RP: NSS Alliance [Marine VR Sim] Planet X Marks the Spot

[MoonMan]

Wazu was standing in front of a group of marines, planted firmly on an elevated stage above the recreation area. More marines came in and filled the room as they responded to the computer's message to assemble for the training simulation. He waited until ten minutes after the message had been broadcast before starting up his introduction. "TEN-HUT!" He yelled out, and the room quickly fell hushed and turned their attention towards the small stage. Wazu stood silent for a moment, scanning his eyes over the marines before starting again. "For the next several hours all of you will be involved in practice combat within your own squads. Your squad leaders will separate you into two teams and you will take turns defending the surface of Planet X against your squad mates."

Wazu waited a moment before continuing. "The Alpha Team will be planetside, protecting the facility in the center of the tunnels below ground from destruction. The Omega Team will be vaulted onto the surface via space-to-planet drop, and will attempt to destroy the underground facility. You are free to use any tactics necessary to accomplish your goals, and you are also free to choose your PA units before entering the simulation. Your squad leaders will be dividing teams in a few moments. There will be more than one of these simulations, and teams will change each round." Wazu finished with a slight sigh, and remained silently on stage for questions, wobbling steadily on his cane.

Gran stood up bolt-straight as Wazu addressed them. He listened and frowned slightly at the mention of the field being Planet X. He had heard that some bad things happened there. Man, I hope none of these guys still have attachments... He shifted weight a little considering who he might be teamed with. "Sir! One question."

"Yes marine." Wazu replied as he looked down at Gran.

Gran sweated a little, hoping he wasn't stepping on toes here. "Sir! I had heard that we lost a few marines on Planet X, is it possible that VR training in the same environment could bring up memories that would hinder functioning?"

Upon hearing Gran's question, Wazu cleared his throat and returned a stern expression. "That is possible, marine; however this should not be a problem. I expect all of you to perform at the best of your abilities, no matter where, when or who you are engaging. You will perform at your best, correct marine?" Wazu returned the question, his serious face glaring down at Gran, who quickly stamped his foot on the floor and saluted. "Yes sir!"

"Good!" Wazu said, his face relaxing as he straightened his body again, shifting his weight on the cane. "Everyone put on a headset and choose your PA unit. Once you are all ready, your team will be assigned to you and the simulation will start. Good luck marines." With that, Wazu limped slowly to the end of the stage to observe the simulations on the view-screen behind him.

"Shi~t yeah! And I thought this was gonna be just a buncha shootin' at damn AIs!" Rico chuckled to himself as Wazu finished on stage. He slapped a free hand on the back of the nearest marine, a grin spreading profusely across his face. "Hey guys, no hard feelings when I fuckin' blow you away, alright?"

Gran proceeded to a headset not too far away, slowly putting it on as he took a deep breath. This was the first time he had gone against actual people. This is going to be WAY different than computers... He selected the NAM AIR armor, although he knew he wasn't trained well for the front lines.

Rico raced past the other in securing a good seat in the center of the room. After quickly removing his beret, he fixated the virtual helmet tightly onto his head, and allowed his brain impulses to do the rest. Rico was quick to choose his power armor, as well...he had been studying what the choices beforehand while waiting for the rest of the marines to arrive. As multiple view screens whizzed past his eyes, Rico's smile widened as he made his decision: the newest AIR2 model, courtesy of NAM itself. He chose this particular armor mostly out of intrigue...the Push/Pull system of the AIR wasn't included in the old basic training...but Rico was fairly sure he could handle it. He slowly relaxed in his chair, stretching his legs before letting them settle.

Benji being already comfortable and tapped into the ship's system got to the PA selection first. He tagged the WATER 2 since it sounded like it would work well for melee. He picked it out and then let himself get adjusted to the feel of the VR. He knew he'd feel more of it than the others because of being jacked into the system.

>>>>>After a few minutes...

After all of the marines were resting in the meticulously placed chairs and seats, all clad in the awkward, cumbersome virtual headsets, a small screen appeared in front of whatever each marine was viewing. On the screen was a list of names, divided into two sections...

• Alpha Team (Planetside Defense)
  Benji Storm...
  Adrian Decane...
  John Hawkings...
  Gran Keats...
  ...among many other names of other marines. As for the opposing side;
  
  Omega Team (Space-to-Planetside Offense)
  Rico Sanroma...
  Kokuten Gaiasis Chiaki the 5th...
  Fian Vel Steyr...
  Istavan Michealovitch Yuttreberg...
  ...as well as a list of several other names.

As the list raised and was read by the marines, the room was filled with the mixed reactions; groans of disappointment and displeasure, as well as shouts of acceptance and anticipation, to name a few.

---

Gran silently nodded to himself. Adrian was the only other person on his team that he had met so far. He smirked, Great way to meet new people eh? He adjusted the tightness of the helmet, making sure it all fit right. He stretched his neck and leaned back in his chair a little waiting for the excitement to start.

Benji looked over the lists, noticed Rico's name and then smiled. He waited when the screen went black. Benji wasn't nervous; everything but his mind and senses was asleep, numb...all the sensory needs coming from his uplink to the ship computer.

Rico was one of those who shouted out happily as he read the list of assigned teams. Not only because he knew a good few of his squadmates, but simply because this signified the simulation was nearing its start. Oooohhh shit...Adrian, Gran and that Benji guy...too easy. Time for a little fun... As the screen went black, Rico took a deep breath. He held it for a few moments before letting the air release slowly through his sly smile. "Hey Alpha Team, don't cry when Omega comes bringin' the pain, okay baby?!â€

 

[Fian]

Fian stopped right outside the VR Room gasping. Bad enough that he had to run back to the Power Armor bay to pick up the manual he left on the AIR2's shoulder, he had to take the wrong turning and ended up near Soreta's room (But she was not in anyway, luckly).

Crap, too deep in thought. Must... Not... Think while running.

The Vel Steyr opened the door and was agast, the marines are already jacked in. He quickly selected an AIR2 with both the FMD and Type 1 at the main terminal and crashed at the nearest free VR Simulator, hoping that he was not too late.

 

[SUBLIMEinal]

Adrian glared the list. Gran was a nice guy, but as far as Adrian knew he had never fought. As for the other two, Benji seemed too sketchy to rely on, and Adrian didn't really know John. Damn. Luckily, we can still use whatever armor we want, right?
The medic flipped through his choices until he came to the Super Phalanx. While all these guys swooned about how fast the AIR2 was, the Phalanx outclassed them by close to .4 cc. He picked out some pretty weapons, and watched as the screen blanked.

 

[Driker]

Valo stood by watching the different monitors. He was curious to see how the marines responded to combat against each other.

 

[Kokuten]

Kokuten looked through the list, he recognized three names on the list, Rico seemed like a inspiring confident kind of guy, so that was good. Fian, from his previous experience, seemed like a pretty level headed sort. Istavan seemed like a good bullet sponge, the way he was hooked on stimulants, he probably wouldn't mind taking 4 or 38 bullets.

"Well, I'm pretty much ready to drag some virtual ass." Kokuten grinned.

 

[FM]

Standing within the ranks of the Omega team, clad in an AIR 2, was Soreta, trying very hard to stay quiet and out of sight until the combat situation began, and thus escape the notice of the marines around her. It seemed ridiculous to her to participate in this exercise, much less as part of the offensive, but what the hell. It could be fun.

Though much slower than the Super PHALANX armors Soreta had used before in simulators (having been given bits and pieces of armor operations training through her career), and lacking the raw power that was Yamatai's trademark, the weapons loadout on the armor suited her needs nicely, and she had created virtual copies of her more familiar rifle and daisho blades, choosing to also take the wicked Sword-Long and to replace the FMD with the LFR. She awaited her orders, as a song blasted through her helmet, to get herself in the proper mindset.

 

[Le Blue Dude]

Istvan read the list, his mind racing. Rico was overconfident... Istvan was sure he would be the first one down in any unexpected situations. Kokuten... Istvan pondered the medic... He looked strong, tough and somewhat flexible. The medic might, MIGHT not be as hopless as all his kind, though his lack of training in power armour did not bode well. Istvan did not know how good a medic he was, but decided to take a gamble and keep a close eye on him during the simulation, in case he got attacked.

The other names he did not know, so he had to assume the worst about them...

After some debate regarding the situations he would most likely run up against, and some reasoning, he selected a Water 2 because of it's tactical flexibility. They were assulting a planet, not fighting a space-dual, and the Air would not be all that effective if it got to hallway to hallway. He selected it with the type 1 rifle, and the longer sword.

 

[Zack]

Omega Team:

The Omega Team's view screens gently came online, filling their wearer's eyes with the image of the NSS Alliance's launch bay. The entire team was standing in a row, their power armors unresponsive as a conveyer belt moved them forward.

"WHOMP!â€

 

[Le Blue Dude]

As the power comes on line, Istvan deploys his observation probe, then he watches the screen looking for hidden defences. His mecha may not be as manuverable as the AIRs, but he keeps it moving as he falls, jigging to avoid any weapons-lock. If any defences fire he will attempt to track the fire to it's source, and fire back with his LBR. He also keeps a small portion of his attention on his squad mates. This took a lot of attention, and left him little time to ponder effects. His stimulent enhanced mind raced, however, and he was alert and ready for almost anything that could happen next.

 

[Fian]

The sensation Fian felt as he dropped to the surface felt familliar. He expected that the enemy would require time to organize and deploy thus Omega would also have the time to do so. Thus, so far there were no incomming fire or radar pings sounding in his ears. Which made the free fall somewhat peacefull and quiet.

Albiet too quiet. The Vel Steyr noticed that there is absolutely no noise comming from his side of the team. Everybody seems to be expecting orders or instructions but there was none at all. He quickly pulled up a team roster on his HUD to inspect. To his horror, most of the team were greenies. It seemed that the Alliance had also lost many marines due to transfers and discharges on top of those dead in the last mission. Even that of Sargeant Ran was missing from both teams.

Fian recodnized the feeling. It was the same feeling he felt during the start of the Planet X battle. During that time they were caught unawares of the enemy's guerrila tactics. Many lives were lost and the Vel Steyr remembers it firsthand. Bringing up the roster again, he noticed that although the opposing force was also mostly composed out of greenies, they also had a few veterans that could attest to the Red's effectiveness. Fian slowly activated his reverse thrusters to slown his re-entry, he needed some time to think.

We were disorganized, we were inexperienced, we were caught unawares... We will not allow it to happen again.

"Halt!" He shouted, raising his armored hand in a stop signal. The Ion Drives blasted at full speed to stop his decent completely. He waited stationary as all the other armors obeyed the command at the lack of effective orders. As soon as the last armor stopped moving, he cleared his throat and continued.

"At the lack of an effective chain of command and leadership. I, P3C Fian Vel Steyr who has experience in an operation similar to this, shall take command of Omega Team for the remainder of this simulation." Fian closed the commlink momentarily to clear his throat again to shake off any hints of uncertainty in his voice. "Anyone who has an objection to this can nominate himself now. Otherwise I will take it that it is decided." He continued, sternly.

 

[MoonMan]

Rico's eyes widened and focused once more as the images quickly materialized into his headset. He watched as the conveyer belt continued moving the line of armors towards the launch tubes, his smile growing larger with every inch forward he moved, until finally Rico found himself staring at the illuminated surface of Planet X below him.

Rico figured the descent would take a minute or two to reach a good potential height to start the assault, and quickly looked at the marine lists to spot some potential candidates for a small squad. He was a bit surprised that nobody else had said a word during launch. Before he had the chance too, however, a broad transmission broke the silence wafting through the Omega Team communication lines.

"Halt!"

Rico recognized the voice. Uncertain what exactly Fian was playing at, he activated his reverse thrusters until he came to an abrupt stop, with the other marines of Omega Team following suit. The Nepleslian kept silent, a quizzical look upon his face, as Fian attempted to take command of Omega Team. Rico followed up the speech by checking the marine listings of Omega Team, and sure enough, the former sergeant Ran Rui was not among the list. And as much as Rico wanted to just rush in and start shooting, Fian's intervention proved to be the wiser of alternatives.

Rico took on his smile again as the message sank into the other marines of Omega Team. If Fian had done this during a real combat situation, Rico would've elected against it. However, previous to this moment, Rico had also always figured Fian to be very quiet, somewhat spineless and not leadership material at all. Pleasantly surprised that he was wrong about Fian, Rico kept his previous comment to himself, instead choosing a different one.

"Man's got a point! We need a plan, and Fian's got experience on this planet...I say we listen to what he's got to say!"

 

[FM]

Catapults were fickle things; hard on a person's nerves, especially someone unused to it. But the freedom of 0G was soon felt, and Soreta tested the new armor's capability out for a brief moment, what would look to others as her doing several loops. High acceleration...slower than PHALANX, but more agile. Weapons are secure...this'll do. The other soldiers around her, for the most part rough and unpracticed in their movements, amused the diplomat to no end.

She smirked as the young soldier asserted himself, taking charge of a bad situation; her engines performed a similar manouver to his, knowing that he had the skills to back up his words. He'll go far in this universe. To inspire confidence in this 'Fian Vel Steyr', Soreta flew next to him, stopped, and gave a clear and powerful salute; saying in no words at all, 'I'll follow you to Hell and back'.

Now, don't fight too well. People will start to get suspicious. With those thoughts, Soreta looked to the surface of the planet below. I hope they have a leader like him, or they'll fall in seconds.

 

[Le Blue Dude]

"Halt!" Istvan was ready for many things. This was not one of them. Reflex drove his reaction, slowing the power amour until it hovered with the others. He felt antsy sitting there like a duck for the defenders to being up their defenses.

The man however had a point Istvan could see this. For all he had derided Rico's overconfidence and impulsiveness in his own head, it pained him far worse to see himself falling victim to it. When Rico agreed it rose his evaluation of the man slightly.

He spoke up. "I suggest we get a move on, and make plans as we drop. I do not want to be picked off by anti-insertion weapons. I further suggest we get some sort of assignment of roles. That way we can work together better."

(OOC: Yeah, I know, my posts are fairly short.)

 

[Kokuten]

Kokuten flinched as the Armor shot outward into space. His decent towards the planet.

"Damn!" He grunted as he regained himself the air. The Medic was unused to the Power Armors. He figured the decent to the planet would be less of a problem until he heard the command from Fian.

"Hugh!" Kokuten found himself comedically spinning as he attempted to kick in the reverse thrusters. He eventually gained a stable equillibrium as he began to get a knack at controlling the output.

"I'm... er..." The Cyborg adjusted himself.

"I'm alright." He finished.

 

[FM]

Soreta looked to Kokuten. "That's a NAM armor, right? Keep reseting the control module. It should self-calibrate after a while." Her voice was disguised as a male's; she didn't exactly want the marines flipping out about her being in the simulators in a time of crisis.

 

[Kokuten]

Kokuten looked in Soreta's direction, and put up a hand signifying he understood. It took him some time, but he was able to reset the control module. The armor seemed to lose itself for a moment, but eventually settled, though it still wasn't set right.

"Thanks Man, I appreciate it." He said to Soreta mistaking her for her voice mask. "I'll be sure to watch your back for that one."

 

[Mola]

As his screens came on he looked over them and then around himself. He took a good look at the other guys on his team and then snorted softly to himself. For all he knew they were going to dismiss the fact he knew what he was doing and call him a Greenhorn. He shifted, eager for some action with a grumble to himself he said. "Dunno about you guys, but I'm gona go see what they're up to... don't worry... I won't get caught..." With a meaningful look in Adrian's direction he snarled out "I'm just greenhorn cannon fodder after all..."

He turned and quietly crept off down one of the tunnels his map said would bring him to the surface. Once he spotted the entrance to the furface he poked his head over the rip and peered out, using his equipment to scan the skies. There they were. "Found em... Sitting ducks..." Benji reported to his team mates. "How about we pull em in and pull a Napoleon on them?" He said, allready shifting and then slipping out of the entrance and into cover. He moved cautiously, keeping and eye on him. Benji was smart enough not to give away his location at the moment.

 

[Zack]

Other soldiers started following Benji, fanning out from the entrance to the tunnel and crouching down. It was difficult to find cover from an enemy that was falling right down ontop of you.

In total five other soldiers had joined Benji on the surface, following his lead and holding their fire for the moment.

 

[Davis]

Gran breatged a sigh of relief as someone other than him took control f the situation. He smiled as he spoke. "We are all cannon fodder right now." He followed Benji out, trying to encourage others to come with him. He hoped he could get into a sniping position before they landed so he could hide well. He moved into cover on the opposite side of the tunnel from Benji. There was a reasonable size cropping of rocks that would supply a great hiding spot, and Gran moved quickly towards it as he watched and scanned the sky. He thought for a second and as he neared the rocks he spoke to Benji. "Who's this Napoleon guy?"

 

[Le Blue Dude]

Istvan watches his scanners. "Contact!" he shouts as his battle drone notices something. He doesn't get a good look, but he knows the enemy is out there now. "We're sitting ducks, Move, move, move!" He slams down, dropping quickly, trying to get aground where he will have cover, as his drone scowers the area bringing in more and more data. He thinks it strange that they dissapeared so fast, and wonders if they noticed his drone.... They would certainly notice his plumet though.