MechA cademy [IC/PG-13/Co-Hosted by Skaia/Not Accepting]

[LordCowCow 839]

"mechanics is a lot harder then it looks."

Kelsey was just watching Stella with a smirk when the girl made her statement. She had to bite the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing at how dejected she sounded about it. "Yeah, well, suppose we can't all be Rusty Rick after all." She watched Stella fiddle around with it for a bit longer before interrupting. "Might need more than just that. Far as I know usually you need to stick stuff together to make anything right?"

"Do you want an extra finger on there? Making something small but super useful is a good idea, I was thinking."

The corner of Kelsey's mouth twitched slightly at that. A flash of annoyance across her face. She managed to brush it off though to answer Vivian. "No way, only person I let touch this thing besides professionals is Stella. Hm, look, I'm gonna go grab us a pile of junk and we'll see what we can do with it."

With that said she got up and made her way to the pile. She started to pick up whatever was within reach and, when she ran out of arm space, she pulled her shirt out to use that as a sort of tray. Once she had gathered her fill she carefully waddled her way back to the table and dumped the contents onto the table. Among it were an odd assortment of items. Gears, a hover-car hubcap, various wires and knobs, all looking like they belonged multiple years in the past.

"Well, uh, maybe we can tape this together and..." Kelsey tilted her head to the side. "Anyone else wondering if this teacher actually wants us to succeed?"

Said teacher was still sitting on the desk completely ignoring them. Somehow the small device she had been fiddling with now resembled some sort of satellite dish that was spinning slowly and making a beeping noise. She looked up at the class for a moment, then frowned, and glanced at her device. "Wait, it was supposed to be a music player." she muttered.

Spoiler

Mostly just Kelsey I know. But yeah just continue to create. A few notes/reminders for people.

You can work with as many or as few people as you want as long as its okay with them.

You don't HAVE to make something that works just make whatever your character could make.

Also Zeta; if you want to work with people you have to talk to them OOCly about it or have your character address them because otherwise most won't just respond to vague statements like that.

I'm hoping by next week or the week after to have all the attempts finished.

Also feel free to try and talk to the teacher too if you want.

 

[Skaia 578]

Stella continued to tap the wrench against the radio, pondering how Rusty Rick had managed to do what he did with the table. Her train of thought screeched to a halt, however, as she heard Vivian's suggestion about what to do. Her eyes quickly glanced towards Kelsey, worried that something was going to happen between the two. Thankfully, nothing more seemed to come of it, and Stella stopped her examination of the radio to watch Kelsey go and acquire more materials. The girl put a hand to her chin, pondering over Kelsey's question as she looked over towards the teacher. Stella jokingly said, "well, I uh - maybe? I...I don't know." The girl was thoroughly baffled by this, as she had been by all of the classes so far. However, the girl looked towards the machine parts as she tried to focus. She still had an assignment to do. 

Trying to figure out what to do, the girl looked at a few gears that Kelsey had picked up as well as the tape and wire. Threading the wire through the gears, the girl tightened them together, putting tape on the gears to hold the wire in place. When all was done, Stella had two gears that were 6 inches apart from each other attached via wire. Placing it on the table, the girl tugged at the center of the wire, rolling the gears across as she did. Looking to the other two she said, "ta-tada. It uh, rolls."

[yui 574]

Okay. Sammi got the feeling she wasn't going to like this class. Aside from the teacher's obvious disinterest in doing the thing she was getting paid for, it turned out that Sammi was in fact a shit mechanic. She had an assortment of odds & ends she pilfered from the pile, but it seemed that no matter what sort of way she arranged and connected them, nothing was functional. And seeing others in the class making working things didn't make it any better. All that did was fill Sammi with a bitter feeling. She did not want to rely on these people if she broke something.

Fine. Whatever. Let's just make the most basic thing possible.

Three gears. Stick a tiny metal rod through the centers of two of them, then get the third one between the teeth of the first two at a loose enough angle. Stick another rod through the center of the top gear, and voila. A completely useless device that was a glorified spinning top. It probably did spinning top things worse than an actual one though.

---

Vivian drew her attention to the junk pile. Kellz had declined her offer for an additional thumb installed on her prosthetic, but thinking more about it... how would that work anyway? It would be much easier to do something liiiike...

These bits are a little big, but they'll work. Ooh, that tiny wheel is perfect! And this thing too. And I need a thing to pull all this... I bet that works! Maybe. Now, how am I supposed to put all this together?

Content with her assortment of little pieces, Vivian returned to the table she was at, dropping the handful of bits and pieces. She only knew the basic stuff, but if she hooked this thing up to that thing... oops, that part was backwards! Going back was too much of a hassle, so maybe if she just built the rest of it backwards too? Yeah, that could work. And this little sticky pad was the most important part! That was how it would work, after all! Plug this into that, put that part on her hand, and... perfect!

But did it work?

Flexing the muscles opposite her thumb wasn't an easy task without moving her other fingers, and her pinky kept curling in a bit whenever she tried. But every time she did, a rather shoddy-looking metal finger also did. It was a bit crooked, and didn't open all the way, but it was still functional.

[Chaos Sonic 442]

Chase was surprised to see that the teacher for Mechanics was the same individual on the ship who was in the hold with the mechas about the same time he was. Makes sense that she's the mechanics teacher I suppose. he thought, sitting down slightly.

"Oh. Hello. Right this is the Mechanics class. I suppose that makes me the teacher. Miss Patete is fine. Or Florence. Whatever really. I don't think I have to explain how important Mechanics is right? Right. So here. Let's get started. I have no idea what's in there. Make something by the end of the class. I don't care what. Work with whoever you want to."

A frown then began to appear on the young man's face, not exactly what he was expecting to have for a class like this, but then again he wasn't expecting a living robo mummy either, so looks could be deceiving, he supposed. Regardless, Chase sighed and stood up before taking a long look at the equipment and "junk" that was laid out. Needless to say, he wasn't sure what to start with on this. Stuff like this has been something he usually planned things up before being thrust into a situation like this, after all...planning took a long time to prepare some sort plan.

Oh well, I guess I'll just find something... Chase shrugged, grabbing something that looked like a switch and a few different lights. A bit low energy on trying to make something, but I guess it'll have to do...

[ZetaRESP 5]

Erica took a while to finish, if only because she took a while on realize that the others were kind of weirded out by her, so she finished her own invention on her own. It wasn't much, it was only a fishing rod with a claw instead of a hook, but it looked like a steampunk styled robot arm instead. Erica has some issues with making stuff in a way that is NOT steampunkish. She really like the look of stuff like that. Erica finishes her invention and immediately sets it to see how it worked. The line seems to be working well and the pressure sensitive claw is doing its job to pick up the stuff and keeping it tightly held. The release system, which is to fully reel the claw up and then using a lever in the rod to let it go, was working well so far. She was fine with this, so she just waited until she had to show it to the teacher.

[LordCowCow 839]

Kelsey frowned down at the pile in front of her as she saw the teacher, with a sigh, stand up from her desk and start to walk around the tables. Stopping to stare, sometimes say something, at each one. Looking entirely out of it the entire time.

"I have no idea what I'm doing." She stated. She cast an annoyed glance at the finger that Vivian had made. Then looked over at Stella's.

"ta-tada. It uh, rolls."

"It sure does." The girl responded with a grin. She had been feeling grumpy but that "tada" cheered her up. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the teacher approaching and so she scooted her chair closer to Stella. "Hey, listen, I owe you but I totally cannot figure this out for the life of me can we go halfsies on this...um, thing?"

There was little time to answer as the teacher had made it to the table. She was looking at Vivian's creation and started to prod at it. Bending it back and forth. "A tail would be more useful than another finger don't you think?" The young woman's eyes glazed over slightly and she started to mutter. "If I had another finger would it speed up production? No, no, it would be in the way. If anything I wish I had less fingers. More space between...but that would require dangerous surgery." She blinked and then looked at Vivian. "Well, it works. Just think about practicality next time."

When she approached the other two Kelsey leaned up against Stella and gestured to the wheeled thing that Stella had made.

The teacher stared at the object for a while before gesturing for a demonstration. She narrowed her eyes at it then gave a small nod. "Well played..." she mumbled and then moved along.

When she got to Kansuke she seemed to be growing somewhat more antsy already. Her eyes flicked back to her desk where the device she had been working on was. She idly picked up the light and turned it on. Staring directly into the bulb before setting it back down. "Ow." She said. Following it with "I suppose that means it worked."

Without much more of a comment she moved on towards the next closest, bumping into the table as her eyes were still readjusting, which turned out to be Sammi's.

Instead of the haphazard device that Sammi had constructed the teacher was looking at Sammi herself. "Which one of you made this?" She asked around. Then when she realized that Sammi was the student she just said "Huh." And wandered off towards Erica.

After holding the device the girl had made for a while she set it down and gave Erica a halfhearted stern look. "Steam was outdated as a power source for hundreds of years. Even a lever would be more useful than this." Despite that Erica's device looked the most intricate of what was made so far hers was the only one to get a slightly annoyed feeling out of the young woman. "Shake this habit or you'll never advance." She then continued onward towards the next.

Spoiler

Next round class will end. So for keto and chaos who hadn't made something this'll be last round to make something. Not that not making anything will lose anything except maybe annoy the teacher in this case.

If anyone wants more out of the teacher they should talk to me about it.

 

[ZetaRESP 5]

Erica looked at the teacher and despite not showing it, she was absolutely confused. Then she stops for a couple seconds and realizes she refers to the look of the device and how it is steampunk in look. She then sighs. The look of her invention was once more deceiving everyone around. She then sees her table mates giggling at the teacher's retort. Erica was not really amused by them, sho apparently created together what seemed to be a mechanical hand. She didn't say anything and simply looked at the rod she made. It was a fine rod, no matter what the teacher said or the giggling of the others. She looked at them in the eye and simply began to clean up the desk from what pieces she didn't use. She didn't even care to correct the teacher. She really didn't feel like talking back to a teacher right now.

[Skaia 578]

Normally Stella would've admonished Kelsey for trying to mooch off of her work but with the nature of the class and the peculiarity of their teacher she figured she could make an exception. The girl then stiffened up as the teacher came around and became examining their work. She gulped as she somewhat grilled Vivian for her invention and then was paralyzed as the woman gave a quick look at her own. Letting out a sigh of relief, albeit an incredibly confused one, the girl put her hand to her chest as she tried to get her breathing back to normal. Looking to her two friends she said, "well, it uh, seems like we passed at least. And uh, one step closer to being actual mechanics, right?" The girl gave an awkward chuckle at this, but then seemed somewhat defeated. Looking to Kelsey she said, "so, what's next?" 

Edited May 26, 2020 by Skaia

[LordCowCow 839]

"well, it uh, seems like we passed at least. And uh, one step closer to being actual mechanics, right? So, what's next?" 

"Well, right now next is lunchtime. If you mean in the grand scheme of things....I dunno, lunchtime I guess." Kelsey grinned at the other girl and then playfully punched her shoulder with her biological fist. "And I can't say for myself but you already made a few steps to being a mechanic in my book. Now c'mon gearhead let's get some grub."

After the teacher had finished making her rounds she looked rather worn out. When she sat at her desk she just slouched forward and waved to them all. "As you can see being a mechanic is mostly about figuring out how things fit together and making it work. There's probably some other lessons or something in this to learn but that's probably good enough of one." Her eyes drifted for a moment and then muttered "I thought there would be more future mechanics here."

The bell went off soon after and a robotic, but friendly, voice came up saying "All students report to the cafeteria for lunch."

---

The cafeteria was a large room. Much larger than the one that had been on the Finback. Several long tables were set up in rows along the middle of the room. It seemed that there was a separation for the three years of students but that didn't stops some of them mingling with students from other years.

Kansuke would in particular notice Tor, the tiger girl from before, lording over some other first years who seemed to be looking at her with admiration.

On the far side from where the students would enter was a cut out along the wall where a young man in a chef outfit was standing.

He held a ladle in one hand and a pair of tongs in the other hand and seemed to be waiting for students to come up to him to ask for something to eat. There were also assortments of pre-made meals laid out along one side of the counter that students could pick up. Any asking for requests would find the chef seemed to be intent on giving them something bread based.

Kelsey stretched as she walked into the cafeteria. "Ahhh it smells so gooood." She said. "I didn't really eat anything for breakfast and I'm starving." She looked over towards Stella. "Whatchu want? We can both get something different and split if you can't decide on something."

She looked out at the counter and realized that in the few seconds she looked over at Stella that the area between the tables and counter was completely swarmed with students all trying to get ahead of each other.

It looked like the chef was the only flesh and blood person and behind him were a small army of robotic drones to help. He didn't seem too flustered at the crowd though and just laughed it off with a smile that was reminiscent of...someone. Though it was hard to place who.

---

Important

Spoiler

Alright so Mechanics class is over. Not gonna linger without anyone giving me reason to do so. Now we're in lunch period. If you need any more information for any reason feel free to ask.

Also there is something familiar about the chef but not anything incredibly obvious. Not necessarily important but just a note.

Now...Important bit here.

I can't be sure if I'm still holding a lot of your interest. If you're not motivated or interested in the RP anymore that's fine. I won't be upset if that's the case. But I do want honesty so if anyone is not wanting to take part any more let me know since that would make things go better than being silent and just tossing out posts you don't want to make here and there. And let me know if you are still interested so I don't have to try and guess.

If there's anything you need to stay interested let me know that too. Since I can't make changes without feedback.

 

[ChampionZero 62]

Decima wasn't a planet prone to religious concerns: they were more of a practical people. They had a spiritualist institution and some longrunning superstitious tendencies, but militarism and pragmatics took priority.

Nonetheless, Kansuke was basically PRAYING for Tor not to see him as he picked up a pre-made meal and made his way to a corner she wouldn't see him from without making eye-contact. His ribs still ached from the day before, but he knew damn well she was likely to break him before she made him submit to her.

He would sooner die.

So he ended up sitting alone again, at a table large enough for four, near the entrance. His morning workout had been agonizing, but the pain of a sprint for safety was preferable to another beating from Puss in Boots.

[yui 574]

Lunch time! Imagine having to eat to sustain yourself. Although she wouldn't admit it anytime soon, Sammi was actually a bit envious sometimes, of that particular quality of organics. Not the having to eat thing, no, but rather having the option to, and the sense of taste to make it enjoyable. No digestive tract, no taste buds, not even a stomach. Those weren't important to let a machine operate, and given her rather minimal blueprint, that meant Sammi of course had none of those things. On the plus side, this meant she had the entirety of lunch break to basically do whatever she wanted, without suffering any consequences besides maybe being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Which of course meant she was bound for the library.

There was, after all, still a lot to learn. In a stark contrast to her history studying spree from last night though, her research today was more centered around the here and now. That D in modern studies wasn't something she was just going to let slide.

---

Lunch time! The cafeteria was about what one would expect. It was, after all, a school cafeteria. And this one even had pre-made lunches! Vivian looked over the selections. Not that one, not that one... PERFECT! Fried potatoes, a sandwich made of toasted bread with veggies inside, and a banana for potassium. Yes, meat was now on the menu for her, but that didn't mean she had to eat it at every possible turn. It was probably better to only eat it on special occasions. That said, now that it was lunch time, Vivian looked around. Students were mostly divvied up by year, and that made it a lot easier to find the guy she was looking for.

He was...

That one! Sitting near the entrance, by himself, like some kind of loner. More importantly, he was the guy Vivian was supposed to be working with for her history project! It would be a good idea to get to know this guy ASAP. That's why she brought her food along, sat down across the table from him, and waved hello. Surely he recognized her too, right? She sure hoped so, otherwise this would be weird.

"Hi there," she greeted with a smile and an extended hand. "I'm Vivian, your history project partner. It's a good idea to get to know each other early on so we can work together, right? Nice to meet you!"

[Skaia 578]

Stella smiled as Kelsey answered her question and was glad to see that there was nothing in way of actual work to do next. She was fond of school but Stella felt like given the hectic nature of all of the classes so far she would need some time to adjust. Of course, as soon as Stella thought this she was immediately brought on edge for what could come next. Even if it was a break period, there was a good chance something could happen. 

With everyone making their way into the cafeteria, Stella looked suspiciously around seeing that everything was normal so far. Relaxing a bit the girl walked closer to the table and looked at what was available. As Kelsey asked about what she wanted the girl said, "hmm, I'm not sure. But- " before she could finish her attention was taken aback to the huge crowd that had formed in front of her. It had seemed that even lunch would be a battle she would have to persevere through. Steeling herself to go through the crowd before her, Stella said, "well, we'll just see what we get and go with that." 

Knowing that the crowd wouldn't die down any time soon Stella simply pushed her way into it and went along with the current. Grabbing something randomly, she managed to free herself from the mob before finding a table to go sit at. Sitting down, the girl waited for Kelsey to return as well, before presenting what she had gotten. "Sushi and garlic bread? Weird." Stella looked at the raw fish that she had gotten nervously. She had never actually tried it, though had seen some places where they used to live sell it. And while she was curious about the taste she couldn't help but be overly cautious about it. Picking one of them up, the girl looked at Kelsey saying, "want to try one?"

[ChampionZero 62]

Kansuke was a little surprised at the approach of his classmate, but recognized the name from the partner-assignment so he figured it was legit.

She was shorter than him by at least half a foot and she looked like he could literally fit her in his bag and carry her with as much effort. She was cute, especially with the short hair and all. Honestly she didn't look like the kind of person who would go to this school.

"Likewise," he clasped the proffered hand as if about to arm-wrestle her, then let go as quickly. "I'm Kansuke, but you knew that, so..." He took a bite of his food-- he wasn't sure what it was exactly, but it consisted mainly of some kind of grain, boiled and slathered in a ground-meat sauce. He took another bite and decided he liked it well enough.

"So, where are you from?"

[LordCowCow 839]

While Stella went with the flow Kelsey made her own flow. Pushing people to make room for herself to reach the counter. She cast a glance at the chef but decided, since Stella had snagged one of the pre-made lunches, to just grab one at random as well. She followed the girl to their table and sat down. Only was it then that she looked at what she had grabbed. It looked like spaghetti and meatballs but, instead of meatballs, there were chicken nuggets in with the noodles.

"want to try one?"

Kelsey looked at what Stella was offering. Sushi. She had learned that taking sushi that has been sitting out was usually a bad idea. But surely it'd be fine in a school cafeteria like this. Worse came to worse she'd end up meeting the nurse. If the school had one of those.

"Sure thing." Kelsey replied and leaned in closer. Opening her mouth and taking the food into her mouth directly from Stella's fingers in one go. She straightened up and chewed it. Her face giving a full range of emotions before she swallowed. "Not bad actually. Oh, want a nug?" She picked one such nugget from her tray and held it out for Stella much the same as she did for her.

A couple minutes passed when suddenly something landed on the table they were sitting at. Kelsey jumped and looked to see a large glob of mashed potatoes sitting on the desk. "What the heck? Who did that?" She demanded as she half stood and looked around. Just as she did she was struck in the forehead by a whole potato and fell back into Stella.

And then there was those two words. Words guaranteed to start absolute mayhem in moments.

"Food fight!"

In moments the air was filled with all sorts of food flying around. Meat, vegetables, fruit. Some fairly harmless such as grapes. Others mostly just messy like the aforementioned mashed potatoes as well as things like tomatoes that made a mess when hitting something hard. However among the food was the occasional danger. Somehow a couple students had gotten their hands on a few whole pineapples that soared through the air like a pincushion grenade.

While many of the students had joined in on the chaos some of them were trying to hide under the tables, though in some cases that just made them immobile targets, and others tried to surge towards the doors to escape. Which would put them on a collision course with Kansuke and Vivian if they didn't move.

---

Meanwhile far flung from the food fight was Sammi. She had, like an absolute nerd some would say, decided to go to the library during this break period. She'd find the halls quite and abandoned as all the students were in the cafeteria and the teachers wherever it was that teachers went when they weren't in the classroom.

She did pass by the janitor who made the universal gesture of "I'm watching you" before continuing to wipe at the windows as though he were trying to learn martial arts from an old man.

Before Sammi managed to enter the library she would see someone exiting it.

Or rather something. Coming from the library, strolling out as though it was totally natural, was a large, pink, bird. One that was known as a flamingo. It stopped halfway out of the doorway when it saw Sammi and stared at her.

Stared. Stared.

Then it started to flap its wings and ran towards her in a territorial fashion.

[ZetaRESP 5]

Erica was understandably not feeling like gathering into the mess of the food battle, but she was drawn into it because she was hungry. And she decided that, to avoid being hit, she had to play her game. She closed her eyes for a second and when she opened them up, she imagined everyone was wearing robotic battle frames and she decided to play with that. She rushes through the battleground, blocking and parrying the attacks with her bare hands as she rushes along, no longer caring if she pulls out movements out of "Cyber Shinobi Ramen-Kun", she has to get through the mess. She leaps over the tables, flips around the chairs and basically does her best to keep moving. She tries to find out if Merlin is still around. Yes, she felt she had to speak with him, as she's pretty much feeling directionless right now. The classes are not going as she expected, specially because her way into mechanics was... rather unconventional if speaking charitably, very wild and disorganized if speaking bluntly. And she cannot allow that to happen. She NEEDS to get the best she could because she's basically representing an entire population in the school. And, much to her chagrin, she needs a lot of help in areas she originally considered non important.

[yui 574]

Library was over this way. Along the way, she passed what seemed to be the janitor, who was clearly keeping an eye on her. What was his deal? Whatever. After a bit of further navigation, Sammi was at her destination. The library. And it seemed she wasn't alone either. Just before she stepped in, something else stepped out. A bird. A flamingo? A... robot flamingo? What? For one, why was it here? For two, why was it staring at her so intently? For three, how had nobody fo--oh god it was running straight at her.

Wings flapping and beak honking, the flamingo made a beeline for Sammi. Sammi, in turn, decided that this was not a fight worth picking. And so, the robot girl promptly turned, and started running like hell. For good measure, she gave the bionic bird a "Leave me alone, you fake-feathered freak!"

Seriously, who let this thing in!?

---

"Likewise. I'm Kansuke, but you knew that, so... So, where are you from?"

"Oh, you know, nowhere special, just good ol--"

"Food fight!"

"Uh-oh." The last time Vivian had heard those words was during her time at a Colian military academy for training. She didn't remember all the details from that instance, but it ended with getting caught in the crossfire of several potatoes and waking up in the infirmary. Well, as long as it wasn't her head, Vivian could handle some food getting thrown at her. More than that, there was a whole stampede of students heading right this way in an attempt to get out of the crossfire! "We should, um..." Well, explaining wasn't necessary, was it? Tray in hand, Vivian got up from her seat and hurried along to someplace a bit more out of the way. Table entirely optional. This spot here, right up against the closest wall that didn't have a door near it, was perfect. Vivian sat back down, waiting for her partner Kansuke to do the same before finishing her answer. In the meantime, she removed her food from the tray, and held the tray up over her head, with a downward tilt, to avoid getting pelted in the head by by a hail of potatoes again.

Once the two were situated again, Vivian took a bite out of her sandwich before answering "Colia. It's a small jungle planet popular with tourists in the area. Just between you and me, the best time to go there for a visit is right around this time of year. How about you?"

[Skaia 578]

As Kelsey had taken the sushi from her fingers, Stella didn't seem to mind at all. As the girl gave her opinion, Stella looked back to her own sushi saying, "well, that's good to know." As Kelsey then offered a nugget to her, Stella simply reached out to take it from her. Upon bringing it to her mouth, the girl paused for a moment and looked around the room as if suddenly realizing where it was she was. The girl's face reddened as she seemed more reluctant to now eat the food, though still ate the nugget. Before she could say anything more, however, chaos seemed to erupt into the cafeteria as a food fight had started. Stella looked over to Kelsey as the girl stood up, having been hit by some kind of food, only to go wide eyed as her friend was hit yet again.

Stella was knocked back to her old friend, the ground, as Kelsey fell on top of her. Letting out a low groan of pain, the girl looked over to her friend saying, "h-hey Kellz. are you alright?" Upon getting confirmation one way or the other, Stella helped Kelsey out and stood back up. Looking at the food flinging fight that was around them, the girl had a mild look of panic across her face. The only thing she could think to do was shout out, "um, everyone. Settle - calm down and just - " she was interrupted in her efforts by an entire cod slamming into her. Being thrown to the ground, the girl let out yet another groan as she said, "save yourself," to Kelsey. The cafeteria was not a warzone Stella was able to navigate.

[LordCowCow 839]

Erica

It wasn't too hard to find Merlin. He was sitting cross-legged on one of the tables. Surrounded by, mostly female, students. He was chatting casually with several of them even while the food was being flung. He himself didn't seem to be participating in the mayhem but neither was he running. Any food that came near him was blocked by another student. Along with Merlin there were a couple other students who, while in the midst of things, weren't throwing anything. Instead they seemed to be taking down notes of some sort and relaying them to Merlin.

He noticed Erica running and jumping her way towards him and he raised a hand in greeting. "Hello again! I believe I said it before but you're certainly having an exciting start of the school year aren't you?" He seemed entirely calm about the situation as he yelled out over the crowd.

Unfortunately him bringing attention to Erica also grabbed the attention of several attackers and she would find herself facing a volley of food stuff heading her way.

---

Sammi

Letting out a cybernetic honk the flamingo seemed to understand, and be offended by, Sammi's words. It took off after her through the hallway. As Sammi passed by the janitor, currently staring at a spot in the ceiling with a grimly analytical face, he muttered "You better not make a mess." as she passed by.

The flamingo was fast but Sammi was able to keep her distance. That is until she heard a whirring noise. Were she to look she'd see the flamingo tucking its legs into the air and a pair of thrusters open up on its side. Flames shot out from behind it, which were an oddly rainbow color, and streaked across the hallway. Shooting past Sammi it stopped in front of her and forced her to either stop or run into it.

The flamingo stared into Sammi's very soul, or it would if she weren't robotic, as it let out a threatening honk.

"Marcelo!" The principal's voice boomed out as the man rounded the corner. He had a pair of headphones on his head and was snapping along to some music as he came across the two. "I thought you were going to spend some time in the library, what are you doing? And but those things away you're going to scorch the walls."

He then seemed to notice Sammi. "Well hello there young lady what are you doing here when you should be having a groovy lunchtime with your peers. I passed by the cafeteria just now and they were having a wild time in there."

---

Stella

"save yourself,"

"You know I can't do that!" Kelsey shouted, tossing a whole loaf of bread that had landed near her like a javelin as she knelt down beside her friend. "I can't abandon you to these savages! No matter how messy or nutritious our foes may be we'll face them together!" She then reached down for Stella's hand. "Now come on. Let's show these people how to really do a food fight. They won't know what hit em."

She grinned. "I bet you can think of a plan. And these aren't just for show you know." She flexed her arm.

[ZetaRESP 5]

Erica was already in self defense mode, she just adjusted her speed to avoid more stuff. She was not liking this a bit, so she did the only thing she could do in the moment: Grab a nearby chair and use it as a makeshift bludgeon. She would use it to block and parry the food that was coming her way as she tried to approach Merlin. She even got to the point to double wield chairs. She was not worried about getting dirty, but food was not entirely soft and some fruits may be hard to handle. Of course, she tried to measure which food was worth avoiding and which food was worth blocking, in order to not tire, but she nonetheless parried as much food as possible away from herself.

[yui 574]

"Marcelo! I thought you were going to spend some time in the library, what are you doing? And put those things away you're going to scorch the walls."

So its name was Marcelo. And its owner was the principal. Somehow, the name was the more surprising of those two developments. The principal sure did seem to be enjoying himself today, based on his... just the general air about him. He then turned his attention to Sammi.

"Well hello there young lady what are you doing here when you should be having a groovy lunchtime with your peers. I passed by the cafeteria just now and they were having a wild time in there."

"Not hungry," Sammi answered. "Since I wasn't planning on eating anything, I figured it would be better to do some studying in the library. And that's where I met your flamingo. Does he have a tendency to try and attack students, or does he just not like me for some reason?" Sammi couldn't possibly imagine why the latter would be. She hadn't done anything to offend the bird yet, had she?

 

[Skaia 578]

Stella sat upright with Kelsey's help as she took her friend's hand. It was heartwarming to know that she wasn't going to abandon her in perhaps the greatest fight that they had ever come across. It was also stressful knowing that she couldn't simply lie down and wait for everything to pass. Kelsey seemed to have faith in her ability to figure out a plan for them to win this fight so to speak, which Stella wasn't entirely sure how to feel about either. It almost felt like she was being a commander for a military operation or something. Which she supposed was fitting given that they were at a military school. "Alright, I'll figure something out, just..." The girl put a had to her chin as she seemed to miraculously tune out all of the noise and battle that was going on around her. 

After a moment, Stella said, "in order to win we need to hit them with something they can't fight back with." The girl looked to Kelsey saying, "punching and using things like chairs go against the spirit of a food fight and were generally banned in the Gelati Convention of 2919277, so relying on that won't do. However, we can put to use your physical strength in another way." Stella reached up her hand, and as if on cue an orange sailed through the air and into it. Bringing her arm down, she looked to her friend saying, "see, this right here is the essence of the food fight." There was a pause before the girl followed up with, "the food. It's the ammunition everyone uses to fight with. So, if you crush it and hurl it back at them, you will have successfully managed to destroy part of our enemy's ammo and morale, after all no one wants to pick up pulverized orange. So, we need to do our best to capture as many different source of food as possible and destroy them right back at our enemies. Things like this," the girl pulled the cod that was next to her, "are too much for your bare hands alone, so we'll stash them under the table and use them as melee weapons for anyone who gets too close. Sound good?"

[ChampionZero 62]

Kansuke followed his new company into cover, trying desperately not to spill his food. Once he was situated, he noticed her using the tray like a helmet. Smart.

"Colia, huh?" He tried to remember what his dad had told him about Colia. "I've heard you guys have military academies. Lucky you." He took a bite of food. "Where I'm from, you only get that kind of training if you join the Watch, the Overseers, or a gang."

"Sigma Reach, Decima Seven. S'not as bad as people think." He took another bite of his food. "The food's not as bland, for example."

[LordCowCow 839]

Erica

While the girl's unusual maneuver served to keep her from being struck by food it also served to signal her out. Many students seemed to take her defense as a challenge and began employing tactics to try and hit her with one food or another. Such as sliding cans of soda at her feet so they'd explode with the carbonation. And launching multiple links of sausages like a chain at her.

Merlin chucked as he saw this. "Yoohoo, didn't you want to talk with me or something?" He asked. "You know it's much more comfortable over here than in that...pile of mush you're standing in."

---

Kansuke and Vivian

"The food's not as bland, for example."

"I think the food is fine." Came a sleepy voice from nearby. The two would be surprised to find out that there was another person near them that they hadn't noticed even while they were talking. She was sitting in the corner with a pillow on her lap and seemed to be leaning over a stuffed animal that she was keeping from stray food shrapnel.

She seemed fairly young, frail, and somewhat sickly pale.

The girl brought her knees up closer and rested her cheek on the pillow in her lap. Looking at the two of them. "Do you come from a world of delicacies?" She asked as a tuna smacked the wall right above her head. Though she didn't react to this at all and continued to look over at them with baggy eyes.

---

Sammi

"Does he have a tendency to try and attack students, or does he just not like me for some reason?"

"What's that? Attack? No, of course not. Marcelo doesn't attack anyone." The principal brought a hand to the bird's, for lack of better word, chin and scratched the metallic creature as though it were flesh and blood. "Well, alright, perhaps he's a bit...overzealous when protecting his territory. Which is wherever he happens to be at the time. You just got unlucky that you came to the library during Marcelo's reading time." He chucked. "Wouldn't be a problem if you were at lunch with the others."

He put a hand to his chin and examined the girl. Chuckling again he said "And of course you're not hungry. You don't need food. But that's not what lunchtime is all about you know. It's a time to get to know your classmates, to complain about your teachers and principal, " he lowered his sunglasses and winked at this point, "and to get into just a little bit of trouble now and then."

The man patted the flamingo and the bird started going past Sammi again to go back to the library. The robot bird shot the robot girl a look. Despite the lack of discernible expression on the bird's face it was clearly quite the rude look he gave her.

"What sort of studying were you planning to do anyway? Surely you have classes and after school for that."

---

Kelsey and Stella

Kelsey smirked at Stella as she went on a lengthy explanation of the situation and tactics. "I love it when you talk nerdy to me." She said with a wink.

The girl rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck one way, then the other, and hopped a bit in place. "Alright, you got it boss. In that case you better keep an eye out cause I'm sure we're about to get a lot of flak coming our way soon."

With that she clambered up onto the top of the table and shouted out "Alright chumps come get me!" She shouted. The grin on her face growing wider as more people began to turn towards her.

She crouched down and raised her fists as she saw the first missile heading her way. She cocked her metal arm back and swung it forward. The apple exploded as her first made contact with it and she let out a whoop of excitement at the spray of apple juice.

Bringing her other fist across she hit a grapefruit. The skin split open with her punch and she launched it back at the attacker. Clocking them in the head with their own ammunition.

More foodstuff began to fly their way. And Kelsey continued to face it head on. Either shattering it with one fist or blasting it back with her other. Occasionally something heavier and more durable would come her way and she'd instead knock it down at her feet.

Though she was getting too into it and when the coconut came in she punched it straight on. Thankfully with her false arm. The tropical fruit cracked cleanly in half and sprayed both of them with the milk inside. Causing Kelsey to start to laugh. "Sorry about that, Stella, guess we didn't avoid ALL the mess."

[ZetaRESP 5]

Erica looked back and she was feeling really overcome with the attacks. The soda geysers, the sausage chains and everything were being too much for her and she was not liking it. She was getting really tired and she felt she should surrender right there... but the moment that thought crossed her mind, she went into hyperdrive. "SURRENDER NEVER!" was the motto the general drilled into her mind when she was in the basic training in order to get into the MechA cademy. She took it to heart. Surrender never. She felt a rush of energy come to her mind, to the point she grabbed a table to stop the food as she approached Merlin's table and attempted to get into "safety".

[Skaia 578]

Stella gave a resolute thumbs up to Kelsey as the girl seemed ready to follow through with her plan. While Kelsey seemed ready to fight from atop the table, Stella had no such plans. Crawling under the table, Stella began to topple the chairs that were placed around it. Putting the chairs into a barricade formation, the girl began to hide beneath the table and used the chairs for defense as Kelsey began her counter attack. Stella made sure to continue to stay right under where Kelsey was, reaching out and hoarding anything that was too hard for Kelsey to break with brute strength. Stella herself was not capable of much of an offensive, so this was close to the only support that she could currently provide.

Stella peeked her head out from her, admittedly imperfect, cover every now and then to watch what was going on. However, to some eagle  eyed food fighters, they saw this as their moment to strike. Whenever Stella would notice such an offensive being mounted against her, the girl would immediately take shelter. Hearing the thumping of food striking the chair, Stella was glad that she was safe from the mess though had to keep shoving the chair back into place as the impact consistently knocked it into her. All the same, the duo seemed to be relatively unharmed in the food fight so far. 

Poking her head out again, Stella was immediately assaulted this time from above. Looking up, seeing the spray of milk having exploded from above saw Kelsey. With a serious expression on her face, Stella looked to her friend saying, "everyone must suffer some casualty in war." After a brief pause, seeing how ridiculous Kelsey looked and likewise and ridiculous she must have looked as well, the girl started to laugh. Pulling out a whole baguette from her growing arsenal, she handed it off saying, "now fight on brave soldier."