It was starting to become a natural sight, seeing the new, small, angry Louisiana sitting on one of the many chairs throughout the ship, book in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Many of the workers had noticed her throughout the days with slight confusion; unlike other soldiers who would take a few hours or days of rest after a mission she was on a constant move. Exercise, essays, training, the only time she wasn’t on the move was when she was reading, and even then her eyes swam quickly through the seas of letters and her lips trembled with unsaid words while her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. It took effort to grab her attention when she was in a state of retaining knowledge, but there was always one sound that drew her eyes upward. The buzz of the intercom, the sound of the man that can make her efforts worthwhile, was the one thing that can catch and hold her always fleeting attention. Once the intercom and messages silenced, Chris Valentine glanced down the hall, eyeing where plenty of newbie Freelancers (much like herself) were gathering. The training room.

[i]’Fantastic, a team training session.’[/i] Her mind whispered, hand snapping the hardcover copy of “Armor Weak Points and Mental Capabilities” shut as she rose and wandered towards her room to suit up and prepare herself for the hard fight ahead.
---
Louisiana eventually caught up to the rest of the group, just in time to hear the one named Washington explain the cons of their little robot opponents. Then they were alive as the room buzzed to life, and everything was moving. She had only been able to catch a glimpse of the black suits, but that was enough. Robots or not, they were humanoid. Humans were weak creatures, from their brains to their bodies, and just because these bots were programmed to be fearless didn’t mean their knees could withstand a caving kick. The explosion of Washington’s grenade set her off in the opposite direction, towards the darker parts of the village, and instantly her hands wrapped around the two pistols holstered at her side as she turned the corner of a building and was met with the barrel of another weapon.

The robot’s black armor gleamed in the artificial light, but Louisiana knew where her focus should lie, even though her mind was screaming to run, and instead of cowering back from the gun at her forehead she ducked, swiping her leg across the earth. The shadow of the bot casted over her for a moment, and then a cloud of dust filled the general location of where it had fallen to. In only a few easy movements she was up again, four single shots into the bot’s head, elbows, and knees. One final kick assured her victory and once again she was on the prowl, eyes scanning the shadows of the village simulation. One of her teammates, the sniper, had seemed to find a comfortable area to scope out some enemies, and constant explosions reminded her of the other Freelancers that were trying their best to be on top today.

[i]’I’ll try even harder, then!’[/i]

In the next instant she was running quickly through a narrow path between two buildings, eyes set on the back of one of the robots. The guns were holstered, and instead she pulled out one smoke and her well-maintained combat knife. Her eyes narrowed once another bot came into view, and it seemed she was noticed as well as instantly the tech’s gun was brought up, ready to fire. Instantly, her thumb pulled the smoke's pin and it was thrown in between the two robots. The puff came with a small bang, and instantly white smoke filled the general area. The sudden bangs of gunshots, and a sharp pain in her shoulder gave Chris a reminder of where the enemies were located. Her knife eventually met metal, and her eyes the back of a helmet, and a few quick, forceful stabs to the back, arms, and a slash across the neck sent the bot shuddering down. Her free hand quickly caught the metallic monster's armor, and she turned just as the smoke began to clear, using the body as a shield while the other robot opened fire.

The bullets sent her tumbling back slightly, each shot adding weight to the heavy metal in front of her chest, but her idea seemed to bear fruit once the shots ceased and the robot instantly began to grapple with new rounds. Louisiana rushed forward then, body dropping as she flipped the knife, preparing to slash, but her blade was met with another. The robot pushed against her knife with its own, obviously upping the small woman in strength, but still she attempted to keep one step ahead of this fearless machines, slashing and ducking and kicking at whatever opening she could find. Eventually, she had worn down the robots defense (and her own as well) just enough for her take make a large gash on its lower stomach, and once it reacted she kicked forward and sent it flying, just as it's hand conked her right in the side of the face. Both bodies went flying, but Louisiana quickly recovered with a single flip, landing in a crouch as she attempted to regain some sense of concentration while the bot slowly rose from the ground once more.

Her vision was blurred as pain filled her head, but again, she could not remain still, and once the shaking image of the machine came into view she jumped forward, quickly pulling out and firing at least five shots forward. The black blur fell, and Louisiana slowly stood and vanished back into the shadows of the village, breathing slightly as she awaited her next confrontation.