Imperial War Academy |Year 2|[FT/Fan-T][OPEN][IC]

[Tracian Empire]

"What do we do now? We need to destroy some of those MG positions over there, and escape the encirclement, obviously.", Michael said, smirking. Lise, despite not being a medic, had managed to mostly bandage his wound, at least good enough to slow down the bleeding. Since none of the medics in their team seemed to be around, there weren't many other options. Slaine, remaining quiet, was still continuing to fire at the line of trees and at the enemies behind them. There wasn't much they could do right now, after all, they were pinned down in that ditch by the concentrated machine gun fire of the enemy. But that did not mean that they were simply going to stand and do nothing.

Unfortunately for them, and well, for everyone, not long after that, with the help of covering fire from their MG positions, a few waves of enemy soldiers, wearing armors overall similar to those they had, charged in, obviously trying to push and win some ground, isolating the pockets of students, and killing them one by one. In face of the enemy charge, Lise also took her rifle, and started to fire on the enemies, as well as they good, without trying to get shot themselves, of course. But unfortunately, since this was a simulation, the AI controlled enemy soldiers did not exactly care for their lives.. so they charged in without thinking.

A couple of moments later though, one of the enemy soldiers charged in the very ditch they were in, pushing Lise to the ground. The blonde girl was obviously taken by surprise by this brutal assault, so there wasn't much she could do when the enemy jumped down in the ditch over her, preparing to hit her with the back of his rifle, trying to kill her. But Slaine was much more prepared. The enemy barely managed to move his rifle to hit the girl beneath him, when the black blade of a sword pierced his back and chest, and even more, its bloodied tip stopping just a few mere millimeters from Lise's face, down below. Without even flinching, looking at the blade with his cold, empty eyes, Slaine pushed the now dead body of the enemy from Lise, before he sheathed his sword, taking his rifle from where he had thrown it, and continuing to fire at the enemy forces. A rather shocked Lise remained on the ground, but just a few moments later, something grazed above them, crashing behind then and exploding, throwing shrapnel around.

Out of the forest, two enemy tanks started to move in, silently and coldly. As the machine gun positions continued their fire, the tanks advanced, firing their laser machine guns and main cannons, crushing the trees that were in their way, advancing towards the students..

[Castle Crashers]

"What do we do now? We need to destroy some of those MG positions over there, and escape the encirclement, obviously.", Michael said, smirking. Lise, despite not being a medic, had managed to mostly bandage his wound, at least good enough to slow down the bleeding. Since none of the medics in their team seemed to be around, there weren't many other options. Slaine, remaining quiet, was still continuing to fire at the line of trees and at the enemies behind them. There wasn't much they could do right now, after all, they were pinned down in that ditch by the concentrated machine gun fire of the enemy. But that did not mean that they were simply going to stand and do nothing.

Unfortunately for them, and well, for everyone, not long after that, with the help of covering fire from their MG positions, a few waves of enemy soldiers, wearing armors overall similar to those they had, charged in, obviously trying to push and win some ground, isolating the pockets of students, and killing them one by one. In face of the enemy charge, Lise also took her rifle, and started to fire on the enemies, as well as they good, without trying to get shot themselves, of course. But unfortunately, since this was a simulation, the AI controlled enemy soldiers did not exactly care for their lives.. so they charged in without thinking.

A couple of moments later though, one of the enemy soldiers charged in the very ditch they were in, pushing Lise to the ground. The blonde girl was obviously taken by surprise by this brutal assault, so there wasn't much she could do when the enemy jumped down in the ditch over her, preparing to hit her with the back of his rifle, trying to kill her. But Slaine was much more prepared. The enemy barely managed to move his rifle to hit the girl beneath him, when the black blade of a sword pierced his back and chest, and even more, its bloodied tip stopping just a few mere millimeters from Lise's face, down below. Without even flinching, looking at the blade with his cold, empty eyes, Slaine pushed the now dead body of the enemy from Lise, before he sheathed his sword, taking his rifle from where he had thrown it, and continuing to fire at the enemy forces. A rather shocked Lise remained on the ground, but just a few moments later, something grazed above them, crashing behind then and exploding, throwing shrapnel around.

Out of the forest, two enemy tanks started to move in, silently and coldly. As the machine gun positions continued their fire, the tanks advanced, firing their laser machine guns and main cannons, crushing the trees that were in their way, advancing towards the students..

When the soldiers charged into their ditch, Elaine, initially, had little care for what would become of Lise. She cared more of the wellbeing of Slaine and her brother, as much as she hated him. She readied her pistol to shoot the AI, but Slaine was already ahead of her, stabbing his blade through the man's torso, mere millimeters from Lise's face. If only he'd pushed a little farther... she thought in a bit of a bitter mood. Pity. She returned her attention to the onslaught of enemies, and while their bullets successfully eliminated some of them, there were far too many to take with their diminishing numbers. And then, the tanks...the laser machine guns...the cannons....all of the chaos was unbearable. It was so real, it felt so real it was hard for Elaine to convince herself all of this was fake. Simulated. None of it was real. This wasn't reality. But she knew, too, that one day it would be. She eventually gave up firing, took the two grenades that had been strapped to her armor, and threw them at the incoming tanks. She knew it was likely useless, but she knew this was all going to end soon, anyway. They were all going to fail. They weren't going to survive the week, let alone the day...

[Tracian Empire]

And well, unfortunately, Elaine had been quite right. They weren't going to survive this battle. Without any sort of orders from their superior officer, surrounded, and in a clear position of inferority, taken by surprise due to their scouts having somehow missed the enemy, and with the medics separated from the main group of students and not doing their medic duties at all.. it was just a question of time. The enemies were closing in.. and well, it wasn't too difficult to realize that this was going to end in a defeat. There was no way to run.. and nowhere to hide. The group of students which had tried to attack the machine guns died the first, having to face the attack of the tanks the first, without any sort of good enough cover. And they were next..

Elaine's attack obviously didn't work. Throwing anti-personnel grenades at a tank merely scratched the paint of the armored vehicle. With anti-tank grenades, they might have had a chance.. but for some reason, they had received no anti-vehicle weapons. And only a few moments later, a HE shell landed right in the middle of the ditch in which they were hiding. They didn't even have time to feel the muffled pain of being killed in a simulation, as everything turned to dark, and a red text appeared in front of them.

SIMULATION FAILED

And with that, all students woke up in their capsules, inside the academy. The capsules soon opened, allowing them to get out. The simulation had ended.. and they had lost..

Michael was obviously the first to say anything.

"Well, that was quite a failure. Not a surprise though, considering what kind of troops we had."

[Thaitum]

As the simulation ended, Larion was a bit surprised at the students' failures. One moment he was cutting down enemy after enemy with his power sword, the next he was blown to pieces by a tank, and now he had returned to reality with the pain of failure in his heart. This was the first mission failure he had since the one year war. He rarely failed his duties as a knight but now that he had failed in his first day in training, his honor and pride were at stake in every step he took while training in this academy. If he couldn't pass a simulation then how could he expect to join the seraphim soldiers. But clearly there was someone else to blame for this failure as the Thracian prince had stated. There were in fact some students he suspected of something (such as the UHP students). Still Larion was interested in what the red eyed boy had to say. "Excuse me but, just who might you have in mind to blame for our failure in this simulation?"

[The Empire Of Davtonia]

As Breaker got out of the capsule his morale was low this was the first simulation he failed. He felt realy frustrated and disappointed in himself. He should have reacted faster he was taught to always be vigilant in every mission. But the simulation was impossible to win there were lots of factors that made sure of that. "God damn it 10 years of rigorous training and field experience and for what? Just so i could fail in a simulation" He said in a moking way loud enough that everybody could hear him.

[United Human Planets]

Valentin and Zaahir had been doing quite well, laying down a significant covering fire for many of the other students. It seemed to him like they had a chance, until what seemed like a wave of bodies came pouring out from the tree line. Him and Zaahir had held their position for a few minutes, tossing their grenades at the tanks and killing a few infantry who tried to push their position. But one of the tanks fired at them while they were pinned, killing Zaahir instantly and taking off Valentins leg. It didn't really hurt, but he still found himself writing in the hole until an enemy soldier came up and simply shot him in the head. Zaahir had watched Camille go down as soon as the enemy's started pushing their advantage. He death was not nearly as dramatic as him and Valentins. She had poked her head up to fire at the MG's, and took a stray round to the face. There was no heroic final stand, just a completely random chance. It would have been funny, if it weren't for the fact that they would probably be graded on how terrible their performance was. It pissed him off to no end. He was an SGT, one of the most elite in the UHP military. He dropped onto planets from space, and then razed civilizations with the cold blooded fervor of a vengeful god. At least thats what the recruiter had said her would do, and though that description was a bit dramatized Zaahir knew that it didnt make it untrue. So to see a line collapse so fast simply because of a lack of leadership and Intel felt like a personnel insult.

"What the fuck was that shit!" yelled Valentin as he climbed out of his pod. It was immediately clear that Valentin felt the same way about the simulation as Zaahir did. "I mean, where the fuck was our intel," he continued. He adjusted the black LRAC beret he was wearing, and continued his tirade. "we were just sitting around with no idea of whats happening. We were sitting ducks of the most spectacular variety. And dont no one try and give me any shit about how that was supposed to simulate a real battle, because thats bullshit. Ive been to war, and when you have an entire fleet of star ships orbiting a planet you are practically guaranteed intelligence at all times. Fuck man, a star ship in orbit is literally a giant satellite that can rain death onto the ground. And furthermore, who the fuck was in charge? That shit was an hot mess. Was no one going to take charge? Were we all just gonna run around like fucking headless chickens? I swear, if this is what a simulation is going to be like im gonna shoot myself in the foot and go home-"

"Alright buddy, why dont you settle down before you get everyone in trouble," said Zaahir, trying to diffuse the situation that Valentin was very quickly creating.

"I just wanna go back to working on star ships," said Camille, coming up to stand next to her companions.

"I shoulda stayed in the war zone," said Valentin. Zaahir didnt respond, but he was thinking the same thing. The ending of that simulation was one of the most frustrating experiences he could remember.

"Do you think I did good?" said Camille.

"You performed like a steaming pile of shit," said Zaahir. Camille laughed, and they all just stood quietly, Valentin fuming to himself.

[Castle Crashers]

Elaine was hardly surprised when the simulation faltered and the red font flashed itself in front of her eyes. She pushed the capsule open, stepping out, feeling no different than she had when she'd entered the simulation. She didn't really care that they'd lost; it was fake, after all, and there would be more chances to fix their mistakes. She said nothing as the others bickered about the loss, feeling that there was nothing to be said that hadn't already been spoken by the others. Instead, she watched them converse from where she stayed in front of her capsule. As she watched, she reached her hand into her pocket and ran her thumb over the necklace that resided there, as it had been for the past week or so. There was something about it that gave her comfort, even if it wasn't hers. It made her feel at ease in a world of hostility and loneliness.

[Tracian Empire]

"Who I have in mind to blame? Tough question. A lot of people.", Michael replied."From our wonderful commanding officer who did nothing, to our scouts which were blind, to our medics which forgot their job. And then of course, the group of idiots which thought that it would be a good idea to break from the main group and to try to attack the machine gun nests. You can't destroy MG positions only with a few idiots with rifles, swords, and grenades.", the red eyed boy continued, looking at the UHP students to underline his words. "Maybe you should shoot yourself in the foot and go home, if you're that useless. And that stupid. The entire point of the simulation was to simulate a situation with no sort of other help. There was no giant fleet above the planet, no star ships. The entire purpose of it was that idiots like you could learn how it is to fight without support, and perhaps without orders. And you and the others did the most idiotic thing you could have done. You broke formation, broke with the rest of the group of students, and tried to attack the MG positions.". Michael sighed. "So, shortly, there are multiple people guilty for the result."

[Thaitum]

Larion listened to what Michael had to say. He was right, trying to go after the MG positions was in fact a tactical error. Larion observed not only his conversation with the Thracian, but also observed the atmosphere and others in the room and saw how the red eyed boy seemed to specifically address the UHP students. I knew there was something off about them he thought and then continued speaking with the Thracian.

"I understand the tactical errors taken in this mission and I agree with what you have stated. I must admit that we all did something wrong within the simulation. I will say that I have been in this situation before and the strategy previously undertaken by the students who decided to attack the MGs did in fact work when undertaken by my unit, of course those were all fellow knights and not common infantry. Still, what right do you have to scold us so much as if you were our commanding officer. Seeing as how you hold no higher position over us I say you have none good sir." He had spoken to the red eyed boy in a calm but authoritative voice and kept a calm and almost cold expression as he spoke with him.

[Tracian Empire]

"What right do I have to scold you this much? None. But since our beloved commanding officer was just as incompetent as the rest of you, I may as well do it.", Michael replied coldly. "And while we currently hold the same rank in this academy, I certainly hope that you did not dare to consider that a Prince of the Holy Thracian Empire would ever be on the same position with a lowly subhuman. Pathetic.", the red eyed boy continued, clearly disgusted. But Michael never had the time to continue what he wanted to say, as the academy personnel took them out of the simulation room.

The students were brought back to their quarters, with no more classes scheduled for that day. They had the liberty to spend their free time however they wanted, of course, until the beginning of the night time, when they were supposed to be asleep, each in their own room. A new class was scheduled for tomorrow though. And that was the end of the day.

---

"Since you little losers failed that simulation so horribly, it seems that we need to give you some more real life training.", a human officer of the academy shouted at the students in the characteristic way a drill sergeant would have. This were the shouts to which the students had to wake up, since they had been suddenly woken up and brought here, before the beginning of the official schedule. The entire class was pretty strange, let alone their instructor, who was clearly a human, a foreigner for the Tau. Only some of the students, those familiar with the Holy Thracian Empire would be able to recognize the instructors faint Thracian accent and manners. The Tophat Empire was a final destination for many refugees, and Thracians or not, there were people fleeing human military forces and finding themselves positions in the military of the Tau.

"Let me explain this to you so that your little brains might understand.", the man, also clearly looked like a Thracian. He had a messily arranged brown hair that looked pretty normal, but his eyes had a sickly yellowish color, clearly not common to normal humans, but characteristic to a certain part of the Thracian humans. "You're going to get fully equipped with the standard equipment a Tau soldier would get. Armor, rifle, ammo, supplies, everything. Here, in real life, obviously. And after that, you're going to run like hell until you drop to the ground. It's testing your endurance, obviously. Any questions?"

[Thaitum]

"What right do I have to scold you this much? None. But since our beloved commanding officer was just as incompetent as the rest of you, I may as well do it.", Michael replied coldly. "And while we currently hold the same rank in this academy, I certainly hope that you did not dare to consider that a Prince of the Holy Thracian Empire would ever be on the same position with a lowly subhuman. Pathetic.", the red eyed boy continued, clearly disgusted. But Michael never had the time to continue what he wanted to say, as the academy personnel took them out of the simulation room.

The students were brought back to their quarters, with no more classes scheduled for that day. They had the liberty to spend their free time however they wanted, of course, until the beginning of the night time, when they were supposed to be asleep, each in their own room. A new class was scheduled for tomorrow though. And that was the end of the day.

---

"Since you little losers failed that simulation so horribly, it seems that we need to give you some more real life training.", a human officer of the academy shouted at the students in the characteristic way a drill sergeant would have. This were the shouts to which the students had to wake up, since they had been suddenly woken up and brought here, before the beginning of the official schedule. The entire class was pretty strange, let alone their instructor, who was clearly a human, a foreigner for the Tau. Only some of the students, those familiar with the Holy Thracian Empire would be able to recognize the instructors faint Thracian accent and manners. The Tophat Empire was a final destination for many refugees, and Thracians or not, there were people fleeing human military forces and finding themselves positions in the military of the Tau.

"Let me explain this to you so that your little brains might understand.", the man, also clearly looked like a Thracian. He had a messily arranged brown hair that looked pretty normal, but his eyes had a sickly yellowish color, clearly not common to normal humans, but characteristic to a certain part of the Thracian humans. "You're going to get fully equipped with the standard equipment a Tau soldier would get. Armor, rifle, ammo, supplies, everything. Here, in real life, obviously. And after that, you're going to run like hell until you drop to the ground. It's testing your endurance, obviously. Any questions?"

Larion was taken aback by what the Thracian had said. He didn't expect someone of royal blood to be present at the academy. He's... royalty was that Larion could bring to mind at that moment. He felt a new sense of respect for the red eyed boy and felt he had disrespected him and in doing so failed in yet another of his knightly duties. Knights were not only meant to be high class warriors, they were also meant to be respectful, courteous, well mannered, and chivalrous especially in the presence of royalty. Larion felt he needed to redeem himself somehow.

After Simulation

After being sent back from the simulation room Larion began looking through the lobby to find the Thracian Prince. Once he had spotted him out he quickly walked over to him and called out "Wait, I wish to speak to you for a moment". He approached the red eyed boy and gave a small and formal bow before speaking again "I ask that you excuse my behavior earlier. It was rude, unprofessional, and uncalled for. I did not mean to offend you, rather I hold a good amount of respect for you. As a knight I am tasked not only with excelling in combat, I am also meant to act honorably and with chivalry on and off the battlefield. To say the least, I apologize for my behavior and had I known you were royalty I would acted more properly".

The Thaitumite still bowed to the Thracian Prince as he awaited his response but in the meantime he asked one last thing. "I also wish to know, sir, what is your name?" ...

The day

Larion stood firmly with his hands held behind his back as he listened to the instructor's every word. Larion would perform well in this field seeing as how knights underwent an extreme endurance training program to be able to move quickly and swiftly in their heavy full body combat armor. He felt confident and made a mental note to prepare for whatever obstacles they might set in the training course. Larion was well prepared and ready for action.

[United Human Planets]

Valentin, Zaahir and Camille all stood together. They were all wearing full combat gear, at a strict attention and facing forward. Camille and Zaahir wore their helmets on their heads, but Valentin had hooked it to his belt, opting instead to wear his black LRAC beret. He hadnt said anything, but had developed a firm dislike of the Thracian, and Larion was working his way up that ladder to. In his head they were a pair of stuffed up fuck-trumpets with their pompous heads so far up their asses that they couldn't see the light of day. Zaahir and Camille tried to convince him to drop the subject, but he wouldn't have it. To Valentin, the way that Micheal had talked rubbed him in exactly the wrong way. The Prince was in Valentin's mind little more than a child in an adults body. He glanced at Micheal, hoping for him to make a move in one way or another.

"This is fucking lame," said Camille.

"It is what it is," said Zaahir. "No point in trying to change that." He had quickly pulled himself away as the more level headed of the group. Camille was a talented Astronaut, but had little concept of how to fight on the ground, and Valentin was incredibly smooth when under fire, but proved to be a hotheaded goof otherwise.

"Well, I guess. But I think Valentin made a good point after the simulation. When soldiers go on missions, there's intel to guide them along. Punishing us seems unneeded."

"Just drop it Camille," said Zaahir. "I think that the simulation was unrealistic to an actual battle, but that what they were trying to teach us was fair."

There was a lull in conversation as the three of them watched the human officer pace up and down, yelling at them and telling them about the run.

"Look at that asshole," said Valentin, nodding at Larion some. "We got all that shit for trying to flank the enemy's MG's, and then when we got out of that sim he just threw us under the bus. Dude came up with the idea, and then acted like it was all our doing that the plan failed. We didnt know there were tanks, no one gave us any intel! How is it our fault? Fucking cocksplat."

"You have very colorful insults," said Camille.

"Lock it down guys," said Zaahir "I dont want any more trouble coming our way."

[The Empire Of Davtonia]

Valentin, Zaahir and Camille all stood together. They were all wearing full combat gear, at a strict attention and facing forward. Camille and Zaahir wore their helmets on their heads, but Valentin had hooked it to his belt, opting instead to wear his black LRAC beret. He hadnt said anything, but had developed a firm dislike of the Thracian, and Larion was working his way up that ladder to. In his head they were a pair of stuffed up fuck-trumpets with their pompous heads so far up their asses that they couldn't see the light of day. Zaahir and Camille tried to convince him to drop the subject, but he wouldn't have it. To Valentin, the way that Micheal had talked rubbed him in exactly the wrong way. The Prince was in Valentin's mind little more than a child in an adults body. He glanced at Micheal, hoping for him to make a move in one way or another.

"This is fucking lame," said Camille.

"It is what it is," said Zaahir. "No point in trying to change that." He had quickly pulled himself away as the more level headed of the group. Camille was a talented Astronaut, but had little concept of how to fight on the ground, and Valentin was incredibly smooth when under fire, but proved to be a hotheaded goof otherwise.

"Well, I guess. But I think Valentin made a good point after the simulation. When soldiers go on missions, there's intel to guide them along. Punishing us seems unneeded."

"Just drop it Camille," said Zaahir. "I think that the simulation was unrealistic to an actual battle, but that what they were trying to teach us was fair."

There was a lull in conversation as the three of them watched the human officer pace up and down, yelling at them and telling them about the run.

"Look at that asshole," said Valentin, nodding at Larion some. "We got all that shit for trying to flank the enemy's MG's, and then when we got out of that sim he just threw us under the bus. Dude came up with the idea, and then acted like it was all our doing that the plan failed. We didnt know there were tanks, no one gave us any intel! How is it our fault? Fucking cocksplat."

"You have very colorful insults," said Camille.

"Lock it down guys," said Zaahir "I dont want any more trouble coming our way."

Breaker was woken up early to go somewhere while being half asleap, but after he arrived he was fully woken up by someone shouting. He sure did not miss the shouting it reminded him of the time he was still a rookie at HERO academy 10 years ago.
He was wearing full combat gear, except he was wearing his own helmet, facing forward listening what the instructor was saying it was about the failed simulation Breaker did not fail this bad in the last 8 years, it made him feel a bit disapointed he was trained to be a HERO agent the most elite soldiers on New Terra.
He stood close to three other students, in full combat gear just like him but one was not wearing the helmet.
He heard the three students talking about the simulation.
"Hello my name is Breaker nice to meet you, "he says in a friendly but tired way while turning his head towards the three" i know what you guys mean.
We did not receive any intel, and that is why we had no idea they would ambush us. And then the tanks came out of nowhere and saved the day." He says in a sarcastic way.

[Remnants of Exilvania]

None of the Exilvanians were very happy about the fact that they had failed the simulation this quickly. Then again, they were also happy that they simulation had ended simply because they enjoyed reality more than simulations. The simulations simply weren`t as enjoyable even though they were highly realistic and all, they also felt a little bit static. And they caused minor nausea after a while. But they kept quiet and to themselves not really interested into the quarrels about who was guilty of what and why the whole thing had failed so quickly. I mean, they surely would`ve loved to put some more blame on people and maybe start a more solid dispute but they simply were a little too nauseated for that.

But now things were different. They had been woken up early, something they were very happy about since Exilvanians pretty much had only nightmares. What they weren`t too happy about was their instructor. Exilvanians had some pretty fine hearing. Another reason why their own instructors usually had ear plugs before going to train recruits. Same for all the many soldiers and so on who weren`t on offensive or defensive duty but simply administrative/enforcement duty. Once the tingling in Dietrich`s ears had ceased, he quietly moaned:

"The Tau and their armour seriously start getting on my nerves. Armour is so much more clunky and heavier than uniforms. Not even factoring in the expense of producing and maintaining armour."

Next to him Etheltryth appeared. The small and much more fragile girl was in full Tophat Combat Armour and had her helmet in one of her hands, giving him a condescending look.

"What`s wrong Haegler? Too weak to tackle an endurance test? And this from one of the ZZ' greatest veterans. Tststs, maybe your grip around Exilvania is suffering from decrepitude?"

The only thing Haegler had to answer to that was by throwing his helmet at her. An action that was pretty much useless against her as she evaded it with ease. Though it might hit someone else, he didn`t know or care wether it actually did. He simply finally got into the goddamn armour, not voicing his complaints anymore.

[Elysian Kentarchy]

In-simulation

The fighting starts quickly and since no orders were issued Maria and Anastasia carry out their own priority, hitting the deck and returning fire and the Elysian Royals do the same. However fire is soon concentrated at the royals and it is clear they will be eliminated soon. Anastasia and Maria keep returning fire but seeing the royals in danger forces them to break position almost automatically, without thought, and they are soon eliminated followed by the royals who lacked covering fire that the Serventi pair could have provided.

After Simulation

The Tracian Prince's words are biting causing Anastasia to curl her hand into a fist This peon is unworthy to even speak of the Prince. Even worse than Alexander and at least he could be tolerated but this one is a step too far. But before she can do anything Rache barks at her in their private language, roughly translating into "Anastasia, stop."

"Yes my prince." She grumbles back in a normal language that others can understand. "I trust you and Princess Rain are fine?"

"I am perfectly fine Anastasia." Rain tells her with her eyes narrowed. "Yet you and Maria breaking position was unforgivable. Had you instead provided covering fire for me and Rache to move we would have been able to rally a defense. Instead of automatically breaking your position you should have applied better forethought."

"Yes, your majesty." Anastasia may not like to admit it but Rain is right when she is right.

"Mistakes are made Anastasia but remember what that could mean for a Serventi, especially one in service to the former Emperor and the now Empress."

"Yes, your majesty."

"Good. You are the last line and we depend on you. I, at least, would never forgive you if harm befell Prince Rache or the Empress, his sister."

"Yes, your majesty."

"That will be all. Maria the same applies to you, though less dire."

"Yes, your majesty." Maria says this time.

"Good. Sorry for the harshness certainly we all made mistakes."

"That is enough Rain. I think they know their mistakes." Rache says quietly. "No need to rub it in."

"Of course Rache."

The Day

If Anastasia had to guess Flavia would give out first as she is the weakest, false identity or not Flavia is still a princess after all. Rache and Rain would come close to a tie, they both are campaigners and used to strain both physically and mentally but Rache may outlast her. And finally her and Maria would last a while thanks to their training. They are trained for everything. Though she might outlast Maria. Maria is a spy while she has had to attend to two masters. But both of them are trained to ignore any tiredness or pain they have so it will be a long haul for the two of them.

Flavia flinches at the yelling but Rain reassuringly pats her shoulder and she straightens up. Rain knows her secret of course but she is supporting Flavia because of their childhood together. Prince Rache is just standing there with his eyes closed acknowledging their fault and their need for this.

[Tracian Empire]

"It would be nice if all of you little maggots would shut up! After such a shameful defeat, you shouldn't even have the right to speak.", the Thracian sergeant said angrily. "Now come on, let's go. This isn't some big philosophy. You have the full equipment, head to the training field, and start running until you feel sorry that you have ever been born!"

And that was pretty much what happened. All students had to take on the heavy Tau combat armors, and the supplies a Tau soldier was supposed to carry, before each taking the same type of rifle they had used during the simulation, some sniper rifles, some laser rifles, while others had more reliable ballistic rifles. Moving in those armors certainly wasn't something easy.. and they had to do it while running. Not a nice task. But the sergeant led them to the training grounds, and watched them as they started to run, a simple but exhausting exercise. At a certain point, the sergeant left them alone, probably going to watch them on the cameras from the comfort of his own office. But that was somewhat motivated, as when the Thracian left, the students managed to see that he was, for some reason, limping.

Back to the running, each student reacted in their own way. Slaine said absolutely nothing as he started to run, more than used to it. It was nothing out of the ordinary, and at least, no one was screaming at them or beating them to continue running. Lise.. well, she also remained quiet, but for different reasons, following her brother. Michael on the other hand, continued to mutter several comments and insults directed at the officer, and especially at the morons whom he considered to be guilty for their failure in the simulation, but seeing those very morons also being forced to run did help in rising his spirits. And the horrendous task continued, as they ran, ran, and ran, in a test of resistance. But none of them could possibly expect what was going to happen.

Their punishment exercise was soon interrupted when a group or armed men entered the training grounds, wearing what looked to be black armors, but certainly not of the bulky, Tau type. Slim, and supple armors made from a black material. The armored figures were all armed with bulky high caliber rifles. And as they entered, they suddenly started to shoot at the students with no mercy. Michael was the first to react. Whether it was due to some sort of an instinct, or because of something else entirely, the red eyed boy forcefully pushed Elaine on the ground and behind one of the metallic pillars holding the dome like ceiling of the training grounds, before one of the big projectile like bullets fired by the attackers hit him in the belly, piercing rather easily with full force through a part of the armor. The blonde boy fell on the ground with blood gaping out of his wound. Slaine quickly reacted, pushing Lise behind one of the other pillars, while other students reacted in their own way, trying to hide behind the pillars or any of the many training machines lying around, with the attackers not stopping their shooting until.. everything became quiet. And then they started to advance.

[Elysian Kentarchy]

The Serventi pair are quick to react, their training being automatic and their thoughts being crystal clear, and they take cover behind a a rather large training unit. In chaos the Olderen royals crawl over to them as well from their positions. "Where is Flavia?" Rain hisses at them as things quiet down.

"Found her." Rache whispers looking around the corner and they see Flavia on the ground dragging herself. When the fighting started she tried to run but the exploding shrapnel pierced her leg causing her to not be able to stand and forced her to drag herself along the floor. One of the attackers walks over and points his weapon at her head and Flavia closes her eyes. However before the soldier could shoot his body is stopped and the soldier is sent flying into a distant wall.

"What in the name of the Ancestors did she just do?" Rache asks his cousin.

"She is the product of Emperor Gadeon's work, as inhuman as it is." Rain says tonelessly. "I am surprised she would actually use it since she hates it." She lays her rifle down on the ground and pulls out her pistol. "Cover me." She smiles, the exhilaration of being in what she thinks of as a battle, a true battle and not a simulation, taking over. "Time to see how the Admiral does as a frontline soldier." The other Elysians nod and take up positions, Rache to the left, Maria to the center, and Anastasia to the right. After counting down from three the Elysians open fire at the attacking soldiers causing them to scatter and take up positions to return fire. Rain runs out, shooting her pistol along the way, and loops her arm under Flavia and the pair hobble back to the other Elysians.

"You will be safe here Flavia." Rain reassures her. "Wait, where's Rache?" Rain demands and Maria gestures with her hand to the side and she sees Rache dragging Prince Michael to safety behind a pillar close to Elaine. Rain nods, picks up her rifle, and takes up position where Rache was and starts shooting too, giving Rache the covering fire he gave her.

"If that Prince gets Rache killed I will kill him." Anastasia growls, furious at the risk he took.

"Will you be able to treat yourself Flavia?" Maria asks from her position.

"Yes. I really hate this though." Flavia closes her eyes and starts removing the shrapnel with her mind.

"We should be safe here for the moment Prince Michael." Rache tells him from their position. "Now to deal with this." He opens his medical kit and gets to work, pulling out pieces of his armor and shrapnel from the bullet and doing all he can to fix up the wounds. Yet he knows he is going to need more intensive care if he is to be returned to full health.

[Remnants of Exilvania]

Both Dietrich and Etheltryth, people whose profession included keeping a very keen eye on their surroundings, noticed the new combatants the moment they entered the training grounds. The whole thing smelled a little fishy and the guys didn`t look like Tophat Forces , or atleast weren`t part of any Tophat Force that they had seen or heard off so they had every reason there was to be be more cautious. Too bad that their concerns were confirmed only a little later by the newcomers once they started to open fire on pretty much anyone in their sight. When this happened, both of them immediately turned their heads and watched Antonia`s back, for she was the princess and one of the most influential figures in all Exilvania. She was, at the very least, a valuable tool for each of them and thus someone whose value in life outvalued her in death.

Coming to that conclusion, both Dietrich and Etheltryth jumped onto Antonia and forced her down to the ground, simultaneously shouting:

"Take cover!"

Both of them hadn`t thought of the Princess' authoritarian spirit, something she had inherited from her father and which would help her a lot if she was to take the throne. And equipped with this sort of a character trait, Antonia would not just let 2 people jump onto her and press her onto the ground. Coming to the second thing the 2 had forgotten about her now. Making use of her unnatural strength she threw both of them away, freeing herself from their weight in the process. Only after that she sprinted over to where she had thrown them.

Now back to our 2 poor Exilvanians thrown through the air. Etheltryth with her training easily managed to take control of her flight, grabbing a pillor during the flight and elegantly swinging behind it. Dietrich on the other hand did his best to minimize damage on impact but kept rolling over the floor into the cover for his own safety. The Princess on the other hand quickly got to the pillar Etheltryth was hiding behind, taking a graze shot from the attackers that ripped off one of her shoulderpads.

"Any idea who these gentlemen are Etheltryth?"

Ethel could only shrug and answer:

"I am sorry but my knowledge of other races and nations in the universe is rather poor. I have been trained as an assasin of the Ordo Crudelitatis. It isn`t my job to actually know something about my targets before I am assigned to kill them. And even then the only thing that matters is that the target(s) is/are dead. Of course a good assasin knows that a good preparation is key for a successful assasination."

This assasination blabber didn`t bring them any further though so Antonia had payed little attention after Ethel`s first sentence and had instead risked some looks at what was going on. And well, the stuff she saw was both troubling, suprising and joyful for her. Her heart jumped in joy when Michael was hit and with spiteful anticipation she watched an unknown soldier going to blast the wounded Flavia`s head to pieces. It was a shortlived sensation though, quickly replaced by surprise when the soldier was sent flying. Sure, it could`ve been for many reasons but Antonia did have experience with this sort of phenomenon, mainly in feeling it with her own body. Exilvania actively hunts telepaths and so she was quite used to the sight of seeing people or things flying helplessly through the air. Though she had not expected that Flavia was one of the dreaded telepaths.

Evaluating the situation, Antonia could only come to the conclusion that she didn`t know enough about her enemies and that the enemies of her enemies that weren`t that much her enemies as the other enemies were could temporarily stay her friends instead of her enemies. Besides, maybe some of them had intel on the enemies.

"Etheltryth, I`ll try to head over to the Thracians and maybe ask them wether they know something about these fine adversaries of ours. I give you a free hand on how to deal with these opponents. Decimate them nicely please."

Ethel silently bowed down before starting to remove the Tophat Armour. Way too clunky for an assasin. Antonia on the other hand decided that she would go with a little ruse to cover her a little on the way to the Thracians. They all had been outfitted with full combat gear. She didn`t know though if this gear was actually combat capable or wether they all had been equipped with duds and fake ammunition. But it wasn`t important wether it was or wasn`t. The only really important thing was, that the enemy didn`t know that the gear might not work and that was all she needed. She took out one of the Plasma Grenades and removed the safety before activating it. Then she waited for about 3 more seconds before chucking the armed grenade at the enemy and starting her sprint towards the Thracians. As expected the grenade exploded in the air, atleast generating a little cover from enemy vision for the little time necessary.

She reached Slaine and Lise´s pillar without trouble within a matter of mere moments, arriving with so much speed that she had to grab the pillor to not slide past it in an attempt to slow down again.

"Are you 2 still combat capable? Well, you`re atleast looking fine in terms of physical capabilities."

Turning to Slaine specifically she said:

"You`re the Penal Soldier, right? Good, I suppose you are not easily shaken by combat and are hopefully well informed about Military Gear of your Nation or Opponents that you´ve fought already? Would atleast fit the picture I`m having of you. An emotionless robot, doing whatever he`s told and saving all data of enemy encounters in his data storage."

[Thaitum]

While running through the training coarse Larion kept looking over his surroundings in case there were any traps set in place. He was quite used to running in armor actually and didn't mind having to do so for long periods of time. In fact, knights were trained to have excellent endurance and speed capabilities as most, if not all, of their fighting was done in full body armor. A knight's combat armor was much heavier than the current Tau armor. If Larion wanted to, he could have left most of the other cadets in the dust but instead kept a steady pace with the group, as was standard procedure to stay alongside your allies. If they wanted me to run in armor, why not just let me use my knight's combat armor? he thought but simply left the matter alone.

At the moment that new combatants entered the field Larion quickly sprinted over to a nearby pillar for cover. As soon as the enemy began to fire Larion began returning fire and the moment he saw the Tracian Prince injured he couldn't help but feel bad for the poor bastard. Before he could do anything else Larion noticed a strange figure tumbling towards him. It looked humanoid but it's skin tone was slightly... different. For Larion the sight before him reminded him of rag doll as the figure kept coming closer and almost knocking into him. "Hmm... are you alright man? You look like you took a serious hit." Larion helped his fellow cadet back up.

[Elysian Kentarchy]

Anastasia
After some discussion and mostly focusing on suppressing fire to get the other students time to find cover I nod to Maria. It is time we actually took this seriously and move in for the kill.

"For the Second Empress." I whisper

"For the Fourth Empress." She whispers back. We each pull out a smoke grenade and toss it over our cover, timing it so her's goes further than mine and after the smoke billows out Maria vaults over our cover and starts running, drawing her sword at the same time.

While Maria runs I take careful aim a the shapes my eyes can see through the smoke. I pull the trigger and my target goes down, a bullet being lodged in his head "One." I shoot another one though this time I miss the head and hit him in the shoulder, but it still takes him down. "Two." I have to take cover as they return fire. But I shift over to another position and prepare another shot.

Maria

I run through the smoke at my target while dodging fire. I know full well if one hits me it is certainly over but thankfully my training has prepared me to... move through spaces requiring precise maneuvering. Well as much as a spy can do. I may not be the specialist that Anastasia is but I am still a Serventi to Empress Serus, that means more than any outsider can understand. I reach my target and stab my blade into her. I pull out quickly and dash off to cover. There won't be too many openings for me until they are distracted.

Rache

I look over and see the Serventi's performance and nod. They will do their duty and deliver victory. Attending to the injured is mine however. And I return to dealing with Michael's injuries. Though at most I can do is alleviate his pain and starch the bleeding. More intensive care will be needed.

Rain

I look up from Flavia whose leg I was putting pressure on in order to help her bind her wounds. "What are you all doing standing around?!" I yell at various students. "You're soldiers in training so act like it and fight back!"

[The Empire Of Davtonia]

While running through the training course Breaker had a feeling that something would go wrong, his instincts saved his life alot of times so when he feels something would go wrong it will go wrong, 8 times out of 10. So he was very alert while runing at a steady pace with the group. Even though he could run faster than alot of people thanks to his augmented lower legs and after all New Terra humans were genetically modified to be beter then normal humans in alot of ways (OOC note if you want more detail check Breaker,s character aplication in the archive) but the armor was a bit hevier than the HERO armor, that almost all the time was made with a lighter but still very tough metal and was a bit more slim, less armored but had a shield generator in it.

As a group or armed men entered the training grounds, Breaker was wery sceptic about them so he stoped runing and sprints to cover behind a pillar. And after a couple of second his instinct was right again as the armed men begin shooting at everybody, then almost instantly he begins shooting at the enemies to provide covering fire for his teammates. As the situation escalated two of the students were shot, he took of the armor on his right forearm and he waits for an opening to advance on the enemy. And when two other students throw one smoke grenade each, one of them starts shooting and the other runs through the smoke that was the perfect opening for him. Then he runs in the smoke, and stays relatively close to the other student runing in the smoke as she kills one enemy, he shoots one in the head and another in the leg and arm, then he sprints to cover while almost geting shot.

[Castle Crashers]

At first, it had all been a normal training day. Sure, it was a bit tiring and inconvenient, but it certainly didn't compare to what happened shortly after. The entry of the army of soldiers certainly took Elaine by surprise, and she almost didn't know what'd happened until they began firing on the crowd of students. She was once again surprised when Michael pushed Elaine to the ground, and while she would have barked back at him for it, she was too in shock of what was currently happening to be annoyed with him...especially so when a projectile pierced his armor, a dark liquid blossoming from the wound that could be nothing other than blood. She was startled, shocked, and honestly a little scared as all of this happened, and it wasn't surprising that she was even more horrified when the shooting stopped. But it was...easy to hear their footsteps on the ground, growing closer and closer...and while she was trained to shoot and fight, along with being a Thracian, she had never seen the reality of battle with her own eyes; at least, not in person. So was it really surprising how utterly terrified she was..?

Of course, it was probably natural to feel this way. It didn't stop her from realizing Michael needed help, but before she could really do anything, Rache came to help patch him up. She was more than relieved by this, and by now, her shock had...faded away. Instead, she felt anger almost, alongside the feeling of fear that had settled deep in her gut. She pulled her pistol from her holster and aimed around the pillar at the approaching forces, not even taking a moment to blink as she focused her shots, one on one, at the closest approaching one's heads. She got hit after hit, but they would fire back soon, sending her back behind the pillar in a fit of fear. Not to mention the smoke the others had thrown had disrupted her view, making it near impossible for her to get a clear shot...shame. It seemed there was even more to consider, too. While she was a little ways away, she definitely caught ear of Antonia speaking to Slaine as a...robot, was it? Sure, it was a statement, but there was nothing she hated more than hearing someone call him that.

"Say something like that about him again," She said darkly, "And I'll put a bullet between your eyes." Knowing her point was clear, she returned her attention to the clearing smoke, reloading her pistol to take more shots again when she had the chance. She'd have to be more careful, though, lest she wants to have her hand shot off or something.

[Tracian Empire]

"Oh well... why did I need to try to be a hero..", Michael answered in a sarcastic voice, trying to ignore the chaos all around. The Prince's attitude was unchanged, but anyone looking at him would have quickly noticed the paleness of his face, his unsteady and heavy breathing, and the efforts he was making to ignore the pain. He was wearing an armor, but he had received a direct, frontal shot from a weapon designed to knock out aliens that had the size of tanks. The fact that the red eyed boy was still somehow alive was a clear proof of the capabilities of the Tau Armor. "Yes. .really.. why.." The Prince ignored anyone who was talking to him, and he didn't seem to notice that Rache was here, helping him. But the Elysian prince couldn't do much but to try to vaguely stop the bleeding. The projectile itself and the shrapnel well still in the boy's belly, even if the armor had somewhat softened the hit, it had still pierced the armor. And there was no way to say what would happen if one were to try to remove it, the boy could have simply bled to death right there. Nothing else to do.

Slaine on the other hand, seeing that Rache was attending to the Prince, didn't seem to be concerned at all, as he shot, hid, and shot again, a pattern followed by Lise also, that was breaking down the enemy offensive. The boy had no sort of problems doing what he was doing, simply targeting the enemies with his empty eyes, killing them without remorse.The grenades and the smoke had stopped the momentum that their attackers had, and the actions of the others were bringing them down.

Kneeling back behind his pylon to reload his weapon, but, he was taken by surprise by the appearance of a weird girl that seemed to have dropped her armor, one with white hair and weird eyes, probably an Exilvanian. The girl spoke, and the blue eyed boy remained quiet, letting her finish what she had to say, not reacting at all, and then having to wait again as Elaine spoke, threatening the Exilvanian girl. "But your H.. Elaine.. she is right.", Slaine told the purple eyed girl calmly, once again blocking in the middle, forcing himself to switch to calling her by her name... even if it seemed to unnatural. The boy then looked at the Exilvanian girl, while Lise continued to shoot. "Yes, we are fully combat capable.', the boy replied. "And the picture you have of me.. is right. I am indeed, a Penal Soldier. I do not enjoy the same rights as a Knight or a Noble. Combat can not shake me since that it what I had to do to survive, and I have been tried in matters like recognizing types of weapons and such. My luck was that I survived more than what the most of us did. Our enemies are using Thracian weapons, but since the Holy Empire is actively involved in the weapon trade, that information alone is not enough to discover the identity of our attackers."

Standing up, and aiming his rifle, Slaine fired, and the laser hit the last attacker right in the head. As the students stopped firing, the chaos slowly stopped, being replaced by silence. Slaine turned towards the others. "If I may, I would recommend trying to reach the garrison and trying to make contact with the personnel of the academy. But unless he is brought to a medical area soon... Prince Michael might not make it."

[Castle Crashers]

"Oh well... why did I need to try to be a hero..", Michael answered in a sarcastic voice, trying to ignore the chaos all around. The Prince's attitude was unchanged, but anyone looking at him would have quickly noticed the paleness of his face, his unsteady and heavy breathing, and the efforts he was making to ignore the pain. He was wearing an armor, but he had received a direct, frontal shot from a weapon designed to knock out aliens that had the size of tanks. The fact that the red eyed boy was still somehow alive was a clear proof of the capabilities of the Tau Armor. "Yes. .really.. why.." The Prince ignored anyone who was talking to him, and he didn't seem to notice that Rache was here, helping him. But the Elysian prince couldn't do much but to try to vaguely stop the bleeding. The projectile itself and the shrapnel well still in the boy's belly, even if the armor had somewhat softened the hit, it had still pierced the armor. And there was no way to say what would happen if one were to try to remove it, the boy could have simply bled to death right there. Nothing else to do.

Slaine on the other hand, seeing that Rache was attending to the Prince, didn't seem to be concerned at all, as he shot, hid, and shot again, a pattern followed by Lise also, that was breaking down the enemy offensive. The boy had no sort of problems doing what he was doing, simply targeting the enemies with his empty eyes, killing them without remorse.The grenades and the smoke had stopped the momentum that their attackers had, and the actions of the others were bringing them down.

Kneeling back behind his pylon to reload his weapon, but, he was taken by surprise by the appearance of a weird girl that seemed to have dropped her armor, one with white hair and weird eyes, probably an Exilvanian. The girl spoke, and the blue eyed boy remained quiet, letting her finish what she had to say, not reacting at all, and then having to wait again as Elaine spoke, threatening the Exilvanian girl. "But your H.. Elaine.. she is right.", Slaine told the purple eyed girl calmly, once again blocking in the middle, forcing himself to switch to calling her by her name... even if it seemed to unnatural. The boy then looked at the Exilvanian girl, while Lise continued to shoot. "Yes, we are fully combat capable.', the boy replied. "And the picture you have of me.. is right. I am indeed, a Penal Soldier. I do not enjoy the same rights as a Knight or a Noble. Combat can not shake me since that it what I had to do to survive, and I have been tried in matters like recognizing types of weapons and such. My luck was that I survived more than what the most of us did. Our enemies are using Thracian weapons, but since the Holy Empire is actively involved in the weapon trade, that information alone is not enough to discover the identity of our attackers."

Standing up, and aiming his rifle, Slaine fired, and the laser hit the last attacker right in the head. As the students stopped firing, the chaos slowly stopped, being replaced by silence. Slaine turned towards the others. "If I may, I would recommend trying to reach the garrison and trying to make contact with the personnel of the academy. But unless he is brought to a medical area soon... Prince Michael might not make it."

Elaine frowned, momentarily watching Slaine before she looked back to Michael and his wounds, concern subtly invading her expression. She hated him, he'd done awful things to her, sure, but he was still her brother...she still had to look after him...even after everything. "...right...that should be our main priority now." She replied, getting to Michael's side, grabbing him by his arm, calling Slaine over to help her lift him gently. Part of her wanted to leave him to die, but she knew she was too...soft...to let herself live with that guilt. "Don't worry, we aren't going to let you die so easily." She told him before she looked to the others. "Someone should go ahead and contact the authorities so we can have emergency vehicles at the ready. I can't imagine Michael can wait very long to bleed out."

[Remnants of Exilvania]

Dietrich rolled and rolled and rolled, hearing the bullets whizzing past him, feeling the shrapnels hit him when they hit the ground close to him or simply feeling the wind when one of the projectiles flew past. Atleast for one this clunky crap was good for, he wouldn't have too many bruises after the end of his roll. Which did end quite abruptly in another pupil. But instead of relaxing he, with an almost unnatural dynamic got back up and pushed the pupil and himself back behind the pillar. Finally in safety, Dietrich had to shake his head for a while to loose the dizziness from his rolling but once he had done so, he made sure to give Larion a short appreciating nod. He didn't want to fraternize with anyone. He left Larion the other side of the pillar and risked a few looks to see how the situation was on his side.

What he saw wasn't bad at all. Etheltryth wasn't quite far away and the Princess had just joined the Thracians in a daring move. The enemies on the other hand were being decimated quite nicely by the combined efforts of the students. In fact, things were running this smoothly that he decided to try something. It would be too nice to have that problem out of the world.

Without a word he vanished from Larion's side when he was distracted with firing at the enemies. Keeping to the shadows and to cover as often as he could while trying to avoid making sounds with his armour, he quickly got closer to his destination.





A frown appeared on Antonia's face when Elaine tried lecturing her. What did this little girl just say? From Dietrich she had heard that she was one of multiple offsprings of the Imperial Thracian Family. She was, in comparison to her, completely worthless. Antonia was the Kaiser's only child and the only heir to the Imperial Family and the noble house of Folterburg. Elaine on the other hand could be replaced. It itched her in the fingers to just go and snap her neck but she knew that the Penal Soldier would try to block her from doing so. Twitching a few times with her hand, she exhaled noisily before grabbing her rifle and finally starting to return some fire, not exactly accurate but the enemy was standing in the open anyways.

The Penal Soldier said they used Thracian stuff? Of course he had defused it by stating Thracians committment to arms trade but considering the high amount of Thracian royalty and other personalities of interest from Thracia and the abduction of the other Prince a while ago, she did not believe in any funny coincidences. These Thracians were generating trouble. More than she wanted to deal with at the moment.