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Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM): Nexus Earth - Chapter 11.5.01 - Wakeup Call


Rebecca Baines

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Rebecca wakes up in sick bay, various bands around her waist and jaw.

"Don't move just yet, Lieutenant, I'm still binding the hernia you contracted and getting your jaw nerves uncompressed..."

She feels the pain in her abdomen, slowly abating, but the movement under the binding is uncomfortable. "There we go, ma'am, and your Jaw is alright as well." the doctor says taking the bindings off.

"T... Thanks. To who do I owe the medical bill?"

"Me." A familiar voice enters into the conversation. Rebecca looks over. "Captain... oh jeeze..."

Rebecca now knows... she's in deep.

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"Just what do you think you were doing?"

Captain Hoshino stood there, giving her the look she reserved for those she considered an idiot. "You're a pilot Rebecca, not a hand to hand specialist. It's been years since you had combat training, I went and checked. And right off you decide to go train in a damn dojo as opposed to a governed training simulator."

"I'd ask what you were thinking, but clearly you were not."

She frowned. "I expect better from you."

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"People expect... too much from me, ma'am..." Rebecca says. "I was unaware of what... I was getting into with that... person." She says, sitting up on the medic bed. "I was a fool... but... I had my reasons."

She adjusts herself before taking back to her feet. "People are far beyond me now in all categories... I wanted him to do marksmanship training but it seems he wanted to use me as a damned punching bag "to make me tough" as it were... I... should have walked after the first strike."

She grits her teeth. "Dammit Captain I'm sorry but I'm too much behind. Kai needs me to be at my best and I can't do that... I can't do that as just a pilot."

She sighs. "Perhaps everyone is expecting too much of me... or perhaps... I'm expecting too much of myself."

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In a single deft motion, Ruri deposits Rebecca back onto the bed almost too fast to be seen, without any pain.

"Do not worry about that, Lieutenant. Get well, then you can resume your training with a partner of my choosing. If The head captain has any issues with your performance, he has not raised them with me, so I see no reason to push yourself quite this hard."

"We all wish to be stronger to do more, but it takes time and dedication. There is no shortcut. Do what you are best at Rebecca. We all aid each other in our own ways."

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The word Ground You resonates like a funeral dirge in her head... She chokes back her shock and fear of being seperated from her beloved SeaTalon. "Y... Yes Ma'am!" She says straightening out as best of an attention position with a salute as any patient in a sick bay can.

This is punishment... god save her soul.

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...2 hours later, on the dot.

Rebecca is in her SCRT-4 dress uniform. The kimono was an interesting uniform, but she had no time to appreciate it. She makes a few last swipes of her datapad stylus for her report to Ruri. Her very use of SeaTalon was at stake... perhaps it's this dire deadline that perhaps is moving her to a realization? Rebecca seems to think so since she was more aware of who and what she should be.

When she steps up to Captain Ruri's door, she rings the doorbell and announces herself. "Lieutenant Rebecca Shirasu Rathbone reporting as ordered, Ma'am."

She goes over the final bits of her report, waiting for permission to enter...

The Report
Training Regimen Proposal

Subject: Lt. Rebecca Shirasu Rathbone

In order to further facilitate her position as SCRT-4's chief test pilot, her need to train in her personal marksmanship is a definite must, particularly if she is to start using the MTS-MK1 Man-Machine interface proposed to roll out to all pilots within the year. It is also imperative she is to increase her skill in the tactical deployment of her chosen Mecha, and to train in survival techniques in the untimely event of abandoning her mecha (her last certifications are well out of date and by regulation 219-SAR-TP all pilots must take a yearly survival course.)

Therefor, Lieutenant Rebecca Rathbone offers this regimen.

1: Up to 24 hours training with standard SCRT pattern Battle Rifles and Pistols to acquaint herself with the weapons in the standard simulator. The goal being to match standard marksmanship benchmarks for the SCRT BR and Pistol.

2: Study of the deployment and development of mecha strategies and combat maneuvers. This would include the study of the Art of War by Sun-Tsu as required for all officers.

3: A 7 day survival course of a location planetside of the captain's choice, where she is to be para-dropped, where the Lieutenant will train in her survival skills and receive her SAR (Search and Rescue) Survival Training certification. Lt. Rathbone expresses interest in joining the Search and Rescue corp of SCRT-4, when not working as the Research and Development test pilot for SCRT-4. This would be an important first step.

She had written the report out in third person, to help analyse her needs and situation. She's discovered looking at a situation from a detached, observational standpoint helps in critical assessment. Although it's been hard to be objective when you're as nervous as a schoolgirl waiting to be called to the carpet by her headmaster.

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Ruri looked it over, and then looked at Rebecca. "This is what you want?"

She nodded. "So be it."

"I will cut the orders for Kelly and Grace to train you in weapons mastery and survival. Captain Klang and Captain Nagare will train you in strategic and tactical applications of mecha in combat. Once they are confident of your ability, I will arrange a test. At stake is your status as Lieutenant, and your flight clearance. If you do not meet my standards, you will be relegated to Research and Development alone."

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...

She thinks about this for a moment.

"Then... if this error has placed me into this position, and I have no guarantee for actually succeeding... I resign."

She hands over her security clearances and keys to SeaTalon.

"I'm not here to take abuse and then be forced into a corner." She turns and leaves. "I've been through far too much already."

As she starts to walk off, she punches a wall knowing her career is over. "Dammit, Francis..."

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"You Realize that by resigning you forfeit the chance to ever pilot Seatalon ever again don't you? You're giving up without a fight."

She looked to her. "isn't it worth fighting for?"

She nodded. "You can do the task I've set before you. I believe in you, Seatalon does too. You know that. Can you really just walk away from everything, including the mecha you built and maintained alone all this time?"

"This training is what you want, with stakes worthy of a promising lieutenant. The only assessment will be of my test. You will train, and when your trainers are satisfied, I will put you to my test. I will see how much you have improved."

She smiled. "If you succeed, I will begin this regimen for all of the CRT, and you will be in charge of it."

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