seem more professional than usual.

 

"These simulators are about as close as you're gonna get to a mobile suit without having a real one on hand, so it won't do to take them lightly.  We're gonna start by teaching you the basics, and then we'll move up to some aerial tactics and long range weapons tests."  Lune said, her voice far less casual then what most people were used to seeing from her.  Mobile suits were fun, no doubt about that, but they were also serious business, and that had been one of the few lessons that Lune's father had insisted to impress upon his daughter.  As such, Lune always took combat seriously, even if it was just a training simulation.

 

"And during combat, always pay attention to your elders and respect them; so whenever we're training, I expect you to refer to me by my rank, you got that Crewman Recruit Relm?"

[winders 0]

Thankfully Lune had gone through the trouble of adjusting the simulator for her. Kyra knew how to do it herself, but her small stature would have made it a little difficult to make proper changes without the muscle or the height. She knew well what the simulator was capable of, she had studied it while under her father's wing and Kyra had to admit, they were pretty sophisticated pieces of technology.

 

Basics and then tactics, it was the usual training regime but Kyra suspected they never taught basics to raw recruits such as her in such a manner; hopefully there wouldn't be too many onlookers or it might be a tad embarrasing for the young girl. Nevertheless, with a little determination Kyra felt that she could master it given enough time; which probably would be given to her thanks to her relationship with the commanding officer.

 

"Yes Lieutenant Zoldark." she said in her dull lifeless voice.

[Ezekiel Koehler 0]

"Woo baby, yeah! Daddy's burnin' with gasoline now!"

 

The ruckus came from one of the leftmost simulators, piercing the general hush of the assembled pilots-to-be.

 

"That's your spine, son! You know it is!"

 

A young, red-haired man was seated at the simulator's control panel, tearing the helpless controls this way and that as he sent his virtual suit careening through the simulated space. Whatever he might've been lacking in finesse he was certainly making up for in enthusiasm, and with the press of a button he watched another of his targets vanish in a bleep of seismic activity, spurring another excited whoop and drawing an annoyed sigh from the woman in the next simulator over.

 

Ezekiel loved these games (training, whatever - the two were inextricably bound to his thinking), and he came to the simulators as often as he could, which most often ended up being at least once a day. He was already a little infamous both for his high performance at the machines and his eagerness to gloat thereof, and there was more than one satisfied smile in the room when his simulator gave an angry "DERRR", signalling that his virtual self was now scattered all over the Pacific Ocean.

 

"What? That's some bullshit - there's no way that missile could've gotten anywhere near me!" the young pilot exclaimed angrily, slapping the side of the control stick as he glared at the simulator. The machine seemingly refused to answer, the intricate details of his failure written out in bold text across the screen so that he might learn from his mistakes.

 

What? Oh, you want to know if he read it? Of course not! You mustn't know Ezekiel very well at all.

 

Punching the few keys to deactivate it, Ezekiel swung out of the pilot's enclosure and stepped out onto the main hall floor. He was dressed as he usually would - his crewman's uniform hanging unbuttoned and with its sleeves rolled up, draped over a black T-shirt with some contemporary print on it. He put his arms up, stretching casually before his eyes came to rest upon a most unusual pair.

 

He'd seen the slightly older woman around the base before; he was pretty certain she was part of their merry band of fighting men (In war, everyone is a man. The women are men, the children are men - and the men, of course, men.), but the girlish-looking one was entirely new. "Oi!" he called out, turning his steps towards this new oddity. "Kids aren't allowed in here!"

[Kaizer 0]

"Okay then, lets get...."  Lune began, only to trail off as the trademark sound of someone dying in the simulators echoed throughout the room.  "...Started.."  She finished, listening with a smirk on her face as the supposedly 'dead' pilot turned out to be a red-haired man who didn't look like he could be all that older then herself; though of course, he was taller than her by close to a foot in height.

 

"Oi yourself!  She's with me, thats all there is to it."  Lune said, placing herself slightly between the red-haired loud mouth and Kyra.  She couldn't remember seeing this guy around all that much, but she thought that his bright red hair would make him easy to notice from now on.  A quick glance at his uniform confirmed that he was a lower rank than she was, and a mischievous grin crept across her features as she wondered just how the red-haired giant reacted to authority.

 

"Now how about you tell me your name and rank before you start enforcing rules on anyone smaller than you."

[Ezekiel Koehler 0]

Ezekiel blinked as he was deftly intercepted, the blonde woman positioning herself between him and the kid like a particularily wily player of RISK. There was a bit of a loading time when his brain sorted out the rapid-fire spattering of cheek he'd just recieved, but then the red-haired pilot's brow furrowed a little.

 

Fortunately, military instinct made him scan the woman's shoulders before he replied, and he bit back his venomous retort when he noticed her Lieutenant's insignia. The first things that OMNI hammered into your spine during boot camp were the knee-jerk reflexes, the real basic stuff you were supposed to know before you ever got to handle a firearm. The first and most thoroughly ingrained one of these was to obey your superiors, and Ezekiel's mouth acted almost independently of his brain when he mumbled out a quick; "Ezekiel Koehler, crewman first class."

 

Taking the moment to study her more closely, Ezekiel couldn't help but think once more he'd seen her around somewhere. She had a couple of familiar lines and features, and briefly he toyed with the idea of her maybe being related to someone he knew.

 

Nah. Nah, that was just silly, that was.

[Kaizer 0]

Lune could tell that Ezekiel would love nothing more then to say 'to hell with the rules', as his tone of voice was one that Lune herself had used many a time during basic training.  However, Lune wasn't the same as those high strung officers that looked for complete obedience from their soldiers, and Lune mostly enforced her rank upon others when she didn't want to argue with anyone.  Otherwise, she was content with letting people do as they wanted to, so long as they didn't get herself or anyone but themselves hurt in the process.

 

"Well then, Crewman first class Koehler, unless you wanna show Kyra here how not to pilot a mobile suit, I'd get out of the way and leave us be."  Lune said as she went back to the simulator she had set up for herself, taking a hold of her flight suit helmet and holding loosely with one hand.  It was then that a thought struck her, and she spun around to look at Ezekiel with a wolfish grin.

 

"Unless that is, that you think you could teach us a thing or two about mobile suit combat?"  Lune said, all thoughts of training Kyra pushed to the back of her mind at the prospect of a challenge.  Lune liked to win, but she hated being handed an easy victory, so she looked for anyone that could either be a tough challenge, or would just be fun to trounce out right; Ezekiel was most likely somewhere between the two standards.

[Ezekiel Koehler 0]

Oh.

 

Oh ho ho.

 

First of all, you don't gutcheck a man in front of his regulars (normally, people you see once or twice a week on work business don't count, but Ezekiel maintained a very loose definition of the term "friend"), and you most certainly don't do it regarding matters of martial skill. His fists clenched for a moment at the woman's superior attitude, but it just as quickly melted into an eager smile as the youth brushed a tress of his fiery hair out of his face.

 

"You're on!" he declared spiritedly, any irritation evaporating before the prospect of a good fight. Moreover, it was a chance to put an officer in her place before his peers, which would be good enough to buy him rounds for several bar nights forward. He spun around on his heel, half-running over to his simulator as he swung into the pilot's seat, eagerly punching the activation button before he'd even landed properly.

 

His pilot's information came first, fingers typing out his military ID code and password automatically while his mind worked furiously. "Let me show you..," he mumbled to himself, eyes scanning the parameter setups as he meticulously adjusted the simulated mobile suit to his unorthodox standards. "Why they call me the Red Raven!" Inputting his password again, he grinned as he stared down the line of simulators towards where the woman was getting seated.

 

For the record; No, nobody ever called him the Red Raven. It was his high score name at the local arcade.

Edited February 28, 2007 by Guest

[winders 0]

Kyra stood there, still in her pilot suit as her sister began a heated exchange with a red haired hot shot. While outwardly the young girl looked as if she were listening to the conversation. But in reality young Kyra was measuring which of the two was more the fool. This 'Red Raven' and his antics at attempting to show up a superior officer, clearly a negative factor to anyone's military career.

 

But her sister, Lune, was just as bad; taking the young man's bait as easily as a fish to a lure. It also appeared that she was so engrossed in the conversation that she had lost all sense of priority, it was clear here that she enjoyed her authority. Kyra inwardly shrugged as she don her pilot's helmet and proceeded to the simulator.

 

She figured that the pair would engage each other once the simulator began. With that Kyra smiled inwardly as she put her details into the simulator and the machine closed its lid around her.

[Kaizer 0]

"The Red Raven?  Never heard of him."  Lune thought to herself, pausing momentarily to try and think back to any of the military nick names she had heard of.  Of course, nick names like those were hard to come by in a peaceful period, and the only 2 people she could think of off the top of her head were her father and herself; the Divine Flame of Martius and the Spitfire of Martius respectively.  Snapping out of her reverie long enough to realize that everyone else had already gotten into their simulators, Lune strapped on her flight helmet and hopped into her already preset machine.  She always used the same mobile suit, The Slaughter Dagger, so it hadn't taken long to memorize the proper simulator settings for it, and the only difficult part was ensuring that their three machines were linked properly.  She selected a rather plain looking desert for their battlefield, as it meant that they would be fighting with only their natural skills.  A zero-gravity simulation would do just as well, but she didn't want to have Kyra drifting around trying to keep her balance when she had no idea what she was doing.

 

"Okay Kyra, just sit put and keep a good eye on me, This guy's gonna be the work of a moment for me."  Lune said as the 3-D, semi-realistic terrain came into view.  Today's technology was getting pretty good at mimicking reality, but it was still possible to notice the differences if you looked; but few people payed attention to them as they were too engrossed by the immersing experience of the simulators.

[Ezekiel Koehler 0]

Ezekiel's eyes moved over the various pressure parameters, thrust regulators and the various weapon systems' power gauges that were, one by one, flickering to life inside the simulator cockpit. He'd opted, as always, for the GAT-04 Windam equipped with the Jet Striker pack. The red-haired pilot needed the high-output thrusters of the add-on to make good use of his quick reflexes, and the Jet Windam had seemed a natural choice from his first days spent piloting.

 

He booted up the necessary systems, going through the rotely memorized motions that were in no way necessary for a simulator but were nonetheless firmly hammered into his subconscious by the countless hours spent practicing them. His drill sergeant, old Bald Billy, would've been proud of him at that moment.

 

Tingles of excitement were already beginning to spread through his body, and as the virtual landscape stretched out before him his lips curled into a wide smile, his eyes working over his scanners as he quickly got a reading of his foe.

 

Slaughter Dagger? Really?

[winders 0]

Kyra's pilot profile was read through her ID, which was used to log how many hours a pilot used the simulators and other facilities. The program noted that she was in Schatten Dolch and her simulator data showed that she wasn't skilled enough to use anything but a Slaughter Dagger as of yet.

 

That was another thing that the simulator did, it had a database of all the squads and had primary mobile weapons assigned to each of them, so if a pilot did not log enough time in a simulator they were stuck with the squad mobile suit.

 

Thankfully for Kyra she didn't care what mobile suit she used, as long as she got the basics then she would last longer the next time she used the simulators. Before she 'spawned' in the simulated battlefield, which, no doubt both the 'Red Raven' and 'Spitfire of Martius' were fighting it a basic mobile weapons guide came up as a dialog.

 

She glanced through it quickly, reading the specifications of her mobile suit; though she already knew them off by heart thanks to her father and the basics of controlling them which were a little bit harder to grasp as they consisted of many different controls and combinations.

 

By the time she was done with her guide and had spawned into the simulated battleground she had expected the pair of hot heads to be headbutting with each other. Surprisingly they were not, it didn't really matter either way; it gave her a little bit more time to prepare for her private lesson with Lieutenant Zoldark.

 

Kyra experimented with the various computer settings in her Slaughter Dagger, eventually finding the weapons systems and reading the different weapons on the mobile suit; a pair of vulcan cannons, four beam sabres stored in various places, a beam rifle and finally another pair of vulcan cannons, these however, were specially made to combat infantry.

 

She must have slipped or something, because suddenly a chain of vulcan cannon ammunition was firing away at the general direction of the combatants, the recoil pushing the stream of fire upwards before Kyra finally regained control and stopped firing.

[Kaizer 0]

"Dammit Kyra! I thought you knew all about these things!"  Lune said as she turned her suit towards Kyra, using her shield to cover against the short lived barrage of vulcan shots.  Anyone who said they could name any part of a mobile suit and where it went should at least know what each button does as well, even if they aren't used to combat, and Lune never liked being shot at; but anyone who liked being shot at would have to be crazy.  Her excitement over fighting against Ezekiel made it hard to think about much more than the fight, so her outburst was harsher than she would have wanted to be.  But mobile suits were weapons, and people shouldn't use weapons if they didn't know how, and Lune would have to take responsibility sooner or later for Kyra, as that was the big sister's job.

 

"I'm gonna end this fight quickly, so just sit tight and don't touch that button again, got it?"  Lune said in an agitated tone of voice, already having dropped her beam rifle to draw one of her suit's many beam sabers and set out on a zig zagging path towards Ezekiel's Windam.  She wasn't going to let a single mishap stop her from taking care of Ezekiel here and now, and she wanted to prove to Kyra that she was a good pilot; that way she might be more interested in their future lessons.

[Ezekiel Koehler 0]

Ezekiel's ballistics sensors beeped like crazy as the supposed spectator let loose with a salvo of high-speed bullets, ripping through the air with a simulated shriek of tortured metal. It was an admirable piece of sound effect technology, but Ezekiel had scant time to ponder it as he instead stared in blank astonishment as the enemy suit deflected them with her shield.

 

Wait, what? The girl was on his side?

 

Confused, he almost forgot entirely to react as the black-painted Slaughter Dagger drew a beam sword, forgoing range for a more straight-forward attack plan. Grasping the controls, he engaged the Windam's powerful thrusters and turned it into a sharp upward climb, bringing the beam rifle up level and firing off a few first shots.

 

He seemed to favor the left side of her suit, shooting for the torso and shoulder as he attempted to herd her into a sideward boost.

[Kaizer 0]

"Come on, don't tell me that gun is all you know how to use!"

 

Lune was getting excited now that her adrenaline was up, strafing to the right each time he shot at her, as his shots were easy to see coming.  He seemed to favor the left side of her suit, and wondered if he had some kind of plan in mind; wait, this guy could plan ahead?  Nah, couldn't be.  But if he could, then he was definitely a little more talented then Lune gave him credit for; which in and of itself would be a compliment, as that meant that he was probably closer to an actual pilot and not a loud sack of potatoes.

 

"If you're afraid to get close to your opponent, then you're obviously not a real pilot just yet!"  She added before letting loose a swift barrage of CIWS bullets.  Even against a poorly armored mobile suit, they wouldn't do much, but they could make some damage in the long run, and would help to keep Ezekiel off-balance until she could find his weak points.  She may be a little impulsive at times, but she wasn't stupid, and knew at least one of the major rules of war; know yourself, know your enemy, and you hold the key to victory.  She knew herself, and she knew what the windam as a mobile suit could do, but Ezekiel was still an unknown factor.  Regardless, her impulsiveness would most likely get the better of her in the long run, as she wanted to end this fight quickly so she could start training Kyra.  That had been the point of all this, right?

[winders 0]

Kyra had finally gotten the mobile suit's head to realign its X Axis, so that she could see in a proper linear fashion. Controlling the mobile suit's individual parts was tough, there was the head, the right arm, the left arm, right leg, left leg and weapons to add onto that. She did not know how anyone could pilot such complicated machines, she always found the fighter jets to be of a easier design and had even drawn up a couple 'plans' that had been rejected because they were apparently too childish.

 

Still, she had gotten used to the head controls and she was steadily figuring out the use of the arms. They felt heavy and the mobile suit's arms moved jerkily, as if the muscles in it were tired. She looked at the weapons display and noted that the mobile suit had four beam sabres to use, she selected one from the backpack and moved to remove it from the back mounted device. But the shield mounted on the mobile suit's left arm dropped off, had she pressed a wrong button?

[Kaizer 0]

((With Ezekiel gone, we're just gonna control his character to end this thread quickly))

 

Lune took a moment to look towards Kyra's suit, and face palmed herself for realizing that she hadn't really put any time into showing Kyra the controls.  But the girl had said that she knew every part of a mobile suit, so Lune had thought she would know which buttons did which as well; though that was obviously far from the truth as Kyra's suit unceremoniously dropped its shield.  That moment of distraction seemed to be all Ezekiel needed, and he dropped downwards in an attempt to slice through Lune's Dagger with a single slash of his beam saber.

 

"Did I say you could hit me!?"  Lune yelled in an agitated voice as shield met with Saber in a vibrant clash of light and sound that made Lune almost forget that they were in a simulator program.  Couldn't he see that she had more important things on her mind then to bother with him right now?  She'd let him push back a little more, then she'd end this thing violently; Oh she couldn't wait to see his face once they got out of the simulators....

[winders 0]

Kyra fiddled with the controls a little bit, the mobile suit obidiently knelt to pick up the shield but for some odd reason the thrusters and the right hand side verniers kicked in; sending the Slaughter Dagger flying to the left behind Lune's mobile suit where Ezekial could not see what was happening. She doubted very much that either one of the two combatants were watching her, and while her sister had told her not to press "that button" she figured she had to avoid using the vulcans again.

 

That was an easy feat, she brought up the weapons display ocne again; this time replacing the beam sabre back in the pack before pulling up the data for the beam rifle. A targeting display appeared with a reticule, slowly she nudged the mobile suit right and left in small increments as the two other metallic bethomonts clashed; creating sparks of energy as the two beam sabres collided.

 

She took aim at the back of her sister's mobile suit, directly parallel to the mobile suit's breast area; the fatal spot. Finally after ten seconds she got her aim on target and pushed a different button. A green scream of energy emitted from the muzzle of the beam rifle and towards Lune's exposed back.

[Kaizer 0]

Lune smirked as she pushed hard on the throttle of her simulator suit, having finally gotten Ezekiel into the position she wanted to deliver the finishing blow.  But just as she was about to land that definitive blow, her cockpit shook and went pitch black.  Moments later the telltale message saying that she had been killed appeared on screen, and Lune could only blink in surprise.  Ezekiel had apparently died at the same time according to the simulator, so the only one who could have dealt the finishing blow would have been.

 

"Kyra! You sneaky little devil!"  Lune cried as she pulled herself out of the simulator.  Her helmet seemed to muffle her voice, giving her an angry tone, but when she managed to pull it off, it could be seen that she was actually smiling and holding back a laugh.

 

"And here I thought you didn't know how to do anything!  I guess this means we can step up our training a few notches from now on."

[winders 0]

The canopy of Kyra's simulator opened with a hiss snap, and the young girl removed her helmet with a twist. "Orders were not to press that specific button, I merely pressed a different one." she said in a soft explanatory tone, as if it were simple common sense. Attaching the helmet upon her backpack once again she removed her ID card from the simulator and pocketed it.

 

Her first ever win in such a machine, it felt good. "Ma'am, I've informed you already that I am more than proficient in mobile suits." she said, as if she had been holding back. It had been strange, midway throughout the battle she had somewhat gained control of the mobile suit even though she hadn't the slightest idea how to move an arm. It was as if it were instinct; of course Kyra did not mention this out loud, she could already predict Lune's response as stylized cartoon face of her sister appeared in her mind; "For 'sho, it runs in the family; Kyra-Chan." she would say.

 

Something about that sentence brought a chill to her. "Ma'am, what will we be covering next?" she asked instead; there was this smell emanating from her sister, something that occurred from time to time. She knew the reason and yet Kyra did not sweat at all, was it something to do with the Zoldark family genes?

[Kaizer 0]

"Well, if you're fine with mobile suits, I'll just have to toughen you up in other ways."  Lune said, smirking as always as she ruffled her little sister's hair.  Of course, she was miffed that Kyra had shot her in the back like that, but it was a simulation, and all in fun and games.  Regardless, she felt that some payback was in order; and if she was a member of the Zoldark family, then this was going to be a formality anyway.

 

"Perhaps I should take you to the shooting range, or would you rather just go work out?  If mobile suits are already fine for you, then we need to patch up on your weaknesses, and you never know when you might need to defend yourself."

 

Everyone in the Zoldark family had been a pillar of strength, and it was one of the few family traditions that she adhered to.  Her father was strong, her older brother had been strong, she was strong, so why shouldn't Kyra be strong too?  The only person who might not have been a strong person would have been Lune's mother; but Lune didn't know much about her, never had a chance, never will.

[winders 0]

"Oh no, anything but that ma'am." she said dully, repeating a line that Lune had taught her earlier in the day. Most of those activities her sister had recommended were fine with Kyra, except working out; while the blue haired girl did not look like it, she could lift a somewhat remarkable load compared to other girls her age. Which was quite puzzling to those who first experianced it.

 

Still, she was please she had finished the simulator on top in her first try; it opened up a door of opportunities for Kyra. A little bit of practice and she could well become a decent pilot she thought if the elite members of Schatten Dolch were as easy to kill as her sister and the Red Comet... or was it Red Raven? Either way, he had left in quite a hurry.