Project Paladin (IC, MT, Closed, Teen soldiers thred)

[Al-Mumtaz]

Ryuu went to his bed, and put his little bag.
Then, he sat on the bed , and didn't do anything. Just concentrate.
He was meditating.

[Phonencia]

The next day...
Matt rolled over and ignored the voices coming from around the barracks.
He gasped as he felt a sharp pain in his back from a Enforcer Shockmace Baton
He lurched upright. "I SAID UP CADET! YOU KNOW WHICH WAY UP IS?"
DIs were going all over the barracks, brandishing Enforcer Shockmace Baton
at the cadets.
"WAKE UP MAGGOTS! GET TO THE SHOWER! GO!"
The drill instructor pointed them toward a large room with a plastic curtain over it, at the end of the barracks.
Matt hopped up and sprinted to the shower, making sure to toss his clothes in the dirty laundry hamper rather than the floor as one cadet did, earning a tap with the baton.
The sprinklers in the ceiling of the room turned on and hot water poured over matt's face.
"You all have 3 minutes to shower. now go!"
The DI instructed.

[Dimoniquid]

"Sir." James simply said taking off his trousers and chucking it into the bin. After setting the shower, he hit the switch, running the water over his head. "Three minutes is more than enough." He said again, beginning to soak himself. After using a minute of time, he walked out, grabbing a towel and drying himself. As he walked back, he grabbed some clean clothes and reported to a drill instructor. "What now, sir?"

[Eireann Fae]

Having long ago gotten used to being rudely awakened and having to leave her place of rest immediately (usually the awakening being done by the police, and the place she had to leave being public park benches), Mary Jane was out of bed the instant the Drill Instructor turned on the lights and started screaming. She disrobes in seconds, hastily tossing her clothes onto the floor, earning her a quick shock from a baton. The angry DI yells something about her not being "some whore on the street anymore" and impolitely instructs her to use the hamper, where she quickly relocates her filthy clothes before rushing into the shower. The water starts off cold, of course, but this is hardly an inconvenience to a girl used to sleeping in the rain. She spends two minutes hastily scrubbing the filth and grime of the street from her body, and the third minute thoroughly rinsing her hair (actually washing it properly would take the full three minutes; something she'd have to do later), relishing the now steamy hot flow of water.

Cleaner than she had been in ages, Mary Jane exits the showers, hastily drying off with the cleanest towel she had seen in even longer. She reenters the barracks, quickly locating the combat fatigues^† issued to her, and promptly gets dressed. Not sure how exactly to don the uniform, she wears it like any other: boots tightly laced and tied, and the camo pants legs pulled down over them. The camo shirt she buttons up all but the last two buttons, concealing all but the top of the white cotton shirt beneath. She pulls her long red (wet) hair from the outer shirt and lets it hang loosely down her back, held out of her face by her own hairband retrieved from her bedside table. All this done, she takes her place in the line of fully awake and alert, if damp, cadets, awaiting further instruction.

^† I'm just taking a guess that they're issued uniforms here (and yes, I'm blatantly disobeying what I know IRL about military uniform code with the headband and pants-over-boots setup, but Mary Jane wouldn't know better). If something different goes on (like, they're supposed to wear their own clothes), TG me so I can edit.

[Phonencia]

OOC: I can't frickin' wait until we get to do SEAR training. MUAHAHAHA!!!
and yes, we wear BDUs here, mini sized versions of Lyran L-Cams.

IC:
"ALRIGHT CADETS! OUTSI-"
The lead DI cut off to zap a young boy who was slouching,
"STAND AT ATTENTION MAGGOT!"
the boy rubbed his rib cage and stood at attention, a paniced look in his eye.
dozens of DIs stood all around the barracks.
"OUTSIDE!"
The DI led them all out into the large yard in front of the Barracks.
"stand in lines of 10. at attention!"
He instructed.
Matt hurried into position next to a red head and snapped to attention, his BDU on as neatly as the DI's.
"Jumping jacks! count off to 100!"
The DI began doing the excercises with them.
"One...Two...Three...Four..."
Matt was panting hard, his legs and arms BURNED, sweat poured down his face.
"One Hundred! Bronski! Lead the Unit!"
A dark skinned foreign DI took the sweating DI's place and began with the next excercise.
"Leg Lifts! Count off!"
Matt flopped down trying to lift his legs despite the agony and burning sensation.
"Ninety-Nine! One Hundred! Beckingham! You're up!"
Another DI, a highlander took the man's place and began.
"One Hundred Pushups! Go!"
Matt got to about 20 before he collapsed and vomited onto the grass. He moaned and several others collapsed to the ground panting. "If you stop you'll do 200 pushups!"
threatened Beckingham. DIs sparked their Shockmaces at the kids, using the pyschological effect to get them back into action. Matt ignored the pain, attempting to turn off his brain and go on sheer instinct. Mind over matter! he thought to himself. He continued thinking to himself, mind over matter, mind over matter.
"Ninety-Nine! One Hundred! alright maggots! take a break! Have some water and drink SLOW!"
A pair of soldiers wheeled up a pair of carts stocked full of Kangen water.
Matthew grabbed a bottle, sat down and held his side while he sipped. This was agony!

[Bonnaful]

Carly who started to sweat after she got done with the work out walked over to the water crate. She saw matt who was sweating like a pig, and decide to give him a hard time. She put her hand on matt’s back and said “ Come on you aren’t going to let a girl like me out perform you are you” said Carly with a smile as he picked up a water bottle and began to drink real slow. “So how was your guys rest last night asked Carly trying to start up a conversation with the group.

[Eireann Fae]

Mary Jane winces, ever so slightly, when the boy gets zapped for not standing straight enough, the memory of her own getting zapped still very fresh (as was the small burn it produced). She keeps pace as they're marched outside easily, being accustomed to walking at such a pace through crowds, picking pockets. The jumping jacks she's not used to, but the work is light enough for her to do without losing a breath. The guy standing next to her^† seems to be having problems near the end of this exercise, which concerns the girl a little. If this squad was going to work together, they would all need to be in excellent condition. 'Of course,' she thinks to herself, as the second Drill Instructor steps forth, 'this is just the first day...'

By the fiftieth or sixtieth leg lift, though, even Mary Jane begins to feel the burn. She was used to running through the city, away from assailants, police officers, or people she'd ripped off, but even she couldn't keep this up forever. She sighs with relief as the third Drill Instructor commands them to start doing push-ups. Of course, the girl's strong point was her legs, and if they couldn't keep up with the exercises, her arms wouldn't fare much better. It took all that was within her teenage frame to keep going after thirty pushups. At sixty, she whites out, her mind going blank as her body keeps doing what it needs to do. Mary Jane doesn't remember doing the last forty or so pushups, but immediately and automatically jumps to her feet when DI Beckingham barked "One Hundred!"

Body numb from her recent physical exertion, it's all Mary Jane can do to hold onto the bottle long enough to enjoy a long, slow drink of water. Half the bottle gone, she lays down on her back next to boy that spewed all over the grass. She starts to laugh as Carly talks, but the pain in her sides makes her stop. "I'm a girl, Carly. You're a robot if you're not feelin' this. The sleep before this was good, though - my first one in a long time in anything resembling a bed. But come on, I've lived on the streets half my life, and I'm exhausted. What about you, though?" she says turning her head to look up at Matt. "Had enough yet?"

^† I'm assuming MJ is the 'red head' referenced in the previous post.

[Meldaria]

Shimori gladly completed her exercises with the other cadets, she did not find them so grueling, but she thought they were counter-productive for the weaker soldiers. She approached the DI who had led the drills. She was a very cute, and small girl, with near child-like appearance, but could utilize womanly allure if she so chose.

"Excuse me sir." she said, appearing indifferent in emotion.

[Bonnaful]

Mary, I am still a women but where I come from this was nothing compared to what I had to go through” said Carly as she put her hair back into a ponytail. “I had to live in the woods for two weeks before finding an orphanage to accept me, and I did a whole lot of running so I should be ok. Plus I am just a big blond bitch too” said Carly as she tried to add some humour to the conversation. “Mary what did you do to get put on the streets” asked carly as she put down the half way drank water bottle.

[Phonencia]

Matt shook his head and continued panting. He took another sip of Kangen water and savored the slightly special taste. The other kids probably wouldn't be accustomed to it, though. "Yeah, and I'm just a skinny, pale, poin dexter." he replied to Carly. He flopped back down and panted.


The drill seargent, a large burly man with a salt and pepper hair do and small mustache turned around to face the girl (meldaria) "What is it recruit?"



OOC: actually, it was going to be some faceless NPC but it being MJ seems better in terms of RPing.

[Dimoniquid]

James had found most of this a walk in the park. He finally spat out a large deposit of saliva. Ge finished the jumping jacks, sounding off one hundred and moving towards the leg lifts. After a fierce struggle against the burn, he sounded off the next one hundred and moving to the push-ups. After fifty, he paused, spitting out the contents of his mouth. After another struggle, he sounded off one hundred, standing up and begginning to drink slowly. "Pussy training, all over."

[Meldaria]

"It's just that, sir... I think that referring to the cadets as maggots is counter-productive, and it's just sort of rude. Just because we're in the army doesn't mean we can't be respectful to one another. Fear and respect are two different things, and if you go around shocking and insulting the soldiers, they're not going to respect you, they're going to hate you. Sure they might be afraid, but fear leads down the long dark path of anger, hate, and eventually violence. And with excessive exercise to the weaker recruits, I'm afraid you're going to injure them. There's all sorts of liver problems that can arise from over-activity. I'm not saying you should go soft on cadets, but you should pace the weaker ones, as you would with an exercise regime. We're going to be training for a long time, it's not all going to happen over not. You should be both stern and tough. But physical violence against another soldier outside of sparring or self-defense is truly deplorable. And even if you would just hear me out enough to refer to the cadets as cadets, then you would have eased my concerns."

said Shimori as her eyes sparkled paralleling the DI's.

[Dimoniquid]

"It's just that, sir... I think that referring to the cadets as maggots is counter-productive, and it's just sort of rude. Just because we're in the army doesn't mean we can't be respectful to one another. Fear and respect are two different things, and if you go around shocking and insulting the soldiers, they're not going to respect you, they're going to hate you. Sure they might be afraid, but fear leads down the long dark path of anger, hate, and eventually violence. And with excessive exercise to the weaker recruits, I'm afraid you're going to injure them. There's all sorts of liver problems that can arise from over-activity. I'm not saying you should go soft on cadets, but you should pace the weaker ones, as you would with an exercise regime. We're going to be training for a long time, it's not all going to happen over not. You should be both stern and tough. But physical violence against another soldier outside of sparring or self-defense is truly deplorable. And even if you would just hear me out enough to refer to the cadets as cadets, then you would have eased my concerns."

said Shimori as her eyes sparkled paralleling the DI's.

"Make them work harder, makes it easier when it comes to the real deal." James said, finishing his drink. He moved closed to Shimori. "They'll kick your ass if you don't shut up. Tough sergeants, I know, and you want everyone to make it, but I suggest you just get back to the regime. They won't give a flying fuck about your concerns." He whispered, rubbing his bald head.

[Phonencia]

The DI arched an eyebrow at the little girl. "You've either got a lot of guts, or are just plain stupid. But I can see your concern. The point is for the cadets to hate our guts. especially when we start doing the combat training against them. However, anyone who lives long enough through our training, will realize eventually, the DIs do care, they care about you getting spattered across the wall as soon as you hit combat. The weaker recruits need to get stronger by the way, We picked them out because they were better physically than the rest, so they should be able to keep up, If the Colonel deems it necessary, we'll ease up. Now, I suggest you get back to your unit before Hawkins gets upset...."


"Alright maggots. The easy warm ups are over."
several kids let out a groan.
"Quiet or it's the Baton for ya'll!"
The Lead DI, Hawkins, warned. "It's time for school, then the obstacle course. March!"
The short march, turned into a three mile jog, Matthew panting and clutching his side after a mile.
They finally reached the school, a large single story building full of computers.
"Get inside, take a break and then begin your lessons!"
The DI who seemed to be in charge, Hawkins, ordered.
Matt hurried inside and flopped down at a desk. The teacher began giving instructions.
today they'd be doing military tactics and strategy, history of notable civilizations, science, algebra, trigonometry, everything normal schools would have and more, on an even harder level. Even the obvious nerds in the room were having trouble with some of the questions. They wanted them to have strong minds and bodies. Can't be a good soldier if you're a dumb-dumb. after four hours of non stop school, the bell rang and matthew ran outside with the others, happy to be rid of school. After another mile jog, they were at a long wide obstacle course, DIs with simunition AY-144Ls took spots in the bushes and trees around the course.
Hawkins gave them the objective.
"At the end of this course is a Hammer and Sickle Flag! Grab it, toss it into that barrel, light it on fire, and run back here without getting hit lethally. If just one of you can make it through the course without a simunition injury that would be lethal, then the entire unit gets lunch. The losers will however, have to walk to the mess. the winners will ride. line up at the starting line."

The course was massive. small pits, trip wires connected to paint bombs, simunition machine guns, zip lines over mud rigged to snap. barricades, walls to climb over. smoke bombs, tear gas, DIs with sniper rifles in guard towers, stretchs of deep mud that had to be crawled through under barbed wire, pools of water that had to be swam through. Matt stood by the starting line and waited for the order to go.

[Dimoniquid]

"I never went to school. We just got on with the training, and they sent us off to different camps." James said, walking in after the jog. He was used to running - with most of the training, he managed to get a mile in after seven minutes, equalling twenty minutes for the whole thing. After sitting down, he phased out of his physical phase, and looked at the room. "How the hell am I meant to do this?" He said, and got on with the lesson.

James looked up. The bell had rang, and he reckoned he did fairly good job at answering most of the question. He knew that he wasn't the smartest - although anything he was told seemed to stick inside his head. After walking up to Matt, he stared at the course. "Is this it? Lets hope they're using live rounds. It would make things more interesting."

[Phonencia]

"Naw, live explosives would be more fun."
Hawkins blew a whistle, loud, long, and shrill.
"GO! GO! GO!"
Matt sprinted forward and pulled himself over a wall quickly. Just as he hit the other side a paint mine went off behind the wall. He ducked and crawled through some mud and barbed wire while simunitions pinged all over the course. The DIs were TRYING to hit the cadets now. A Simu-MG turned and fired on a trio of cadets, covering them in small red splatters. The kids started cussing about the stinging and were moved to the side lines.
Matt latched onto a zipline and quickly zipped across a mud pit underneath him. Another red haired boy tried to do the same but the line snapped, sending him into the mud. He tried to climb out but was sprayed with simunitions.
There was still a long way to go, but he could see the red and yellow banner flapping in the wind. Almost there...

[Eireann Fae]

Mary Jane sighs as she rises to her feet. "This ought to be interesting..." she mutters. As they begin jogging, she wonders what the classes will be like. It had been nearly a decade now since she'd seen the inside of a school building. She could read well enough, and played math games in her head for fun. She wasn't sure how she'd do in sciences lessons; would she be able to keep up? Her mind bounced from one question or worry to another the whole time they were jogging, the girl not even breaking a sweat at this part. Her primary method of transportation was parkour - jogging a few miles on a flat surface was nothing.

Mary Jane nervously enters the building, not sure what to expect. She takes a seat next to Matt, looking at the machine on her desk. She had seen computers, of course, in homes she'd burgled and in the pawn shops she cashed in at. Never used one, though... She looked over to see what the boy next to her (one that seemed to have a lot of issues with physical exertion), and mimicked his interactions with the device.

An unexpected pleasure for the red-head was the lesson on Military Tactics and Strategy. Until coming here, she'd had little to no interest in the military, but definitely took a keen interest in this lesson. She was fascinated with the described strategies, on a personal and epic scale. This would clearly be one of her favourite classes. History of Notable Civilizations was of a bit of a milder interest to her, but still an interesting subject. Mary Jane's favourite part of this class was discussing the strategies used by the various civilizations. Science, as expected, was difficult. She had only spent a few years in primary school before her parents died and her Life ended, and had never taken much interest in the subject, as it never served her much use on the street. She would definitely have to study basic Science later on to keep up...

Algebra and Trigonometry both come naturally to the girl, who likes playing math games, such as figuring out the quickest way to get from one place to another in a city at different times of day, calculating her odds of jumping from one location to another based on the distance and angle of the jump, and other such useful mathematical instincts she had come to take advantage of in her youth. She has a few problems with Grammar, but her knowledge of the language is better than one would expect. She's conned a lot of people in a lot of fields, and it takes a decent linguist to use the proper verbiage and cadence with the chosen mark.

Overall, Mary Jane rather enjoyed school. A quality education, she found, is something she had been sorely missing. She would have to study up on Science, of course, but this was still likely to be her favourite part of the day. She was a little disappointed when the bell rang, but was just as quick as the others to leave the building. She goes over the day's lessons in her head while taking the mile-long jog to the obstacle course; thinking of her favourite strategies, imagining herself as part of an old civilization, etc. She snaps to attention, of course, when DI Hawkins began giving instructions.

She listens carefully as the objective and gameplay are described, and takes a quick look at the course, planning her moves in certain parts of it. Rather than take the lead in this exercise, Mary Jane hesitates for a half-second after the order to 'GO! GO! GO!' is given. 'Better to learn from others' mistakes,' she thinks to herself, as she takes off right behind everyone else. She pulls herself up onto the first wall, taking a second to look down the other side, having heard a small 'pop' when the first kids went over it. She sees the mine, smiles, and jumps far away from the wall, rolling to a prone position on her belly before the barbed wire. She hastily moves through the obstacle, wriggling with practiced skill honed from moving through tight spaces quite a lot in life.

Having seen another kid's zip-line snap, Mary Jane was ready to grab the rope if hers suffered the same fate. It didn't, but she was ready for it... She continued down the course, keeping pace just behind a few of the others, ready to dart before them when the end comes. She deftly dodges traps like paint bombs, and keeps her breath steady for those times she has to hold it through a gas-filled area, or swim across a pool. She took a shot to the wrist while scaling a wall, which caused her to come down hard on the other side, sending a throbbing pain shooting through her left foot. The girl grimaces with the pain, but keeps the same pace as before. It takes a little more work now, but there is still plenty left in her before they get to the flag...

[Dimoniquid]

James had jogged to the wall - he knew that they, the instructors, would target the fastest first. After clambering up the wall, he grabbed a cadets arm and hauled him over. "Come on, Nancy!" He shouted at the boyshoving him forward and hitting the deck as a mine detonated. He was immediatly on his feet, sprinting and crouching at different times to get towards the zipline. After grabbing the line, he ran forward, slamming the hook so it connected towards him, and landed on the other side.

After darting past more cadets, he grabbed one by their shirt and hauled to the next wall. After jumping over, he landed on his legs, seeing Mary-Jane land on her arm. The shock had passed through her, and He knew he had to help her. After running over to her, he put her arm over his shoulder. "Fucking leg it!" He shouted.

[Meldaria]

Shimori nodded at the DI, but really at the boy who had whispered to her and walked away. She found their methods quite ineffective, as she herself had received much physical conditioning in the past. Completing her exercises, she did not speak to any of the other cadets. She kept her distance and merely did as she was meant to do. Excelling in all her subjects, but doing no more than she was asked to, she seemed a mindless drone. This couldn't be farther from the truth. She watched as the boys ran the course and dreaded the moment when it would be her turn. Apparently she was meant to get muddy. She didn't like this idea, but kept it to herself. She was quiet as she watched the exercises proceed.

[Phonencia]

A DI leaned over towards Shimori.
He said incredibly sweetly, "Excuse me miss, but could you please run the course?
NOW!GO GO GO!"
He flicked on his baton and small visible sparks came off as electricity surged through it.
The Shockmaces had excellent pyschological effect.


Matt slammed behind cover near Mary Jane and James.
A Simu-MG turned and fired on their position, spattering simunitions paint all over the area but not hitting anyone. One cadet used this as a distraction and sprinted forward for the flag only to be shot down by a sniper. A Smoke Grenade Landed in their position. Matt carefully picked it up, using his BDU sleeve to keep from getting burned, and tossed the smoke bomb into the area ahead. He hefted a rock and hurled it at the MG, it smashed the small electronics that allowed Remote control of the gun and the gun went silent.
"LET'S GO! STAY DOWN!"
he shouted. Matt leapt up and sprinted through the smoke.
wait a minute....
He slammed down into the mud as simunitions shot through the smoke.
when the enemy deploys smoke, the best strategy is to shoot into the smoke...
damn. He crawled through the mud over to the flag. He ripped it off the pole and tossed it into the empty gasoline barrel. He picked up a small can of kerosene and dumped it on the flag. He picked up a box of matches next to the kerosene, lit one, and tossed it into the barrel. He stepped back as flames erupted out of the barrel and then sprinted back to cover. "If we reach Hawkins without getting shot, we don't have to run to the mess!"
He said delightedly. "Let's go!"

[Meldaria]

OOC: Oh excuse me, I was under the impression this was single person course. My mistake.

IC:

"Oh sorry sir. I just went blank for a second. It happens to me on occasion. Oh, and by the way, your baton's cooling unit appears to be damaged. I can smell it overheating. You're going to burn yourself if you don't get it repaired."

she replied.

Shimori ran through the course with the other cadets. Her movements were steady, smooth, and flawless. Her face glimmered in the sun emotionless. She watched as Matt burned the hammer and sickle flag. How effective, brainwashing and military training, all in one. She was smug with her mental comment, so smug she almost grinned, but just almost.

[Eireann Fae]

After jumping over, he landed on his legs, seeing Mary-Jane land on her arm. The shock had passed through her, and He knew he had to help her. After running over to her, he put her arm over his shoulder. "Fucking leg it!" He shouted.

(OOC: The 'shot to the wrist' was a paintball(?) from a sniper, which weakened her climb over the wall and made her land harder on her feet than she should. Still landed on her feet, though, and it bloody hurt, so your actions were still warranted. I'm just clarifying the description of what happened.)

The girl smiles as a cadet comes to her aid, but the smile turns into a grimace has he yells in her ear. She and her human crutch, whose name she'd have to get later, follow closely behind Matt, and are hot on his heels as he torches the flag. The symbol on the flag is not important to Mary Jane in the least - it could just as easily been a Phonencian flag to her. In her mind, the objective was to get to the flag and burn it, whatever was on it. Matt met the objective, and the three make a final dash towards DI Hawkins. Mary Jane, in particular, was eager for a ride to the mess hall. She could probably keep up a brisk jog with her bruised ankle, but it'd be painful as hell, and she wanted to enjoy lunch...

[Phonencia]

The last of the group finally reached the finish line and Hawkins stared silently.
The other kids cheered loudly. "silence." he said quietly. The kids all shut up.
"Good job recruit. You all get lunch. But only you, you, you, and you."
He pointed at Mary Jane, James, Matthew, and Shimori.
"Will be riding back. The Rest of you can walk home!"
he shouted to the sidelines. "We don't reward failure here, but you're lucky these four survived, otherwise you'd all go hungry till dinner. Now, march! You four, in the Ironhearts."
He said, gesturing to the kids who'd made it back.
"Uh, sir." Matt began hesitantly.
"What cadet?"
Hawkins asked.
"I was wondering if I could jog back...with the other cadets sir."
he asked. "Why? Cadet."
Hawkins demanded, leaning in and squinting. Another DI began doing brief maintenance on Hawkins's baton. "Well, I uh."
"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
"I don't like having to make them walk alone. It'll breed animosity between me and the other recruits."
Hawkins seemed amused.
"Alright. GO CADET! RUN RUN RUN!"
"YESSIR!"
He turned and ran to catch up with the others.
The sun was especially hot today.
An Ironheart parked with the other three and opened.
"Go on it kids."



OOC: srry guys, been busy. I WON'T LET THIS THRED DIE!!!!

[Meldaria]

Shimori thought this behavior was strange. She almost giggled, but didn't dare to. She climbed aboard the vehicle, but looked toward's Matt admiringly. He had done something heartwarming, but Shimori's heart knew little more than calculation and meditation. He just burned a hammer and sickle flag, and now he treats the rest of the recruits as his equals. If only he took into mind what he was burning... Shimori was not a communist or a capitalist. She didn't care about politics. Her own self-betterment was very important to her, as was achieving Nirvana. She sat quietly in the vehicle with the other two soldiers and the DI.

[Eireann Fae]

'I'd love to go with you,' thinks Mary Jane, as she watches Matt rejoin the others, 'but I came off that wall a little hard...' Trying to ignore the pain, she steps into the vehicle and takes a seat with the other two teen soldiers. "So," she begins, looking from one student to the other. "What do you think of our first morning?" The girl sighs inwardly with relief as she lifts her bruised ankle, relieving the pressure. She hopes it is just a temporary injury, and would be better by the end of lunch time. It would suck hard if she actually had to go crying to a nurse on the first day...