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Post by Dante Clavus on Dec 7, 2015 18:45:23 GMT -6
Shouts, yells and thuds from the training center were muted through the thick windows of the Game Room. Dante slowly paced the circular projection table, pondering the holographic display of a dense city dotted with small models of this year's tributes.
"First thing: Give Minerva first aid. Then travel South with the group and finally; use the camouflage paint to hide in the rubble in H-14. "
A technician nodded as her fingers quickly typed in the commands. "And if encountered?" She asked.
Dante's brows furrowed. This had looked so simple when he was watching the Games back home!
"If encountered by groups Beta or Charlie, escape through H-9's Pod-field using the map to avoid traps. If we come across a loner; cautiously hear them out. Pretty sure someone's still got the grenade and would join us for supplies."
The quiet room was filled with more clicking as the commands were entered. Dante noticed that his palms were sweating as the miniature tributes began to move...
Tactics + 2
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1d8+2
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Post by Dante Clavus on Dec 7, 2015 19:08:13 GMT -6
The simulation had used the tributes' promotional images for their models; Dante watched as cheerful versions of his team hopped along the ruined street. Minerva's model had a row of red hearts floating over her that grew from three to five as the day started. A bright chirp played as a team member successfully foraged for food along the way.
Dante's team arrived at H-14 and became semi-transparent as they hid amongst the rubble. Moments later three lighthearted popping sounds signaled a trio of deaths on the field.
"Seems Beta and Charlie found each other." Smiled the technician. "Nice timing on laying low, Trib!"
Finally daring to breathe, Dante tried to look more confident than he felt.
"Thank you, just glad we're still doing good on food. Now all that's left is..."
He began explaining the next days' actions.
Tactics +2
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Post by Wren Hartwood on Dec 7, 2015 19:24:44 GMT -6
Wren was curious about the game room, but wasn't sure he was ready to jump right in with anything. He decided to try and watch Dante through the window for a bit, hoping to learn by example. He'd never seen anything like this before.
Creep on Dante WFVfEdE|1d8+21d8+2
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Post by Wren Hartwood on Dec 7, 2015 19:25:35 GMT -6
Wren accidentally bumped his forehead on he window as he leaned in, but Dante didn't notice. Wren was really interested in whatever was happening in here. Maybe he'd eventually come in and try.
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Post by Valeria DeMasque on Dec 7, 2015 19:27:45 GMT -6
Valeria sat on an exposed beam on the wall of the simulation room watching Dante give orders to holographic projections of her fellow tributes.
She could swear the pervy capitol technicians had given the female tributes a little more...ampleness.
As lame as it sounded she enjoyed perching on higher places like this. It reminded her of her time in District 8. It was all concrete and beams there...
Dante appeared to be doing rather well in directing the little dancing lights around the playing field and Val was quite glad she had called him back to the bar last night instead of letting him wander off.
It was weird though... In person he was...well a bit shy. But here on the battlefield he was barking orders like a trained drill sergeant. It was...impressive.
She ws snapped out of her trance by the sound of a loud THUNK. It had come from a window down below but she couldn't see through it. She'd hate to be whoever ran headlong into a window. That shit hurts...
She would need to figure out her own little display of skill pretty soon. It seemed like half of the tributes had already wowed the sponsors and she didn't want to get left behind.
But for now she would enjoy Dante's performance.
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Post by Gwendolyn Fisk on Dec 7, 2015 19:46:27 GMT -6
Gwen sneaked up behind Val and enclosed her arms around Val's waist in a hug.
"Found you! Oh, hey, looks like Dante is quite the brain. What are you thinking about doing to appease the masses?"
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Post by Wren Hartwood on Dec 7, 2015 19:48:33 GMT -6
Wren looked up and saw Valeria sitting on a beam. Huh. And here, I thought I was the only one that climbs everything. He tried to climb up near her, without either of them noticing.
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Post by Wren Hartwood on Dec 7, 2015 19:49:13 GMT -6
No one noticed Wren climbing up. Maybe it was because Gwen stormed into the room.
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Post by Valeria DeMasque on Dec 7, 2015 20:06:01 GMT -6
Despite herself Val found herself sinking backwards into Gwen's hug for a second before she sat up and scooted around to face her.
"Ya know Gwen, I'm at kind of a loss," she said at last, "I'm really good at reaing people and gathering information but I don't see any way I could show that off in some training room..."
She smiled, "I mean I can think on my feet pretty well like Dante down there and I'm no stranger to a fight but those all sound so mundane." She laughed a little, "No flair to them at all!"
"What have you been showing off so far?"
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Post by Gwendolyn Fisk on Dec 7, 2015 20:35:55 GMT -6
"Nothing but the best of flirtation skills, darling." Gwen started to stroked the air around her chin as if she had a beard, "Trying to find something flashy, eh? Perhaps a game of hide and seek? Or see if we can sniff out another peacekeeper?" Gwen waggled her eyebrows comically.
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Post by Valeria DeMasque on Dec 7, 2015 20:42:13 GMT -6
The eyebrow waggling was indeed mesmerizing but she needed to keep her wits about her.
"Hide and seek?" she laughed, "I'm not sure that would be all that impressive. Gwen-do-lyn," she said her name with a bit of humorous mockery involved.
"That said," she added, "I need to come up with something..." She frowned, "Maybe something that combines my wit and my tactics...OH!"
She Grinned, "Now I see why you mentioned hide and seek. Hmmm but how to make hide and seek...'flashy'?"
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Post by Valeria DeMasque on Dec 7, 2015 20:44:24 GMT -6
Gwen found herself thinking on Gwen's last statement...
"She has been really flirtatious with well," she thought to herself, "everyone..."
"Not to be rude Gwen and not that I'm complaining but," she grinned, "You are quite the flirt. Is there a reason behind that?"
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Post by Gwendolyn Fisk on Dec 7, 2015 21:16:00 GMT -6
"Flashy hide and seek. Only thing I can think of is if we were to try and steal something from the other without them catching you at the same time. Does that work?" Gwen contemplated the last question for a moment or two. "Well I could say something wise and thoughtful like the game is for death and hate, so I decided to be a rebel and stand for life and love. In the end, I kind of just want to get laid before I die. Is that really so much to ask? Only one of us gets through in the end. I have no delusion that I might be the chosen one. Or maybe..." Gwen drifted off for a moment, "I wouldn't mind having something good to fight for, for once." Gwen caught herself, "Also, it's really fun catching people off guard. It's as if we suddenly forget that we're human once we set foot in the capitol. Kind of bizarre to me."
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Post by Valeria DeMasque on Dec 7, 2015 21:22:47 GMT -6
"How about we use Dante's flashy game board down there to whip up both of us a little army. The goal will be to sneak past the other player and their forces using whatever means possible and steal an object in the opponent's base." She smiled, "Game ends when you get your opponent's item back to your own base."
"We can even ask them to program our forces with human personality so that you can use that charm of yours," she laughed
"Hmmm... but what would be a good item to have to steal from each other," she wondered aloud.
After laying out her plan Val was a bit surprised by Gwen's response to her second question. "...at last?" she asked.
She frowned sincerely, "You've never had anything to fight for?"
Realizing that she probably shouldn't be picking at what were obvious wounds Val tried to salvage the mood, "Oh yeah," she nudged her friend, "and just how long has it been since the last time you shared a bed?"
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Post by Gwendolyn Fisk on Dec 7, 2015 21:31:48 GMT -6
Gwen raised her eyebrow, "So capture the flag then, eh? Sounds good to me!" Gwen shrugged, "Myself, obviously, but the crew I ran with wasn't exactly the touchy-feely kind. Which has left me without a bedmate for quite a while once I realized how unfulfilling that was in the long run. But, hey, we all have our stories. Like you and your friend." Gwen looked at Val pointedly before going over to the machine and starting to push random buttons, "So how do we start this thing?"
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Post by Valeria DeMasque on Dec 7, 2015 21:47:53 GMT -6
"Gwen," Val said in a sharp whisper and grabbed her wrist lightly, "We should probably wait until Dante is out of there to press those!"
Her shock turned to an amused grin when she saw that half of Dante's men now appeared to be dancing for some reason.
"Oh god," she laughed loudly, "I hope he doesn't get mad at us."
"Yeah and," she realized she was still holding her wrist and let go, "Its true we all have our stories and they're not all good. ...but they're what kept us alive until today."
She smiled, "Look and not to sound cheesy or flirty or full of shit but...look I'll try my hardest to," She grimaced at the amount of cringe this sentence carried, "give you something to fight for."
She felt genuine concern about the crack in Gwen's flirtatious armor she had just seen open. And I mean she meant it too. She was definitely her best friend here...
"But she might be a peacekeeper..."
Val was willing to take that risk and laughed nervously, I mean I know how lame that sounds and..." she trailed off.
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Post by Dante Clavus on Dec 7, 2015 22:00:47 GMT -6
This is it. Everything depends on how this plays out...
It took a few moments for the technician to adjust the simulation for Dante's plan; but he hoped the confused look on her face would match everyone else's.
"You were right about the Arena's forcefield, Trib!" Exclaimed the tech. "The program's Game Maker is steadily shrinking it each day to get everyone together for the finale!"
Dante was torn between a triumphant smile and a sigh of relief, Now for the risky part.
Five smiling models of his team were spread around a circular grove of trees within a city park block. In its center a fallen tree made an impromptu barricade before an immaculate fountain pool. As the highlighted edges of the arena's forcefield shrunk, the holographic view zoomed closer on the grove.
Ten models, the remainder of the Tributes began bouncing into the miniature forest. Dante got the strange sense that their smiles seemed more malicious than his teams'. Hope I'm right about this, at least that nobody's watching!
Suddenly Dante's team dashed away from their hiding places toward the fallen tree. Their bizarre hopping motions didn't seem like the kind used to run for their lives; but they all arrived behind the barricade.
A tense eternity passed as the simulation ran through what the nine menacing tributes would do.
"Fire in the hole!" Shrilled the cartoonish-voice of a simulated tribute as his holographic grenade arced behind the makeshift barricade. It exploded with a soft 'POP!' that echoed around the Game Room.
Another tense moment followed before large chunks of bark began falling off the trees surrounding the grove. The camouflaged pods opened as they struck the ground, releasing a swarm of tracker jackers that angrily mobbed the panicking tributes! Their models' hearts quickly dropped to zero as Dante and his team climbed out of the fountain pool's far side and left the grove.
"WHOOP!" Exclaimed the technician. "Can't believe you beat two-to-one odds with a bit of camouflage paint!"
Dante felt lightheaded from the victory before remembering to breathe again.
"...and the tribute who spotted the pod," He said. "and the other one who sneaked up and painted it and the luck needed to pull it off.
Nah, I just got lucky Linda."
She gave the young man a disbelieving look before turning back to her keyboard. "Only the five of you left now. What's your next move, Dante?"
Taking a deep breath, Dante looked down at the smiling faces of his simulated team.
"Hope we make it that far to find out." He said, leaving the room.
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Post by Gwendolyn Fisk on Dec 7, 2015 22:12:58 GMT -6
"Aw, Val, are you saying you'll warm my bed tonight?" Gwen said, flinging an arm around Val's shoulders. She had to keep things light. She wasn't too sure about how to do the friend thing as of yet. She didn't want to make any wrong moves. She was content with where things were with Val. If this was all she could get out of her last days, that would be fine with her.
She saw Dante leaving the room, "No! Dante! Teach us how to do the thing!" She glanced at the hologram. He left with five tributes on the board...
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Post by Valeria DeMasque on Dec 7, 2015 22:22:55 GMT -6
Val blushed despite herself, "Th-that's not exactly what I meant but I mean I'm not...opposed" "Yeah sure Val, she's very cute," she thought to herself, "and yes you've dated women in the past and yes she's sorta kinda your type"She took a mental breath, "But she's probably just being her flirty self. No need to rock the boat and lose a good friend.""But she might be a peacekeeper..."She snapped back to reality as Dante left the training machine. "Five huh?", she inquired, "Who did he put on his team?" She slapped Dante on the back, "Ya looked good out there champ!" She shot him a smile, "You looked stable even!" ANGST ANGST ANGST
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Post by Dante Clavus on Dec 7, 2015 22:36:59 GMT -6
Dante was lost in his relief from the victory; before Val's playful slap shocked him back to earth.
"Where'd everyone come from? Gah! Did they see me?!
"Er. Thanks, Val! You're still...stable too."
Oh, Dante. You know that's going on the highlight reels across Panem. UGH!
Dante fumbled through introducing Valeria, Gwen and Wren to the Game Room's technician, Linda. "Please'd to meet ya, Tribs." She gave them a knowing look.
"Hey!" Interjected Dante. "Did you guys want to try a round? Linda said there's a mode with three or four players..." He looked over at Wren and Gwendolyn questioningly.
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Post by Valeria DeMasque on Dec 7, 2015 22:51:58 GMT -6
It wasn't until this point that Val noticed the young boy with wide eyes perched back up where they used to be.
"Oh geeze," she said a little startled, "How long has he been there?"
"Hello Linda nice to meet you!" Val said with a smile. "Actually, Linda and Dante, I had a little idea for a training exercise myself and I think it could be even more fun with FOUR of us!" she beamed.
Valeria Explained:
"Thing is," she continued, "We program the troops to have real personalities so that we can get by them by ANY means."
"That way," she finished, "you can show off whatever skills you'd like. Whether its strength, stealth, or guile!"
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Post by Dante Clavus on Dec 7, 2015 23:09:05 GMT -6
"Count me in, Val! I've got to warn you though..." Dante gave a jokingly confident smile. "I'm undefeated at this game."
He was beginning to relax around Val and Gwen. They seemed so friendly once he stopped seeing them as new Hunger Games tributes.
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Post by Valeria DeMasque on Dec 8, 2015 0:11:07 GMT -6
"Well," she smiled, "you're undefeated in a fair fight."
Val nudged him playfully, "No one said we had to play fair. Remember! By 'ANY means possible'."
"Alright, enough stalling," she added, "who did you pick for your cyber team last game?"
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Post by Sharlot Cuprick on Dec 8, 2015 9:31:12 GMT -6
Sharlot entered the training facility, unsure of what skills to show off. She was decently athletic, perhaps enough to get by in the Hunger Games, but not skilled enough to show off. Then she saw some tributes playing in the Game Room.
Sharlot smirked. Now that was exactly the type of game she was prepared to play. Sharlot casually walked over to the end of the holo rooms where she found, just as she expected, a master terminal. She waited a moment for everyone in the area to become preoccupied with one of the training activities and then she quickly set to work.
Tactics QwoJfa7T1d8+21d8+2
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Post by Sharlot Cuprick on Dec 8, 2015 9:36:22 GMT -6
Sharlot's devious side was kicking in. Her heart pounded. Last time she had done something like this it had ended horribly. But then again, she didn't have another tongue to lose. There was minimal security beyond a few simple pass codes and she was in. She opened the menus for the AI difficulty and raised the challenge level from a 5 up to a 7.
Sharlot walked away proudly. I don't need a high score to win, she thought, I just need to top everyone else.
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