Session Start: Sat Oct 07 12:57:50 2006 (H-1) [Monday, April 11, 2039 - 0950 local time] [Unnamed SDF training/testing island in Tokyo Bay - stairwell into the underground facilities] Lord Fate is leading the charge up the stairs to the surface level... though he hears sounds coming from a couple of flights above him. [session start] * LadyKiss follows rage in her eyes, feet pounding at the stairs. * LadySnow sticks near the back of the group since she's currently weaponless and lacks sufficient energy to be of much use. * LordFate holds up a fist in a military 'hold' gesture. Then continues moving ahead more slowly, ears and eyes peeled. The concrete and metal stairwell seems to conduct sound quite well in all directions. Someone above you shouts, "They're coming! Take aim!" Shouldn't we um, go more slowly so we get more of our power back? * LadyBobOmb is still in her next-to-nothing bikini (and glasses), doing it a lot of justice. She's also ... perturbed. She stops when Fate does. I... am actually starting to hate this a lot more now. Hold. *whispered* Who's got ordinance? Kas, you have any of your toys left? What are we supposed to do if they shoot at us? *whispered* * LadyTwister looks incensed, but otherwise too drained to help out much. "Hope Fate's not kidding about his gifts." * LadyKiss looks at every one. "We subdue them. I'm up first. Hold back." Fight back? Disabling them so that we can take their guns would be best. Stay close. If they're not heavy-armor piercers, they'll miss us. * LadyBobOmb shakes her head. "Not yet." * LadySnow frowns. * LadyKiss moves to take lead. "Trust me, you want behind me. A Lady never shows all her tricks." There's a sudden scent of chocolate in the stairwell - it's powerfully distracting. * LordFate reaches into his extra-dimensional space and feels around for fist- sized or smaller computer components. There we go, I hope they are chocoholics. The bastards. Should I uh, make it snow? No, they're clothed, and we're not. Advantage would be to them. Save it for when we are up there. Shall we? There's a shout from above. "...they've got something! Back up!" * LordFate makes sure Weaver's on his wrist, and, holding a few small electronic parts, proceeds forward again. "Let's go. Keep that up, if you can, Kiss. If we can force them back, so much the better." Yessir. * LadyTwister frowns, but follows like a good little girl. "I swear, if that Yumi woman survives after that I'm going to punch her until something gives..." * LadySnow keeps her head low and clings to Mari in the back, following as hesitantly as she can while still keeping up. * LadyBobOmb frowns. "There's more going on besides Yumi." * LordFate advances. "Don't dwell on revenge; save that for when we're back in our home turf." There are odd cooing noises above, but then a door slams and the stairwell is silent. Survival and escape are our first priorities. I don't like the sound of that. Watch for traps. I just want to go home... * LordFate speeds up a bit, still watching carefully. And feeling rather naked. Gee, imagine that. We'll get out of here, Snow. Just hang on. I'll keep it readied and waiting. The team creeps past the second sub-level door, then the first, and then they can see the ceiling of the shelter building above the last flight of stairs. * LordFate holds up his fist again, and whispers, "Weaver, take a quick peak. Don't get spotted. Get us a rough count of troops. Maybe we can port past them and take them from behind." The spider disappears, then immediately pops back down onto Kiss's head. "There's no one left in the shelter." ... anywhere? What? Why? * LadyKiss lifts a hand up to the spider. Probably a trap. Be careful, and find good vantage points with escape routes. We don't want to rush head-long into a shooting gallery when we get outside. I'm a spider, not a psychic. But whatever Kiss did, they must not have liked it. I'm not rushing... * Weaver crawls onto Kiss's hand with sinister dignity. It sounds like there's too much of a panic for any new traps to be set up. In any event, we need to hurry. You're both right, but be careful. *advances again, ready to throw his makeshift weapon* My dear little spider, who -doesn't- like chocolate? * LadyBobOmb does the hand glow thing, charging it up so it'll be ready if needed. No, we need to be careful. Hurrying leads to mistakes. * Yumi 's voice sounds out of nowhere once more. "Didn't you see what happened to Mallet? Trust me, you don't want to come out of there." Yumi-san, your words are empty. Destiny, dear, what would you say the odds are of that video being fake? I don't know. I didn't really get to watch it before someone smashed the monitor. But let's take a wild guess? Really, Yumi. You think we're just going to sit still? Nuh-uh. Nothing doing. * LadyBobOmb pauses. "A nicer way of saying it, I guess, is..." * LordFate smirks. "BobOmb, care to render their stairwell useless? I think stealth has just been proven pointless." We're through listening to anything you have to say unless we have a gun pointed to your head. Don't give her ideas. You kids are so fun to taunt. Goodbye, Yumi-san. Please don't talk to us anymore unless you're going to surrender and end this farce. Oh, please, a gun is so last season. I think this season brass knuckles are VERY much a face accessory. ... heh, and I thought I was crazy. Stop being so mean! * LadyBobOmb shakes her head. "It will take a while to destroy the stairs, and cut off access to the other floors. I would rather wait until it's necessary, Fate-sama." Understood. Royal-sama may be below us. ^^ This organization apparently has not heard of subtlety. Check for anything useful in here, then regroup with me. I'm going to see if I can see what's so threatening out there from the doors. Understood. Roger. * LordFate heads for the door, looking first for a window, and then, failing that, ready to send Weaver out for a peek. * LadyBobOmb nods, and goes to search the floor. The shelter covering the stairwell is a medium-sized Quonset hut. There are blank doors at either end of the 15-meter square structure. * LordFate has Weaver pop to the other side, do a recon-porting around the roof and external, and come back. And, of course, pop back before he can get hurt if it's too dangerous out there. Even still... hasn't all the hammering stopped? One has to wonder what in the hell's going on out there... Maybe something did happen to Mallet... Let's not worry about that now and find a way out. We're no good stuck here. True. Just doesn't hurt to be ready for anything. There are about ten soldiers out there, covering the exits from fifty meters or so. They didn't see me. There were a couple of odd armored figures taking a limp body to the other structure. * LadyBobOmb goes to check one of the blank doors while Fate's doing that, hand-motioning for Kiss to follow. * LadyKiss claps her hands hard. "LADYS. We are being used as bargaining chips. Killing us means they lose their edge. Keep that in mind. Our goal is to avoid being captured." Any idea what kind of weaponry they've got? Caliber? * LadyTwister scowls a bit, and just looks down at her hands for a moment. "Only ten? Mmmmn..." The rifles look like standard SDF issue - I didn't see any crew- served weapons, though that ship is still out there. That doesn't mean that can't still shoot us a lot... Any special gear on them? They're not going to fire on their own people. I don't think we are their people... Everyone, regroup on me! No, but those guys with the rifles are. They'll not fire their ship ordinance on them. If we're lucky, they're testing their new rifles. I want to see how they work. * LadyTwister gets close, and quickly. "I have to admit, Destiny, you're relatively calm, considering." ...you're right! DEFINITELY borrowing some guns. * LordFate suppresses a yawn. * LadyKiss moves up close to the poor tired lord. Now, if they did something new, then I might get excited. These are textbook maneuvers they are doing. Lady Snow backs into Lady BobOmb, bumping the surprised woman into the stairwell. * LordFate lowers his voice once everyone's near him. "Okay, here's the plan. With standard rifles, they can't hit us as long as you stay within ten meters of Weaver, here. Kiss, if you can do your mojo on them again, that'd be great. Destiny, you're going to recharge ASAP, right? I'll try to cover you while we advance. Take them down. Don't worry about killing them or not. Whatever's eas- -you okay, BobOmb?" * LadyBobOmb wobbles a little, panicking for just a moment to keep her hands from touching anything. Snow? Are you okay? ... something's coming up, I think. What? * LadyTwister turns to the stairwell and points, while sticking close to Fate... for now, anyway. "I heard something. I'm sure of it." I--I I'm so so sorry. * LadyKiss rolls her eyes, takes a deep breath, and looks around. "Fate, which way shall I focus? It's okay. I don't suppose I could borrow the labcoat for this assault? * LadyBobOmb composes herself as best she can in a bikini, and turns back to Fate. "We need to keep going." Watch the stairwell; they're not coming for us from outside just yet. That's a Mexican standoff. Sorry, Snow, but Destiny needs the clothing. Destiny, be ready to defend yourself, but see what it is. BobOmb, be ready to blow the stairs if Destiny and Kiss return to report a hostile. Destiny, do you want Weaver? I agree, BobOmb, but we can't leave our rear unguarded. But... for what? And it might be Royal. * LadyBobOmb nods. * LordFate winks at Snow, and gestures to the walls of the shed, indicating the cameras if any are visible. "That, is a secret." Well, I need some sort of clothing I can hold for my attacks that would be useful for this situation. So that means either I use the coat, or they're going to get a show before I knock them out. And then I have to kill them. *probably kidding* There are no cameras visible. Then again, you haven't seen any speakers, and you could hear Yumi quite well last time she spoke up. Destiny, if I may, I'm sure they already have that show on tape. Enough banter. Ladies, get to it. * LadySnow frowns. "I... I suppose. Just... give it back. When you're done." * LadySnow hides in a corner and slips off the coat, tossing it to Destiny. Behind me Destiny? Wh--what do I do? * LadyTwister fidgets, looking surprisingly nervous, all things considered. Maybe it's just that she's out of juice. "We hold tight. When we go out, we can crack some skulls with our bare hands if we have to. You did have close- combat training, right?" * LordFate pulls out a... computer terminal? "Can you hit something with this?" Um, a bit... Then you do that. We...probably don’t want to break these if we can help it. *puts the terminal away again* * LadyDestiny takes the coat, but does not put it on. Instead, she drapes it over an arm. "Lead the way." There's a WHAWHAWHANG, and three round holes appear in the wall by the corner where Snow was standing. She's hit in the ass, and sprawls towards the center of the room. * LadySnow screams! ... looks like we don't have much of a choice now! * LadySnow falls right on her face. Ok. I'm off then. See if you guys can keep up. * LadyDestiny flourishes the coat in front of her as she proceeds to lead the charge, so to speak. Snow! Dammit, get closer. They're getting cocky. We're gonna hafta act! Nothing's keeping them from just peppering the shed, Fate. * LadySnow does her best to not start crying even though that scared the piss out of her. She succeeds, but only partially. A few tears and a sob manage to make their way out before she limp-crawls her way back behind Mari. Right. We're going to have to charge; be ready to dodge, but try to stay close until you close to melee. If I vanish, don't let them hit you! ... heh. Easier said than done! * LordFate moves to the door, hand on it to open it. "Ready? 3, 2, 1..." * LadyBobOmb lets him open it. Her hand is glowy. Fate throws the door open, and Twister is primed to sprint through it first, but a flicker of motion catches her eye from the stairwell where two black-clad figures are diving up to the floor of the hut. They're armed with fat-looking pistols in an impossibly large caliber. * LadyTwister was indeed primed to run, but had an eye cast behind her just at the right moment. Still, Destiny and Kiss are there (and still capable of a few tricks), so she pushes on out, the wind around her whistling in preparation for whatever may come---'whatever' likely being bullets. There's a line of soldiers in prone firing positions some distance in front of her. Bullets begin to crack past her. The first woman out of the stairwell rolls away from the Ladies standing right there, then shoots at Kiss from her back. It's an awkward firing position, and the subsonic round makes an odd splooshing sound against the roof of the hut. The other man drops to his knee on the top step, and takes aim at Destiny. The round smacks into her side, but the lab coat oddly takes most of the impact, and all she feels is a cold sting. She wobbles for a moment, but the feeling of weakness passes quickly. That... tingled... * LadySnow concentrates for a moment and, chunks of ice form around her body. She then lashes out an ice covered fist at the giant pistol wielding lady. It's hard to tell under the body armor and helmet, but by the body language Snow thinks that stung the woman a little. * LadyBobOmb ducks her head down, and makes a mad dash with her glowing hand to one of the pistoleers. She makes a swing, but the glowing part flies right past them. * LordFate suddenly red-shifts, turning dark as he blurs away, almost vanishing at preternatural speed towards one of the prone gunmen outside. At the last second, he vanishes completely from sight, reappearing as a dark red blot straddling the gunman's back as his fist drives with horrific force into the unfortunate mortal's body. Fate feels ribs crack under his fist, and the young woman goes limp under him. * LadyDestiny rushes up to the soldier that shot at her and attempts to wrench the gun from his hands. However, the physical arts, not being her forte, let the soldier win the wrestling match with Destiny. Three of the soldiers roll to fire at Lord Fate - bullets seem to spew in all directions, twisting even more as they approach... but not enough, as one grazes the Lord's temple. It HURTS, but isn't that damaging. Lady Twister simply takes a round in her thigh. That slows her down a step, but she's still closing on the shooters... * LadyKiss snaps her whip out with a loud crack. "Little girls shouldn't play with such toys. They might get hurt." She snaps it out again whip curling around the gun and tugs yanking the gun out of the soldiers hands. * LordFate reaches out and picks up the dead soldier's rifle, and puts it away? He then lifts the soldier's corpse to use as a temporary shield. * Weaver curses under his breath and twists probability again. The black-clad woman eeps as she loses her gun, and decides that running away is the better part of valor. She jumps back into the stairwell and dashes down as fast as she can go. The man continues to shoot at Destiny, looking puzzled that his last shot didn't put her down. His next shot is just as on-target, but it simply sticks in the lab coat. Destiny can see that the round is some sort of dart. * LadyTwister finishes closing the distance and quickly drops low, fists up and guard (for what good it'll do!) tight. There's a pause, and then she promptly aims an uppercut dead at the closest soldier's jaw. 's gonna take more than THAT to put me down! The punch lands right on the chinstrap of the woman's helmet. She rocks backwards, but doesn't look hurt. ... the hell. Hey, where you going? * LadySnow chases after the black-clad woman. Snow disappears downwards into the stairwell. * LadyDestiny whips out the gun that Fate had passed to her. "I'd like to thank you for this... diversion... personally." She then aims the gun at the foe's head with practiced skill and pulls the trigger. The guy's eyes go wide behind his gas mask and he ducks just in time for the round to drill the forehead of his helmet. He goes down, tumbling back into the stairs. Just like old times. * LordFate , for no apparent reason, just grins. * LadyBobOmb lets the glow drop, and goes with that same hell-bent, leaning forward dash to the other end. She pauses to turn to go outside at a more sane pace, and eyes the loose gun Kiss has. "Mind if I take that off your hands?" ^^ * LadyBobOmb , getting no objection, lifts it, quickly takes aim at someone who's safely alone, and squeezes off a shot. Badly. Two soldiers are facing Lord Fate, rifles shouldered but apparently unwilling to fire through their limp colleague. The one standing behind him is not so inhibited. Fortunately for him, she misses badly. No wonder your funding's so crappy; you're -bad- at this. The other soldier takes another step back after the uppercut, then puts a full burst into Twister's gut. * LadyTwister finds herself spitting a fair amount of blood, but doesn't black out---as badly as she'd like to. Twister falls to one knee, but somehow doesn't collapse. * LadyKiss runs out, her whip trailing behind her, she's looking for blood. Stay down, stupid! We don't want to kill you! * LadyTwister coughs and rises... before backing up. She just doesn't have anything in the tank at the moment, and mutters a curse as she waits for the others. Snow senses more than sees the woman ahead of her duck into the second- basement doorway. * LadySnow continues chasing after the lady through the door, focusing as she does so, and causing snow to fill up the stairs and the area she ran into as far as she can reach out her ability to do so. Snow gets some flurries going as she dashes through the door - then her vision goes black as several points on her side begin to sting, and she feels herself bounce off the cement floor. * LadySnow 's vision blurs as she falls and is unconscious before the second bounce. * LadyBobOmb takes more time to aim this time with the pistol, pelting off a shot at one of the remaining soldiers. This dart gun just doesn't fit right in Kasumi's hands, and she misses again. * LordFate vanishes, letting the limp soldier-girl collapse, and reappears behind the one who shot him. Sadly, he misjudged where he'd appear, and punches just to her left. * LadyDestiny proceeds to slowly and carefully go down the stairs to where Snow and the baddie went. She takes her time, keeping her eyes out for any sign of movement. She approaches a door where she can hear movement behind, but she waits to calm her nerves before acting. The soldiers are beginning to back up towards the other, larger hut. Their fire is spread between all the team members, but Fate is moving too fast and Kiss ducks at a very opportune moment. BobOmb is smacked by a round to her thigh. * LadyKiss charges forward and twirls her whip around almost artistically smacking one up a few times that soon collapses. She stomps down on his back twisting her heel on the back. "Give it up boys, I know how to handle this thing." * LadyTwister pauses, sensing an opportunity, as injured as she is. Without delay, and leaving behind a small trail of blood, she makes for the downed soldier's rifle. "Come to mama..." * LadyBobOmb takes a moment to aim again. Hopefully she's got the hang of this weird gun by now. The dart spits across the rocky island, catching one of the women and putting her down instantly. * LordFate keeps vanishing and reappearing; his next attack also misses the retreating gunwoman. The two soldiers are close enough to the other hut that they turn and sprint for the front door, leaving it open behind them. * LadyDestiny takes in a breath of air before stepping into the doorway and letting off a stream of fire across the room. After covering the rear wall, she then ducks back out of the doorway and lets out the breath she was holding. While in the doorway she spotted one person - she thinks it was the same woman from upstairs - dragging Snow through an inner doorway. Three others were standing well off to the side of the room - one took a round in the chest from her fire, but the other two shot back, and once more Destiny feels the prick of the tranq darts sticking through her lab coat. * LordFate turns to survey the scene now that the immediate hostiles have run off. * LadyTwister raises the rifle... then frowns, looking around. Alright! Regroup back to the shed! ... pussies. * LordFate starts heading that way. "Need help, Twister?" * LadyDestiny waits for backup before doing anything. She doesn't know how many tranqs she can take. * LadyBobOmb grabs a fallen rifle, shouldering that, and offering the tranq pistol to Fate. * LadyTwister proceeds to regroup, walking a bit tenderly. "Just some abdominals and a few pieces of intestine. Nothing I can't replace in a few minutes..." * PrincessRoyal steps out of the larger hut, looking supremely disgruntled. "That's enough. Get in here. Tell Destiny to come in too." * PrincessRoyal then turns and walks back in without a second glance. ... eh? Boss? Good. ... ... why do I suddenly have the feeling we've screwed something up? Alright, you heard the Princess. Let's move. * LordFate looks around for a weapon as he heads that way. * LadyTwister moves, suddenly looking quite confused. * LadyKiss bites her lips and slowly follows the whip going back to a rope. Downstairs, a head cautiously pokes around the doorframe. "Destiny? You can come up this way if you like." * LadyDestiny puts the rifle away and heads back, having received word about what's going down on the surface. She relieves the guy she downed of his tranq pistol before arriving, however, since it's on the way. * LordFate heads that way, a look of professional detachment settling over his face. "Be ready; she might have another 'test' waiting." The downed soldiers are mostly getting back up, as well, though a couple are obviously a little worse off. * LadyTwister does, however, look like she's going to shoot someone if they give her any lip. The larger hut is considerably more homey than the access hut - there is carpet, and a large pot of tea waiting for the team on a low table with cushions surrounding it. * LadyDestiny wanders back to the rest of the group, and says in a tone that is obviously sarcasm, "Did we all have fun?" Oh, it was absolutely precious. * LordFate eyes the tea. "Is that caffeinated?" I'll pass. * PrincessRoyal rolls her eyes, making some final notes in her PDA. * LadyKiss glares out over every one. "Give me the little figurine with two kids on it then. I'll add it to other moments." * Yumi is waiting on a cushion next to Royal - Princess Mallet, looking quite bruised and beaten is laid out on another long cushion behind them. Lady Reaper is wearing a slightly-cracked blue composite suit of armor, and idly waving a large Mallet around. Yes, dear, it's caffeinated. * LadyBobOmb raises an eyebrow at the Mallet. Real tea. ... well, that's something I'd never thought I would see in my life. Excellent. *pours himself some in a way that utterly ignores Japanese protocol, and flops down* Is it drugged? ... wish I had my PDA to take pics. * PrincessRoyal gives Yumi the eye. "Better not be. I remember what happened last time..." * LadyBobOmb still hasn't let go of the rifle, though. I can't afford Sakura raiding my ministry again. Okay, look. I'm highly irritated, and I'd like to know what in the fuck is going on. Ma'am. H-2 is scary when you get them angry. Isn't it obvious? *grins* * PrincessRoyal snorts. For the record, she hasn't changed out of the bikini yet either, though she's shrugged on a nondescript uniform jacket over it. * LordFate sips some tea, relaxing. Well, pretending to relax. I did say we were coming here for testing and evaluation of your abilities, yes? No, it's not. If this is money, it can be handled with civility. Not like a bunch of five-year-olds with rocks and sticks. * LordFate is sprawled in such a way that he is VERY obviously wearing nothing but the Speedo, and the Speedo is not exactly modestly hidden, either. * LadyDestiny puts back on her Stoic face. "So, did we pass?" ... and where in the hell is Snow?! A couple of tac-suited women drag Snow out from the back room and deposit her on the last of the cushions. Some smelling salts get her woozily back to semi-consciousness. Not that kind of testing. It was a test. The Princess felt that a 'genuine' show of our fighting ability was worth... well. *raises his teacup in salute* Not just your fighting ability. She came to me, and told me she wanted to really freak you out. H-1 gets into really fucking nasty shit out there. I need to know how you handle yourselves when things really hit the fan. * LadySnow mumbles something and rolls over onto her face. Faint traces of snow begin falling around the room. * LadyKiss is still standing. "I trust we did it then, right ma'am?" * LadyTwister idly prods at her stomach, which still isn't quite 100%. "Tell us how shitty we did, then." * LordFate yawns, and sips some more tea. Well, there are groups that run this course and never get out of the basement. * PrincessRoyal raises an eyebrow. "Looking at the results, you did...decently. Looking at the process...well." We failed. *sips again* I never got my turn. No fun at all. If you don't use your tools properly, you don't really know what to expect, now do you? * LadySnow drools a bit and looks up barely. "Wher-- is that... the Princess?" All I'm going to say at this point is that I would have liked to see a little more of a professional attitude. *to Reaper* We would not have taken you on, Lady. Not today. I know, I know, that's why Yumi pulled the plug. *ahem* I mean her Highness. * LadyBobOmb smiles. "A shame. I would have liked to see how far we would have gone." Pfeh. I don't thing take getting a handful of rounds in the gut is a good way to determine battle-readiness, but whatever works. I suspect they don't want to use too much of the budget on repairs. * PrincessRoyal rolls her eyes at that, the disgruntled look still on her face. "Yes, well, it would have been interesting to see how they'd've reacted." * LordFate smirks. "You misunderstand. But it does not matter." * PrincessRoyal looks at Twister. "You think not?" What do you think we're going to be *doing* out there? * Yumi moans. "Oh, it's too late for that. Goddamn crazy psycho Mallet..." * LadySnow sort of half-listens, not really taking it all in yet. Yumi-san? You need to be more believable in the future if you're going to play the villain. ^^ * LordFate slumps a bit more into the couch, taking up far too much room on it, and continues to lazily drink tea. I admit, I don't do this every day. Did we win? Knowing that we're gonna be getting shot at, instead of having out chains yanked around without us even knowing if the years we spend listening to Princesses yammer actually meant anything. I mean, shit! Test us, but don't make us question the system like that! Villains come in all shapes and sizes. * LadyBobOmb blinks. "Mallet-sama, how did you get involved?" If you underestimate people, you'll get hurt. * LadyTwister does sound legitimately angry, and tosses the rifle outside without really looking before sitting down. * LadyKiss just stands there lips pressed thinly together. I mean, fuck... I was ready to kill those soldiers. Yes. I noticed, or suspected, anyway. Mallet sits up, but can't quite make it. "They wanted the armor tested, and it was supposed to make some good scenery for your test too." * LordFate looks at Yumi and Reaper measuringly as Twister mentions being ready to kill soldiers. * PrincessRoyal , still standing, puts the PDA down on the cushion and clasps her hands behind her back. "Did I not say we have to deal with fucked up shit?" Although, I do wonder, why would you? Because you were...angry? Because I wanted out. I wanted answers. And if it took sending a few people to God to do it? They were the enemy. Not that I'm adverse to the idea of you being ready to kill, but how would it have given you answers? I think we're missing the important question here. How long till we get our clothes and stuff back? * LadyTwister eyes Royal. "Pfeh. An opponent is between you and whatever lies past them, like a wall." * LordFate colors for a moment, for no apparent reason. So you have to always go through the wall, is that it? If you can't climb the wall, you have no idea of what's on the other side, y'know? You weren't trying to climb it. You were trying to blast through it. Every person you shot at this morning has been a Lady or a Lord. Yes, this was a risky training exercise, but there were controls in place. Mngh. Explains why so many of the soldiers were female. * LadyTwister spits. "What other options did I have, boss?" * LordFate shakes his head and frowns at his empty teacup. He eyes the teapot, debating whether it's worth the effort to get up to get a refill. I wasn't... trying to do anything... I will say - Twister - you were fairly cool before the firefight. Did it change just because people were shooting at you? You tell me, Twister. I won't say you shouldn't have tried to shoot back at them. That was the first time I've been under real fire, boss. I'm no ice woman, I don't wanna die before my time. But... look. It was that or just sit back and let things happen for us, and that gets you killed. Or worse. * LadyDestiny stretches. "It was a good warm-up, though. I haven't exercised like that in a while. Those tranqs shouldn't have hit." But, look. In this job, you will have to deal with surprises. And if you're going to deal with those surprises, you need to be able to control your emotions. Give me time, boss. * PrincessRoyal raises a hand. "I'm not looking for miracles." None of us are. But I hope you see why it was important for me to see how you'd react. If I'm going to be taking this team out into the field, there's not going to be room for error. And I'm not just talking to Twister here. She was actually one of the best at keeping her head before you hit the fire test. Wait... it wasn't real? * LadySnow blinks and tries to wake up more. Good morning, Lady Snow. * LordFate finally decides more tea is a good idea, and gets some. And then flops back down in his sprawl across the couch. This isn't my ideal environment for acting, but how rarely are things ideal? * LadySnow gets startled by the voice and hugs a pillow to her chest. * LadyKiss takes a deep breath. "I apologize." But... why? They just wanted to know what we were made of, Snow. * LadyTwister sounds less angry and more weary now---she must've bled most of her anger out speaking to Royal. How can one know exactly how they will act until the situation presents itself. That wasn't nice at all! * LordFate laughs. I need to know what it will take to get you to that level. And when we're out there, circumstances might not be the best for you. You might be without everything you didn't have today, and more. That's exactly what I mean, Destiny. * PrincessRoyal eyeballs Snow. "No, but it was--mostly--effective." We could've died! * LadySnow snaps back. Oh? Did you? No, they were holding back. * Yumi shrugs. "Live fire training has risks. But this program has been run before, and we know how to keep them down." * PrincessRoyal shakes her head. That's not the point. My question, Did we hurt any one, seriously? We were in no danger. No, it's not. The point is, when this happens for real on this job, maybe next week--maybe even tomorrow--you might. I doubt it, if they were all Ladies and Lords. You need to be able to handle that. The girl I took down is lucky I did not get a second rifle. This wouldn't ever really happen! It was stupid and mean. Like hell it wouldn't. There's one serious injury, but he'll recover, no problem. This is not a neat and pretty job, Snow. It's not about redecorating the office or coming up with a painting design for the bus. You *will* face fire. You *will* find yourself in situations where you can't access your usual resources. You *will* have to deal with things that test the way you look at the world. It wouldn't happen! We'd know the bad guys were really bad and not just playing with us. This was just stupid schoolyard bullying! Was it the one I shot? Speaking of which, Princess, we're going to need grenades. ...the lines aren't that cut and dry in H-1, Snow. Yeah. But you didn't get him in the face, so it's just a cracked skull. I should send him a get well card, or something. * LordFate mutters something. It might have been, "Pity." ... can we have our clothes, at least? I miss my hat. They're in the back room. Good. * LadyKiss finally sits down and takes some tea. Everything is in the back room. Yes they are! You can tell when a person was reasonable and when they aren't! They wouldn't just play stupid games. Lady Snow? * PrincessRoyal bursts out laughing at that one. I wish. If they're pretending to be your enemy, treat them like one. Snow... don't forget what we've been investigating. * PrincessRoyal nods at Twister. "Exactly." We don't know *who* the real culprit is, and it could well be someone who's pretending to be an upstanding member of the Hierarchy. We're expected to be cream-of-the-crop. It's likely we'll face stiffer competition than a handful of ladies and lord. If we couldn't have taken them, it would look poorly on us. * LadySnow is almost getting color now as she gets madder and the snow that's been fluttering down in the room gets a little more intense, not yet to a point of doing anything significant though. * LordFate turns to Royal, and nods at Yumi and the other non-H-1ers. "Are they cleared for this?" ... I didn't like this little shitfest, but I can understand why it was done. We're going to have to do some ugly things in the name of security. Almost certainly not. Then I suggest we drop this subject. Yeah but that stuff doesn't feel as fake. Like shooting someone in the middle of an interrogation? He talked didn't he?! ... geh. ...oi. Mina, are you sure she fits the profile? At the moment? * LadyTwister shakes her head, returning with her hat. And just her hat. * LadyKiss just sips her tea now ignoring the conversation around her. He wasn't taking us seriously! Yumi didn't do anything to make us believe this was serious! I'm saying this was a bad test! * PrincessRoyal pinches the bridge of her nose. "Well, we had worse on the team, even before it was institutionalized." * LordFate actually boggles a bit at Twister's reappearance. Something about the incongruity of just putting on a hat while still wearing...almost nothing... Then he blinks, and goes back to sipping his tea. It was a bad test. There shouldn't have been tranqs. * PrincessRoyal opens her hand. "Valid point." I dunno, Snow. Weren't you shot in the ass? ...fake, my ass. What you don't know is this almost literally happened, about two decades ago. * PrincessRoyal nods curtly. An internal squabble blowing up like this? Geh. Even if it's a 'bad test', we cannot afford to assume any such situation is one. If we're wrong, I'd rather the idiots who decided to test us be dead, than we be dead due to not taking it seriously. Understand that, Snow. If you really didn't believe this wasn't a test, Snow, why did you *still* react so badly? Because I didn't want to have to hurt anybody or have anyone else be hurt! It's stupid to force us to hurt people that don't deserve it! We're not toys! People can really really get hurt if we do stupid things like this... We didn't force you to hurt anybody. Would you have been disappointed if we didn't? And I didn't! You were still worrying more about your lack of clothes than your situation. * LordFate laughs. "For some, there's a reason for that." Is it so wrong to be uncomfortable with my body? I'm blue! * LadySnow pauses and almost can't believe she just said that out loud. Bah, you're cute. Live a little. So? That's going to matter in a live situation? It matters in a harmless training situation when there's a boy around that can look at me. * LadyTwister reclines back, sliding her hat over her head. "But Snow... look, lemme say this. If things get dangerous, and if the situation looks bad... how far are you willing to go to succeed and stay alive?" Fate. * LadyDestiny chuckles as she realizes something. * LadyTwister grins, although it's hard to see. I said I'd do what I had to do! That doesn't mean hurting innocent people and showing off my body when I don't have to. ... heh. Never change, sister. Anyway. Yumi... I take back wanting to punch you. I'll settle for you buying me a round. * LadyKiss hasn't let her lips off that thin angry line yet, she stares out over the group still looking very upset. You don't *get* to choose the circumstances of your duty, Snow. They might never be like this again, but that doesn't mean you'll always be comfortable. You wouldn't have got more than one in. * Yumi fizzles green and red and white! * LordFate leers at Snow for a moment. But his heart's obviously not in it. And I'd know I was really working instead of just being played with for someone else's stupid amusement! ... someone's hiding a few tricks, I see. * PrincessRoyal straightens up tensely, grimly. She stalks over to Snow, completely ignoring Yumi's transformation. "You think this was for *amusement*?" ... oh FUCK. * LadyKiss 's voice drips ice more then a blizzard by snow. "A Lady never shows all her secrets." Always keep three aces up your sleeve just in case your opponent has two up her sleeve. Well, were you amused? * LadyTwister promptly looks like she swallowed a cat once she realizes who she's talking to. Did you care at all how we felt about it? * LordFate just chuckles, watching. Of course I wasn't amused, because you were acting like teenagers! Well I'm sorry we can't all be 50 year olds that've been through a half a dozen wars! You spoiled little--you think I would have set this damn thing up to get a few *laughs*? I'm not spoiled! I work really hard, damn it! And you *still* can't see past your own needs in this matter. Fine. Think about it this way. When this happens, you *need* to be able to handle it *well*. I will! * LadyDestiny gets a cup of tea and takes a seat near Lady Reaper. She doesn't have anything more to say and everyone else is embarrassing themselves. I need to train you for this. To do this, I need to know how you react, and where you are emotionally in regards to dealing with crap we're going to have to deal with. * LadySnow stands and looks Royal in the eyes, totally ignoring her lack of dress at this point. Well you can do it better next time. * LadyDestiny mutters something about everyone acting like children, although none of the PCs are close enough to hear her. ... she's got a fire in her, for being Snow. * LadySnow swallows. * LordFate yawns, and sips more tea. * LadyTwister still is looking warily in Peppermint's direction, it should be noted. This job doesn't just mess with your body or your skills. It will mess with your ability to handle things, and if you care more about your feelings than your job, you don't belong on this team. Say what you like about the evaluation, but you were whining and complaining *way* before that part of it started. Princess Royal, I understand your reasons for training. I understand why you did that. What I can not understand is why you don't understand our anger on it. The urge to rescue you should show we as a whole team see you as a leader already. It should also show we care about you as such. She said it better than I could. But... eh. What's done is done. I imagine this'll be tame compared to the future. "Being angry is one thing." She nods at Twister. "Being unreasonable is a different thing." She looks back at Snow. I wasn't whining! Did I not do what I was told? After I almost had to Order you to, yes. Am I not allowed to at least *ask* if there are alternatives? * LadyDestiny rises to go to the back room and get her stuff. This looks like it's still going to take a while and everyone stopped covering new ground a while ago. You were told there weren't. Several times. What fucking purpose did putting us in tiny bikinis serve beyond your amusement? * LadySnow looks almost embarrassed for a second that she actually swore. ... whoa. * LadyTwister blinks. "You never swear." Would you rather have been naked? We had to make sure you weren't hiding anything. I think it was obvious enough at that point that I wasn't! I'm not a stupid cheater. Would you have preferred that you killed someone with a hidden weapon in this exercise? I wouldn't have killed anyone! Well, what about me, Snow? Stop accusing me of things and stop acting like I'm stupid! I'm not! Lord Fate, you were, uh, the, uh, most troublesome participant we've ever run through this exercise in that regard. * LadySnow is really sweating now and the snowfall is increasing again ever so slightly. Do not worry. I will be more troublesome in any future exercises. You could have detransed to get your clothing back any time that you wanted. You could do it now if you don't want to get it from the back room. We probably won't work together any time soon, but I'll look forward to that. * LadyTwister finally rises, walks over to Snow and gently grips her shoulders. "Hoi... calm down. Seriously... you're starting to sweat." You took my regular clothes. If I detransed I'd be totally naked... Actually, Destiny and I--never mind. * LadyKiss slowly stands and heads back towards her stuff. None of the rest of the team is happy about this either, but they're at least thinking about *why* something this drastic was put in place. I know why you did it! I've read all the books. I know about all the crap you did all the way back when. * LadyReaper twitches. This isn't about books, or movies, or TV shows. * LordFate pulls his uniform's cape out, and dons it. Though a cape over a Speedo does look strange. At least he's more covered. Heh. And now we just might be living one, Snow. Think you're up to the task? * PrincessRoyal twitches like Reaper, but hides it a teensy bit better. I am up to it! I never once asked to leave. I'd know if I wasn't going to be able to handle it. * LadyDestiny continues to pack her stuff away. There's quite a bit. * DuchessPeppermint chokes. You certainly haven't been acting very much like it. And--*I* need to know if you're going to be able to handle it. What do you want me to do? Frown all the time and act like nothing bothers me? I'm the one who's going to be putting you into life- threatening danger. I'm the one who will have the responsibility of telling people I got you killed because you got into something you weren't ready for. She just wants us to be ready for anything, buddy. * LordFate takes out his pills, and takes one with some more tea. Then... *softens up a large degree and the snowing starts to taper off* Then why can't you just ask me? That was the test. No asking... just do. We're with you, but... y'gotta calm down and think about the 'why'. You've read about their past. Hell, boss? * LadyDestiny finishes the stuffing process. It's not organized in its usual manner, but that would take a while to do. She then dons her normal clothes before heading back out into the main room. * LadyTwister points at Royal. "She's seen more than we might ever see. before T-E, before all this. Just a bunch of girls fighting for their lives." * LordFate is quietly pulling on his pants while everyone's watching the catfight. That doesn't give her an excuse to be mean. * LadySnow pouts. It's mean... but it's also... and I hate to say it. It was kinda necessary. --shit, now I know what I need to work on. Everything. * PrincessRoyal pinches the bridge of her nose, walks back to Peppermint and the rest, and takes a gulp of tea. * LadySnow harumphs and struts off to get her clothes. If you think her testing you is mean... then you don't understand a thing. * DuchessPeppermint stands. * LadyTwister lets Snow go, and sighs. "She's a good girl... she's my best friend. She'll be fine." * LadySnow looks around for a place to change, ignoring Peppermint for now. Mina, we're going to have to sort out the bill for this one. And do you have to take the suit project with you? * LordFate lets his cape drop as he actually has to stand up to put on his shirt. He then stuffs his cape away. * PrincessRoyal sighs and shakes her head, looking around at the rest of the team. "Anyone else want to chime in?" You mean I can't keep it? * LordFate smirks. "Nah, the catfight was amusing enough that I've -almost- forgiven you, Princess." I have nothing to add. Everything meaningful was said long ago. Eh, I get emotional sometimes. Sorry. Decent tea, Yumi-chan. * LordFate holds up his cup, and finishes its contents. Well, she's adding to the beta-test team. And all of the tuned testers are too useful to discard so don't sweat it, Reaper. So, these things actually do collect readings? * DuchessPeppermint noogies Fate. "You're cute." * LordFate chuckles, taking it with good graces. * LadyTwister prods at one of the bikini cups on her way to the backroom. No, but the testing is real enough. We'll have some interesting numbers. * LordFate finger-combs his short, white hair back into order after the Duchess releases him. Ah well. I've got to run, Mina. Make sure Mallet takes her aspirin, okay? * PrincessRoyal rolls her eyes at the Mallet thing. "Sure thing. And we'll take care of the suits, unless we find out the hard way that they suck. Then we've got bigger problems." And they should be set up for the third round of testing downstairs. * LadyKiss pokes her head out. "This wasn't a trust building exercise. I hope you know that." * LadyTwister proceeds to just quickly remove the thing, detrans, and quickly trans again so as to speed up the process. "Man, I wonder if aunty went through something like, too..." * LadyReaper grins. "Don't worry - you don't have to strip for the gun ranges." * LordFate raises a British eyebrow at Twister's mention of 'aunty'. No. For trust-building, we hafta do something like build a house or... something. I dunno. * DuchessPeppermint scoots out of the room. * PrincessRoyal snorts. "Or toss each other around with blindfolds. No. This was training/eval, like I said from the beginning." Unfortunately, trust cannot simply be 'built'. * PrincessRoyal nods Peppermint off. No, it can't be built. It can be forged, though... I know! * LordFate looks directly at Royal. "And, once violated, may never heal." * LadyTwister grins. "Karaoke." * LadySnow comes out after finding a decent enough place to change and having checked all her stuff to make sure it was treated properly. I know the best place, too! * LadyKiss slowly comes out dressed nicely in her sweats. "It can be torn down quickly though." * LadySnow tries not to show her perking up too much as she walks in. "Karaoke?" Karaoke. And I won't make you drink this time. Yay! I so do not need this. *rubs his head* [end session] Session Close: Sat Oct 07 18:12:14 2006