trans_9 | Do you have what it takes? [OPEN]

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Do you have what it takes? [OPEN]

PT finished at 0700, and the pilots and new recruits got a half hour to cool off before they got into the cockpits of their assorted craft. In the two hours since 0500 they ran several miles, did push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups, and then a hundred jumping jacks to get the blood pumping. "You don't even want to think about how much force you put on your body when you're piloting," Trudy said at the start of the exercises. "Pilots need to be in peak condition to handle it."

Those who were used to doing the training five days out of the week would be out of breath but not exhausted. Anyone new, however, might have a little trouble getting their wind back.

"All right everyone, gather around. We have a few new recruits today, so we're not going to be running the Zokez scenario. I know you're all heartbroken." She kept a straight face, but that was a definite joke. She was sick of running the Zokez scenario. "We'll be doing some standard training exercises - maneuverability and gunning practice."

The track and exercise equipment melted away, and in its place the hangar of the Macross Quarter materialized with all its fighters and mobile suits. "Outside is a standard sim course. I'm going to have the recruits run it first to see how they handle and then the squadrons will go out as a unit. Recruits, let's put you in birds."

((OOC: This log is for anyone who signed up to fly a mobile suit, a VF or an X-wing and is not already in Starfighter Command. The flight sim is like something you'd see out of the training missions on Star Fox - fly through the rings, shoot the enemies, avoid the obstacles it throws at you like sheets of scrap and asteroids. EDIT: Subthreads for the squadrons are now up!))

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"Sounds like a plan," the blonde sniper said, adjusting his glasses for a moment as he inspected the trio. Not a full squadron, but that was fine with him - Skull group had always flown as a quartet before.

Michael gestured at the blue fighter plane next to him. "This is my bird, the VF-25G Messiah. You won't be flying this one yet - we don't have many to hand out, and it's a bit trickier to work than the others. Maybe you'll work up to it once you've taken the training wheels off and learned how to use your plane."

At that, he pointed to the group of gray planes just beyond his Messiah. "Those are yours, the VF-171EX Nightmare Plus. Designed for killing space bugs, which just so happens to be what it'll be doing here."

He ducked under the fuselage of the Messiah on his way to the Nightmares, motioning for the others to follow. "The key to the VF is right there in its name: Variable Fighter. We know we don't have the shields of the X-Wing jocks, or the raw firepower that the boys in Blade have. What we have, is versatility and speed. The VF will outrun and outfly anything on the field, and that's what you need to learn how to use. Switch to Battroid mode when you need close-range agility, switch to Fighter mode when you need to burn sky, and Gerwalk for in-atmospheric options where you need a little of both."

"Any questions before I set you into the air?"

Well, Zouichi had one. "Why is Skull Squadron so shorthanded?"

"Because unlike those monstrosities in Blade, the only one who comes from a world with VFs is me. And the slowpokes in Rogue can't handle this speed." He quirked an eyebrow.

It wasn't quite an answer -- he was sure at least some of the people on the ship should have been able to pilot a VF -- but Zouichi couldn't quite help cracking a smile.

"Then I'll do my best to catch up."

"Of course," Michael flashed him a grin. "You wouldn't have made it this far if you couldn't."

"Strap in. You've been over the basics, or is this going to be a crash course?"

He nodded, and did as told. "The General walked me through the controls. But I suspect it'll be a bit of a crash course anyway."

"Well, better you get your crashes out of the way now in the sims than wait until the real thing," the sniper said dryly as he hopped down from the ladder that led to the cockpit, jogging over to his VF-25 and strapping himself in.

He keyed the communicator as the elevator moved to bring them to the flight deck of the Quarter and the catapult. "Stay close and follow me. Stick to my exhaust as best as you can."

Well, can't argue with that one. Zouichi took a moment to glance over at the VF-25, taking note of the differences between his craft and Michael's.

"Roger. Or is that 'acknowledged'?"

"'Roger' is fine," Michael breezed as he ran through the pre-launch checklist with the practiced efficiency of a professional. "Let's see how well you handle that, Skull-2."

And then he hit the throttle as the catapult blasted him down the flight deck at hundreds of kilometers per hour.

With a slight smile of his own, Zouichi followed Michael down the flight deck in a bright burst of speed, following the VF-25's exhaust trail and nosing forward -- close, but not too close.

"Not bad," Michael said under his breath to himself, checking his rear before pushing up the throttle - and then pulling into a sudden climb. Time to see how well this rookie could do things.

Time to see what this plane could do. Shifting into GERWALK for a tighter turn would just break his momentum; he pulled up without hesitation instead, sending the Valkyrie into a steep angle of ascent. The EX-GEAR should take care of most of the g-force from the sudden change in acceleration; he'd take care of the rest. Being synthetic did have its advantages.

The rookie stayed with him; not bad at all. A quick mental command, and a dizzying series of light-gates blinked into being ahead of them. "Follow the leader. Don't let me lose you."

They entered the first gate and then Michael pushed into a dizzying spiral dive, weaving his way through the gates as only a VF could. He fully expected the rookie to miss some, but that was why he was a newbie. Nobody could control a VF like this on their first try.

Well, Michael hadn't said 'fly through all the gates'. He'd specifically said 'don't let me lose you'.

So Zouichi brought the VF into a dive, not aiming for anything particularly fancy, but attempting to keep up and hit the light gates when possible, judging which he could string together on his flight path, noting what he could and could not do with his current level of control. Cover the basics first, learn the little tricks afterward.

It was good to know that Zouichi wasn't even trying to hit all the gates. That was good; a pilot needed to know his limitations. The worst accidents happened when some cocksure newbie tried to do something he couldn't do yet.

Michael straightened out, the gates now weaving back and forth on a slalom route - less taxing on the body and mind, but still taking quite a bit of finesse.

Not thinking of anyone in particular, of course.

Zouichi banked his fighter back and forth, still following along, concentrating on how the VF's controls responded to each turn. Michael, outward appearances aside, was offering up an impressively methodical practice route. In fact, he couldn't help wondering again why Skull Squadron was so short of hands.

"In other words, this is my sort of plane." Sonic said, crossing his arms as he listened to what Michael had said. "You don't have to worry about a thing - if worse comes to worse, I can outrun those things without a problem!"

Sonic was getting a bit too cocky over all of this, but that's probably because he's a little used to flying.

"You can have all the thrust in the world but it won't make a difference if you don't know how to handle her," the sniper shook his head. "You have to feel how this lady dances before you can take her for a real spin."

"If you think you're ready, go strap in."

"A convenient load out it would seem," He commented as he followed the other sniper, "The General informs me that you are a sniper, is there such equipment available for these craft?"

Michael quirked an eyebrow. "There is," he said after a moment. "My VF-25G is built just for that. It'd take a bit to refit your 171 EX for it, so let's get you certified in a dogfight first before we give you a specialty ship."

The fact that there was such weaponry was a good sign as it was, "Very well then," the Vindicare replied with a sharp short nod. While the Vindicare was by nature trained to work solo, he did have a history of working and fighting alongside others, working in a squadron would not be so different.

"For all practical purposes, consider yourself Skull-3 for the time being," Michael said as he ducked under the hull of the other man's VF-171. "Is that all? If you're ready to suit up, then let's go."

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Do you have what it takes? [OPEN]

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