02-01-2017, 06:46 AM
The feeling of being pulled into a Recall Station from outside the verse it was in was not one that Carmelita enjoyed. It was what she fancied bubblegum might feel as it was used: unwrapped, chewed, blown up to ridiculous proportions, chewed, stretched and twisted, chewed, and finally spat into a suitable receptacle.
Shaking out the feeling of being put through the wringer, Carmelita opened her eyes to the inside of the clear plastic tubes that made up the recall station. She entered the code necessary to exit the tube and stepped out into the cold desert night.
After making her return known to Al3x and Chip, who had been having a spirited discussion over the versatility of software vs that of hardware, Carmelita found herself in her hammock in the Control Tower, restlessly staring at the ceiling. Over the past few days, she had been led in circles by several false calls for assistance, and her need to get into the field was pressing at the back of her mind. Without something to focus on, it was beginning to drift back into dangerous territory, and while it might not be healthy, Carmelita knew she wouldn’t be able to handle thinking too much about what she’d lost.
With sleep out of the picture, she took matters into her own hands and took to the training area.
The room was relatively open, with several flat panels hiding various cupboards and mechanisms for use during a simulation. Carmelita started warming-up, preparing herself for the exercise.
Discarding her overcoat, she began with a gentle jog around the room. The thump of her boots against the lightly padded floor went unaccompanied for the first five laps before she found some music on the Dataverse to play through her earpiece. The jazzy number sustained her through the remainder of the twenty laps, cutting out just as she began stretching her leg muscles.
She reached down, the heel of her left foot against the floor in front of her. Carmelita could feel the muscle in the back of her leg tense, and the feeling buoyed her as she continued through the rest of her leg stretches.
Next was her tail. Whilst her tail was unsuitable for use in combat, unlike some races, keeping it fit was essential for making sure she could move it out of the way of any attacks or hazards that might impede her, as well as improving her balance when dodging and maneuvering. Gripping the tip whilst straining in the opposite direction warmed up the muscles around her tails base, and once she was done her lower body was limber and ready to move.
Upper body stretches were next. Jogging in place to keep her legs pumping, Carmelita began a series of arm and neck movements. Her top had caught in her fur, so a few moments to smooth that down was necessary before she proceeded into a few breakfalls and jumping exercises.
Now ready for the exercise to begin properly, she entered a number into the control console via her eyepiece and stood ready.
The first attack came from her right, and her ears twitched upon hearing the soft sound of the bot gliding through the air. Retreating her right foot reoriented her to face the attack, and the momentum of her turn and the bot’s approach allowed to continue spinning, grabbing the outstretched arm in both hands and leveraging it over her shoulder to toss the bot to the ground. Carmelita hesitated for a moment before administering a knockout blow to the simulated head, using the momentum to pull herself forward over the bot and avoid the two that had tried to attack her from behind.
Unlike the first bot, which had simulated a standard torso, these two simulated quadrupedal attackers, and when their attacks missed the bots simply planted their feet with a thud on the floor to launch themselves at her. Carmelita moved to one side, grabbing and twisting one to crash into the other before kicking out and scoring a light hit to the barrel, pushing them further and propelling her further back.
Breaking a sweat, the vulpine dropped to the floor as one of them tossed the other at her sideways, before she rolled to the side to avoid an attack straight down. One of the bots got in a glancing blow on her leg as she backed off, getting a boot to the head in exchange.
Carmelita went on the attack, pushing off the wall she’d touched and grappling the closer of the two bots, arm lifting and pushing in such a way as to dislocate the limb she’d chosen. Dropping the bot, she blocked a hit with her arms, taking a brutal hit in exchange for getting in range to sweep with her legs and pin it to the floor.
She had to give up the pin a moment later as the bot whose leg she’d dislocated hobbled towards her. Two quick blows to the inside of the bots leg and a careful shove allowed her to dump him on top of the one she’d pinned, before holding them both down.
A buzzer and a quick highlight of snapshots from when she’d been hit and when she’d hit and she wa on to the next exercise, drawing the Fisti-Cuffs from her belt and scanning them beneath a small red light whilst the bots were removed from the room.
This time she could see the target she needed to subdue emerge from the panelled walls, a four-armed bot with a frowning face printed on the otherwise immaculate white plastic. The size difference was clear, and Carmelita could see that she would have to focus on avoiding hits.
She made the first move, circling round just at the edge of the bot’s reach, cuffs back on her belt. The bot turned to face her, all arms up in a guarded boxer’s stance, and so she took a more stationary stance, one foot planted behind the other and giving her the most maneuverability possible.
A jab, and she swivelled to avoid it. Another jab, and she swivelled back. Two jabs in quick succession, and she ducked under a third attack with a faked stumble. Taking advantage of her perceived failure, the bot took a step towards her to unleash a pummel of blows with all four arms, but Carmelita’s feint allowed her to roll beneath the attack and come up from below, swinging the cuffs around a leg and tugging it out from beneath the bot. As it crashed to the ground, hands outstretched to break its fall, Carmelita darted round the side and clamped them on the two right arms of the bot, activating the Fisti-Cuffs properly.
Burst of electricity began weakening the training bot, and Carmelita sniffed the air at the scent of singed circuit boards. The bot struggled to its feet, its movements slower and less accurate, and Carmelita took the opportunity to dive onto its back and engage in a choke hold across its neck.
Quickly she realised she’d jumped the gun, as with its two free arms the bot reached back and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, tearing her from her perch and tossing her into a wall. She winced as she got back to her feet in time to dodge a punch from the two connected limbs.
Carmelita dodge the next few blows before sweeping her legs forward again, catching the bots leg and staggering it slightly before she bounded to her feet and grabbed pushed it backwards. With strength and speed sapped, the bot fell on its back with a crash, and now able to match it’s arms Carmelita proceeded to pacify the bot with a complicated armlock.
As the buzzer sounded, the bot got to its feet and proffered its arms for Carmelita to retrieve her Fisti-Cuffs. She reviewed the fight imagery, and began jogging circuits again, stretching out her bruised muscles before warming down.
Carmelita stripped herself of gear and clothes before taking to the shower, feeling the warm water ease the bruised muscles from her training. She summoned some shampoo and fur conditioner and carefully removed all the sweat and dirt that had built up from the past few days exertions.
When she got back to her hammock, Chip was fast asleep in the other. Al3x’s avatar waved silently at her from the monitor before he dimmed the screens again, and she fell into her hammock. This time she went to sleep without difficulty, and soon she began to dream.
Shaking out the feeling of being put through the wringer, Carmelita opened her eyes to the inside of the clear plastic tubes that made up the recall station. She entered the code necessary to exit the tube and stepped out into the cold desert night.
---
After making her return known to Al3x and Chip, who had been having a spirited discussion over the versatility of software vs that of hardware, Carmelita found herself in her hammock in the Control Tower, restlessly staring at the ceiling. Over the past few days, she had been led in circles by several false calls for assistance, and her need to get into the field was pressing at the back of her mind. Without something to focus on, it was beginning to drift back into dangerous territory, and while it might not be healthy, Carmelita knew she wouldn’t be able to handle thinking too much about what she’d lost.
With sleep out of the picture, she took matters into her own hands and took to the training area.
---
The room was relatively open, with several flat panels hiding various cupboards and mechanisms for use during a simulation. Carmelita started warming-up, preparing herself for the exercise.
Discarding her overcoat, she began with a gentle jog around the room. The thump of her boots against the lightly padded floor went unaccompanied for the first five laps before she found some music on the Dataverse to play through her earpiece. The jazzy number sustained her through the remainder of the twenty laps, cutting out just as she began stretching her leg muscles.
She reached down, the heel of her left foot against the floor in front of her. Carmelita could feel the muscle in the back of her leg tense, and the feeling buoyed her as she continued through the rest of her leg stretches.
Next was her tail. Whilst her tail was unsuitable for use in combat, unlike some races, keeping it fit was essential for making sure she could move it out of the way of any attacks or hazards that might impede her, as well as improving her balance when dodging and maneuvering. Gripping the tip whilst straining in the opposite direction warmed up the muscles around her tails base, and once she was done her lower body was limber and ready to move.
Upper body stretches were next. Jogging in place to keep her legs pumping, Carmelita began a series of arm and neck movements. Her top had caught in her fur, so a few moments to smooth that down was necessary before she proceeded into a few breakfalls and jumping exercises.
Now ready for the exercise to begin properly, she entered a number into the control console via her eyepiece and stood ready.
The first attack came from her right, and her ears twitched upon hearing the soft sound of the bot gliding through the air. Retreating her right foot reoriented her to face the attack, and the momentum of her turn and the bot’s approach allowed to continue spinning, grabbing the outstretched arm in both hands and leveraging it over her shoulder to toss the bot to the ground. Carmelita hesitated for a moment before administering a knockout blow to the simulated head, using the momentum to pull herself forward over the bot and avoid the two that had tried to attack her from behind.
Unlike the first bot, which had simulated a standard torso, these two simulated quadrupedal attackers, and when their attacks missed the bots simply planted their feet with a thud on the floor to launch themselves at her. Carmelita moved to one side, grabbing and twisting one to crash into the other before kicking out and scoring a light hit to the barrel, pushing them further and propelling her further back.
Breaking a sweat, the vulpine dropped to the floor as one of them tossed the other at her sideways, before she rolled to the side to avoid an attack straight down. One of the bots got in a glancing blow on her leg as she backed off, getting a boot to the head in exchange.
Carmelita went on the attack, pushing off the wall she’d touched and grappling the closer of the two bots, arm lifting and pushing in such a way as to dislocate the limb she’d chosen. Dropping the bot, she blocked a hit with her arms, taking a brutal hit in exchange for getting in range to sweep with her legs and pin it to the floor.
She had to give up the pin a moment later as the bot whose leg she’d dislocated hobbled towards her. Two quick blows to the inside of the bots leg and a careful shove allowed her to dump him on top of the one she’d pinned, before holding them both down.
A buzzer and a quick highlight of snapshots from when she’d been hit and when she’d hit and she wa on to the next exercise, drawing the Fisti-Cuffs from her belt and scanning them beneath a small red light whilst the bots were removed from the room.
This time she could see the target she needed to subdue emerge from the panelled walls, a four-armed bot with a frowning face printed on the otherwise immaculate white plastic. The size difference was clear, and Carmelita could see that she would have to focus on avoiding hits.
She made the first move, circling round just at the edge of the bot’s reach, cuffs back on her belt. The bot turned to face her, all arms up in a guarded boxer’s stance, and so she took a more stationary stance, one foot planted behind the other and giving her the most maneuverability possible.
A jab, and she swivelled to avoid it. Another jab, and she swivelled back. Two jabs in quick succession, and she ducked under a third attack with a faked stumble. Taking advantage of her perceived failure, the bot took a step towards her to unleash a pummel of blows with all four arms, but Carmelita’s feint allowed her to roll beneath the attack and come up from below, swinging the cuffs around a leg and tugging it out from beneath the bot. As it crashed to the ground, hands outstretched to break its fall, Carmelita darted round the side and clamped them on the two right arms of the bot, activating the Fisti-Cuffs properly.
Burst of electricity began weakening the training bot, and Carmelita sniffed the air at the scent of singed circuit boards. The bot struggled to its feet, its movements slower and less accurate, and Carmelita took the opportunity to dive onto its back and engage in a choke hold across its neck.
Quickly she realised she’d jumped the gun, as with its two free arms the bot reached back and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, tearing her from her perch and tossing her into a wall. She winced as she got back to her feet in time to dodge a punch from the two connected limbs.
Carmelita dodge the next few blows before sweeping her legs forward again, catching the bots leg and staggering it slightly before she bounded to her feet and grabbed pushed it backwards. With strength and speed sapped, the bot fell on its back with a crash, and now able to match it’s arms Carmelita proceeded to pacify the bot with a complicated armlock.
As the buzzer sounded, the bot got to its feet and proffered its arms for Carmelita to retrieve her Fisti-Cuffs. She reviewed the fight imagery, and began jogging circuits again, stretching out her bruised muscles before warming down.
Carmelita stripped herself of gear and clothes before taking to the shower, feeling the warm water ease the bruised muscles from her training. She summoned some shampoo and fur conditioner and carefully removed all the sweat and dirt that had built up from the past few days exertions.
When she got back to her hammock, Chip was fast asleep in the other. Al3x’s avatar waved silently at her from the monitor before he dimmed the screens again, and she fell into her hammock. This time she went to sleep without difficulty, and soon she began to dream.