ext_229852 ([identity profile] redheadcarrier.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] trans_92010-05-26 07:55 pm

Back in Business [Open]

Asuka wasn't sure how long she'd been running that maze. It had seemed like forever to her. Just endless circles, following the commands of an AI, trying to get out. She could handle the puzzles and traps. She'd hated the isolation. Finally, she'd been spat back out into the welcome (the fact that she'd been relieved to see them disturbed her) corridors of Stacy again. She ran a hand through her hair with an irritated huff. How long had that taken, anyway? She needed to check up on her training and she needed to get back in the saddle. Quickly.

She headed off on the run - the sensoriums were calling her name. Grounded or not, she intended to take a virtual X-Wing out for a spin. It was the work of a few moments to call it up. She spent a few minutes circling the virtual craft, the virtual hangar deck stretching out white and empty around her. Yeah, she'd get in trouble if she got caught, but she wasn't going to get caught (although part of her was afraid of that and part of her wanted to go and see Arha). She shoved those feelings away. She wanted to have some fun first.

[identity profile] eswat-109.livejournal.com 2010-05-28 06:10 am (UTC)(link)
"Sure." Deunan rested her hand on her cocked hip, and the landmate followed suit, which was an interesting sight. "But the point in having backup is so you don't have to do things on your own. A tight fireteam's way more effective than any solo."

[identity profile] eswat-109.livejournal.com 2010-05-28 06:31 am (UTC)(link)
Deunan frowned, the landmate's armor hiding her expression from Asuka. The attitude confused her. Was the girl trying to get killed? "Even if you're the best in the world, teaming up with the second best is only going to make you both better. The right team is way more than the sum of its parts."

[identity profile] eswat-109.livejournal.com 2010-05-28 06:45 am (UTC)(link)
"Me either." Deunan sighed.

"Look, you don't have to listen to me. This whole conversation's turning me into my Dad, anyway." She packed the appropriate mix of disgust and horror into that last sentence.

[identity profile] eswat-109.livejournal.com 2010-05-28 07:02 am (UTC)(link)
Asuka had mentioned there was no one from her world here...the poor kid must be terribly lonely and afraid. Even though Deunan's father had been an unspeakable bastard when she was Asuka's age, she'd at least had a father around, and Briareos's shoulder to cry on when that father became unbearable. Asuka had none of that, not even familiar surroundings. The bravado was understandable, even admirable.

"I'll teach you to pilot a landmate, sure. But you'll need to be wearing a proper datasuit if you want to get fine control. This is just playing around." Deunan gestured dismissively.

[identity profile] eswat-109.livejournal.com 2010-05-28 11:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"What's a plugsuit?" Deunan asked, while thinking about a Asuka in a datasuit hard enough that the sensorium would produce one in her size. Best to stick to the unarmored variety for now. They were a little too tight for Deunan's taste, but a close fit was necessary to get the proper feedback, and there was no one here to see, anyway.

[identity profile] eswat-109.livejournal.com 2010-05-28 11:29 pm (UTC)(link)
"That is similar," Deunan agreed. "Datasuits don't have any built-in life support, though. You're depending your landmate for that, not that they're designed to go into outer space or anything." She shrugged, which was an interesting thing to see a landmate doing.

"Okay, let's get a datasuit on you." She concentrated on her mental image of Asuka wearing a Guges D datasuit and hoped Stacy could figure it out from there.

[identity profile] eswat-109.livejournal.com 2010-05-29 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
With a thought, Deunan brought back the landmate for Asuka. "Hop in. You'll get all kinds of feedback now that you've got the suit. It'll make things easier and give you finer control."

While Asuka was getting herself situated, Deunan sorted through her memories for one of the beginner landmate training courses. It had been a while since she'd had to work on basic movement, but Olympus had an extensive course that she'd run a few times....

The Olympus Police Department training facility appeared around them, and Deunan was suddenly hit with a wave of homesickness.

[identity profile] eswat-109.livejournal.com 2010-05-29 12:44 am (UTC)(link)
Deunan swallowed hard before she answered. "Olympus. Where I'm from. This is the police department. The obstacle course is over that way." She highlighted the location on Asuka's nav display.

[identity profile] eswat-109.livejournal.com 2010-05-29 01:07 am (UTC)(link)
"The Guges D is top of the line," Deunan replied automatically, still shocked at how perfect the sensorium simulation was. She hadn't thought to put any people in the virtual Olympus, so it was eerily quiet, the footfalls of Asuka's landmate loud on the pavement. Deunan herself moved quietly, out of habit, and because she was starting to develop that itchy feeling between her shoulderblades she got when there was no one covering her back.

[identity profile] eswat-109.livejournal.com 2010-05-29 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
"Olympus polices the world. We have to be the best." On Deunan's HUD, where there was only the one green dot representing Asuka's landmate. The thought that at least a lot of horrible people had died along with the good wasn't much consolation.

What was Asuka waiting for? Oh. Right. "Basic movement at the beginning," Deunan said, pointing to a series of ditches and walls that even an unarmored human could have made a credible attempt at navigating. "It scales harder as you advance. Some portions of the course are designed to break away if you put weight on them, so watch for that." She wasn't too worried about Asuka hurting herself; the landmate would protect her from the majority of what she could do to herself on the training course.

[identity profile] eswat-109.livejournal.com 2010-05-29 03:00 am (UTC)(link)
Distracted from her homesickness by the need to keep tabs on Asuka, Deunan followed sedately behind her, taking the beginner obstacles like they weren't there, not to show Asuka up, but because she didn't realize it might be construed as such. She perched her landmate atop one of the higher walls in the beginner section to watch.

"You're doing well for a first time out," Deunan offered.

[identity profile] eswat-109.livejournal.com 2010-05-29 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
She wondered in passing how annoyed Asuka would be when Deunan finally told her about the Guges D's flight capability. ...Still, you had to be able to use the suit under all conditions. No shortcuts.

"I already went through all this. Everybody did, even Bri." The idea of an appeal to destructive impulses occurred to Deunan. "Once you clear this section, we can go down to the range, if you want."

(no subject)

[identity profile] eswat-109.livejournal.com - 2010-06-01 00:04 (UTC) - Expand