Unconventional Tactics, Tuesday, Period 2

[raspberryturk]

"Yo, Rookies!" If Reno looked a little less mellow than usual, that was totally the imagination of everyone in the class. If he looked like he'd done up a few more buttons than usual on his shirt, too? Well, that much wasn't. Even Reno could respect when it was really freaking awkward to go around half-dressed in front of students who were practically his own age. "We've covered all kinds of fun fightin' crap already, and healin' and all of that, yo. So today we're gonna expand a little on that barricade thing we did the other week, and go into defenses as a whole."

Insert thoughtful pause while Reno struggles not to make a horribly off-color crack about 'protection,' here.

"In the sim where we we set up that barricade and faced off against them griffins, we were really just stratchin' the surface, yo. There are plenty of ways to keep invaders out, beyond just pilin' things up. It's true, some of the best-fortified places have way more time to set up those defenses than we do, yo. Can we really be expected to-" he choked on the word 'erect,' "set up a wall around the whole island or whatever? But there are things we can do. I know my girl Rikku's got experience with puttin' together patrol droids, which ain't a bad first step. Knowin' there's an enemy on the way and gatherin' info about 'em early on is a big help on the way to fendin' them off."

Deep breath. Press onward, Reno!

"Makin' yourself ha-difficult to find is another important step. Camo, magic or tech-based sight-shields, findin' your way into convenient little hidey-holes, they're all gonna save your ass when the heat is on, yo. And then, of course, comes the barricade stuff. The point ain't always to pile so much junk so high that it'll take 'em forever to get in. That kinda strategy don't work against an aerial enemy, does it? But the same idea applies, whether you're layin' out mines, electric fences, or lightin' your barricade on fire for one major last stand."

Okay! He was in the home stretch now! He could do this!

"Discussion class today, yo. Knowin' as much as you do about the island, how would you go about protectin' what you got? Where do your own strengths sit? Talk about what it is you can contribute to fortifyin' the island if somethin' big hits, whether it's early-warning, finding a place to hunker down that'll give you a tactical advantage, or just keepin' shit out."

[Open!]

Comments

Discuss

[raspberryturk]

What can you do to help fortify what you've got when something strikes Fandom? You don't have to be a tech nerd or a mage in order to keep lookout or to scout for places with a tactical advantage, so there should be something for everyone, here.

Re: Discuss

[trigons_child]

Raven really wasn't a tactician, so she wasn't sure what she could contribute to this conversation. Besides, her mind was starting to wander as her gaze flitted across her classmates. No, no, bad thoughts. Someone was going to need a cold shower.

She was also getting a severe headache from Ino's strange raginess at Professor Reno.

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[intraspective]

"Scout," she said, very very flatly. "Spy."

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[raspberryturk]

Okay, Reno knew that Ino was cranky. Reno could even appreciate why Ino was cranky. But that didn't mean that Reno wasn't going to poke the ninja.

"You wanna elaborate on that one, Rookie?"

He suspected that she didn't, but, well...

Re: Discuss

[intraspective]

Her look said, very clearly, that she would like him to drop dead at the moment.

"Gee," she said waspishly, "I don't know. Do I?"

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[raspberryturk]

Please, Ino, do excuse Reno for a moment while he pinches the bridge of his nose.

"You're a real handful, you know that?"

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[intraspective]

"If you say so," she scathed. "Who knows? Since apparently no one is permitted to make up their own minds anyway at the moment."

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[raspberryturk]

"You're sayin' the island is forcin' you to give me shit over somethin' that ain't my fault?"

Because Reno was completely prepared to give it right back, Ino. His mood wasn't terribly much better at the best of times.

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[intraspective]

"Better I give you shit than I give in to the fucking thoughts everyone else are thinking," she said, crossing her arms. "You expected anything better? You knew I was pissed and came over anyway."

So, clearly, it was his fault he was getting snarled at.

... Ino logic was Special logic.

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[raspberryturk]

Reno, just give your head a shake. Really, what else is there to do.

"I'm doin' the job, Ino. You chose to speak up, me, bein' the teacher, I asked for elaboration. If you can't respect me, at least respect that I do the job."

Reno wasn't a hell of a lot without the job, after all.

"You wanna sit in the hall or somethin', you're welcome to it. I ain't gonna stand here and argue, Rookie."

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[life_inshadow]

Tara ... really didn't feel like she had anything to contribute after Ino's outburst; everybody's aura was already a little off, but that was just like a supernova. She couldn't think after it.

So she kept her mouth shut, rested her head on her arms, and went back to looking at Kennedy's legs.

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[talks-backwards.livejournal.com]

Thud, thud, thud, thud; it was either that or allowing all the other thoughts into her head. It even had a certain rhythm?

At any rate, Zatanna stopped for a moment. "Magic shields? Mine fields? Someone please turn the AC on..."

Re: Discuss

[momslilassassin]

You do the job, right? And despite distractions and classmate temper tantrums, Ben was going to do the work Reno had given them.

"I think through classes, the reserves, and daily runs, I have the topography of the island memorized," Ben offered, "so I'd be able to tell if something has changed. More importantly, I can call on the Force to move faster than most people, so I could go and come back faster than someone else. Well, assuming they aren't a teleporter."

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[glacial_queen]

"You can use the Force to discover new people, can't you?" Karla asked, studiously looking at not-Ben as she did. "I know we can with psychic scents. It's a little harder with an island this size if you don't know every one, but with invaders there are usually emotional tells that help them stand out."

Aaaaaand Karla was going to stop doodling in her notebook now. Some of those random drawings were getting explicit.

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[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded. "To an extent," he said, "and assuming they haven't found a way to hide themselves in the Force. But most beings don't know how to do that." He smiled. "If we get invaded by non-sentient plant life, it's a little tougher."

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[glacial_queen]

Karla made the mistake of glancing over at him when he spoke, and was disturbed to realize just how warm his smile made her. Her toes curled in her shoes at his approval. Giving him a teasing smile back she said, "Any thoughts on how we can protect ourselves from non-sentient plant invasions?"

Karla. Stop flirting with Ben.

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[momslilassassin]

Okay, sparkage with Karla was, well, a reminder of the vampire universe. Ben blushed and shuffled his feet.

"A lot of weed spray?"

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[glacial_queen]

And, for Karla at least, a reminder of the majority of last year when she'd had a terrible, one-sided crush on Ben. Which, she realized now, had started during the last time the island had felt frisky, when they'd been talking on the roof.

"Can we import really large herbivores, too?" she said, reaching up to rub the bridge of her nose.

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[momslilassassin]

"Maybe," Ben said, smiling. "If they're like the dinosaurs were, it might be more trouble than they're worth."

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[trigons_child]

Raven was rubbing her temple and glancing Ino's way with a very confused and somewhat concerned look on her face as well, but between the anger and the hormones she was going to try to focus on the assignment as well to try to clear her head. Except she'd never really paid attention to how cute Ben was, hmm.

"If it is an item or a person that we need to protect, rather than a place, I can take it or them into the netherverse," she offered up. "They would be safe there." Well, in theory at least.

And the lizard was gone now so shut up.

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[momslilassassin]

"Is there a limit to how many people or things you can take inside you?" Ben asked.

And hello there, unwanted mental images. He hoped she didn't notice how much he was blushing.

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[trigons_child]

"If there is, I have never reached it," Raven said after a moments thought, any innuendo going completely over her head. She paused a moment to count. "I have had as many as eleven people inside me at once without any difficulty."

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[momslilassassin]

Mind out of the gutter, Skywalker.

He coughed.

"So it doesn't hurt?"

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[trigons_child]

"No, I do not feel any discomfort," Raven confirmed. "At least not with my friends. I have never been troubled by having them inside me, and I am always happy to accommodate them in that way. But other things that I have attempted to take within myself have sometimes not felt completely right, and I have had to expel them." Like the zombie piranha!

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[momslilassassin]

"Like what?" Ben asked, silently cursing his curious streak.