Blood in the Water IC Newbies Thread, For the new group to RP their time together while others away Options

[SleepIncarnate]

OOC: Use this thread for everything IC.

Posting Rules

Just like almost everyone else on the board I'm gonna be stealing Redjack's posting structure, so here you go.

All your posts should begin with a time/date stamp in orange, detailing location, time, and date. Underneath, in italics, add your PAN mode, hidden, active, or passive, in dark grey.

- - "Speech color=cyan, optionally enclosed in quotes" (Penta note: Quotes HIGHLY recommended!)
- - <Coms (subvocal) color=violet>
- - <Coms (Text) color=yellow>
- - Thoughts color=darkkhaki and in italics
- - Memories, flashbacks, dreams color=green and in italics

Spoiler all private actions, but if its something really private, or you're setting up a backstab, feel free to PM me.

OOC: Specifically, this is for the 4 of us new members to discuss the events involving the PM that penta sent to us all, and get a little roleplay dynamic between us. I'll post the stuff we need tonight, then wait until tomorrow to put my own IC thread.

[SleepIncarnate]

Miami: Pier 34, 0917 EDT/1317 Zulu
[Walker, Private mode]

"Okay, good," Walker states after the three candidates step forward. "I was concerned we'd have to appoint people. I accept those nominations, and, finding no other nominees, so order the nominees to assume their positions from 1000 local time today."

"All other posts aboard ship are under the appointment of the CO...Who will recieve limited dossiers presently, along with our recommendations, and announce the appointees after breakfast," Walker states, as Rusty's commlink buzzes with a transmission from Roberts; the mentioned dossiers, which, being only partially declassified, are slim but do give an idea of each person's skillset and the naval officers' recommendation for which post they should fill. "Which leads me to our final bit of things to do off-ship. While you're all in training, the ship will be crewed by members of the Naval Special Warfare Command and the Marines. It's their ship til after you finish your training, when we'll turn it over and activate the loan. This includes a full mess staff - I advise, strongly, figuring out how you'll handle cooking duties amongst yourselves, then consulting with the mess staff on menus and such for the first month. Once we turn over the ship at our destination poirt, we'll all disembark, you'll get a free refuel and stocking of provisions and water, and you'll be sent on your way."

Then, simply, "If you'll all follow me, we'll proceed to breakfast and some basic in-processing into the ship, including getting everyone set up on the ship's computer."

Walker then leads the way through the corridors of the ship (after saluting the flag hanging at the gangway, and the officer of the deck, in turn, and having his salute returned, a process Roberts repeats) to the formal dining room of the vessel. Roberts is absent for a moment, before returning to the group, now in his dress whites...and looking singularly mystified as to why he's in them, those of you who are more aware can tell, from the remarks he makes briefly to the Captain, who just grins, then looks to the group.

"Before we sit down to breakfast, a brief...warning, then some introductions. Do not ask me why, for I have never in all my years with this command figured out why," Walker begins, "But for some reason, every year, the Congress issues the Command to which you are attached an official entertainment budget. We have never, in my experience, ever used the damn thing for its intended purpose, until now...Where we're including you as guests of the command until your training is complete. Hence, we went a bit...overboard on the food. It's all real this morning, not soy or krill, and is stocked to stay real until we exit. Do not ask how much it cost; I pointedly didn't ask when I was informed of it. And it's all you might want to eat, for breakfast, anyway. Usually in the Navy, you don't eat this well...But this ain't normal. Thus the warning: If you have allergies, please, be careful."

Breakfast, as laid out before you, is like something out of dreams. The plates and silverware used are, given the glints off them, real. Not fine china, but hardly plasticware.

Everyone has the usual assortment of silverware, plus a glass of water and an as-yet-empty glass. Pitchers of orange juice, milk, and grape juice are present, as is coffee and tea in pots off to the side. Foods present? Eggs, ham, bacon, pancakes, waffles (with the possibility of maple syrup from Vermont! Real maple syrup!), assorted fruits (including Florida oranges), and so forth. Not a panopoly of food, but a good spread of food, nonetheless, all served family-style to encourage conversation.

"And before we sit down to eat, my second warning, and an introduction. Everyone in this room is cleared for your op. Everybody aboard this ship is, but these officers know more than the bare details - they helped me and Lt. Roberts pick you. The officers and crew who sit with you this morning will be your trainers these next few days, and subject-matter experts, for your consultation through Lt. Roberts, thereafter. Basic rules of the Mess are: All conversation in English, and please try not to talk shop except as regards general matters, not technical matters. Otherwise, you'll learn as you go; mistakes are fine, this is training." Walker briefs.

"And now the introductions, in order of appearance. First up is Chief Petty Officer Jorge Ramirez, who'll be teaching basic military skills and etiquette for those with no military experience." He indicates a tall, clean-shaven human, Latin in appearance, who looks to be built like a truck, even in his formal dress uniform. Ramirez smiles and nods at the introduction. His smile, despite his intent, is kind of creepy.

"Next up: Master Chief Petty Officer Gregory Lynch, who has served as my Command Master Chief in the past and will be teaching ship and boat-handling, basic leadership, and maritime tactics." He indicates a similarly tall, clean-shaven human, this time looking Anglo in appearance, with a wiry frame, also in dress uniform. He doesn't smile, merely nods.

"Lieutenant Maria Benitez will be teaching damage control and naval engineering. She also was the on-site supervisor of the modifications to this vessel from it's civilian specs, and did much of the design work." He indicates an elven woman, with severe black hair and dark eyes, who nods in recognition; unusually for those introduced thusfar, she has obvious cyberware - namely, a datajack at her left temple.

"Lt. Commander Joseph Grant is newly arrived from teaching pilots at TOPGUN, where he taught what he'll be teaching some of you: Drone handling and combat, and related tactics." He indicates a tall elven male, with brown hair sparked with streaks of gray, who sports a datajack at his temple and a small, thin frame.

"Major Stephen Vaccaro will be teaching small arms handling for those of you who request it, and will be teaching on the politics of the region, as well as teaching Spanish and Portugese upon request. Additionally, as if those weren't enough, he'll also be teaching boarding tactics, and he even teaches SCUBA diving." He indicates a troll of Italian descent. A big, beefy troll, who projects a curiously intellectual manner, despite being a big, beefy troll. It might be helped by his Marine dress blues, including a long Mameluke sword at his belt.

"Lieutenant Ignatius Esteban will be teaching Thaumaturgical matters. To include a brief overview for your thaumaturgical officer of region-specific issues, as well as a crash course in magical matters for those of you not gifted with such talents." He indicates a (relatively) short elf.

"Lieutenant Roberts and I will be teaching intelligence collection and analysis, strategy, and advanced leadership."

"Other than those introductions, I'll be dealing with training and in-processing matters after breakfast," Walker concludes. "Now if you'll all have a seat where indicated, we can start with the food."

The seating arrangement places Rusty to the Captain's left, Roberts to the Captain's right, and so forth, roughly alternating between servicemember and shadowrunner. The head and foot of the table remain unoccupied, everyone sitting at points along the sides of the long table.
---

<OOC: Dig in! The setup is designed to encourage conversation between the runners and the servicemembers, especially, but also between the runners. It's not a test of social skills, though it might seem like that to the less-experienced.

For my sanity, I'm not going to even try to RP all of the characters mentioned. Instead, I'll reply to particularly interesting posts, and otherwise provide brief character sketches.

Walker quickly shows the meaning of "an officer and a gentleman", even more than Roberts. He seems to know a little about everything - it's easy to see why he's reached as high as he has: Sheer intelligence. He's fairly guarded when you try to talk shop with him - by his comments, this is his first meal of the day, which might explain why he isn't talking overly much.

Roberts is more relaxed than any of you have ever known him. He seems genuinely excited about what's to come, and versus Walker's focus on his food, he's happy to chat while eating (politely).

Ramirez is a big, burly guy. He's happy to talk about what he teaches, to give the less-experienced characters a hint into why someone would serve. He's a sports fan, too, especially of Urban Brawl.

Lynch is more of an intellectual - he'll discuss current events, fishing, sailing, boating...Combat Biking...Skydiving.

Benitez is a gearhead. Through and through. She isn't uncomfortable around her fellow servicemembers, or the runners, but she gravitates naturally towards Jane and Melisandre, seeking fellow geeks to talk geeky stuff with.

Grant...When you think of Grant, think of a classic fighter pilot. That is what this guy is. A jock in uniform. Despite the Captain's admonishment not to talk shop, he loves to talk about flying. However, respecting said admonition, he won't talk military flying. He flies a Cessna in his spare time. He'll happily talk about that. He also works on cars.

Vaccaro is seriously the intellectual of the group, something that may shock those with preconcieved notions about trolls. He thoroughly enjoys the moment when those notions go running splat into the fact that this guy graduated from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson center of International Studies...After going through on an academic scholarship. Only when he decided not to do grad school did he choose Navy OCS. He knows a lot about the region, it quickly becomes apparent.

Esteban is a hermetic mage...A classic one in personality. He wears the brass beaver ring of an MIT&T graduate, and it shows in his personality. He'll talk current events, magic...baseball (he's a Red Sox fan)...Magic...Engineering...Magic.

I'll talk more on the OOC thread about the process of in-processing. - your GM>

OOC: I've added this so you don't have to dig for the list of names of who all the trainers we'll be working with are in the other IC thread.

[SleepIncarnate]

So your character got picked for the Fedallah...
---

Hi. If you're receiving this PM, it's because I could find a role for your approved character in the Blood in the Water campaign. The picked people are: SleepIncarnate, ntwi, Inane Imp, and BetaFlame. If Marwynn and Whizbang do not appear, I will likely pick up two other people, bmcoomes and ravensoracle.

Everybody's getting the same PM.

Here I aim to lay out how your characters enter the campaign. Keep in mind that all of this happens off-camera.

First:

You're recruited by Kevin Roberts in Miami, again briefly in his cover as a civilian fixer, for a "special seaborne operation". He mentions that you'll be joining an already-assembled crew. You're informed that the mission will consist in large part of commerce raiding and intelligence gathering, and pay will be commensurate to the gains made. Duration is indefinite.

After you accept, he invites you to settle your affairs in Miami, and to be ready for a Matrix-delivered message ASAP.
---

After 24 hours, a message arrives directing you to a self-storage facility near Miami International Airport, and directing you to bring your gear and anything else you may need for an extended cruise at sea, within the next 12 hours. You'll be issued with further information and flight details then, as well as any documentation that may be needed, it says.

---
Upon arrival at the self-storage facility, your gear (including non-implanted commlink) is taken from you, politely, by 3 ork men in civilian clothes. You are invited to watch as it is packed in travel containers, then escorted to a meeting with Mr. Roberts in a covered location.

"How good of you to come," he greets.

"You'll be taking a flight with me - commercial flight, business class, though your equipment will be traveling by specialized cargo so as to avoid difficulties with the authorities. You will be travelling along with others who have also been recruited for this operation - however, you will also be travelling as civilians. Act accordingly, though I advise avoiding alcohol."

"Upon arrival at our destination, further information will be provided. I regret not being able to say more here, but operational security requires it. Before we head to the airport, though, I might ask...How familiar are you with the phenomenon of privateers in history?"

He goes on to explain the privateer's role, to the extent you indicate is needed, before gesturing for you to turn around...Where sits a vehicle. Your stuff is loaded into it, and there's enough space for you, Roberts, and everybody else who's there (the 3 orks).

A short ride to the airport later, and you're arriving at the passenger drop-off point. You're provided an apparently-one-time identity with documentation by a commlink message from Roberts, and soon after you're through security and waiting at the gate. There also awaits the other new recruits, as well as Roberts, plus civilians.

The flight to Baltimore-Washington International is a short one, only a few hours, and you're met (after passing through immigration and customs) by Roberts and the rest of the group. The orks who initially took your stuff are also there, and lead the group of 4 runners and fixer to waiting GMC Bulldogs - one for gear, two for people.

The group sets off, then, and soon arrives (at around 2000 EDT) at...a military base. UCAS Naval Station Baltimore, a sign says dimly.

More driving, before you arrive at an underground parking garage - helpful, because it's raining.

Everybody out of the vehicles, and Roberts begins to speak. "Greetings, everyone. I hope you didn't mind the journey. As I promised, now that we're at our destination, I can speak more freely."

He goes on to explain, briefly, the operation for which you've been recruited. It's largely the same spiel as the original group got from Captain Walker. The same "one minute to decide whether to accept", too.

"You are here for such training as may be seen necessary before you join the vessel aboard which you'll be working - most of it will be oriented towards 'navalizing' you, somewhat, as well as preparing you for the roles you'll be assuming aboard ship. You will be housed in dormitory-style quarters for your training - and you will not, under any circumstances, leave this base. When the vessel returns to port and is ready to receive new crew, you'll be delivered to them. For tonight, though, settle in - your gear, at least what of your gear is required for this training, has been delivered to your assigned quarters. The rest is in secure storage, as you may verify. We'll be having dinner as a group at 2030."

The training is in part expanded from what was delivered to the original group aboard ship, and in part more focused.

Uniforms are, indeed, issued, same as for the first group.

Each day follows a basic routine:

0500 - Wakeup. Not Reveille...Instead, it's usually music, broadcast over the dorm's PA system. Followed by showers, personal care, etc.
0530 - Phyiscal Training. Led by UCAS Marines. Ooh-rah? Expect at least a few visits to the assault course.
0630 - Breakfast! Real food, delivered (that said) in a mess hall-style environment. You eat as a small group, along with your trainers (who are the same as from voyage one, but fewer of them, and not including Captain Walker).
0700 - Morning classes begin
1130 - Morning classes end
1200 - Lunch. Again, real food, eaten as group with trainers.
1230 - 30 minutes free time
1300 - Afternoon classes begin
1730 - Afternoon classes end
1800 - Dinner. See breakfast and lunch. Not formal, unlike the first night aboard the Fedallah.
1830 - Evening classes begin
0030 - Evening classes end
0100 - Lights out.

What the classes consist of: Read the OOC thread (post #166, look at http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?show...t&p=851693) and figure out your role. Yes, they're all filled, you'll be backing up the original people, ICly. You get that training, plus the Common Curriculum and the electives, offered to you. You have to take the Common Core (though I'll listen to arguments re individual sections), but otherwise you OOCly schedule yourself; ICly, of course, the schedule is assigned by the instructors. If you justify a waiver from common core stuff, you just get assigned more electives, for example.

Spread out over more time, of course. Your days are very packed - notice how you get 4 hours of sleep. Well, that's intentional. Lack of sleep adds to the stress.

Note that you'll also be doing other stuff:

Namely, group work in damage control through linked simsense (as well as going through the Navy's damage control trainer, basically a room that floods with *extremely cold* water as you try to fix things). Time on the firing range. And so forth.

Like with the original crew - this is like drinking water through a firehose! Very effective training, though. Even more so with this group because there's only 4-6 people - you're taught, at times, one-on-one.

if you could, PM me back with your character's reactions and what classes they go through (IE, pick your role).

Training, all told, lasts for at least a week, possibly two weeks, depending on how long it takes for the Fedallah to get to port - it's taught at a slightly slower pace than it was for the original group, but covers more in-depth. (This time, I shouldn't screw up how much time it takes!)

OOC: Here's the one we all received in our PM's just for ease of reference so you don't have to dig in your PMs.

[SleepIncarnate]

Okay, now, about that training program.

Basically, it runs by position, though there is a "common core" (which, naturally, you might be waived from if you already know it - they'll just reallocate the time to other training).

Simsense, because it can make a minute contain an hour's class (something mentioned for penal use in the Lone Star sourcebook, if I recall), is used a lot, though live-fire is used (against fake targets) in marksmanship training. The more academic courses are a combination of lecture and simsense. Think of a college class.

Training is highly individualized, or at least customized for you guys.
---

Now, by position:

CO: Rusty basically gets the Mazer Rackham treatment from Capt. Walker. In other words, she's practically his personal student. She is taught a little bit of each of the positions, where possible; enough to get a basic grounding in what everybody else is doing so she knows how to use them efrectively. She's also put through very, very intense simsense scenarios - putting her on the bridge of the Fedallah, "fighting the ship" - commanding it through a boarding action, repelling boarders, a ship-vs-ship fight, controlling damage, sailing through storms, just to name a few. After each scenario, she gets thoroughly debriefed by Captain Walker, and given pointers on her performance. Should she be haughty and proclaim she knows all this already, his reply is cutting: "And where, may I ask, is your last command? Oh, yes. The scrap heap, if I recall."

These scenarios happen at any time of the day or night, including during other classes - they come pretty much out of nowhere.

This will take a fairly massive chunk of your time, roughly 10 hours, not counting the disruptions to your other studies due to 'pop quizes'

XO: Zalermo is also given a crushing workload. He's slammed through an excruciating course of study covering military basics, tactics, leadership, intelligence analysis, maritime law, first aid...In short, a course designed to turn him from a cop/womanizer into a passable imitation of a naval officer. It's not easy, and in 4 days it probably isn't completely possible, but he'd be given a basic grounding in what he needs to know.

Despite the wide range of things covered, most of them will be handled through the individual courses that you will pick out, so expect the XO portion to only take about 5 hours.

Purser: Jane is given a very quick introduction to basic accounting. She's briefed on what the auditors want, basically. Not hard, not long, leaves her a lot of time for other coursework more posting-related. Figure an hour to get acquainted with the software and forms.

And now, by position:

Medical Officer: The medical officer and their assistant is given a crash course on first aid at sea. CPR will be given particular review due to its importance at sea. A large chunk of the rest of the training will be devoded to learning how to deal with the rocking and swaying of the boat when preforming delicate operations, as well as the sort of injuries and illnesses that particularly occur at sea, and a short overview of what sort of medicines you're likely to find in the region. The course will take a total of 4 hours.

Engineering Officer: The engineering officers are given an introduction to the ship from the keel up by Lt. Benitez. Literally. Beyond merely a tour of the ship, they get slammed through an introduction of ship's systems - applying what they already know to the system of systems known as the MY Fedallah. This especially covers damage control. There is an *immense* amount to learn, and a very short amount of time to learn it in. Due to the large amount of practical work required, this course will take 6 hours.

Marine CO: Boarding ops. Underwater ops. Amphibious ops. What isn't known by the selectee here is taught, using simsense and live-fire at fake steel targets. This is possibly the most physically -exerting- course set. This course will take a total of 3 hours.

Thaumaturgical Officer: It's hard to teach magic between traditions (Esteban is an old-school hermetic mage), but Esteban does his best to teach about the thaumaturgical threats of the region of operations - everything from the weirdness of the Bermuda triangle to what's known about Voudun (Voodoo) to what's known and declassified about Aztlaner Blood Magic (GM question: *is* anything known? If not, delete that clause). Mostly lecture, but Esteban is an effective teacher, that said. There are limited things to cover here, and Esteban won't be repeating himself, so have your commlink recording for the two hours of direct lecture and Q&A

Intelligence Officer: A crushing course load. The intelligence officers are taught the basics of intelligence analysis - everything from how to analyze intelligence to presenting the final analysis in writing to briefing the analysis to the CO or higher headquarters. This is a 4-month course crushed into 4 days, and it's hard to strip down any more than they did to get the course to 4 months long. This will eat up a prodigious 8 hours -per day- which will rather severally limit what other instructors you can take advantage of.

Quartermaster: Not long, not hard. A 30-minute class that shows you where the converted cargo area is, the SOP of distributing gear, a crash course in the use of the inventory software, and a short Q&A.

Navigation Officer: This is part advanced math class, part basic map-reading and chart use, part use of "alternative navigation methods". Lots of annoying trigonometry problem sets related to the craft of navigation at sea, both tactical movement (say, intercepting a target) and long-distance movement. Use of the automatic systems is also covered, but there's a huge emphasis here on surviving if the tech breaks (or is damaged or somehow unavailable), including teaching of celestial navigation, using dead-reckoning to navigate, etc, though that is a very small part of the training package. Expect to spend 4 hours memorizing painfully dull things.

Communications Officer: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Comms, But Were Afraid To Ask. Electronic warfare, hacking at sea, satellite comms and radio usage. All are covered in this fairly inclusive 4 hour course.

Note that these courses can be taken by people besides the listed officer for those wanting to provide assistance, just learn about what the job entails, or pick up the relevant skills for your own reasons.
---
Common Curriculum

There's some stuff everybody needs to know. You may not think you need to know it. Your trainers do. Certain characters may be exempt from certain portions of the common curriculum. Maybe they've been through it before, for instance. That just means their time gets allocated to other stuff not in the common curriculum.

Stuff included:

Basic Military Skills: Boot Camp, supremely compressed. How to salute. How to wear the uniform. How to address people. Basic naval knowledge (including knots, always a navy favorite - fortunately they only spend 30 minutes on this!), including vocabulary, is covered. How to simulate a Navy or Marine Corps enlisted person or officer, if nothing else. (I see Rusty and George being exempt from this to greater or lesser degrees. Iago basically gets enough to translate his Army knowledge into Naval knowledge. I'm otherwise willing to entertain exemptions.)3 hours.

Damage Control: Nobody Is Exempt From This. Covered through real life and simsense, this is an introduction to damage control for all systems for everybody. 2 hours.

Marksmanship: If you have automatics and pistols of 3 or better, you don't need this. Otherwise, you go through basic shooting exercises (simsense and live-fire) to train you in shooting with automatic weapons and pistols. 2-3 hours.

Firearm Care: Sea air plays hell with your weaponry if you don't keep it well cared for, this covers the basic things to keep an eye out for in particular while out on the sea. 30 minutes for those with sufficient armorer skill already, 1 hour otherwise.

Intro to the Carib: A basic introduction, taught by Maj. Vaccaro, of politics and geography and such in the Caribbean region. Nobody is exempt. 1 hour.

First Aid: Your average Red Cross CPR/First Aid/AED course (yes, the ship has AEDs available commonly). Nobody is exempt unless they ICly already have this level of knowledge or better (So Karoline and maybe Ears). 1 hour.

Swim test: Not a swimming course. You all know how to do that. This makes SURE you can swim. By throwing you INTO the water (while the boat's stopped) and having you swim to safety. Don't worry, there'll be people around to save you if you start to drown...Maybe. Really, maybe 15 minutes per person. If you start to drown, someone will save you. And don't worry, they'll clear the area of sharks. If you -can't- pass it expect to spend a lot more time being thrown back into the water.

Magic for Mundanes: Everybody but Iago (for obvious reasons) takes this. Magical awareness training - what magic can do, what it can't, tactical uses of magic, etc. 2 hours.

Intro to watchstanding: A basic introduction to watchstanding in your assigned post. 1 hour.

Psychological Wellbeing: A quick overview of how to keep sane when stuck on a ship for weeks or even months at a time. Includes instruction on stress relief, and especially on diffusing hostility between members of the ship, as being stuck on a boat with someone you hate can be horrible for morale. While a seemingly frivolous course, psychology is a stronger weapon to wield than any number of bullets. 2 hours.

Flag recognition: It is important that you know who flies what flag. A fairly quick course, but everyone will be expected to pass the short exam at the end. 30 minutes.
---

Electives:

You don't have to take these courses, but they're available, either live-taught or simsense.
--

SCUBA diving: Basic SCUBA operations. Simsense taught mostly, but with a live dive to cap things off. Meant to get you up to the level of scuba certification in the civilian world. Pass it, you get a SCUBA certification card. 4 hours.

Introduction to UCAS Government: Live-taught in the evening. A poli-sci 101 course for shadowrunners. 2 hours.

Magic for Mundanes +: This course will cover arcana, the only magic skill available to non-awakened characters. It will include things from a basic understanding of what arcana is, to the very basics of what to actually do with it and how. 3 hours.

Meet the Locals: This class covers knowledge of who lives where and some of the basics of those people. Good for getting an idea of who controls what areas, and just how in general to interact with said people. 2 hours

Flura and Fauna: A quick overview of the particular sorts of plants and animals you might encounter both in the surrounding land, and the surrounding water. If you pay close enough attention you just might remember if the purple mushrooms with red spots are good for food, fun, or final prayers. 2 hours

Spanish: You'll have a ton of Spanish vocabulary thrown at you, and a few basic rules on stringing the words together. By the time you've finished this you just might be able to ask where the bathroom is. 3 hours

Portuguese: You'll have a ton of Portuguese vocabulary thrown at you, and a few basic rules on stringing the words together. By the time you've finished this you just might be able to ask where the bathroom is. 3 hours

In-Ship combat tactics: Everything you ever wanted to know about fighting inside or on a ship, ways to use the ship's environment to your advantage, and things you need to be cautious of while fighting in a ship. Also advises on the things you should keep an eye on and out for while infiltrating or fighting on someone else's ship. 2 hours

Drone tactics: Effective use of drones in combat, both against large forces and small. Mostly focused of course on how to make use of various kinds of drones aboard a ship. Positioning and targeting priorities are covered along with program teaks that should be made along with a host of other things. 4 hours.

Sabotage: How to disable an enemy ship from the inside. While not always the simplest of things to manage, if done right it can make things worlds easier. Also covers how to help prevent your own ship being compremised. 2 hours.

Explosive Sabotage: The use of explosives to deal a crippling blow to an enemy ship. Focuses largely on where the most vulnerable and damaging spots on a wide verity of ships are, as well has how to properly place the explosives without blowing yourself up. 3 hours (no practicals, sorry)

Leadership 101: While not everyone can be a leader, it is important to know how to give an order, as well as how to take one. 2 hours

Piloting 101: Despite the autopilot on the ship, it is still sometimes handy to know how to handle it yourself in those delicate situations. 2 hours

Self Defense: This course comes in two parts which can be taken separately. The first part is for defending yourself in melee combat, how to block a blow and throw your own. The second deals with not getting shot. 2 hours each.

Note that you can spend -more- time on any of the courses if you'd like to get a more in-depth review of the info provided in them, but the times posted are the minimums you'll need to devote to get any kind of real benefit from them.
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General comments:

Academically, every course is like drinking water from a fire-hose and trying not to get the rest of you wet. Very Difficult. On the good side, they're really customized to you and your mission, and the teachers are actually damned effective, especially helped by the fact that the largest classes contain only 9 of you.

Everything's customized...except the simsense. The simsense, while nobody expects it to refer to them by NAME, refers to you as "Midshipman". If asked, and only if asked, Roberts explains: They're tutorsofts currently in Beta testing. Safe and complete, but they haven't yet been proven effective as learning tools. They're designed for the midshipmen of the UCAS Naval Academy at Annapolis, hence why they keep referring to you as Midshipman. Comments are welcome. It's meant to be very effective, ICly, but it's still meant for Middies. None of it is at BTL or even Cal Hots level, but a lot of it can be very intense.

---

Stuff you'll be doing as a group:

Damage Control. You'll be doing a lot of this by simsense, as a group working to drive and fight the ship, repair damage, and generally survive while under fire.

Boarding ops: To the extent they can be practical, they run you through boarding ops in simsense. Everything from the approach through to fighting for control of the enemy ship to egress. Repeatedly.

--
Other stuff:

3 of you (Rusty, Melisandre, Simon) have sleep regulators. Those 3? Expect to be pushed to the limits of those, especially Rusty and Melisandre. They have a lot to teach you, and little time to do it in. Everybody else, figure on 4 hours of sleep a night, maximum. Figure 2 hours a day for food, hygiene, etc etc. The other 18 hours, you're in training of some sort (positional, elective, or common core), for 4 days.

It's meant to be hard, intense training. They're absolutely unapologetic about making you work hard.

Some of it (Basic Military Skills, for instance) may not seem relevant. To your trainers, it all is, and is something they will be insistent upon.

OOC: And finally we have this one here so you have easy access to the list of courses and so on. And with that, let the IC intros roll.

[ntwi]

1300hrs, 5 June, 2072
Miami International Airport Departure Terminal
PAN - Active

Walking briskly into the departure terminal, Eric "Nemo" Francis takes a second to glance around before moving towards Mr Roberts They certainly have a good intel arm, that ID he gave me covered all of the ware in me. I hope the rest of this operation is as professional. Baltimore is an odd place for a privateer to base though.

The stocky ork gives the others near Mr Roberts a second look as he nears them. None of them have that beefy look, but some of them have those watchful eyes

"I'm glad they sprung for a seat I fit into, drekhead engineers seem to make the seats smaller and flimsier each year"

[Penta]

OOC: Some more info for OOC consumption to update on the PM as I thought about things during dumpshock's outage.

Okay, a quick overview of the base the newbie contingent is training at, as well as some thoughts on lessons-learned (IE, modifications to previous training based upon IC and OOC lessons of the first group. In the event of a conflict between this and the PM, this takes precedence):

UCAS Naval Station Baltimore is not in Baltimore, but is near it - where precisely, your GM is leaving vague for good reasons. One may safely presume it to be near the Chesapeake Bay.

The surrounding area you didn't get to see much of, given your night-time arrival, and you're billeted in an isolated part of the base. That said, there is publicly-available information accessible through your commlinks (which Roberts indicates have had their Matrix access monitored for the duration of your stay).

The base is thousands of acres in size - it may be "owned" by the Navy, but it's used by joint forces. Much of it is in fact kept undeveloped, for use as training space and to prevent encroachment of civilian development.

It hosts, among other things, 2 6000-meter runways at its airfield, for instance. You learn of this because you can hear the jets operating from them, albeit faintly, regularly.
----

But that's useless broader-base stuff. Your area is off in an isolated part of the base - surrounded by fences and forests, with one access road going in or out to the rest of the base.

Features (not an exhaustive list: If you think something's missing, run it by me, and if it works, we can use it):

Dormitory building labeled Murphy Hall. As noted in the PM, everybody gets their own quarters - a dorm room with en-suite bathroom and shower, but generally rather small. There are no room inspections or anything, but you are advised that any trashing of your quarters or other damage will incur a debt due from you to the Navy for the repairs. Students (you guys) live on the 2nd floor of this 4-story building - there's only 4 of you at present, but there's laid out about 12 separate quarters spaces on the second floor alone. (Everybody was issued a maglock key for their room and for the locker inside the room.) There's also, on that floor, a conference room and a rec room of sorts, plus a small kitchenette for making coffee (there's real coffee stocked there) and the like - it's well-stocked with snacks and soda and such. There's no clue whether or not the 3rd and 4th floors are occupied. There's every indication they aren't. First floor is boring - mechanical stuff for the building and the like. No basement. Drones are present for housekeeping and cleaning purposes.

An assault course (obstacle course) used in PT on occasion.

A moderate-sized parade deck, a football-field's worth of grass. You don't use it much, except as a place to form up for PT with the Marines in the morning. In the center of it hangs a ship's bell, from which a rope hangs. To drop the course and wash yourself out, you ring the bell three times and wait for the Masters-at-Arms (Navy cops) to come pick you up and transport you to out-processing. (OOCly, *nobody will ring that damn bell*. You may threaten to all you like, but if you do I will reach through my computer and kill you.)

3-story classroom/admin building, Monti Hall. First floor contains the small mess hall (meals are served family-style, not in individual portions, to encourage interaction), which features a sign at entry: "TAKE ALL YOU CAN EAT..." and at exit: "...EAT ALL YOU TAKE."; Also contains staff offices, the armory (guarded by two armed Marines 24/7) and space for storage of all the other stuff you brought with you (again, guarded), and a small medical station manned by a doctor and nurse. Second and third floor contain various classrooms.

Outdoor firing range for pistol, rifle, and other small arms. You'll come here for shooting in day and night situations. Fighting positions are included.

Indoor firing range for pistols and rifles.

An indoor pool and fitness center. Surprisingly, there are personal trainers there. They don't know anything really about your op, but they're there to help. (Mostly to keep safety in use of the equipment and provide lifeguards for pool use.) Also includes areas for martial arts training and similar, as well as areas for the issue (or return) of uniforms and other issued training gear.

Bayonet-training area. You don't train on those, but it's there.

Building containing simulators of ship-handling and similar. Also, the damage control simulator.
---

Lessons-learned stuff:

They picked a lot more varied group here, so Roberts sat you all down the night of your arrival and explained some things:

1. "You may not like this training. Okay. You need it anyway, even if you say you don't. You can be Godlike in your skill; you still need the training. We'll listen to requests for waivers from certain sections of training, but only if you already know the content. Some of it we're not going to budge on even if you do, however."

2. "The uniforms are mandatory. When you're aboard ship, we don't care, but while you're in training, you'll wear the uniforms. They help you blend in to any observers, for one thing. They also have safety and other advantages."

3. "We told you before you accepted the job that it'd involve sea duty, and it'd involve a military atmosphere. Well, we meant both those things. Your instructors will be addressed by rank or 'sir/ma'am', as appropriate. No saluting needed, though you'll learn how in order to better pull off being a naval or Marine officer when required."

4. "If you need help on the course content, ask. You're a small group, so we can fine-tune where needed. Failure is not an option."

5. "Questions are never a bad thing. However, understand when we cannot tell you things. Operational Security still applies here."

6. "Do not attempt to go AWOL. Period."

7. "Morning PT is mandatory."

8. "Exit a course without being dismissed and you will be presumed to have dropped from training, just as if you rang the bell."

9. "You are being trained and evaluated as professionals. Act like it. If you aren't pros? Fake it til you make it. You're allowed to make mistakes in training, but you will comport yourself as professionals."

Despite all that: They're very clear about the objectives of this training. The objective is to get you ready for the mission in *all* respects, and to make you capable of accomplishing objectives independent of support beyond the ship, as well as understanding the bigger picture. Hence why the common core includes such things as an introduction to the Carib's politics. "You are not cannon fodder, nor are you intended to be anything close to that. We won't screw with you if you don't screw with us. Hence, we want you to, we need you to, have a grasp on the wider picture." All of this is presented in a friendly manner, a professional manner...But a very firm manner.

So that's the IC objective stated. OOCly, the objective with this phase is to introduce your characters to the campaign and allow you to flesh them out a bit before joining the crew. (As well as pass the time.) The training counts for the purposes of raising (or starting) skills. Hopefully, of course, you'll have fun with it, too.

The times listed by the "course catalog" SI posted should be doubled, as you're not aboard ship, which had the effect of making some training more effective in a shorter period of time.

The idea at present is that you'll all spend about a week (at least 7 full days) in training - this can't really be cut down any farther, but I have ways to extend it if the plot requires such. You don't need to fill up all 140 or so hours of training time. If you can't, I can say you went to the damage control trainer as a group, or went to the range, or just were assigned to take the intel analysis course, or something. In short, I can work things so that ICly, your character has no free time regardless.
***

Final bits:

Roberts acts as course commander of sorts - he appears every day after that first night in the duty uniform of a UCAS Navy Lieutenant Commander. If problems seem to be creeping up, he'll often pull the person with problems aside for a chat between classes. Usually a quite friendly chat...But also quite firm. He's your contact to your employer, but he's generally an advocate for you guys.

I'll RP all the "staffers" - instructors, support personnel, etc. Poke me when you want to RP a scene with one (or more) of them.

Yes, you do PT with the Marines. A platoon of Marine infantry, every morning. They're in PT uniforms, you're in your issue uniforms. You follow instructions of the PT leader (a senior NCO or junior officer) until released.

Portions at meals are ample, but served family-style, not in individual tray servings. *All* of the food is real, not soy or krill or the like. As mentioned above, there are snacks and the like in the rec room of your dorm, but they're limited in quantity. Coffee is unlimited. Real and unlimited.

Illegal substances are taken away from you upon arrival. (Betel nuts are legal! But they only let you keep a limited quantity. As Roberts explains, "the doctors frown upon stimulant help during training.")

You won't meet Captain Walker til end of training, if then - I haven't decided.

-Penta

PS Some later updates.

For the common core - use some common sense. If you're already UCAS military-trained, they'll just translate your prior-service knowledge into Navy/Marine Corps terms and keep going, for example, cutting out most of Basic Military Skills - really, it'd be a refresher course. If you're a mage, they won't bother with Magic for Mundanes. At least one of your characters has Merchant Marine experience - they'd modify Intro to Watchstanding in that case. And so forth. Run mods by me OOCly - just so I have everything down somewhere; ICly, any modifications would be made by the instructor staff, and they're going to be conservative.

The electives are just that - electives. SCUBA training occurs in the murky Chesapeake Bay, not in the Atlantic, for obvious reasons.

[BetaFlame]

1255hrs, 5 June, 2072
Miami International
PAN = Active, using the SIN provided by Mr. Roberts

Talk about going backwards. Miami, back to Baltimore? Makes me wanna stop by the apartment for some extra cloths. The weather's horrific there this time of year too.

Drest surveies the assorted crew, pulling the travel coat around his rather slight frame a little tighter, before pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with one finger. With the possible exception of Kitten, he could be the smallest figure there.

He lifts a hand in greeting to all the assembled, offering a quick "Greetins" in a slightly dampened Scottish accent. He's clearly been stateside for sometime.

Buidheach, this should be a fairly short flight, aye?, in response to Nemo's statement on the seat size.

[ Spoiler ]

Buidheach, roughly translated, is a statement meaning he is pleased about something. Unless you speak Scottish Gaelic, it sounds strange, but I'll provide translations for the players just so you aren't going "huh?" in real life

[Inane Imp]

1300hrs, 5 June, 2072
Miami International Airport Departure Terminal
PAN - Active

It had been a lot to take in over the last couple of days for Molo. A couple of weeks ago he'd had a decent job working an independent bulk carrier up and down the Atlantic coast: but that Jap puta had put paid to that. He'd spent the time since then trying to wrangle decent a job anywhere, but his rep was burned and nobody decent would take him. Then this had landed in his lap: 'you've got the sort of experience we're interested in' they'd said, 'its a job at sea, with a military bent' they'd said it's a quick ticket to hell he'd thought; still, what could he do, man had to earn a living somehow.

So, that was how he was in an international airport wearing somebody else's clothes and somebody else's name with a handful of other nameless people who had the right 'sort of experience'. Puta, how'd I end up in this drek? Well, lets get it over with.

'I think so, but.., he shrugs, struggling to appear phlegmatic. This would be the first time he'd flown, and he was desperately trying to shake the images of the plane crashing and burning. He opens a stick of gum and pops it into his mouth, wishing he could smoke.

OOC: My character is Racist, I will be RPing that. If anybody has any issue with it, let me know and I'll tone it down. But its a fundamental part of the character - and given his past justifiably so.

[SleepIncarnate]

2300hrs, 4 June, 2072
Small Apartment in the Miami Slums
PAN - Passive (Nuriko Kamitoku)
Song of the moment - "Goodnight Demonslayer" by Voltaire

Reading the message from Roberts one last time, she shook her head. Her instincts told her this was probably a bad idea, but she did need the money. 0900.....that's military speak, everyone else says 9 o'clock. Granted, he could be former military like me and Flash, but I still don't like this. Making her way through the various piles of dirty clothes, she began to strip down and crawled onto the futon mattress she had lying on the floor. Maybe I'll be able to afford a real bed after this run, and still be able to get real food instead of living entirely on soy. Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep.

0700hrs, 5 June, 2072
Small Apartment in the Miami Slums
PAN - Passive (Nuriko Kamitoku)
Song of the moment - "...Only Sleep" by the Cruxshadows

Waking to the alarm on her commlink, she rubbed her eyes, groaning, and got up, heading through the kitchen on the way to the bathroom. "Prepare breakfast..." she simply commanded into her link, letting the fridge/oven know to start pouring her some orange juice and heating up her usual breakfast of oatmeal and toast. Continuing on to the bathroom, she stepped in the shower, stepping in and letting the hot water run over her. Last minute to back out of this girl, but you're not going to, are you? With a sigh, she began to wash up, setting her link to bring up recent news as soon as her music stopped. Reading through the headlines and the weather, then turned off the water, drying off. Sometimes, the old fashioned way was best, nothing beat hot water, screw those damn sonic showers some people liked. Towel wrapped around her body with a second in her vibrant hair, hafta redye that soon, she moved out to the kitchen, picking up a piece of toast, munching on it as she flipped through the stories. Nothing too big, so she turned her attention on getting dressed, looking for some semblance of clean clothes. Going to be one of those days.

0845hrs, 5 June, 2072
Self Storage facility near Miami International Airport
PAN - Passive (Nuriko Kamitoku)
Song of the moment - "Walk Away" by Christina Aguilera

Hopping out of the GridCab, she pulled her bags and a foot locker out, and set them on the ground, looking about. There was Roberts, looking as cool and collected as always. Right now she was just scanning, there were plenty of people here trying to look busy, any of them could be the other runners. Waiting until Roberts called them all forward, she messed about with her bags in the meantime. As Roberts called them forward, she looked up just slightly from her bags, appraising them. A rather large ork who looked more machine than man when she switched her perception to the astral, being hardly there at all, a smaller Filipino man who looked like he knew his way around a ship who looked nervous, and finally another elf, looking a bit bookwormish, and bingo, he was awakened. This would be interesting. Rising, she moved towards them, letting them get their first view of their new mage. To all those who didn't know her, she looked to be a 16 year old elf girl, short (for an elf) and thin, dressed up to go clubbing, wearing DressCode knockoff black and deep violet corset, black latex pants, boots, and what looked like a trenchcoat, with the barest hints of a silver bracer on her left arm peeking out. Add to that the fact that she was wearing mirrorshade glasses that completely obscured her eyes, and her long, midback length hair was a deep purple with veins of silver, and it was hard to think of her as the professional she was. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the three orks moving her gear, and she turned to shout at them. "Hey omae, you better be careful with my shit or I'll fry your glitched brain into the next Awakening, you grep?" Turning back to Roberts, she nodded to him and the others. "Let's do this."

1300hrs, 5 June, 2072
Miami International Airport Departure Terminal
PAN - Passive (Nuriko Kamitoku)
Song of the moment - "Flight of the Valkyries"

Yinglong grinned as she saw Molo practically turn green at the thought of flying. The boy could stay at sea for days or weeks at a time but he had problems with flying? She made a mental note to learn a levitate spell just to mess with him if she ever had to assert her authority. When she got to the counter to check in, the ork at the counter first acted all patronizing to her, offering her a sucker with comments like "Flying all by yourself sweetie?" and "First time flying without your parents?" until checking her link's SIN, and blinking, finding out just how old she was. The ork mumbled something about "Damn asians and elves, let alone asian elves...." which brought a laugh from the dwarf working next to her, who winked at Yinglong, who merely grinned at them before replacing her shades, swiping the sucker anyways and popping it in her mouth, once more obscuring her Japanese heritage, then moved on to board the plane.

1600hrs, 5 June, 2072
Baltimore-Washington International Arrival Terminal
PAN - Passive (Nuriko Kamitoku)
Song of the moment - "Beethoven's 5th"

Deboarding the plane, still chewing on the plastic stick from the sucker, she pulled her coat a bit tighter about her, glad this was summer at least. She waited and watched the others, wondering what Roberts next move would be. <Roberts, just so we're clear, you're one insane man for thinking this crew is going to work out. Privateering might be fun, but I don't know how these guys will handle it. Hell, Molo there can't even handle a simple commercial flight, how's he going to do with being at sea for months?>

OOC: Molo and Yinglong are going to have an interesting dynamic if he hates the Japanese.

[Penta]

OOC GM Babble:

Um. Okay.

I'd write an IC post, but my RL just went fucked up, so I'll just leave some OOC notes. Fuller explanation will follow on the OOC thread when I can find the words.

Okay....keeping this focused...

1. Your GM may be a bit crazy in the coming days. I'll do my best to spare everyone from it. SleepIncarnate is rapidly becoming a good source of sanity. (No karma for that, but I'd feel remiss if I didn't say something.)

2. typing really quickly, move things on to the navy base.

Gotta go will say more later.

[SleepIncarnate]

OOC: I'll give everyone a chance to reply and interact some in character before I move us along to the base sometime tonight before I go to bed, but don't expect me to be around all day even if it shows me online, I'll be setting my messengers to invisible and just leaving the computer on while I run about getting ready for tomorrow's events.

[ntwi]

1605hrs, 5 June, 2072
Baltimore Washington International
PAN - Active

Stretching as he deplanes, Nemo follows the two tiny ones with an amused look on his face There may be some advantages to being small, but no one ever mistakes me for being a little girl. I hope the boat isn't designed for people that small or it'll be a worse squeeze than I expected. Minding the public areas, Nemo will keep his conversation to a minimum until they reach their destination.

[Inane Imp]

1300hrs, 5 June, 2072
Miami International Airport Departure Terminal
PAN - Active

Tangina!, Molo almost spat when he saw the Jap chika; the vibe Roberts had been giving off was All-American, so this was an unpleasant surprise. Just so long as she stays out of my way, we'll be fine. On the plus side, it did take his mind off the take off.

This flight itself wasn't so bad, he put his ear plugs in and concentrated on the music: a Spanish language reggae/Ska outfit he'd first heard in the Caribbean when he was down there last. They were getting big now (buzz was they'd just been signed by an 'indie' Horizon subsidiary), but their old stuff was better than their new stuff.

The landing, however, was another issue entirely. Definitely not something to repeat again soon, but then again with his SIN tagged as having 'known terrorist associations' when was he going to have the opportunity again, thank god.

OOC: Not to mention that he's a sailor and Yinglong jumps out of perfectly good aeroplanes. 5 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) says she gets sea-sick; or - more likely - (mild) hypothermia during the flood DC training. And - to be fair - Molo's perfectly happy with flying, its the crashing and dying in a fire he has issues with. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[SleepIncarnate]

OOC: Also, as a side note, for whichever of you has the mild allergy to fires for a phobia, there's an actual phobia quality in augmented which would be about the same cost if you want to look at it, or I can post it. Up to you and Penta, of course. As for Yinglong, she's got her share of time on boats, just not as a member of the crew.

[Inane Imp]

OOC: The Phobia quality isn't listed amongst the 'Negative Qualites' under Stiches and Spare Parts. So it might be buried in the text and I can't remember it. Effectively I'm trying to use this House Rule. But, rather than actually using a house rule I'm abusing the game mechanics to get the effect I want (reduced dice pool when exposed to situations where he will think 'you know what, I might burn to death here').

Edit: That'd be why I didn't spot it. Its buried under the Cyborg parts. It'll have no affect either way really - I've listed his allergy/Phobia to fire as Uncommon, Mild for 5 BP, -2 to DP. Since its Uncommon fire one would assume that we're talking about significant fires rather than simply 'flame'.

[SleepIncarnate]

1700hrs, 5 June, 2072
Baltimore-Washington International

Roberts led the crew of 4 to three prepared vehicles, one for them and the other two for all their stuff, warning them that the drive would be a bit, so they might as well get to know one another.

OOC: Moving us a bit slower than planned so BetaFlame has time to catch up, will bring us to the base in the morning (or after he posts), which will be mostly what Penta already sent us, plus room assignments and the like.

[SleepIncarnate]

2030hrs, 5 June, 2072
UCAS Naval Station Baltimore

After a bit of a drive, and much security checking at the gates, the trainees arrive at the base, the vehicles parking in front of Monti Hall, and Roberts leads everyone into the mess hall, with a wide array of real food set out for all. This is where he introduces the instructors to all, and where he sets out the ground rules, such as skipping class is the same as ringing the bell, etc. Just as with the earlier crew, the instructors sit down and enjoy the meal with the trainees and discuss things of interest to them, answering questions. At the end of the meal, Roberts leads the trainees over to dorm building and gives them their keys, but does not go inside. The whole affair takes about 3 hours and Roberts leaves them with the last warning that the rest of the night was theirs to get settled in but that wake-up was at 0500.

When Nemo enters his room he finds: a bookshelf that's about half full of old, classic books like Treasure Island, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Stories From the Sea, etc as well as a couple of books explaining the various Carib Nations and their politics, with a note on the desk that reads, "Consider these a gift to remind you of the beach home you left to come join us, and maybe help you out some when you get back down there. - Roberts"

When Molo enters his room he finds: A mostly empty bookshelf, with a few chips that contain the Federalist Papers, a copy of the UCAS Constitution, and books on Guerrilla Warfare. Also on the shelf is an actual book copy of Stories From the Sea, and on the desk is a ship in a bottle, with a note, in carefully written Tagalog that read: "We thought you might like a bit of help catching up to the others in common UCAS knowledge, with an added bonus for your own personal interests. - Ramirez"

Upon entering his room, Drestan finds: a shelf packed full of books, actual books, on magical theory, magical threats, spirits, magical legends, the list just goes on. On the bed was a note written in carefully scripted Sperethiel: "Always glad to help a fellow mage, these were some of my favorites when I got started and I think you'll find them both intriguing and useful. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. - Esteban"

And finally, Yinglong walks into her room to find: a small shelf containing books on every kind of spirit there is, a few on leadership, and numerous chips with books on true classical music (i.e. Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, etc). To the side of the bed was a carefully constructed altar to the Norse god Tyr, with a note in Japanese: "Thought you might like to hear some of the true classics. Never lose faith in yourself or the Wise Warrior, and continue to be a light in the darkness. When you begin to doubt, look to Tyr to help you. - Roberts"

[ntwi]

2035 June 5th, 2072
Dining Hall, Murphy Building, Baltimore Naval Station
PAN – passive

Scooping pasta onto his plate, Nemo pauses and considers his new teammates They sure don’t have much in the way of implants, did I end up in an all magic group or something?
After a second or three, he says “Since we’ll be working together for a while, do you know if the rest of the crew is as magically active, or at least as implant free as you three are? Just curious if you have any clue if I’ll be working as physical security for you or if you’ll be magical backup for a more physical group. Frag, that’s right, just call me Nemo, or around here I guess yelling for the big guy works too.”

After chatting with his new teammates, Nemo turns to start talking shop with Major Vaccaro before he catches himself and instead comments on how a particular white wine would have gone well with the pasta but that the early morning prevents true enjoyment of the meal.

[ntwi]

2305 June 5th, 2072
Room 24, Murphy Building, Baltimore Naval Station
PAN – passive

Nemo cracks up laughing when he finds the selections on the bookshelves. I remember the first time CPT Burton called me Nemo after finding me living underwater for a week, all it took was an air pocket to eat and drink in, and that had been easy enough to rig up. I had to look it up to figure out the first time, almost fits the theme of this mission though.

[BetaFlame]

2030hrs, 5 June, 2072
UCAS Naval Station
PAN - Hidden, Drest MacDhubhshith

After the travel and the 'party', Drest sat on his bed, reveiwing the note and taking a look at the books, slowly raising an eyebrow.

Paper books? Stuff must have cost more than a house in London.

He shakes his head, standing up to change for bed while he keys in his schedule, subject to boss approval. SCUBA is covered for him, and it seems like Magic for the Mundanes might be a little redundant for him. The thought of it brings a smirk to his face. He tosses a trode net on his head so he can change the thought-process the timetable at the sametime.

<Mr Roberts, I am submitting my class schedule, subject to your approval of course.>

[ Spoiler ]

0030-0515: Sleeptime
0530-0630: PT
0630-0700: Breakfast (Is there Haggis?)
0700-1130: Morning Classes (Starting as Basic Military, will move to Marksmanship, then Firearm Care, Flag recognition.)
1200-1230: Lunch
1230-1300: Powernap
1300-1730: Afternoon Classes (I'll do my swim test on the first day, then take Intro to Carib, then Watchstanding on the following days. After watchstanding, )
1730-1800: Dinner
1800-1830: Evening Classes (Classes with Estaban. Hopefully for the duration of the stay. I know little of Voodoo, and need a primer on Blood Magic to seperate what I learned from gossip)

I believe I am likely exempt from the Magic for the Mundanes courses, given my nature, and I have previous training in First Aid. I'll happily submit to testing, of course.>

He then keys a rapid thank you to Esteban, and sinks into bed

[Penta]

<OOC: Beta, it looks like you hit send mid-sentence. Nonetheless, I'll work off what I have. I presume you meant more than 30 minutes for evening classes.(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) >

Roberts replies back immediately:

<Reviewing your suggested amendments with your instructors as we speak. We can agree with you skipping 'Magic for Mundanes' in the common core - replacing that with extra time from the other sections of the common core to get you 'militarized', so to speak. Precise times of your classes will depend on instructor schedules, as well. First Aid training - we notice that you have the training, but your certifications are expired. The physicians advising us insist that, at the very least, you undergo recertification.

Additionally, while you're educated on the theory of magic fine, at least according to your transcripts, Lt. Esteban is still insisting on making you sit tests (albeit advanced-level tests) to make sure you still remember everything. Should take no more than 2 hours, so can easily be conducted tomorrow night. No, I have no idea what format or what'll be covered. He warns that he'll be communicating with Father Ortega to review your strengths and weaknesses, and tailoring his tests accordingly.

Other than that, we'll brief you at breakfast tomorrow morning.>

<OOC: Beta, in lieu of a PM, I'll lay it out: Father Ortega is a Sylvestrine priest (The Order of St. Sylvester is the Vatican's own order of magician-priests), who chairs the Thaumaturgy department at Georgetown, and chaired it while you were a student. He was also your faculty advisor.(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Everybody else: If you submit requests for an amended schedule ICly, I'll reply to them ICly, too. After this, I'm going to post briefly what the morning of your first full day is like.>

[Penta]

<OOC: Before I post the first day, some amendments to general daily routine I laid out:

Inane Imp is right about 4 hours/day sleep being...difficult to take over the span of a week. Expand that to 5 (maybe 6) hours by ending evening classes earlier. The general idea was that limiting sleep increases the stress level without being as overt as drill instructor-style tactics, which the instructor cadre reasonably presumes won't work on shadowrunners.

Also, for timekeeping purposes: You guys don't even get recruited by Roberts til Mid-June in the Gregorian calendar.>

15 June 2072: 0530 EDT/0900 Zulu
UCAS Naval Station Baltimore

As the runners exited their dorm, dawn was breaking. Dawn was breaking, and there were, on the parade deck outside their dorms, approximately 40 Marines in PT uniforms, lined up in perfect ranks.

A big burly human, also in PT uniform, led the group. After all 4 of the runners were outside, he pointed to a space left clear amidst the lines of Marines.

"Ah, these must be the guests Lt. Commander Roberts briefed us would be joining our PT for the next week! Guests, welcome to Naval Station Baltimore. I am Gunnery Sergeant Hernandez, the Platoon Sergeant of the group you see before you, who are First Platoon, Bravo Company, of the Second Battalion of the First Regiment of UCAS Marines. You will refer to me as "Gunnery Sergeant" or "Sergeant". Now, guests, fall in for pre-training inspection!"

It wasn't hard to figure out what to do - stand in a line in the space the Gunnery Sergeant had directed you to, between the second and third lines of Marines.

After that was done, Hernandez walked the line, making sure everybody was presentable in their new uniforms - which, no big surprise, helped one blend in among the hordes of other uniformed folks, despite the uniforms being different. Surprisingly, everybody passes inspection despite some minor corrections by the Gunnery Sergeant.

Nemo is designated as "Guest Alpha" by Hernandez. Dreston is "Guest Bravo", Molo is "Guest Charlie", and Yinglong is "Guest Delta".

"Until you have succeeded in your training, none of these Marines desire to know your names or what you may choose to call yourselves out on the streets!" Hernandez booms out. "Now, we'll begin light to get you started!"

Light apparently meant 15 minutes of hard calistenics, followed by a 2-kilometer formation run along the fenceline looking out into the forest over the next 15 minutes. This was followed by 30 minutes of work on the assault course - a standard military obstacle course. Then, the group was marched back to the parade deck, where the guests were released to shower before breakfast, before the Marines jogged off.

15 minutes later, the runners were gathered in the Mess Hall for breakfast with their instructors.

Final schedules were distributed during breakfast, as well.

<OOC: You've seen them OOCly, not going to repeat them here.>

[SleepIncarnate]

2300hrs, 14 June, 2072
UCAS Naval Station Baltimore
PAN - Passive (Nuriko Kamitoku)

Yinglong smirked at the note and the altar and shook her head, Roberts was trying to be subtle but failing, she saw through him. She did like the music chips though, and the altar was a nice touch. Digging through her bags, she began unpacking some personal effects: a few stuffed animals for the bed, some clothes in the trunk, a few magical effects here and there, then sitting on the bed, sending off a message to Roberts.

[ Spoiler ]

<Here's my suggestions on the class schedule you sent for me.
0500 - Wakeup.
0530 - Phyiscal Training.
0630 - Breakfast!
0700 - Morning classes begin
1130 - Morning classes end
1200 - Lunch.
1230 - 30 minutes free time
1300 - Afternoon classes begin
1730 - Afternoon classes end
1800 - Dinner.
1830 - Evening classes begin
2330 - Evening classes end
0000 - Lights out.

I should likely be exempt from the Magic for Mundanes training, as well as only get a Air Force to Navy refresher for the basic military lessons. Finally, I'd like to skip rifle training and instead focus on small arms or automatics, considering my experience with sniper rifles as is.>

After sending it off, she curled up in bed and went to sleep.

0530hrs, 15 June, 2072
UCAS Naval Station Baltimore
PAN - Passive (Nuriko Kamitoku)
Songs of the Morning - "Eye of the Tiger", "We Are The Champions", and "We Will Rock You" on loop

Getting into formation for PT, she giggled to herself at her new name, debating inwardly if she should run with the stereotype and call herself "Guest Derta" or not. She got a good warm up with the calisthenics and the run, and moved gracefully through the obstacle course. During breakfast, she looked at the schedule handed out to see if it matched her suggestions or not.

[Penta]

<OOC: SlieepIncarnate nudges me to point something out. It's not rifle training solely - you'll be training on pistols and the M22 assault rifle. With the option of training on shotguns and longarms. Oh, and grenades.>

[ntwi]

0545hrs 15 June, 2072
UCAS Naval Station Baltimore
PAN - Passive

Nemo curses to himself during the run There was a reason why I hated formation runs, frakkin people with short strides you keep running over the top of. The assault course was it's usual fun, as his gecko hands were a two edged sword, allowing him to climb easier but making swinging and dismounting more of a challenge.