Byte half-smiled. "About three years, officially. My brothers and I grew up here so we've been in 'the life' as long as I can remember."
The walkway they were crossing amalgamated with two other walkways onto a big landing that held a reasonable sized hemisphere. It didn't look so much cobbled together as repaired and reinforced with whatever had been on hand at short notice. It looked kind of formidable set above the centre of the peaceful Atrium.
Byte walked to the doorway and looked up at the large structure, as if contemplating its intimidation factor, or perhaps the fortifications, maybe remembering what it had originally looked like. A second or so passed, and the painfully utilitarian doorway slid open with the purring of well cared for machinery that sounded like it should really belong to one of those sliding doors on a high tech space ship rather than this well put together mess.
"This is the comm centre," Byte explained as they stepped into a hubbub of busy, official sounding noise. "Everything passes through here. Watch your step," she added, stepping over a fat cable snaking across the ground. There were mice located in niches everywhere, most of them with headsets and microphones, a few of them were reclined back in their chairs, staring at the screens, occasionally talking.
Byte led the way to a short, narrow staircase that led to a podium like thing in the centre of the hemisphere, where a female mouse was seated on a high backed chair surrounded by a three quarter circular console. Her fingers were dancing rapidly over them like she was pressing random buttons. As she wasn't reclined, the wires snaking from the back of the chair to the back of her head under her hair were quite obvious.
Byte chuckled at Derek's antics. He was going to fit in just fine once Cypher and later Trajectory warmed up to him. "That's Xu," she responded to Derek's stage whisper, "we call her the Mind of the Tir coz she runs everything." Byte bounded up the short flight of stairs to stand in the space behind the chair.
"Hey Xu," she said cheerfully.
They waited briefly when Xu held up a hand, the other continuing to flash over the consoles. Then she spun around to face them. Her eyes were the same distinctive silver as Byte's, though they looked nothing alike. Byte was short and stocky with sandy coloured fur, whereas Xu was tall and slim with fur the colour of dark chocolate. Byte's mane was almost boyishly short, mussed up into rough spikes and blonde, Xu had long, luxurious thick black hair.
"Hey Byte," Xu responded, smiling. "Another one?" Her slightly freaky looking silver eyes glanced over Derek briefly.
"Yeah, they're rolling in," said Byte jokingly, "must be that time of year." She winked at Derek. "Another comm and bolt hole assignation."
"Already done." A prehensile metal tentacle extended from behind Xu, reached under the desk and hooked out a box, then a small, cobbled together looking device from within. "Three fourteen, next to the medic." She extended the tentacle past Byte to Derek.
"Whoa!" Derek's eyes widened as he looked over at Xu with a blink or two in sudden surprise. He couldn't imagine being in complete charge of everything in such a large place as this, yet alone having that kind of responsibility resting on your shoulders. "Sounds like a heck of a job" Derek replied, blinking some again as he took a moment to let that register before moving on with had to be done.
Following Byte up the small set of steps and standing beside her Derek raised a hand to wave but stopped with another set of brief blinks as Xu held up her hand in a gesture to wait, Derek in turn slowly lowering his hand with a small nod as though silently responding to Xu's silent gesture. When she turned around the first thing he noticed where her eyes and Derek found himself comparing them to Byte's eye colour.
Derek simply smirked at Byte's remark, chuckling to himself a little before then responding "I'd say it's just your lucky day" with a wink of his own.
"Say uh...are you two related?" Derek then asked curiously with a small perk of his brow and a curious expression to match, waving his index finger as he gestured to Byte and Xu to show what he was talking about.
Derek looked a little shocked at first as the mechanical tentacle extended from Xu and under the desk and then over to him, clearing his throat before then with a nod and pointing both his index fingers over to where he assumed the medic to be he asked "That way, right?...I mean, I don't want to end up wondering into some restricted zone or something. I don't think that'd make a great impression. Especially on my first day"
Of course it being his first day and practically being thrown into the deep end Derek was still figuring out how to swim through all this. So far he managed to do so like a first time swimmer holding onto the edge of the pool and paddling gradually to the other end so a sense of direction and what he needed to take with him was needed. Even if it probably was obviously laid out in front of him. The usually confident, go with the flow kind of wolf Derek is seemed a little unsure in this scenario. Or rather he was a little...well...lost. Even if you wouldn't hear him openly admit to it.
"No relation," Xu smiled, dropping the comm into Derek's hand. Something on the console flashed. The tentacle snaked towards it, pulled a lever and pushed a button without Xu batting an eyelid. "Cybereyes." She tapped her temple lightly and smiled.
"We'll leave you to it." Byte waved. "Thanks Xu!"
"No trouble." Byte smiled and raised a hand in farewell. She then spun the chair back to face the consoles, another tentacle sliding out of her back on the other side. Her hands and both tentacles started working the onsoles.
"This way," Byte said to Derek, leading the way out of the communication centre.
Looking down at the comm that dropped onto his palm Derek found himself once again blinking with a combination of intrigue and slight confusion at the device. He had seen things like this before but on Mars they looked somewhat a little different to the ones back at home. Bringing his attention back to Xu as she noted in a brief explination to answer Derek's questions about her eyes, even though he didn't directly ask about her eyes but one would assume by the question he had asked that's exactly what he was refering to, Derek began his response with an "Oooooh" as he understood what she was saying. "Well that would answer my next question then" Derek then added with a smirk.
"Yeah, much apreciated babe!" Derek grinned, obviously either unaware or unashamed to having called Xu 'babe', turning then to Byte shortly afterward.
"Right behind you" Derek smiled confidently as he followed Byte out of the communication centre. "I tell you, this place just gets better and better" Derek commented along the way with a smirk-ish grin.
Byte grinned. "This is my home, so being as unbiased as I am I'd be upset if you thought anything else," she winked. "This way." Seeing as Derek had proven himself quite unafraid of heights, after checking to make sure the coast was clear, Byte vaulted over the edge of the walkway and dropped the couple or so metres to the one below it. She switched aside and waited for him to join her before heading out a nearby doorway almost directly underneath the platform the comm centre resided on, and heading down the walkway of a long corridor. Down below on the actual floor a few more mice were moving back and forth, otherwise there was little in the corridor besides the walkway and a whole bunch of exposed cables and pipes, most out of reach unless you stretched or climbed onto the safety rail of the walkway.
"Well good to know I didn't dissapoint you" Derek smirked in his response as he guided his attention to Byte, his confidence more or less beginning to shine like new.
Derek hadn't shown any fear of heights but leaping from them was another story. Actually...leaping from them was something he prefered to do and so with hardly any hessitation Derek hopped down to where Byte had hopped down to, landing in a strikingly skillfully place crouch. his trench coat falling behind him like some small cape as he stood up then with a grin and his thumbs tucked under his arms.
"I sure hope there's more of that" Derek grinned, straightening out his sleeves before then following Byte. Along the way one of the pipes made a hissing sound and Derek's reaction was somewhat comical as he let out a quick "Gah!" and turned to the direction of the noise in a fighting stance, settling then as he turned to Byte with a slight grin.
"Heh...I uh...yeah okay I admit it, I didn't expect that at all"
Byte laughed at Derek's antics. She hoped the Lupe stuck around, he was good value. "Jumpy," she teased. "How much training do you have anyway?" She threw a fast jab at him, aiming to tap him firmly but not too painfully on the hard part of the chest where it wouldn't hurt much.
"Jumpy? Me?" Derek chuckled, though it was one of those 'I'm covering my own ass now' kind of chuckles, before then responding with a smirk "No, I-I uh...was prepared, yeah, and was just testing my skills. You know, you can't be too careful? Hehe...heh..."
Derek cleared his throat quickly, deciding it best to move on at this point.
Byte's little nudge on the chest made Derek instinctively attempted to dodge it, even though it wasn't anything to really fuss about but it was just a natural reaction, although it happen too late. With a quick "Omph!" Derek rubbed his chest with a small chuckle and a light shake of his head before then looking at Byte as he smiled lightly with a shrug in his response.
"Well my dad-..." Derek's expressions slightly altered to show a struggle hidden beneath a dying strength, his ears folding back slightly as he lowered his gaze to a side a little. He was strong, you could tell that, but it was a strength he had to build and rebuild time and time again. "My foster dad used to train me but since I lost my family at an early age he couldn't train me to a useful point. Only the very basics like "Keep your hands up and ready when blocking" and "Always stay focussed" but nothing that could save me from getting beat up basically. You know what I mean...But I know he would have if he could"
Derek raised his attention back up to Byte with a small shake of his head before then continuing "I'm sorry, I'm-I'm babbling...To answer your question I've pretty much had to train myself. My foster dad only was able to train me for about three months before....well before the war happened. From there I had to teach myself and learn from others. So I guess you could say all my life I've been training myself. I can be a little rusty though...or rather I can be a little clumbsy at times"
The buffer corridor widened into a residential tube containing five levels of flats/apartments, of which they had come out into the middle (third) level, as Derek told his story. Byte's amusement at his cover faded with the tale he told after it, and she turned her eyes away eventually. The floor of the residential tube had a few kids playing in a playground that was very obviously cobbled together from safe mechanical parts, sanded down scraps of metal, tyres, and the like. A few civilians were roaming on the various floors, going in and out of apartments.
War was a bitch. Sounded like war had hounded Derek from his home planet, otherwise he'd still be there quite happily. War recreated Tir Tairngire, its ruined body rebuilt from the remains of its frame and the scrap that was left from its sibling bases. It created bitter, twisted veterans and kids who hid sadness behind suicidal bravado.
"We'll see if we can break you of any bad habits you might have picked up." Byte's voice was slightly shaky in the first couple of words but she covered up as the sentence progressed. "And seeing as you're the field tech you get to see if our mechs and bikes are anything like the ones you had back on Planet Lupron. And of course you'll have to learn how to drive a mech. Or a bike if you prefer that mode of transport." She deviated off to the left onto one of the rows of apartments, and stopped outside a door marked 3.14.
"Your bolt hole, sir," she smiled, her eyes twinkling mischeviously. "Tag your comm on this thing." She tapped above a plate beside the door.
Derek actually hated talking about his past, or at least from the point where things turned soured turning even the more sweeter moments of his life somewhat bitter. But in a way you had to admire Derek for his courage and ability to continue to live life as best he can regardless of what he's obviously been through. If anyone ever asked Derek for proof of the kind of things he had gone through through there where plenty of them on his body. Nothing that was revealed as yet but the scars where more than just emotional. Although for the most part the scars where inside, a few open emotional wounds still barely healing, having been doing so ever so gradually over the years of Derek's life. But again he didn't let it keep him down for long.
Byte's response made Derek perk his ears as he looked at her again, swearing he heard it start off with a small shake before straightening back on track but though tempted to ask Derek decided it best not to. Instead he listened and soon enough his enthusiasm began to bloom like a flower in a war torn medow, bringing light into what would normally have been a dark zone to walk into.
"I sure hope so" Derek began with a nod, adding then with a smirk "Only one way to find out. Can I choose both?" It all sounded like great fun! But Derek often had troubles choosing when it came to good or better things. You could say he was kind of picky actually. Then again that all depended on what he was picking.
Stopping now at the door Derek once again perked his ears as he looked at the door, looking then at the numbers on it and keeping note of it before then looking at the plate above the door. "Uh...you mean scan it?..." Derek asked with a puzzled perk of his brow, pointing at the plate with one hand and holding up his comm with the other. "Sorry, kind of new to this"
Oh yeah. He was new alright. Fresh and green.
Derek actually hated talking about his past, or at least from the point where things turned soured turning even the more sweeter moments of his life somewhat bitter. But in a way you had to admire Derek for his courage and ability to continue to live life as best he can regardless of what he's obviously been through. If anyone ever asked Derek for proof of the kind of things he had gone through through there where plenty of them on his body. Nothing that was revealed as yet but the scars where more than just emotional. Although for the most part the scars where inside, a few open emotional wounds still barely healing, having been doing so ever so gradually over the years of Derek's life. But again he didn't let it keep him down for long.
Byte's response made Derek perk his ears as he looked at her again, swearing he heard it start off with a small shake before straightening back on track but though tempted to ask Derek decided it best not to. Instead he listened and soon enough his enthusiasm began to bloom like a flower in a war torn medow, bringing light into what would normally have been a dark zone to walk into.
"I sure hope so" Derek began with a nod, adding then with a smirk "Only one way to find out. Can I choose both?" It all sounded like great fun! But Derek often had troubles choosing when it came to good or better things. You could say he was kind of picky actually. Then again that all depended on what he was picking.
Stopping now at the door Derek once again perked his ears as he looked at the door, looking then at the numbers on it and keeping note of it before then looking at the plate above the door. "Uh...you mean scan it?..." Derek asked with a puzzled perk of his brow, pointing at the plate with one hand and holding up his comm with the other. "Sorry, kind of new to this"
Oh yeah. He was new alright. Fresh and green.
"Sure, why not, entire Cavalry bikes and pilots," Byte responded. He chuckled again at Derek's confusion over the terminology, reached over and took his wrist of the hand that held the comm and ran the comm past the plate. The light clicked over from red to green and the door slid open, again with a purr of well cared for machinery. The door looked anything but space age though.
The room within was simple but comfortable, a small open plan lounge/sitting room/kitchen, with a door off to one side.
"Bedroom through there, with an ensuite," Byte mentioned, motioning towards the small door.
"R-really?" Derek blinked in some surprise. He honestly wasn't expecting a yes for an answer to that but either way it made him grin with delight. But before he made himself look like a complete tool he settled with clearing of his throat and a nod as he smiled and replied with a suttle "Thanks Byte"
"Oh...heh...I knew that" Derek grinned at his own stupidity as Byte assisted him in understanding what she meant exactly after the door slid open, feeling a bit of a newbie but stepping inside none the less as he looked around with a nod of approval and a smile to follow.
"Well it sure beats the streets" Derek chuckled to himself lightly though it was true. Turning then to Byte his smiled became more apreciative, a genuine sense of the word in his over all expressions.
"Thanks Byte, I really apreciate this. Hey uh...if you're not too busy I was...was wondering if uh..." Rubbing the back of his neck with gaze shyly lowered slightly Derek pushed himself to say what he wanted to say. "Would...*ehem* would you stay for a while? To chat? Maybe a coffee or something? Up to you, I mean if you're busy and all..."
Byte glanced at her comm, wrapped around her wrist and doubling as a watch. It was a charade, they weren't rostered on for patrol and they had done a training session earlier. There was the possibility of Cypher springing the second one, other than that her assignment was to train Derek and make sure he settled comfortably, and also to keep an eye on him in case he turned out to be a spy or saboteur or something.
"Sure, why not," she beamed, a little amused at his nervousness. One would think Mr Dashing didn't know how to deal with women. Maybe it was the species thing. She supposed that would make anyone nervous, being the only one of your species on a planet full of aliens. She'd probably feel a bit out of sorts on Derek's planet. She stepped in and showed him the button on the other side of the door that would shut it. "Nice to know coffee is a universal thing. Reckon you could work out the coffee maker?" she asked good naturedly, winking.
Even Derek wasn't too sure as to exactly why he was feeling suddenly a little nervous about things in general. He had never really felt this way before but like Byte just figured maybe indeed it was the whole species difference. Not that Derek really looked at that side of any situation but it could have been that. Or the simple fact he felt a little new and out of place, affraid to do something wrong and in need of a guide which in turn made him feel out of control. And if it's one thing Derek really was not comfortable with was not being in control at least to some extent. He wasn't a control freak mind you. He just liked to be aware of things so to be prepared.
"So that's what that little button is for" Derek amused himself, smirking at Byte as he pointed at the button and joked "You know that's so 20th century now"
Derek was starting to just barely find some solid ground to walk on so to better balance his confidence but he still couldn't figure out exactly why he was feeling the way he was. Shrugging it off for the time being Derek started to head over to where assumed the coffee maker would be, turning to Byte as he walked backward during his response with a small chuckle and a confident smirk to match his confident response, his hands raised in a Fonzy-esque manner as he winked and replied "You betcha babe. And if coffee wasn't a universal thing I think they'd be a heck of a lot of angry aliens. Heh, maybe that's why some of them are so moody and eager to kill"
Turning around and heading into the kitchen Derek found his way to coffee maker but finding the coffee felt more like a first mission. Sniffing around however he eventually found it, grinning with a "Bingo!" as he snatched it from the shelf and proceeded to make some coffee.
About 5 minutes later he walked back out to where Byte was, carefully carrying the cups of coffee and offering one of them to Byte.
"Sorry, by the time I realized I didn't ask you how you like your coffee I had already made it...heh, hope you like it" Derek grinned, feeling bit stupid about himself for forgetting something so obvious. "I'm not exactly making a good first impression, huh?" Derek chuckled, settling quickly as he had almost spilled some coffee in the process. "Whoa! Okay, not to self; Do not laugh while holding coffee..."
Byte rested her coffee on the table before laughing to avoid the karmic payback of laughing at Derek for almost spilling his coffee due to laughing. She glanced at it and it was white, so drinkable. Starzone was the freak of the group who insisted on Black Death Coffee.
"It's fine," she said after bloowing across the surface and taking a sip. "And hey, you've travelled who knows how far, crashed a ship on an alien planet, survived and have to get used to weird mouse things, and still cruising along. Give yourself a break." She smirked over the coffee at him. "We're going to give you some time to settle in, if you want it. However long you need. Or you an start immediately, either way. What we need to do is fit you out with a techy suit, that's one of the bright orange ones, then see if we can find you a mech and a bike. Then we see how much you can work out about our tech, and you get to come on training sessions." Byte watched Derek carefully for reactions while chatting easily, not wanting him to feel pressured or anything.
"Heh, yeah I guess you're right" Derek smiled with a nod, sitting himself down accross from Byte at the small table and bringing sitting his coffee down on the table. "So, how's the coffee?" He then asked with a gesture to Byte's coffee in the hopes to hear at least an honest answer. And Derek certainly knew by now it would have been exactly that when it came to mercernaries. Or anyone who was remotely as honest as he tends to be.
Listening to Byte, Derek decided to wait until she was done explaining his options before giving his response, bringing his coffee up for a sip only to find himself muffling back a couple of coughs at the words "Bright orange" when Byte pointed out the colour of his new gear. Clearing his throat quickly as though to hide the fact he had just choked on his coffee Derek calmly placed his mug down on the table and guided his attention back to Byte with a nod. "Yeah...uh...about the gear...can't it be bl-...wait...never mind" Derek wanted to ask if he could have it in black but then realized the obvious reason as to why the suits where a bright orange. The last thing he needed was to be crushed by some mech or something due to being picky about how fashionable his suit would be. As much of a rush as it would have been being crushed or injured wasn't on his 'to do for thrills' list.
"Well I guess I kind of need the time to settle in" He later continued, sipping at his coffee which was practically cold since he was so used to having his coffee warm enough to drink but not hot like a lot enjoyed their coffee before then looking at Byte as he continued "But if I didn't jump right into the action I wouldn't be me. So I guess that leaves just one more question..." Derek's enthusiasm began to gradually shine through his hessitations and doubts as he was already starting to feel more confident, and bold to everyone's misfortune, by the minute and with this new born enthusiasm he grinned in a smirk-like manner "When do we start training?"
Byte smiled at Derek's enthusiasm. The Tir seemed to attract certain kinds of people. But then again only certain kinds of people seemed to end up hounded by bounty hunters, their own government, and end up crashing in the middle of the desert.
"The aerotech pilots wear black," she said, hazarding a guess at what he had been requesting before he cut himself off. "Mech pilots get this," she tugged on the collar of her grey-blue suit. Her eyes went out of focus very briefly, less than a second, and only noticeably if one was looking directly at her. She carefully tested her coffee for temperature, and finding it less than scalding, knocked it back in a couple of swigs withg a motion that indicated she might be a decent drinker. "Let's go!" she said, leaping to her feet. Then, looking like she was checking herself, added "when you're right," with a grin.
"In other words there's hope my fashion style yet" Derek smirked in his cheeky remark, not at all ashamed to say what he was thinking but it always seemed to be in good nature. Even if at times it may be something to get on people's nerves. Then again Byte didn't seem to have the 'pleasure' of experiencing Derek's smart arsed manner to that extent just yet. Derek was taking it easy though so it may just be a matter of time.
He had hardly raised his mug to start to drink his coffee, only having had a few sips, when Byte chugged her coffee down leaving Derek to blink at her in surprise as she shot up and announced it was time to go. Derek smirked shortly after she got up, downing his coffee in no time at all before then standing up quick yet confidently and nodding in agreement to her.
"About time" Derek teased with a wink.
Byte let them out and continued on down the corridor past other bolt holes, heading the way they'd been heading before stopping off at Derek's assigned bolthole. "The Tir is a triangle shape," she explained as they walked, "impossible to get lost. The Atrium's in the middle, with the medlab below it. Most secure location. On the outside we have the mech lab where the mechs live, the hangar where the aerotechs are, and the garage where all the other vehicles are. There's a simulation room in the garage area as well, which is where we're going. We'll meet my brothers there. They will give you a hard time," she added with a smile.
Derek followed Byte out to where she lead him and did his best to listen carefully, pushing aside all distractions for the sake of allowing the details to sink in so he wouldn't forget. It wasn't like he carried a notebook around with him all the time but Derek was a great listener when he tried. When he tried...
"Understood" Derek nodded when Byte finished explaining about the structure of the Tir and the general basics of how the layout worked. With a smirk Derek confidently replied in regards to her brothers "Well I'll just have to give 'em a hard time back"
There were two young men standing at the doorway to the closed of area in the garage. They both stood 1.7m at the top of the head, with strong, large builds. They could not be mistaken for anything but Byte's brothers. Not only did they have the same beach sand coloured fur and blonde hair, they even had the same lock tied near the left ear. And they were the spitting image of each other.
One of them was standing in the middle of the doorway, arms folded across his barrel chest, looking remarkably imposing considering his average height. His brother was casually leaned up against the doorframe, a slight smirk on his face, the tip of his tail curled loosely around the ankle of the foot he had propped up against the doorframe.
"New pet, sis?" the one leaning on the doorframe quipped as they approached. Byte smiled and winked up at Derek before turning back to her brothers.
"He's so cute. Can we keep him?" she asked, her tone playful. The smirking one cracked a grin that mirrored Byte's. Byte switched around in front of Derek. "That's Chip. Mr Serious is Cypher."
Derek's first impression of the two young brothers was that overwhelming feeling of being considerably smaller than either of them. Even though Derek was rather tall himself bulk wise he felt pathetically puny compared to them. But Derek's pride prevented that thought from dragging him down for too long at all and with a shining confidence, though having a feeling these two where going to be rather interesting characters indeed, he followed Byte into the garrage and stood near by, casually leaning against a near by post with his arms crossed calmly over his chest.
"Wow, I never heard that one before..." Derek smirked with an amused roll of his eyes. He couldn't help but actually admire that at least one of the two had a smart arsed sense of humor like himself. But it was also invetible that they would soon be exchanging jokes and poking fun at one another in what Derek hoped to be in good nature.
"Well at least you recognize that I'm loveable" Derek winked with his cocky remark, turning then his attention to two brothers as he introduced himself with a greeting nod.
"Nice to meet you both" Derek nodded with a friendly smirk, adding then with a brief wave "Name's Derek, Derek Lou'p. And yeah I'm the newbie but don't let that fool you. I'm smarter than I look"
"We'll see." Cypher smiled slightly. His eyes shifted to his sister. "You got him kitted out yet?"
"Just with comm and bolthole. Didn't know you'd call the training session immediately after I requested it, sir." She poked her tongue out at Cypher.
"Respect my authoritah, biatch." Cypher took a playful swat that Byte ducked and slapped away, grinning. He made a point of looking Derek up and down, looking slightly upward to make eye contact. "We'll see if he's worth keeping, eh." He turned and led the way into the closed off area. Chip stood up off the doorframe and gestured for Byte and Derek to go in ahead of him.
"That you will" Derek replied to Cypher with his smirk of confidence, almost presenting in a kind of self seal of approval so to speak.
Derek remained cool and at an ease on the outside but on the inside there was a part of him that felt a little intimidated by this. He had never gone through any such scenario and this was a HUGE call for him as it this was more or less the starting point that would either make or break him. He needed to focus to impress and be effective. Not try and be effective, be effective.
Watching as one of Byte's brothers looked him over for a moment Derek pushed himself away from the wall, standing at an ease and the first thing that seemed to stand out was his style. Very goth, very cyber-esque. But cool in its own ways, even if it did make him stand out even more so than he already did.
"Alright! Show time!" Derek grinned, slapping his palms together and giving them a quick rub before following Cypher and Byte into the next area, Derek stopping to nod a quick and silent thanks to Chip. Chip kind of made Derek feel like a fly on the wall ready to be swatted. One false move and Chip would probably snap Derek in three before he could blink. Times like these Derek thanked his lucky stars macho guys like this where on their side.
And so off Derek went, following to where he would be lead.
The training room was a room filled with a bunch of closed cockpit mockups, accurate to the point of the only thing being wrong with them was that they weren't in a mech or an aerotech.
"What do we put him in?" Chip inquired as they headed for what appeared to be their area.
"Battlesuit," Cypher responded, hopping into one of the pods and keying something into the only area that was different from what you would find in a real cockpit, and that was a console that let you set what you were piloting. Chip hopped into another one nearby.
"Battlesuit it is." Byte motioned Derek to hop into one of the pods.
Naturally Derek was immediately intrigued by the room and everything in it, the many large toys so to speak sparking his curiousity and he was tempted to run about and check them all out like a child in a toy store. But being professional for a change Derek decided not to give in to that temptation.
"I like the sound of that" Derek smirked as he overheard the choice of what to stick him in first and with a nod to Byte, Derek made his way over to the pod she gestured toward.
Hopping in Derek got himself comfortable, being surprisingly able to find his way around it considering it was first time in the pod and he buckled himself in.
"Kind of similar to the ones back home" Derek noted as he studied the control panel but for the moment didn't touch anything...despite being tempted by the shiney buttons. "Just not exact of course"
(OOC: I'm assuming Derek's now in the Battesuit, correct?)
(ooc- they're in simulators, the pod shape is to provide graphics and sound and things, and the Battlesuit pod is a different shape ;)
The Battlesuit and Elemental pods were egg shaped affairs, with fitting leg holes and a slightly wider upper body area. Arm holes were also visible off to either side. There was enough room to move a little bit in there to play with the few consoles but not much else.
Byte reached up over Derek and tapped on the mech selector console behind and slightly above his head. "Battlesuit-22." She braced her arms against the pod and looked at him while speaking. "Battlesuits are exactly that, battle suits. These ones were modified from the original blueprints so field techies could do big repairs without having to open 'em up. So you've got clawed hands and welding lasers on the arms. There's a head laser if you're really in a pinch, and pinches only happen in the unlikely event all three of us get taken out. You have a cloaking device that will last about an hour if you stay still. Once you're strapped in properly everything you do gets reflected by the mech. If you need to do something else like scratch your head, take your arm out." She smirked. "If you stick your hands in the gloves, you'll find a couple of trigger handles. Pulling the trigger with your whole hand closes the claw. There's a button near your thumb which fires the welding laser. If you really need to use your head laser, the button is on the console, aim by looking. The big red button over there is your jump jets. HUD will appear in the top right corner and tell you if anything's damaged and how much jet fuel you have left. You should be able to figure most of it out, it's not hard. See you inside." She smiled, hopped down and closed the pod. Crossing the short distance to the next available pod, she jumped in and keyed for her Timber Wolf.
It didn't take long for the computer to simulate the familiar warm up routine of her mech, as well as generating the Valles Marineres canyon system. Byte looked out over the vectored landscape, real enough thanks to Retro having way too much time on his hands and more than his fair quota of brain power. On either side and a little ahead of her, her brothers towered in their respective mechs, the Dire Wolf around 15m tall, a squat, hulking, ugly mass of metal death, the 18 odd metre Atlas not much prettier to look at. She looked down and saw the digitised version of the 2.5m tall Battlesuit between the three of them. She touched a couple of buttons to add Derek to Cavalry's private frequency and then activated the comm channel.
"How you doin', techy?"
(OOC: Ah, gotcha. Thanks for clearing that up for me ^..^! Wasn't sure if it was an actual Battlesuit or a sim or what. Cool, now I know where Derek's sitting, lol)
Apart from feeling a little enclosed and with very little room to do much more than control what needed to Derek was actually excited about this whole situation. This was his first step to impress and he was going to make darn sure he didn't dissapoint. Easier said than done.
"So this is what a chicken baby feels like..." Derek said once he was nice and comfortable, making a good natured mockery at the lack of major space. Of course it wouldn't be very conventional or conveniant where there a lot space.
Admitely Derek did take a...quick peek at Byte when she reached up and over him to tap at what she needed to but quickly snapped himself out of it, reminding himself or her status here and secondly reminding himself that he needed to concentrate on the simulation and the info Byte then gave him.
"I'm guessing it wouldn't be smart if I didn't take my hand out to scratch" Derek smirked back at Byte, giving her a nod as he adds "Got it so far" and listening then as she continued to explain the features. "Understood Cap'in'" Derek grinned once Byte was done explaining things and he made a mental note to remember all of that. Sure it was a lot to take in at once but then again everything was fairly basic and straight forward. "I think I can handle that" Derek then added with a nod. "See you there"
Being a simulation for Derek was like those fancy Virtual Reality games he managed to play once or twice back at his home planet but the only difference here is that this simulation was anything but a game. Still he was pretty excited about it all in all.
"-ude! It's like that suit Ripley used to kick alien queen a-Oh! Hey Byte, hehe..." Derek's transmission started about a few seconds into his little movie memory moment and hearing Byte's voice made him instantly snap back into concentration mode. "So far so good ma'am" Derek began, moving one of the arms and closing and opening the hand of Battlesuit to get a better feel for it before then looking up at the towering mechs with a blink or two in a moment of awe. "My...haven't you three grown..." Derek smirked.
"Three years?" Derek blinked in slight disbelief. That seemed like one heck of a long time but giving it a second thought three years wasn't really all that much, at least not for any type of militant and such field. "Wow, that's pretty impressive!" Derek then added with a grin "Man, I can't wait to get into the field! The thrills, the rush, the madness...Booyah! Bring it on I say!" Quickly clearing his throat Derek grinned slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck with a jumpy sort of giggle. "Sorry, got a little excited...heh..."
It seemed every area, room, etc, that Derek was lead into never ceased to amaze him. And for a Lupronian who had seen just about everything that was saying a lot about his fascination level of intrigue. But Derek played it cool, keeping his calm as best he could although the way his ears perked and he looked around the place was like a puppy in a new house or park. Everything was a product of interest for him. But Derek knew he had to concentrate on more important things.
"Nice layout" Derek smirked, his thumbs tucked in his pockets as he followed Byte into the next area, looking about as he did so before then bringing his attention back to Byte as she explained were they where. "Watch my wh-ACK!" Needless to say dispite the warning Derek's foot managed to catch the cable and he fell with a small thud and a quick "Umph!", quickly hopping back onto his feet as he groomed his fur back with a quick clear of his throat, hiding the fact that he did that.
"Yeah, you see that? I was uh...practicing my...er...duck and roll technique...Yup...Can't be too careful...hehe...heh..."
The female in the next room was the first thing, typically, that caught Derek's attention and with a smirk he leaned toward Byte and spoke loud enough for only Byte to hear, asking "Who's the babe?" with a point over to the one tapping wildly on the pads.
You ain't got a life 'til ya live it free!
(Thanks Nightbeat/Katana for Derek's picture! ^..^)