tazzari training

[00:58] <Ikiryo> A few days later...and Tazzari has the first of her scheduled training sessions for her IS. It's in about half an hour, at the practice range.
[00:59] <Tazzari> Tazzari is nervous, fiddling with her training staff... It had been repaired, but it wasn't built to endure the stress of mana acceleration. She'd needed to replace several parts to get it back up to full function... But the staff isn't what she's nervous about. She leaves early, but spends so much time walking back and forth that she's very nearly late, running to get there on time...
[01:01] <Ikiryo> And nearly runs head first into Circe. "Hello Provisional Cadet Tazzari." She's dressed in blue short shorts and a black tank top. It appears that Rhiannon still has control of her wardrobe.
[01:02] <Tazzari> She stumbles backwards, having been looking everywhere but reality and only stopping short by almost throwing herself in the other direction. "Oh! Um, Circe. Hi. I, um... I need to be somewhere, um, sorry..." She pauses, assessing the girls outfit, and gives a little smile. "...The clothes, um. They look nice."
[01:03] <Ikiryo> She nods "I have been told that by a few people. Are you on your way to practice with your IS?"
[01:04] <Tazzari> "...Um. Yes." She frowns. "...How did you know about that?"
[01:05] <Ikiryo> "I was asked if I would like to watch. It is part of my analysis of the origin of the Scaglietti cyborgs. Opinions on origin...differ."
[01:06] <Tazzari> She nods slowly. "...I, um, talked to him... He said he wasn't, um, from Hyperion..."
[01:10] <Ikiryo> "That will be noted." She nods "It will not, however, be the sole part of my analysis."
[01:10] <Tazzari> "...Ah?"
[01:10] <Tazzari> Tazzari gives her a curious look as she continues towards the training field.
[01:12] <Ikiryo> "Yes. I was designed for independent study and analysis and, as such, I will hold back on official decisions until I have surety."
[01:12] <Tazzari> "...Um. Right."
[01:15] <Ikiryo> "You do you mind me watching, do you?" She looks at Tazzari
[01:16] <Tazzari> "...It's, um, unexpected..." She raises her arms, crossing them over her chest. "...I, um... I've been hiding so long... It won't be long before, um... Everyone knows what I am..."
[01:17] <Ikiryo> "Would that be a problem?"
[01:18] <Tazzari> "...Um. I'm not sure. It's just... Different." She shivers a bit. "...I'm still not, um, used to thinking that... Maybe, um, being a Cyborg is okay."
[01:20] <Ikiryo> "I cannot make emotional judgements on the nature of it." She shrugs. "That is, outside my purpose."
[01:21] <Tazzari> "...Um. You can think outside your purpose, um. Even if your professional duties tend towards impartiality, um... You're allowed to have opinions."
[01:22] <Ikiryo> "That would lead to a partisan analysis." She shakes her head. "It would defeat the purpose of my duty here."
[01:24] <Tazzari> "...Um, only if you allowed it to intrude on your, um, assessment. Impartiality is an ideal, um, but it's not, um, usually feasible... People always, um, have emotional reactions, um. But you can avoid letting that influence you,um, with self awareness... It's called, um, professional distance. My dad told me about it..."
[01:25] <Ikiryo> "My ability to have emotional responces is deliberately limited." She shrugs. "This shall be interesting to see, I must admit."
[01:26] <Tazzari> "...That sounds, um, awful... Everyone should be allowed to feel..."
[01:27] <Ikiryo> "It is better for my role to be impartial. My emotions are limited...though not non-existant."
[01:29] <Tazzari> "...Um. If you were allowed to feel, um, fully... I think it would allow you to make better judgements, um. Feelings, um, matter... And letting them not interfere with, um, decisions... It's something you can, um, learn..." Tazzari gives the girl a glance. "...I could, um, try unlimiting them for you some time... If you like. Just, um, temporarily... I think I could do it..."
[01:30] <Ikiryo> "As could I. It is chemical, not mechanical."
[01:31] <Tazzari> "...Well, um. Some day, um... We should try it. Um." Tazzari tries a smile.
[01:32] <Ikiryo> "It would be possible, perhaps." She nods. "Now, however, I believe we are busy."
[01:32] <Tazzari> "...Right, um, yes." Tazzari turns to look towards the trainign ground, as they finally approach it.
[01:38] <Ikiryo> It's empty...save for a tall young woman with brown hair with a single long ponytail.
[01:39] <Tazzari> "Dieci!" Tazzari smiles, running over towards her.
[01:43] <Ikiryo> Dieci smiles warmly and pulls Tazzari into a hug. "How are you?"
[01:44] <Tazzari> Tazzari squeezes back, looking down. "...Um. Glad to still be in the TSAB... Um. I'm hoping I can, um, earn my way back up to being a full cadet, um, soon... I want to show that I, um, belong here... That I can be like, um... Like all of you..."
[01:45] <Ikiryo> She ruffles Tazzari's hair. "The only person you need to be is yourself."
[01:46] <Tazzari> Tazzari blushes a little at that. "...Still, um..."
[01:49] <Ikiryo> "Yes?"
[01:49] <Ikiryo> Circe has just taken a seat under a nearby tree, watching.
[01:49] <Tazzari> "...I need to, um... To prove it. That I Should be part of the TSAB... If only, um, to myself..."
[01:52] <Ikiryo> She nods "If that is what you want to do."
[01:53] <Tazzari> "...It is. Um. I've never wanted anything more... Than to be part of the TSAB... To be like Nanoha..." She pauses, glancing up at her and smiling. "...Or like you. And, um... My other sisters..."
[01:57] <Ikiryo> "Like me?" She raises an eyebrow
[02:01] <Tazzari> She nods. "You're all, um... Parts of the TSAB... You do good things, and help people... I want to do that..."
[02:03] <Ikiryo> "Not all of us." She shakes her head.
[02:04] <Tazzari> "...Um. Right." Tazzari looks down, shuffling her feet.
[02:08] <Ikiryo> "Anyway, are you willing to start practicing?"
[02:08] <Tazzari> "Yes!" She looks up, eyes bright. "Um, sorry, I just, um..."
[02:10] <Ikiryo> "Yes?"
[02:10] <Tazzari> "...I'd been looking forward to talking to you again. Um. But... Practice is important. I need to, um... To control it..." She gives an attempt at a confident nod.
[02:16] <Ikiryo> "Alright. So, what do you know to do already?"
[02:17] <Tazzari> "...Um." She takes a breath... And the three cables emerge from her neck, the flaps concealing them folding aside. She turns her head to look at them, as they gently swish through the air, like a trio of tails. "...I know about these, um... And the software that runs them. Um. I can... connect to things, um, like my staff... Um. I can make them do things they, um, could never achieve without
[02:17] <Tazzari> it... Um. Optimisation..."
[02:19] <Ikiryo> She nods "And your combat abilities?"
[02:22] <Tazzari> "Oh! Um... I, um, I've trained extensively in TSAB staff drill and, um, basic defensive magic... Um. I'm not strong enough to use powerful spells but, I, um... I use simple things, and, um, do so efficiently..."
[02:24] <Ikiryo> She smiles "I meant, using your IS."
[02:25] <Tazzari> "...Um. It's all linked together, um... Data and mana optimisation..."
[02:26] <Ikiryo> "Tell me about it."
[02:27] <Tazzari> "...Um. I build a model, in my head... The battlefield, and everything in it that I'm, um, aware of... I summon my, um, stars..." She pauses, holding out a hand and kindling the small but bright point of purple light. "...They're, um, not strong... But, um, I use them as part of a network, um... I can multithread control algorithms to, um, simultaneously manipulate dozens of them, focusing on,
[02:27] <Tazzari> um, the relevant ones when I need them..."
[02:29] <Ikiryo> She smiles warmly. "That's very impressive."
[02:29] <Tazzari> She looks down a little, blushing. "...It's, um, it's the best I can do... They're all so weak individually that I have to be, um, very precise..." She glances back at Circe. "...When I duelled her, um... Almost ninety percent of the impacts had, um, no discernable effect... I had to, um, make the ones which struck home count..."
[02:30] <Ikiryo> "It only takes one shot to end a battle, if that shot matters."
[02:32] <Tazzari> She nods... Looking down again, murmuring. "...Two shots to take someones limbs off..."
[02:34] <Ikiryo> "I know...and yet..." Her smile is a bit sad. "I nearly did much, much worse. It's just the fact that I failed that I didn't."
[02:34] <Tazzari> "...It's not your fault, you weren't... Um..."
[02:36] <Ikiryo> "How is it not my fault?"
[02:36] <Tazzari> "...You were just, um, doing what you were told... You didn't know... I, um. I made a choice..."
[02:41] <Ikiryo> "And you don't think I did? I questioned if what I was doing was right...but then I decided to do it."
[02:41] <Tazzari> "...He, um... He's very forceful... Good at making people think, um, what he wants them to think..."
[02:41] <Tazzari> Tazzari shifts again, uncomfortably.
[02:43] <Ikiryo> "That doesn't change the truth though."
[02:43] <Tazzari> "...But there's such a thing as, um, extenuating circumstances... If there wasn't, I wouldn't be in the TSAB anymore..."
[02:45] <Ikiryo> "Then how was your situation different to mine?"
[02:45] <Tazzari> "...Nobody else was telling me what to do. I... I was scared, and I did an awful thing..."
[02:47] <Ikiryo> "I did an awful thing, knowing exactly what I was doing. I was shooting a vehicle full of civilians and people who didn't know an attack was coming. A lethal attack."
[02:47] <Tazzari> Tazzari looks up at her, eyes wide. "You... W-what?"
[02:49] <Ikiryo> She nods...and heads over towards the tree. She takes a very large case that is leaning against it. "With this." She opens the case...revealing a railgun nearly twice her own height. Tazzari's computer goes beserk identifying it...
[02:50] <Tazzari> "...That's... That's more powerful than anything I could optimise my staff to do..." She breathes, in a mix of fear and awe.
[02:53] <Ikiryo> "Enormous Cannon. Designed to work with my IS. Designed by Scaglietti himself." According to Tazzari's estimation...that thing could puncture a battleship's shields with enough power to still carve a hole through the bridge. At least, with a couple of minutes time to charge and calculate a weak point.
[02:54] <Tazzari> "...I have drivers, to, um... To interface with that... To, um, coordinate a strike at a targets weakest point..."
[02:55] <Ikiryo> She nods "I imagine so. I am capable of calculating weak points myself...but it sounds like you are my superior in that aspect." She smiles warmly.
[02:57] <Tazzari> "...I'd just, um... Be able to optimise your calculations, um... Supplement your processing power and, um, network with other data sources... Um. It's what I was, um, built to do..."
[02:59] <Ikiryo> "That's wonderful. My talent is a lot simpler...and of much more limited use without Enormous Cannon." She chuckles "Scaglietti was an excellent engineer...but perhaps not so much at naming things."
[03:00] <Tazzari> She laughs a little at that. "Mine is just, um, Smart Link... It does, um, what it says it does."
[03:01] <Ikiryo> "Perhaps one of our Sisters should have had an IS related to marketing." Her smile is large and warm.
[03:03] <Tazzari> She giggles at that. "They'd have been, um, a lower priority than me, um, probably..." She looks down again. "...Anyway, um, sorry... I'm, um, wasting your time... You must be busy, um... Thank you for taking time out to, um, teach me..."
[03:04] <Ikiryo> "It's not remotely a waste of my time unless you choose not to learn." She holds out a hand "Now, do you want to practice a little?"
[03:05] <Tazzari> "Yes!" She smiles, reaching out to clasp Dieci's, her sisters, hand... And then pauses. "...Um. How should I start?"
[03:06] <Ikiryo> "How about we start with some small exercises? I'll generate a scenario...and you work out the most effective way to deal with it. Then we'll talk about your solution."
[03:07] <Tazzari> She nods. "...Um. Okay."
[03:09] <Ikiryo> She taps away at the AR display...and a scenario is created. A hostage situation with half a dozen armed men, all with devices save the hostage taker with a knife, holed up in a car charging station...they are watching for any enforcers and look twitchy.
[03:09] <Ikiryo> "Alright...now, you look at the situation and work out how you and your team could deal with this." She smiles at Tazzari.
[03:10] <Tazzari> Tazzari pauses, looking around. "...Um. How long would I have to prepare?"
[03:12] <Ikiryo> "We'll say...sixty seconds."
[03:12] <Tazzari> She nods... And starts AR marking things as she speaks. "...The knife is, um, top priority... A Device is a bigger threat to an armed mage, but, um... The knife could kill a hostage. Eliminating his ability to use it is, um, key to resolving it without any casualties..."
[03:15] <Ikiryo> She nods, creating a ticking clock in the AR display too...
[03:17] <Tazzari> "...Ainlinn would be capable of, entering undetected... Claire could flash the area to disorient them, um, and then Altea would move in with, um, Alexa as backup... Ainlinn could disable the man with the knife while my team, um, engaged the rest, while I acted as support and, um, ensured that none of them got away by locking down the area with an, um, orbit of my Stars... Um. That's the
[03:17] <Tazzari> conventional solution..."
[03:18] <Ikiryo> "And the unconventional?"
[03:19] <Tazzari> She glances at one of the charging stations. "...I could, um, blast that... And, um, override the fire safety protocols... Um. As long as I controlled the voltage it would be non-lethal and, um, it would disable all the attackers... And all the hostages. Um." She lets out a breath. "...That's what my combat computer recommended..."
[03:20] <Tazzari> She gestures upwards. "...Um, usually the fire suppressant is foam, non-conductive... But by forcing it to be expelled faster, it would remain a conductive liquid for a long enough time to, um, affect everyone inside..."
[03:21] <Ikiryo> "Creative. Which do you think would be more effective?"
[03:22] <Tazzari> "...The, um... The second solution is faster and involves less, um, risk... In some ways. Um, the skill of the enemy mages doesn't matter, um. Even if they might overwhelm us in a fight, um, they won't be expecting to be shocked into semi-consciousness before we move in... But, um... It could kill someone, um. If they had a heart problem or some form of medical implant. Um. The probability of
[03:22] <Tazzari> it occuring the hostages is unlikely but, um, not impossible... The former solution has the risk that we might, um, lose... Which could escalate the whole situation and make it even worse going forward.
[03:22] <Tazzari> "
[03:24] <Ikiryo> She nods "That was well done...but that was the easy one." She taps the AR display...and this time it's an apartment building and the data is less available. There is between eight and twelve enemies and one and three hostages. Exact location of the hostages is unknown but they were last seen on the third floor.
[03:24] <Ikiryo> All enemy mages have knives and devices and they are reported to be on mind-altering substances.
[03:25] <Ikiryo> The clock starts...thirty seconds.
[03:27] <Tazzari> "...Move up with Ainlinn, get close without being seen while my team is on standby just out of sight. Um... Access building schematics to find a location where I could tap into the buildings, um, data hardline, see if I could find any camera feeds... Use that to check the locations of hostiles and hostages... If that's completely unavailable, um..." She gives a glance at Dieci, pausing as she
[03:27] <Tazzari> wonders which direction to follow.
[03:30] <Ikiryo> She is stoney faced, giving her no indication. Time is ticking...
[03:32] <Tazzari> "Um... If data is available, find an optimal route to secure hostages... Getting them out is, um, top priority. Only engage hostiles necessary to get the hostages out safely. If the data isn't available... Use perimeter data feeds to find a single lone hostile. Ambush him with Ainlinn, disable him as fast as possible, hopefully without alerting them... Hack his Device, use it to access their
[03:32] <Tazzari> comms system, um... Use that to identify the locations of hostiles and hostages. Use a false alert to, um, misdirect their attention before making entry and proceeding, um, to extract the hostages."
[03:33] <Ikiryo> "And the fact they are believed to be on mind-altering substances?"
[03:34] <Tazzari> "...It means, um, negotiation won't work. They might act irrationally or unpredictably, um... Which is why minimising contact with them is, um, key. If I knew what substance I might be able to model their potential reactions, but, um... Otherwise, it just makes them even more dangerous to, um, come into contact with, and means alerting them poses an, um, extreme danger to any hostage..."
[03:38] <Ikiryo> "Alright. Do you have any other solutions to the situation?"
[03:40] <Tazzari> She pauses, and then shakes her head. "...Without more time, information or, um, another chance at negotiation... Um. Trying a trick, like cutting off the building power or trying to use the local network against them, um... It has every chance of harming the hostages..."
[03:41] <Ikiryo> "Alright. Now...for something a bit harder." She gestures again...and there is bodies on the ground. Dead enforcers.
[03:41] <Ikiryo> A small school, 3 stories tall. Middle of a school day. Unknown number of gunmen, mass-based weapons.
[03:42] <Ikiryo> More than 5, less than fifteen. They have said they have a bomb and are willing to blow up the building.
[03:42] <Tazzari> Tazzari takes a step blanching and looking terrified. "Um... Um..."
[03:44] <Ikiryo> The clock appears again. Thirty seconds.
[03:46] <Tazzari> Tazzari takes a deep breath... And her eyes flicker purple. "...They're organised and armed well enough that, um, we should assume they're highly competent... Um. Work out the most likely location for the bomb... If not, find the most likely locations, um... And places where it's likely the majority of the students would be held. Multiple insertion teams, um... Disabling the bomb is the highest
[03:46] <Tazzari> priority... If it goes off, um, it would all have been for nothing..."
[03:47] <Ikiryo> She nods
[03:48] <Tazzari> Another deep breath... And her eyes close. "...There's, um... There's no plan of attack which guarantees, um, all hostages survive... All we could do is, um... Work out the path with the highest chance of the, um, lowest number of losses... If we had time, um, we could try to use gas... But, um, that could alert them and cause the bomb to be triggered... And allergic reactions among the students
[03:48] <Tazzari> is, um, likely to kill a few of them anyway..."
[03:52] <Ikiryo> She nods again, silently.
[03:53] <Tazzari> Tazzari's voice goes quiet. "...Um. The chance of saving most of the hostages, um... Goes up... If you, um... abandon the idea of saving all of them..." She sounds disgusted with herself, and sniffles as she adds. "...Um. Roughly seventy five percent, um... Is a conservative estimate... Of how many could be safely saved..."
[03:54] <Ikiryo> "Go on."
[03:56] <Tazzari> "...Any attempt to push it higher... To save more, or all of them... Has an increasingly great risk of, um... Total failure... If the bomb isn't in a specified location, if it can't be defused... If an enemy force is, um, unopposed, and is able to, um, start executing hostages... There are too many variables, I... All you can do is... You can't, um, win... You just need to try and loose the
[03:56] <Tazzari> least..."
[03:57] <Tazzari> *lose
[03:59] <Ikiryo> "Interesting analysis." Time has run out. "You didn't like that solution, did you?"
[03:59] <Tazzari> "...No. I... I should be able to save all of them... Nanoha would..."
[04:01] <Ikiryo> "Do you think, if you had more time, that you could come up with a solution to save them all?"
[04:01] <Tazzari> "...Maybe. More time, more data, more resources... There Has to be a solution... There just has to be..."
[04:07] <Ikiryo> "And that's what we'll be working on. You won't always have the time you'd like...and that was part of what caused the trouble last time, wasn't it?"
[04:08] <Tazzari> She nods. "...There, um... There weren't any good options..."
[04:10] <Ikiryo> "That you could see." She smiles warmly. "I think there were solutions that you could have used...but part of it is...you hate using Smartlink, don't you?"
[04:10] <Tazzari> "...I... I always knew it was designed to hurt people... I felt like, anything I did with it... How could I do something good, with something, um... Made to hurt..."
[04:11] <Tazzari> She glances at the cables again, raising a hand to touch one of them, unable to hold back a smile as it responds to her touch, rubbing against her fingertips. "...But, it's, um... It's part of me... I know I, um, have to accept that..."
[04:12] <Ikiryo> "And use it." She nods "...I think that part of the issue is that you don't like to use it and then, when you do have to use it...you just go along with it's analysis because you've completely given up. Is that correct?"
[04:13] <Tazzari> "..." She nods. "...If, um... If all else has failed... Um... I don't know what else to do..."
[04:14] <Ikiryo> "If you used it earlier but then tempered it's analysis, I think you'd be able to come up with better solutions and faster. Rather than delaying until all remaining options are bad."
[04:15] <Tazzari> She bites her lip, and nods. "...That, um... That makes sense... I just, um..."
[04:15] <Ikiryo> "Yes?"
[04:16] <Tazzari> "...I hate hearing what it has to say. I... It just..." She sniffles again, raising her hands to rub at her eyes. "I'm sorry..."
[04:16] <Ikiryo> She leans foward...and hugs Tazzari tight.
[04:17] <Tazzari> Tazzari hugs her back, with a slight whimper and a fresh flow of tears. "...I hate hearing the best way to hurt, to kill... To optimise...."
[04:19] <Ikiryo> "It's not pleasent, no...but it's also not wrong. What you need to do Tazzari? Is to use that information to help people without hurting them."
[04:20] <Tazzari> "...That's the worst part... When I listen to it... I know it's... That it's all true... That it's Right... Even if it's horrible..." Another sniffle. "...How can I make something good out of that? I..."
[04:21] <Ikiryo> "Because it's analysis is still good...and not all of it is about killing, is it?"
[04:21] <Tazzari> "...No... But even when it's not..."
[04:22] <Ikiryo> "Go on." She tightens the hug.
[04:22] <Tazzari> "...Even when it's not about hurting, killing people... It's Cruel... It doesn't care about anyone..."
[04:24] <Ikiryo> "That's pragmatic, not cruel. Believe me, I know cruel. Cruel would be if it tried to hurt people, rather than just not minding."
[04:25] <Tazzari> "...I want to find the Best solution... Not the efficient one..."
[04:28] <Ikiryo> "Then do so...but can you find the best solution without all your tools?"
[04:30] <Tazzari> "...I feel like every time I use it, um... Bad things happen..."
[04:31] <Ikiryo> "And when you've used it before...is that because you waited until there was very few good options left? Or did you leave part of your tools unused until the very end?"
[04:35] <Tazzari> She shivers. "I... Um... I can't, um... Argue with, um, logic..."
[04:36] <Ikiryo> "I hope not. Now...are you willing to keep trying?"
[04:36] <Tazzari> "...Yes." She nods, looking up at Dieci with determination.
[04:40] <Ikiryo> "Good." A new puzzle...this one easier than the last one. A full team of four, one hostage...all armed with mass-based weapons in a single high rise apartment...and ten seconds time for calculation.
[04:44] <Tazzari> ...And Tazzari's eyes blaze, the cooling fins unfolding from the sides of her head as her thoughts whirr... Trajectories and lines of sight, angles and assault patterns... A complex web of tactical data assembles itself in the blink of an eye. "...A fast insertion, striking hard. Eliminate or disable the hostiles in an instant, and put Altea next to the hostage... Claire would extract them
[04:44] <Tazzari> while helping me keep any still active opponents pinned before we could clean them up."
[04:48] <Ikiryo> She nods "That's very good. And Smartlink helped?"
[04:49] <Tazzari> She nods. "Um... I used it to calculate the most efficient method... Um. To eliminate each target, um... It's, um, very precise..."
[04:50] <Ikiryo> "And is your solution limited to lethal options?"
[04:50] <Tazzari> "...No. Um. It, um, tried to suggest them, um..." She looks a little uncomfortable. "...But, um... I tried to do what you said, um... To use the data in, um, another way..."
[04:52] <Ikiryo> "And you did. You had a good solution, in only just over ten seconds." She smiles "With practice? You could do it even faster."
[04:52] <Tazzari> She smiles a little at that. "...Um. Thank you..."
[04:53] <Ikiryo> "One more?"
[04:54] <Tazzari> She nods. "Please, um."
[04:56] <Ikiryo> Another is generated...this one different. A defencive situation. This time it's Tazzari and her team and a captured PoW. They need to hold out against a mixture of device-armed troops and mass-based weapon-armed vehicles while trying to make an escape out the back of an apartment complex. Enemies have it sorounded.
[04:56] <Ikiryo> The time appears. Fifteen seconds.
[05:02] <Tazzari> Another flash of purple, her hair beginning to ripple as the heat flows off the cooling fins, her brow furrowed in concentration. "...A three stage gambit. Pure defence won't save us, we need to make a hole... Pull their forces apart-" Icons flicker up. "Tactical strikes to weapon and communication systems before making a break in once direction-" More symbols flickering up "...Push to the
[05:02] <Tazzari> point of no return before pulling back, baiting them into comitting their reserves-" And then a u-turn in the directions. "...And then go the other way." She smiles a little cheekily at that.
[05:02] <Tazzari> "Use Ainlinn's speed and Altea's defence as key assets... Claire and I can support from a distance, and Alexa is excellent backup, filling in any holes and keeping the PoW locked down..."
[05:23] <Ikiryo> She nods. "That's a very interesting solution."
[05:23] <Tazzari> "It's, um... Pure defence is a battle of attrition we can't win. The only option is to, um, make a weakness, and then exploit it."
[05:25] <Ikiryo> "And you used Smartlink to help there?"
[05:26] <Tazzari> She nods. "Um... It helped me pinpoint, um, the weakest parts of enemy formations... Where the vehicles would be denied, um, their mobility and where opposing lines of fire would be most, um, restricted."
[05:27] <Ikiryo> "And were those used to only do bad things?"
[05:27] <Tazzari> She shakes her head, slowly. "...Um. Not only... Um. And I ignored, um, a lot of it..."
[05:29] <Ikiryo> "And? No matter what you do, you'll need to ignore some options. Knowing they exist isn't bad, only acting on them."
[05:29] <Tazzari> "...It, um... Suggested using one of their vehicles, um... To make our escape, while covering our retreat with the, um, mass based weapon..."
[05:31] <Ikiryo> "The first part isn't a bad plan. The latter..."
[05:32] <Tazzari> "...Um. Arguably, um, using it for covering fire, um... If you avoided human targets..." She pauses. "...But best avoided. Um. I thought."
[05:33] <Ikiryo> She nods "Probebly a good idea. Still, a good solution all around...and Smart Link helped, didn't it?"
[05:33] <Tazzari> "...It did, um... It's still not nice..."
[05:33] <Tazzari> She looks down at her feet again.
[05:35] <Ikiryo> "But it's not innately bad either, is it?"
[05:35] <Tazzari> "...No..."
[05:37] <Ikiryo> She leans over and hugs her tight.
[05:37] <Tazzari> Tazzari leans into her, squeezing softly. "...I'm, um... Still getting used to, um..."
[05:41] <Ikiryo> "That's what practice is for."
[05:41] <Tazzari> "...I mean, um... Being okay with, um... Being, um... Me."
[05:42] <Ikiryo> She chuchles "That's what practice is for."
[05:43] <Tazzari> That gets a soft giggle out of her, holding the hug for a moment before pulling back, smiling. "...Um. Thanks for, um, coming by to help me... Um... Sis..." She tries the word tentatively, as if unsure whether it fits...
[05:45] <Ikiryo> "It's my pleasure." She leans down to kiss Tazzari's forehead.
[05:45] <Tazzari> Tazzari blushes... And lets out a little sniffle, raising her hands to rub at her eyes again.
[05:46] <Ikiryo> The hugging resumes.
[05:47] <Tazzari> Another sniffle, and when she hugs back in, her cheeks are wet... But they're tears of happiness, as Tazzari embraces her sister... And begins to embrace herself.
[05:54] <Ikiryo> After more hugging, Dieci has to eventually go. Tazzari is left with some practice to do before the next lesson and Circe under a tree.
[05:55] <Tazzari> Tazzari spends a little while getting herself together... And then approaches the tree, giving Circe a smile and a little wave. "...Hey."
[05:56] <Ikiryo> Circe nods. "Hello Provisional Cadet Tazzari."
[05:57] <Tazzari> "...Could you, um, not repeat my rank every time you address me?"
[05:57] <Tazzari> She shuffles her feet uncomfortably.
[05:58] <Ikiryo> "If you wish, I could to that Tazzari Killough."
[05:59] <Tazzari> "...You don't, um, need to append my surname, um, either... Just, um, call me Tazzari..."
[06:01] <Ikiryo> "Very well, Tazzari." She nods.
[06:03] <Tazzari> "...After all, I just, um... Call you Circe..." She pauses, and blushes a little bit. "...Anyway, um... What did you think of, um, the practice?"
[06:03] <Ikiryo> "It was interesting. I did not agree with all your tactical decisions but they were interesting."
[06:04] <Tazzari> "...Um. What did you disagree with?"
[06:08] <Ikiryo> "The method of escape from the last one is the most notable. The push carries extreme risk of getting surrounded and unable to pull back for the escape."
[06:09] <Tazzari> "I trust, um, Altea and Ainlinn... Nothing can catch Ainlinn, and nothing can stop Altea. It's a risk, um, but it minimises the chance of being followed by a force large enough to, um, pin us down."
[06:09] <Ikiryo> "It is, however, one that gives little room for rescue if they do fail."
[06:10] <Tazzari> "...They're my squad. I, um, know their capabilities... I know, um, what they can achieve." She pauses, and seems to remember something. "...Oh, um... I was hoping to ask you about something..."
[06:12] <Ikiryo> "Yes?"
[06:14] <Tazzari> "The, um... Eris, Atalanta and Panakeia... They, um, can't go home, um... But they agreed to work with the TSAB, um. I want to, um... To help adapt equipment for them. Um. Things that will feel familiar, even though they're, um, magical. Given your, um, design... I thought you might, um, be able to help me, figure out the best ways to, um, make a Device work in a way that felt familiar to them."
[06:15] <Ikiryo> "Interesting." She nods
[06:15] <Tazzari> "...Do you think you could, um, help?"
[06:22] <Ikiryo> "I think it is possible, yes." She nods again.