RP: Fort Ready [Class 5] Back in Business

Yume spoke much more confidently. " The Ke-M2 or Mindy unit is most definitely one of the two, it is after all featured on the army's emblem. I also agree that the Ke-M6-1A or Daisy unit is the other. It's base design is multipurpose to begin with, being capable for terrestrial and aerial combat as well able to be modified into the Spacy, which as the name suggest is more than viable for resolving open space conflict."

"Good, very good. In a little bit we're going to head out to the motor pool, borrow some of the equipment that we'll talk about, and me and the other instructor will come up with scenarios. It will be up to you guys to choose the proper equipment, operate in effectively, and complete your mission. Operating power armors is very basic, for Neko species you can just plug straight into SPINE and the armor will do whatever you think, in easy language it's basically like putting your brain into the armor and the armor is the new body. For Yamataians like me there are very easy controls and operation of the power armor should be a breeze." Ramiro glanced down at his list again before continuing. "I'm going to skip a couple of pieces of equipment and get the easy stuff done. LUTs or Light Utility Vehicles are very basic pieces of equipment, meant solely for transportation, hold two passengers with a truck bed in the back, and are operated just like any normal motor vehicle. A Surface Terrain Vehicle, or STV Jeep, is similar to an LUT, but has more militaristic uses. The Standard variant is equipped with a machine gun on the back, if you like having a roof over your head there is an enclosed variant. The are also meant to haul artillery trailers, they have variants with larger beds for cargo, one with towing cable for recovering vehicles, and one with basic construction equipment. Next is the NSP, which we already covered in combat training. So next is personnel weaponry. Who can think of common types of weaponry that would be useful in ground missions?"

"The GP-12, in particular for ground combat the 12A variety. It is most useful against personal at long and medium ranges. You can start out using it to snipe enemies and when they get close switch to assault rifle tactics."

Saki thought for a while and let her classmate tell what he wanted. Then she took a deep breath and said. "Type 22 Survival Knife. That is something that is always useful. It is small, easy to carry around and it can be used both as a tool and weapon. It is not as dangerous as swords but it is smaller and easier to carry around." she said. Rifles. Rifles are nice and all, but everybody talks about rifles. In the end Valencia Heisho asked about useful weaponry. Not the most deadly. Although Saki was tempted to speak about Type 30 Battle rifle first.

"I believe it depends on the situation. In CQB you will need something that you can use easily inside a building or spaceship such as a Type 28 submachine gun or something like that." Yoshiro said.

"In long range combat, you use weapons such as a Type 30 battle rifle and such things like that. You use a knife like a Type 22 when you need a silent kill when you are doing special operations missions or when ground combat gets a bit too close for comfort, or when you run out of ammo for your main and secondary weapons."

"All correct answers. Other useful weapons can be shotguns, flamethrowers, missile launchers, NSPs, and grenades. next on the list are aeroshuttles. The first shuttle, the Kuma T8, is an anti-starship shuttle. They travel in packs, are mass-producible, easily operated, and pack a punch. They are meant for crews of one to two, and can carry eight passengers. A pack of twelve Kumas could heavily damage or destroy most gunships with standard shields with two direct hits each. The second type of aeroshuttle is the Raccoon T7. It is a transport shuttle. IT only requires on crew member, however two to four are recommended, and can comfortably hold 52 people including crew members." Ramiro paused for a moment before turning to Aendri, "Damage control, and then we can go have some fun?"

"Sounds like a plan to me, though, one last equipment thing." He turned to look at the class. "Understand, I'm an exception. Most people you'll see in the Star Army will be Samurai, while I am not. Always treat the Samurai with the utmost respect, because they report directly to the Empire's royalty. I carry a sword for personal reasons, not as a Samurai. That said, go ahead and run them through damage control. I'll go ahead and get everything ready." That said, he bowed quickly to Ramiro and headed out of the room.

Yume watched Aendri leave then spoke up " I'm curious, and if you've already covered this or will later that's fine, about close quarter combat. Isn't unarmed combat just as viable if not a better option for resolving a situation? Particularly when you consider corridors and other confined spaces."

Ramiro nodded at Aendri's comment and said. "Good point." He then paused as he heard the question being asked. "Actually that is an excellent question and the answer depends on the situation. For instance, if stealth is of an issue then you obviously won't go on a shooting frenzy with a shotgun and will favor a knive of some sorts. At the same time, if you encounter a small platoon of four or five that you need to kill stealthily a silenced weapon would be preferred, only because the enemies would likely see you as you slash one of their necks, but from a distance you can kill them all with five clicks of a trigger. Simple and effective. On the other hand, if the building you are in is alerted of your presence it is better to use a ranged weapon just because it will be harder to sneak up on a target and time is of essence because there is always the chance of another enemy walking around the corner as your sneaking up on your opponent. Like I said, it's situational." Ramiro paused before moving on. "Now all large vessels and space stations will have a damage control center which is essentially a room with a large holograph computer that intakes data regarding different damages around the ship and then relays it to the engineering and damage control stations. If the ship is damaged certain people on board the ship will already be assigned to damage control, plus whoever the captain assigns as additional help. Each damage control stations has things such as AMESs, welding equipment, metal cutting equipment, repair kits, electrical tape, fire extinguishers, portable generators, piping, sealant, electrical wires, etc. Damage control stations are strategically placed throughout ships and space stations and will differ depending on the model of the craft. They are usually found behind the side paneling along corridors. Any questions so far?"

Yume stared at the man. She had after all said unarmed combat meaning no weapons of any kind. However, he moved on and she was rather shocked that he would so misunderstand her question that it was too late to point that out or pursue her case. She couldn't hide her disappointment at the answer, but kept her mouth shut since the lesson had moved on.

Saki listened to Ramiro as he answered to other neko. Her question was shouted a little disrespectivaly in Saki's opinion but intructor let that be. Or it was not disrspectfull at all. Stranger was that intructior answer was a little off.

Intructor then moved off to Damage Control. That wasn't really interesing but it was important so Saki listened carefully some more. When he asked for question she did raised her hand and asked. "Sir, do did I understood it right that anyone can be assigned to damage control groups. As additional help I mean. Well it makes sense. You probably won't use infantry in space battle much so they go to help damage control crews, right?" Her question was not really bright, but she was curious if she udnerstood it right.

"This is exactly right! Depending on the damage of the ship there may not be enough preassigned crew to handle all of the immediate attention that the ship needs. So everyone needs to be proficient in damage control in case you are called to damage control."

So in case of trouble on a ship I'm most likely going to go around helping to do repairs as well as I can Keiko thought listening quietly to all the answers and explanations given. It did make sense, infantry personel had not much to do in those situations but hope for the best and, as she just heard, make themselves as useful as they can.

Ramiro clapped his hands loudly and then exclaimed. "Alrighty then! This means that you're instruction at Fort Ready is over, now the real fun begins, hehe!" He motioned for the class to follow him. He led them outside where there was a bus waiting. "Load up, move, move, move!" He waited for the entire class to get on board the bus before getting on and signaling the driver to depart. The driver spun the bus around and then started moving towards the front gate. "The First Expeditionary Fleet has been gracious enough to lend us a Henry-Chen class Training Ship, the YSS Academy. With it, you will be able to practice each of your given occupations, use some of the equipment, and then comes the final exam. And trust me, we will make it difficult. Shasos'Shol-Hei will be waiting for us when we arrive, since he kindly volunteered to prep the ship for us."

Toshiaki kept a calm and confident demeanor as he got on the bus. This was what he had come for, learning his job and showing his competence. This did not prevent him from having some nagging doubts, but Toshiaki tried to look at the situation logically. There were only two possibilities: failure or passing. If he failed worrying had done him no good. If he passed then he had had no reason to worry.

At least I'll be rid of the blasted gravity of this planet.

Saki was a little surprised. She was expecting a weeks long training. But this was not bad too. At least seh will get into service mroe quickly. Maybe they will take her as a little better soldier if she accomplishes Fort Ready tests. Well it will all be seen in future. And she was also looking forward to test.

Yoshiro took a last look at Fort Ready. The ship was his ticket to learning how to be a soldier and protect those that were dear to him. "Keiko, are you ready for this?" He asked with a nervous smile "I am not so sure that I am ready for this and all but I am going to do my best for my family." He sat down in the seat in front of Keiko so as not to bother her.

He was nervous about all of this, seriously. Being a soldier wasn't going to be easy and it was time for him to put up or shut up. To put his money where his mouth was and prove himself to be worthy to be a soldier was what he wanted.

The bus pulled up to the YSS Academy, a Henry-Chan Class Training Ship, which was landed on one of larger landing platforms. "You're gear has already been moved to the rooms here, but let's not worry about that now. Unload!" Ramiro waited for all the recruits to get off the bus before getting off and walking towards the ship. He motioned for the recruits to follow and then walked up the walkway into the ship. The captain of the ship was waiting for them at the entrance. Ramiro bowed before asking,

"Permission to come aboard Taisa?"

"Permission granted!" The two waited for all the recruits to board before the Taisa walked over to a comm panel. "Taisa to Primary Bridge. All recruits of Fort Ready are on board, take us up."

The entrance walkway slowly raised and closed as the virtual gravity kicked in and the ship lifted off.

"Follow me!" Ramiro led the group to the main Zero-gravity passageway and descended to the bottom floor. "Remember, for zero gravity movement, all it takes is a small push to get you moving in the right direction. Don't push to hard or it will be difficult to stop where you want. Grab onto things to help you navigate and stop your movement." When he reached the bottom floor he opened one of the doorways, slipped through and waited for the rest of the group to join him. They were in a large room, about 1000 feet by 350, with a 14 foot ceiling, almost the length and width of the entire ship, which was completely empty.

Before going down the tube Toshiaki estimated how lightly he would have to push, and then pushed half as hard towards the chamber. This worked pretty well and he arrived at the other end of the passage without too much trouble.

Arriving in the chamber, he wondered about its size.

A cargo hold probably? he thought silently.

Turning his head back, he saw his classmates make their way through zero gravity to their next challenge.

Aendri was standing out of the direct line of sight of the recruits, along the same wall as the entrance. Since he'd had time to get in place and ready before takeoff, he'd been where he wanted to before zero-g kicked in, eliminating all that pesky zero-g maneuvering. He fingered the handle of his sword, waiting for the entire group to come into the room before speaking.