a war is coming and we're stuck here

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

WHO: Current or potential participants in the Mars Mission, Justice League members, and anyone else who might be around!
WHERE: The Hall of Justice, graciously on-loan from the Justice League for training!
WHEN: This weekend
WHAT: The ship may not be built yet, but that's no excuse not to start training for the mission to Mars! Jacob has organized a few events to help potential crew members build their fundamentals and get evaluated on their strengths and weaknesses
WARNINGS: Should be none!

Welcome to the Hall of Justice, prospective astro-adventurers! Your local space marine in charge of tactical prep for the mission has decided to drill in some basic, initial training while plans for the ship are still being finalized. Respond to the prompts below with the activities your character would engage in, but remember: your performance in this training is being RECORDED AND EVALUATED. And you can decide for yourself how your character is judged! So in your tags, describe what grade your character would earn for each activity from the following classifications, from highest to lowest:

EXPERT
SKILLED
FAIR
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
LIABILITY

Jacob's goal is to get everyone to FAIR or higher before launch time: this won't be the only training session, so characters will have plenty of time to improve. Get in there and give it your all!

A) Fitness

Sorry, were you expecting a fancy VR simulation to plunge you into a space adventure? Not when Jacob believes so strongly in the fundamentals of physical fitness! You'd better be ready to show your sweat, because there's a gym full of treadmill-running, weight-lifting, pull-ups, rowing machines, and especially crunches waiting for you. There's no set workout program, so feel free to bring your own style of exercise here. The system will evaluate you based on criteria like endurance, heart rate, overall strength demonstrated, and aerobic observations.


B) Power/skill demonstration and practice

Now this is where you can get to know your prospective crewmates a little better. It's an open forum for sharing whatever you are willing to share about what you're bringing to the table on this mission: your expertise, your talents, your superhuman imPort abilities. For this exercise, the holograms will simulate a TRON-esque open space delineated by a glowing electronic grid, where you can verbally summon assorted targets and props to help demonstrate your abilities as needed. The simulation software is quite versatile, so feel free to get creative as you show your stuff!


C) Sparring

You know what else is a great way to get to know the crew? Beating on each other! In a safe and sporting context of course, but still: whether one-on-one or in teams, with powers or without, it's time to face off against your teammates and test your might. Your simulated environment can be changed as you wish, but by default it's going to be a deserted stretch of Heropa's beach... with the orange glow of the OTO's approaching meteor-missile lighting the sky above you. A cheerful little reminder from Jacob about what's at stake here.

Matches continue for three minutes or until submission or incapacitation. The system is evaluating you based on the skill and determination you display, not on the outcome, so losing a match doesn't necessarily affect your grade. It's not about whether you win or lose, it's about how you play the game- and about making the other person eat holographic sand, if you can.


D) Phobos surface - low-gravity simulation

This is the fancy space simulation! You've been provided with holographic space suits to simulate the clunky, awkward protective gear you'll be wearing if the team ever has to leave the ship on their adventure. Welcome to a simulated projection of the surface of Mars' moon, Phobos, where the red planet looms overhead and fills most of the sky. Gravity is just one-thousandth that of Earth. This barren, rocky surface has little mass to hold your feet down, so you can easily go soaring into the sky with a light jump. Just be careful where you land: there's lots of pointy stones around that could breach your suit and ruin your simulated day.

The goal of this simulation is to carry a pole with a green flag attached from the starting point to a round objective pad a hundred metres away, glowing a friendly yellow to guide you. Each person participating will have their own pole, and you're expected to cooperate and work as a team to get everyone to the objective safely. The real goal, however, is to get everyone used to being in space and maneuvering in low gravity. You'll be evaluated based on teamwork, safety, speed completing the task, and how well you handled yourself in the suit.


E) Open space/mingling

Anything else you'd like to do while getting to know your crewmates! You will not be graded on your mingling.

Comments

Jacob Taylor | OTA

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

Jacob will be all over the place throughout the training event, participating as well as overseeing. Anyone can approach him if they have questions or need guidance on a task. Otherwise, he'll be putting himself through the same paces as anyone else, and can be found getting sweaty while doing an astronomical number of crunches in the fitness portion, showing people how his biotic barrier can stop a (simulated) bullet in the powers demonstration, and throwing down with anyone who wants to take him on during sparring.

The one exception is the low-gravity Phobos simulation, which will see Jacob perching himself atop a rocky hill and watching to see how everyone else is doing before he makes his own flag-run for the objective. While he is no stranger to space missions, he knows it's the first time in a space suit for some of his fellows, and wants to closely observe how everyone handles themselves without his support for a bit.

Jacob's grades in the training will be as follows:

FITNESS - EXPERT
POWER - SKILLED
SPARRING - SKILLED
LOW GRAVITY - EXPERT

[cannotrest]

On a break from her own fitness routine, Ashley takes a moment to admire the view.

"Crunches," she murmurs. "Why didn't we have a crunch competition at the party? So much harder to sabotage than pushups."

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

As Jacob answers her, he splits his attention between Ashley and his next set of crunches, not wanting to lose count or let his (perfect, thank you very much).

"I heard- forty-two -about the party. Pushups, too. What's this- forty-three -about sabotage?"

Who would tarnish the honor of a party pushup competition like that?

[cannotrest]

Helpfully, Ashley keeps up the count in Alliance military hand signals as she replies. This is definitely the only reason she's watching him so closely.

"There was this girl from your tour, I forgot her name - really likes her Tactical Cloak?" She shrugs. "You - our you - were lapping James, and somewhere around the 160's, what's-her-name uncloaked on his back. God knows how long she was on there handing you the advantage."

TK-622 | OTA

[loyal_soldier]

A. Fitness- EXPERT
There are only a few parts of his routine he's been able to keep, and one of them has been staying fit. The lack of action has been slowly driving him stir crazy, which has translated to more time in the gym. He's gotten used to the training equipment Earth favors. Now that he's actually being tested on it, he can finally show it.

He's taking this more seriously than others might, barely seeming to notice other people around him. This is as close as he's come to real work in months, and he doesn't want to kark this up.

No matter how boring crunches can get after the first hundred times you do them.

B1. Power (Armaments/Improbable Aim)- EXPERT
He wishes all shooting ranges on Earth were like this. Walking out into the grid in his civilian clothes, he doesn't seem to have brought any weapons with him. "Urban zone, human targets. Military-grade armaments."

He's on the move as soon as the sim starts up, his armor and rifle popping into existence mid-stride as he runs for cover, shooting down the first targets as he goes.

This is what he spent his entire childhood training for, and his entire adult life doing. But he trained as part of a larger force. If he's alone and without others to provide suppressing fire, he takes a few glancing hits. If others join in, he's calling shots as he methodically works his way across the field. Either way, anyone keeping score might notice that every single one of his shots hits home.

Pinned down by incoming fire, he still has an option left. "Grenade out!" His improbably good aim doesn't just work with firearms. The thermal detonator sails in a clear arc down the range, bounces once over enemy cover, and explodes in the middle of the holograms. Everything within a five meter radius catches the blast.

His helmet has noise-cancelling filters, so he only hears a sharp snap from the explosion. Those without ear protection might be deafened by the noise. Oops. At least they're no longer being fired upon. Seems like that was the last of them. "All clear!"

B2. Power (Electricity Projection)- NEEDS IMPROVEMENT (please help him)
"I'd appreciate assistance, please." It's not easy to admit, but he's not up to par with this. "I've been issued a power that has combat potential, but it's not easy to employ." He's tentatively practiced with it a couple times in the vacant lot Rex pointed out to him as a good place to train, but the light and the noise it makes kept him from going much further than that.

So for today, he just has a single, stationary target in front of him. His armor is on, both to shield his eyes and ears and to hide his face while he tries to make this work again.

Most of the problem is that he doesn't want to. He knows what the results of this look like when they hit someone. What they smell like. He's shot who knows how many people stone dead before, but this was different.

After a long moment, he extends a hand, and lightning snaps between it and the target, forks splitting from the central bolt to twist through the air, seeking anything else that gets too close. It's not well-controlled, and he knows it. He's not sure it ever will be.

After the practice session, he takes a moment in the corridor outside the holo chamber, a hand resting against the wall, head bowed. He's still in full armor, so his expression is unreadable.

C. Sparring- SKILLED
While the E-11 rifle might be the primary focus of his combat training, 622's work was often done in close quarters, and the Corps prepared him for it. He's fully trained for hand-to-hand, and willing to teach anyone else who needs it.

Depending on the opponent's preference, he'll be in his civilian clothes, or armored up. He's obviously better with the latter. He knows where he can take hits, and how he can use that to box people in. Plastoid might not stand up to a military-grade blaster, but any average human who tries to punch the plate without good gloves might break their knuckles.

D. Low-G- SKILLED
He never went for the full Spacetrooper cert. It was a specialized group, and he'd already been assigned to the role of infantry sergeant from early in training. But being a Stormtrooper still meant receiving low- and zero-G training, as part of boarding actions, low-G planetary deployments, and if you were ever unlucky enough to lose artificial gravity while in shipboard combat.

He doesn't think a full career in zero-G would prepare him for this shitty suit, though. After an acclimation period, he can move just fine in the minimal gravity, skimming carefully over the ground. That's fine. Getting the chubby fingers on this suit to work right is the problem. He's afraid he's going to drop the karking flag.

E. Open Space- LIABILITY
No one's supposed to reveal classified information. Training regimens technically count. But the Empire does extend training to officially approved planetary defense forces. And under emergency conditions, civilians can be legally ordered to assist. It's not done often because it's not reliable.

But that's the legal justification he's using for what he's about to say. "If you need combat or low-G training, I can help."

E

[fource]

As might be expected from someone who looks like an untrained civilian who hasn't hit his growth spurt yet, Quatre's showing in sparring was pretty terrible; he's almost certainly the shortest and lightest of the participants, or at least the ones with some existing experience in outer space, and it was clear in his match that he hasn't had much by way of formal (or informal) training. At least he's aware of it.

"Could you?" he asks hopefully, running his hand self-consciously through his bangs. "I understand why it's a good idea for everyone to know some self-defense, but I've never been any good at anything beyond the basics..."

[loyal_soldier]

He nods, confident. "I'm not an instructor, but I remember what it was like back in training. We can figure out where your strengths are." True, his training started... well, probably minutes after he was taken out of the growth tank, but he at least remembers the feeling of being a cadet.

And it's good to see people are turning out. The timetable they have isn't enough for getting everyone up to par for the Corps, but that doesn't mean people shouldn't try.

[fource]

"My strengths, huh..." He frowns, considering first his own experiences, and then what in those experiences he's willing to talk about. Luckily it's not too hard to decontextualize his role among the five of them, at least by the end, into something neutral. Heero had told him to lead the others for a reason, after all. "I'm not bad at strategy, I suppose, though I don't know how much help that will be for something like sparring." After a second of additional consideration, he adds, "For something more physical... I've had some fencing training?"

C

[drivesadesk]

This was the area Jonathan needed most work in. He had super strength, which certainly gave him an edge, but he didn't really have any experience with hand to hand combat. Still, he wasn't going to go into this betraying his inexperience. Instead, he put on a cocky, confident demeanor.

"I don't care whether you wear the armor or not, but I should probably warn you I have super strength, so I hit pretty hard."

[loyal_soldier]

That settled it, armor up. He's going to take this seriously, no matter whether his opponent does or not. He wants to make the most out of today.

Fighting stance, light on his feet rather than grounded for the moment. "Right then. Let's see it." When facing someone stronger than you, don't try to out-muscle them. Let them do the hard work, and you redirect it to your advantage.

Darth Jadus | OTA

[jadus]

Jadus is not here to train. Not unless someone successfully manages to challenge him into doing so. Training records are valuable information, which he does not feel inclined to provide.

But he will be watching the proceedings. Occasionally he will be found in the sparring area, staring up at the orange light in the simulated sky. It seems to have caught his attention more thoroughly than anything else.

[cannotrest]

As she drinks half a water bottle in one go (unlike some people, Ashley is actually training), Ashley catches sight of Jadus's upward gaze and follows it.

"Oh, that's just mean," she says, putting it together with the beach default setting. "I can change it to something else if you want."

[jadus]

"I do not," he replies, voice as incongruously mild as ever. "It provides interesting perspective." The specter of imminent destruction from orbit, divorced from any of the fear a true bombardment would bring. It was cold, sterile, incomplete. But a good focus for contemplation, nonetheless.

Quatre Winner | OTA

[fource]

Fitness - Fair
[On the one hand, Quatre has astonishingly high endurance, which will show best on the treadmill; he can maintain a light jog for a bizarrely long time and hop off still looking cheerful, if slightly winded. He'll also manage more pullups and heavier weights than he has any right to, given how scrawny he is. On the other hand, showing his sweat is pretty gross, since he showed up in a button-down business casual shirt and waistcoat, for some unknowable reason.]

Oh. I probably should have changed. [At least he stopped before he got too far into it.] Did anyone bring spare workout clothes? [Literally what did he think he'd be doing here. Literally who does he think he's going to borrow clothes from, he is 5'1 and skinny as a rail.]

Power/skill demonstration - Fair/Skilled(???)
[Quatre's non-Porter skills-- at least the ones he's upfront about-- lend themselves fairly well to this mission; when it's his turn, he'll explain his experience with piloting small space shuttles and personal airplanes (thanks to miniature models that he politely requests from the hologrid), though he's quick to defer to other pilots and describes himself as a backup. He has a lot of experience in outer space, and with it an extremely detailed understanding of orbital mechanics, ship construction and repair, and (strangely) how to run an enormous business empire, which is not really relevant at all.]

...And I play a few instruments. [and, almost as an afterthought, the powers:] I can also feel other people's emotions. [Sorry about that, fam.]

Sparring - Needs Improvement
This is a little morbid, isn't it? [Quatre says, staring up at the incoming missile. At least this isn't anywhere near as awful as the actual event was, when he was nearly out of his mind with the city's panic flooding him from every direction. After a second, he looks away to smile apologetically at his sparring partner. Again, he's a 5'1 teenage boy who looks like he doesn't weigh more than 90 pounds soaking wet and is still wearing the button-down dress shirt. He knows how this is going to go.] I'm sorry. At least it will be quick.

[Quatre does demonstrate some defensive ability-- something resembling judo or aikido throws that use the opponent's weight and height against them, when he gets the opportunity to use them-- and a certain type of scrappiness, but unless he finds himself against an untrained opponent, he will be the one eating sand. So long as the person taking him down is acting in the spirit of teamwork and camaraderie, he'll be very easy-going about it. Anyone who tries to be actively brutal or cruel about it, however, will find themselves experiencing a part of whatever pain or fear Quatre feels, so. Don't kick the boy when he's down.

He also watches a lot of other people sparring, and anyone who approaches him after his miserable performance will get a smile and a self-deprecating] I'm not too bad at fencing?

Low Gravity - Expert
[Low gravity is Quatre's time to shine. He pushes off from the surface with a practiced, light touch, propelling himself forward in something that looks more like a gentle float towards the goal than anything challenging. He drops his own pole off as quickly as he would have if he were on Earth, before heading back towards the other members on his team. Even in a bulky suit, maneuvering in microgravity is clearly as natural to him as breathing.]

Here, [he offers cheerfully, reaching out with his now-free hands to anyone who may be struggling.] Think of it like you're moving through water, if that helps. [Maybe moving through water if you're a fish.

He'll help everyone else navigate the environment, and even linger around at the end, taking some time to enjoy himself even if it's not the same as the real thing.]

Mingling - Skilled
[It does not matter who you are or how you did, Quatre Raberba Winner is likely smiling and approaching you with an enthusiastic] I think this went really well.

Sparring

[faithfulson]

Fencing?

[ He feels a little bad for Quatre; he doesn't look much like a fighter, even though he feels like he has the spirit of one. Luke offered him an encouraging smile, hoping it was enough to dispel the self-depreciation the teen was feeling. ]

That's a one handed sword style, isn't it?

[ He... may have been curious about a few Earth styles and looked them up online every now and then. ]

[fource]

[Quatre smiles back, grateful for the effort even if he can't fully shake the self-consciousness when he responds] Technically, but it's very stylized. It's usually more of a sport than a form of combat.

[Usually. He has to stop himself from instinctively reaching for the side where he'd been stabbed with a fencing saber just a few months ago.]

...It's not really anything compared to what most other people here can do.

[drivesadesk]

A. Fitness – Expert

Jonathan liked this part. Working out was fun, and he went for regular runs in his spare time anyway, so he ran on the treadmill with ease. Once that was done, he lifted some weights, putting about four hundred pounds of weight on the bar. With his super strength, he didn't seem to have much of an issue lifting this. He similarly breezed through the other exercises in this area.

B. Power/skill demonstration and practice – Skilled

This went much the same way as his previous work out. It was mostly just a demonstration of his super strength, so was him lifting and tossing dummies weighted to be about the same weight as an adult man. However, it was clear from the simplicity of what he was calling up and the fact that he neglected to call up anything that would actually fight back that despite his strength, he might not really be trained that well in using it against a target that actually fights back.

Once that was done, he did another demonstration that he was far better at, going on about his experience with space and alien technology as well as his long history on space ships.

C. Sparring – Fair

He'd worked on his hand eye coordination with Lucina when she was teaching him how to fight with a sword, and his enhanced strength certainly gave him an edge. However, at the same time it was clear that while he knew how to throw a punch, he really didn't have a lot of experience in this area.

D. Phobos surface - low-gravity simulation - Skilled

While the ships he was used to did have artificial gravity, this wasn't something he was new to. He'd been in situations where he had to deal with low gravity before he came here, and of course, his experience during that space reality show had given him a lot more experience operating in low gravity. He's able to adjust fairly easily and begins making a controlled and calculated effort to reach his target.

E. Mingling/Open Space

Once all the training is done, Jonathan quickly takes to talking and chatting with everyone around, congratulating them on any of the things they did well and not bringing up anything they did badly.

"You know, I think overall we all did pretty great!"

C

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

Jacob steps up for a match with Jonathan, cracking his knuckles and looking pumped-up and confident, even though he knows full well Jonathan is stronger than he is.

"You ready for this, Jonathan?" He asks with a cocked eyebrow, relishing a bit of playful swagger. "Don't think I'll go easy on you just because we're friends, now."

C

[drivesadesk]

"Yep. Come on, hit me with your best shot."

Jonathan might be a bit cocky, but he was stronger than any normal human. Of course, the fact that he was not a trained combatant might even out the playing field more than he was giving credit for, but for now he was feeling pretty good about this.

[marr]

Fitness: Expert

Marr's physical build and the heavy armor he wears are definite clues about the outcome of this part. He is less than thrilled at this, but he runs steadily on the treadmill over considerable distance. Not flat-out as fast as he could, but a definitely too fast to be considered a jog.

He knows he's in excellent condition, but he's willing to go through this. It wasn't like he had anything better to do, and he believes this mission is important.

Power Skill/Demonstration: --

The skill demonstration was more interesting to Marr as a spectator event than as a participant. It was unseemly to provide such a demonstration, especially one that would be recorded and analyzed. Instead, when he's not doing something else, he can be found in this area watching with interest.

It wouldn't take much for someone to get Marr to talk about his skills in leading space battles, ship boarding, and planetary combat, but if they want anything concrete they'll have to work at it.

Sparring: Expert

One event Marr wouldn't mind participating in. The orange glow overhead in the default simulation was only a mild curiosity to him. A bomb like the one described as hitting before his arrival would surely kill him, but to a man who had already died, and who had not devoted his life to defending this planet. It failed to provide any incentive or evoke any emotion in him.

Rather than his lightsaber, Marr held a training sword. It would be fairer and more enjoyable this way.

Low Gravity: Expert

Marr declines the provided space suit, as his own armor was perfectly well suited to the task. On his own, he could reach the goal in a few Force-enhanced leaps, but he is well-accustomed to leading people who are less mobile than he is. He's at the front when his group gets moving, but despite the fact that everyone is behind him, whenever someone starts to fall because they failed their landing, or has messed up their step/jump enough to put them in danger, Marr would extend a hand and set them back down gently and correctly.

"Don't rush. This is training, the purpose is to improve."

power show and tell

[cannotrest]

Fresh from demonstrating her ability to remotely control networked electronics and access their information by altering the simulation without verbal commands, Ashley eyeballs the armor.

"Is that space rated?" she asks with interest. It's a different design to the hardsuits of her own universe, but it certainly looks thick and sealed enough. "Are you bringing space experience to this mission?"

Space experience had seemed curiously lacking at the cafe meeting!

[marr]

The power the young woman demonstrated was both fascinating and slightly disturbing in its implications. Marr would need to keep an eye on Jadus to see if he would try to persuade her to join his efforts.

"Yes, it is my own design, and I am bringing space experience. I have several decades of experience in ship-to-ship, boarding, as well as orbital and planetary combat."

Luke Skywalker | OTA

[faithfulson]

Fitness - Skilled
[ Luke didn't train for stars knew how long in a hot and muggy swamp with a little green gremlin riding around on his back for nothing. He goes through just about all of the fitness tasks before him with relative ease, and it's awhile before he's actually breathing hard from the effort. ]

[ Also, he may look scrawny, but once he strips down to his undershirt to cool off, he's pretty ripped. Surprise? ]

Powers - Fair(ish)
[ Luke is better with his abilities than he's letting on, if only because he's not entirely sure if he wants to display everything he's capable of in this space. Sure, he knows he needs to trust these people, but he also remembers the communicator war between Kanan and Dooku, and he doesn't want it too obvious that he's also a Force user. ]

[ So unless one of the other Force users encourages otherwise, he'll mostly use his telekinesis powers for others to see, doing his best to lift and throw items at targets. Anything small looking he can handle just fine, though larger items he has difficulty divorcing his mind from the "weight" not meaning anything. ]

Sparring (Hand-to-hand - Fair; Swordsmanship - Skilled)
[ Luke knows he's not that good when it comes to an actual fist fight. He's been in a couple bar fights and can hold his own if he has his weapon knocked out of his hand, but he knows he's the scrappy fighter and isn't afraid to admit it. ]

[ He's a lot better at fighting with a sword, as he's more than happy to show. He's brought a couple of practice swords with him, ones he's kept a hand on since Ahsoka started helping him refine his fighting ability. He's more than happy to hand one over to spar with someone else, though he does still have his lightsaber on him. Just in case. ]

Low Gravity - Skilled
[ The ships he'd been on in the past had artificial gravity, though it wasn't like Luke never had to do a space walk before. He just never had to do it in such clunky suits before. He can't help but laugh a little as he does it, struggling against the suit at first, only to eventually get used to it. Still, he couldn't help but make the obvious (to him) observation: ]

I thought the Alliance had clunky old suits.

Mingling
[ Luke's more than happy to go around to the others, offering help to anyone who wants it. When he's not mingling with others, he's pulling out his notes on the engine, jotting more ideas to improve it down. ]

awkwardest sparring is go

[loyal_soldier]

[He'd been rotating between fights, sticking to hand-to-hand, wearing only his armored bodyglove. That had kept him mostly fresh through multiple rounds, though a couple had managed to land good hits. He could feel a few bruises burning beneath the fabric. It had been a productive day so far.

He'd been avoiding one, though, until finally the flow of people in the training field forced him over to Luke Skywalker.

He set his jaw, taking a deep breath.] Let's get this over with. [His armor blinked into place around him, E-11 in his hands.

The truce was still in effect, so he set for stun before flicking the safety off.]

[faithfulson]

[ Luke hadn't thought the trooper would approach him, and he was content with that for now. He still hadn't figured out a way to ask the man if he could use his armor, and he wasn't sure if he ever would, all things considered. ]

[ But now here he was, in full armor with a blaster in hand, and he couldn't help but feel that familiar tinge of fear at the base of his spine. He abandoned the training swords -- they wouldn't do him any good against him -- and pulled his lightsaber from his belt, though he didn't ignite it yet. ]

We don't have to do it like this.