A Troubled Soldier 01

[theriflespiral]

I: Delivery to Elysium
Elysium-the-city was far larger than Natalia had first assumed. Not that this was a problem for her-- a day or two among the rooftops, and she would know this place as well as anyone who lived here.

For now, though, she was momentarily relying on a map she kept carefully tucked away, and an address on a box with a memorized order form (and countersign, and counter-countersign, easily handwaved).

Being a delivery girl was hardly a novel cover, but it was precisely because such things were ubiquitous that it was easy to slip into the role as she came around the service entrance. Add perhaps a touch of bitter expression at the cold-- she didn't even have to try for that one-- and things would, hopefully, work just fine.


II: Blames Her Tools (Vault)
Natalia, after spending the better part of a day hitting targets from as extreme a range as the Vault could afford, was now overhauling her rifle, first cleaning the inside of the barrel with a cloth and a cleaning rod, and then disassembling it, screw by painstaking screw.

The casings were drying on a separate cloth nearby, with the scent of soap and water, waiting for an oven to finish getting up to the proper temperature.

It took up an entire gunsmith's bench, between the disassembly and the casings waiting for annealing and rolling and fitting and loading, but there was something to it. A peace, in an artisan's craft.

She looked at the tool rack above her and clicked her tongue.

She would have to go hunting for that particular tool.

Okay. Smooth hair. Stand properly. Act like you're supposed to be here.

Time to go among the other workbenches. Or workshops, if she had to.


III: Wildcard
Bug Natalia because she looks suspicious or because you need something.

Comments

[purplexing]

Donnie's not good at reading people, not like his brothers. So he's not quite sure what to make of Natalia's reaction. Had he said something wrong? Did she think he was stupid?

The questions eat at him, but he forces himself to wait rather than look away even though it's tempting. Because he doesn't think he's wrong in this. Because he doesn't want to be wrong, because he needs to believe that what he's doing is good and useful and beneficial to others. It's not the healthiest way to operate, but that's how he's always been.

Natalia's eventual reply doesn't exactly set him at ease, but it's...something? He anxiously watches as she resumes her task.

"Um. Anyway. Did...you need anything else? I should get back to..." He thumbs back to his work area.

[theriflespiral]

"Ah-- right, uh, thank you. And... For what it is worth..." She pauses, unsure of how to frame her calculations in the cold light of strategy. "Morale is important. To know it will happen is important. Will to fight is what makes a technical charge a tank, and lack of it is what makes a tank drop smoke and run. I know these things. ... But it is another thing, to believe."

"Before you go-- what is your name?"

[purplexing]

That's...an interesting point he's never considered before. You could believe things without knowing, and he supposes the opposite is true until the knowledge is supplemented with solid fact. No, wait, that isn't...quite how belief works. Oh great, he's going to be thinking about this all day now.

The turtlekin shakes his head like that'd help scatter those thoughts before he went into full overthink mode.

"Oh, it's Donnie," he says. "And yours...?"

[theriflespiral]

"Natalia Koutolika. Russian, not that it matters here." ting, ting, ting, came the sound of the casings rattling into the tray, came the sound of brass caught in the rollers, slowly pressed into shape.

Donnie. Enjoys machinery and weaponry. Optimistic. Turtlekin. Skilled in sculpture and smithing. Can visualise and temporarily create tools. Lent me graphite powder while I overhauled the bolt-action. Donnie. "Donnie. I will remember it."

She says that with a strange amount of confidence.

[purplexing]

He smiles a little at that, giving her a nod. Whether it matters or not, he'll still try to remember it. It's fascinating learning about the other places that people come from, even if it's just a name.

"Okay Natalia. Well, if you ever need anything, let me know," the turtlekin says, turning with a wave before he heads back to his workspace.

[newmemorywhodis]

It does strike Link as a bit strange, to have a weapon that just...leaves random pieces of debris around. When Link shoots an arrow, he expects the remnants of it to be in his target. Not randomly scattered across the ground.

But Link doesn't comment on this. Instead he just nods - and moves to go through the course again.

Now that she's watching closely, she might notice that most of the time, Link moves normally. With skill and experience, yes - but nothing too far outside of the norm of what a highly trained person could accomplish.

But then there's just one moment, one single instant - when he jumps off the crates, and is falling through the air. There's a moment then, when he suddenly is moving very, very fast. It's in this one moment that he fires all his arrows - and hits every target once again.

And then the moment ends, and Link moves at normal speed once again.

II: Vault and Tools

[harlequinchimera]

Oki too, was one to seek the rifle range, or as near as the Vault could manage, and she too had skills to keep sharp and in practice. She was on her way in, carrying the instruments of her philosophy, when she heard and saw Natalia at the range and took up a space a respectful distance away, eyes afield, watching the other sniper work, and she let her work in relative silence. Once she had completed her set and headed oit, Oki took her own turn at the range, working out the proper cold barrel shot with the new weapon, zeroing the sights, even tasting and retesting the accuracy and then took rapid, practiced notes on the performance.

She rose after, with a chuckle, and returned to the workshops, in time to see Natalia once again, this time tending to every last nut and bolt, washer and toggle, with the intention of cleaning it thoroughly, complete with oiling. Oki set her own weapon on a gunsmithing table not far away, but wandered over, showing an interest in Natalia's regimen as well. She spoke clearly, from a few paces away, in full light. "We are of a kind, I can say with confidence," she said. "And forgive me, if I distract from your discipline." She tilted her head, gave a small smile. "It is nice to meet another, and not have them being on the other end of the scope for once."

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[theriflespiral]

The very first thing that happens is Natalia reaching for a holdout weapon as she turns. She's ready to draw, but then--

In full light. Plainly visible. No aggressive moves. And... She let out her breath. "Yes, it appears so." The Slavic accent is thick, and perhaps a little bit affected.

She doesn't relax-- not really-- but she does stand slightly less ready to kill someone. She notes a dozen other little things-- the ease with which she came into this particular workshop, the way she held the case. "So that would make you... Korobase, yes? I believe we had a brief exchange over... Ethernet." This last being an intentional stopping to use that word instead of a modern English one.

She has a wire brush in one hand, and a tin of graphite dust with a brush on the bench. Normally, she'd use oil, but she's still not sure about pooling. "I am Natalia. It is good, to put face to name."

[theriflespiral]

She cannot see the internal motions of Ether as he works, but she sees the blur, and connects it back to the previous one, and blinks as she comes to a conclusion. "-- There are few things going on there. Let me tell you what I saw."

She helps him collect the arrows while she talks. "First, it is a burst technique. Very quick, but it is only your hard work that keeps it from being exhausting. Second, I'm going to assume that doing it while falling is not, in fact, showing off, but necessary. That implies a component that being airborne gives it, but... What, I'm not sure. Third, you are performing the same motion as drawing and firing normally. The power of this technique is in the skill of the user, not in any form of guidance."

She pauses, and then says, "The surprising method, the strange requirement, the assumption of skill and accuracy. I do not know your name, but...

"If someone had presented me this, I would call it an assassination technique. Find an ambush point from above, lie in wait, let hand and arrow fall. Someone like that might have taught it to you.

"Of course, this is all just speculation. I'm hardly an expert on esoteric techniques."

[theriflespiral]

After a little while, when the rifle is re-assembled and she has cleaned out chamber, bore, barrel, and lubricated everything she could, and the cartridges are re-loaded, she places the can of graphite powder on Donnie's workbench. "Returning this."

And then waves, and walks off, back to the range.

[newmemorywhodis]

Of all the things Link was expecting, a thorough breakdown of his ability wasn't one of them. As she begins her theorising, he blinks, and pauses - and listens.

When she finishes, he's quiet for a moment.

"...Link," he says first. His name, since she didn't know it. "Not an assassination technique. No one taught me."

Well, unless he just doesn't remember being taught. But Link doesn't think he was. Who would have been his teacher? As far as he knows, there wasn't anyone who could have.

[theriflespiral]

"... As you say, then, Link. Regardless, I'm sure it has proven useful." And then, only adding to how awkward both of them are, she hastily adds, "Natalia Koutolika."

"I... Apologize, for offending you."

[newmemorywhodis]

"Not offended," Link says. Just because a few of her assumptions weren't quite on the mark, didn't mean he minded them. If anything, the sheer amount she'd been able to deduce was impressive.

Maybe Link shouldn't have tried to correct her.

Or maybe he just shouldn't have told her; words were never Link's strong suit. And for as much as she's been able to observe, she doesn't have all the facts about what Link can do.

Not yet, anyway.

"...You know melee weapons?" he asks.

[theriflespiral]

"I am well-versed in several," Natalia says, "Though I have mostly focused lately on sharpshooting. I could give you the list, or, I could go see what's available and pick one to my liking."

In truth, she hasn't used the long-spear or quarterstaff lately, and her pugil practice has been pretty rare so far; while she's confident in her ability in them, if it was for the highest level she would likely have to resort to the two-weapon short sword and knife style she'd been improvising. Still, she could give just about anything a go once she understood its spacing and principle.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link nods, and then walks over to the nearby rack of weapons. He doesn't ask for a list - she can pick whatever she likes from what's available.

Strangely though, Link does not choose to draw the weapon on his back; a Sword with a purple hilt shaped like two wings, a yellow gem embedded in the centre. He leaves this blade untouched, and instead picks a wooden club.

This is a demonstration, not a fight with an enemy. He doesn't want a weapon that would cause real damage.

[theriflespiral]

Of all things, she grabs the curved wooden blade, most like an officer's sabre or naval cutlass. She takes a moment to pace it, view it fully extended, turn and twist its motions in her hand. She hums. "It will do."

Then she selects a much shorter stick for her left hand in the same way... Before pausing and putting it back. "No. Not quite."

A free hand might be useful. Or she might be setting herself up for failure.

She handles it firmly, like the tool designed to sever someone from their life that it pretends to be, and keeps most of her profile behind the blade, turning her head to look Link in the eyes.

She salutes with the blade, returning easily to the guard position.

[newmemorywhodis]

Pulling his shield from his back, Link returns her salute with a nod. Shifts his feet into a ready stance, and faces her.

He makes no moves to attack her first. What he does do however, is watch her very closely. For what he wants to show her, getting the timing right is everything. But for that, he's going to need to learn how she moves.

He's going to need her to strike at him.

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[harlequinchimera]

Oki stood quite still. She was fully prepared if the colleague sniper threw down, but showed no tension in her body, not even in her off-colored eyes, or indeed in her off-colored limbs. The readiness was there, certainly, but she was not one to twitch, in these circumstances.

She offers the slightest of smiles at Natalia's words, looking a bit wintry on her decidedly unusual features, but she followed it with a polite bow from the waist, her eyes not leaving Natalia for even a moment. A moderately formal movement of respect, from her own culture and she replied. "In my tongue, Korobase Oki, in others, Oki Korobase or simply Oki, among the other colorful titles. In circumstances where I am at work, the fewer syllables the better, of course."

She rose took a stride closer, despite her talons, her step was light.

"I can't blame you for wanting to completely clean and check a weapon like this, since I had as you can see, the same need."

She looked over Natalia's setup and smiled again, this time more warmly, a bit toothily. "It is good to put face to name, I completely agree. Perhaps, once we have both exercised our discipline..." She paused there, giving a shrug, a movement of shoulders and the slightest powerful flap of those wings of hers.

"Perhaps there is tea we can hunt in this place, and a bite to eat," She gave a tilt of her head and headed back towards the other workbench. "If you like, of course."

[theriflespiral]

Opponent is armed with a decently long sword and shield. You are armed with a cutlass, a shorter chopping weapon intended for use on the tight quarters of a ship's deck, and a free hand. As expected of sword and shield, they are likely about to attempt to beat or parry your weapon off-line and strike; therefore, the approach is...

The first few attempts are-- to Natalia-- obvious feints, intended to judge more carefully Link's spacing and what he considers a good place to use a shield bash.

When it becomes obvious that he's not going to rise to the bait-- that she'll have to commit-- she aims for a lunging mid-line strike that suddenly sinks down towards the thigh, aiming for-- if these were real blades-- a desperately nasty leg-cut.

Re: II: Vault and Tools

[theriflespiral]

The calm with which Oki stood slightly chastised Natalia all on its own. When had she gotten so jumpy? ... No, it only took one person getting behind your sniper's nest to make you wary of further, didn't it? Natalia thought about the weeks on voyage as provisional Flotsam, hunting the krakens with the captain, going after that slavers' ship near Elysium.

When was the last time she didn't have to be ready at a moment's notice? Come to think, when was the last time she ate? Between all the various missions she's been helping with, keeping her cover as a delivery girl in Elysium, and social visits to Flotsam...

Natalia blinked. Too long. Had she been relying on her ki to husband her energy so much? That wasn't a good plan. Or rather, it was a good plan, always seemed like a good plan, until very suddenly it wasn't.

"I concur, that might be better plan than just going back to range." She hums and slides the tray and casings into the oven with a slight clatter of brass.

That said, as she continues to work, she spares a moment to look over Oki's planned maintenance.

II; range

[edaciousness]

Malachiasz finds himself at the range only because he's taken it upon himself to explore every facet of this section of the Corsairs. If he's to help them develop weapons, and he will, he needs to know how they work already to be expanded upon. In this world is his first encountered with firearms, for instance, and he might be standing closer than she'd be comfortable with to get a better look. Tall, thin, and with hair unkempt, his ice blue eyes are watching the targets as they're dashed nearly the instant she pulls the trigger.

"Fascinating."

Re: II; range

[theriflespiral]

Oh! That fellow whom she wanted to test her self-escape on. Not that she blamed him for refusing; it was probably better served with proper tools and someone who knew how to draw out the stored Ether. "Malachiasz, wasn't it? We met after I helped board the Hand to Mouth, I believe."

She lifted and pulled back the bolt to eject the casing from the chamber. "First time seeing gun, then?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Link's shield is up, but he uses it solely to block and defend. In another place and time, another battle, he might choose a more aggressive approach.

As she makes her strike, he doesn't block at all - but still he doesn't return an attack. Instead he dodges, hopping one side to let her weapon slide past. And he watches - taking note of the movements that telegraph her attack, the distance she can strike, the speed with which she moves. And most importantly, he watches for the right moment within her movements - the moment that's the perfect time to strike back.

Next time, he'll be able to find that moment. So for now he remains on the defensive, waiting for that moment to come.

[theriflespiral]

Defensive! Trying to maintain better spacing for longer reach, Natalia mis-reads. But...

She pivots easier than Link can side-hop, and, instead of going for the forward leg, this time she charges in to full contact, using her empty hand to try and pull away his shield arm and her shorter reach to better defend against the counter-attack in close quarters. If she can get hold of the shield, she can get past it by controlling the shield-arm... Though it means her own awkward defense of her free hand and shoulders.

[newmemorywhodis]

Well, that's not what Link needs.

And he doesn't need to lose his shield either, so while she grabs at his shield, he pulls it back - while striking out with the club towards her free hand. Then he leaps back, practically somersaulting away until he can continue to circle around her at a distance.

At least he's seen her charge now. He's still learning how she fights, what he needs to watch for…