MS Arcade

[fireminerva 0]

Kitsune waited patiently by one of the simulators hoping that someone would come along to challenge him.  It was true that the place where he now stood was in the center of an arcade designed for children, and it was also true that he was a member of the Orb military; however with his current rank and the way his last mission had gone Kazuhiro wasn't getting any flight time or simulator access.

 

So now video games were the best option to keep his skills sharp.  It was true that he couldn't engage in any missions using the machines but they were fun and sometimes they produced some results.

[Asahi 0]

OOC: So why don't they have these awesome MS simulators in my country?

 

It was the last day of Asahi's stay in Orb, as the parade had recently ended, with dismal results. Roaming the streets with other ZAFT soldiers, Asahi ventured away from his team, as he told them he wanted to find something. Asahi knew that he had to make the most of his time out of PLANT, as he would be considerably busy back home, with minimum play time. He had only just played the simulator the day before, and seeing this opportunity, Asahi made for the Arcade.

 

Seeing the natural sun begin to set, Asahi flashed a glance at his watch; and making a mental note that this was nearing the end of the day. He had to play a game quick, and at that, a good game. The two large cockpits of the simulator stuck out from the rest of the arcade games. Asahi approached the sim, just as two young children finished off their game, climbing out with cries of how one of them "got" the other.

 

Asahi ran his hand across his face (taking care with his glasses), as there wasn't anyone else waiting for a game. He then noticed (much to his terrible observation skills and surprise) that there was a casually clad, spiky-haired teen, or older, standing near the other cockpit of the sim.

Asahi took his headphones out of his ears, pressed stop on his music player and approached the man. He inquired in his casual tone:

"Hey; you waiting for someone, or are you playing the MS sim?"

Asahi braced for the reply, as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his green parka.

[fireminerva 0]

Takashi looked up and careful regarded the person before answering.

 

"No I'm not really waiting for someone."  This was only a half truth.  On one hand Takashi was actually waiting for someone, but since he didn't know who his challenger was going to be Takashi decided to keep his answer simple.

 

"If you want to run through the simulator with me I'd be up for that, but I have to warn you that it really is little more than a child's plaything."

[Asahi 0]

Asahi smiled as the young man gave his reply. But sadly, he did not particularly share Asahi's enthusiasm for the sims. Heck, he might be a pacifist, or lost someone in an MS related incident. The ideas quickly shot through Asahi's mind, as he replied

"Ok then brother. Child's play or not, this is the stuff." he said as he smiled, extracting some Orb currency from his parka pocket.

 

He stepped over to one of the cockpits, and he was somewhat delighted as he sat down; a familiar chill darted down his spine. Placing several coins into the receiving slot of the machine, the screen prompted to "press start". It had been awhile since Asahi even touched the controls of an MS, but to Asahi's surprise the day before, the game controls were quite accurate to the real machine. Having entered the game, Asahi merely waited for his combatants entry, to which Asahi suddenly remembered and said

"Oh yeah, hey; if we're going head to head, we should at least know each other. So, um, I'm not to good with introductions, but I'm Asahi."

It was a little embarrassing, but at least he got it out. 

[fireminerva 0]

Takashi slid into his own cockpit and started up the machine.  As the initial prompts came up Takashi ignored them and instead focused on what his opponent was saying.

"Oh yeah, hey; if we're going head to head, we should at least know each other. So, um, I'm not to good with introductions, but I'm Asahi."  Kitsune nodded as his opponent introduced himself.

 

"My name is Takashi Kitsune."  As the first screen came up Takashi selected his MS from the standard menu.  Using the right analog stick to flip through his choices.  The computer had already predetermined their battle field, it was to be a field of space wreckage, something that was resembled the desolate battlefields of the Bloody Valentine Wars.  After a few more seconds Kitsune made his choice, an  MVF-M11C Murasame.  Quickly he customized it so that the machine's colors were now black where they were red and silver where they were black.

 

"I'm ready as soon as you are Asahi."

[Asahi 0]

Asahi kept note of his opponents name, Takashi...

Scrolling through the MS available, he noticed one of the more appealing suits, which Asahi figured he'd never in his military career be able to get his grubby hands on, the Sword Impulse. He highlighted the flashy suit and eagerly clicked the right trigger to confirm selection.  Noticing the selected field however, Asahi made a grimace; space based combat was definitely not his forte. He remembered around a year ago, his initial piloting test yielded mediocre results for his space piloting; the result claimed he "lacked spatial awareness." However, Asahi coincidentally chose the Sword Impulse, nullifying his disadvantage, as the Sword Impulse was a close combat based unit. It was only getting in close that was the problem.

 

He was shaken from his thoughts as Takashi called out to him "I'm ready as soon as you are Asahi.". As Asahi pulled the trigger to confirm ready, the game loaded instantaneously, dropping Asahi into the virtual arena. He began to gain his bearings, as Asahi indiscriminately fired his thrusters upwards. He surveyed his surroundings, although the majority of it was debris. Asahi readied one of the beam boomerangs and with the free hand, raised the beam rifle. He continued upwards, but at a slower pace, eager to counter-attack, where ever Takashi may approach from.

[fireminerva 0]

Kitsune frowned as he saw his opponent's choice.  The Impulse was one of the best MS that any side fielded during the second war and if you hung around the military bars you could still hear the old timers telling stories about how they survived an encounter with the legendary Impulse.  Now as it stalked him somewhere on the battlefield Takashi felt a little nervous.

 

Before the feeling could catch on Kitsune calmed himself and ran through what he knew about the mobile suit.  It had Phase Shift armor, which meant that it would eventually run out of power.  Aside from its beam rifle all of its other weapons were close range weapons.  Even still the tables seemed stacked against him, Gundams never went down easy.

 

For a moment longer he reflected on his situation and then set a plan in motion.  Using the wreckage as cover Kitsune kept his distance from his opponent, most of the old space cruiser hull were large enough to fowl up any radar and offer him decent invisibility.  As he moved Kitsune activated his beam rifle and cautiously began to scan the field for his enemy.

 

Phase Shift armor couldn't be weakened by a beam rifle alone, he would have to get in close.  Kitsune grimaced again as he stalked his prey, realizing that it was like being a house cat who was stalking a lion.

[Asahi 0]

The wait was unbearable for Asahi, as the Impulse touched down on a larger piece of debris, something that was barely recognizable as the top deck of a Nazca-class, as the majority of the hull seemed to be carved in half horizontally. Asahi switched weapons, swapping the boomerang for one of the overwhelming swords.

 

As unnerving as it was, Asahi decided to seek rather than be seeked, as the Impulse jogged towards the edge of the ship-debris. Taking a meek glance off the edge of the ship, the Impulse's sensors screamed to life, as a target was detected. The computer confirmed the target was a Murasame, and Asahi grimaced; he was never really the type to hunt prey. Having no other real choice (as the Impulse was definitely detected) the machine took a leap off the edge of the ship, used its thrusters to right itself so it faced its target, and fired one indiscriminate shot with the beam rifle, followed by a second shot, this time with careful aim. The Impulse's thrusters roared as Asahi then began to charge directly at the enemy, as the Impulse clipped the rifle to its rear skirt, and whipped out one of the boomerangs, immediately flinging it at a curve at the Murasame.

"So far so good" Asahi thought; he couldn't afford to get cocky.

[fireminerva 0]

OOC - I don't wanna be rude but I have a lot of work cut out for me.  I have to deal with two shots from your beam rifle, a boomerang, and with you charging me.  That all takes time and I need time to react to the shots which might have been fired 5 - 10 seconds before you charged.  I've figured out a way to work around it this time but in the future please keep this in mind.

 

IC - Takashi swore as the Impulse came into view.  He had little time to swear to himself because the Impulse immediately fired two shots at him.  In the debris field there was no room to maneuver and Kitsune's mind raced for a solution.  A fraction of a second before the beam would have hit Kitsune kicked the floating hulk of cruiser that had until this point just obscured his vision.  As the hulk turned Kitsune watched as the wild shot missed the hulk entirely and and more precise shot was absorbed by the armor,  "Thank God that it held up."  Kitsune thought to himself.

 

Barely a second later warning lights screamed at him and as he looked to his left Kitsune watched the ship's hull heat bright red and then be torn apart by the boomerang that he hadn't detected until now.  The twirling vortex of death sped off somewhere, and Kitsune reflected that had it not been for the armor in front of him that he would've been dead.

 

The warning lights continued to blare as Kitsune's radar showed advancing movement on the part of the Impulse.  "Damn him!"  Kitsune used both of the Murasame to kick what was left of the hulk in the direction of the Impulse and then fired his thrusters, carrying himself away from the approaching threat.

[Asahi 0]

OOC: OK then, sorry about that (yeah, I understand the odds are uneven ), But, do you really think that a game lets you kick objects to cover yourself? No, don't get me wrong, I'm not pissed or anything, just a point I'd like to raise. But then again, you've already done it, so i cant complain *shrug* A game is a game yes? There's got to be some limitations to it. OK, I'll shut up now

 

IC: Although the majority of the Impulse's attacks were to no avail, Asahi continued to keep pressure on the pedals of the machine as it continued to speed towards it target whilst the boomerang began to return. The Impulse's hand reached out and grasped the boomerang, just as the Murasame kicked its cover in the direction of its target, Asahi. He barely had time to react to the chunk of Nazca-class, and with a backhand from its left hand, the Impulse deftly dispatched it.

"OK, what did I tell you? Don't get cocky, back off, wait for his move." Noticing he was quite open, Asahi reprimanded himself for his brash maneuver and the Impulse changed its direction, firing its thrusters once, to stop, and fired again, upwards into more debris.

 

Whilst the Impulse stowed away both sword and boomerang, Asahi shook his head as he noticed that he let the power of the Impulse go to his head, he had drained 90% of the Impulse's battery power during the previous stunt, and in the end, it had gone to waste. Asahi shook his head, as the Impulse drew its beam rifle, and with another spurt from its thrusters, took a stationary position under an unintelligible piece of capitol ship. This time, Asahi would definitely wait, unnerving or not. The Murasame was bound to attack sooner or later, and when it did, Asahi was ready to counter it.

[fireminerva 0]

OOC - That might be my mistake and as such I'm sorry.  My basic reasoning was that while this is a game I also envisioned it as being highly interactive what with it being "the future" and all.  Also, is Impulse's battery at 90% or has it been drained by 90%?

 

IC - Kitsune tracked the Impulse's movement as it skited from place to place until it was finally lost in the debris field.  Slowly he continue to back away from the direction the Impulse had moved off in and once he had enough room he converted the Murasame to MA mode.

 

It was true that in space this had little point but the missile pods were still armed with 4 "live" rounds.  Taking careful aim Kitsune squeezed off two volley's, giving special care to the debris around him.

 

The first two missiles traveled a short distance before they slammed into a cluster of junk.  Their explosion, however, forced a good deal of the other junk in the area to scatter and the other two missiles streaked onwards.

 

Quickly returning to MS mode as the remaining two missiles shot off Kitsune waited to see what would happen.

[Asahi 0]

OOC: Keke, drained by 90% of course . Nah, jk. Its at 90% full. And yeah, i do agree with your point being a futuristic game. But whats done is done, that debris already served its purpose (i'm talking about the piece that you blocked my shots with ).

 

IC: Keeping a stationary position didn't bother Asahi for too long. Takashi was already actively seeking him, as the Impulse's indistinguishable piece of cover was blown to oblivion. Asahi gasped as he swung the Impulse around, just as a streak of a missile flew past the Impulse's face. If it had eyes, they'd have been wide open by then. Another missile came darting out of the dust cloud, which the Impulse only just in time swung its shield, effectively swatting the projectile off its course, resulting in its explosion several hundred meters away from its target.

 

"Holy shit!" Asahi exclaimed, grimaced and sat wide eyed, as he barely stopped the missile. However, this left him even more exposed (not to mention the fact that the Impulse had no cover at all) to the Murasame's attacks. The Impulse began to boost forwards-upwards, directly into the dust cloud, shield first. Asahi once again, switched the Impulse's weapons, this time, swapping the rifle for one of the two combat knives.

 

The cloud ended faster than Asahi expected, as the sensors again blared at the detection of an enemy. This time, the Impulse flung its knife, half-assed, at Takashi' Murasame, and Asahi immediately fired off a few bursts of the CIWS, both moves being a means of harassment and distraction. However, this time, rather than charging straight ahead, Asahi opted to set up for his next move, and the Impulse withdrew one of the swords again, and continued to boost upwards. What concerned Asahi was, was what Takashi would pull off next, his opponent seemed to hold back. A lot. The tension was unnerving.

[fireminerva 0]

Kitsune raised the Murasame's shield and caught the combat knife on it.  Rather than having deflected off of the shield the sharp knife drove into it but it was better than having a knife through the cockpit.

 

Ignoring the CIWS burst that had fired and missed him Kitsune leveled his beam rifle at the Impulse and waited until the weapons locked on.  It was always a pain fighting at a distance but Kitsune wasn't about to challenge the Impulse to close combat.

 

As the cursor went red Kitsune fired a succession of three shots at the Impulse; "No matter what," he resigned "I'm not going to be the one who draws swords first."

[Asahi 0]

Gritting his teeth, Asahi knew it was bound to happen. As the Murasame fired off several shots, the Impulse maneuvered itself downwards, avoiding the first shot. A singular bead of sweat fell down Asahi's face, as he pushed the Impulse forwards, with a fury from the machine's thrusters. The Impulse held its sword to its side, as the shield arm made sure to cover the majority of the body, namely its torso.

 

A second beam came jolting towards Asahi, to which his machine blocked instinctively. Asahi continued to push the machine ahead, despite another beam erupting from the Murasame's rifle. This time however, Asahi felt he was close enought to strike, to which he was in a sense denied as the beam violently passed through the Impulse's right shoulder. Having less armour than anywhere else exposed at the time, the shoulder was left with a small, yet somewhat gruesome hole.

 

Asahi flashed a glance at the energy meter for his suit, as it read 72%. His breath irregular, the Impulse fired its thrusters once to stop itself, at this point, within striking distance of his enemy. The Impulse's left hand took hold of the second sword, and its right arm swung down with its sword. Slashing at the Murasame, Asahi had no time to comprehend the damage done, as the Impulse backhanded with its right arm, just in time for the left sword to come down on the Murasame. The machine then lashed out with a right kick, using its thrusters to follow through with a backflip backwards.

 

Adrenaline rushed through Asahi's body, as he smiled and questioned himself "Its not over is it?" It never is." He expected a counter attack within the second.

[fireminerva 0]

"This guy is nuts!"  Kitsune though as the Impulse attacked using some kind of strange tactics.  With nowhere to go Kitsune fired his thrusters backwards and escaped the strange combination of attacks, it was a wonder that the Impulse didn't cut off its own leg as it kicked and swung its sword almost at the same time.

 

With the Impulse looking like it was trying to stick its foot into its eye Kitsune fired off three more shots as he went through his evasive maneuvers.

[Asahi 0]

Unbeknown to the Impulse, the backflip was a bad move. It was an opening, which was duly exploited by Takashi, as his Murasame withdrew, and fired another three shots. Asahi had no other alternative that time. At close to point blank range, one by one, the beams pierced various parts of the Impulse as its flip came to an end. The machine lost control quickly, as it drifted for at least a second. Asahi kicked the machine into high gear immediately. For his sake, it was lucky that wasn't real. However, the Impulse's Armour Points dropped dramatically.

 

The Impulse righted itself and began to charge again at the Murasame. Asahi selected both swords, and activated the special option, resulting in the Impulse combining the right to the left, so both swords connected were held in the left hand. With the free right hand, Asahi once again drew the rifle, letting two shots off in pursuit. He bit his tongue, as he finally noticed that his enemy only wanted him to run out of steam. Regardless, it was pointless whether or not the Impulse ran out of PS, the Murasame's main weapons were beams, which PS gave little cover towards.

[fireminerva 0]

As the Impulse fired Takashi raised up his shield and had he been in a real MS he would've felt it shudder as the shield bent under the force of the close range shots.

 

Quickly Kitsune put away his beam rifle and drew out his beam saber.  He hadn't wanted it to come to this but he wanted to finish it.  Pushing his thrusters forward he raised his shield on the left side and cut down, trying to force the Impulse to engage him.

[Asahi 0]

Asahi licked his lips quickly, this engagement had the potential to get messy. It would not be an easy battle, as Asahi had the hunch Takashi was holding back most of the time. It was strange however, that the Murasame finally wished to fight face to face, regardless if it was disadvantageous.

 

Docking the beam rifle to its rear skirt, the Impulse, nearing Takashi, took the dual edged sword with both hands, just in time for the Murasame to slash with its right. The Impulse deftly raised its left blade, countering the Murasame's downward attack, and on the rebound of the beams colliding, the Impulse thrusted the right blade of the sword into Takashi's shield. As the beam bit into the metal, Asahi opted not to continue, and withdrew the blade immediately, following through with a strike from the left blade. Asahi felt more sweat gather on his face, the tension was increasing, and the battle was finally kicking into high gear.

[fireminerva 0]

Slamming a button on the left side of his cockpit the Murasame let go of its shield and drew out an additional beam saber; the only thing that was different was that instead of holding his beam saber in the traditional form Kitsune's Murasame held it so that the blade faced down instead of up when the arm was extended.

 

Advancing in for another strike Kitsune kept his Murasame's left arm in the ready position as he slashed diagonally from right to left at the Impulse.

[Asahi 0]

Asahi smiled as the Murasame on screen ditched its shield, and drew its second beam saber. He took another glance at his energy meter, as the glowing numbers spelled out 55%.

"Shit. Its gone down-" Asahi thought as the Murasame made a horizontal slash with its right- "-more than I-" - to which the Impulse parried with its right sword "expecTED!" - the Impulse then twirled on the spot in a flash, follwing through with a stab from the forward edge of the left sword. It inexplicably hit nothing, as the sword continued onwards into empty space, the empty space spanning the gap between the mobile suits. Asahi had struck short.

Asahi wasn't about to give up however, neither his machine nor he were ready to give up, as the Impulse forced the sword to escape its current path (horizontally in front of the Murasame) and raised it above its head, and bringing the weapon down, cutting vertically.

Edited February 28, 2007 by Guest

[fireminerva 0]

OOC - God-moding much...

[Asahi 0]

Edited, just so you know

[fireminerva 0]

Takashi swung up the Murasame's left arm to block but the force of the Impulse's sword was too great.  While his beam saber did catch the downward swinging blade the force of the impact pushed the left beam saber back into the Murasame's forearm before the beam cut straight through the arm.

 

It was a freak accident and Kitsune kept himself from swearing only by remember that this was a game and they were in an arcade.  Still his head remained clear enough that as the Impulse's blade sliced through the area that the Murasame's arm used to occupy Kitsune swung the right beam saber in for a decapitating blow.

 

"Let's see you try to block this one..."

[Asahi 0]

As the Impulse's beam sword swung clean through Takashi's arm, Asahi did not notice the other arm of the Murasame, as it slashed horizontally at the Impulse's head, going for a decapitating strike. It took less than a second for the beam to shave the majority of the Impulse's head off, from its eyes upwards. The wound was not clean, traces of the camera, v-fin and other parts flew, they were clearly visible in Takashi's display. To Asahi, however, the main display did not black out completely. To his surprise, the screen showed a flickering image of what was ahead. He took the initiative and the Impulse semi-blindly leveled the sword and slashed diagonally from high right to low left, following through with a twirl, ready to block what came next. With the proximity of his target, the blade was bound to strike true, as Asahi began to feel the stress. He was not holding up too well, what with four beam shots and a slice to the head delivered to him. Either he was bad, or Takashi was good, neither one he could be sure on.

[fireminerva 0]

OOC - Not sure how I only destroy half of a camera but what the heck 

 

IC - As soon as he saw the cut Kitsune sent himself flying backwards hoping to escape the twirling blades.  His luck didn't manage to hold out and Kitsune winced as the computer registered and hit on the Murasame's left leg.  It wasn't enough to end the game but it would affect his maneuvering thrusters.

 

Stowing his beam saber and drawing out the rifle as he continued to move backwards Kitsune fired off a succession of shots.