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It was hard for Nicole not to bob in place, a buoy rocked and animated by adrenaline, at the outset of their first group combat exercise. It was controlled, of course, but that took none of the fun or anxiety about it; during the weeks at a time their training was limited to classwork or limited class exercises, it often felt like it would be a cold day in hell before they were even allowed to head to the MEZ again. How did her friends see fit to celebrate the occasion with her?

By mogging her over her popular phase, of course! Their good-natured ribbing brought a sheepish grin to Nicole's face throughout their briefing, as they ragged on her for her date with Aiya. Not that Nicole would return fire, of course! She was, after all, a cool, down-to-earth kind of girl, flippant in social situations and composed on the job. She was an Ars Magi, an example to humanity - hardly the kind of girl who was going to stick her tongue out and nag Penny and Dana about their movie date to see the new Altea movie, [i]or[/i] to harass them about not being given an invite. [i]Especially[/i] not after she'd devoted some of her precious off-time to catching up on the Alteaverse too, manga, spinoffs and all. She was nowhere near that callous to act like that in front of nobles like Vanna, Aiya or Cordelia.

But the wink she gave them both in response to their teasing was proof she was [i]capable[/i] of it, at least. 

She weighed all their suggestions and stood, stretching a long limb and brushing her fingertips against the roof of their transport. The briefing weighed heavily in her mind, and though it was nice to know they weren't [i]expecting[/i] Void combat, her memories of the nasty shock they'd received during their last trip to the Exercise Zone were heavy in Nicole's mind. So was the scrape she'd taken along her midriff, which had scarred her spirit if not her stomach. 

[color=ec008c]"If it comes to that, Cordelia, I can draw them off,"[/color] she appraised, looking over Team 3. It was nice and simple, in her mind. Would it be cool to have a team name or emblem? Probably. But it was also a lot of effort to design that sort of stuff, and she only really trusted Dana to come up with something suitable anyway. All her stuff would look like old stills from horror movie productions, or remind people of devils and succubi more than Ars Magi. [color=ec008c]"I can outfly anyone here, and with all this rain I could probably blind their sensors by blowing sheets right into them. But they're trained to detect our magic output, too. So we can't just throw Penny at the problem and hope for the best."[/color] 

She even surprised herself with how authoritative she sounded. Instinctively, what she knew of politics told her she should be letting Vanna dictate all this, but...something about what Cordelia's words when they'd first met, the unsung leader of the team, had stuck with her somewhere. Even if she didn't see herself that way, if others did, wasn't it her job to live up to that standard? [color=ec008c]"You heard what they said in the briefing, the second one drone sees us they all do, and they'll harry us the rest of the way until we're home free. We should keep the element of surprise as long as possible somehow. Harsh their sensors, use Cordelia's glass, and if it comes to a fight I know I can bank on Dana's support at range. Especially if their sensors are goofy. Penny, you can do what you do best, babe."[/color]

She pumped a fist at their bespectacled highlander and winked again. She tried not to look at Aiya or the Officers Academy cadets, for fear of blushing in their direction. The quiet one was kinda cute, too. 

[color=ec008c]"Vanna, you're our nuke. The long we can keep you from exerting yourself, the better - you can help Dana and Cordelia if our VIPs are being pushed too hard, but ideally we'll really be able to let you cut loose at the end, so we have a clear trip to the finish line. That make sense to everyone?"[/color]