City of Irrowskurn, 2000 Orbital Time, Day 140, 79 A.E.I greet the person on the bunk below me, ask if they need help, and try to trade names. If they seem chatty enough, I'll try to strike up a "where-we're-from" conversation to get to know them better.
Addendum: If they're nice, I try offering them some of my deliciously sweet and sour Jojubes from my bags. Nothing better to break the ice!
Since you need to be on the floor to get to your bags anyway, you meet face-to-face.
"Oh hey! I'm Shirou. Nice to meet you. I'm kind of bummed about the draft since I spend the last week studying for finals... but... I guess it's nice that I have a say in our future."You offer him some candy.
"For me? Oh sorry, I strictly control my diet. No junk food for me!"He pulls out a banana from his backpack and eats it whole.
"...ah, I know how you feel. My parents were an author and journalist, so I had no help in learning math myself. The war also put a damper on my learning, but it did give me valuable experience."
Continue the conversation.
"The war...?"You see a face of genuine curiosity.
"You mean you fought in Anexia? Wow... they must have specifically picked you for this. Have you ever been in a tank?"Last you recall, tanks are obsolete in the age of air superiority. Anexia was the first region of New Terra to be annexed, by Irrowskurn of course. It consisted of a number of villages which popped up over the years, filled with dissidents and revolutionaries. Eventually they started housing guerillas, and in short order, Anexia was pressured into joining Irrowskurn's sphere of influence and to allow inspections.
Tanks had no role in that. They're just sitting ducks for aircraft. At least, that's what everyone thought...
OFFENSE: Punch him
[d6: 6] You put all your weight behind the blow, knocking him down onto the steel edge of the bed through a punch to the chest. He rolls over onto his side and clutches it, gasping for air. Did you hit something important...?
The guy starts coughing blood all over the white bedsheets. Someone shouts "someone help him" and you hear the doors slam. Soon enough, a pair of medics in violet-green uniforms (the camoflague is patterned in dazzling zigzags) arrive and pull the coughing boy on a stretcher.
Hey, at least you got the top bed for yourself.
Wake up from staring into space, and find a place to reserve a bed.
[1] You're dead last, so you get to pick the one bed left, where there's a girl lying on the bottom bunk, relaxing.
"Hi." she sees you set your bags down.
"Hey, you can take the bottom if you'd like. I don't have anything down there worth watching." she goes to climb the ladder.
"Ah Hermia, my first love."
Reflect upon my past until disturbed.
You remember Hermia as a little fledgeling. Crows are not native to this planet, having been reconstructed from genetic information brought aboard the colony vessel. They were made to be nocturnal, just like humans became voluntarily. Air temperatures in Irrowskurn reach 140°F routinely during the summer, too much for any Earth wildlife.
It was not expected that Earth's wildlife would find niches in New Terra's ecosystem. At some point, crows and other animals were found with symbiotic parasites living in their digestive tracts. These allows Earth's wildlife to live in the wild--and soon crows in particular were found leading nightwings (small ground predators capable of gliding from hills) to their prey, scavenging the remains.
In fact, it seems Hermia found a bit of meat of her own. She sets it down at your feet: a pincer belonging to some crustacean-like local wildlife.
Get prepared to go to our first class. Try to attract little attention.
You pass the time by reading the the instructions in your schedule:
Today's course will introduce you to recent developments in warfare. You will be expected to learn your strategic objectives and logistical basics.
Class is in the blue pavilion at 2100.You look out the window: sure enough, the blue pavilion is there, next to a much-larger red pavilion and several violet-green tents much smaller than the last nearby.
There are a couple of trucks and armored cars parked next to an open field with targets at the end, presumably a firing range.
You get your stuff ready, including your stylus and a roll of smartpaper.
Clade: Baseline, 19
Armor: Civilian Clothes
Skill Tree:
T1: d6..........|T2: d8..........|T3: d10.........|T4: d12.........|T5: d20.........|
Quick...........>
................|Dodging.........>
Intuitive.......>................|Reflex Actions..>
................|Opportunistic...>
Deceptive.......>
Additional Effects:
Opportunistic: Improves attacks against vulnerable foes
Reflex Actions: Increased chance of success in reaction rolls
Healthy
>Hermia is not allowed inside buildings
Clade: Baseline, 21
Armor: Civilian Clothes
Skill Tree:
T1: d6..........|T2: d8..........|T3: d10.........|T4: d12.........|T5: d20.........|
Skeptic.........>
................|Intimidation....>
Bull-headed.....>................|Leadership......>
................|Constitution....>
Energetic.......>
Additional Effects:
Healthy
Clade: Baseline, 29
Armor: Civilian Clothes
Skill Tree:
T1: d6..........|T2: d8..........|T3: d10.........|T4: d12.........|T5: d20.........|
Precise.........>
................|Explosives......>
Steady Hands....>................|Saboteur........>
................|Electronics.....>
Technophile.....>
Additional Effects:
Healthy
Clade: Panthrope, 46
Armor: Civilian Clothes (w/ Glasses)
Skill Tree:
T1: d6..........|T2: d8..........|T3: d10.........|T4: d12.........|T5: d20.........|
Farsighted......>
................|Recon...........>
Patient.........>................|Marksmanship....>
................|Ambushes........>
Hiding..........>
Additional Effects:
>Hiding: +1 to stealth rolls while immobile
>Farsighted: -2 to rolls involving within twenty feet, without proper glasses
Healthy
Clade: Panthrope, Age?
Armor: Civilian Clothes
Skill Tree:
T1: d6..........|T2: d8..........|T3: d10.........|T4: d12.........|T5: d20.........|
Diligent........>
................|Crafting........>
Scrounger.......>................|Design..........>
................|Repairs.........>
Bookworm........>
Additional Effects:
Scrounger: Searches are more thorough (I won't roll for it most of the time)
Healthy
Clade: Baseline, 22
Armor: Civilian Clothes
Skill Tree:
T1: d6..........|T2: d8..........|T3: d10.........|T4: d12.........|T5: d20.........|
Traffic Science.>
................|Logistics.......>
Organized.......>................|Strat. Sabotage.>
................|Resourceful.....>
Kleptomania.....>
Additional Effects:
>Orderly: Tries to make his surroundings neat. -1 to actions requiring focus in disorderly areas
>Strat. Sabotage = Strategic/Large-Scale Sabotage
Healthy
Author
Topic: The Fallen Sky: Training Round 1, Eliminated Squad 2 (Read 15069 times)