"Alright let's go." Bill said as he quickly led the assembled group down the to the pilot's lounge. However as soon as he got there he was greeted by a rather unpleasant sight. Celestial Star Former Co Leader Mitsuhide Kawakami. Bill has ran into his former leader rather bluntly as when he went to go open the door down the hall the tall lanky man walked right into him. "Well if it ain't the back up pilot turned leader? So these are the losers who are following up my legacy? Looks like a shit team. Scrounge these losers up in the low leagues?" Kawakami growled as he glared at distaste at Bill. "Celestial Star is a dead team now kid. You should've let the name die. Firestorm, my new team, is the new group taking over the league. If you got any sense surrender when you fight us...wait a second aren't you Rio? Hah! A loser who got whipped by a back up pilot decides to form up with him? Pathetic really...whatever I'm done with you get out of my way." growled Kawakami as he shoved Bill out of the way before he could even retaliate the rest of team firestorm walked right past the group. "Bastard...he always had an ego. Boss never could keep him in line for too long.
Lucky for us I know Firestorm's full of half cocked brawlers..." Bill stated quietly not wanting to get into a fight here and now.

Kiril pushed his glasses up his nose as the rival team passed them. "They're afraid. Interesting." He said, making little effort to keep his voice down. "This kind of attention I enjoy - a true challenge to a battle. Though if they're stupid enough to focus on you out of spite, I suppose it won't be much of a challenge."

He studied the backs of the rival team. The name Firestorm did not ring any bells, but being a new team it made sense. Using psychology on rivals before the league and between matches was a strategy as dirty as it was effective, and considering the last battle, his team was indeed vulnerable to it.

There was one good way he knew to fight such a team, Gurevich thought. But he wouldn't use it yet. Not until he understands his teammates better.

"Firestorm isn't to be underestimated. Mitsuhide is an asshole...but he's the kind of asshole who knows what he's doing.
Last season he solo'd two enemy skirmishers by himself to win the match for the team. The rest of his buddies are just spares from now disbanded teams, or guys who needed to get in. Suffice to say Mitsuhide is the key to their team. I'd say they're focusing on me right now because the dude knows I'm a solid pilot but all I was on the team before this was back up. Meaning he doesn't think much of me, and by comparison, you guys because of the fact that you're on a team that nearly died." Bill stated long windily as he breathed out deeply. "Just wait Kiril. I promise you we'll beat them when it comes time to do so. It just won't be easy. I think I got Kawakami's number in melee. I can't say if you're there yet I don't know the full extent of your abilities from one test round. In any case if we fight Firestorm then the key to their defeat would be Ian. Snipers are a constant danger to melee oriented teams." Bill stated further as he thought about just how well they'd actually do against Firestorm.

"Alright well let's get going." Bill stated quickly as he led his team to one of the unoccupied tables. Some of the other teams were talking nearby but Bill couldn't really be bothered to look over them all for familiar faces. "If you want to
buy some food go ahead. I'll wait here." Bill said as Yasumi walked over to him and shrugged. "Sorry boss no new faces...so what's the plan?" he asked as Bill sighed. "I honestly have no clue...does anyone have anything they want to throw up in the air for tomorrow? Plans? Training? Scouting the other teams?" Bill threw up a few ideas hoping that it would snow ball.

As the team walked through ACE, Rio's mind kept wandering back into the past. She re-played that battle in her head over and over, thinking on how the team did in it. She was insanely critical of herself, which is why she was so quick to lash out earlier. It's embarrassing that it came down to the wire last year for her and she refused to let this happen again. Still, the more she thought about it, the better the fight actually went. Yes, their teamwork was paltry... but she had some talented co-pilots, much to her chagrin. Their fast reactions, their adaptability... it left her jealous. She wasn't that good. Maybe she'll be left behind, unable to catch up...

Her mood didn't better when they reached the pilot's lounge. It had only been a few minutes since they left the hangar and already someone threw shade at their team- more specifically at her and Atlas. Still, they were right. She did lose to Atlas. Despite Union being a high-end GEAR, she just couldn't keep up with his speed. So, she stayed quiet. As much as she wanted to bite back, she couldn't. All the woman could give the retreating figure of Kawakami was a glare. She'll prove to him and everyone else she was worth her mettle. She wasn't going to drag her team down.

"Alright well let's get going."

Bill's voice snapped Rio out of her daydreaming. She followed him to one of the round, white tables that were scattered everywhere in the lounge and took a seat. Subconsciously she reached for her ponytail with her right hand and started to stroke it a little bit, thinking. Atlas brought up what they needed to do tomorrow- and he was right. It would be important to think about what to do- mainly for the team.

The only problem was, she wasn't exactly the most free of birds.

"As much as I'd like to work on our teamwork, I'm afraid training is out of the question for me. As soon as classes end, I need to leave campus and head home. My father is awfully... insistent that I attend his next meeting."

...A meeting? That reminds the mint-haired woman. She took out her tablet and typed a few things in, looking up some of the notes she's taken earlier in the day. That's right... sponsors. She remembered Hayakawa off-handedly bringing them up, but it's still a slight worry. Some teams already have sponsorships set up before the rankings even hit.

"Atlas... have you thought about sponsorship at all?"

With only two days until qualifiers, it was probably for the best if they started thinking about this. Having a sponsor would mean keeping their GEARs up-to-date and repaired, especially since they do not have a mechanic from what Rio could gather. If they really couldn't find anything, she might be able to strike up something with Hamasaki Manufacturing, but that would leave an especially sour taste in her mouth. She would loathe to leech off her family's wealth- she was above that! It's the entire reason she enrolled in ACE to begin with...

"What didn't I tell you? We're sponsored by Yan Industries based in China. Celestial Star as a team has been sponsored by them for three years now since Sasaki was in charge. One of the company's heirs is a part of our team as a manger. He'd be here but he has to attend to classes in engineering. He is here to study psychology, and a minor in engineering. His name is Chao Jun. He's a bit of an ass but he's a nice guy if you don't mind his self importance." Bill said as Yasumi chuckled to himself. "Jun's a bit of a perfectionist but he won't argue with our team since he doesn't have much of a choice in the matter. He stuck out his neck for us last year after Sasaki left. Yan isn't too big a company. They're majorly known for their cheap gears, and large amount of branches through China, and India. Their normal gears don't compare to ours but they can supply parts, and upkeep for our machines all the same.' Yasumi told Rio with a wave of his hand. "Why do you ask? Were you planning on trying to get us another sponsor? I guess we could use more supplies but it my be a bit overload. I mean I'm personally sponsored by Hyperion it was a trade off for getting Exalted, then called Masurao." Bill said gently as he looked at Rio. Yasumi didn't really seem to care all to much and fiddled with something in his pocket.

Kiril's face soured at the talk of sponsors. His Gear was granted to him as part of a research program, and thus a tight rein was kept on his choice of actions, modifications, and general schedule. And now they are about to be tied down by another corporation, no doubt none less annoying.

"Does this sponsorship contract include full access to our Gear?" He said, his voice already annoyed at the thought. He took a thoughtful sip of an extra-strong coffee he ordered. "I cannot allow that. The Ogre will not be tinkered with by foreigners."

"Sponsors are how your Gear's replacement parts and repairs are paid for." Ian said to Kiril. "That being said, the team's engineer is the one in charge of actually 'tinkering' with our GEARs. Well, non-catastrophic damage withstanding."

It was almost baffling that a guy like this didn't seem to know these things. That and the whole statement about it not being tinkered with by foreigners rubbed Ian the wrong way. Did Kiril really think that sponsors just did whatever they pleased? It couldn't be that he had something to hide, the engineers that checked the GEARS before letting them into the school were thorough enough.

Rio nodded affirmatively while Atlas spoke, a small smile creeping up across her lips. She pressed the power button on her tablet and put it back inside of her handbag, leaning back in her chair. At least this way she didn't have to leech off of her family to sponsor the team.

"...No, I wasn't. It was just a small concern I thought of, considering how important they are."

While the woman was content to leave it at that, someone else chimed in. Someone else that she didn't want to have chiming in. Predictably a foreigner would be opposed to the idea of sponsors. Gurevich wasn't exactly Rio's favorite of teammates and she made no effort to hide that, giving him a glare. She leaned forward a little and placed her knuckles on the table, but luckily Laudat was the voice of reason. He pointed out the importance of sponsors and engineers, but little else.

"Hm... you bring up another good point, Laudat. I don't suppose we have a team engineer, do we Atlas?"

While sponsors were important, so was a team engineer. They knew things most pilots didn't about their gear and can come in handy when it comes to optimization. Even Rio would admit that an engineer would help with Union's performance out in the field... and speaking of performance, in two days they were already going to face off against the AIs already. Curse Ace and not even giving teams a small grace period to practice! She does know one thing, though. The AIs get swapped out every year, so they can't prepare for any one specific setup. However, if they get switched out every year...

"...although I said I would be unable to practice tomorrow, I think I might be of some use to the team still. I'll do some research on past AI usage and see if I can't find a pattern. Even if my predictions are off, it won't hurt to be a little prepared for a hypothesis."

With that, Rio rose from her seat and neatly tucked it back in place. She took a small scrap of paper from her handbag and scribbled something down on it. She shoved the paper to the middle of the lounge table once she was done writing, showing that Rio wrote down a number.

"I'm afraid I need to get going now. Here's my number in case any of you need to contact me. You might want to call before sending me a message, I like to be sure of who I'm talking to."

She stated it as more matter-of-fact rather than anything, but Rio still managed to sneak in an angry glare at Gurevich. After giving out her number the woman left the lounge without another word, leaving the rest to discuss further.

"I'm not a full fledged engineer, but I know a thing or three about how GEAR's work underneath the hood." chimed in Sara, speaking for the first time since they began their meeting. She was never really much for talking, and everyone else's voice rang out a lot louder than hers. The discussion had been about what she'd expected, the others voicing their concerns and Atlas doing his best to respond, which he did somewhat admirably. At least he knew how to talk, and he had the gusto befitting of a team leader determined to make things happen. Her face fell a bit when Atlas mentioned her coming up with strategies for the team- she hated shot calling and wouldn't when she could avoid it. The only reason she made any play on her own during the practice match was because they were at a standstill without Bill's leadership. Their team makeup was unconventional, and they'd need more than just a series of isolated 1v1s in order for them to succeed.

"As far as sponsors go, I could also try to get us Lockheed Martin and H&K." Sara added. Like Hyperion, Lockheed and H&K were Sara's personal sponsors, paying for her tuition costs and GEAR maintenance, as her family wouldn't be able to dream of paying the steep price of ACE Academy's tuition fees for two children.

Atlas suggested a few ideas for plans for tomorrow- as today was coming to a close. They could train some more- which Sara wouldn't be opposed to. She loved an excuse to pilot her GEAR, and with their performance today, they could use an exercise or two in team cohesion. They could also scout out other teams, which Sara also wasn't opposed to.

"If we can figure out who we're up against and what they're piloting, I could probably find some weaknesses in their GEARS- lots of students here customize mass production models, and most models have some sort of flaw or other- chinks in the armor plating, balance issues when adding additional gear, fuel feed inefficiencies. Stuff like that we could take advantage of. I just need model numbers and production dates."

If Atlas wanted Sara to help with strategy and planning, she needed to know what they were facing. She wasn't much for fighting, sure she knew what she was doing, but she didn't for a second think she could take a skirmisher like Bill in a straight up fight- and if reputations were to be correct, he was little more than a backup pilot thrust into responsibility. Currently, as far as Sara was concerned, Rio's Union made the cornerstone of their team- a sturdy frontline wall and base of fire from which the others could flank from or fire behind. From the Union's base, Ian could snipe from, and Sara and Bill could launch hit and run style attacks from. Sara wasn't certain what Gurevich's shtick was- but that also meant other teams didn't either. He was a bit of a wildcard, sturdy enough to work on the frontlines, but with a wide enough variety of equipment to throw a spanner into anyone's plan. A disorganized and confused enemy was always the easiest to deal with.

"Alright well we'll finish this up tomorrow we'll check our possible additional sponsors if necessary, and I'll try to meet with Jun so he can meet all of you. He'll be a bit heavy handed at times but he's a good guy if you get to know him. Have a good night Rio." Bill quickly said to the departing young woman as he himself turned his attention Ian, Sara, and Kiril. "Yeah our sponsors need to make sure our gears are in order. A single missed part could decide the fate of our gears out there. Would you like to lose because you a part in your gear's arm wasn't up to par? You guys can be in charge of your own gears if you have the ability to do so. However we can't afford to have mistakes." Bill said to everyone as he calmly adjusted his uniform and sighed. He wasn't use to being the one giving orders, and information it didn't really suit him. He much preferred to be the guy in the back than in the front. But if he wanted to keep this team together he had to give it his all.

"Alright Sarah that's good thinking we can go look through the lists tomorrow. I got a lot of info on the old groups but some of the new teams may throw me through a loop. Still it's a lot better than ignoring everyone. Of course we can't just go up to them and ask about their tactics but we can look for names and take a look through the hangers. Information is the key to a good victory. However just keep in mind that we can't exactly look at the Gear Specs without the user's permission doing so otherwise could land us in the dean's office. While we're doing that we can discuss what you can do for our gears. It always helps to have a second opinion after all after the school's mechanics get done with them." Bill continued as he quickly looked down at his watch. "It's getting late any last statements before we disband for the night?"

"I've got nothing else to say, so I'm going to hit the hay. Goodnight everybody." Ian said as he handed Bill his own number. With a wave, he departed to go get some rest. All in all, it had been a tiring day, but that was to be expected. Unfortunately, Ian had a feeling this would be the norm from here on out.

Even the naps that he had managed over the course of the day hadn't been enough to hold him over, and the coffee had just made him jittery. He dreaded the thought of trying to keep the schedule that all pilots were required to keep, but of course he'd have to adjust.

Kiril took another sip. He allowed the black liquid's acidic bitterness to overwhelm him for a few moments, living in a charcoal cave with no way out, his very existence a pinpoint of focus. He then accidentally reached the muddy grind and, the grace of the moment ruined, inconspicuously spit it back into the cup. "Alright," he said gravely, "Then if you don't mind, any and all modifications and repairs will be done by Ogre's owners. This includes tinkering too, unfortunately." He nodded at Sara.

He looked at the others, his spirits somewhat raised by this bureaucratic solution, and was quickly disappointed by the dwindling number of group members who actually wanted to get any work done today. Even Bill seemed in a hurry somehow, maybe due to fatigue. Hah, considering the fact his Gear had done all the work for him...

"I've got time." He said anyway, wondering how far he can push Atlas. "Let's talk tactics."

Yasumi grumbled as he put his hands in his palms and sighed. "Gotta take a clue sometimes...alright what do you want to know big guy?" Yasumi asked as Bill leaned forward and rolled his arms. "Alright shoot. What is it you want to know in specific? I don't have all the info. I'm good but I'm not too knowledgeable on everyone around here." Bill stated calmly he really wanted to get back to his dorm. But he couldn't exactly jump off and leave Kiril hanging like this. "With that being said I'll tell you what you want to know to the best of my knowledge."

Kiril grinned at the two. "No, I mean our tactics. It is unhealthy to postpone a debrief, since the emotional aftereffects are a very important part. Despite Sun Tzu's claim that knowing yourself is not enough, it is the basis for everything."

He steepled his fingers. "So how did we do, captain? Without knowing eachother and without planning, against an unexpectedly difficult enemy?"

"Ok I suppose. I should start with you. Your machine is slower than the rest of ours. And it is more geared towards melee which means that faster machines will be an issue. The machines in game took the time to exploit that with automatic reaction times. Other brawlers won't be as lucky if you're as good as you think you are. However my recommendation is to focus on saving our sniper than being an actual tank if you get my meaning." Bill said as Yasumi grumbled as he laid back, "What about Rio she has potential...despite being a hot head." commented Yasumi as Bill nodded. "Rio has potential however she needs to work on her positioning. If what I saw was correct you she needs to get more comfortable with talking to the team. Maybe then she'll have more success. Then again the robot ai is more risky, and suicidal when it comes to positioning themselves in the SIMs." Bill further said as he considered the others. "No comments on our sniper. And Sarah did her job really well. I performed a bit worse than expected. I let those snipers get the best of me. Usually I had people covering me when I do my thing. Not blaming you guys just too use to the old formation I guess." Bill said as he considered what he should say next before just simply shrugging. "Simply put? We just need to get to know each other better, and make actual plans. If we work together better we can win better."

Kiril looked fascinated. "Hmm, yes, I suppose." he said, with the facial expression of one who wasn't really listening. Bill's point of view made him think of many plans at once, and it took him effort to keep them from spewing out of his mouth.

"One last question, seeing as most already left, about you - Are you the kind of leader who makes a plan before the battle and lets it develop, or the kind who shouts orders in the midst of combat?"

Gurevich had a feeling the answer would actually be a choice Bill will make, but he hoped he was wrong.

"Simply put it depends on who we're facing. Some teams here have some pretty standard tactics. If they do the same thing over and over we should formulate a plan to counter it as hard as possible. If they are a team that is more improvisational then we should go in planning to do things on the fly with some sort of back up strategy we can agree on would be best suited in case things went south. Personally I prefer to be a pilot to being a leader. I was trained to be a GEAR pilot that focused on destroying the enemy in front of them. My teacher always told me that the best plan was to simply render your enemy asunder. Yes that was his exact wording." Bill said as he took out his phone and looked at the time. It seemed to be just about 6:40. "It's getting late we should be heading back to our dorms. If you need my number for anything here." Bill said as he pulled up his contact info for Kiril and then promptly showed it to him before leaving. Yasumi yawned and followed without saying much afterward.

Kiril stared at the new contact on his mobile as the two left. A purposefully undecisive leader who doesn't want the job - this was by far the worse outcome he could expect.

Or was it?

This simply made taking over the team easier. Though, not actually easy - while Sarah seemed motivated, Ian seemed to prefer to live in a small box until his life is on the line, and Rio somehow chose to shoot herself in the foot to conserve 100% of her ego. It wasn't much to work with. And on second thought, Sara's motivation may be a seed of dissent...

He looked at his coffee. What the hell did they even put in there? It was just the beginning and there was no reason to be so negative. Or over-motivated.

On his way back to the dorm, Kiril made another round in the hangar to download combat telemetry data and upload it. He expected a crack shot at the amount of damage he received, but none came. The guys were probably already on their way home. Or simply busy.

When the tall foreigner reached the dorm, the day caught up with him and he finally realized how stressful it was. All first days were. And communicating with strangers while keeping his cool was far harder than he let show. He attempted to clear some stress with what he knew of Yoga, and crashed immediately after the shower, his dreams filled with combat telemetry while his Gear has no pants.

Enough time passed since Rio left the group to find herself sitting on one of the benches in the academy's courtyard, staring blankly at the sky above. Her mind kept re-playing how the day went, trying to figure out how she found herself in this situation. She was an idiot not to join a team earlier- she shouldn't have dawdled like she did. Now Rio found herself in a barely functional team, of which one member got on her nerves to a painful degree. But what did she really think of all her new team members?

Atlas was the only person she's ever really interacted with in the past, and now her current team leader. His skills were nothing to sneeze at, but it made her angry when she thought back on how he made a fool out of her. Even more so when he keeps trying to be humble and play his own abilities off as nothing special- rubbing salt in the wound by implying Rio's skills are subpar. But he's the only one she can't argue with, as much as she'd like to. His actual leadership skills also left something to be desired- why did he bother reviving the team if he wasn't up to the task? The more Rio thought about it, the less she seemed to like Atlas...

And then... Laudat. He is every bit as indecisive as she'd imagined, slacking off at every opportune moment. Well, it didn't seem to hamper his skill in the simulation at least. As long as Laudat kept performing, Rio shouldn't have to worry about that slacker. There was also Sara, who seemed to be the only reasonable one out of all of them... and also the only female besides Rio on the team. Figures. She had her head on her shoulders and seemed engaged enough, which makes Rio wonder how she ended up on a disfunctional team like theirs to begin with. Considering her skill and the sponsors she claimed to be able to get, it was surprising that the girl hadn't been picked up by another team...

Then the last person of the merry little band was... Gurevich. A snide know-it-all who's got it all figured out. If they were such a hot-shot then Rio would have preferred them to have found some other team befitting of their 'genius' and 'talent'. Still, she was stuck with them... the best she could do was avoid talking to him when she could. Still, with a team like that... their chances looked slim. They couldn't even form a cohesive unit against level forty AIs... most teams at this point could easily take up to ten levels higher.

Rio shook her head, dismissing those thoughts. They were freshly formed and had no idea what each other's GEARs were capable of, of course they'd be disjointed. She pondered calling off the meeting- it's not like Rio was in any rush to take over the family business. All her father would be trying to accomplish is giving her a taste of the experience, anyway. Plus, she can't defend her own performance out there. It was frustrating to think about, but she struggled with a single brawler while the rest of the team cleaned house around her... she was not going to be the weak link. She's tired of always being the weak link...

A buzzing from Rio's pockets snapped her back to reality, seeing it as a text from her roommate. Seems they were out for a while, so Rio had the room for herself for a while. Since she had nothing better to do, Rio headed back to her dorm to get some rest and put this hectic first day behind her.