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.

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>

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!)

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.
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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.

1800 June 15, 2072
Monti Hall, Baltimore Naval Station
PAN – Passive

The roast beef dinner was decent, although to Nemo it needed a decent red wine to complete the meal. ”I don't think we'll be eating like this onboard ship anytime soon” Nemo says before ending with a hopeful ”Unless one of you knows how to cook?”

Yinglong: You come from the "Chair Force". You're teased, affectionately, accordingly on occasion. Especially during PT, where Gunny Hernandez seems to know of your past, at least a little bit. (The range officer isn't Gunnery Sergeant Hernandez, for the record - he's too busy with his platoon of Marines. Instead, it's another Marine NCO whom I've yet to name yet, an ork who speaks like he comes from Ontario.)

OOC: Hehe, considering she jumped out of perfectly good airplanes, she's one of the few that'd be respected, being actual Air Force. Would love to see what they'd do to actual Chair Force people. Also, for ntwi.... I think it best we let Inane Imp and BetaFlame catch up with us before we post more full day schedules.