trans_9 | Fitting Room [Semi-Open]

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Fitting Room [Semi-Open]

Trudy had asked Michael how many EX-Gear suits the Skulls had available for use in the X-Wings and VFs, for system interlink as well as ejection safety. While it certainly wasn't an infinite number, it was more than enough to outfit a squadron and a half. He wasn't sure how you'd go about connecting the machinery to the X-Wings that weren't built for it, but hey, that wasn't his job to figure out. He just needed to make sure people were fitted for them, and understood how they worked.

"It's not the most fashionable outfit in the world, but you'll want an EX-Gear for two reasons," he explained to the figure in front of him - having set up a temporary "fitting room" in the hangar bay. "One, it's more efficient at reading your body's movements than a normal flight stick would be, which means precision control and quicker reaction times when you need it most."

"Two, if that doesn't help you, it's got a fully contained zero-G and vacuum survivability system for when you need to eject, plus a propulsion pack to get you back to base. You won't be going at Fold-warp speeds, but it has enough thrust to get you back home."

"Care to strap yourself in and give it a test?"

(ooc: Open to any in Starfighter Command who aren't flying a Mobile Suit. For reference: In the middle, 1, 2)

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Sonic blinked at what was being offered. It pretty much amounted to a powered suit of armor. At the same time, though, it might be helpful - there might be a small chance he'd end up getting caught up in this mess and he'd hafta bail.

Wonder if spin-dashing would work in those things?

Well, time to see what he can do!

"Alright, let's see what we got here..." the hedgehog said, going up to get fitted in.

Well, that was interesting. He'd lived his whole life around non-humans, but none quite so... small. Not even Klan. "I'm not sure they come in your size, Spikes," Michael said in thought. "Even with all the restraints as tight as they could go."

Sonic blinked in surprise as Michael's assessment. "Ah, name's Sonic..." he corrected. He had a feeling, though, "Spikes" was gonna stay with him for a LONG time.

"And, ah... what should I wear then?"

Breathing in space isn't a BIG problem for Sonic, since, well... he's done it a few times ~~Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic Adventure 2, etc.~~. It's the getting back part he might have trouble with.

"Don't worry, I have a nickname habit," he waved it off.

"I'm not sure. If we had time, I'd say we could get some of the machinists to hack it down to your size. It's the life support and propulsion that's the tricky part."

Then it was pretty much the same thing that he had problems with when he first decided to join in: too small of a suit.

"Well, then, we'll just go by the skin of our teeth. Unless this ship has something that can sub for it, I'll go without it." Sonic said, grinning a bit. Rubbing the bottom of his nose with a finger, he continued. "I know you're wanting us to keep safe, but I like the dangerous life. More exciting that way."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Easy to say that now. You might change your tune once you get shot down. We don't have pilots to spare."

"Details." Sonic said. "Like you said, you guys don't have pilots to spare and the fact that you're not willing to spend time to set me up with a suit like this shows that we got a show to run soon."

"Tell ya what: I'll take any punishment you give me for going out without a suit and I'll make sure to come back in one piece."

The eyebrow arched just that much higher. "If you don't come back in one piece, it's your problem, not mine."

He gave a shrug. "But if that's your choice. Just make sure you get fitted for a zero-G suit. It'd be a shame for a punctured cockpit to do you in."

"...great."

Hi, Michael. Well, it wasn't like she wasn't used to wearing skin-tight suits that interfaced with her machine.

"Let's get this over with!"

This, however, would probably be a bit bulkier than Asuka was used to. Thermal expansion suit aside. "Well?" He gestured to the one on the stand. "I'm sure a girl of your talent doesn't need me to show her how to put this on, right?"

Maybe he'd tease her just a little bit.

"Of course not!" Asuka turned her nose up at the very thought of needing assistance from him. She turned toward the stand and eyed the suit for a moment before beginning the long and arduous process of putting it on by trial and error.

She'd do this on her own, dammit.

"You've got the arms in wrong," he suggested. "Try thinking of it like it's a big glove. A big glove that weighs 55 kilos when you turn the power off." Luckily for her, it was supported by the stand right now.

"I know what I'm doing," Asuka snapped as she rearranged herself. Just put the foot there, the other one there. She finally slipped the last part into place and waited, looking antsy.

"Now what?"

The sniper walked around her in a circle, looking to make sure it fit well, and reaching out to manually adjust settings where it didn't. When he was satisfied, he stepped back. "Now, we disengage." He reached up to touch something on the stand, and the arms retracted, leaving Asuka standing on her own.

"How's it feel? Try moving around," he suggested. "It's supported by the internal motor, so if you've got any heavy lifting to do, now's the time. Just don't turn it off."

Asuka frowned and lifted her arms experimentally. This was weird. Different from the plugsuit and not really what she was used to with her X-Wing's flight suit. A bit bulkier and heavier, but she could move fairly easily. She clenched her hands, relaxed them and then took a quick jog around the room.

"Feels fine."

"Glad to hear it. Don't overdo it," he cautioned. "It can amplify your movements if you're not careful. You wouldn't believe how many NUNS pilots I've seen punch themselves in the face the first time they get strapped in."

"Just keep it easy for now. You're not half-bad at this."

Considering most of her piloting career has been treating a giant robot as an extension of her own body, it's not entirely surprising that she slips into the role fairly easily. Plus, she learns fast.

"Not half-bad? Pffft. I'm doing great!"

She takes an experimental jump. "What is this thing for, anyway?"

Truth be told, Asuka was doing exceptionally well. But he wasn't going to admit that to her just yet. "It's got a bunch of uses. Right now, we're using it as the piloting interface I mentioned earlier, as well as life support and ejection if your plane gets shot out from under you."

He jogged up next to her, tapping the folded-in wings right behind the shoulderblades. "It's also got a glider mode in case of atmo ejections. We used them at the academy for trainees and for stunt flying."

Wow, they were being almost civil.

"Not bad... Bit bulky for the X-Wing's cockpit, though."

She twists experimentally, trying to peer over her shoulder. She'll have to see if it'll actually be comfortable or not later.

"I can fly with this thing on? Cool!"

He nodded. "Our VFs are designed for this. Your crates are going to be a bit of a hack-job for the moment."

When she twisted to look at the wing mounts, he couldn't help but chuckle. "You like? Tell you what. Make it back from this mission in one piece and I'll show you how to use it."

Well, maybe flying would be worth spending time with Michel. She eyes him for a moment, expression sour and then she grins.

"That'd better be a promise, then-"

Wait a minute.

"What mission? Is this why we have all of the newbies all of a sudden?"

"I always keep my word to a girl," Michael counters-- and then freezes. Were they not briefed already?

"We're upping our combat strength," he answered carefully. "Who knows when we might need it?"

Not the most graceful of dodges, no.

"That's not a mission I might die on," Asuka replies, coolly folding her arms.

"Spill it, sir. It's not like I'm going to tell anyone!"

No, she'd just hold over their heads. Because she would know something they didn't.

The sniper glowered for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest. "The Quarter's moving out in a week, tops. Pretty good chance at encountering Ohm. That's all you need to know right now."

Score! Put one over Michel. She grins - there's some smugness there as she takes a few more practice steps. "Thanks, Michel. You've been really helpful so far."

There's a sickly-sweet, sing-songy tone to her voice this time.

He frowned at her from behind - a bit surprised that Trudy and the rest haven't briefed their team like he has his - and then reached out to an inconspicuous-looking button on the EX-Gear's backpack. "Aaaaaaand this is what it feels like without power."

A touch - and Asuka would suddenly feel the full 50kg of armor. Thankfully, it was still well-distributed around her body so as to not crush the wearer (even if it was a pubescent girl) - but moving in it would be one hell of a task, even for a fully-grown man. There was a reason he'd had Alto do practice laps in it to train.

Of course, the switch on the back was the emergency cutoff. There was a chin switch located at the neck brace for normal engage/disengage. He figured he'd tell her that in a little bit, though. "See why you want the power on?"

Asuka staggered for a moment as the weight suddenly increased. That wasn't very fun. She managed a step or two before she braced herself against the wall with a groan. "Why would you want to wear this stupid thing unpowered?"

At least it didn't totally destroy her figure, like that stupid fat suit had.

"You don't," he said dryly. "It's meant to be worn with the power on."

"In SMS, we made the newbies do laps in unpowered armor. Great for discipline - and not a bad workout, either."

"Bad enough to do them without the weight. To Hell with that!"

Imagine that, they were actually being decent.

"I'll pass on those, thanks."

Michael smirked. "Oh? I don't know - now that we're getting you X-Wing folks suited, maybe I'll suggest it to Wedge. You know, in case he needs to discipline somebody."

Okay, now time to take pity on the poor girl. "There's a power switch on the neck brace. Hit it with your chin - it's a bit of an awkward motion, but you'll get used to it."

Hmm. Surviving in a vacuum wasn't really an issue for him, but having a ready means of propulsion for returning to the ship would certainly be preferable to, say, using the recoil from his rifle to smash into it.

And extra speed and precision were nothing to sneeze at. Even the smallest change in reaction time could change the outcome of a battle.

"I'm planning not to wreck the first fighter I get to fly," he said, stepping up.

Maybe the second, though.

"Most people don't plan on that," Michael raised an eyebrow. "Funny how those plans don't work out."

He led the other man over to where the latest suit was hanging on a stand. "Want to strap yourself in or want me to do it?"

Well, it looked simple enough, but Michael probably wouldn't be asking if it were.

"...If you wouldn't mind showing me how it works? I'm not really accustomed to wearing a powered suit."

"Sure," he nodded. "Come here, I'll strap you in. Just start by lipping your feet into the boots here..."

Zouichi acted as directed, watching closely as Michael issued his instructions. If he was going to be a part of the squadron, he could hardly be relying on the captain to don his own equipment.

"Right, got it."

The sniper led Zouichi through the motions, showing him how to put it on - and then finally sliding the flight helmet on over the top of his head, though the visor was withdrawn into the top leaving it open to the air.

"How's it feel so far?"

"Not bad," he said, taking a few experimental steps, moving the arms around. "It's much bulkier than what I'm used to wearing, though. How heavy is it, depowered?"

"It's bulkier, but it'll save your life," Michael answered - and then reached out to touch a switch on the backpack, cutting the power and leaving it a(n admittedly well-distributed) 55kg load. It wouldn't be painful to stand in, but it sure would be annoying to walk in. "It's this heavy depowered. See why we want the power to stay on?"

"Ah, yes. It would be much easier to move around, properly powered."

...Actually, Zouichi didn't look that uncomfortable with the extra weight. "I suppose you do this to all the new recruits?"

Because that switch-off motion looked practiced.

"Well, somebody's on to me," he answered breezily. "It's to let them know why we don't want to turn the power off."

"And if people are acting up, making them do laps in an unpowered EX-Gear does wonders for discipline."

Jalith pondered the Ex-Gear suit for but a moment, considering the benefits. The possibility of greater control while in the craft as well as the possibility of maneauverability outside the cockpit of the craft did lend toward its use. If it could be compared to anything Jalith knew it would be power armour, though streamlined and less bulky. Weighing the options the Vindicare stepped up and gave a nod, turning his bionic gaze on the sniper, "Let us see what this can do then,"

"Glad to hear you're on board," Michael nodded. "Not that I'd let you fly if you weren't. Do you want to strap yourself in, or should I do the honors?"

"Of course, I can strap myself in," Jalith replied after a brief examination of the powered suit. Stepping up into the suit with fluid ease, it did not take overly long for the Vindicare to figure how to strap in properly enough. A short prayer to the suit's machine spirit given under his breath before looking to Michel to see just how well he had managed to don the suit.

He grinned. "Not bad. You have that strap in backwards," he nodded at one of the shoulder straps, which was twisted a hundred-eighty degrees in a way that was annoyingly out of one's usual line of sight, "But you're otherwise golden. Ready to detach?"

Jalith nodded as the strap was pointed out, taking less than a moment to readjust and put it on the right way around before settling back into the suit, "Easily fixed, ready,"

"Great. Here goes," he smoothly reached up to the stand which held the EX-Gear in place and hit a button - and the arms retracted, leaving Jalith standing on his own. "Try moving," he suggested. "Not too fast - the motors amplify your motions a bit, and if you're not careful you'll punch yourself in the face trying to scratch your nose."

Jalith nodded as the arms were replaced, lifting an arm to the side slowly at first before bringing it about in front of him, getting a feel for the degree of amplification. Taking a few steps and getting a feel for the degree of movement allowed, and the degree by which the suit would restrict his movement and agility as it were.

The EX-Gear would allow almost every motion made by a human being with decent flexibility, and while weighing an extra 50kg, its weight was well-balanced and it compensated for any loss in agility with its motor. "How's it feel? Not too heavy, I hope?"

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Fitting Room [Semi-Open]

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