Today was mission day! Yay! The first chance to see how her new comrades will do in a simulated combat environment! Though Hu-Shi had previously experienced the rather interesting holographic simulations of Lunar Academy through her one-on-one combat simulations, this would most definitely be the first time that she would be doing anything that involved 'hard' tactics and strategy. It was pretty exciting, really, if also a teensy bit nerve-wracking. While she was fairly confident that no one would verbally abuse her if she didn't confirm a kill or whatever, she wanted to make a good first impression combat-wise. When it came to peer evaluations, she didn't want to be the only person who got 80%, after all. Being the last person to get into the changing rooms, she took a deep breath, placing one hand over her heart to steady her heartbeat, and then, for just a moment, imagined how nice it would be to finally relieve some stress. Then, she started up the sequence to fit her into the exoskeleton-like interface suit.

[b]“Scanning Now.”[/b]

She wondered if everyone else was as excited and awake as she was. Last night's coffee vs tea debate did last a long time, after all, and unlike herself, they've all probably been through dozens of these simulations already. Hopefully everyone would be energetic and ready to go. Seemed like the coffee lovers would be alright in the morning at least. That thought brought a smile on her lips, as a thousand unseen lasers rang over her body.

[b]“Subject unconfirmed. Rescanning.”[/b]

Hu-Shi sighed, forced her smile away, and waited patiently as the process was redone.

[b]“The subject is Hu-Shi Zhong. First Year. Height: 1.651 meters. Please confirm.”[/b]

She wondered why the machines would need something such as verbal confirmation, when it could even tell identical twins apart, but it was a mystery that was clearly meant not to be solved. Chances were, it was just supposed to be for procedural reasons or something.

[b]“Yep, that's me,” she said cheerily, talking to the machine as if it were human.

“Error. Unknown command. Please re-confirm.”[/b]

This machine...really had no flexbility, did it?

[b]“...affirmative.”

“Confirmation received. Please lift your arms to your sides.”[/b]

A few minutes later, Hu-Shi was finally suited up and ready to go.
~
Soon after, the charmingly rugged, if not slightly 'alien' Colonel Landsfeldt made it into the room, all pistons and electricity. As always, the decorated military officer was impeccably dressed, with such a gravity to him that even Elizabethan era gentlemen would find hard to match. Or, at least, Hu-Shi thought that would be the case. It was sorta hard to compare a cyborg and a 16th era dandy, after all. Though brief, the man's speech was one that made an impact because of its brevity. All lives are equal, and self-sacrifice is something to be expected. Dangerous words, if comprehended improperly. Still, she nodded. Most likely, she would be the one that would end up dead so one of her teammates would survive. After all, that was her role, wasn't it? The whole concept of the Jiang Shi Core was 'self-sacrifice'. More speed to smash through enemy artillery. More shields to withstand blows in place of your lighter-armored allies. More energy for those who are running out.

She saluted in unison with the others, and then proceeded to follow Team One into a control room, one larger than the ones she was accustomed. Closing her eyes before Richard even spoke, even though she made sure to thank him for the warning regardless, Hu-Shi decided that the blonde bad boy really did have a nice side, however hidden it may be. First tea, then consideration for his teammates. What a stand-up guy. Though the retina-burning whiteness did turn her vision a shade of green when she reopened her eyes, it was nothing major, and the Chinese AWE pilot rubbed her eyes a few more times to get the itchiness out of them, before taking a look around. A rather atmospheric room, it was. Appeared like one of those Middle Eastern battlezone places that one of her Battlefield-obsessed friends used to love playing. After the British boy kicked the table-shaped hologram projector, it soon became clear what the mission was.

They were on another planet, one that was filled to the brim with aliens. An infestation of Saurids, lizard-like beings that operated based off a hive mind, if she remembered her biology classes properly. They have no eyes, making dark areas an exceptionally bad place to fight them, and optical camouflage is generally useless due to their ability to detect heat and track based off scent. If the pilot bleeds, it is instrumental to wash and seal the wound immediately, before getting rid of the lingering odor. Due to the hive mind's signals being that of a biological nature, there was no way to get ahead of whatever their Matriarch plans by intercepting their signals or what-not. Generally, a massive pain in the ass if one is defending against an invasion of those overgrown pests.

However, the terrain was that of a savannah. And even better, it was a place with roads and bridges.

In other words, the ideal location for the Chrome Ex-Road to make its teamplay debut.

While others discussed strategy, Hu-Shi was more curious in regards to Roman's sudden shift in personality. It was almost like those internet tough guys. In real life, they were shy and submissive, but the moment they have some sort of 'armor' to protect their identity and their selves, they suddenly become aggressive and abrasive. So Jack Roman was that type of person, was he? Truly, Canadians were an odd race of people. Must have been all the maple syrup and hockey. Even though the former WAS quite good.

Deciding that she might as well say a bit about herself, just in case it may be useful in any way, Hu-Shi coughed slightly and interjected, [b]“Excuse me, I'm not sure if it would be of any major benefit, but considering the high energy consumption of the Rapid team and the lack of enemy AWEs, I would suggest that the Core team and Rapid team rendezvous a few times. My Chrome Ex-Road has an extra energy core, and it would probably be helpful if Richard and Wolf would be able to continue going on for even a few minutes longer in their disruption.”

“Also, I think that it should be noted that my AWE uses tank treads for movement, meaning that it can carry heavy loads with less strain than a bipedal AWE. In terms of sustained movement, it should be good in this situation. Just two bits that you might find helpful when developing a team strategy, Sergeant Minari. I'm no good with thinking up strategies and plans myself.”[/b]