[IC] Souls of Steel: A Giant Mecha RP

[Mr Rage]

"You've missed the point. The XO said the battle would be between us Cadets. We aren't fighting dolls, we are fighting each other. Those of us who have already been through some of our training in our units have probably already dealt with fighting dolls and simulation modules. We will be using live firepower on live, moving, erratic targets. No since in forming groups and strategies, it wont amount to anything in about 20 minutes. They will let us know the details before they enable our weapons, I'm sure. Harold, whether you've piloted a framewerk before or not, you've got the most experience in a combat situation, especially with the Cruxi. You've created and implemented strategies. They will need modifications, of course, you know that. Whether you are the officer or not, I personally hope to hear more from your experiences so that we all make it out of our first battle alive."

Zim still hadn't bothered introducing himself to the whole group yet. They would figure it out eventually. He retreated at this point, the conversation was simply going in circles. Zim returned his attention back to Serah and Katya. "Well, it is well met all the same. I look forward to working alongside you Serah. You said you use barriers for defense? What type of melee weaponry are you using, if you don't mind asking? Blackstar is equipped with just one weapon at the moment, but it is effectively a thermal scythe, intended for rending and cleaving. My armored wings are more effective against physical projectiles then energy attacks. I suspect that your barriers are the opposite. We should indeed make a good team, I suspect."

Though in truth he grimaced a little at the idea of having to spend that amount of time with someone as young as Serah.

"And I am curious, what are you armed with?" Zim asked as he looked to Katya, to keep her included in the conversation. He might not be able to control the flow of the entire room, but if he drew people away from the main group discussion of spinning in circles then he might be able to at least stop that particular train of thought.

[SillyGoy]

@Penultimate_Pi@Mr Rage

To Lora's outburst, Harold was not the least bit irritated, only further confused. He understood that perhaps a situation as unfamiliar as the one that they were in raised the ire in some people. As an officer, he wasn't used to being addressed so directly and so pointedly, but Lora didn't look intimidating enough to be taken that seriously. She apologized quickly, too, so he further saw no reason to be offended. It did seem like she did not know her place - but again, he reckoned that only a few of the group had any formal military training in the first place.

Ariin's speech about rights and human beings really hammered that in, if the stark prevalence of pubescent ages didn't make it obvious enough. He'd let such disrespect slide, for now.

"It's alright," he said to the raven-hared girl, smiling diplomatically. "I understand that this whole situation can be tough on some of us. I do agree on your proposal, that in the case we would be fighting with each other, on splitting ourselves into separate teams that could each act as an independent maneuver element. It's tactically damn sound. Say, did they teach you squad tactics when they trained you in Framewerks?"

Zim's support for him raised Harold's spirits. He was even flattered, although he'd never admit it. He'd mistakenly thought Zim's age to be far younger than he actually was, owing to his diminutive size, but it occurred to him that his way of speaking entailed the wisdom which only age bestowed.

"I look forward to teaching you folks what I know," said Harold, as Zim concluded his speech of reason and before he turned to Katya. "Hell, I've got a license just to do that."

Then it occurred to him that perhaps he was being too loud. Such bluster was common within the Service, but he was beginning to think that this manner of speech might be considered as arrogant to the uninitiated. Circumstances, circumstances...

[Evil Snowman]

Hearing Serah imply Katya had lot of compassion and that Serah bet she was great made Katya blush for a moment taking the complement to heart. It making her lose her train of thought for a moment.
"Er... thanks that really nice of you to say, I'm touched. But I'm not anything special I just do what comes natural to anyone." Katya quickly said in reply trying to down play what Serah had said as nothing, not wanting to admit that complement had just won Serah major points with her.
" Your Atty sounds really cool though I'd love to see it sometime after the battle. But not that risky if you got decent fire support and squad of EDEN drones to patch you up." she stated looking at Serah small smile, finding she was starting to take a liking to this Serah.

Listening to the rest of the conversation in the room Katya frowned, finding her feeling on on the topic of whether of not to actually to participate in the exercise or not. Or to form balanced teams or not. Personally she found the topic annoying as it would mean disobey an order form their superior officers. But what people where saying did have merit and deserved some thought. As the conversation dragged on Katya quickly pondered the ideas being pitched and quickly made up her mind on what she would do.
"Excuse me! I refuse to join a team! In fact I'll say this now. This fight I'm going to make it simple for you all when it come dealing with me. I'll fix anyone of you provided you don't attack me. If you do well them I'll protect myself to the best of my ability alright." Katya stated rather firmly. Before turning her attention to young gentlemen she had interrupted moments age when he asked what her mech was armed with.

"Me? I'm armed with a experimental laser rifle. Developed on my world using some rare radioactive element native to my world. Don't ask me how they wont tell me how. There worried I might start tinkering with it. I also jury-rigged... er... upgrade my EDEN drones safety limiters. So they can be turned off making them into walking bombs... although I don't like doing it. I get yelled at for blowing them up and it limits my repair capacity. Still you only have a thermal scythe... your like one of those hero's out one of those old mech shows.... not that I watch them or anything. I get the feeling you'll be seeing my EDEN drones more then most. But don't worry I promise they do good work. Er.... no offense or anything.... I meant.... I... er...I...." Katya trialing off giving a sigh of defeat her thoughts becoming jumbled for a moment.
"Look I didn't mean that in a bad way or anything. Just a lack of guns was my point You get it right?. Also your name? I'm not used talking to someone who's name I don't know... it make me feel uncomfortable." she stated looking over at young man slightly older then her when she noticed she looked at him and heard him say Hell, I've got a license just to do that.

Hearing that line coming out of the young mans mouth as he looked at her made Katya blood start to boil.
"Huh? Why are you looking at me when you say that? I'm not sure I like what your implying. Are you saying I don't how to pilot my mech? Risky thing to say given we've just meet." Katya said giving Harold filthy look. Normally took a lot to get Katya worked up but when it came to her skill as a pilot she had strong scene of pride. She could take advice form those she knew that where better then her or good as her. But for someone who she didn't know how well he could work his mech had no right to even slightly make the implication. That right had to earned and this boy had yet to earn the right... in fact no one in this room at this very moment had that right.

[Dragoknighte]

"Well Kat," Roger cut in, as he put out his cigarette by crushing the lit tip right into the wall, "you might want to just fix us all up, but wouldn't you agree it would be a lot easier to keep track of everyone if we were grouped up into small teams rather than one big chaotic mess? Just makes sense. I can't make you group up, but if the rest of us are in agreement that we should group ourselves into miniature squads, let me make a suggestion. There's nine of us, we split into three groups of three. Simple enough, eh? And if you don't mind, I have three broad roles we can group ourselves in for the purpose of figuring out our place in the team." Roger thrust out his left hand, only his index finger raised.

"The Point, or what you could call the lead man. You want this guy to generally be the most aggressive of the group, combat wise. The point is most likely going to be in the lead and facing enemies as close as they can get. Or something like that. Somebody acting as the Point ain't gotta have a 'balanced' Framewerk because they'll have the guaranteed support of their other two teammates who can shore up their weak points and make 'em more effective than they could be alone. Anybody focused on melee would probably fulfill this role best." Off handedly, he flicked away his spent cigarette, seemingly no longer interested in it. Next to his index finger, Roger raised his middle finger, forming a big V-shape.

"Then we have the second, somebody who can work well with the Point and help them succeed. A Second can build off the success of the point to be even more successful, as well as cover some weaknesses a point could have. An ideal Second works at a range similar to the point, but a bit further away. I'd say Yeager and I probably would do best as a Second. Kind of embarrassing to admit, but I ain't really got the experience to get out there and use my Frame's abilities to their best extent, and even if I did, Yeager ain't really got too much in the way of brute force. It'd be way more effective supporting another frame." Instead of raising his ring finger, Roger extended his thumb for 3, it was probably a planetary habit.

"And last there's the Anchor. The Anchor should either be a Framewerk that could fight perfectly well on its own, or work from such a range that complements both the Point and Second. You hold the team down, helping out both the Point and Second do their job. I'd say Snipers, Artillery-types, Pure Supports and general purpose Framewerks would be the best ones for the job of Anchor, not to say that one Frame has to fill only one of these roles all the time." Roger blinked, realizing the volume of words that just came out of his moth at once. "Probably been rambling too long now. Anyways, that's just my suggestion for easily organizing since we don't have a lot of time to synchronize with each other. Nobody has to take it if they don't want to."

[Apollosarcher]

Ariin had been watching Harold, when he Katya start to get angry he decided it was time to step in. "Wow now, lets not get angry here." He moved between putting his hands up as a gesture of peace. "I'm sure he wasn't trying to a jackass, he just came off that way." He said turning to look at Harold.

"We don't need teaching, I've been a pilot since I was fourteen. I've had tandem tactics training as well as full squadron combat training. I'm sure others here have had the same." The Martian said glaring at Harold some. "Your not our teacher, your one of us. Now climb off the high horse, because anyone who acts like you do? I wouldn't follow in to battle, he'd get half the unit killed."

He turned back to Katya. "He did have a point if turns out to be a Cruxi combat simulation with all of us working together we need someone whose fought them before to give advice on what were up against." His robotic eye twitched and he winced a little.

"Ow! Damn thing is acting up again." The color turned a red as if it was trying to acquire a target. "Sorry, doctors just put in a fresh one after the one got busted. I need a tech to adjust the combat sensors on it." He sat hold fumbling with a little wincing occasionally.

He looked up at Katya. "If your Framewerk can fix things can you? I really don't want the nutty Professor getting to toy with it. He might bug it or make it so he stream visual directly into my head." The young man shuddered as he stood up looking at Katya.

[AtomicNut]

Sigma's head tilted so slightly as the speech went on. He had a medal, and thus some heroic deeds. But he didn't match the pattern of a veteran. He was too bright, too optimistic. And then he made his self-entitled pitch. Bad move. Sigma gritted her teeth so slightly, thinking of a retort, but other pilots caught up to his words and decided to educate him in his hubris. The clone felt relieved a little, seeing as some people were smarter than her teachers could even given credit for.

And then Lora (that was her name?) apologized, after brutally chewing down on Harold, which caught Sigma surprised. Why would she do such a thing...oh, right, appeasing. Keeping people pacified under a delusion of niceness was after all the art of social interaction. Which Sigma could not yet grasp. It came to her mind what Elora had said, about being mad.

"I am not mad. I passed the psychological test." She said, quizzically. "Oh...you mean angry. No, I am not angry either. That would be an useless thing to do at the moment." The young silver-haired girl said, but then clenched her teeth. "No, actually, I feel a little angry. But your actions are not what cause it, pilot Elora." Sigma batted her eyelids. She then ran a hand through her hair, and with deft steps faced Harold.

"You are not broken because you are deluded. But soon, you will be, Hero Harold." She bit her lip, and eyed everyone else. Young and old. The young ones, some were of her age, like Elora. She eyed at the cameras. She would be scolded, but it was better to dispel everyone's illusion. They already were making plans, jumping to conclusions, hoping for anything but...

The worst case scenario.

"Forgive me." Sigma preemptively apologized. Crouching so slightly, the high kick deployed explosively. Her long hair swished with flair and the skill of a dancer, as her body perfectly executed a combat stance that would take many people years to master. Of course, with the memory transfer, Sigma cheated the requeriment. However, her foot stopped short of hitting the man's chin.

"In the large scheme of things, we're worker ants. Your speech is not doing anyone any favours. We're not your dead cadets. And you thought I was just a little girl in need of comfort. These are my fangs." Sigma said, before resuming her normal stance.

"I really could not care less about teams if we fulfill the objectives. That being said, I will not object against joining forces if the XO allows as such. But I am assumming the worst case scenario here, and I will gladly fight you with my all if I must." Sigma finally said. "So I am not divulging anything about my specs until teams are allowed."

Good lord, I am behaving like my template.Sigma cringed inwardly.

[SillyGoy]

Harold was mildly scowling at that point. All the microaggressions that these kids have been casting his way, coupled with the proposal of so much pseudo-tactical babble which no self-respecting Naval Academy would ever teach were piling up and getting to him. However, he did think that Lora's proposal of smaller maneuver elements to a larger dispersed squad to be reasonable, while Roger's ideas regarding unit composition seemed like rubbish that only a civilian would come up with. They made sense at the squad level, but with fireteams of only three members?

But then again, Framewerks were a different kind of weapons system. Perhaps Roger's proposal wasn't so unreasonable. Time would tell.

Ariin said that he'd received all kinds of combat training. But God Almighty, he talked like he learned nothing of soldiery in the several years he claimed he'd been educated that way.

And then Sigma, the silver-haired fourteen year old girl, performed an act that was more at home in a movie set than in real life. Her grace and skill and purposeful swiftness were simply perfect as she crouched and leaped and kicked - only for her foot to stop with but a mere inch of space between Harold's chin and her heel.

The former lieutenant was perfectly rigid at this point, never having moved or flinched. He shadowed the diminutive Sigma with his greater height, blue eyes peering down at the girl with a steely gaze. His expression was mostly impassive but the minor wrinkles gave off his extreme annoyance. Perhaps there was even anger. But then, after a pregnant and almost explosive pause, his shoulders slackened, and he sighed heavily. His hand slowly reached to the back of his neck and rubbed it tiredly.

"Alright," he said in a resigned tone, while eyeing Sigma and Ariin in particular. "I'm sure you kids are confident enough in your training and bloodlines and cybernetic enhancements and such, that you'd know the best way to fight, and be offended at the slightest questioning of your skill. I suggest that you don't bring the same arrogance when you finally face the Aliens in battle. They show off better than Sigma here, and leave people far more speechless than you just saw me."

"I'm not patronizing you. What I say is just how it is. Until then," he leaned back against the wall, suddenly regretting his lacks of cigarettes, "if anyone wants my opinion, I'll be here."

[Mr Rage]

"Oh, sorry, my name is Zim Hero, so yeah, I am like one of those heros from the old much shows. I plan to expand my weaponry once I have the experience to support it, but what I implement will depend on the needs of our combat situations," Zim replied to Katya. When she implied that she would be seeing more of him then the others it didn't bother him at all, the same passive/annoyed face played out the entire time, "I'm sure you will, and I look forward to your support."

It seemed as though Zims attempt at changing the flow of conversation was successful, just not in the way he intended. How much squabbling did these children intend to bring go the battlefield.

Quietly, after the response Katya gave Harold, Zim politely said to Katya, "I don't think that he meant anything by it, simply that as a squad leader he literally has a licence to train people. I don't think he was implying anything about you specifically. Besides, we all need training and teaching, otherwise we would already be on the front lines. I want to know what he has to offer, I want to know what everyone has to offer, even about card games."

A joke, a rare one from Zim. He wanted to get over this mingling moment so that they could move on passed the pissing contest and get into the actual proof and training.

[Ariamis]

Elsewhere, a pair of eyes followed the camera feed from the briefing hall, and the lips under them twisted into a smirk. "It seems the social experiment is a success," Lorenzo said, partly to himself, and partly to Ritsu, who was sitting at the monitoring station. The shadowy surveillance room was filed with monitors, each of them connected to a camera located around the Solaire military base, and the two followed the pilots as they began conversing and even arguing with one another.

Ritsu continued looking at the monitors as she asked: "Sir, I understand the reason we are holding this operation, but why were the mission objectives not made clear? These pilots are now thinking they are to fight each other."
"That is precisely why, Ritsu." The old man waggled his finger. "This is a perfect opportunity to observe how these fools really act, especially among some of the subjects," he said as Sigma showed off her legs with an acrobatic performance. "But even now they must keep their social masks on to ensure they are not suspicious...once they step inside their Framewerks, their true nature will come to light. Their fears, their pride...their inhumanity. Of course, once the operation starts they will know who their real target is."

Ritsu sighed as a reflexive measure to push out the nausea that Lorenzo seemed to exude from his eccentric manners. Even after months of working with the scientist, she still couldn't get used to his thoughts that often seemed to linger on the insane side. But, as he was the father of the Project and as the sole man responsible for gaining any kind of advantage against the Cruxi, he could do as he pleased. That was something Ritsu learned to accept over time. "I will hold the announcement now, sir." She was about to open the microphone when Lorenzo suddenly asked. "Before you do that...Is it ready?"

"Yes, sir; Sköll is ready for deployment, alongside the rest of the Homunculus Project capable of combat, as you have ordered, up to a total of 14 Framewerks. But sir, are you sure that-"

"Yes! Now stop blabbering and send those brutes out. This will be their only chance to avoid termination. Besides, she can have some fun, hee hee!"

---

Elora nodded to Sigma's words, her eyes wide in wonder at her strange behavior. "Well, I am glad that you aren't angry. L-Let's do our best out there, okay?" She kept quiet as she observed the discussion that seemed to turn violent really fast. She flinched when Sigma performed her high kick, and put her hands around her head as an involuntary reaction. Memories of violence came back to her, but she didn't let them take over. She instead directed her eyes at Ariin, and she felt at ease again, knowing he was nearby.

But as with many times in her life, once she felt like she could be happy and filled with hope, fate would turn that very same hope into a black abyss of despair. The loudspeaker in the room activated, and Lieutenant Ritsu's voice could be clearly heard from it:
"All personnel, prepare for the start of Operation: Mock Battle. Cadets, your plugsuits are in the changing rooms next to the Framewerk hangars. Suit up, prepare for deployment, and wait for further instructions. System checkups and communications are permitted."
Lorenzo's voice then came out. "If I see anyone deploy their Framewerks prematurely, I will disqualify them!"

"Looks like it's going to start now. I'll try to not let you down, mister Sorus," she said to him, and headed out of the briefing hall. She went to the women's changing room, and found her piloting suit there. She hated putting it on: it was tight, and emphasized her chest and crotch areas in embarrassing ways. She hoped that she wouldn't draw too much attention when she was seen wearing it. At least I don't have a figure like the Lieutenant does.
The suits themselves are advanced pieces of clothing: They are a one-size fits all, but are skin-tight due to the fact that they protect the pilot's body from trauma by absorbing shock damage depending on the amount of force applied; if a pilot gets punched, or hit with a pipe, or gets thrown around in your cockpit, they won't feel much of anything. They are also fireproof and meant to be a portable life-support system on the field. Once put on, they act as a second layer of skin and can be quite comfortable once a pilot can get used to wearing one.

Once she put it on, she then headed to the hangars, specifically the one where her Framewerk, Logic Gate, was located. Engineers were still putting finishing touches on its preparation when Elora stepped into the incredibly vast area, and they greeted the young pilot and gave her a rundown of repairs or changes they made to the Frame. Elora nodded to their words; she didn't understand everything they said, but she fully appreciated the work they put into LG's maintenance, and engaged in a bit of small talk about the Combat Analyzer when it was mentioned.

Elora then opened up the front of LG's round exterior, and hopped inside. She checked her systems, and they were all green. She then opened up the Combat Analyzer, and set it to limit its unit data processing to only Framewerks. She added LG's data to it for cross-referencing, accelerating data collecting speed by 65%. It was easy enough to do, the Combat Analyzer being a state-of-the art supercomputer that could be customized up to the finest details, though Elora didn't touch on anything more than was necessary. She leaned back on her seat once she was done setting up shared voice channel between her and Sorus, and contacted them once they were in their Framewerks: "Testing, testing, do you read me? It seems the arena will be a flat field with some pillars in the middle and a lake on the east side, but I'll set us up with a better map once we get out there." She then switched to the command channel. "Umm, ready for deployment."

She felt relaxed and at ease while she was sitting in front of a computer; she was truly in her element now. Elora was quite adept with computers for her young age, and was thus chosen to pilot a Framewerk reliant on expert technical skills like Logic Gate was. Unlike the outside world which was full of hate and malice, inside Logic Gate she felt like she was safe from all that. It was comforting, almost as if she was held in her own mother's arms. It even felt like her mother was whispering to her, but she put that thought aside as simply her fantasizing. I miss her. But she would be proud of me, I just know it.

[SillyGoy]

So the time had come, and Harold immediately sprang to the orders as they blared from the speakers. Pulling out a dataslate and tapping on the interior map to help him navigate in the unfamiliar surroundings, finding the showers and the changing room was quick. Harold was no stranger to bodysuits, but this Framework gear appeared to cling more to his body than his old starfighter suit. He bent his legs and twisted his arms to test his limberness, and found that moving around was easier in them as well.

"Alright. Let's get this show on the road."

Rostosov was a massive machine full of arrogance and the hatred of mankind. The shadow that the thing cast was enormous, and sparks flew from the scaffolded areas of the mech as engineers put on finishing touches and last-minute changes. The size of the hangar, the space dedicated to housing this one war machine, boggled his mind. He was quickly put out of his thoughts by an orderly who droned on about numbers and statistics that still felt alien to him and who escorted him to the lift, which offered but a short ride.

He entered at the rear of the Frame, and squeezed through a small opening lined with wires and myriad tubes that ran parallel along the slate-black walls. Eventually, he came upon a large, domed space with a control seat in the middle that appeared lit only red emergency bulbs. Duly strapping himself in, he grabbed the two yokes to which the armrests of the chair terminated to - and though it took a second, haptic control booted up and began to register his profile.

"Woah! Hell, I'll never get used to that."

The dome around Harold suddenly lit up to reveal the area directly in front of the heavy mech. There was no transition from dark to light, and it took the pilot by surprise. Letters, numbers and phrases ran in constantly moving streamers across this new visual display, detailing his synchronization rate - in constant flux between 52 and 56 percent - and the readiness of his Frame's systems. Audio feedback booted up a moment later, and soon he heard the din of the Rostosov's powerplant starting up in a magnificent roar just as the engineers down below heard it. From his new vantage point, they all looked like ants to Harold, and in a much different way than when looking down from a flying starfighter.

He set his dataslate on his lap and opened up the Rostosov's manual. Since this was going to be his third time piloting the mech, and for more or less real this time, he thought that he ought to do it by the book. And so he ran down the startup checklist:

---

REACTOR ONLINE
SENSORS ONLINE

ARMAMENT:
TYPE 2500 MODEL 3 41CM GATLING - LEFT, READY; RIGHT, READY - ONLINE
AMMUNITION 100%
MK. I CRUISE MISSILE - DISABLING SAFETIES - ONLINE
AMMUNITION 100%

COMMUNICATIONS ONLINE

INITIATING INTEGRITY DIAGNOSTIC:
STANDBY,
STANDBY,
STANDBY,
ALL SYSTEMS GREEN

ALL SYSTEMS ONLINE

---

Harold smiled approvingly. It'd clearly been too long since he last tapped into the power that was the modern war machine. Easily hopping into the same band at which Elora was transmitting, he cast out an acknowledgement:

"Rostosov here. Reading you loud and clear, Logic Gate," then he switched to the command channel: "Rostosov is ready and awaiting orders."

[Ammokkx]

Well. Serah's proposal got basically ignored. That was a bit of a blow to her confidence. Well, still, they would keep trying right? Everyone had gone back to the discussion on the Mock Battle, and more importantly, splitting up in teams. "I dunno too much about tactics, honestly..." she commented from the back, in response to Roger. They had a fairly solid plan to have front, mid and back liners but Serah didn't have any idea what she belonged to. Atty had SOME range, so it could pass as a mid somewhat. But then maybe she should be front, and distract enemies? Ah, hell. The entire thing was confusing for Serah. Zim had also asked her about how her framewerk fought, and she'd love to reply with the energy sword, but time seemed to be up. Over the speakers a familiar voice informed all pilots of the mock battle being about to start, so Serah had no time to lose.

"All right everyone, Let's do our best!" she cheerfully cried, fist pumping the air. The girl dashed off in the direction of the hangar, and was basically a blur whilst doing so. All that energy had turned her into a professional sprinter, somehow. "'Xcuse me!" Serah blurted out as she whirled past base personnel, though minding to still be respectful and apologizing profusely when messing up. Eventually, somehow slower than most, the petite lass reached the hangar. The thing was huge! She hadn't been in there yet, and what a surprising sight it was. "Right, so it was this way I guess?" Serah mumbled to herself, trying to figure out where her changing room was. After a little stumbling, she found it and hummed contently. They snuck in, fumbling around with her usual clothes for a little. After neatly hanging it up, because at least the girl isn't a slouch, they managed to put on the plugsuit with only minor issue. It obviously hadn't been the first time the girl needed to wear one, and to her it was extremely comfortable. She didn't even seem to be ashamed her more well-endowed parts were so accentuated.

Exiting the changing rooms, Serah searched around the area again. This time, entering the main hangar area. Everyone's framewerks had their own section, and it didn't take very long for the girl to find her own. "Atty!" she excitedly yelled, nearly running over to give the damn robot a hug. She got really attached to it in a relatively short amount of time. Nobody seemed to be around, which probably meant they finished any last-minute modifications before the girl arrived. That girl also ran up and entered her machine by climbing into it, not even bothering to use the stairs provided for her. She never used those anyway. After entering the command center through Atty's chest, she sat inside the chair surrounded by a good few screens. The entire room was compact due to Atty being a relatively small framewerk compared to most, and coloured in a sort of pink you wouldn't expect when looking at the outset.

Serah adjusted the ribbon in her hair slightly, then leaned back and started booting up the necessary systems. First, the comm arrays. A green, tangibly holographic keyboard was provided to enter the required passwords and soon other screens also lit up which showed AA-XOTRY's current status, energy levels and consumption alongside the other necessities. Slowly but surely she checked out everything, and her framewerk looked ready to go. "Alriiiight, flawless!" she congratulated herself, putting on a dumb grin. She then remembered something Roger said about teams, and wondered if she should pair up with someone. And then Serah remembered Katya didn't have any offense, with how Caretaker worked. "Maybe I could ask her?" she mumbled, typing in a few things on the keyboard. Atty's display lit up to request a comm link with XVT/03. Even if Katya wouldn't accept, Serah still sent an encrypted message her way. "Heeey! Katya! I'll keep an eye out for you, so don't mark me on the field. I'll try to shield you if anyone tries to harm you." was that message. Serah also figured Zim was somewhat alike, and she wouldn't like to fight him because he was pretty nice to her. So she'll try to avoid them. Also Ariin was probably a bad idea, because she remembered something about his weapons taking off Frames' limbs. She'd rather not have Atty be put through that...

Not too long after and Serah heard someone on the global channel, as she likes to call it, announce their ready-ness. They didn't recognize the voice, but she figured it was probably the crying girl from earlier due to her being the only one she hadn't actually heard talk. Serah quickly switched over as well. "Standing by for deployment." she announced rather officially, but was grinning behind her command center. She couldn't wait to show what Atty could do.

[Dragoknighte]

"It's been an hour already?" Probably a good thing. It looked like if the conversation had kept going, half the pilots would have completely given up on the other half. Guess that's what happens when you throw a bunch of strangers in the room and give 'em vaguely, somewhat antagonistically worded orders and then tell them to get familiar with each other.

Rather than look for the changing room himself, Roger opted to just follow Harold. He looked like he knew where he was going. Well that, and he was looking at a datapad for directions. Why do work yourself when somebody's doing it for you?

In the changing room, Roger found his pilot suit. White with a large blue on both sides of the torso for visual flare. It was something he'd had to wear many times over the last few months so that he'd get used to it, even though he almost never actually got into the Framewerk. It never stopped being weird to put on. You had to force it to stretch every time you put it on, and if you didn't work it right, the suit would hug your junk against one leg, and that was not comfortable. But if months of shoving his body into such a small suit taught him anything, it was the most efficient way of shoving your body into the thing until it fit.

Roger found his way to Yeager and listened to the orderly fill him in on the details as he made his way towards the cockpit. Both his training as an airplane and Framewerk pilot allowed him to understand about 85% of everything he was told, but it was quickly apparent that there were no problems with the suit, and the guy just had a roundabout way of getting that point across.

After getting seated in the machine, Rooney went through all the parts and what they were for: sensors, controls, system monitors, Synch ratio, communications... everything was green, and he had a somewhat decent mental map for everything, even though his hands were much slower. It was a good thing he could naturally synchronize with Yeager as well as he could, otherwise he'd be unable to move the thing with his current level of experience, let alone pilot it in battle. Roger enabled communications and set the channel to the open comm.

"Roger and Yeager, all green. Standing by for deployment."

[Penultimate_Pi]

"All personnel, prepare for the start of Operation: Mock Battle. Cadets, your plugsuits are in the changing rooms next to the Framewerk hangars. Suit up, prepare for deployment, and wait for further instructions. System checkups and communications are permitted."

Time to go. The aftermath of Lora's verbal lashing and her proposal for a group split was yet to be seen in full, so she only had to trust that it would all work out somehow. Harold seemed accepting enough of the apology (up until the point where Sigma nearly planted her heel in his chin, anyway), but however tolerant the fighter veteran actually was underneath that couldn't be known. And while some of them had certainly had discussed the idea of splitting into smaller teams, no one actually made any attempt beyond the few that had already tried in the first place. Never mind the couple that refused outright - Lora just echoed her previous sentiment over such independent types to them in her head.

If nothing else, there appeared to be no outright hostility. Hopefully that meant if the cadets did end up in a team structure, then no back-stabbings or sabotages would occur.

Lora moved along in a firm trot, business-like as ever in anticipation of the practice sortie. The plugsuits were terribly snug, as per standard code, and she once again strained to even get inside them. Complaining about something like this was just petty (certainly considering that she didn't exactly have a body to be ashamed of), but Lora might've done less of it in her pilot history if the material just affixed less into her curves.

Not looking to risk flaunting anything, the cadet suited up proper quick and took a brisk, accelerated walk to where her Framewerk rested in the hangar. The novelty never wore off, seeing how damned huge these things were. Though as time passed, it turned into less of, "How the hell did they manage to build a standing machine that big?" and more of, "How the hell did I drive this thing like an actual body?" The answer to both was 'physiological and mechanical science', but to Lora, the matter appeared like something the human mind just couldn't comprehend, even if she had done it times before.

Never mind that; now was the time for action. The engineers gave Lora a brief once-over of the maintenance as she approached, and she glossed over it with the assurance everything was working as it was supposed to. Poor form, yes, but this was a mocking of an operation, and the Framewerk certainly hadn't been near or done anything that would put it risk recently. The pilot paced across the catwalk, slid in through the main hatch between the machine's shoulder blades, and entered the cockpit.

The controls for Lora's Framewerk, codename Dynasty, proved to be more than the standard cockpit layout. Her seat was more of a harness, the back lining up along her spine to hug her plugsuit's torso, armrests ending with buttoned joysticks, and the leg space containing a small series of pedals. The intent of this design lent towards pilots better synchronizing with their Frame via actual movement coordination; much like a new ship's maiden voyage, however, it could very easily sink or swim in practice. To say that Lora managed to boast just under 60% Framewerk synchronization without having entered a real battle might be a testament to success, but the key part was that battle. She strapped herself in, took a moment to get a feel for the harness, performed movement calibrations - all the typical procedures in Lora's experience.

Blaster Cannon left, right... online, green. Thruster systems, green. Targeting suite calibrating... online. Engaging Framewerk/pilot synchronization: 10%, 24%, 37%, 42%... 58%... reached max ratio 59%, sustaining sequence-

Dynasty's black and silver body twitched once, twice, then shifted to stand upright and at attention as best it could. "This is Dynasty," Lora announced over the broadcast channel, "All systems nominal, prepared for launch. Standing by." A couple moments of silence followed from her, as the cadet weighed what she might say next. Was there any more use to attempting a team dynamic when they hadn't yet tried to apply it, and had little time to do so now?

Putting herself back on the feed, Lora spoke once more, "If any of us still wish to attempt a formation of smaller groups, now would be the time to plan it out. If we don't- well, it wasn't more than a suggestion anyways. Good luck." That being said, Dynasty's pilot quickly flipped a few dials on her communications panel and re-opened the line to only a couple of the fellow Framewerks.

"Ariin, Elora. If you still have any intent to team up, I will offer Dynasty to your formation. I can use thrusters to give my lighter machine a finer range of movement, and the dual Blaster Cannons have a great power yield when combined. Consider the offer." Lora cut off her channel, and then simply sat back, waiting patiently for the go-ahead.

[Evil Snowman]

Hearing the what Zim's fall name was Katya mind instatly fixated on that and what else he said pretty much in one ear and out the other.
"Oh so do people call you ZERO. You know like an action hero name. I beat someone has. I mean I would just because it sounds cool. Can I call you that?" she said realizing she was showing a more childlike side of herself.
"Sorry... not appropriate we've only just meet. I hope can be a good support unit to you."

When Ariin stepped in between her and Harold Katya huffed, still pretty annoyed by what was said. It wasn't what he said that bothered her it was the fact he looked at her as he said it that had annoyed her. Hearing Zim talking Katya frowned she didn't like that two people had pointed out her potential error in her reaction. It seemed though Ariin and ZIm got why she reacted the was she did and on mental level was willing to admit she might of overacted. Not that she'd say that. She simply looked at Ariin only giving the smoking pilot a passing look as he spoke to her. Listening to him without looking at him tuning him out completely when Ariin asked her a question. Katya stepping closer to the young man.
"Short answer is yes. Long answer is no. Simply due to the uniqueness of our werks I'd need time to learn about it. Plus I only good with mechanical and some electrical stuff, computers are difficult.... there not common a object on my world only companies and rich city snobs can afford to buy and maintain them. So I rarely had access to them until the military." she said know there was a lot more she could of said but didn't want say too much on the topic in front of so many.

Once she had finished speaking she went back over to Zim only to hear it was time to suit up. Giving him a quick goodbye she headed off to the woman's changing rooms. knowing where it having taking the time to learn the bases layout on her way over. Her suit being a blue with red on the joints and belly. She had no idea why it looked that way. She simply used what she was given, plus she didn't mind it since the suit was really comfortable to wear. Although it took while to get to that point. Once in her suit Katya went to her mech. It stood neatly in it berth, although tools where strewn around the left leg. Sighing Katya quickly moved the tools out of the way and climbed into her mech already open cockpit. Sitting down she tapped on a display bring it to life and closed the cockpit the metal plate quickly shutting and clamping down sealing the cockpit form the outside world.

Now sealed inside Katya went about initializing the mech's reactor core, the cockpit slowly filling with a soft hum as the it came to life and power started to flow into the mech systems. The moment power reached the mech main computer core it began to do its boot up system check.
As the mech computer ran its checks Katya brought the drone's control nod online it booting up and beginning it's sepreate check of the Eden drones her cockpit filling with clicking noises as the drones and node communicated. As she waited for everything to finish checking hee display dedicated to showing communications channels and similar information starting flashing telling her she had received an encrypted message. Playing the message Katya couldn't help but smile a little. Opening up her comms in private channel to Serah.
"Serah, thanks. But don't put yourself at risk for my sake. I've got my rifle it'll hopefully keep me safe enough. So hopefully you wont have to I hate to see you get hurt helping me. Ummm... I'll make sure to cover you! If you need back up that is. Fight well out there." she said before closing the comm link. Frowning as her cockpit was still filled witch clicking noises as she spoke, stopping only as she stopped speaking.

"Really Caretaker? You've got the worst sense of timing." She though with sigh her eyes running over her screens. At a glance she could see everything was working normally and the mech had synced with her and was holding steady. All now was to do was to arm herself and check the rifle which sat in an alcove next to her mech. Making the mech take a single step forward Katya made her mech reach out for the rifle. Grabbing it and holding it as the computer automatically detected the rifle and interfaced with it. The rifle coming online with a soft hum. The computer telling Katya moment later the rifle was working within its normal parameters. Now that everything checked out she opened her comms to an open channel Katya sighing she really hopped this wasn't going to be a fight between them.
"This is Caretaker all systems are green. Ready for deployment."

[Apollosarcher]

Ariin got up and managed to correct his eye before he headed into the next room, shedding his clothes he pulled out his plugsuit carefully his black with and gold trim. He made his way out, there waiting for him was Paladin the huge fortress class it was looked ready to cause trouble, it's shield having just been serviced. He had to take an elevator just to reach the cockpit between it's shoulders. Climbing in he brought Pompey online first testing the system making sure both rail gun calibrations had taken. Next he readied the Legion, he brought it online carefully, their were accidents with it's unfolding mechanism.

With the test complete on it's weapon he brought the whole thing online, it seemed groan and moan as it awoke. As if it was simply a sleeping giant now preparing to leave it's cave and venture out. He thought of the Odyssey told by Homer of soldier simply trying to return home. That's when he heard Elora, he smiled a little when he heard her speak he'd have to look out for her. A kid like her was to much like his little sister not to want to protect. "I hear you Elora, I'm ready to go. No worries about the map just yet. Focus on finding me and getting behind once we start, Paladin a little slow but he's a tough guy. He'll keep you safe."

Ariin prepared to deploy, his Frame would probably be the biggest on the field so she wouldn't have trouble finding him. "Once were down I'll ping you and cover your approach over to me alright." He responded on his private channel.

Opening up to everyone he spoke now. "Guys, I say for now we operate under the assumption that we aren't fighting each other... Or at least just leave the group comm open so we can stay in contact." He said wondering if they would even care. It seemed like most had made up their minds on this, still he could hope it was a challenge for the unit.

Ariin heard Lora's message and decided to respond. "Sure I'll take the help, if you want just form up behind me. If Elora can feed us tactical data on our targets I should be able to to volley them. Pin them down and you can cover the formation, if they fire back I've got Legion to defend us, nothing's getting through that."

[Mr Rage]

"Yes," Zim replied to Katya before the announcement, "They used to call me that back on Fortress, my home planet. Fleck was the only one to call me that afterwards..." Zim grew silent after mentioning Fleck, which was fine, Katya's attention was drawn elsewhere. When the announcement came, Zim stepped back into reality from the realm of nostalgia.

Once to the changing room Zim quickly got into his plug suit. He didn't have to fight with it nearly as much as his companions did, being considerably shorter in stature the suit didn't need to stretch as far to accommodate him. But while he was disrobed anybody who took the time to look around, or just happened to glance his way would immediately notice how pronounced his skeletal structure was, despite how developed his muscles where. They would also notice the myriad of scars that littered his body, including but not limited to the scar from his impalement.

After getting the suit on Zim quickly made his way out to Blackstar. His machine was smaller than the rest, just like he was. The tactical idea here was that it would be smaller, therefore harder to hit, the lighter weight would allow the machine to be more nimble, despite the heavier wing shields that it used to implement a higher defensive front when needed. The machine itself was not overwhelmingly powerful like some of the others machines, built for balance and versatility, Blackstar depended on his weapon to truly deal the damage.

Zim pushed from his mind all that he could as he started up the start up and authentication process. He slowed his breathing to calm his mind, which slowed his heart rate which calmed his body. He was attempting to alter his state of mind to accept the controls of the machine. He was rated highly with his experiences on the terraformer team, but thus far his sync rates had been abysmally low. As the machine continued its self diagnostics, Zim looked up at the HUD to see that his sync was still only 36%... everything would drag a little slow for him. He would need to do his best to anticipate his opponents actions.

"Blackstar is online. All Systems green. Ready for departure," He announced.

[AtomicNut]

Sigma frowned so slightly, as she started a firm, but determined pace. "So it begins." She moved deftly, at a brisk pace, but bereft of any kind of nervousness. At least externally. Internally, some doubts were beginning to form. Does Lorenzo really want a battle royale or is he aiming for something else? He doesn't like the type to tell the things straight up. She pondered, as she took the turns by memory rather than actually needing help to navigate through the maze.

This was, literally, her home. Or at least something similar to this. She looked at the spare plugsuit, and decided to tuck it together alongside her jacket. Unlike many, she had come to wear the suit like a second skin, for almost all daily activities. It also mitigated the heavy blows of her teacher. The suit was rather...dull, almost only shades of grey and black raw materials, with no decorations nor color, save a prominent "Σ" on the back. She didn't cut an impressive figure in those, either, unlike liutenant Ritsu. She was lean, and more wiry muscles than anything, with an almost nonexistant chest. Not that she cared about looking good.

The most girly thing she had ever done was to sit while going to the bathroom to urinate.

Clenching her fist and straightening up, she then took the same swift, memorized route towards the hangar, and her designated bay. There, it awaited. Eiswolf. Dull, crude, without aesthetics. Merely parts cobbled together, and in some cases, clashing in colors, right were the modifications of the actual MAF-44 production model had started. It was impressive, still, but as Framewerks went...it was average. It didn't stood not because of the reduced size, or the gargantuan armor. It just was a basic humanoid shape with a rifle and a backpack. Like a giant, nondescript conscript who was about to bleed in the war against the Cruxi.

"Time to go, fellow doll." She said to herself, as she felt the machine did really reflect the nature of the pilot. A generic, almost nondescript copy whose mere existence was to be thrown into the grinder. She manipulated the handle and crawled through the hatch into the crammed space of the cockpit and closing afterwards. Barely illuminated by a sick red light, the interior was as crude and as dehumanizing as the exterior. Grotesque protusions of the safety and life support systems, as well as the Hud projections and the interface, crammed the interior like a painting of Hieronimus Bosch. And yet, it felt... sturdy. And combat ready. Much very like the cockpit of an actual weapon. If Sigma had been born like a normal human, she would use a different analogy. That of a womb.

Sitting in combat position, she inhaled deep as she began to start the systems. Interfaces and monitors flared with the checkups. Systems were brought online. And like a drill practiced a thousand of times before, the young pilot scrutinized before proceeding to the next step.

ALL SYSTEMS OK. EISWOLF ONLINE.
SYNCH 88%

The final message flicked, allowing Sigma some time of respite. If it was going to be a brawl and a free for all, she wasn't going to have an easy time. Teams could be formed, but also broken. Six other targets remained other than her. And she needed to think of strategies, counters for all.

Or she could join a team. Do like many others before her... and delude herself that a combined team would triumph against all odds. But it could go against her orders.

She could forfeit. But she would no doubt be disqualified. Or pretend joining a team and then stabbing them in the back. But it could sow mistrust.

So many factors to take in account. Too many to start an offensive, to leap before thinking. She should test the water first. Despite their appearances, at least several pilots had showed quite passive intentions. She singled out the most critical mechs as the Destiny and the Logic Gate, because of their special abilities. She also should evade the heavier ones aswell.

"Eiswolf, ready for sortie. All systems okay." She said lazily. The doubt still nagged her, so she added a line. Was it really okay to try and wreck everyone's faces? "Requesting confirmation on IFF and objective, HQ."

A plan began to form in her mind. In worst case scenario, she would be targetted. Feigning might be helpful. The odds of pilots expecting her synch rate were rather slim, so she would move like if she had 20% less synch. Given the fact she could move her frame like a glove on a hand, it shouldn't prove not difficult.

On step two, she would do a fast reckon, exploiting the range of movement of the mech, before deciding on a target. She would probably target a weak one as a distraction of her true strategy should she need be.

But she knew that once she pulled that trigger, the fight would be the fight of her life.

She shifted. Awaiting.

[Ariamis]

"So far the project has entered its next phase splendidly," Lorenzo suddenly spoke, as if he wasn't talking to anyone in the room, despite Ritsu being present, holding her arms in a worried fashion. "And there are plenty of promising subjects in this batch. Though there are also many rotten examples. I could create an AI with better handling than some of them."

"That remains to be seen, professor." Ritsu said in a stern tone to the scientist. She looked at the screen, and saw how various pilots appeared in the hangars with their plugsuits on, and how they entered their given Framewerks. "After all, that is one of the purposes of this exercise, to test their Synchro Rates and tactical capability."

Lorenzo checked that he had visual feed recorded of every pilot's face while they were sitting inside the machines, and then activated the comand channel. "Now then, we will shortly begin the mock battle. As the lieutenant informed you, it will be held among Cadets. However, this does not mean it will only consist of your group. Shame on anyone who thought so. Your bloodlust is commendable though, and it will be useful when you channel it against the Cruxi, hee hee! No, it will be a fight between two teams of Cadets:

Team Sigma versus Team Irina."

A moment passed by as dead air lingered in the command channel, before the husky voice of another woman could be heard from it. "That's right, you fucking maggots! I'm Irina Spanova, and I'm gonna smash your Frames like tincans! Don't you bastards hold back, you hear me!"
Ritsu then suddenly spoke once she cut off Irina's comms: "Anyway, the objectives will be the same, regardless of the targets. Defeat as many enemies as you can by any means possible. You will be fighting superior numbers, so give it all you got, Cadets."

The hangar doors were then opened, revealing the landscape of zone A, which was the Open Fields, a vast stretch of empty land. You could see a tower soaring to the sky in the distance, which the map file designated as zone G, or the Tower of Power. The sky was filled with gray clouds, making for a dour scene to look at.
Lieutenant Ritsu's voice could be heard. "The objectives stay the same as previously. Cadets, commence Operation: Mock Battle!" As soon as the words left her mouth, the air filled with the grinding of metal and the roaring of thrusters as every Framewerk launched out of the hangar and into the fields in a thunderous fashion. The battle that would soon unfold on an astounding scale, with titans clashing against each other in a monumental brawl.

"Are you sure this is necessary, professor?" Ritsu returned back to discussing privately with Lorenzo. "This couldn't have been done as a virtual simulation, I mean?"
"No," Lorenzo said with a stern face. "You'll see. To defeat the Cruxi, they need to prepare to kill each other without hesitation should the situation call for it, and without any inhibitions, virtual or real. Besides, this can be classified as euthanasia when it comes to the Homunculus pilots."

Elora was still shocked from what she heard when she launched out of the hangar, and her fingers slipped on the interface as she tried to type her trained Combat Analyzer commands in. She had difficulty believing what she heard, and hated herself for assuming it was going to be a free-for-all. Only a madman would arrange something like that. This made a lot more sense, but even then it still seemed cruel to fight against other Cadets, even if she didn't know them. Still, she had a mission to fulfill. She was part of a team now, and she couldn't let her comrades down. "Initiate cloaking and terrain scan protocol," she vocally confirmed the command, and shot high into the air as the air electrified around her egg-shaped Frame before it seemed to disappear with a crackle. She lingered in the upper atmosphere long enough to get a rough estimate of what the arena's geography was, and uploaded it to herself and Ariin. "Here you go, you should now have a 3D-display of the map data with hostile activity marked as red dots and allies as green."

Then she realized: she forgot that it wasn't a battle royal, but a team effort, and switched to the command channel as she uploaded the map data to all Framewerks on team Sigma. "Uhh, I-I set up a map outline, but I need more time before I get all the sectors down." She bit her lip as she tried to emotionally soldier through the mistake she made, and resisted apologizing for it, as it was pointless chatter, and that was one of the biggest mistakes an information specialist like her could make. She hoped that Ariin wouldn't reveal her mess up to the other pilots, though at the same time she expected to be scolded for that by her superiors anyway. All in all, it was a terrible start for her. However, she at least she got the map uploaded, so she was contributing. At least, that's what she told herself.

There wasn't any indication where the enemy was coming from, though the team could barely see far in the horizon how several shades resembling humanoid shapes advanced upon them from various directions such as the lake in the east, the forest of pillars in the west, and from behind the central tower. But one thing was clear: there were many machines, and all of them were unique models with unique qualities. If team Sigma had any chance of winning, they had to put their teamwork to its limits, and give every fiber of their being to destroying them...even if they were Cadets just like them.

[SillyGoy]

This was a live-action exercise. Normally, it would not have given Harold cause for concern, but the difference between this and training was that here, he was being asked to kill fellow cadets. The angry shouting coming from what he presumed to be the leader of the opposing team only exacerbated his worries.

"But hell," he muttered to himself, as the Rostosov cleared the dim confines of the hangar and came upon the surface. "Didn't I ask for this?"

Naked sunlight now bathed the entirety of the mech's form. Its rotary cannons the size of small buildings gleamed particularly bright as they were unpainted. Engineers who had worked on the Frame realized early on that doing so was pointless, as the extreme heat generated while firing would simply melt the paint away. The ground mulched and crumbled under the massive weight of the Rostosov as Harold sent haptic inputs to make the thing walk forwards. He discovered that he still had to send almost as many counter-inputs as regular ones. Sighing mildly, he realized he'd still have to learn how to properly pilot the damn thing.

Logic Gate suddenly shooting up the atmosphere took Harold by surprise. Elora, up until now, seemed like a crybaby who did not possess the guts for taking the initiative. Turns out, he was wrong. He was beginning to comprehend three things very well:

1.) He probably wasn't the only bastard who knew how to fight around here.
2.) These kids were here testing experimental weapons with him for a reason.
3.) He signed up for this, so he had no right to complain.

"Shit, I think I might've been a jerk," he muttered again. He was shook from this line of thinking when a crude battle map was uploaded to his display, tracing from Logic Gate. He nodded vigorously in approval.

"We've got a map already?" he transmitted at the command channel, and his elation was palpable in his voice. "Hell, that's fantastic work, Elora! One down, only one other issue left," and he stopped, turning the Rostosov around to face the others behind him. "And that is - what is going to be our plan? I know we've discussed lots of tactics down there, but it's time to decide which one to actually practice."

"At this point, I am against the notion of splitting ourselves into smaller groups," he opined. "The good lieutenant said that we're fighting against superior numbers, so I'd rather we all stick together - but not too much, of course - to prevent getting destroyed piecemeal. Let us also assume that our enemies are just as combat effective as we are on an individual basis. So they have fire superiority."

"I suggest then," he said, brows furrowed on Elora's map. "That we make an ambush in difficult terrain. Let us deny the enemy their advantage in numbers. I think that most of our mechs should not have too much trouble traversing such an area."

"Do you guys see that bunch of massive pillars to our left? We can use that place to hide. What I'm thinking is that we can engage the enemy until the weight of their numbers catches up with us, at which point we can retreat deeper into the pillars and do it all again. We will conduct a defense in depth. Does this make sense to you guys?"

"So, opinions? Thoughts?"

[Mr Rage]

Zim pushed his Mech forward with his Armor plates down. They would remain down until he needed them out of the way for combat purposes. Never know when their might be a sniper around... "Thanks for the Map, Elora," Zim said and he considered what Harold said. "I am with you there, Harold. The pillars will allow the cover needed for Serah and I to get close. Our heavy mechs that might have a hard time moving in there should stay towards the outside of the pillars, Elora, we'll need your eyes in the sky to make sure we can see them coming if they decide to flank us in there. They've got the numbers to do it."

Of Course Zim had to wonder what kind of soldier referred to the West as 'left' on the map...

He didn't wait for a confirmation, being in the open would only leave his melee style Mech for dead. The water would make movements even more difficult... but he had to think for a moment, was Blackstar water proof? He assumed it was, all the same, it would be a shame to find out the hardway. They would move together in that direction, or they would all choose to go their different way.

Zim had the experience to move the mech in the direction he wanted at a hustle just fine, so long as the machine decided to cooperate with his intentions... Hopefully it would do just that. He focused on his movements until he reached the Forest of Pillars. There he would start scouting out a place to lay his ambush. Though, he had to assume that they had the same kind of mapping ability. Sitting still would not be a very good choice.