[IC] Ace Academy - Ready!? Set!? Rumble! - High Casual

[vancexentan]

The sniper fell just like any other real machine unable to fully deal with the threat of a speeding skirmisher, and deal with it's opposition without aid the sniper was easily overwhelmed. With one of the two remaining snipers powered down, and vanishing into digital particles, that left only the free brawler, the one engaged in combat, and the remaining sniper left. It's ally was still focusing on Bill who was forced to resort to using his shield as the machine start to see a pattern in his movements. "Can someone take this thing out!? I can't tango with it forever!" Bill grumbled as he blocked the shocks, and before sending his gear into a more defensive stance he couldn't rush the thing as he'd get shot at faster. Bill wasn't good at dealing with long range targets. And he'd much rather not have to deal with the brawlers they were big, bulky, and dagerous. Exalted's armor was piss at the end of the day it was as thick as they could make it without sacrificing speed but it still was only paltry levels of defense. Ian's shots were deftly evaded as the machine itself was programmed for combating at range it managed to skillfully prevent itself from being hit. However it did prevent it from getting more accurate shots out itself.

The brawler attacking Ogre took the shots still intent on turning the machine offline before it went down. As it stood the enemy machines were definitely going to be defeated however they sought to bring down as many as they could with it. The remaining enemy sniper quickly, and sporadically aimed to take down Bill, and still keep Ian off it. The free brawler charged directly at Ian keeping it's shield between itself, and Rio and started to fire it's submachine gun directly at Ian's machine. It's intent was to take down Ian, and then move onto deal with Rio if possible. It had already committed to fighting them and as such it couldn't break off to save it's ally.

[Peaceless]

Ogre braced against the brawler's shield, putting its entire weight to push the gear back. It was shorter but heavier, and was moved only a couple of meters before regaining its footing. At this point Ogre attempted to dodge around the enemy, towards its blind side and now broken arm, but a hit below its own shield stopped Kiril in his tracks, the hit leg almost bucking under the strain.

Yes, the shield was just a first layer of defense, and had no impact on the brawler's offensive capabilities. Kiril's instuments read that Ogre's heavy armor took most of the hit, but one more in the same location would disable its leg, or worse. Then again, it was obvious what was going to happen now.

Ogre's accelerometers picked up the slightest movement when the brawler leaned back for another strike, and at that exact moment its left hand shot towards the enemy's face, as the right grabbed onto the shield. Its feet dug into the ground, Ogre pushed and pulled, to turn the brawler when it is off balance, and a loud concussive blast shot out of the hand against the brawler's face.

[Ammokkx]

Rio grit her teeth in frustration as her bullets bounced harmlessly off of the hulking GEAR's shield, lowering the rifle and taking another look around. She wasn't getting to Ian in time - there's just no way. Gurevich was still brawling and Atlas was dancing with the devil while Hayakawa rushed on back. Sure, their victory was pretty clear in the long run - in practical terms it was 2,5 against 4,5. This did not make it any less frustrating that she had been doing almost nothing the entire match while her team was showing off. With her pride damaged, Rio started thinking less clearly. She needed to help out her team in some way, she wasn't going to be dead weight! It's why she joined a team in the first place, to show she can carry her own burdens and prove to everyone she wasn't useless...

"I'll take the sniper!" Rio yelled over the communications, half out of anger. She activated the boosters on Union and pointed her rifle forward, but unable to take proper aim. She wasn't exactly trained to run and gun - most of her shots happened while standing still. What she could do, however, was toss a grenade the sniper's way - which is exactly what she did. Right after, Union stopped in place and took aim once more. Keeping the sights firmly on the sniper, Rio attempted to tear it apart with continuous fire - and if they made the mistake of coming for her, Bill can sweep in.

[Heckno12]

"Damnit!" Ian said as he was essentially abandoned to the oncoming hail of bullets. Not that he could really blame Rio, there wasn't much hope for her to make it in time but...Well There was a chance. Setting the jump jet to maximum forward thrust, the gunslinger easily propelled itself past the approaching brawler and back into optimal range on its opposite side while getting back into position to be covered. He fired the final rail-round directly into the bulky machine's weapon arm before it could turn its shield back around. It paid to be nimble sometimes. Skating to a halt back closer to where Gurevich was battling the other brawler, Ian recharged and reloaded his weapon.

He checked his shields to see that they were all but depleted by the assault, and his thrusters wouldn't be available for a moment or two. He breathed heavily for a few seconds and glared at the brawler he had just shot. A target that size and build would take a moment to reorient itself, the trouble of heavily armored GEARs. For now Ian would have to take advantage of his GEAR's small frame and hope that he wouldn't be a priority target back in the heat of the battlefield. He wouldn't give his performance an A, but a solid B+ was in order even if he was depowered in the next minute or so. Working with a non-AI team in these simulators actually seemed to be more difficult as he would normally take on level forty computers while other students were fighting in the actual arena. If this had been the qualifier, he had no doubt that their team's actions to this point would put them somewhere on the leaderboard...but probably not at the very top.

[vancexentan]

The machine tried to reply in time however it couldn't and took the blast to the face combined with damage suffered already the brawler attacking Ogre turned off and vaporized. The battle was so close to being over now as The remaining brawler still charged directly for Ian and ended up getting fairly close to him swinging with his sword however it wasn't fast enough and missed Ian. It tried to recover however it failed and ended up losing more space too Ian and ended up in a compromising situation as it couldn't figure out who to try and fight next instead choosing too hide behind it's shield and swapping to his short range machine gun with energy rounds to try and fire at either Rio, or Ian.

The remaining enemy sniper was unable to retaliate probably with it's remaining allies suffering heavy damage it tried to do all it could to focus down on Rio firing a few rounds at her before Bill could cover the remaining distance. Swapping to kinetic mode Bill smashed his sword through the enemy's armor and a follow up flurry send the machine into a crumbled mess on the floor resulting in the machine vanishing. "My gear is telling me the machine me that there's one left focus fire on it! I'll hold back to give you guys leave to crush it." Bill stated as he pulled out his submachine gun after sheathing one of his two blades and then firing it at the remaining brawler however Bill was still too far away to do anything more than annoy it even if his bullets could do any damage in the first place against the machine. "We take this fool out we win push!"

[Peaceless]

The digital smoke cleared around Ogre. It stood stooped, as if tired, over what was supposed to be the corpse of its enemy. The machine's cyclopean face appeared almost... disappointed.

It rose to its full height as its head swiveled in search of the next opponent. "...Still hungry." a rasp over the comm heralded the Gear's charge towards the remaining brawler, who fortunately had its back turned due to Ian's strategic placement. The heavy construction gear put every bit of power its leg servos could take and charged at the threat - but instead of colliding with it, extended a hand when ten meters apart. The thick whip flew over the Brawler's shoulder and wrapped around its torso, exactly when Ogre planted its feet in the ground and pulled downwards. If the brawler would charge forward, it would fall down where it stood. If it would walk back, it should fall on Ogre. And if it stood its ground to resist or turned around, well, that left all the opening Ian would ever need.

"Check."

[Ammokkx]

"I figured that out myself," Rio snarked back at Bill over the communications. The sniper had vanished according to plan and their team was still fully functional. The group was going to win it in no time at all, at this rate. Rio had her Union walk forward a bit, carefully watching the actions of the enemy brawler. It should therefor come as no surprise that she flinched when Ogre suddenly rammed into said brawler.

"...Good one, Gurevich."

Rio had conflicted feelings about her team being so good. On one hand, having a competent bunch would lead them to many victories. On the other, her team was full of foreigners and she'd be left in the dust if they all outshone her. It hurt her pride, but she didn't have to worry yet. There was still plenty of time, and she had been fulfilling her role as support fire excellently so far. At least, in her mind she did. Nobody could possibly compare, after all-

...there was still a brawler she needed to take down. Rio snapped out of her daydreaming and lowered the rifle, intent on reaching for one of the grenades on Union before realizing that Gurevich was too close for comfort.

"The damn fool!" she cursed under her breath, heaving up the rifle again. She wouldn't have any choice other than to shoot at them and hope for the best. The range was slightly more than she was used to, however, so Gurevich might wound up eating a few bullets himself.

[vancexentan]

Taking advantage of what it had going for it the remaining brawler going for Ian turned around in time to dodge and pivot away from Ogre putting it between itself, and Rio. It's attempt to wrangle it with the whip had proven futile as the machine's higher level Ai was calibrated to handle scenarios like that and with it's ally gone it has properly tuned up it's own sense of self preservation. The machine raised it's weapon and swung it directly towards Ogre's middle section for a decisive KO if it landed luckily for Ogre however it had allies backing it up as fire from both Bill, and Ian forced it to back down and push away.

[Heckno12]

"Finally." Ian said as the last AI was basically cornered. With the entire team fighting one opponent, it was completely unable to dodge his fire without dropping its guard. With a single breath, Ian fired two shots. One at the center of mass and the other, because of the recoil, directly into the head.

The mech collapsed and faded as the other computer controlled enemies had. Ian sighed in relief, thankful to have taken at least one out. What was better, he had managed to complete the match without taking hardly any damage. That was more of a testament to the rest of the team than himself, but it still spoke well for the future. With the danger gone, Ian stretched slightly in the Gunslinger and fell asleep.

[vancexentan]

"All units eliminated simulation terminating. Score N/A." commented the disembodied AI systems as the simulation terminated. Bill sent over a message that he was going to wait outside of his Exalted for anyone who wanted to discuss what had just happened further. Bill wasn't exactly happy with how he handle the situation. He wasn't some natural born leader, and he knew further that he had tendencies to double down on his own choices and fight opponents in singular combat scenarios. It was the way he was taught that made him this way. If anything he had to remember to actually call out the shots, or set someone to do that themselves. Bill sighed as he looked at the screen in front of him the damn thing was still way beyond his pay grade. He'd never amount to being worthy of something like this. More over it wasn't even something for him such as it was a machine made for someone else exclusively. It's like training to get use to a sword with an awkward grip. It'd take longer to get use too but eventually you would. Or at least that was what he thought it was like. Bill opened up his gear's hatch and exited faintly aware of some sweat dripping from his brow. He needed to be less intense when he did these things. He wiped himself off with a towel he kept in his cockpit and then proceeded to go back down outside of the machine to wait for everyone to come back...or whoever choose to come back.

[Ammokkx]

The simulation ended and Rio returned to the familiar sight of Union's cockpit. Even after the machine had long since stopped pretending to be fired up, the woman was still tightly gripping her controls. That entire fight was just... embarrassing! She didn't do anything important. Either she got cut off, had her ass saved or was firing at some brawler's shields in vain. It was frustrating. So, so frustrating.

The hatch to Union's cockpit opened, the woman didn't want to be in there for a second longer. The light from the outside hit like a truck, being much brighter compared to inside hr GEAR. While she climbed out, she noticed a few drops of sweat falling from her forehead onto the cold metal of her machine. Seems the stress and the adrenaline had really gotten to her, something that didn't please Rio. Well, at least they won. That's what was important, she figured. It was also a way for her to keep somewhat calm after that tragedy.

It didn't take long for the woman to arrive at Bill's GEAR, raising an eyebrow at being the first to arrive. Considering Union was the furthest away out of all the GEARs, it must either mean the others were too busy doing something else or have bailed on them. Neither of those were good signs.

"I guess you could call that a victory," Rio flatly stated to Atlas, making sure to keep somewhat of a reasonable distance. She wasn't interested in keeping this any more friendly than it needed to be.

[vietmyke]

Sara sighed as the simulation came to a close. She ended the practice match with one kill- pretty good all things considered. The AI opponents had put up more of a fight then Sara had expected, but they all managed to pull through somehow, without any losses too. The fact that they made it through the match without a single loss is what impressed Sara the most. It meant that they all had at least some measure of personal skill- as Bill's leadership was somewhat lacking. Their gameplan had apparently been to wing it, and while they were resourceful enough to outdo the AI with astounding results, Sara doubted that sort of gung-ho attitude would get them very far in the competitive scene.

Opening her cockpit, Sara felt a rush of fresh air cool her off, she had the beginnings of sweat on her brow. Climbing out with practiced ease, Sara stood on the shoulder of her machine and stretched as she watched Bill climb out of his machine. Celestial Star's team leader- her team leader. Sara sighed, they had a long way to go. At least they all knew how to fight. From the Union down towards the end of the hangar, Sara watched Hamasaki cross the distance and reach the Exalted first before Sara decided if she'd join them. Sara wasn't much of a talker, and though she had issues with what just went down in the sim, she wouldn't readily voice her concerns if not prompted.

Instead, she calmly made her way down to the ground and crossed the distance to the Exalted, contenting herself to plop herself on top of a nearby supply crate, nearby where Hamasaki and Bill were.

"I guess you could call that a victory," said Hamasaki, who didn't seem too happy with the result of the fight either.

"Victory." Sara echoed quietly, verbal air quotations included- though without the accompanying hand gesture.

[vancexentan]

"Those were high level computer Ai's out there even the best pilots an screw up when fighting them. I intended this to just be a test run to see where everyone stands, and or if anyone can be a liability without directions. With that being said though I understand that what happened was on me. I didn't give cohesive directions and that probably has alienated both of you. I promise you both that I intend to be a captain that you can be proud of. I'm not good with leading people, I've always taken a back seat to others, however if you intend to stay after today I promise I will be better at giving directions." Bill said calmly as he watched the two ladies come over and more or less ooze with discomfort of how lack luster their team work was. Bill hoped he would do better in the future he had to. He couldn't let his family down. "I'm no super pilot, and I'm not a perfect person either however when I dedicate myself to something I give it my all. 'Eyes in front, and mind yourself' is what my cousin use to tell me. I suppose that's why I'm so focused on what I do." Bill said calmly despite his previous attitude in the sim he was very much in control of himself when out of the machine.

[Peaceless]

"It was perfect." Kiril's voice sounded from the distance, slightly louder and hoarser than normal. He was one of the last to disembark - after each match, he would always stay in Ogre's cockpit, its loud coolers coaxing him into a meditative state. He would analyze the battle from an imaginary bird's eye, to understand the limits of his team and how to overcome them. He had learned a surprising lot from the simulation.

"Yes, perfect." he dismissed their looks of disbelief with a wave of a hand. "We now have a great picture of our strengths and weaknesses. The composition of the enemy team was simple but effective, and further enhanced the imbalance and mismatch of our own team. Bill, if you'd like, I have suggestions. But you are the boss."

He gave Atlas a small evil grin. This guy will turn into a leader or die trying. There was nothing else.

[Ammokkx]

Rio had the urge to groan when she heard Kiril's hoarse voice in the distance, wanting to chuck the nearest thing she could grab at his head. That condescending tone of his accompanied by that know-it-all attitude, despite him being a foreigner, really got on her nerves. What the heck did he know about 'perfection'? And how could you have a 'great picture' from just one battle? To her, it seemed like he was acting like he knew more than he did. That, right there, is annoying to no end.

"Oh, yes. Let's all follow your example, Gurevich, because charging in head-on and getting your leg disabled was such a splendid display of tactics."

Perhaps it was a bit meanspirited, but Rio really didn't feel like dealing with someone who thinks they've got it all, despite the hypocrisy it creates. Truly Sara was the only sane one in the room- and she's not just saying that because they're the only other female in the team.

"Anyway, Atlas... we're not going to be getting any relevant spot on the board with that performance, high level AI or not. Sure, we didn't lose anyone. That's not enough to qualify. The only reason we won is because the AI had just as little teamwork as we do- something our fellow students won't lack. I've been proven wrong, though."

[Heckno12]

"urgh." Ian groaned as he stirred slightly inside his GEAR. By all means he should probably have been congregating with the rest of the team, but at the moment his nap was calling him back. A moment or so later he managed to drag himself out and meet up with everyone else.

"I don't know, I think we would have scored some decent points." He said with a yawn as he walked up. "Not going to lie though, we probably could have done with a bit more defense."

At this rate they would be lucky to hit the top five. In that fight alone, Ian was almost unable to function in that fight as he was put on the defensive from the start. Their whole team composition was unorthodox, but if they had acted cooperatively perhaps it could be turned to their advantage.

[vancexentan]

Of all people he wasn't expecting much praise from Kiril but he took it in stride all the same. "I-I really appreciate it. I Know we can do better just need to get on the same wavelength. As a team Celestial Star has always remained dedicated, and powerful. With all of your help I'm sure I can do better but I can't do it alone. We can plan all we want but if we don't work together well we won't get anywhere." Bill said firmly as he pumped his fist forward. "Rio, Ian I think you're both being way to pessimistic on the matter. This was a trial run if we can do better in the future than everything should be fine. Sarah if you think we can do better I'm counting on you to help me make up plans for the future fights. If you talk as big as you walk you should be a big help to the party." Bill told the tall girl as he turned his sights on Ian. "Ian I'll make sure to cover you more in the future. However I'm expecting top class sniping from you, you hear?" Bill told his team's sniper. "Mistakes are made by everyone. There's no avoiding it. However if I have my way I'd like it if we could all get on the same page as quick as possible. I'd like to go back the lounge and have a bite to eat with you guys maybe talk things over a bit more. Sound good?"

[Peaceless]

Kiril flashed a sarcastic smile at Rio. "Actually, that was not one of the suggestions I had in mind." He said matter-of-factly. "I doubt your Gear can handle it. Nor should it - Your natural approach towards the immediate challenges we faced proved to be complementary to my style. Granted, I was slightly too aggressive than necessary, but it was important for me to test the toughness of our close-range opponents, as well as my own."

He seemed to consider this for a moment, and his eyes narrowed. "In fact, some would say the lack of combat damage may hint at a reluctance to participate in combat. It is nothing to be proud of, at the least." He turned his head towards the Gear hangar, his eyes stopping on Bill's for a long moment. "Yes, staying in your comfort zone is an excellent way to impede progress. I have learned many things about you. Did you?"

[Ammokkx]

Every word from Gurevich's mouth made Rio want to go up to his GEAR and absolutely trash it, but the woman had enough self-restraint to refrain from such barbarics. The fact he even dared suggest their styles were complimentary was ludicrous- this reckless egghead didn't seem to think anything through. To add to that, he even insinuated that she is relunctant to engage in combat. Utter nonsense! Union was made to support everyone, of course she wouldn't get up close an personal. Unlike Gurevich, she wasn't intent on getting her GEAR disabled before the fight had properly started.

Rio sighed and ran a hand through her ponytail, twirling around with the soft hair a little bit. While she'd been pretty hung up on Gurevich's words, Atlas also brought up another thing. To go back to grab a bite and discuss it further, as well as counting on Rio to help him formulate battle strategy. She kept learning just how naïve, trusting and idealistic Atlas was... but maybe that's for the best. The team was already looking mismatched, so a little bit of optimism couldn't hurt. Even if Gurevich made it hard to keep said optimism rolling.

"I suppose I owe you that much, Atlas, after all these theatrics. It's not such a bad idea, anyway."

Now here's to hoping that Gurevich didn't tag along. Somehow, though, Rio had the feeling he would.

[Heckno12]

"World class sniping, I guess with some work..." Ian said with a yawn. He knew what Atlas had intended, but the last fight had definitely highlighted a serious weakness. While even professionals have trouble sniping while under fire, it wasn't an excuse. He needed to be able to make snapshots while on the move. As things were, he was almost completely useless against the two enemy snipers. On a team without many long range fighters, he would need to compensate heavily for that.

When Gurevich said something about a lack of battle damage being nothing to be proud of, Ian glared slightly. Every bit of damage sustained was a shortcoming, a mistake to be avoided the next time around. Certainly those who remained undamaged by avoiding combat weren't exactly assets to any team, but anyone that willingly allowed their GEAR to be damaged could be judged the same way. Perhaps as a long range combatant, Ian's views were slightly skewed.

"I'm up for going to the lounge for a few. Afterwards, though, I should head home and get some shut-eye." He said with a nod. It was tempting to just decline and leave right away, but he owed Bill for letting him on the team. To that end, he was going to try and keep his almost narcoleptic tendencies minimized.