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

[LordCowCow 842]

Chase

"Jeez, have a little pride or something." Sid said, scratching the side of his head and awkwardly turning from him. "Well, when I went out before I found this place. It's only open at nights so...I was gonna head there. You can follow if you'd like."

The place as it turned out seemed to be a rather ramshackle looking building. The sign was half hanging off, and not legible, and the windows were boarded up. Though when they got closer it was clear that the building wasn't falling apart. Instead it was made to look like it was.

While it looked small as they approached it when they stepped inside it seemed to open up more. A ramp led them to an area underground from the main building, with a couple muscular men standing at either end. They stopped Chase but Sid waved a hand "Hey, it's fine. It's his first time, I think, you know how it is."

They looked at each other and nodded and Sid led Chase to what looked like an old shutter that lifted up as they got near it.

Immediately Chase could hear loud, punk rock, music blaring out. The area they entered a large room that resembled an emptied out warehouse, with a walkway up above them that people where standing and hanging onto. The floor was filled with people moving about. Their movements seemed almost robotic and stilted but mostly due to the flashing lights that were going off. Off to the side was what appeared to be a bar of sorts. Most people only stopped there for a moment before going back onto the main floor with their drinks, though several stuck around.

Up on stage were four females, one singer, and three more with instruments. The stage itself was in the middle of the room, circle shaped, and surrounded by some kind of light barrier.

"Don't get lost. Or trampled." Sid said as he slipped in with the crowd.

Spoiler

Alright so here's a thing. Good luck with that Chase. You said to drag him somewhere, Chaos, so here's where he was dragged. Course he doesn't have to stick around.

But anyway, because I had these laying around, images for the band.

Keytar

Bass

Drums

Vocals

---

Kansuke

The red-haired student was almost down the hall when Kansuke called out to him. His stride seemed to be quick, even when so casual, and Kansuke could see now that the slightly older male was quite tall.

He paused at the shout, turned to face Kansuke, and walked closer. "Tucker, Soren Tucker. Second year student. I expect I will be seeing your name frequently from here on out, first year, am I correct."

Without hesitation he held his hand out for a handshake. His expression never changing from the collected and calm face he had been making since Kansuke first saw him.

There were very few students in the hall with but Kansuke noticed a couple of them whisper as they passed by. "That's him? The top student? What do you think he's doing here?"

---

Teen Girl Squad

"I'm sure the streets would be much safer with your fists on patrol, Kelz. though, my old granny hands could probably sew something up."

Kelsey snorted at Kelsey's response. She stepped closer to the girl and reached out with one hand to grasp one of Stella's own. Lifting it up closer to her face she looked at it for a moment before looking at Stella. "Don't look, or feel, like granny hands to me." She stated.

"After a short break when we're back at campus, we could have that mech sparring match you wanted," Viv proposed. "I need to get some practice in with mine anyway, so this is a good opportunity! I'm sure there's a training room somewhere we can use."

Kelsey dropped Stella's hand after a moment and turned back towards Vivian. "You got it! If not could just use my room. Got a message saying my roommate had to leave or something so it's just me for now."

The way to the campus was uneventful, and before they knew it they would be within the perimeter of the school once again.

Spoiler

Short I know. We can figure out where you want to go from here and who to ask about where to do the thing if you want. Didn't want to just unload all at once.

---

Sammi

Kaiser looked up at Sammi as she spoke, listening to the, rather long, response to his question. She would notice something shift in his expression for a moment, a look of realization, but he nodded. "I...won't tell. N-no one asks me much anyway...Erm, except you, I suppose." He was silent for a while before seeming to remember to answer said question. "I'm not...sure, but I think it's in the same building as the classes. Er, this way."

With that said he led Sammi towards her destination. Halfway there Kaiser remembered there was an electronic billboard outside of the classrooms where they could check and, sure enough, they found that the library was inside the building.

Said library was somewhat small, compared to what one might expect from such a large school, and a lot of the "books" were instead monitors that you could download information from.

There was, however, a section with tall bookcases with physical books. In a corner area of the library. Which, contrasting with the cold and mechanical rest of the room, had plush carpeting, several armchairs and couches, and a fireplace.

[ChampionZero 62]

Kansuke accepted the offer, shaking his hand in the palm-to-palm standard variety, rather than the palm-to-wrist shake of his homeworld. "Yeah. Kansuke Akatsuka." He smiled back, his wolfish grin returning slowly along with his confidence. "If all goes well, I hope we'll be fighting side-by-side soon. Definitely rather work with you than that spoontongue Northwest or Princess Paranoia Paws."

So he's a second-year. And the top student? Interesting... that gives me some idea of what to aim for.

Tucking his hands in his pockets (and wincing at another dull ache in his ribs), Kansuke sighed. "Well, I'm going to go rest up. I've got twice the reason to, now. See you around." At that, he made for his room-- hopefully his roommate hadn't been doing any weird voodoo crap while he was out.

[Skaia 579]

After Stella had made her joke, she then immediately went flush in the face as Kelsey grabbed and looked at them. Looking away from the girl, clearing her throat a bit she said, "well, they're not really good at sewing either..." With that, the discussion then went to the upcoming sparring bout between her roommate and her friend, and thus the trio made their way out of the city and back to the campus grounds. Once there, the gang began to walk around, trying to figure out how exactly to go about getting such a match underway. And so, after some wandering, the group found a girl that Stella recognized as the leader of the Steel Hounds house. As Stella remembered her to seem like the most responsible and knowledgeable of school protocol, she figured she was as good a source as any to ask. Walking over to her, Stella said, "um, excuse me. Sorry to bother you but, my friends," she pointed to Vivian and Kelsey, "were looking for a place to uh, spar. With Mechs or otherwise. Do you happen to know where they could go for that?" 

[yui 577]

"You got it! If not could just use my room. Got a message saying my roommate had to leave or something so it's just me for now."

Those creepy box dorms? "Those might be a bit small for some sparring," Vivian warned. Admittedly, Vivian fought best in confined spaces, but those rooms were a little too confined for her. And so, the girls set out in search of a place to fight, or failing that, someone who knew of such a place. It was Stella who was the lucky girl to find such a thing. The person thing. This girl was the Steel Hounds head, right? From a viewpoint of "I'm here to train for the military" it probably made sense to join that house, come to think of it. But working with that type sounded like such a hassle, and it wasn't like Colia ever had wars with other people.

"Um, excuse me. Sorry to bother you but, my friends were looking for a place to uh, spar. With Mechs or otherwise. Do you happen to know where they could go for that?"

"We won't break anything," Vivian added. "Promise."

---

"I'm not...sure, but I think it's in the same building as the classes. Er, this way."

Sammi followed Kaiser's lead, taking note of where she was and where she was going. She didn't want to have to ask for directions a second time, so of course she'd make a point to memorize the way the first time. And when she got there, ready to digest plenty of information... Sammi was honestly disappointed. For a school this big, she'd expected a library at least twice the size of what she was met with. Maybe thrice the size. While there were physical paper books, there were also monitors. Sammi would be opting for the latter of the two; it would be much faster to read from those.

"Thank you for bringing me here. If those hooligans come after you again, I'll be here... probably all day and all night. Like I said, it's a lot of research."

[LordCowCow 842]

Teen Girl Squad + One

Kris examined the three girls with one hand on her hip. They had caught her on the way to her house's building near the classrooms. "Isn't it a bit early for you to be thinking about mech practice outside of classes?" She shook her head. "No, I can't let you do that."

"Oh come on." Kelsey said. Honestly she hadn't planned on getting in her mech today but being told no, by another student, didn't feel good to her either. "It's not that big of a deal is it?"

Kris frowned. "It is. You must have been told so already. You're all far too new to have such freedom with your mechs. That being said, some martial practice isn't a problem." She thought about it a moment. "I'd rather you did it somewhere safe anyway. Come with me."

Kelsey rolled her eyes at the others but followed along as Kris led them into the Steel Hound's building. Each room was rather sparse, and militant, with lockers lining the walls where Kris grabbed some equipment before leading them through a sliding door. Into a low-ceiling and wide room that resembled something like a martial arts dojo. With the far wall being a long mirror and the floor being covered in rubber mats.

She handed each of them  bag. "There's protective gear in there. Put them on before anything else. If you need to there's a shower room over there." She then moved towards the other side of the mirror wall and crossed her arms.

Kelsey scrunched up her face as she looked at the gear. Pads, gloves, and some sort of padded helmet. "Yeah this is a bit...much don't you think?"

---

Sammi

"Thank you for bringing me here. If those hooligans come after you again, I'll be here... probably all day and all night. Like I said, it's a lot of research."

"Oh, um, I don't..." Kaiser glanced at the doorway then back at Sammi. "I don't mind staying here. I don't have anything else to do..." He trailed off and his eyes widened a bit. "Um, that is if I'm not bothering you. I don't have to stay I just. Thought. I-I dunno." He shrugged weakly and the more he spoke the lower his gaze went until he was staring at his shoes.

"I-It's up to you." He finished.

Spoiler

So yeah wasn't sure if that was meant to be Sammi being by herself or if that's how it was gonna end for Sammi or what but figured I'd add a little bit for her since I could.

 

[yui 577]

Apparently, mech training was out of the question right now. Too inexperienced, the Steel Hounds head had said. Doesn't that mean it's all the better we want to practice, though? A bit of hand-to-hand sparring on the other hand, was just fine! The girls were led to a building with lockers, showers, open space, and protective gear. Plenty of it. Quite a bit of it in fact. Certainly more than was present during her training back home (read: virtually none). Not bad! She didn't want to end up accidentally hurting her friend in a training match of all things, so having some protection for the two of them was a great--

"Yeah this is a bit...much don't you think?"

"Not at all!" Vivian spun on her heel to face her foe-to-be, holding up one of the protective helmets, about to continue... before remembering. Kellz's prosthetic arm. She didn't remember it because she felt bad fighting a cripple. She remembered it because of what it had done to Stella's purse yesterday on accident. Vivian didn't actually know the upper limit of that arm's strength. Putting on the helmet and drawing her focus back to Kellz's face, Vivian continued "Safety first and all that jazz. I'd hate to end up hurting you on accident in a training match, and I bet you'd feel bad if that happened to me too. I've seen it happen, and even done it and had it happen to me a couple times during my training back home."

Although, I think one of those was less because of the fight and more because somebody forgot to follow standard safety procedures. I'll just avoid that little anecdote.

As she continued to put on more of the protective gear, Vivian posed a question. One that had been on her mind since she first met these girls. "Are those expensive, by the way? The prosthetics. It's fine if you don't want to tell me, but they look really nice, so I was curious."

---

"Oh, um, I don't... I don't mind staying here. I don't have anything else to do... Um, that is if I'm not bothering you. I don't have to stay I just. Thought. I-I dunno. I-It's up to you."

"Stay if you want, or leave if you want. I really don't care, though I figured you'd have something to do besides watch someone read." Sammi started searching on the monitor. She needed... history. From the general area of the galaxy where Kavra was. About events that happened several centuries ago. Luckily, it seemed there were a few sources on the events she was looking for, in various fields too! History, programming, and even an ethics book. Some historical fiction too, but fiction wasn't what interested the robot girl right now. She needed the facts.

"If you're staying, you might as well do something other than just sit there though, like have a conversation. What planet are you from?"

[Skaia 579]

Stella was partially relieved that the sparring was actually just limited to unarmed combat rather than them fighting in their mechs. After all, Stella herself didn't want to be roped into the act of sparring itself, as well as having a daunting feeling from the thought of watching two mechs fight so close to her. All the same, the girl had known from just her brief introduction that Kris and Kelsey weren't the type that would get along with each other, and she was pretty sure this theory was right from their now brief interaction with one another. All the same, as they had seemed to at least secure a place for the two to spar and so with an awkward thumbs up towards Kelsey, the trio of girls followed Kris to the sparring area. 

Stella had marveled at the building they were in as they took their  brief pass through it, still marveling at how official the room they now were in looked. All the same, as Kris gave the two protective gear, it had seemed that both Kris and her friend had come to a difference of opinion again. Looking at Kelsey, Stella gave an awkward smile trying to smooth things over saying, "well, even professional boxers use stuff like this in training right?" Truthfully, she was all for not watching her two friends actually maim each other as she had seen how intensely Kelsey could fight before and the more Vivian talked the more surprisingly brutal a person she seemed. Stella's eyes, however, did linger on the gear for a moment and she couldn't help but comment, "though, yeah...they are a bit...tacky." 

As the other two prepared themselves, Stella looked over to Kris saying, "um, sorry for doing this on short notice, but thanks again. For letting us use your building for this stuff, an all."

[Chaos Sonic 443]

"Jeez, have a little pride or something. Well, when I went out before I found this place. It's only open at nights so...I was gonna head there. You can follow if you'd like."

Chase shrugged and let Sid have that little "pride" comment slide, not wanting to go into detail about him actually having plenty of pride in his work. But nevertheless, he heard the little suggestion about the place Sid said, so of course he had one thing to say.

"Sure, I don't have a problem with that. So lead on."

---

Now this was both something he didn't expect about this place...but at the same time given how he figured Sid was, it also made sense. The music, punk rock from the sounds of it, blared over the speakers and it seemed like quite the lively place. Even seeing the band was actually pretty nice...hey they were pretty cute and they could definitely rock out...and that was pretty amazing to him.

"Don't get lost. Or trampled."

"I'll try not to..." Chase nodded, watching Sid slip into the crowd, as he shrugged a bit and decided to follow after the guy. The dude seemed to know his way around here and he seemed to have a handle on what was going on here too. Try and stay around him, try not to stand out too much...I can do this.

[LordCowCow 842]

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Kelsey grew silent as Vivian mentioned someone getting injured. Her gaze flicked over towards her arm for a moment before she looked back at the protective gear. She supposed it would just have to do for now.

When Stella mentioned boxing she scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, guess they do, but...well, alright I suppose so." She agreed with some hesitation. It just felt weird to put all this stuff on just for a little fight.

"Are those expensive, by the way? The prosthetics. It's fine if you don't want to tell me, but they look really nice, so I was curious."

They looked nice did they? Kelsey's eyes darkened a bit as she thought about that. What, like some kind of fashion statement? "You're right I don't want to tell you." She said. "Let's just do this thing already, okay?" She got into her stance, fists up, legs apart, and waited for the signal to begin before going in swinging.

---

"um, sorry for doing this on short notice, but thanks again. For letting us use your building for this stuff, an all."

"It's fine." Kris responded, crossing her arms over her chest and watching the two of them closely. "It's better than letting you do it in the dorms or something stupid like that." She glanced over at the girl. "You aren't going to join in?"

Watching the other two Kris focused in on Kelsey and frowned. "She's being too aggressive." She muttered disapprovingly.

---

Sammi

"If you're staying, you might as well do something other than just sit there though, like have a conversation. What planet are you from?"

"I-it's nothing special." Kaiser said, clearly not having expected the question. He looked away for a while before finally responding. "It's called Konigreich. It, um, it's not really a big planet or anything." Kaiser followed it up with swiftly. "Really, don't uh, don't think much about it. It's just a small nothing place that's all. Um...what about you, where are you from? It must be somewhere pretty tough if you came from it..."

If Sammi knew, or if she checked, for information on Konigreich she'd find a surprisingly bloody history. The planet was indeed small but it had, at one point in history, incredible military might. They had tried to take many planets under their control and even managed to succeed in conquering several of them before the League of Planets, the main governing body of the universe, led by the President of Space, put a stop to it.

Nowadays the planet is a shell of its former self. Mostly being used as a place for production on mechs and farming, providing food for the planets they damaged in their attempted conquest.

---

Chase and the Punkettes

It would become more difficult to keep up with Sid as so many people were moving and jumping about. But he would be able to just barely keep up with him. Especially as the boy was suddenly stopped by a tall, mean looking, man who started to curse him out about something that Chase couldn't really hear.

Before he could decide what to do the song ended and the lead singer shouted out "How did you like that, you pieces of trash!" She waited for the response, a combination of cheers and boos, before starting up again. "Thought we'd have some fun tonight. Gonna grab one of you garbage and bring em up on stage to sing along with the next one! When the robo lights you up red you come on up here!"

She pressed a button on the microphone and a small disk-shaped robot, with a metallic mohawk and painted in green, red, and black splashes of color, popped out of the stage and started to sweep across the floor.

The light was a dim white light as it passed by several people. It stayed just high enough to avoid the grasping hands while it made its search. Finally it stopped, and shone a red light. Right on Chase himself.

[Skaia 579]

Stella stiffened up a bit as Kris had asked if she was joining in or not. Rubbing the back of her head awkwardly, the girl said, "no, I'm more fine to just watch. I'm not really that big of a fighter or anything. And well, it's always been like this anyway." The girl muttered the second part of her response, before looking at the fight and reminiscing somberly about the times before coming to the academy. All the same, the girl focused back in on the fight as Kris made her comment, frowning a bit. She could only imagined that Kelsey was still probably annoyed at Vivian, or was just annoyed in general, but all the same said, "oh, well. She's usually pretty intense when she fights but she probably won't like, hurt hurt her." 

[yui 577]

"You're right I don't want to tell you. Let's just do this thing already, okay?"

"Oka~y!"

Once the signal for the fight to begin had been given, Vivian immediately realized the problem with this protective gear. It was hindering her movement! Even just a little bit of padding for safety did a pretty decent bit of work to knock a chunk out of the agility that defined Vivian's style of combat. Being at a disadvantage like that - especially in a wide open area without walls and the like to use to her advantage - certainly didn't feel good when she was met with Kellz's aggressive brute-force, punch-heavy style of fighting.

It'll be fine, Vivian assured herself, only barely avoiding a nasty-looking left hook. If I can just keep this up until she tires herself out, the--OOF!! When she least expected it, whilst slipping away from another left-handed punch, that prosthetic arm Vivian had been worried about came flying right into her field of view and then directly into her face, knocking the girl off her feet and clear onto the floor. If not for the protective gear, Vivian was certain she would have lost a tooth just then.

"I'm tapping out," Vivian sighed, tapping the floor next to her as proof. "You win this time." Next time, she'd have to figure out more ways to stall Kellz out.

"I-it's nothing special. It's called Konigreich. It, um, it's not really a big planet or anything. Really, don't uh, don't think much about it. It's just a small nothing place that's all. Um...what about you, where are you from? It must be somewhere pretty tough if you came from it..."

Konigreich... Sammi had never heard of that planet before. If she weren't so busy studying everything that went on in her neck of the galaxy since KOWA had been shut down so long ago, she would have loved to take a small detour to that planet's cliffnotes. But there was a lot of history to cover in a lot of different places. Research on Konigreich would have to wait until later. For now, Sammi pulled up an image of Kavra. A historical before-and-after photo, showcasing the icy planet in all its technological splendor back during its glory days, compared to the landfill it had since become.

Hovering her finger just above the image on the monitor, Sammi answered "Kavra. Once upon a time, it was a technological haven where science and progress was some of the best in the galaxy. These days though, it's a toxic junkyard that can't support life. So I suppose calling it somewhere pretty tough isn't inaccurate, at least for organic creatures like yourself. Certainly not a place where you'd want to retire, unless you enjoy that sort of survival scenario."

[LordCowCow 842]

Three Girls and Another Girl

Kris didn't look convinced by Stella's reassurances. "I've seen plenty of people go too far without meaning to." She said, keeping her sharp eyes on the sparring match in front of her. It seemed she had more on her mind, though, so she tilted her head in Stella's direction and continued to speak. "You seem different from them. Not as driven. Makes me wonder if you actually want to be here. You know, if you're wanting to get more confident, my House is best for that. Nothing gives you more confident than working with everyone and learning how to fight together."

She frowned at Kelsey. "Too rough." She muttered and seemed ready to step in when the other girl suddenly called it off.

---

Kelsey felt good. The exercise felt good. The punching felt good. Every hit she landed made it feel like a weight was being lifted from her shoulder. She swung once more, without thinking, and hit the girl full force with her mechanical arm. At first she didn't realize there was an issue until she saw Vivian fly back from the force of the hit.

Dammit, that was right, that stupid arm...

She hesitated for a moment. Adrenaline was pumping through her and she didn't want to stop to help the girl up. She wanted to keep going. But if she had injured the girl...

Thankfully Vivian was able to get up on her own. Meaning she hadn't hit as hard as she had feared. Though after getting up the girl decided to surrender. Which caused Kelsey to deflate. She had a lot more in her tank still after all.

As if reading her mind the older girl came up. "Alright, that's enough then. If you want more go find a punching bag. Before that, though, since you have so much energy why don't you clean up the mat and put away the equipment."

Kelsey frowned as she pulled off the gear and dropped them haphazardly into the box they had come in. "Why clean up? Don't you have a system for that?"

"No, not here. We specifically had them removed. I find that having to take care of the place means people are more willing to not break things. Plus it builds character." Kris nodded firmly.

Kelsey rolled her eyes at Stella but shrugged. "Alright then, let's get this over with."

Spoiler

If y'all want to end stuff after this post feel free to. Get w/e dialogue you want from whoever before then though and not just leave anything you want to say out.

---

Sammi

Kaiser frowned at what Sammi had said. The name of the planet vaguely rang a bell but he wasn't sure. There were plenty of planets in the universe after all. Even his own despite its infamy wouldn't be known by everyone so there was no reason to assume he'd know hers.

Though it was the next part that really made him focus. It seemed obvious in hindsight but her words did seem to explain some things. Though he didn't really want to just assume, that would be rude, and it was difficult to ask. What if she wasn't and thought he was making fun of her?

"When you say...organic, do you mean that you're...not that there's a problem if you are. It might be why I can...t-talk a bit better, since, you know. Er, what I'm trying to..."

He fidgeted nervously before giving up and just blurting "Are you a robot?" And staring at her feet as if waiting for her shoes to answer the question instead.

Spoiler

Once again similar to above if you want to end stuff soon it's fine, just lemme know, and get w/e info you need.

 

[Skaia 579]

Stella was only made more uncomfortable as Kris made her offer to join the Steel Hounds. It wasn't as though she wasn't already thinking about joining them. But it was true that she didn't have much in way of motivation. Even if it wasn't their first choices, she couldn't deny that Kelsey and Vivian were definitely looking to make more of their current situation then Stella was. Even if she was just here along for the ride, because Kelsey was here, what was it she could actually do? She wasn't really a scrappy person. She didn't wasn't all that interested in the military. And she most certainly wasn't comfortable inside of a mech. And while she had already known all of this about herself, having it pointed it out by someone else certainly didn't make her feel good. 

All the same, before she could respond to Kris's offer, it had seemed that the fight between Vivian and Kelsey had to a bit of a rough conclusion. Letting out a sigh of relief as Vivian still seemed to be fine, the girl watched as Kris had told them it was time to clean up. Looking over to Kelsey, Stella said, "well, cleaning can be kind of a workout. In of itself." The girl thought back to how messy her own home could get, and just what kind of labor went into fixing it. All the same, Stella felt empowered to get the room clean, feeling like this was something she could definitely do and definitely use as a distraction, and so she said, "alright girls, let's get to work." 

---

With all of the cleaning having been finished and bidding her farewell to Kris, all that was left was just Kelsey, Stella and Vivian. As they had begun to walk back to the dorms, Stella's mind was caught on the thoughts from earlier. She hadn't answered Kris, and she still didn't know if she did belong here to begin with. She hadn't the drive nor the will to actually be a mech pilot, and were she by herself there was almost no doubt that she would probably drop out. Yet, the day wasn't all depressing. She had a fun time with what little time they had before school officially started, and she had felt it had been awhile since she had just hung out and enjoyed much of anything.

A soft smile on her face, walking between both her friend and her roommate, the girl understood why. "I'm glad I'm here with you." The girl said it softly, but then almost immediately realizing what she said, blushed instantly. Clearing her throat, suddenly in a hurry to escape the awkward situation of her own creation, the girl began to hurry ahead of the other two saying, "well, uh, see you, uh, both in class tomorrow!" 

[Asriel Dreemurr 38]

Xa'tok sat largely in silence as the Principal responded to him, and for several minutes longer as he considered what was said. A place left abandoned by its previous inhabitants? That did not bother him as much as it perhaps did others. It was the nature of life to find its home where other life before it had before passing on. At least that was how his people saw it. He knew from what he had read of history that other peoples did not take as kindly to the repurposing of the dead's effects. It did not make sense to him, but he understood that it offended them in some way. Though hearing about one of the teachers having an interest in the people... perhaps they had insight into the spiritual nature of this world that he could not glean on his own. Time would have to tell, but for now he had been quiet enough.

"The... Chief Shaman, as they would be called in this language," he took a moment to stand up, making sure his legs could support him, "would say that one should understand the past, because it is what the present rests upon. Which in turn is the foundation of the future." He took a few unsteady steps to the door, got himself properly balanced, and once he was no longer in danger of falling over looked... meekly at the principal. "Could you let me out of here please? I... should be getting ready for tomorrow."

A few more minutes, and the Shaman was doing just that. Returning to his room so that he could prepare for the next day. After all, the Naval Officer Preparatory Examinations were beginning then as well, and he was going to be very busy indeed.

[Chaos Sonic 443]

"How did you like that, you pieces of trash! Thought we'd have some fun tonight. Gonna grab one of you garbage and bring em up on stage to sing along with the next one! When the robo lights you up red you come on up here!"

At the end of it all, Chase ended up getting selected for whatever the hell this band was going for with bringing people on stage to sing a song. Unfortunately, Chase didn't have a clue what song it was going to be...or who the band was in general. He figured that'd be a bad idea to just throw someone up there who didn't know anything about them. Sure, they might've had the lyrics on the screen...but he also had zero insight on the tempo or anything.

Sufficed to say that Chase ducked out on this and while he enjoyed himself the best he could around this place Sid brought him to, he figured it was time for him to dip out and just go back to the dorm room. Besides, he needed to hurry up and get enough sleep to actually get to what he was hoping for since this day began: actual class.

Hopefully Sid understands I couldn't stay too long...meh, I'll probably hear about it tomorrow from him. he thought, shrugging his shoulders as he left the ramshackled building and made his way back to the campus and to his dorm room.

[yui 577]

With the fight over, and Vivian thankfully uninjured, all that was left was the cleanup. Something that apparently was to be done by the people using the place, for reasons. It all made sense to Vivian. Especially considering that they were the ones who wanted to use this space in the first place. While Kellz didn't seem all that excited by the prospect of cleaning the place up, Stella seemed relatively eager to get started. And the cleanup was fun! At least, as far as cleaning a place up went. And when it was all said and done, it was time to head back to the dorms.

Along the way though, Stella said something. It was really quiet, but Vivian could just pick up on it. She was happy to be here with the others? How sweet! Of course, as one often does when they realize they've said something embarrassing (what was embarrassing about this though?), Stella wasted no time taking off ahead of the others, leaving the pair with a "Well, uh, see you, uh, both in class tomorrow!" As she watched Stella take off, only one thought could cross Vivian's mind.

"But I'm your roommate..." She would be seeing Stella again today. Unless one of them just went out of their way to avoid visiting their own room.

"Well, it's been lots of fun getting to know you both. Here's to a fun school year! See you tomorrow! Unless you can get to that door over faster than me, that is." It wasn't exactly a proper race, but seeing who could reach the dorm building first between the two more athletic girls would also be fun, right? And while she hadn't done so well in a fight, a footrace was something Vivian was confident she could win. Whether Kellz accepted the challenge or not, Vivian took off full speed ahead. After all, if she did take her up on it and wanted to just catch her by surprise, Vivian wouldn't want to lose to a trick like that!

"When you say...organic, do you mean that you're...not that there's a problem if you are. It might be why I can...t-talk a bit better, since, you know. Er, what I'm trying to... Are you a robot?"

Even with the relative emptiness of the library, and every other factor put together, the question coming out of nowhere still startled Sammi. Apparently knowing something and getting used to it were two different things. She even had to stop herself from denying it just on instinct. "Of course I am," she answered, taking care to keep her voice down at least. "My arms can come off, I can headbutt a boy's fist without any harm done to myself, and I'm from a toxic wasteland of a planet. What else could I be? I've been trying to keep this under wraps, but that's a long story. I can't say I want to broadcast it to the whole world just yet though." There was still much research to be done. And while she was here, there were other things to do as well. Lots of studying, lots of thinking.

This was going to be a long night.

[LordCowCow 842]

The next morning would start the same for each student. With an alarm. Regardless of if they had their own alarm set the room itself would go off with a klaxon sound. This noise wouldn't stop until everyone in the room got out of bed and placed both feet on the ground. Much to the chagrin of many of them. If they lay back down after the alarm wouldn't come back. It was meant to get them to their feet. What they did after was up to them.

The schedule would be posted on a screen that had seemingly appeared overnight in the otherwise barren rooms. It seemed the first class would be General Education with Dalton John.

---

Once in the classroom they would be free to choose their own seat. The room was laid out like a lecture hall. A desk at one end, with a large screen currently displaying an image of a round corgi bouncing across the screen, and stadium style seating at the other end. Half a dozen rows of seats, each row higher than the last, with a long desk in front of each.

As they filtered in and took their seats they'd see that in front of them was a digital keyboard as well as a holographic screen which at the moment was just a blank blue.

The teacher was nowhere to be seen as the bell rang for class to begin. A few seconds later however he rushed in, buttoning up his coat and adjusting his glasses as he stumbled his way to the desk. He put his briefcase down with a thud and took a few seconds to get his bearings before turning to the class.

He raised his hands up and spread his arms out and gave a self-deprecating smile. "Not the best first day I admit. Well, either way, welcome students to the General Education class! I already introduced myself but I suppose I should explain a bit more about my class. You see a lot of people see mech pilots as armymen and women with all brawn and no brain. But that just isn't the case. To pilot a mech the most important skill you can have is being able to think. And without the basics you can't hope to learn anything else. Even if it's just a bit if you know something about everything you'll be much more capable and can survive in many conditions."

He nodded, seemingly pleased with himself, then clapped his hands together loudly. "Now then, you know my name, but how about all of yours? I'd like if we started this getting to know each other a bit better. So why don't you each tell me your name and, let's see, three things you love. I'll start. I'm Dalton John and I love my dog, my job, and chocolate." He patted his stomach. "A bit too much I'd say." He chuckled to himself before looking around the room.

"Why don't we go with....you there, the one who's somehow sleeping while sitting up." He then reached back to the keyboard on his own desk and pressed a button. When he did the screen in front of Kelsey lit up and let out a loud buzzing sound.

The girl gave a start and stood up. Looking around in a daze she muttered "Huh?"

Dalton then repeated the task and she nodded slowly. With a yawn she gave it a bit of thought and said the first things that came to mind. "I like boxing, arcade games...and uh...my best friend." She nodded tiredly and gave a sleepy smile before sitting back down.

"Well that's lovely, see, not so hard. So who's next?"

Those who were focusing might notice something about the teacher's briefcase. It seemed to be moving. Slowly inching towards the edge of the desk.

Spoiler

And next day begins. I wanna see how y'all react to the morning wake up and give your reactions/response to this stuff.

If you need info about any of the other classmates let me know.

 

[ZetaRESP 5]

It was 5 a.m. Erica woke up and, wearing her pajamas and her hair still combed down, she got to her corner table and drank her tea. She took her time alone in the city to visit the place and relax. She hopefully didn't have any other issues in the elevator. She was still in the table, in her pajamas, with her hair down and drinking her tea, when the alarm was heard. She was already certain what the alarm was for, so she went to her large closet, took off her pajamas and dressed in her regular clothes. She didn't pay any attention to her roommate as she did so, including shaking her hair to her regular hairdo. She also took her fans and got them in her pockets, just in case. With that done and the strange watch to call her mech in her ankle, as she already had a mechanic wristband for her wrist, she went to the classroom.

--------

Erica arrived to the classroom and took on of the seats in the front row for sakes of commodity. She saw the screen and simply tried to ignore it. She knew the class in advance thanks to her checking the schedule in the way to the classroom, so she knew who the teacher was. She waited once the bell rang and then a bit more until the professor entered. Once he began to speak about the class and actually explained what the class was about, she could see the class was more about common knowledge and, apparently, common sense. She was fine with those, and hopped that would involve figures of speech in Standard language, which are her biggest failures currently.

"Now then, you know my name, but how about all of yours? I'd like if we started this getting to know each other a bit better." Erica blinks a bit at this, kind of confused. "So why don't you each tell me your name and, let's see, three things you love. I'll start. I'm Dalton John and I love my dog, my job, and chocolate." Erica was more confused about what can something like that tell her about the rest or what her likings may reveal about her, but she was not gonna complain. He then called the attention to one of her roommates who was apparently sleepy.

"I like boxing, arcade games...and uh...my best friend." Erica simply heard, but it really didn't stick to her much, other than she didn't say her name. It made sense and she was looking pretty tired. Still she liked arcade games and boxing, so that was probably something she knew about her. 'Maybe her mech has boxing gloves... or maybe not, who knows.'

"Well that's lovely, see, not so hard. So who's next?" Erica stood up without hesitation and cleared her throat.

"My name is Erica Sapphire, but I'm in the road to be legally renamed as "Rika Sahira" per the naming customs of my homeland, the asteroid Reign of Asari, so I go by either Erica or Rika. I like everything related to tea, beating people with my mech and stuff that may be considered 'cute'. That's all." She then bowed to the professor and others before sitting down. Her eyes gave a glimpse of opening wide when she realized the last thing she mentioned. 'WHY IN ALL RINGS OF PARADISE DID I SAY THAT?!'

Edited February 25, 2020 by ZetaRESP
last paragraph was meant to be a thought, shanged to italics to reflect that.

[ChampionZero 62]

Kansuke's morning routine meshed well with the dorm's built-in alarm-- before it went off, he managed to do some simple bodyweight exercises, gritting his teeth all the while as his ribs ached in feeble protest. If he couldn't push past his pain, he didn't deserve to be there. It was almost automatic, all the way past the alarm going off, getting breakfast (just enough carbs to get himself active), and making his way to class.

Having done so with mercifully few complications (chiefly ignoring his ribs and navigating this hell of a school), Kansuke listened to Professor John with a sort of grudging appreciation for what he was getting at. An informed soldier could make informed decisions. Knowledge in all areas, even just on a cursory level, could only be an advantage. He recognized the Asarian girl and, once she'd sat down, he stood up.

"I'm Kansuke Akatsuka. I love--"

--don't say "my little sister," don't say "my little sister," don't--

"--Regicide, cherries, and the sound o' someone's teeth snappin' together when you uppercut 'em!" The last item was punctuated by him tapping under his chin with this thumb, one of his homeworld's many crude gestures.

Satisfied that he'd conveyed himself clearly, he sat down, wincing at his ribs, and took silent note of the moving bag at the professor's desk.

Probably that dog again, he figured, turning his attention back to whoever was speaking next.

[yui 577]

Vivian wasn't ready. The klaxon alarm waking her up did a splendid job of causing the girl to spring up and get out of bed, but she looked more ready to track down and engage in combat with an intruder to the school than attend classes. After taking a second or two to realize and remember where she was though, her expression shifted considerably. Once the alarms had quieted down and she was up and mobile, Vivian was excited to start off this school year! She wasted no time getting dressed and ready for her day, and waited only to confirm that Stella was also ready to go before taking off for class.

"Now then, you know my name, but how about all of yours? I'd like if we started this getting to know each other a bit better. So why don't you each tell me your name and, let's see, three things you love. I'll start. I'm Dalton John and I love my dog, my job, and chocolate."

From there, as per Mr. John's directions, other students started introducing themselves. Kellz liked boxing, arcade games, and her best friend. That first one explained their fight yesterday! She'd noticed some pretty good footwork on Kellz's part, but never any kicks worth talking about. So that was why! She made a mental note that if they ever had a rematch, Vivian didn't have to worry about her opponent's legs that much. Moving on, Erica Sapphire liked tea, her mech, and cute things. Kansuke Akatsuka liked... regicide!? ...and cherries. And the sound someone's teeth makes when you uppercut them. Was he okay?

There didn't really seem to be any sort of order to this, so Vivian took her turn now that nobody else was stepping up to the plate. The girl stood up, and eagerly said "My name is Vivian Marsh, and I like plants & animals, meeting new people, and exploration! It's nice to meet everyone!"

---

"Sammi Knett," another girl - just a couple rows behind Vivian - said, once she'd taken her turn and sat back down. On the way to class, she'd overheard people talking about the alarms that woke them up. How fortunate that Sammi wasn't burdened by the need to sleep. It also meant she was able to spend the whole night studying. She'd learned a lot, but was still processing some of the information and what to do with all of it. Keep the info to herself? Upload it to the hivemind? If she did that, how would the others react? What would happen back "home"?

It wasn't something she was meant to figure out. Or at least, not something she could figure out right now. For now at least, she would keep quiet about all this "we aren't at war" information, and otherwise continue gathering intel as usual, proceeding through her schooling here like a normal student. "Hobbies are science, history, and marksmanship." A rather plain introduction for a rather plain Kavran-looking girl. Not too shabby.

[Skaia 579]

Stella's morning was met with the sound of an alarm. The girl reached for her phone, shutting off the alarm, only sitting upright and confused as she looked to see that it was, in fact, off. Scratching her head, the girl looked around only to realize that the alarm was both different from the one she used as well as not actually coming from her phone. Wondering if this was just something the school did, the girl got out of bed and stood up. Her theory seemed to be correct as Vivian had also woken up and gotten out of bed, and the alarm as a result had stopped. Stretching her arms out and letting out a yawn, the girl tapped her prosthetic leg against the ground feeling a bit sore at the part of her leg that was actual flesh. Being in such an unfamiliar place and and with a new person, Stella felt very awkward about removing her leg. As a result, she had slept with on, something  that was definitely not recommended. 

This was made more apparent as the girl made her way to the class, wincing in pain as each step made her soreness only more apparent. Making her way to class proper, the girl took her seat, waiting for the teacher to arrive. As she did, she couldn't help but look around at everyone around, feeling more at peace now that she was in an actual classroom. It didn't take long for the teacher to come in afterwards, albeit a bit late, but all the same she listened intently as she gave his opening speech. As he got to the end of it, the girl's facial expression visibly dropped as he got to the usual first day of class business. 

Stella was always bad with talking about herself and certainly struggled to find three things that she could talk about that she liked. As Kelsey was called on first, Stella reflexively buried her face into her desk, feeling flush with embarrassment at the girl's answer. Flattered, for sure. As a result though, Stella couldn't think of anything to say as the other people started to go share, though the third person certainly distracted her with how bizarre his answer was. Being calmed down again with how normal the next answers were, Stella took a deep breath, both dreading to speak up but not wanting to be the last person called. As such she stood up, saying, "I'm Stella Cordia. I like...learning..." The girl paused for a moment, both due to her own answer and realizing she didn't have much of a follow up. After a second of just awkwardly standing there she said, "um, mechanics? And uh..." As she tried to think of a third thing, all the girl could do was echo the sentiment from earlier. "And... my best friend." Flush in the face once more, the girl quickly sat back down, sinking deeper into her chair and desk then before. 

[Chaos Sonic 443]

Chase slept well, and as usual in his normal routine, woke up early. He had thought up something to work on with another design, or rather just had an epiphany about an idea for a mech. Regardless, while he was all ready and doing his own thing, the alarm started sounding off. With a shrug, Chase figured this was finally the time for things to start going good. The time to finally get things on the road!

---

"Not the best first day I admit. Well, either way, welcome students to the General Education class! I already introduced myself but I suppose I should explain a bit more about my class. You see a lot of people see mech pilots as armymen and women with all brawn and no brain. But that just isn't the case. To pilot a mech the most important skill you can have is being able to think. And without the basics you can't hope to learn anything else. Even if it's just a bit if you know something about everything you'll be much more capable and can survive in many conditions. Now then, you know my name, but how about all of yours? I'd like if we started this getting to know each other a bit better. So why don't you each tell me your name and, let's see, three things you love. I'll start. I'm Dalton John and I love my dog, my job, and chocolate. A bit too much I'd say."

Chase was attentive for the most part at the beginning of General Education. Dalton John, the instructor, was running a tad-bit late but made it to the classroom regardless. And like clockwork, a handful of students began to introduce themselves and rattle off three things they love. This would be something for him to do, though he doubted he could use "design mecha" three times as things he loves.

After the latest introduction by a girl named Stella, Chase stood up with a smile. "Nice to meet you all. I'm Chase Weller." he began. "My three things that I love and really enjoy are as follows. First, mechanics...just so I can a good grasp on how a mech ticks and what makes certain models flow and move the way they do. Second, designing...I take pride in designing weapons, armor and mecha. It's more or less just rough drafting at the present, but I want to learn all I can and get to the point where I can be that individual that people come to for assistance in designing whatever they need in the realm of mecha!" He paused, realizing he was rambling a bit about his designing passion...again. With a quick clearing of his throat, Chase continued. "...anyway, thirdly happens to be just general athletics."

With that out of the way, Chase took his seat, confident in what he said.

[Asriel Dreemurr 38]

On the one hand, Xa'tok had managed to get a little bit more sleep than he had his first night in the school. On the other hand, three and a half hours of sleep was not exactly ideal. Especially when he had only managed to get it in roughly twenty minute blocks which were interrupted by bouts of wakefulness and staring up at the ceiling. The worst part was the lack of dreams. Since he had been very young the Shaman had always been able to remember his dreams, and it was disturbing to awaken without an understanding of what, if anything, he had seen in his sleep. All of this bothered him more than the alarm, such that even while he was getting himself ready for the first class of the day he barely seemed aware of what was around him. But that could have been the exhaustion.

Somehow he managed to find his way to the right classroom for general education without hurting himself on the way. Of course he did still bump into quite a few people, and ran straight into a wall at least once in the process of getting there. But once he was in the classroom it was smooth spacing, and he docked without any further complications. Still smoother than his first time at the helm. Much of the instructor's introduction barely registered at first, but when he heard voices answering back from the rest of the class he managed to put enough attention together to figure out what was going on. Though when he heard his roommate say he loved "Regicide" he spent a few curious moments looking across at the boy. Were there enough monarchs in human space that they could kill them for sport? That did not sound even remotely correct. All the same, things eventually quieted down enough and the Shaman felt he should humor this greeting custom. It was odd to him, but then many things outside of the fleets were odd to him. Once Chase sat down after his long-winded introduction, he took his turn to unsteadily stand up.

"I am called Xa'tok," he could not have sounded more tired if he was putting effort into it. He idly rubbed at one of the many metallic talismans hanging from his form. "And I am... principally interested in experiencing alien cultures, and all that entails." He had difficulty thinking of anything else, and then his stomach growled loudly enough to be audible a little ways around him. "...Including their food." That was still only two things. Oh, of course! "And the spirit world is also..." how to say this? "An area of interest of mine." That worked. And looking like he had very little awareness of his physical surroundings he went to sit down, stopped himself before he sat in another student's lap, and then settled into his own seat. It was hard to do anything accurately when you were having a hard time keeping your vision focused.

[LordCowCow 842]

"Some real odd ones here I guess." Kelsey thought as one by one people stood up for their introduction. Captain Regicide was one thing but that guy with orange hair seemed a bit TOO eager to be here, and that other one had a rather unusual name. She vaguely remembered some of these people having been there when they fought off those bandits but she couldn't remember anything about their mechs. She'd have to pay more attention next time.

She looked to Stella and gave her a wink to indicate that she had heard that last part. It felt good honestly though she thought it was partially her being polite.

It seemed that the teacher had something to say about each of their responses. He hadn't said much at first but it looked like he couldn't keep from chiming in here and there.

I like everything related to tea, beating people with my mech and stuff that may be considered 'cute'.

"Well who doesn't! Cute things are cute, as they say."

"--Regicide, cherries, and the sound o' someone's teeth snappin' together when you uppercut 'em!"

"Well, quite, that's a very uhh...diverse answer, yes. Well just don't uppercut any classmates aha..haha...ha."

"My name is Vivian Marsh, and I like plants & animals, meeting new people, and exploration! It's nice to meet everyone!"

While the teacher didn't respond he just nodded, seemingly happy to be brought back to something a bit more normal. Which was continued, for the most part, with Sammi's response. "Well you'll find all that here in spades! I'm sure Miss Charlotte will be pleased you're interested in history."

His casual smile continued as he listened to the others, leaning back on his desk, and it seemed that he had no idea about the briefcase moving inches away from him.

After Xa'Tok the girl who stood next was the one who had given him, and Erica, a hard time earlier.

"I am Bianca Kurtz. I love shopping, ice cream, and of course getting the best grades." She smiled at the teacher. Her smile faltered a bit when she heard someone in a seat the row behind her snort and mutter "Suck up" which caused several students to laugh.

She flushed a bit and started to turn to face them when a loud bang caused her to jump.

The briefcase had fallen onto the floor and out of it exploded the teacher's dog. He seemed to almost pop into existence as his body was wider than the briefcase. Dalton slapped a hand to his forehead and called out "Drei, no!" but it was too late.

The dog had ran and leapt, barreling into Bianca and knocking her down. After licking her face several times the small dog would turn and spring towards the next nearest person in order to lick them as well. With the obvious intent on assaulting each of the students this way. With Professor John running up to try and catch him and failing.

Spoiler

Doggo attack!

Drei will attempt to go for the face of everyone but doesn't seem to stay still for long. You can try and catch them but the order of who he goes to will be determined by who posts first so if anyone has something specific they want to try about the doggo make sure everyone else knows so no one steps on each other's toes.

Of course you don't have to try and catch doggo but no matter what...doggo is coming. Doggo will not stop.

 

[Skaia 579]

Stella couldn't help but blush more as Kelsey acknowledged what she had said, still smiling back at the girl as she gave her wink. However, once Kelsey had turned away, the girl laid her face into her desk. As the other people went up to introduce themselves, Stella looked back up as the girl named Bianca introduced herself. Stella looked at her, if only because she was another person she recognized her, but turned back to face forward as someone called her a stuck up. Stella was now clearly upset by the comment, muttering under her breath, "what's so wrong about wanting good grades?" 

Before anyone could say anything though, Stella hopped in her seat in alert as there was suddenly a dog in the room. As she did, the girl stopped paying attention to the dog as her real knee slammed into the desk. Biting down on her lip and trying to keep from audibly grunting in pain, Stella buried her face into the desk. As she looked to the side, the girl was surprised by the dog that was suddenly in her face, shuffling a bit in her chair and letting out a, "aaahhh," as her seat tipped over to the side and her with it. Letting out a small groan in pain, the girl lied on her back only for things to go from bad to worse as the dog was now in her face again. Stella tried to push the dog away, to no avail, and the dog simply licked her face a few times before letting out a bark and going to seek out its next victim. As Stella lied on the ground, she couldn't help but wonder if things would've been better if she had just stayed in bed today.