How to Aim

Orion Pax - Training Room

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=================[ The Orion Pax ]=============================== The ship's training room, while not as big as Autobot City's, is made with the latest in holographic simulation technology. When inactive, the training room is a large, obsidian-plated room with soft illumination that seems to eminate from no single, definable source. On the wall near the entrance blast door is a computer terminal, allowing a user with appropriate access to active and run a holographic scenario, or program a new one on the fly. A metallic placard sits above the terminal. By the shapes of the letters, the message "THESE FACILITIES ARE INTENDED FOR AUTOBOT TRAINING EXERCISES. ALL UNAUTHORIZED RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY, INCLUDING SO-CALLED 'ROLE-PLAY', IS FORBIDDEN," can still be read. However, for some reason it's been covered over in black magic marker of some sort. -- External ship broadcasts for this room are ON         Type +shiphelp for help --

Contents: Mr. Drone Obvious exits: [CO] leads to Orion Pax - Corridor - Aft.

Jayson Redfield has arrived.

Grapple has arrived.

Blue Hovercar [Blurr] is in the training room, practicing against the drone. Right now, he's running from simulated cover to simulated cover, firing at the thing and attempting to dive behind the cover before he can be hit again. His running speed is, at the moment, no better than that of any other Autobot, and his attacks are wild and largely undirected.

Blurr transforms at a depressingly average speed into robot mode.

Blurr is also totally in robot mode.

Combat: Blurr strikes Mr. Drone with his Laser attack!

Roadbuster has arrived.

Blurr fails to make it behind the cover in time.

Blurr is in the training room, practicing against the drone. Right now, he's running from simulated cover to simulated cover, firing at the thing and attempting to dive behind the cover before he can be hit again. His running speed is, at the moment, no better than that of any other Autobot, and his attacks are wild and largely undirected.

Blurr fails to make it behind the cover in time.

Stupid outer space. Jayson does not like you. At least, for the moment, the youth is safe from his fears, being onboard the Pax and not staring into the darkness of space. He saunters into the training room and comes to a stop to watch as Blurr ducks for cover and fires at the drone. Come to think of it, he could use some target practice, but that can wait. He remains quiet for now, not wanting to interrupt Blurr, though whether the Autobot notices him is a different story.

Roadbuster had heard the racous sounds of weapons fire and battling robots coming from the training room, and Roaddbuster made his way there to see what was going on. The often-quiet Wrecker slowly approaches, hoping the sounds of combat -Or even participating- will help to liven up his day. He's heard of Blurr's predicament', and watches the blue Autobot carefully. "Need a sparring partner, Blurr? You look like you could use some help."

Blurr is blasted as he dives which knocks him off balance... instead of landing behind the simulated boulder, he hits the floor in a completely vulnerable position. "NNGGH!" Then, rather than getting up and moving again, his hand balls into a fist and he just slams into the floor. "No no no no NO!" Then he hears sounds by the door and he looks up at the newcomers, eyes wide and mortified as he sees that he's being watched. He groans and pushes himself into a seated position. "I'm starting to think I'm beyond help," he whines, and though his voice is still high pitched, he's speaking at what most people would call 'normal' speed. "Sparring partner? Why, is Wheelie around? He might /only/ beat me a little."

Jayson Redfield refrains from commenting on how weird it is to hear Blurr speaking normally. He steps farther into the training room, approaching Blurr. Upon reaching him, he pats the former speedster's leg in a hopefully comforting manner. "Don't be so hard on yourself," he says in a vaguely chiding tone. "You're still a valuable Autobot."

Blurr snorts. "Sure, maybe someone can use me as a shield at some point," he says pushing himself to his feet.

Roadbuster sighs softly at Blurr's antics, but it seems like the poor blue 'bot needs more help than he'd care to admit. Roadbuster isn't usually one to dispense advice, but he knows when he's got to forget his own problems and take one for the team. "You can do a lot more than just be a shield, Blurr." Roadbuster adds hesitantly. Doesn't Blurr actually have a shield, though? "Don't be so quick to give up on yourself, Blurr. Not every Autobot has a fancy power, and we manage to get along alright. You need to adjust a bit, sure, but that doesnt' mean you have to call it quits."

Jayson Redfield looks up at Blurr, his expression unreadable. "Roadbuster's right. Just because you've lost your speed doesn't mean you're useless."

Blurr throws his arms in the air. "I might as well be quick at /something/!" Then he rubs the back of his head and sighs. "I know, I know, you're right. I mean..." He slumps. "I don't /know/ how to handle myself at this speed. I don't know how to deal with it when everyone can go as fast as I can. But... Roadbuster is right. I need to adjust. Jayson, you're wrong, I /am/ useless, but... maybe I don't have to stay that way."

Jayson Redfield frowns, but says nothing.

"That's the spirit!" Roadbuster exclaims. Blurr is still being too self-deprecating, but it's a START. "Right, which is why I think you need a sparring partner. Wreckers are usually good for that, and you've got one right here! Drones arent' good for much more than a punchingbag, but a /real/ opponent is sumthin' else. Alright, give me your best shot, Blurr!" Roadbuster says, cocking his rifle and awaiting Blurr's attack.

Blurr widens his optics. "What, NOW?" He picks his gun back up. "Uhm uhm uhm okay here goes nothing," and then he fires a shot. Actually several, as his weapon was made for rapid fire, and even someone moving at 'normal' speed can pull a trigger pretty quickly. The blasts are all rather undirected, though - he's firing in Roadbuster's general direction and hoping for the best, the slow form of his usual 'spray and pray' form of combat.

Combat: Blurr misses Roadbuster with his Slowdraw attack!

Jayson Redfield darts off the simulated battlefield the instant that Roadbuster cocks his rifle. At the edge of the training room he whips around toward the two Autobots, staying clear out of their way.

Roadbuster isn't fast by any means, but Blurr telegraphs the attack so poorly, even a slow brick of a 'bot like Roadbuster can dash for cover. "Blurr, are you even trying? You've got to actually take a nano to stop and aim at what you want to hit. Sprayin' everywhere can help at times, especially where there's no bystanders around," Roadbuister glances at Jayson, who should be quite safe given the simulated nature of the training room. "But even when you're going to point and SPRAY, you still need to chill for a bit to try to hit something. Sometimes shooting at multiple targets can be a payoff, since you're more likely to hit at least ONE of 'em. Give it another go, try to shoot me AND Mr. Punchy over there." He adds, gesturing toards the training drone that previously put Blurr on his aft.

"I'm already moving too slow and now you say I have to stop and move /slower/?!" Blurr demands, agast! As Roadbuster mentions bystanders and glances at Jayson, however, he looks embarrassed. "Erm, uh... sorry, Jayson," he says, rubbing the back of his head with his free and and looking sheepish. "Okay, okay, two targets, but... but... slow," he sounds like he's having trouble with that word, "I've got it, hang on, I can do this..." His technique is /slightly/ better this time, but only marginally.

Combat: Blurr misses Roadbuster with his Is This Slow Enough? Area attack!

Combat: Blurr misses Mr. Drone with his Is This Slow Enough? Area attack!

Combat: Mr. Drone misses Blurr with its Electro-Sword attack!

Very marginally.

Jayson Redfield lifts a hand dismissively. "No worries, bro."

"Unless you want to get some heat-seeking missiles, then yeah, you'll have to learn when to slow down and pick your shots. You don't wanaa waste energon shooting everything /but/ your target!" Roadbuster says, while making a quick side-step to the left to avoid the fresh volley. "I'm not exactly FAST, Blurr, being quick ain't the only way to fight. Sometimes, being sure to HIT the other guy is way more important than trying to to get hit yourself. I know you haven't got eighteen astroinches of titanium plating, but still, I'm sure you can take a few hits. Try to forget about ducking and bobbing and runnin', and just try to SHOOT me. Take it slow, Blurr, at least until you get the AIMING part down."

Blurr actually /had/ been thinking about ducking and bobbing and running (which is why he managed to avoid the drone's sword), and so he stares at Roadbuster again. "... Don't dodge?!" he exclaims. He slumps, then sighs and shakes his head. "All right. All right. I'll try. No ducking no running no bobbing no weaving," it's his normal speech pattern, but much slower, "just shooting." And then he fires, putting all his focus in aiming.

Combat: Blurr sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Blurr strikes Roadbuster with his STOPPING TO AIM Area attack!

Combat: Mr. Drone strikes Blurr with its Kick attack!

Blurr is obviously not thinking about dodging. :(

Jayson Redfield continues to watch. Yep.

Finally, one of the wacky potshots his Roadbuster, blasting a black burn in his thick armor plating. Just luck? Maybe. But Roadbuster clearly didn't /let/ Blurr hit him, that would be counter productive. "Ok, getting better! I know you're used to dodging everything," Except Blast Off, apparantly. "But dodging doesn't win fights. SHOOTING wins fights, so let's get you up to par on shooting things, and THEN we'll practise dodging. Try again! You've got ot keep practising so your curcuits learn new pathways. Eventually it'll be second-nature!"

Blurr was so focused on firing that he misses the approach of the drone, and is kicked backwards by his automatic opponent. He groans, then pushes himself up again. "Dodging may not win fights, but it gets the message to the other end of the battlefield!" he protests, then he makes a face. "But I guess if I can't be much of a messenger anymore, I ought to learn how to shoot. Okay... okay. No dodging. I'll shoot."

Combat: Blurr strikes Roadbuster with his Slightly Wild Fire :[ Area attack!

Combat: Blurr strikes Mr. Drone with his Slightly Wild Fire :[ Area attack!

Combat: Blurr misses Jayson Redfield with his Slightly Wild Fire :[ Area attack!

Mr. Drone says, "9 points of damage."

Combat: Mr. Drone misses Blurr with its Disruptor attack!

Blurr blinks and shouts, "I WASN'T TRYING TO DODGE IT JUST MISSED!"

Jayson Redfield yelps as Blurr's attack goes right past him. Even though it missed, it's a good thing all the damage is holographic! "Hey, watch it!"

Roadbuster chuckles at Blurr's outburst, while recieving another, deeper blast scar on his armor. "Well, sometimes the other guy will just MISS you, even if you're slow, or focusing on shootin'. Happens to me a lot, and I'm both slow AND huge. You're getting better Blurr, just keep it up." He adds, and decides to add some more difficulty to Blurr's training, opening fire with his hip-mounted rocket launcher.

Combat: Roadbuster strikes Blurr with his Rocket Rack attack!

"Sorry, Jayson!" shouts Blurr, and then he winces as Roadbuster calls him 'slow.' Well, not him directly, but it seems implied. He is, however, completely taken by surprise when Roadbuster rocket, which hits him square in the chest and sends him skidding on his backside across the floor. "Ow ow ow ow!" he shouts, then scowls. "I can't take damage like some of you can, though. Well, if I can't do anything else quick, I guess I might as well get /beaten/ quick," the last is muttered as he returns fire, still making a /horrible/ target of himself.

Combat: Blurr misses Roadbuster with his Horrible Target Area attack!

Combat: Blurr misses Mr. Drone with his Horrible Target Area attack!

Combat: Mr. Drone misses Blurr with its Disruptor attack!

Blurr was totally distracted by the smoking hole in his chest. :(

"Ok, you missed me again, but the important thing is you're trying." Roadbuster intones, his face expressionless. Because he has no face. "And you're managing to keep away from Mr. Punchy's return-fire even though you're focusing on aim, good!" Blurr had seemed to be making progress, but his last statement isn't exactly comforting. "Keep practising, Blurr. Get those curcuits firing."

"All right, all right, I'll keep practicing, keep practicing," Blurr mutters, lifting his weapon to fire again.

GAH this is taking /forever/!

And so it continues...